logo
'Am I bad?' - M'sian hides RM100k savings from wife

'Am I bad?' - M'sian hides RM100k savings from wife

The Sun01-06-2025
Would you tell your big-spending spouse about your secret savings?
A 29-year-old Malaysian man has sparked a lively debate online after admitting he has secretly saved over RM100,000 without his wife's knowledge.
In an anonymous post on Threads, the man explained that he has been quietly building an emergency fund over the past two years of marriage, describing his wife as someone who 'likes to waste money.'
'Mein, M29, my savings money is already RM100K++. Am I bad for keeping this a secret from my wife for two years?' he wrote. 'Because I don't like it that later when she knows, she will ask for all sorts of things and waste money.'
ALSO READ: Wife laments husband's RM30k salary, RM18k monthly loans
He added that he provides his wife with a monthly allowance and keeps their lifestyle simple, while setting aside money in case of emergencies.
'So usually I give her an allowance, we live simply, and save money. I plan to use the savings only for emergencies.'
The confession has since gone viral, drawing mixed reactions. Many netizens sided with the man, praising his financial foresight and agreeing that it's wise to have a safety net—especially when one partner tends to overspend.
'It's okay to keep it a secret, to be honest. He knows his wife tends to spend unnecessarily. Usually, guys who are good at saving money also know how to manage their finances—as long as they're also sharing the family commitments 50/50 and not hoarding all the savings for themselves,' commented hey_serahhh.
READ MORE: M'sian wife anxious by husband's RM7k salary
However, others were less sympathetic, arguing that secrecy around finances could damage trust in a marriage.
'My opinion is that as husband and wife, you shouldn't be hiding anything from each other—especially when it comes to money and matters of sustenance. Even if your wife asks you to buy things, you can still manage it. You don't have to give in to everything. Don't you think that maybe you were able to save that much because you've been blessed through your wife's sustenance too? You're not a bad person, bro, but if it were me, I'd feel hurt if my husband kept something like this from me. Just my opinion, okay,' said sangsemol.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Muted growth likely in 2H25
Muted growth likely in 2H25

The Star

time2 hours ago

  • The Star

Muted growth likely in 2H25

PETALING JAYA: China's response to the final tariff rate imposed by the United States could have a profound impact on the Malaysian economy. With the outcome of tariff talks between the two countries now delayed for another three months, the fear now, according to Socio-Economic Research Centre (SERC) executive director Lee Heng Guie, is that Beijing will take aggressive measures to maintain its market share in the United States. This may entail price dumping and undercutting, which would put pressure on Malaysia's exports. 'If China ends up with a tariff structure similar to countries like Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia – around 19% to 20% – the competition will be even tougher for Malaysia. 'Even if the tariff imposed by the United States on China is higher, it also depends on how high, because even before tariffs, China has been very competitive in most markets,' Lee said during SERC's Malaysia Quarterly Economy Tracker (April to June) 2025 media briefing yesterday titled 'The Future Ahead: Malaysia in a Changing Landscape'. Lee noted that Chinese exporters have economies of scale and government support in the form of subsidies, export rebates and other incentives. 'This allows them to undercut prices in a bid to gain more market share in the United States,' he said. Lee added China could also engage in price wars to sell its products in other markets to help offset its lower sales in the US market, should it end up securing a relatively higher tariff from Washington. China's economy still remains challenging looking ahead and is projected to slow further in the second half of 2025 (2H25), Lee said, as the trade tariff impact continues and weakening consumer sentiment amid lingering risks in the property sector. On Monday, the Trump administration extended its tariff truce with China for another 90 days to Nov 10. This move keeps US tariffs on Chinese imports at 30%, while Chinese duties on US goods remain at 10%. Without the extension, Chinese imports into the United States would have faced tariffs of 145%, while US goods entering China would have been hit with a 125% rate. These tariffs were set to resume on Tuesday. SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said the tariff truce 'isn't peace, it's halftime'. 'The scoreboard hasn't changed much, but both sides are in the locker room drawing up plays for the next quarter. The sledgehammer hasn't been put back in the closet – it's just leaning against the wall, waiting for November,' he said in a statement. Lee stressed that halting trade with the United States is not feasible and reduced exports to this key market would directly impact Malaysia's overall export performance. This is given that the United States is Malaysia's third-largest trading partner, accounting for 11.3% of the country's total trade in 2024. It is also Malaysia's second-largest export destination and one of the top-five sources of foreign direct investment (FDI). 'The tariff on local furniture exports, for instance, was 0% previously, but now it has been raised to 19%. Manufacturers may not be able to adjust immediately and this will affect their profit margins and overall profitability. 'However, they have to find ways to mitigate the impact by improving their costs and efficiency,' he said. Lee said the country's exports are expected to remain weak in 2H25 and 2026 due to the impact of the US sweeping tariffs on the global economy and trade flows. Malaysia's export performance has been on the decline in the last two months. 'Exports remain in cautious territory, with a growth of 3.8% in the first six months of the year. For the full year, exports are expected to decline significantly and could even register a slight contraction. 'Exports' 'front-loading' effects are expected to fade in 2H25,' he said. On the whole, Lee said Malaysia is expected to sustain 'moderate growth' in 2H25 and 2026, in line with the global trend. This is underpinned by private consumption and investment amid weak exports due to the impact of the US tariffs on exports. 'We remain positive on private investment with ongoing initiatives like the New Industrial Master Plan 2030, National Energy Transition Roadmap, National Semiconductor Strategy and the 13th Malaysia Plan (2026-2030). 'There have been a lot of approved investments over the past two to three years and this should help support private investment activity, going forward,' he said. In 2024, Malaysia recorded RM379bil of approved investments, comprising RM170.4bil in foreign investments and RM208.1bil in domestic investments. In the first quarter of 2025, total approved investments stood at RM90bil, of which RM60.4bil were foreign and RM29.4bil were domestic investments. On whether he expects FDI to slow this year, Lee described the outlook as a 'cautious investment approach' with a 'wait-and-see' stance, amid near-term policy and trade-related uncertainties. However, he believes Malaysia's third investment upcycle – characterised by high-quality investments which began in mid-2023 – remained intact and would not 'just fizzle out like that'. 'I am hopeful that it will be much more stable by 2H26,' Lee said. In the meantime, he stressed that it was important for Malaysia to enhance its tax competitiveness and ease of doing business to remain relevant as an investment destination amid current trade uncertainties. In this regard, Lee calls for measures like cutting the corporate tax rate from 24% to 22% and increasing the threshold for small and medium enterprises enjoying a preferential tax rate of 15% for the first RM2mil chargeable income. SERC projects Malaysia's gross domestic product growth to slow to 4% in both 2025 and 2026. It expects inflation to remain in the range of 1.5% to 1.8% for the year, and between 2% to 2.5% in 2026. According to Lee, the growth outlook overall remains tilted to the downside, stemming mainly from sluggish global trade, subdued investor confidence and disappointing commodity output. 'Persistent external uncertainties along with weak implementation of the various masterplans could weigh on domestic demand, especially investment,' he said. Meanwhile, Lee noted the ringgit's outlook remains positive, backed by strong economic fundamentals and economic resilience – diversified economic sectors and export markets, sustaining investment flows and services growth. 'Nevertheless, negative risks for the ringgit are global growth prospects, the US trade policy, the Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate path and the Chinese yuan. We expect the ringgit to end 2025 at RM4.20 against the US dollar,' he said. As for the outlook on global growth, Lee said a continued slowdown in 2H25 and 2026 is expected due to the impact of ongoing tariffs and policy uncertainty, as well as geopolitical risks. The US economy is expected to see a near-term slowdown as consumers' front-loading purchase wanes and consumer inflation ticks up. 'Nevertheless, monetary easing, tax cuts, deregulation and strong tech investments are expected to cushion a severe economic slowdown. Higher consumer inflation risk could limit the Fed's rate easing. 'We expect the Fed to pivot toward rate cuts in 2H25 and 2026 to support the economy, although the expected higher inflation may slow down the rate cut,' he said.

BIMB Securities: Malaysia's 2Q GDP likely below 4.5% estimate
BIMB Securities: Malaysia's 2Q GDP likely below 4.5% estimate

Malaysian Reserve

time6 hours ago

  • Malaysian Reserve

BIMB Securities: Malaysia's 2Q GDP likely below 4.5% estimate

MALAYSIA'S economic growth in the second quarter of 2025 (2Q25) is expected to come in slightly below the Department of Statistics Malaysia's (DOSM) advance estimate of 4.5%, at around 4.3%, according to BIMB Securities Research. In its gross domestic product (GDP) preview, BIMB said the moderation reflects softer private consumption and slower export growth amid persistent global headwinds. Retail sales growth eased to 5% year-on-year – the weakest in six quarters – while export growth slowed to 3.5% from 4.4% in the previous quarter. Manufacturing output growth softened to 3.9% from 4.2%, with the sector's PMI staying below the 50-point mark at 48.9 in 2Q. Exports to China contracted by 4.4%, while growth to the US decelerated to 20.2% from 36.4% in 1Q. BIMB said investment momentum remained solid but is likely to moderate given global uncertainties, including potential US tariffs of up to 100% on semiconductor imports and varying levies on other major economies. Despite external risks, domestic demand is expected to provide some buffer, supported by government measures such as a one-off RM100 cash transfer to all Malaysian adults at end-August and the 25-basis-point cut in the overnight policy rate in July. 'While external uncertainties may weigh on the export-oriented sectors, domestic policy measures are expected to help sustain Malaysia's near-term growth momentum,' the research house said. — TMR

NST Leader: Employers dodging Perkeso contributions
NST Leader: Employers dodging Perkeso contributions

New Straits Times

time7 hours ago

  • New Straits Times

NST Leader: Employers dodging Perkeso contributions

The recent announcement by the Social Security Organisation, better known as Perkeso, that one in five workers — local and foreign — is without workplace accident or occupational disease coverage should worry the authorities into action. Based on the Statistics Department's employment figures, one in five means a whopping 2.5 million workers left out in the cold. And what is worse, these workers do not know that they have been deprived of the protection, all due to employers' non-compliance. Should workers be involved in workplace accidents or contract occupational diseases, they would be victims without remedies. As usual, our errant employers have a pile of excuses, several of which are just nonsense on stilts. Some lobby their associations to hawk their excuses so that they would be spared the legal consequences. Do not fall prey to such preposterous pleas, we tell the associations. Here are four silly ones, repeated ad infinitum. Remote working locations. A pathetic excuse at best. High turnover is another. A third is reliance on outsourced labour contractors. The rule is clear: it is the responsibility of the "principal" employer, not labour contractors. Work may be outsourced, not responsibility. Finally, limited administrative staff. How difficult is it for the employer to assign the task of registering their workers with Perkeso and making monthly contributions? We are not ruling out a few genuine cases of employers facing issues, but most choose not to comply because of the extra costs involved. As Perkeso group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed put it to this newspaper on Sunday, non-compliance among employers of Malaysian workers was rampant in the hospitality, food and beverage, manufacturing, wholesale and retail sectors. As for employers of foreign workers, the leading sectors with the highest dodgers are in construction, plantation, agriculture, manufacturing and services such as cleaning, hospitality and security. Employers who continue to trifle with their Perkeso contributions must know this: they are not optional but mandatory, meaning non-compliance will result in fines, and in appropriate cases, imprisonment. Admittedly, there might be cases, such as those that involve foreign workers, whose employers think that registering for Foreign Workers Compensation Scheme is enough. But how do the employers explain not making any Perkeso contributions for their local workers? Surely there isn't any system integration problem with the Immigration Department that employers love to quote. Let's be blunt. Many employers just don't want to part with the extra money Perkeso contributions would cost. Here is the thing. While complaining of thin margins, they pass the extra costs to the consumers ultimately. These non-compliant employers want to keep the cake and eat it. So they rather break the law. Dodgers must thank Perkeso for giving them countless opportunities to mend their ways. Leniency and amnesty programmes have been showered on errant employers, yet many continue breaking the law, caring very little for the welfare of the workers who have earned them the wealth they have accumulated. Such irresponsible employers deserve no leniency. Enough is enough. The dodgers have trifled with Perkeso contributions for too long to deserve any sympathy.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store