What Participants Say

Experiences from people who have been through our programmes

These are written accounts from participants across all three Morpho Studio programmes. Names are used with permission.

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340+

Programme participants since 2019

4.7

Average satisfaction score out of 5

94%

Would recommend to someone they know

Years of programme delivery in PJ

§ 01 — Participant Reviews

What participants have written

Ahmad Hazim

Software engineer, Shah Alam

I joined the First Paycheck Programme about three months after starting my first job. I had been contributing to EPF without really understanding what the different accounts were for or when I could access them. By the end of the first session I already felt less confused. The workbook was genuinely useful — I went back to it when filing my first tax return a few months later.

First Paycheck Programme · March 2025

Sherilyn & Leon

Recently married, Petaling Jaya

We had been putting off having proper money conversations for a long time — not because we disagreed, but because neither of us quite knew how to start. The Couples' programme gave us a format. The facilitator was good at making sure both of us spoke rather than one of us doing all the talking. We left with an actual written agreement about how we handle our accounts, which we have referred back to twice since.

Couples' Money Conversations · February 2025

Norzahirah Kamarudin

Senior executive, Subang Jaya

I completed the Long-Horizon Engagement earlier this year. I came in knowing roughly what I wanted to achieve by retirement but without any real clarity on how to sequence the decisions. What I found most useful was the pacing — having a month between sessions meant I actually had time to look at my statements and come back with real questions rather than just nodding along. The written plan at the end is something I have shown my husband as a starting point for our own conversations.

Long-Horizon Planning · January 2025

Joshua Tan

Marketing executive, Damansara

The group format was better than I expected. I was a bit apprehensive about discussing money in a group, but the other participants were in similar situations and it turned out to be quite useful hearing their questions as well. The bit about opening a unit trust account was practical and direct — I had one set up by the week after.

First Paycheck Programme · March 2025

Priya & Karthik

Dual-income household, Puchong

We had different approaches to saving and spending, and that had been a quiet source of friction for years. The Couples' programme was not therapy, but it gave us a structured way to understand where those differences came from and what we actually wanted to build together. We came away with a joint savings target for the first time. Small thing, but it matters.

Couples' Money Conversations · April 2025

Zainal Rashid

Business owner, Klang

As someone self-employed, I had no employer EPF contributions and no clear plan for the long term. The Long-Horizon Engagement helped me understand what building a retirement base actually looks like without the EPF safety net most employees have. The facilitator was patient with some quite basic questions. What I came away with was a plan I could actually act on rather than a set of aspirations.

Long-Horizon Planning · February 2025

§ 02 — Case Studies

Participant journeys in detail

Case Study I — First Paycheck Programme

From unclear deductions to a working first-year financial plan

The Challenge

A participant who had started their first full-time role as a junior engineer was receiving their payslip each month without understanding several line items — including EPF contributions, SOCSO, and PCB deductions. They had not filed a tax return and were unsure whether they were required to do so. They also had no savings separate from their current account.

The Programme

Over three sessions, the participant worked through their actual payslip in session one, understanding each deduction for the first time. Session two covered LHDN registration, tax bracket application, and the reliefs available to a young single earner. Session three focused on account structure and setting up a modest monthly unit trust investment through a licensed platform.

Six Months Later

The participant successfully filed their first tax return, claimed RM 1,200 in applicable reliefs they had not previously been aware of, and had been contributing RM 200 monthly to a unit trust for five months. They described the year-one checklist as "the most useful single piece of paper I have." They completed the programme in January 2025.

Case Study II — Couples' Money Conversations

Building a workable joint system after three years of separate finances

The Challenge

A couple who had been together for three years and recently started living together had continued managing their finances entirely separately, which meant shared expenses were handled on an ad hoc basis and recurring disagreements arose around household spending. Neither had a clear picture of the other's financial position.

The Programme

The three Couples' sessions helped both partners articulate what each considered non-negotiable about their own financial habits, map their combined income and expenses honestly for the first time, and work through several different joint account models. The facilitator guided rather than directed, ensuring neither partner dominated the conversation.

The Outcome

The couple left with a written agreement covering a joint household account with defined contribution amounts, a shared savings target of RM 30,000 over 18 months, and an agreed approach to personal spending. Three months later, they reported the system was working and that the money-related friction had "largely disappeared." Programme completed February 2025.

Case Study III — Long-Horizon Planning Engagement

Clarifying a retirement picture for a self-employed professional in their mid-forties

The Challenge

A self-employed consultant in her mid-forties had irregular EPF contributions from earlier employment, no current EPF voluntary contributions, and a modest unit trust portfolio that had not been reviewed in four years. She knew she needed a long-term plan but did not know where to start, and distrusted approaches that led too quickly to product recommendations.

The Programme

The four-month engagement began with a careful review of her existing EPF balance, current portfolio, income trajectory, and outgoings. Subsequent sessions examined EPF voluntary contributions for the self-employed, the range of non-EPF investment options available to her, and the insurance coverage she held versus what was appropriate at her stage. Sessions were held monthly with email follow-up between.

The Written Plan

The engagement concluded with a two-page written plan covering her current financial position, three considered trade-offs she had worked through during the engagement, and six practical steps for the next twelve months — including beginning voluntary EPF contributions and reviewing two insurance policies. "It was the first time I felt like I actually understood my own situation." Completed March 2025.

§ 03 — Reach Us

Get in touch before committing to anything

Phone

+60 3-6203 8547

[email protected]

Studio

Lot 3-7, Tropicana City Mall, Persiaran Tropicana, 47410 Petaling Jaya

Studio Hours

Tue–Fri: 10am–6pm
Sat: 10am–2pm
Sun & Mon: Closed

§ 04 — Next Step

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