How to get extra cash for Hari Raya?

The month of Ramadan is now upon us, and hence begins the countdown to the Raya holidays. Regardless of your ethnicity or religion, chances are: you’re already making plans to either balik kampung or zip off to distant land for a well-deserved break. This means that like most people around you, it is time to start worrying about the money you’ll need in about a month’s time from now.

For the benefit of Malaysians far and wide, here are a few well known and not so well known ideas you could adopt to save or free up some extra cash within the few weeks leading up to Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

1) Avoid Expensive Food

Malaysians love food and are generally willing to pay good money to satisfy our gastronomic needs. But during the month of Ramadan, many of us go beyond paying good money to downright splurging, driven by the need to satisfy our palates after a day of fasting, coupled with the constant barrages of advertisements by five-star hotels and fine-dining establishments.

Whilst it is not wrong to take part in a lavish break-fast buffet together with friends and family once in a while; imagine the amount of money you could put aside if you spend a mere RM10 for a meal to satisfy your hunger, instead of RM99++ per pax for a buffet that does the same (albeit with expensive silverwares and posh ambience). Visit the said buffet with a family of five, and a dinner could end up costing a few hundred Ringgits and burning a gaping hole in your pocket!

A good way to stop yourself from being caught up in the whole buka puasa buffet faze is to ask yourself: Would you pay the money for the same buffet if this wasn’t Ramadan? Chances are: you would not.

For large families, cooking is still the best way to save money on food. But for the busy urbanites who can’t afford to do this, Ramadan food bazaars are excellent alternatives for you to feed your family moderately cheaply. For RM99, you literally could have yourselves a feast!

2) Make Travel Arrangements Early

If you’re planning to balik kampung by bus or on a plane for the upcoming Raya holidays, you could potentially save tons by making your travel arrangements now.

For buses, take note that Malaysian bus companies are currently asking for ticket prices to be increased by 30%. Get your balik kampung bus tickets now, and you could avoid a probable price hike PLUS enjoy the peace of mind knowing that your home trip is secured. Importantly, you totally eliminate the chance of having to purchase hefty “black market” tickets peddled to desperate last-minute home goers.

If you’re travelling by air, know that last-minute air travel arrangements are usually (though not certainly) more expensive than those you’ve made way in advance. Hence, it is to your benefit to begin making comparisons for airfares as soon as you are able to.

3) Take Full Advantage of Your Credit Card

If you’re a working adult in Malaysia, you’re almost certainly holding a credit card. And whilst credit cards are often associated with negative financial implications, they could turn out to be your best friends when it comes to freeing up cash during Ramadan. Here are a few ways in which credit cards could be utilized intelligently during the festive season:

• 0% Easy Payment Plans: If you absolutely HAVE to buy that new furniture or electric appliance for the coming Raya, consider making use of 0% Easy Payment Plans on your credit cards to spread your repayment over a few months at no interest. This is very useful if you’re strapped for cash but still need to make vital additions back home. For the record: most major credit cards come with this feature, even though you may not know about it.

• Designated Merchants: Most credit cards in Malaysia are loaded with privileges and goodies, which commonly include designated merchant outlets that give you discounts or cash rebates when you swipe your card to make a purchase. By taking advantage of these privileges that are already available to you and spending at the right places, you could be trimming a few Ringgits to a few hundred Ringgits off your festive expenditures. Not sure what privileges are available to you? Go check out the website of your bank right now.

• Points: In an article published on ABC News recently, “allowing points to expire” has been deemed one of the six things you should NOT do with your credit card rewards. If you have been making payments using a credit card with a point system, you may have accumulated enough points to redeem for cash vouchers that you can use to pay for things at designated outlets. Check your latest credit card statement now to see if you could take advantage of this to cut down on the need to fork out cold, hard cash for purchases.

4) Activate “Payment Holiday” for Your Home Loans

Did you know that some of the home loans offered by banks in Malaysia (such as Standard Charted Bank and UOB) come with a “Payment Holiday” feature, which enables borrowers to skip one month in loan repayment during festive occasions and in times of needs? If you’re currently servicing, say, RM2,000 in monthly loan instalment; you could take advantage of “Payment Holiday” to free up that very same RM2,000 and put it to good use for the upcoming holidays!

Not quite sure if you have access to “Payment Holiday”? It could already be embedded into your home loan deal, so now would be a good time to revisit your loan agreement or call up that mortgage officer and enquire if your bank offers this facility. Take note that “Payment Holidays” are usually offered with terms and conditions so make sure you read the fine prints before you commit.

5) Get the Right Loan, if You Absolutely Need to

Whilst taking loans for festivity purposes are never encouraged, in some cases, it could well be the only option. If this is your absolute last resort to gain access to cash you need for Raya, here are a few things you may consider to maximize your benefits from the endeavour:

• If you are a government servant, consider Koperasi Loan, a personal loan with an interest of as low as 3.99% p.a..
• For non-government servant, use online comparison tables to ascertain the best rate for the amount you wish to loan. For a loan of, say, RM2,000, you may be surprised to know that interest starts from as low as 7.63% p.a. all the way up to 13.38% p.a. – almost a SIX percent difference!

6) Be Smart about the Way You Shop and Spend

Ultimately, the one cash advice that outdoes all other tips for the Raya holidays (or for any other occasions) comes down to this: spend less. Even if you’ve made early transport arrangement, took full advantage of your credit cards, activated the aforementioned “Payment Holiday” and even gotten yourself a loan; it all goes back to Square One if you went on a mad shopping spree and spend whatever savings you’ve made.

As you make preparations to go purchase new festive clothing for the kids or new furnishing for the home this month, try creating (i) a realistic festive budget (that is separate from your usual month budget) and (ii) a shopping checklist – the former to make sure you’re spending within your means, and the latter to curb your instinct to buy what you desire instead of what you need. As long as you stick to both, you should do fine.

And while you’re doing the actual shopping, do take the time to make comparisons before buying.

No one wants to go for Raya shopping and still be reminded of budgetary constraints; but like all financial tips and advices that are hard to follow, know this: they inadvertently work.

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