Picture by rawpixel.com

Loans and Credit Cards for Low Income Earners

Hey! Low-income earners, often at the economic margins of society, face a multitude of challenges and constraints in their daily lives. I used to earn less than RM1.6K a month. Don’t get me wrong, I’m always grateful for whatever’s written for me. I was lucky because my workplace was very nearby which means less travelling expenses. Plus, I only had to work from 830 am to 6 pm five days a week. My employer also bought us delicious food a few times a month. But I can’t deny the fact that the salary amount and all the benefits were still inadequate, which required me to do some side hustles. Even now I already got a higher paying job, it is still quite a struggle even just to buy all the necessities every effing month. I know I’m not alone in this. There must be a lot of people who are facing the same challenge.

Asking People to Lend Money

Who do we, the low-paid workers, turn to when there is nothing inside our wallets? Of course, besides praying to God, we will definitely turn to our friends and relatives, asking them to lend a certain amount of money. But how often can we face them to ask that kind of help? I know some people who are so thick-faced that they can afford to ask for money repetitively (and some don’t even pay back. LOL). But for the rest, it’s often like a very rare request. Because we prefer not to trouble others, and we don’t want to make others think that we’re a burden to them, or even worst, think that we’re some kind of parasite. LOL

Picture by user18526052
Ways to Survive Financially

As these low-income earners sick and tired of asking and troubling (or annoying) others on monthly basis (usually it’s because we’re unable to stretch our money until the next salary), we will try our best to find a way to get some money. Robbing and stealing is a crime, and we’re not encouraged to get loans from illegal money lenders a.k.a shark loans because they will give the money with gifts that consist of high interest, harassment, etc (Read more here). So what other options that we can think of? Of course, personal loans or credit cards, from LEGAL banks and financiers.

The Minimum Income Requirement

Previously, the minimum income to get a credit card is RM18K p.a. But thanks to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), they’ve changed the minimum requirement to RM24K p.a (Read more here). It means that the individual must earn a minimum of RM2K a month. So, low-income earners like me can just say bye-bye to that option. It’s like a dream that will never come true. Sad, huh? But hey, we have one more option. Personal loans! It sounds even better. The advertisements look so tempting and promising. Apply only. No documents. 10 minutes, easy approval. Long tenure. Low interest. Wow! But can we actually get it? Sure, in our dreams! HAHA!

Have a Debt, Before Getting A Loan

I’ve tried applying for personal loans but failed many times. Although my CCRIS and CTOS are both clear, they’re unable to approve the applications. because these financiers have so many things to look at (Read more here). They said I need to have a commitment to show my payment history. Well, I’ve been paying my telco bills religiously, but that’s just not enough for them eh? So eff off. I won’t waste my time trying anymore.

Picture by rawpixel.com
Paylater Comes to the Rescue

But SPayLater (Shopee) and PayLater (Grab) are now available to help us (there’re maybe others that I’m still unaware of). Probably they have heard our problems. Problems that should have been heard and solved by the banks and other giant non-bank financiers. Each platform provides me with a maximum credit amount between RM2500 to RM4000. I can buy anything with 1 to 12 months instalment. In that way, I am able to ‘stretch’ my spending every month. Undeniably, the service fees imposed are quite high. But so far, I have had no problem settling the bills. Of course, it’s largely because I shop very responsibly. Hehe. I can’t thank these organisations enough for giving me the opportunity.

A Room for Improvement

If this article can ever reach the related parties, I just want them to know that the low-income earners are not asking for high credit limits. A credit limit of RM2500 should be sufficient. Not all of us want to use loans or credit cards merely to buy LV or whatever. We just want something that can help us to survive and buy our needs. Higher salaries won’t make any difference if things just get more expensive and less affordable. I know this is basically business, so they are not aiming to be empathetic and sympathetic. But I don’t know if they’ve realised that people are relying more on organisations like Shopee and Grab. So unless they don’t want to be out of business, they should do something about it.

Thanks for reading.

P/S: To those who already have credit cards, loans, etc,..PLEASE don’t be such a pain in the arse and pay your bills! Don’t let the requirements become stricter because of you!

Total
0
Shares
1 comment
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

NLYMR