I Am Now In Debt Because I Was Greedy and “Keh Khiang”

Today I only need to worry about burning money on my wife and myself as my children are all grown up. I have planned in such a way that I will have FDs maturing periodically to cover my expenses.

Basically I have allocated about RM100K for my expenses until January 2026 where I will have more FDs maturing and then re-plan again when to withdraw my FDs for my expense for the future.

But things never work out as planned right?

You see, sometime back in August 2025, I decided to buy a Toyota Hybrid because I was kind of pissed off with one of my old cars and the Toyota has 360 degree camera plus other safety features.

If you are a long time die hard follower, you will know that the last time I bought my BMW, I paid in full with AMEX; and I have mentioned several times we can also use our credit cards to pay in full too for Perodua, Proton and Honda without any surcharge. One of My Air Miles Disciples told me he just bought a Volvo paid in full with his AMEX without any surcharge. Many of my readers have thanked me as they managed to pay for their Perodua, Proton, Honda and even Volkswagen in full with credit cards without any surcharge.

I am pleased to announce that last month I managed to find a Toyota Dealer who was willing to allow me to pay in full for my new car with credit cards without any surcharge.

However, I did not have enough cash!!! You see, the Toyota cost me below RM150K but I also need to pay for my Europe Tour that cost about another RM50K. And out of the blue I had 2 unplanned expenses, i.e. my wife was blessed with the opportunity to purchase a Hermes Constance in Toffee and I was given the opportunity to secure VCA 18K Gold Bracelet and Earrings (buying in advance as a gift as taught to all in my article on Chanel Coco Handle back in 2020). Plus I also have other expenses (for example a pack of cigarettes cost me close to AUD40 in Melbourne). Therefore I need more than RM250K before end of September 2025 but I only have RM100K in cash on standby!!!

Initially, I planned to uplift one of my FDs which I just renewed about 2 weeks ago – which means I will lose not more than RM333 if I were to uplift it. But then I came across Maybank 0% Balance Transfer Plan.

So the “keh khiang” me decided to utilise the Maybank Balance Transfer instead of uplifting one of my FDs.

So I paid for the Toyota using 2 different banks’ credit cards. I paid half the amount for my Toyota Hybrid with Maybank Visa Infinite and the balance with my UOB Visa Infinite. I then settled in full the Outstanding Balance of my Maybank Visa Infinite, which will then free up my Maybank Credit Limit for me to perform the 12 months 0% Balance Transfer from my UOB credit card.

In respect to the above paragraph, for those of you who are not familiar with Balance Transfer, this is what I did assuming the car cost RM150k.

1. I paid RM70K with my Maybank Visa Infinite.
2. I paid the balance RM80K with my UOB Visa Infinite.
3. Once the payment of RM70K was posted at my Maybank Visa Infinite account, I paid the entire amount. This will then free up my Maybank Credit Limit.
4. I then perform RM80K with Maybank 12 months 0% Balance Transfer from my UOB credit card account.

But like I said I only had RM100K in cash and I have used it to pay for part of my new Toyota Hydrid plus other expenses. Therefore I still need more than RM100K cash (for Europe Holiday, Hermes and VCA) to settle my credit card bills.

So the “keh khiang” me decided to use the RHB 12 months 0% Balance Transfer Plan to settle in full the Statement Balance of the credit cards used to pay for the Europe Holiday, Hermes and VCA. Well, I have not used my RHB Premier Visa Infinite for months and the available credit limit was just perfect for the 0%$ Balance Transfer Promo.

So now I have debts for the next 12 months where I need to pay off the 0% Loan with Maybank and RHB. I tell you, it is no fun being in debt but I only have myself to blame for the debt I have incurred…. and the worst part is that the 0% Balance Transfer Plans will give me the false impression that I have more money than I actually have….. remember because I did not uplift the FD to pay for the Toyota, the amount will be shown whenever I check my bank account but in actual fact the money is to repay off the loan.

CONCLUSION

Only perform 0% Balance Transfer or 0% Installment Plans if and only if you have the cash in your bank account to repay of the loan or ELSE you are spending beyond your means!!! Once you enter the bottomless shit hole of debt, it is very very very hard to get out.

I tell you, the key to life is to be DEBT FREE so that you are stress free. Always have minimum 6 months expenses in your savings account for emergencies (e.g. if you fire your boss or vice-versa) so that you will not be stressed. Once you have 6 months emergency expenses on standby, then you can burn your money on a new phone or holiday.

And I tell you, if you need to do Balance Transfer to pay off your credit card bills accumulated from expenses which you think are necessary to sustain your lifestyle… let me tell you this……. you are spending beyond your means and if you do not change your lifestyle you will go deeper into the shit hole of debt. And if you need to change your lifestyle….. (1) stop using all your credit cards and (2) work as Grab Driver to earn extra income in addition to your monthly salary. Or best, go and suffer working in Singapore for a couple of years and save every sen so you can pay off your debts.

Once our children graduate and can earn their own money to survive, suddenly our expenses will drop like hell and whatever money we have we can burn on ourselves to experience life. In my case, I should have enough money in FD to burn on experiences (traveling around the globe) and my emergency funds is my EPF! I.e. the money in EPF should be enough for me to survive until the day I die….. and in the event I am still alive at age 99 and/or I have used up all my EPF, I can sell off my home and rent until I die, hahaha. Never withdraw from your EPF while you are still working, if you are doing that to pay off loan(s) it means you are spending beyond your means and you seriously need to rethink how to earn more income and I have mentioned many times be a Grab Driver or go to another country and suffer for a few years but at the same time earn big bucks so you have money in your old age. It is called planning for the future without relying on anyone except yourself.

Click here to read How Much Money Do You Need To Retire? Is RM1M Enough To Survive Without Depending On Others?