Friday February 23, 2018
If you have recently found yourself unemployed, don’t panic. Here are tips for you to follow to help you stay financially stable.
1. Get Free Financial Help
If you have multiple loans and you think that you will have problems with repaying them, get financial advice for free from Agensi Kaunseling dan Pengurusan Kredit (AKPK). Under the Debt Management Program, AKPK will develop a personalised debt repayment plan for individuals who are unable to manage their monthly repayments to banks. You will have a one to one session with an AKPK officer who will calculate your financial commitments, and work out a restructuring plan. AKPK will then negotiate with your banks on your behalf for a lower repayment amount.
Do not go through any “third party agents” of AKPK as people have been conned into paying for financial advice supposedly from AKPK. AKPK does not charge for their consultancy services and they do not have any agents.
2. Renegotiate Your Loan Repayments
Calculate the existing monthly loan repayments you have to help you can get a clearer picture of how long you can keep servicing it while unemployed. If you think that you will be unable to service your loans for longer than 2 months, contact your bank or a credit counselling service.
Most banks are willing to help you restructure your debts if you’re prompt and give them early notice. Banks are open to this as they would also like to reduce the amount of non-performing loans. Banks may offer a lower monthly repayment and stretch the duration.
Your credit score will also suffer less damage because if it reflects that you at least tried to repay your debts. The longer you put off debt repayment, the more the interest will compound. By the time you find a new job, you may end up with a mountain of debt that will take years to pay off because you put off finding a solution while you were unemployed.
3. Consolidate Your Debts
Debt consolidation means you combine your debts so you can pay it off at a lower interest. You may not be able to consolidate all of your debt. But, consider consolidating your debt by making use of services such as balance transfer. With balance transfer, you can consolidate your credit card debt and pay for it at a lower interest. Here are the best balance transfer options in Malaysia.
Another option to consider is loan restructuring, which works by contacting your bank to ask for your loan to be restructured. Banks may be willing to help and are usually open to negotiations as they would also like to reduce non-performing loans.
4. Reconsider Your Priorities
If you have just recently lost your job take a look at your spending and see which you can cut back on or even let go of. Give priority to necessities and hold back on the luxuries. Don’t worry, once you have secured a job, you can slowly add back the little luxuries.
Let’s say you spend RM150 on monthly a gym subscription and RM180 on cable TV subscription, you can save RM330 if you cancel both the subscriptions. Opt for cheaper entertainment alternatives, like Netflix or iflix, instead of paying for cable TV with all those channels you don’t even watch.
Finally, do not engage the services of “Ah Longs” or unlicensed money lenders as you will be getting into a bigger financial mess. Follow the tips above and live within your means while you work towards a better financial situation.
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