8 Money Tips For Chinese New Year

You can tell that the Chinese New Year is just around the corner when the shopping malls have put up their decorations and your colleagues are eagerly talking about going back to their hometowns. Let's take this opportunity to start the year on the right foot by taking charge of your finances.

1. Go easy on the decorations

CNY is all about the decorations! But you don't have to go overboard with extra lights and lanterns. If you still have last year's decorations, take them out and reuse them again this year. You don't necessarily have to buy new ones. 

You can also check out some YouTube tutorial videos or some cool DIY hacks on Pinterest if you still want to have some new decorations. 

2. Recycle your old CNY outfit

Buying new clothes for the Chinese New Year can be wasteful. People are encouraged and told to buy new clothes because it's considered back luck to keep the old ones…

In this case, you can revive past years' CNY clothes with accessories or a new style that you’ve never tried before. 

Some other options you can try:

• Sell your clothes to get extra cash and only purchase a new outfit with that money. 
• Shop at your credit card partner stores to fully utilized your credit card benefits. Check your credit card provider's website for a full list of merchants and exciting CNY deals. Don’t forget to check which days your bank’s credit card may have a special discount as well!

3. Look out for dining deals

Many of the local restaurants will be taking advantage of the break and won’t be open for business. So instead of bringing your family to a fast food joint, try checking out sites like Fave for special dining deals. It won’t necessarily be Chinese cuisine, but that doesn’t mean you should binge on junk food or eat unhealthy meals. 

4. Go easy on the snacks

Every year, you’ll see stores selling festive snacks and Mandarin oranges everywhere you go. However, with the recent price hike, you may want to reconsider how much you spend on snacks. Fix a budget for your snacks. Don’t focus on stocking up festive snacks only, try to get evergreen snacks that your families and friends enjoy. They’re just as tasty and more affordable. 

5. Teach your family new money tricks

Kids need to learn about money. During Lunar New Year celebrations, your children may receive ang pows from friends or relatives, take this opportunity to teach them about managing money. Explain the basics, such as the importance of having a budget, saving money, and paying off any debts.

6. Manage your ‘ang pows’

This goes especially for our fellow Malaysians who are married and have to give red packets (ang pow) to their friends and family. Pay off all financial commitments and set aside your monthly savings first, even before you start counting how much you need for ang pow money. This will help keep your finances in check, so be realistic!

Ang pows are meant to be a symbolic gift for luck, so there’s no need to be competitive about who’s giving out more money. 

7. Don’t push your luck when it comes to gambling

This one’s a bit tricky but rest assured we won’t be getting preachy about the legalities of gambling in Malaysia. However, we advise that you don’t get too carried away while playing cards with your friends and family over the Chinese New Year. Keep the stakes low and friendly so you don’t end up losing all of your ang pow money (or friends and family).

8. Track your money consistently throughout the festive season

This is another crucial thing you should be doing. Best if you can track your spending every time you spend it. However, since you’ll be with family and friends most of the time, maybe you want to take 10 minutes before going to bed and track your daily spending. Use these apps to keep track of your spending.

That’s it for our list of tips to help you save money this Chinese New Year! If you want more of CompareHero.my’s financial tips and advice, be sure to check out the rest of our blog or sign up for our Newsletter here.

CompareHero strives to empower Malaysians with financial literacy and the tools to make better financial decisions in life. Find and compare the best credit cards and  personal loans on CompareHero today.

Gong Xi Fa Cai from all of us at CompareHero!