Malaysians Share The Most Ridiculous Thing They’ve Ever Done To Save Money
"I lived in the dark to save on my electricity bill."
Published for AIR ASIA, 14 Nov 2018, 01:09 PM
1. "I once broke up with a girlfriend a day before Valentine's Day because I didn't want to spend money buying her a gift or taking her out"
"Some may call me kedekut, others may call me a hero. I call myself Prem."
- Prem, 25.
2. "I lived in the dark to save on my electricity bill"
"This was when I was studying in Melbourne. Electricity was so expensive and my money was better spent on food, rent, and studies. So I pretty much never switched on the lights in the apartment and just used my laptop screen as the only source of light :("
- Priya, 27.
3. “I drive to another store that’s 15 minutes away from my house instead of going to the one within walking distance because they sell the shampoo I use for RM1 cheaper”
"Every ringgit counts. Sikit-sikit lama-lama jadi bukit right?"
- JH, 39.
4. "I enter as many online contests as possible with the hope that I'll win things for free and not spend any money at all!"
"From groceries and coupons to luxury goods and holidays, if there's a contest going on, I'm entering it! Some people feel embarrassed to post stuff on their social media, but I don't care. I've won loads of freebies, cash vouchers, and even a professional photo shoot for my family."
- Jasmine, 28.
5. "When I lived overseas as a student, I wore three layers of clothes and huddled with friends in a closet to avoid paying for heating"
"Central heating is really expensive, especially for a foreign student like me! So I just wore more clothes, covered myself with blankets, and endured the cold."
- Amanda, 23.
6. "I stopped driving and got friends to send me everywhere"
"So my car is actually second-hand and super old. It broke down and it just didn't make sense to pay to fix it, so I didn't. I started carpooling with colleagues who lived nearby to work and paid a share of the petrol. And when friends want to meet up, I ask them to come pick me up either from my house or an LRT station. It takes more time but I actually save A LOT of money."
- Sabri, 23.
7. "If my company belanja makan or I'm out on a date, I order the biggest dish so I can bungkus the leftovers for later"
"A yummy meal now and a yummy leftover meal for later!"
- Alisha, 25
8. "I make my husband to do the weekly groceries without me"
"Whenever I do groceries, I always end up buying other things that are not on the list. I don't know. There's always a special sale or buy 1 free 1 something. So I end up spending much more money than expected even though the promo says "extra savings" lol. But with my husband! Omg he's immune to these things. He follows my list completely and always comes home spending half the amount as me. Amazing."
- Sara, 31.
9. “I beg my older sister and cousins for clothes they don't use anymore”
“I used to hate the fact that all my clothes were hand-me-downs from my older sister and cousins, but now I’m constantly begging them to pass me all the clothes they don’t want anymore so that I don’t have to buy new clothes. It's actually quite an effective way to get a new wardrobe for free.”
- Farhana, 21.
10. “During a particularly broke period, I survived on pancakes alone"
"I ran into some financial problems so decided to stretch my money as much as possible by stocking up on flour, eggs, milk, butter, and sugar, then cooking a giant batch of pancakes. I ate pancakes every day for nearly three weeks until my gaji came in."
- Ibrahim, 25.
11. "I'm a road hog"
"I always stay in the slow lane and don't go over 80km/h. Plus I don't use the air cond. It saves petrol."
- Anndrea, 25.
12. "I collect coupons, buy in bulk, take part in group buys, and stalk e-commerce sites non-stop"
"I don't think it's ridiculous. I think it's smart."
- Joanne, 27.
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