The Malaysia 2009 Budget has been announced yesterday by Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi. Touted to be a people’s budget designed at protecting the well-being of the Malaysians and sustaining economic growth over the mid-term period, some may find that there doesn’t seem to be much 2009 Budget Goodies in store for them.

So, if you are the average young, urban professional trying to eke out a living in Kuala Lumpur city, here’s some tips on how you can make the 2009 budget work for you.

Don’t smoke

• The 3 sen excise duty on cigarettes will now set you back an additional 60 sen for a 20 stick pack. It may not seem like much but remember that every little thing adds up!

Use less electricity

• It’s a bit of a long short and it’s hard to find people who incur less than RM20 on their monthly electricity bill and are eligible for getting free electricity. But if you are hardly ever at home and prefer to leech off your company’s electricity and internet then you might just fall into this category if you’re prudent with your electricity usage!

Find more tax deductions

• Higher tax deductions coupled with a lower salary for those who have just started working might put you in that magical taxable income bracket of RM35,000 per annum which will make you eligible for the additional RM50 tax rebate.
• Then again, the RM50 rebate is not worth giving up a higher salary for!

Buy imported consumer durables

• Since import duties have reduced on imported consumer durables (e.g. blender, biscuits, etc) its time to now buy imported things for cheaper!

Ask your boss for more benefits

• With the perquisite tax removed on allowances (e.g. travel, interest subsidies, handphone and other employee benefits), it is a good time to ask for more allowances if your boss refuses you an increment!

Take public transport

• With the increased RM35bil budget for public transportation, trains and buses might be a more feasible option. This is provided a large chunk of that doesn’t go into lining some politician’s pocket!

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Stay tuned for more tips