In Asian culture, we always respect our elder’s advice and hold it in high regard. This is why many young people turn to their parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents for advice on almost everything in life, especially when making important decisions. You’ll hear people talking to their parents about their field of study, choice of spouse, children’s education and many other things.

There are, however, some old fashioned advice that are no longer relevant to today’s market conditions and financial atmosphere.

Therefore, if you hear the following opinions, do take them with a pinch of salt:

Get a Degree, Your Life Will be Easy
In this day and age, degree holders are so common because financial loans are available to help anyone pursue a tertiary education, like the PTPTN loan. However, many fresh graduates face a harsh reality when they are job hunting, whereby they struggle to get jobs. Even when they do find jobs, they may earn far below their expected salary.

Nowadays, employers value experience rather than paper qualifications. So graduates should take some time to work and get to know the corporate world better before they graduate.

Buy Your House in Cash
Nowadays, it is really impossible to buy a house anywhere in cash, and you will always need to take a home loan. The best you can do is save more for a down payment, so that your margin of financing will be lower. A lower margin of financing from the bank means lower interests and lower monthly installments. You can also lessen the loan repayment period.

This piece of advice was popular about 30 to 40 years ago when you could buy a house in the Klang Valley for about RM50,000. Nowadays, the average asking price for a middle class apartment is between half a million to RM800,000.

Working as a Civil Servant Gives You a Stable Life
In the past, everyone scrambled to work in the government sector due to its many benefits, including a stable pension, easy loans, allowances and other perks. However, those perks have now trapped many civil servants in debt and a significant number have landed themselves in bankruptcy with no savings whatsoever.

Pensions or EPF are Enough to Retire On
Pensions may not be enough to live on in the future anymore due to rapid inflation and the rising cost of living. As such, it is important to explore alternative income growing schemes. Additionally, you should try not to spend your EPF money away, although there are options to withdraw them before retirement.

Owning a Luxury Car Means You’re Successful
It used to be important to prove your wealth by driving branded and imported cars. However, an average pay nowadays, most people can only afford humble cars. Therefore, modern financial experts advise you to stick to reasonably priced cars and minimize your loan tenure, or pay cash for it. This is because cars tend to depreciate and is considered an investment which cannot grow in value.


(中文版请看这里:http://www.durianproperty.com.my/blog/article/1372)