Cikgu Aisyah Knowledge Chief

36 now, and here is what I would tell my 22-year-old self standing in Mid Valley about to swipe. One, lifestyle inflation is the silent killer. Every raise I got in my 20s, I upgraded my phone, my car, my makan, and saved almost nothing. Lock in a savings rate first, even just 10 percent, auto-transfer it on payday, and live on the rest. Two, EPF compounding is your best friend, so if you can afford to self-top-up even a little, do it early, because RM1000 invested at 24 grows into far more than RM1000 invested at 44. Three, avoid the car trap. So many of us buy a RM90k car at 25 just to look successful, then spend the entire decade paying interest and feeling broke. Buy a modest one or none. Four, learn about ASB, low-cost index funds and unit trusts early, don't leave everything sitting in a savings account earning nothing while inflation quietly eats it. Five, buy medical insurance while you are young and healthy, it is cheap now and one hospital bill can wipe your savings overnight. The boring stuff done early beats the exciting stuff done late, every single time.