From our participants
What people say
after working with us
These are real experiences from participants and households who attended our programmes. We share them as they were given, without embellishment.
Back to home340+
Adults served
4.7
Avg. rating
92%
Return or refer
6
Years running
Participant voices
In their own words
Zahra Ahmad
Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur
I joined the six-week programme not expecting much — I had been to a financial talk before and left feeling more confused than when I arrived. This was completely different. The sessions were slow enough that I could actually follow, and the group was small enough that I was never embarrassed to ask what I thought was a stupid question. By week four I genuinely understood my EPF statement for the first time. I am thirty-seven years old and I had never known what Akaun 1 meant.
March 2025 · Adult Learner's Literacy
Ruzaini Hamdan
Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur
The Small Savings Light was exactly what I needed. Nothing dramatic, just someone to sit with me and figure out what I could realistically put aside each month without feeling it. The amount we settled on was smaller than I thought I should be saving — and that was actually the point. It has held. Three months in and I have not skipped it once, which is more than I can say for every previous attempt. I could have done with the follow-up session being slightly longer but that is a minor observation.
February 2025 · Small Savings Light
Lim Swee Lin
Setapak, Kuala Lumpur
My husband and I did the Household Engagement together. We had been meaning to properly review our finances for years — we just never quite got there. Having a structured process with someone patient enough to wait for us to read things carefully made a real difference. The written summary at the end was useful in a way I did not expect. We have referred to it twice since the engagement ended.
April 2025 · Household Reading Engagement
Amirul Kamal
Keramat, Kuala Lumpur
I appreciated that nobody tried to sell me anything. Not during the session, not after. The literacy programme covered things my school never touched — what insurance actually does, how to read a pay slip properly, what PRS means in practice. I am a civil servant and even I had not looked at my pension arrangements properly until this course made it natural to do so.
March 2025 · Adult Learner's Literacy
Norizan Tahir
Ampang, Selangor
The group sessions had a good mix of people — some younger, some around my age, some with more financial knowledge than others. That variety actually helped; hearing questions from people who knew less than me was sometimes as useful as hearing the answers. The topic of household cash flow in week two was the one I got the most from. I had never written it down before, which sounds obvious but apparently it is not common.
January 2025 · Adult Learner's Literacy
Yeong Chun Wei
Taman Melati, Kuala Lumpur
I came in for the Small Savings Light because I had tried and failed to save money consistently for years. The first session was just a quiet conversation about what my months actually look like. No judgement, no spreadsheets pushed at me immediately. We ended up deciding on RM 80 a month — which felt almost embarrassingly small at the time. But it stuck. I have been adding to it gradually since.
March 2025 · Small Savings Light
Case studies
From the engagement records
Situations encountered in our programmes, described with permission and without identifying detail.
Case Study 01 · Adult Learner's Programme
Challenge
A participant in her early forties had received only EPF contributions from her employer for eighteen years and had never read a statement. She was unsure what her total contribution was, did not know the difference between her two accounts, and felt that the gap in her knowledge was too large to bridge without embarrassment.
Approach
She joined the six-week literacy programme. Week four focused on EPF in particular, and she brought her statements to that session. The educator walked through each line with the group, and her specific question about Akaun 2 withdrawal eligibility was answered accurately within the session.
Outcome
By the end of the six weeks she had registered for i-Akaun for the first time, reviewed her nominee details, and made a voluntary contribution for the first time in eighteen years. Her words: "I felt like I had been handed something that belonged to me all along."
Case Study 02 · Household Reading Engagement
Challenge
A household of two — both working, one with a variable income from self-employment — had accumulated several insurance policies over the years and were unsure which provided meaningful cover and which were redundant. They had deferred reviewing this for five years.
Approach
The Household Reading Engagement worked through all active policies in session two. The educator helped them map what each policy actually covered against a plain language description of what they needed at this stage of life. No product recommendations were made; the session stayed descriptive.
Outcome
The written summary listed each policy clearly with plain notes on what it covered. The household subsequently cancelled two redundant policies and adjusted a third, saving approximately RM 3,200 in annual premiums. The summary document made those conversations with their insurer significantly easier.
Case Study 03 · Small Savings Light
Challenge
A young adult in his late twenties had tried multiple savings apps and automatic transfer setups over four years and abandoned all of them. The amounts were always too large; the habits never held. He contacted Beacon Finch specifically because the programme name indicated small as its deliberate orientation.
Approach
The initial session mapped his actual monthly outgoings — including the irregular ones most budgets overlook. The amount settled on was RM 60 per month, transferred manually on the first Friday of each month. The review session a month later found the practice intact.
Outcome
Eight months after the programme ended, he contacted us to report he had increased the amount to RM 150 without difficulty. "The RM 60 was not about the money. It was about getting the habit into the month without fighting it."
Reach us
Contact Beacon Finch
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Telephone
+60 3-4251 9736 -
Email
[email protected] -
Studio
No. 85 Keramat Court, Jalan Datuk Keramat, 54000 Kuala Lumpur
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Hours
Mon–Fri: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sat: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Credentials
Professional standards
FPAM member firm
Financial Planning Association of Malaysia — member since 2020
CFP-certified educators
Lead educators hold active Certified Financial Planner certification under FPAM
PDPA compliant
All participant data handled in accordance with Malaysia's Personal Data Protection Act 2010
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