31/07/2026
๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ต ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป.
๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ ๐ด๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ.
โ
Every month our clients tell us the same thing.
They have cut back.
No more eating out.
No more small treats.
They are careful now.
And the debt still looks the same.
They think they are failing.
They are not.
โ
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ต ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ผ
Say you owe RM30,000 on your credit cards.
Bank Negara caps card interest at 18 percent a year.
That is RM450 every month.
And that is only the interest.
It does not touch what you actually owe.
So if you pay RM450 a month, your balance does not move.
Not by one sen.
Cutting your spending is still worth doing.
But it cannot beat a rate that keeps refilling the hole.
โ
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ
Two researchers, Stango and Zinman, looked into this.
Their study was published in the Journal of Finance in 2009.
They found that people almost always guess a loan rate lower than it really is.
Our brain sees money growing in a straight line.
Interest does not grow in a straight line.
They found one more thing.
People who make this mistake borrow more and save less.
And they are the ones who gain the most from proper advice.
โ
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐
Look at the rate, not only the monthly payment.
Ask what your real rate is, not the one on the poster.
Then find out if that rate can be changed.
Being careful keeps you steady.
The rate decides how fast you get out.
โ
What is one thing you cut this year that did not seem to help?