The honest truth (no fluff)

You’re in debt.
But you’re also seeing everyone on TikTok flexing their investments.
So now you’re wondering…

“Should I start investing while I’m still paying off debt?”

The answer?
It depends.
But here’s how to think about it — step by step 👇

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🔍 Step 1: Know Your Debt Type

Not all debts are created equal. There are 2 main types:

🔴 High-Interest Debt (Bad Debt)

• Credit cards 💳
• Personal loans 💸
• Ah Long 🚨
  These can have interest rates of 15%–18% or more.

🟢 Low-Interest Debt (Manageable Debt)

• Education loan (PTPTN, etc.)
• Car loan 🚗
• Mortgage 🏠
  These usually have lower interest rates (3%–6%).

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💡 General Rule of Thumb:

If you have high-interest debt ➝ Pay it off first.
If you only have low-interest debt ➝ You can consider investing — carefully.

Why?

Because if your debt is charging 18% interest, and your investments are returning 7%…
You’re still losing money overall.

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🧮 Step 2: Compare ROI vs Interest

Let’s say you’re thinking of investing in ASB or a mutual fund that gives ~6% return.

If your credit card debt is costing you 15% interest…

You’re better off clearing that debt first.

Think of it this way:

• Paying off 15% debt = guaranteed 15% return
• Investing = maybe 6%–7%, and with risk

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✅ When It Might Be OK to Invest While in Debt:

You can consider investing while in debt IF:

1. Your debt has low interest (below 6%)
2. You’ve paid off all high-interest debt
3. You’ve built a mini emergency fund (RM1,000–RM2,000)
4. You’re investing small amounts consistently (e.g. RM50–RM100/month)

This way, you’re building the habit — without putting yourself at risk.

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💰 Hybrid Strategy: The Balanced Approach

Let’s say you have both:

• RM5,000 credit card debt
• RM500/month extra cash

You could:

• Use RM400/month to aggressively pay down debt
• Invest RM100/month into a low-risk fund (e.g. Amanah Saham, robo-advisors)

This gives you both:

📉 Debt freedom + 📈 Investing habit

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Final Thoughts

Debt and investing are both tools.
Used wisely, they build wealth. Used carelessly, they destroy it.

Here’s the real goal:

Don’t just chase returns. Chase peace of mind.

Clear your bad debt.
Invest consistently.
Build wealth slowly — and sustainably.