{"id":71819,"date":"2026-11-11T12:30:24","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T04:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/?p=71819"},"modified":"2026-11-11T12:19:40","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T04:19:40","slug":"rm100-a-month-investment-malaysia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/rm100-a-month-investment-malaysia","title":{"rendered":"Skip one 11.11 cart. Fund a ten-year habit."},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/em><\/p>\n

The RM111 Challenge is a RM100 a month investment plan for Malaysia, rounded up for the date.<\/p>\n

(1) Pick one home: ASB, an EPF voluntary contribution or a low-cost global index fund.<\/strong><\/p>\n

(2) Set an automatic debit of RM111 for the 11th of every month.<\/strong><\/p>\n

(3) Leave it for ten years. That is RM13,320 put in before any growth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span>Two carts<\/span><\/h2>\n

Happy 11.11. By now you’ve either checked out or you’re hovering.<\/p>\n

No lecture here. Buy the air fryer. If you checked its price properly yesterday, it may even be a real discount.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

That’s the RM111 Challenge. It takes about five minutes tonight and no willpower afterwards. Here’s what’s in the box.<\/p>\n

<\/span>What RM111 a month becomes in 10 years<\/span><\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.)<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
If it earns<\/th>\nYou put in<\/th>\nIn ten years<\/th>\nOf which growth<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
5% a year<\/td>\nRM13,320<\/td>\nabout RM17,200<\/td>\nRM3,900<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6% a year<\/td>\nRM13,320<\/td>\nabout RM18,200<\/td>\nRM4,900<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7% a year<\/td>\nRM13,320<\/td>\nabout RM19,200<\/td>\nRM5,900<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Not a fortune. A deposit on a car, a year of a child’s fees, six months of rent. More to the point, it\u2019s money that will exist, which is more than can be said for the socks. Prefer a flat RM100? That\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Where to invest RM100 a month in Malaysia: ASB, EPF or an index fund<\/span><\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

ASB (Amanah Saham Bumiputera)<\/h3>\n

Amanah Saham Bumiputera paid 5.75 sen a unit for 2025<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

EPF voluntary contribution (Auto Simpan)<\/h3>\n

EPF declared 6.15% for 2025<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s RM266 you didn\u2019t earn. To collect the full RM500 you\u2019d need to put in RM2,500 a year.<\/p>\n

Low-cost global index fund<\/h3>\n

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<\/a> or a low-fee fund platform<\/a>, most of which take small monthly amounts. Check that the platform is licensed by the Securities Commission Malaysia first.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s hard to call, run the numbers on the ASB calculator<\/a> or compare funds on iMoney\u2019s unit trust page before you pick.<\/p>\n

And one thing beats all three. If you\u2019re 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<\/a> shows what that would take. It’s free and asks for nothing.<\/p>\n

<\/span>The fees that quietly eat RM111 a month<\/span><\/h2>\n

Small sums are where fees do their best work, because nobody checks.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.)<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Set up an auto-debit for the 11th<\/span><\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Why the RM111 Challenge works<\/span><\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Where to start tonight<\/span><\/h2>\n

Tonight, before or after you check out, do one thing: set up the debit. One home, RM111, the 11th. Five minutes.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Then enjoy the sale. The parcels will arrive by the weekend. The other cart arrives on 11 November 2036.<\/p>\n

RM100 a month investment in Malaysia, at a glance: the RM111 Challenge<\/h3>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Step<\/th>\nWhat you do<\/th>\nTime<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
1<\/span><\/td>\nPick one home: ASB if you qualify, an EPF voluntary contribution, or a low-cost global index fund<\/td>\n2 min<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/span><\/td>\nCheck two fees: what comes off each payment, and what comes off each year<\/td>\n1 min<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/span><\/td>\nSet a recurring debit of RM111 for the 11th, or the day after payday<\/td>\n2 min<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/span><\/td>\nEvery 11.11, look at the balance once and raise the debit by RM11 (on EPF’s Auto Simpan, cancel and set it up again)<\/td>\n2 min a year<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/span><\/td>\nLeave it alone until 11 November 2036<\/td>\n10 years<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
Worth a look before you start<\/strong><\/div>
<\/p>\n