Saving Money for the AMC Exams

Our MYR is weak

There are a lot of reasons why it is weak; however this blog is not a political blog or a finance blog.

I will leave the explanation to people with better knowledge on the topic.

What I do want to talk about is this.

The AMC exams are expensive.

Flights and accommodation will cost you money too.

How do you save enough money without going bankrupt?

Now, we are all in different stages in our lives.

Some of you may be in your mid to late 20s, others in their 30s and some even in their 40s.

You may already be married, with or without children.

You may already own property.

You may have parents who are loaded.

You may have parents or siblings to support.

What I’m getting here is this: There is no cookie-cutter way to save money.

I will share with you what works for me to save money.

Some parts may not be suitable for you and some will.

Just take whatever you need from this blog and if you have any other ideas on saving money, share it in the comments below.

Alright, let’s begin.

In my previous entry I’ve listed the fees for the exams etc

To save time I will share it here in this blog – (as of 2/1/2020)

EPIC account	AUD 307
AMC portfolio	AUD 500
AMC MCQ	AUD 2720
AMC Clinical	AUD 3530
Total	AUD  7057

Resources for exam revision

John Murtagh	AUD 145
AMC MCQ handbook	AUD 275
AMC Clinical Handbook	AUD 275
AMC MCQ online question bank	AUD 159
Total	AUD 854

Grand Total = AUD 7911

After conversion to MYR = RM 22625.46 (1 AUD = 2.86 MYR) – rate 2/1/2020

I did not include my flight prices as it may have changed since then but based on the prices available today:

Flight RM 3000-4000 (two way) – to Singapore (MCQ exam) and Australia (CE) – depend if you book very early and off season.

Accommodation – MYR 215 – 315 a night (Melbourne – near NTC)

If I included flight, accommodation and food, the cost can easily reach MYR 30000

Oh BTW, you also have to pay for working visa (another confusing subject I will talk to you about in another entry)

Jia lat lor! How to afford so much ?!

That was what went through my mind as well

But I knew I could earn that back within 2-3 months while working in Australia when I earn their currency

First I shall teach you to save

When I decided to migrate to Australia in 2016, I was earning UD48 pay earning MYR 75000 per annum after tax and EPF

I was already married at the time but no children

I had financial commitments too i.e. MYR 2000 plus a month

It was hard to save money as cost of living was rising in Malaysia but it can be done.

I made a list on things I can live without

1. Drinking in pub
2. Eating out at fancy restaurant
3. Buying expensive designer clothes
4. Going on expensive holidays
5. Buying a new car
6. Expensive wedding – honestly this is the best thing I did not spend money on
7. Buying new handphone/laptop/tv
8. Using my credit card for non-important purchases
9. Buying luxury groceries

I should have done this when I started working back in 2010. I could have saved more.

Anyway, no more YOLO for now.

I then made a list of things I can do to save money/make money

• Cook at home
  • Trust me this saves the most money
  • Invest in a slow cooker – this will save you loads of time
  • Make a lot of food at one go and deep freeze it so you can eat it for the rest of the week
  • There are a lot of slow cooker recipes online for delicious food with affordable groceries
  • This is the single most worthwhile investment you can make. I bought one the moment I came to Australia
• Locum
  • Most locums in Malaysia pay MYR 40-50 an hour. Just do it
  • Overnight shifts are the best if you work in KK – can study at night too
  • Trust me an extra couple hundred a month is worth it
• Doing extra calls
  • At MYR 200 a night – meh might not be worth it, but if you are based in the hospital and you can’t get locum jobs this is the next best thing
  • This can bring you extra RM 800-1000 per month depending how busy you are
• Use account B on EPF
  • We cannot touch account A till we are 55 years old
  • We can however play with account B
  • Use account B to pay your monthly mortage instalments if you own a house
  • You can also use account B to pay for other things – refer to their website
  • optimise where your money will go to
• Put aside a fixed amount of your income specifically for exam fees/books
  • Every month I put aside at least MYR 2500 – but this depends on you really
• Pay off credit card as soon as you can
  • Interest rates at 9-15% are no joke
  • As soon as you pay for your exam fees – do your very best to pay off what you owe your bank

This list is of course not a be all and end all. It worked for me. It may or may not work for you. But I do hope I help put some things in perspective.

If you have any more ideas on how to save money to migrate please share in the comment section below!

Till next time!

Stay positive!