[Post 297] Falling Ringgit: How Are Malaysians Managing Their Money? | Money Mind | Malaysia

Summary

The Malaysian ringgit has fallen to its lowest level since the Asian financial crisis. How do you manage your finances, when the value of the currency keeps going down?

[Post 296] Are Singapore REITs Still A Good Investment? | Money Mind | Investment

Summary

Prices of Singapore real estate investment trusts or REITs have been dropping all year. So are they still a good investment – and how do you spot a bargain?

[Post 295] Meet China’s ‘Full Time Children’: Why Unemployed Youths Are Working For Their Parents

Summary

Amid China’s record youth unemployment levels, some young people are moving back home to work as paid ‘full-time children’. As their parents’ live-in personal assistants, they do simple chores and spend time with them in exchange for free rent or even a salary. Some document their daily routine as part of a viral online trend on Chinese social media. 

But, not every family is fully onboard with this alternative ‘career’ decision. Some ‘full-time children’ report tensions at home and anxieties about their formal jobless status.

[Post 294] What Pakistan’s Debt Dilemma Reveals About Looming Global Default Crisis | Debt Bomb | Full Episode

Summary

According to the IMF, debt is at the highest level in decades. With high interest rates and a global economic slowdown, 60 percent of low-income countries are either already in debt distress or at high risk of debt distress. Pakistan is one country that has gone to the IMF recently for a bailout package. How is the country’s debt burden impacting its people? How is the debt problem further exacerbated by climate change? And what is the role of China’s Belt and Road initiative in Pakistan’s debt situation? 

Pakistan is just one of 70 about countries struggling with a debt burden. With debt repayment expected to go up in 2024, will we see a global financial contagion and a deluge of defaults?

[Post 293] How To Reduce Your Income Tax Bill In Singapore | Money Mind | Tax

Summary

Tips on how to pay less tax in Singapore. 

[Post 292] Very Few Malaysians Can Afford To Retire. What Went Wrong? | Insight | Full Episode

Summary

Between 2020 and 2022, around USD$33 billion was withdrawn from Malaysia’s pension fund, the Employee Provident Fund (EPF), to help mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, about half of EPF contributors under the age of 55 have less than MYR10,000 in their accounts. And according to EPF officials, only 4 per cent of Malaysians can afford to retire. 

As soaring inflation and the weak ringgit drive up cost of living, the opposition has piled pressure on the government to allow for another round of EPF withdrawals. But Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has resisted further drawdowns. Can Malaysians afford to retire? What plans does the government have to replenish the pension fund? Is Malaysia facing a retirement timebomb?

[Post 291] High costs of living in Seoul make Koreans grind themselves down to the soul | Undercover Korea

Summary

Over 20% of Korea's population is located in Seoul. Many people are coming to Seoul for the Seoul Dream, like the American Dream in 1960's. But the costs of living are so high to settle in Seoul.