KUALA LUMPUR: More than 40 per cent of people who enrolled in the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency's (AKPK) Debt Management Programme (DMP) are aged between 30 and 40.
A spokesperson for the agency said the age group made up 41.6 per cent of the more than 387,000 individuals who had enrolled in the programme since its inception in 2006 until June this year.
One reason for the high percentage was the fact that the applicants had children and heavy financial commitments, such as housing and car loans, forcing them to stretch their family resources to the limit, especially those with children who were still studying in college or university, the agency told the New Straits Times.
The other age categories are between 40 and 50 years old (28.3 per cent), between 20 and 30 (13.5 per cent), and between 50 and 60 (13 per cent).
"Those aged 60 and above make up the least, just 3.6 per cent of the participants."
A survey by the agency found that 37.2 per cent of participants joined the programme due to the high cost of living, and 36 per cent due to poor financial planning.
"Other factors were failure or a slowdown in business (11.5 per cent); job loss, retrenchment or loss of breadwinner (8.9 per cent); high medical expenses (5.3 per cent); and other reasons (1.1 per cent)."
DMP assists loan borrowers in improving their financial standing by providing a personalised debt repayment plan.
The repayment plan reschedules or restructures loans and financing. These include housing and personal loans, hire purchase payments and outstanding credit or charge card balances under the purview of Bank Negara Malaysia and other institutions, including the National Higher Education Fund Corporation, Tekun Nasional Bhd and several cooperatives.
A total of RM2.1 billion in debts has been recovered through DMP, which has a maximum tenure of 10 years.
Since AKPK's inception, more than 1.2 million individuals have received its advisory services.
The agency advised consumers on the importance of adjusting their lifestyle in the face of the rising cost of living.
"First, in lifestyle adjustment. Consumers should live within their means.
"Second, the use of a budget. List down all daily expenses by creating a budget and strictly following it. In today's world, budgets are essential so one can tell the difference between needs and wants.
"Third, price comparison. Compare prices of items before buying."
AKPK said consumers should also plan purchases carefully and avoid adding new commitments, such as a house or a car, unless they were necessary.
"In light of the current situation, paying for normal purchases via credit should also be avoided or limited only to productive purposes. Credit purchases, no matter how small, will only add to liabilities and commitments over time.
"As a wise consumer, maintain a healthy control of credit at below 40 per cent of disposable income. This way, you will be able to maintain a good credit record and build credibility as a good paymaster."
The agency said consumers should also reduce their credit card use as there is a possibility that they may not be able to pay even the minimum amount due.
Similarly, entertainment activities, including eating out, hanging out with friends and watching movies, should be replaced with light recreational activities.
"In essence, whatever happens around us, we play a part in it. We may not be able to control price increases, but we can control our financial and emotional state of mind. We can achieve what we set our minds to do."