“Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.” –Norman Vincent Peale
I think this post will attract a lot of Malaysians to read further. Unfortunately not many Singaporeans are eager to make MYR while living in Singapore.
The matter of fact, why on earth do Singaporeans want to earn MYR? Anyway, it is always rewarding to make income other than your home currency. Therefore, I would suggest Singaporeans who are interested to make MYR to read this post too.
I started to believe the importance of making money other than your home currency when I was a junior doctor. The reason behind this is quite simple, in my whole life as a Malaysian, I never experienced the joy of seeing appreciation of MYR ( especially against SGD) no matter how hard our politicians bragged about our economy.
Can you make SGD/MYR while living in Malaysia/Singapore? Yes, you can do it and the following methods work.
Buy Singapore Stocks/REITs
The easiest way would be buying Singapore stocks. I bought Singapore bank, bonds ETFs and REITs a few years ago. All these holdings give me very good dividends ( of course in SGD! ) quarterly. I don’t buy STI ETFs because of its pathetic historical return , there are two ways for you to buy STI ETF, you can buy SPDR STI ETF ( total expense ratio of 0.3%) or Nikko AM STI ETF ( total expense ratio of 0.2%+).
For me, if you are interested to invest in Singapore stocks, your better bet would be REITs and bank stocks. They pay good dividend and the long term returns are wonderful.
I invest in Singapore bond ETFs too which pay yearly dividend. You can assess to Singapore bonds market by investing in ABF Singapore bond ETF A35 or Nikko AM SGD corporate bonds, MBH. There are two easy ways to start buying Singapore stock, you can open an account with InteractiveBrokers (IBKR) and pick the stocks you prefer, the fee is minimal. Or you can open a local brokerage account. I talked about exorbitant fees imposed by Malaysian brokerages to buy foreign stocks HERE.
Sell products online
You can create a product online and sell to customers in Singapore. It is tough to sell physical products, therefore software, online course, e books are the easiest products to sell with ease to Singaporeans.
I recommend that you do your research before you decide on what to sell online to Singaporeans. I wrote a medical book many years ago. This book was written for junior doctors including Singaporeans doctors to prepare for their MRCP PACES examination. I use Paypal to receive payments from around the world and the money in Paypal can be easily transferred back to any Malaysian bank. Or you can open a Singapore bank account and start receive payment in SGD.
You make money from nothing by writing a book. The best part is that the income can be recurring for many years. I strongly suggest Malaysians to stop watching Netflix ( even though I am one of them) and ASTRO from today. Write any topic you are passionate about and sell it online. Advertise the product on your Facebook or Instagram account, you might be lucky!
If you plan to sell physical products from Malaysia to Singapore, good luck to you. These are the hottest online (top ecommerce) products in Singapore- consumers electronics, fashion and beauty ,toys+DIY and personal care.
Sell a service online
You can become a freelancer and sell your service to Singaporeans or in fact anyone in the world! Sign up a Upwork account and start selling your expertise to the world. You can easily make USD10-100 per hour depending on your competency level.
All kinds of freelance works are in high demand during this pandemic-website design, content writing, accounting and consulting, you name it. There are too many ways of earning side income if you are creative enough. No point wasting your time browsing your social media account, learn how to make some money with your expertise.
Commute to Singapore to work daily
This is the worst option, before the pandemic, it was estimated about 300,000 Malaysians travel across to Singapore to work. I experienced the frustration before at the causeway for hours while Malaysians were packed at the immigration counter to get clearance to enter Singapore. It would be totally insane for Singaporeans to travel to Malaysia to work on a daily basic.
Your life would be in a mess and stressed if you choose this option. I will prefer the previous three methods which are stress free.
For Singaporeans, it might be a good idea to stay in Johor while commuting to Singapore to work daily provided your working hours are flexible. This prevents you from being stuck at the causeway during early hours when most Malaysians rush to Singapore to work.
The beauty of this, your cost of living would be 40-50% lower if you decide to live in Johor but work in Singapore.
Get a job which pays SGD but works in Malaysia
Is this even real? Am I reading fiction? Well, this scenario can happen! I have a few friends who are hired by Singapore companies/ hospitals but work in Malaysia! And the craziest thing is they get salary in SGD!!
Although it is not easy to find a job like this, no harm asking your boss when you apply a job in Singapore. You might be the lucky few who can relocate back to Malaysia to work but still get paid in SGD.
Conclusion
For most of us, I believe the number one method is the most feasible way to make SGD while living in Malaysia. For those who are interested to sell products or services online, think of a product today and start doing your homework. You can create a website /blog and start selling. Get a domain name via Bluehost like I did. If you need my help to create a website to sell your product , you can visit HERE. You know, I side hustle too to make extra income whenever I am free and of course, I would be very grateful to earn SGD if you are a Singaporean.
