How was I living like before I became debt-free, saved up six months of emergency funds and finally got my financial act together? I dug up this old blog post, and I tell ya, I nearly forgot how it was like to be anxious at the end of the month, scrimping to just make ends meet, and finally, defeated, reaching for the credit card. And worrying about a RM200 insurance bill? Goodness, if only old me knows how much I’m paying for insurance now.

These days, I am fortunate to not worry about having money to last me till the end of the month because I always have margin. This, of course, is due to the fact that I now earn a lot more than what I used to back in 2005. However, a big part of it comes from conquering my shopaholic tendencies through minimalism. I rarely struggle to resist buying things anymore. And that prevents me from flashing the plastic.

The following blog posts were from my old blog, and have long gone to digital heaven but they have now been resurrected for your reading pleasure.

Credit card annoyance

June 03, 2005

Drew up my monthly budget recently and realised that RM600 of my money goes to repaying credit card debt! It’s just sad because just two months ago I was so close to getting rid of that annoying debt, then I was forced to use my credit card to pay hefty bills – RM500+ vet bills among them. It seems that each time I’m almost winning the war against credit, some big honking bill will wack me on my head.

I have a savings plan, thankfully. RM200 goes to my insurance (which is also an investment vehicle), and RM250 is deducted each month to an account with co-op which yields a 5% interest pa. I’m not in such bad straits, but dang it’s annoying to not rid myself of that credit card debt!

Malaysia’s credit-lovin’ generation

Sept 21, 2005

As I read the personal finance blogs out there (mostly US) I come to realise two things:

a) the debt situation in America is alarming
b) Malaysia is getting there

My Dad’s generation didn’t believe in credit. They were mostly poor, and had to endure the Japanese occupation, the communist insurgency and racial riots. They craved stability and security, and they saved.

Fast forward to my generation. To be brutally honest, we’re a bunch of spoilt brats. We grew up in a time of peace and prosperity, when Malaysia’s economy boomed like crazy. It took the 1997 economic crisis to wake some of us up, but not so much.

People have short memories. Credit cards are still status symbols. Banks shove them in your hand, crying: Here, spend! Flash a gold card and people think you’re a Datin* (or a wannabe Datin). You’ve ‘made it’.

* a woman with a title. Something like a countess, duchess etc.

My dad’s mantra while I was growing up was, “Don’t use credit cards.” He paid cash for most things – except for the house and car. He saved and saved and saved. He didn’t go for holidays often at all. He said that he wanted to save for our education. And boy did he save. Thanks to my dad’s saving ways, my siblings and I have a decent education.

Naturally, I didn’t listen to him. I gleefully got my credit card as soon as I got my job. I told myself that I will only use it to order books from Amazon.com. (Yeah, right.) My dad was right – once you get a credit card, it’s so easy to slide into debt. Because it doesn’t hurt when you slide the plastic. It hurts when you use cash.

Yeah, I wished that I had listened to my dad. But I’m glad that God has convicted me of my bad stewardship of money now, and that I snapped out of it now, not when I have RM20,000 in credit card debt.

Being in debt is not fun. I hate living paycheck to paycheck, and literally depending on my credit card to scrape through the last week of the month. I hate seeing credit card statements with four figures. Most of all, I hate the fact that I’m misusing God’s money. Instead of blessing his people, I bless myself with “stuff”. Stupid stuff mostly.

I really can’t wait to get out of debt. I want to give my parents money again, I sponsor a World Vision chlid (or two). I want to give to Paws. The day will come, Lord! Thanks for sending me Dave Ramsey – I know I sound as if I want to marry him, but Dave really made things easy for me to understand. And he gave me hope that I can do it. Here’s to Dave!

Afterthoughts

Alas, Malaysians are still taking on debt at an alarming degree. With the “pay later” schemes proliferating in various services these days, I don’t see it dying down soon.

I’m glad to report that I am now 100% debt-free. No credit card debt, car loan, or mortgage. Being debt free was a big reason why I could weather the upheavals of 2020 and 2021 without touching much of my savings.

I still have a credit card, however. Despite Dave Ramsey’s “cut up all your credit cards” recommendation, not only have I not cut up my credit cards, I still use them to pay for online purchases. The difference these days is that I make sure I have a zero balance at the end of the month. A big part of my ability to control my impulsive spending has come from my minimalism philosophy — it has kept that in check. Today, I pay off my credit card bills in full. Credit cards are great financial tools if used responsibly.

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