What system shoud some one with 5k monthly income build?

That's the problem with kids (or even certain grown-ups) these days ... instant gratification in an overly eager credit-driven economy.

Well said.

Simple rule : cash is king.

No doubt, credit helps leverage your short term financial position, ie. the card can multiply your earning power. It can help us get things we want, but it should be used sparingly and cleared to zero before any new major purchase is made - charge card style.

Taking a 2 year (personal) loan (at 7% gasp!) etc on a depreciating object (wont even call it an asset)..this takes the cake.

I suppose the need to impress and show the world "look what I got!" is the overriding consideration for such people.

Incidentally, 5k isnt all that much really nowadays....

mpyw wrote:well, i have opt for 36 months 0% installment plan for some of my electronics instead of paying cash to the CC company which I've make some "income" from the liquidity I have for not paying the seller in one shoot.

So far, the CC company never made any interest off me (apart from government tax), not even any annual fees....

presumably you are referring to the scheme whereby you paid your purchased items by cc and then call up the card company to settle by 0% interest instalment scheme?

If it is the other type of scheme, whereby the merchants tie up with the card issuers to have this 0% interest installment plan (common for electronic or furniture items), I will share my experience. I normally bought most electronic or furniture by cash, and I will do all my bargain as usual. Until payment time, i will inform the merchant that I will pay cash and not 0% instalment plan through cc card, thus I want further discount. If they refuse, I will just tell them thank you very much and walk away. 7 out 10 instances, i will hear, "sir, sir, pls wait" But some merchants were upfront and enquire my payment terms. Sometimes, the further discount can be quite sizeable, from 3% to 10% as the so call 0% interest had been embedded into the inflated price (notorious practice among the printers/photocopier leasing companies).

So back to the question: What system should some one with 5K monthly income build? Someone who is single, practical and with no commitments...

Let's see:
Even if you are single, you still probably need a car and a roof over your head.
But if you can save about 3K a month (after taking into account the monthly expenses such as petrol, food, rent/loan repayments, insurance.. etc..) that will be great.


With savings of 3K a month, this is going to hit RM18K in 6 months time or 21K in 7 months (assuming you purchase the hifi system on credit card with a monthly repayment)

With 21K, you can look at getting fairly high quality stuff.

Speakers cost - RM7K to 9k (harbeth, B&W, KEF, Paradigm, Monitor audio, ProAc .. )
Amplifier - RM 6K to 10K (Naim, krell, exposure, roksan..... what else?)
Source CDP - RM 2K to 4K
Cables - RM1K

With such a budget, now you can go shopping....

Can you really manage to save up 3K monthly with a 5K salary?

happett's right, 20K would be a very nice way to start off with a stereo.
speaker/cdp/int amp/cables.

If i have 2K savings a month, I would probably make a 12months repayment and swipe a 15K system, which i'll have 700+ extras a month to get cds or lps. If can really get 3K savings i'll still stick on a 15K setup but run them 6months.

Dont waste too much money on hifi, Find a decent system that will fit your budget nicely. There are still a lot used and cheaper gears that u can find in the market that will suite you. I myself prefer that route ,all my gears right now are second hand or third hand. As long as I like the sound of it, I dont care if it is from branded company or not. its u who will be listening to it day and nite. That just my opinian.