Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by MalcomShorten

Things get more boring when you are older?

MalcomShorten — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 22:05:03 +0800

I find a lot of things boring compared to when I was in my 20's/30's.

> Gadgets don't excite me anymore. Whether PS or VR, I don't feel like buying them even though now I have more capability to buy them than ever before. I'm now spend a lot more time buying kitchenware or household products on discount. Weird but bargain buying online seems to be something more fun than buying expensive new toys.

> Food and drinks don't excite me anymore. I used to look forward to the next fancy meals, fatty foods, and happy hour drinks. I used to eat a lot as well, 2 portion meal. Now I eat half a portion and mostly simple less oily food to make sure I don't gain weight and stay healthy.

> Expensive clothes and accessories gives me less joy now. We all had that moment where we buy expensive branded clothes or shoes or blings and can't wait to show them off, especially if there's potential date. Now? These stuff doesn't feel meaningful anymore.

If we lose interest in many things when we grow old, why do people always think they need to retire with a X amount of last draw salary? If anything, I think when I reach 60, don't talk about having to spend what I am spending now, I would spend even less seeing that I mostly stay home and don't need to dress to impress, eat much less and healthier cause I scare getting gout or illness,party none cause I reach the age where it doesn't feel fun anymore, and would mostly take things slow and easy.

Now most of my monthly spending also goes to mortgage, car loan, insurance, and other fixed cost. My variable cost is getting less by the year.

By the time I am 60, I would have nothing to spend on. My monthly variable cost now for a single person is only RM3k per month, I bet if I am 60 now, it is easily only less than RM1.5k seeing that I don't need to travel to work, don't need to buy more fancy clothes, eat out less and overall eat much less.

Financial influencers that talks about retirement funds are too stupid to understand this I guess.

WFH - Gen Y in general is at a disadvantage?

MalcomShorten — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 23:57:36 +0800

Most Gen Y would be at the age where they will be either a Senior Manager / Team lead / Unit Head / Department Head, basically a middle level leader role but not at a super senior leader. Of course there would be Gen Y who are at a super senior leader role or Gen Z at a middle level leader role but this is more of a general or majority view.

WFH is great for either working level or super senior leader level but sucks for middle level leader role.

At working level, they are not answerable for P&L or Operational Impact. They just do the work and do as they are told. If they take leave, they will go offline without the need to worry about work.

At middle level leader role, this is where WFH made life much worse than before. When you are on leave, you still have to work and on call like a medical doctor. Customers will find you because you are the so called "decision maker" and when things goes wrong back in the office, they want you to solve it even if you are not around. Also, if things screw up, you get 100% of the blame so even during your off day, you have to monitor emails.

At super senior leader level, a.k.a. the head roles where other heads report to you or the C suites, WFH is actually a blessing cause they no longer need to pretend busy. So long you got capable middle level leader people, things will run by itself. Because you are not handling working level people, you don't get down and dirty like the middle level leaders who still need to able to do what the working level people do.

Like the saying goes, too young to enjoy luxury, too old to enjoy the flexibility.

What can RM100 buy you in terms of grocerry?

MalcomShorten — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 12:38:04 +0800

Technically based on minimum wage and 5 day work, it is RM78.46 per day but let's just round it up to RM100 for easy comparison.

Let's say you live in outskirt of KL, what RM100 can get you?

Comparing to Shenzhen, the daily minimum salary is about 115RMB. Dude managed to buy :

Thai Jasmine Rice (3.98 yuan / 500g)

Eggs on sale (9.9 yuan for 15)

Pork shoulder (15.8 yuan / jin)

Garlic chives (for dumplings)

Dumpling wrappers (8.42 yuan for two packs)

Watermelon, spiral chili peppers, jackfruit, and more

[YOUTUBE]-ennzesqV_E[/YOUTUBE]

Surely RM100 could buy more since it is actually close 160RMB

Mid 90's and earlier people had it worse?

MalcomShorten — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 20:28:27 +0800

People often say younger generation had it worse, particularly the fresh graduates, when it comes to entering into the job market. While it true that job hunting is tough these days, I think job hunting is far worse for the older generation people, especially those between early 80's to mid 90's.

Looking back at the time when I just graduated and entering into the working world, the process is so much more difficult compared to what the new gen had to go through.

1. Last time, all interviews require you to be present at the company's office. This means dressing up and travelling to the company's office for every single round. These days, although face to face interview is still quite common, most company offers online interview with some only does face to face for the final round. Some new gen doesn't even be bothered to dress up when doing online interview, just a basic T-shirt.

2. Last time, we need to print out all the hard copy qualifications, certs, CV, and job application forms. We had to fill them up and paste a damn photo which costs at least RM0.50 a piece BEFORE going to the interview. I remember each set costs me at least RM5 because of all the things I have to print before heading to the interview, not to mention the time required to travel to the stationary shop to get the stuff print and then fill in the damn application form. These days, they don't need to fill up anything or print anything, just a soft copy CV and that's it. Even the CV is drafted by AI so you don't need to worry about the content whereas I had to book consultation meeting with my Uni consultant just to get them to double check my CV. New gen literally got nothing to lose except 1 hour interview time with the company.

3. Last time, although not all companies make you do some stupid aptitude test or pre-screening test, at least 4 out of 10 jobs (if you exclude MA/MT jobs or consulting companies like BCG) that I went interview for have that requirement whereas these days only those very high end jobs like BCG have that requirement.

The time, effort, and money spent, I truly think job hunting was worse for older gen than newer gen.

What are your thoughts?

Air flight now is SUPER EXPENSIVE

MalcomShorten — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 20:44:43 +0800

Cost nearly double from last year, same month, same destination, same flight time.

Funny thing is when I tried to book today, fully sold out and have to choose the day after.

Seems that people are still traveling despite the massive increase in airline price.

One valuable lesson everyone should learn

MalcomShorten — Wed, 13 May 2026 23:21:05 +0800

Many finance influencer or so called finance guru on the internet always talk about people who earn so much less but able to save a lot more are wealthier than people who earn so much more but save less. Some focus too much on retirement funds, advising people to put all their money into PRS/EPF or whatever funds that you couldn't touch till you reach 60.

To me, these people who saved every penny and store their money into retirement funds like a chipmunk storing nuts for the winter are stupid.

I'm not saying don't save but some people go to the extreme to save to the point of living like a beggar just so he or she could have a little bit more money in the bank is ridiculous. Their lives are literally just eat, sleep, and work, repeating this routine till they retire.

Many people don't realise after 60, your life slows down dramatically. Once you've reached the golden age, you tend to eat less, you tend to feel less excited towards everything, you have little energy to do what you enjoy, and you certainly reach to a point where you aren't going to need to impress anyone. I bet a lot who end up not having kids, would likely have their entire wealth taken by the government when they leave this planet.

My advise is, spend within your means and spend while you can. The experience you would gain, the memories you would make, and the enjoyment you would feel will never be available to you once you've missed it. DO NOT borrow loan to buy it but don't save all that extra money and then just dream about all the things you could have done with it.

They key idea is to not over inflate your lifestyle and spend like you are Michael Jackson or Mike Tyson who buys unnecessary things for no reasons but instead spend on things that make sense and that you know would give you the most satisfaction.

If you feel like eating Omakase once in a while then just do it.
If buying that cup of coffee from starbucks is going to make your morning feels much better then just get it.
If you think that expensive gaming PC is going to give you lots of fun for the next few years then own it.
If you want to travel the world, do it.

Let's be real, when you are in your 60's you don't need as much money as you do now.

Hawker food so expensive now

MalcomShorten — Sat, 09 May 2026 15:35:15 +0800

RM10-RM12 for chow kuey teow, yee mee, curry mee.

Salary how?

Have you ever tried not saving in a month?

MalcomShorten — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 17:54:54 +0800

Maybe not in your mid 20's where income is low but early 30's onwards.

Have you tried spending a full month of your income in any given month without saving any money?

Is RM1.5k all you need per month to retire?

MalcomShorten — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 16:56:50 +0800

I don't understand why influencers, finance youtubers, street interviewees, and even peers always say they need at least RM3mil to retire while some is looking at RM5mil when they are the age of 60, based on current cost of living.

This roughly translates to RM10k per month and beyond, assuming you live till the age of 85.

In reality, I saw a lot of retired office workers, mostly mid and some high level management people like Manager till Head/AGM/GM position, they seem to only spend less than RM3k per month after retirement with most only spend RM1.5k per month.

When break it down, they say they mostly spend about RM900 on food, RM100 on utilities, RM300 on medical insurance, and RM200 on others such as petrol, household goods, and toiletries. They say when you reach 60 and not working, you tend to spend a lot less since you don't need to pay for children's education, mortgage, loans, transportation costs, etc. Also, you eat less at that age and craving for junk food or expensive fatty food reduces. They do gardening during their free time, meet up with friends for coffee, sleep, walk, watch TV most of the time. Those who spend up to RM3k eat at mall rather than hawker and also get to have a trip or two around Asia or local, which is already seem like a very fulfilling retirement life.

On the other hand, those who says they need RM3mil to RM5mil to retire, most I saw, don't even save and either they are living on loans or living paycheck by paycheck, which begs the question to how these people want to achieve such huge retirement amount? The strangest thing is, their earning is no where near RM10k per month nett right now and their spending after deducting all the loans and costs, they are also mostly spending less than RM3k per month so what's with the dream of spending 3 times what they are spending now after retirement? Are they thinking that after retirement, they are only going to live their best life then because they have all the time then while having the same energy and appetite as their current age?

Time passes so fast

MalcomShorten — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 13:25:53 +0800

Feels just like yesterday I was enjoying the CNY day off and in 3 weeks time it is the Raya day off.

It got me thinking, is 80-100 years life too short? Do you wish the length of life could be double i.e. to 160-200 years. This is of course proportion to your youth and not just living from 80 to 160 as an old man.

Americans are gullible?

MalcomShorten — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 14:50:58 +0800

Democrats ran on DEI, which pushed most Americans to move away from them.

Instead of replacing DEI with merit based hire, they voted someone in who hire people who are even more unqualified. So far, Trump either hire dumb good looking blondes like Bondi and Levitt, who Trump likely had his way with them behind the scene or he hired super ass kissers who is a total yes man, willing to lie and kill for him.

Republican is also super stupid cause they could have easily hold the government for the next couple of decades by just hiring a decent candidate who could go against DEI but they got a crazy oldman who managed to prove DEI is not a bad thing by making things worse.

If you earn RM10k and above, you are T9?

MalcomShorten — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 22:17:22 +0800

Apparently, only 9% of Malaysians earn RM10k and above.

World leaders taught me one thing

MalcomShorten — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 13:43:08 +0800

To be successful, you need to be shameless.

Just look at Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. They are shameless, thinking and behaving like they are the king of the world, emperor of the country, prince of the land, absolute ruler of the state, etc. Guess what? Nothing happens to them.

When evidence presented, they deny.
When the corruption is clear cut, they deflect.
When they did something bad, they double down, even when evidence is presented.
Also, they hold tight on military control. Pushing their limits on what they can do and even when it is all over the news, they were like, "meh, I'm just going to continue doing what I do".

Instead when you look at other world leaders, when they are exposed of their scandal, even at the smallest scale, they apologies and resign. When weakness showed, the country goes further and press charges and then throw them in jail.

Trump always says he is the best at any and everything but because he does that so blatantly and shamelessly, it has become a norm. If any other person says and do what Trump did, they will laugh and attack that person and the natural reaction is always to backdown and feel bad, which makes the situation even worse cause they will attack that person even more when that person showed weakness. Not Trump though, he shamelessly own it.

DEI is another clear example that you need to be shameless for things to come your way. Asians are hand working and always stay out of trouble but their reward is? Getting zero benefit from DEI despite being a super minority. Instead, they got penalized for being "too good". The IVY league set an impossible entry standard for them. Hollywood doesn't pick them to be lead or major supporting role and at best, would give them a token role. Career ladder is non-existence cause they are reserved for other members of the DEI group.

Bottomline is, in life, you don't need to be hardworking, smart, or be the best person for the job. You just need to be shameless and heartless enough to take full advantage of others. It applies to everything in life actually, not just work but competition, chasing girls, etc. The most shameless people often have the highest chance of winning because at the very least, that person dares to do it and dares to own that shamelessness.

The perfect formula for car affordability

MalcomShorten — Sun, 11 Jan 2026 11:36:57 +0800

QUOTE(knwong @ Jan 10 2026, 10:23 PM)

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[right][snapback]112583198[/snapback][/right]

Follow this guide but instead of monthly salary, change it to monthly savings.

This means if your net saving monthly is 2.2k to 2.8 then you can afford Axia, Saga, Bezza.

If you save less than 2.2k then you should just take public transportation.

No point talking about salary cause everyone has different expenditure.

Some people have high commitment because of medical, house, or dependents.

Some people eat a lot more than others or spend a lot more on something else.

What is healthy these days?

MalcomShorten — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 19:06:55 +0800

It seems that every food is unhealthy according to studies.

We used to think that the obvious unhealthy food are the process foods like chips, soft drinks, fast food, fried food, sweets, instant noodles, etc.

But when you research more online, it seems that every that we thought were healthy are actually unhealthy.

Pure Fruit Juice - t's a concentrated source of sugar (fructose) with little fiber, can cause type 2 diabetes
Broccoli -Has isothiocyanate which causes lower thyroid hormones
Spinach, kale, lettuce - Has loads of carcinogens
Dark chocolate - Has lead and cadmium

Life is hard.

By end of 2026, 1USD = 3.95MYR

MalcomShorten — Thu, 25 Dec 2025 23:33:57 +0800

https://www.nst.com.my/business/economy/202...google_vignette

QUOTE

Kenanga Research said its end-2025 projection of 4.08 remains intact, while the end-2026 target of 3.95 reflects a constructive medium-term outlook.

Malaysia is winning big this time.

Imagine SGD dropping below 3.

Anwar greatness is finally showing?

MalcomShorten — Sat, 20 Dec 2025 13:01:33 +0800

QUOTE

In 1991, Anwar was appointed as Minister of Finance. During his tenure as finance minister, his impact was immediate; Malaysia enjoyed unprecedented prosperity and economic growth. Shortly after becoming Finance Minister, Euromoney named him as a top-four finance minister and in 1996 Asiamoney named him Finance Minister of the Year. In the midst of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Anwar, as a deputy prime minister and finance minister, was hailed for guiding Malaysia through the period of instability. Anwar backed free-market principles and highlighted the proximity of business and politics in Malaysia. He advocated greater accountability, refused to offer government bail-outs and instituted widespread spending cuts. In March 1998, Anwar was selected as the chairman of the Development Committee of World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) from March 1998 until September 1998.[35]

MYR is getting stronger and stronger against all currency.

1USD is now 4.08MYR
1SGD is now 3.15MYR

Can you live in Malaysia without knowing BM?

MalcomShorten — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 14:36:56 +0800

In Japan or Korea, it's going to be super difficult to live there if you don't know their language, especially if it is outside of the main city.

China is even harder if it is not the key cities and even if it is, you might still struggle. Same goes for Vietnam.

In Malaysia, how hard is it to live here without knowing any BM?

LinkedIn "How to be a good manager" doesn't work

MalcomShorten — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 11:43:50 +0800

Every once in awhile you will see people posting those what it takes to be a good manager or leader posts, often talking about how the staff is always the victim and how bad bosses behave.

In an idealistic world, I would agree with those posts but in reality, it doesn't work at all.

They always say good bosses doesn't micromanage, gives the staff a lot of freedom, trust the staff, be kind to them, etc. In theory, this would help boost morale, boost productivity, and create a happy working environment.

However, they've never accounted for staff who have no sense of responsibility and takes thing for granted. When it comes to these type of staff, the old Chinaman style of managing people seems to be more effective. Basically, controlling them and instilling fear into them.

This is especially true towards Gen Z staff who has no sense of responsibility. I've seen a few of these Gen Z staff taking kindness for weakness, stepping over boundaries, and disrespecting their manager because their manager has been nothing but nice, AKA the textbook manager. One day, I saw a manager started to give up on the nice guy act and then turn 180 degrees on his management style towards these Gen Z staff, started to take back their freedom, scold them when they did the wrong things and being disrespectful, and guess what, it works and productivity went up. I guess sometimes, the older generation way of running the business does make sense to some degree.

Bottomline is, different management style is needed for different staff. The textbook LinkedIn way of managing staff only works if you have mature and responsible staff, whereas for others, instilling fear into them is the best way forward.

Are you able to live comfortably with RM3k

MalcomShorten — Sat, 13 Dec 2025 12:27:24 +0800

Let's say you are given RM3k a month. No need to work, house fully paid, and you have a fully paid car.

Is it enough for you to live comfortably? Please let us know your thoughts.