Many people struggle to make a living, making savings is hard to accomplish. However, it is equally crucial for us to save up to prepare for an unknown future. One of the best ways to save up money with ease and comfort is by investing in a regular savings plan in Malaysia.
A remarkable number of Malaysians have already taken advantage of this way of saving their money by periodically transferring some funds into their respective accounts monthly or weekly, no matter how small the amount may be. Some opt for the direct debit method, which typically requires ten days before withdrawal. In contrast, others go for the post-dated cheque style that allows them access to their money almost immediately.
Direct Debit
You need to fill up a form and submit it either online or through the mail to use direct debit. There will be no initial charges made, and you can request that your account be set up as either a monthly or weekly regular saving plan in Malaysia. The amount of money sent to your account is determined by how much you want to save every month. The frequency of instalment payment will be – there are no restrictions here because this method allows customers flexibility with their savings plans.
Occasionally, banks make mistakes when carrying out automatic deductions but rest assured that they will not deduct more than what was previously agreed upon by both parties involved. You may also think about having the money transferred to the intended account of your loved one who is travelling out of the country, living abroad or does not have an account for you to transfer money into.
Post-Dated Cheques (PDC)
Should you want to stick with the old-fashioned way, PDCs are still available for customers who want fast access to their savings plans. There are no initial charges made, and what’s needed is a minimum amount which varies from bank to bank – this might be as little as RM50 or up to RM500 depending on how much you’re willing to spend. You can make withdrawals through cash deposit machines, cheque encashment counters at the bank, or online transactions. When doing this, be sure to submit the cheque on a date that falls on an agreed-upon time of the month.
The most crucial thing here is to make sure you keep a record of all transactions and indicate the date you’d like the money to be transferred into your account. That way, you can rest assured that nothing will go wrong even if something out of the ordinary happens along the way. Some banks allow their customers to set up notifications via email or SMS when their bank account has been credited with a certain amount of money from an interest-generating deposit plan. Remember that post-dated cheques can only be submitted for bank transactions on weekends except for holidays.
Tips on opening a regular savings plan
- The first step to beginning a regular savings plan is establishing a goal. It can be as simple as ‘save enough money for a vacation or ‘put away enough money for college’. The critical part of this step is to set the target and only use the funds deposited into the account to achieve that target. For example, if deciding on ditching smoking as a goal, cigarettes should not be bought with a savings plan.
- Next, an account should be opened where all funds designated for savings will go, similar to stocks. It is essential to keep this account separate from any other accounts to see how much has been saved and what needs to be saved to meet goals (get more info here).
- The last step in setting up a regular savings plan is to set aside some cash for fun. It can be by setting up another account with even stricter limits on spending than the bill payment account or simply not putting money into the savings account each month.
