My Budgeting Strategy

I used to follow the 50-30-20 Rule to manage my salary. While it’s easy to understand, I found it a bit hard to stick to every month.

To follow the rule, I had to clearly separate my needs from wants, which often made things more confusing than expected.

These days, I keep things simpler by saving and investing 10–20% of my salary, then using the rest however I want—whether it’s for daily needs or personal treats.

At the start of each month, when my salary comes in, I’ll send 10–20% to:

• Versa, Rize, or ASM to top up my emergency funds, or

• Rakuten, Versa, or Luno for investments (if my emergency funds are already enough).

Why I Use Versa, Rize, and ASM for Emergency Funds

As a rule of thumb, it’s good to have at least 6 months’ worth of income saved in a place that is:

• Flexible: You can deposit or withdraw within 2–3 days

• Beats inflation: Earns more than 3% per year

• Low-risk: Won’t lose value even if the market crashes

The three apps I use check all these boxes. Among them, ASM offers the best returns, averaging 4–5% per year.

However, ASM units are limited and hard to get. That’s why I also use Versa and Rize as backup options.

If you’re a Bumi, you could keep part of your emergency fund in ASB, which gives 5–6% annually. But I wouldn’t store all my emergency money there because ASB/ASM only let you withdraw RM2,000 online per month.

For bigger amounts, you’ll need to go to an ASNB branch, which isn’t helpful if you're in an urgent situation.

As such, I keep some funds in Rize (a digital bank protected by PIDM), so I can cash out instantly during an emergency.

30-40% of my salary goes to AEON Bank.

I use the pink bank as my main spending account — for bills, groceries, dining, entertainment, etc.

Dubbed as Malaysia’s first Islamic Digital Bank, AEON Bank allows you to earn up to 3.00% pa with interest compounded daily and paid at the end of each month.

To be clear, the balance in your main account will earn 0.88% pa, while savings pots will earn 3.00% pa.

You can create up to 20 savings pots with different goals, and the money can be deposited/withdrawn instantly.

These savings pots are vital for my monthly budget, as they help me stay organized about where my money goes. I’d rather use an app with slightly lower returns but supports multiple savings pots, than one with high returns that lumps all my money into a single pool.

Apart from that, AEON Bank also gives you 1 AEON Point for every RM1 spent using their debit card. These points can be redeemed for cash (1,000 points = RM5), which means you’re getting 0.50% cashback—the highest among all five digital banks right now.

KAF Digital Bank – Not Recommended (For Now)

KAF is a new digital bank that offers 5.00% per year on the first RM2,000. However, the rate changes every week.

Based on user reviews, the app experience isn’t great, so I’m avoiding it for now.

Another 30-40% of my pay goes to TNG GO+

TNG GO+ is one of the most stable cash apps I’ve used. Its earnings rate has stayed consistent for the past 2–3 years.

Recently, they also increased the deposit limit from RM9,500 to RM20,000, which allows you to put in more and earn more.

Since the funds can be withdrawn instantly, GO+ is also my second main spending account after AEON Bank.

One thing I love is that GO+ works seamlessly with the TNG eWallet. Deposits and withdrawals are instant, and it won’t affect your eWallet payments at all.

GXBank – My Pick for Overseas Spending

Though the purple bank has recently reduced its earnings rate from 3% pa to 2% pa, it is still my top option for travel because of its 1% cashback on foreign spending.

You’ll receive the cashback instantly, and there’s no minimum spend or cap for the rewards.

I compared four travel cards (Wise, GXBank, AEON Bank, TNG Visa) during my trip to Kyoto and Osaka in March, and GXBank turned out to be the clear winner.

My investing strategy

I follow the "Rule of 100" to decide how much of my retirement portfolio should be in risky assets:

Since I’m currently 28, my portfolio should be about 70% invested in risky assets such as:

• Gold – via Versa Gold

• Bitcoin – via Luno

• US Stocks & ETFs – via Rakuten

• Malaysian Stocks – via Rakuten

• Aggressive Unit Trusts – via EPF i-Invest

The exact breakdown doesn’t matter as much. What’s more important is to start investing early so you can grow your money over time.

Learn more about how I’m investing in:

• Bitcoin & Gold: https://thefuturizts.beehiiv.com/p/rm1000

• The US market: https://thefuturizts.beehiiv.com/p/start-investing-us-market-f0d7

• Malaysian Bank stocks: https://thefuturizts.beehiiv.com/p/still-invest-malaysian-banks

• Unit Trusts: https://thefuturizts.beehiiv.com/p/thinking-withdrawing-account-3-invest-elsewhere

That’s all for this week’s newsletter! I hope you learned something.

DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this newsletter is for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing herein shall be construed to be financial, legal, or tax advice. The opinions of this newsletter are solely that of the publisher.

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