Skip one 11.11 cart. Fund a ten-year habit.
Table of Contents
One 11.11 cart costs about RM111 and is forgotten by Christmas. The RM111 Challenge sends the same sum somewhere else on the 11th of every month, and shows what’s there in 2036.
The RM111 Challenge is a RM100 a month investment plan for Malaysia, rounded up for the date.
(1) Pick one home: ASB, an EPF voluntary contribution or a low-cost global index fund.
(2) Set an automatic debit of RM111 for the 11th of every month.
(3) Leave it for ten years. That is RM13,320 put in before any growth.
Two carts
Happy 11.11. By now you’ve either checked out or you’re hovering.
No lecture here. Buy the air fryer. If you checked its price properly yesterday, it may even be a real discount.
But look at the total for a second. For a lot of us it’s somewhere around RM100. A phone case, a pack of socks, a thing for the kitchen that will live in a cupboard. Call it RM111, since it’s the day for it.
Now picture a second cart with one item in it. Same price. It’s delivered on the 11th of every month, there’s no parcel to track, and you open it in ten years.
That’s the RM111 Challenge. It takes about five minutes tonight and no willpower afterwards. Here’s what’s in the box.
What RM111 a month becomes in 10 years
Start with the part nobody can argue with. RM111 a month for ten years is 120 payments. That’s RM13,320 of your own money, set aside without once having to decide to.
The rest depends on where it sits and what it earns, and nobody can promise you that. So here are three honest guesses instead of one confident one. (Illustrative: a steady rate every year, added monthly, before fees and tax. Real years won’t be steady.)
| If it earns | You put in | In ten years | Of which growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5% a year | RM13,320 | about RM17,200 | RM3,900 |
| 6% a year | RM13,320 | about RM18,200 | RM4,900 |
| 7% a year | RM13,320 | about RM19,200 | RM5,900 |
Not a fortune. A deposit on a car, a year of a child’s fees, six months of rent. More to the point, it’s money that will exist, which is more than can be said for the socks. Prefer a flat RM100? That’s RM12,000 over ten years, and at the same three illustrative rates it grows to about RM15,500, RM16,400 and RM17,300. The RM111 version just gives the sale date a job.
One twist, if you like it. Every 11.11, raise the debit by RM11. By year ten you’re putting in RM210 a month and you never felt a step. At the 6% guess that ends near RM25,400, on RM19,260 put in.
Where to invest RM100 a month in Malaysia: ASB, EPF or an index fund
Where do 5, 6 and 7 come from? Roughly from three places Malaysians can send a small monthly sum. None of them promises to repeat.
ASB (Amanah Saham Bumiputera)
Amanah Saham Bumiputera paid 5.75 sen a unit for 2025, bonus included. Units stay at RM1, there’s no sales charge, and the app’s Auto Labur takes a monthly debit from RM10. The catches: it’s for Bumiputera only, the rate is declared each year and isn’t guaranteed, and money that lands on the 11th starts counting from the following month. ASNB also runs fixed-price funds open to all Malaysians, such as Amanah Saham Malaysia. They work the same way, but units are sometimes sold out, so check myASNB.
EPF voluntary contribution (Auto Simpan)
EPF declared 6.15% for 2025. You can add your own money on top of the salary deduction, from RM10 a month, through Auto Simpan in the i-Akaun app, on a date you choose. The catch is the door. For members under 55, about RM83 of every RM111 goes to the retirement account and stays there, RM17 to the account for housing, education and health, and RM11 to the flexible one you can withdraw. That’s a feature if the goal is being 60. It’s a problem if the goal is a wedding in 2030.
One extra for the self-employed and gig workers: under i-Saraan (for people under 60) the government adds 20%, up to RM500 a year. On RM1,332 a year, that’s RM266 you didn’t earn. To collect the full RM500 you’d need to put in RM2,500 a year.
Low-cost global index fund
This one buys a small slice of thousands of companies around the world. It declares no rate at all. The 7% is an assumption, not a record: some years it will be up sharply, some years down sharply, and in year three the balance may well be less than you put in. Ten years is what smooths that out. It belongs in a ten-year challenge and nowhere near next year’s rent. You reach one through a robo-advisor or a low-fee fund platform, most of which take small monthly amounts. Check that the platform is licensed by the Securities Commission Malaysia first.
Which one? It turns on three facts about you: whether you qualify for ASB, when you’ll need the money, and whether a red number in year three would make you stop. If that’s hard to call, run the numbers on the ASB calculator or compare funds on iMoney’s unit trust page before you pick.
And one thing beats all three. If you’re carrying a credit card balance, Bank Negara lets cards charge up to 15%, 17% or 18% a year depending on your payment record, and nothing on this page reliably pays that. Clear it first. The debt consolidation calculator shows what that would take. It’s free and asks for nothing.
The fees that quietly eat RM111 a month
Small sums are where fees do their best work, because nobody checks.
The sales charge is the visible one. Some funds sold through agents and banks take up to about 5% of every payment before it’s invested. On RM111 that’s RM5.55 a month. Over ten years it’s RM666 that never worked a day for you, and at the 7% guess you finish about RM960 poorer.
The annual fee is quieter. A fund charging 1.8% a year against one charging 0.5% doesn’t sound like a contest. Over ten years of RM111 a month, at the same 7% before fees, it’s about RM17,400 against RM18,700. The gap is nearly a year of payments. (Illustrative, like every figure here.)
ASB and EPF take no sales charge, which is part of why they suit small sums. For anything else, ask two questions before you sign: what comes off each payment, and what comes off each year. On RM111 a month, the first answer should be nothing, or close to it.
Set up an auto-debit for the 11th
Now the only step that matters. Open the app for the home you picked and find the recurring option: Auto Labur for ASB, Auto Simpan for EPF, the monthly plan on a fund platform. Amount: RM111. Date: the 11th.
One practical check. If your salary lands on the 25th and the account is thin by the 11th, the debit will bounce and the habit dies in month two. Either leave RM111 parked in that account from payday, or set the debit for the day after payday and let the amount carry the eleven.
Why the RM111 Challenge works
It borrows a date you can’t forget. Nobody remembers the day they opened a savings plan. Everyone knows when 11.11 is, and the shopping apps will remind you every year, for free, with a countdown. Let them. It’s your anniversary: look at the balance once, add RM11.
It moves the decision from every month to once. A decision you have to make 120 times fails somewhere around the fourth. A debit doesn’t have moods.
And it’s small on purpose. RM111 isn’t the amount that makes you rich. It’s the amount you won’t cancel in a tight month, and after a year it has shown you that you’re someone who invests. Raising it is easy after that.
Where to start tonight
Tonight, before or after you check out, do one thing: set up the debit. One home, RM111, the 11th. Five minutes.
Don’t research for a fortnight. A decent choice started today beats a perfect one started at 12.12. You can change your mind about where the money lives. The habit carries over.
Then enjoy the sale. The parcels will arrive by the weekend. The other cart arrives on 11 November 2036.
RM100 a month investment in Malaysia, at a glance: the RM111 Challenge
| Step | What you do | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pick one home: ASB if you qualify, an EPF voluntary contribution, or a low-cost global index fund | 2 min |
| 2 | Check two fees: what comes off each payment, and what comes off each year | 1 min |
| 3 | Set a recurring debit of RM111 for the 11th, or the day after payday | 2 min |
| 4 | Every 11.11, look at the balance once and raise the debit by RM11 (on EPF’s Auto Simpan, cancel and set it up again) | 2 min a year |
| 5 | Leave it alone until 11 November 2036 | 10 years |
- Debt consolidation calculator: a card balance at up to 15% to 18% a year outruns any of the three. See what clearing it would take. Free, no sign-up.
- Free initial consultation: if debt is getting in the way of investing, talk through a repayment plan first. Fees for any further service are explained after the first session.
- Online investment platforms: Discover options available to Malaysians today.
FAQ: investing RM100 a month in Malaysia
About RM17,200 to RM19,200 if it earns a steady 5% to 7% a year, on RM13,320 put in. Those rates are illustrative, not promises; real returns vary and some years are negative.
In ASB (Bumiputera only, from RM10 a month through Auto Labur), an EPF voluntary contribution (from RM10 a month through Auto Simpan), or a low-cost global index fund on a robo-advisor or fund platform. The RM111 Challenge uses any one of them.
Neither suits everyone. ASB is open to Bumiputera only, paid 5.75 sen a unit for 2025 and can be withdrawn. EPF paid 6.15% for 2025 but keeps most of a voluntary contribution until retirement. Choose by when you will need the money.
Yes, more than on a large one. A 5% sales charge takes RM5.55 from every RM111, or RM666 over ten years. A 1.8% annual fee instead of 0.5% costs nearly RM1,300 over the RM111 Challenge at an illustrative 7% return.
Clear the card first. Bank Negara caps card finance charges at 15%, 17% or 18% a year depending on your payment record, which is more than any of the illustrative returns in the RM111 Challenge. Check your own statement for your rate, then start the monthly debit once the balance is gone.
RM100 a month for 10 years is RM12,000 of your own money. At an illustrative steady 5%, 6% or 7% a year it grows to about RM15,500, RM16,400 and RM17,300. These are not promises; real returns vary.
It is a RM100 a month investment plan rounded up for 11.11. You pick one home (ASB, an EPF voluntary contribution or a low-cost global index fund), set an automatic debit of RM111 on the 11th of every month, and leave it for ten years. That is RM13,320 put in before any growth.
No. ASB is for Bumiputera only. ASNB runs other fixed-price funds that accept all Malaysians, such as Amanah Saham Malaysia, but units are sometimes sold out. Check availability on myASNB, or use an EPF voluntary contribution or an index fund instead.
Auto Simpan sets up a recurring voluntary EPF contribution through DuitNow AutoDebit in the i-Akaun app, from RM10 a month, on a date you choose. For members under 55, each contribution is split 75% to Akaun Persaraan, 15% to Akaun Sejahtera and 10% to Akaun Fleksibel.
i-Saraan is an EPF voluntary scheme for self-employed and gig workers under 60. The government adds 20% of your yearly contribution, up to RM500 a year and RM5,000 for life. A RM2,500 yearly contribution earns the full RM500, credited to Akaun Persaraan.
Yes. An index fund declares no fixed rate and its value rises and falls with markets. In some years, including early ones, the balance can be below what you put in. Ten years or more gives time to ride that out, but nothing is guaranteed.
A sales charge is a fee taken from each payment before it is invested. Some funds sold through agents and banks charge up to about 5%, while some online platforms charge less. ASB has no sales charge. Always ask what comes off each payment and each year.
It helps, and it is painless if you do it on a fixed date. Adding RM11 every 11.11 takes the debit from RM111 to RM210 by year ten. At an illustrative 6% that ends near RM25,400 on RM19,260 put in.
Only if your account has the money on that day. If your salary lands on the 25th, a debit on the 11th can bounce. Either keep RM111 parked from payday or set the debit for the day after payday.
Yes. Robo-advisors in Malaysia must be licensed by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC). Check the platform on the SC’s public register before you link your bank account.
