Machine Translated by Google

141

Journal of Student Personality 24(2): 141-150

The Covid-19 Pandemic: Effects on the Current Spending Management Behavior of the Malaysian Society
(Covid-19 Pandemic: Impacts on Current Expenditure Management Behavior among Malaysians)

NORAZILA MAT*, MUHAMMAD FARHAN MISRON, NUR ATIQAH ABDULLAH & JAMSARI
ALIAS

ABSTRACT

The Covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia has various impacts on the daily life of the community. This contagious pandemic has
indirectly affected various sectors from a health, safety, economic and social point of view. Many studies have been done
on the health effects of the community, but research on the spending behavior of the community is still understudied. This
article seeks to understand the current spending management behavior of the Malaysian community during the Covid-19
pandemic. This study looks at the difference in income and employment status of the community as well as their spending
style. The research data was obtained from a questionnaire on 100 respondents from the working group aged between 19
and 60 years using Google Form. The collected data were then analyzed using version 22 of the Software Package for
Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings of the study found that the effect on spending style is directed towards the focus of
needs over wants, but the difference in the employment sector of spending management behavior among respondents
during the Covid-19 Pandemic is interesting to research and understand.

Keywords: Covid-19 Pandemic, Spending Management Behavior, Malaysian Society.

ABSTRACT

The Covid-19 Pandemic gives various impacts among Malaysians livelihood. This pandemic affects the health, safety,
economy as well as social aspects of the society. Many have researched on the societal health, but less has studied on the
expenditure management behavior. This article tries to understand the expenditure management and spending behavior
among Malaysians during this Covid-19 pandemic. The study explores the differences of income and employment status
among Malaysians as well as how their behavior on spending and expenditure.
The data derived from 100 respondents aged 19 to 60 years old with various employment backgrounds using Google Form
and later on analyzed with Statistical Package for the Socisl Sciences (SPSS) version 22. The research found out that
expenditure behavior is more inclination towards necessities compared to wants but differentiations among working sector
status and expenditure behavior during pandemic Covid-19 are quite random and interesting to further elaborate.

Keywords: Pandemic Covid-19, Expenditure Behavior Management, Malaysians.

e-ISSN: 2600-9021
http://www.ukm.my/personalia/publication/artikel4-dis-2021/
Machine Translated by Google
142
INTRODUCTION
At the end of 2019, the world was shocked by the
Covid-19 pandemic that affected various economic and
employment sectors. The epidemic that brought high
numbers of patients and deaths caused many countries
to take precautionary measures by enforcing curfews
and movement controls. Malaysia is not exempt from
the enforcement of orders of this nature, the Malaysian
government began enforcing the Movement Control
Order (MCO) since March 18, 2020. According to DM-
Analytic Sdn Bhd's Economist, Zouhair Rosli, a survey
found that three out of five informal sector workers earn
less than RM4,000 per month. Almost 50 percent of this
group lost their jobs during the enforcement of the
Movement Control Order (MCO) (Anon, 2020).
Shopping behavior is an obligation to complete
the needs of daily life. In fact, shopping can also lead to
a desire for a product or service that is not a basic need
in life. Of course, it is not a problem if someone spends
according to their needs or wants if their income level is
sufficient. Bukhari et al (2020) explained that people
spend part of their income to spend on either goods or
services needed to meet daily needs.
The employment sector affected by Covid-19
indirectly changes the spending style of every household.
Every individual, especially those whose income or
work is affected by Covid-19, should plan their
expenditure management better. This is so that their
expenses on the basic necessities of life are sufficient
according to the income earned. So this study was
carried out to identify the behavior of managing the
expenses of the local community during Covid-19 and
to see the difference in spending behavior between civil
servants, the private sector and the self-employed.
Some data released by economic observers
show that the Covid-19 Pandemic has had a negative
impact on many jobs. This is getting worse when many
workers lose their jobs. In fact, there are some employers trend of increasing infection cases which is constantly
who are forced to cut or continue to not pay their
employees due to some businesses being forced to
close and not allowed to operate during the MCO. This
is proven by the International Labor Organization (ILO)
where
e-ISSN: 2600-9021
http://www.ukm.my/personalia/publication/artikel4-dis-2021/
in the 3.3 billion global workforce, four out of five
workers are affected by the closure of premises either
partially or completely (Rabeatul Husna Abdull Rahman,
2020).
This problem does not only impact those who
are self-employed, but according to Anon (2020), the
self-employed are the most affected by the Covid-19
pandemic. According to him, the self-employed are
reported to be the most affected by the pandemic. In
fact, 70 percent of that group has less than a month's
savings. This causes many to do additional jobs such
as being food delivery drivers, ehailing drivers and so
on to cover daily living expenses. Factors that pressure
this group of workers indirectly change the style and
pattern of spending for a household.
Therefore, this study aims to see the impact of the
Covid-19 pandemic on income and changes in the
management of the Malaysian community's expenses
during the Covid-19 Pandemic. This study generally
has three objectives, namely: i. Identifying the impact of
the Covid-19 Pandemic on community income. i.
Analyzing differences in shopping styles during
the Covid-19 Pandemic for workers in various
sectors. iii. Identifying the tendency of the
community to spend towards needs or wants.
LITERATURE RESEARCH
The Covid 19 pandemic and its effects
Based on research on past studies, it was found that
epidemics of infectious diseases such as Covid-19 have
an impact on work and shopping behavior during the
pandemic. According to Siti Khaireena & Abu Zarrin
(2021) this is because the Covid-19 pandemic situation
around the world shows a high number of victims of
infection and death in several countries such as China,
Italy and the United States (US). In fact, the Malaysian
Ministry of Health also released statistics showing the
increasing and is higher than the number of recovered
patients. This ongoing pandemic has indirectly affected
various sectors from the health, safety, economic and
social point of view in each country. But the researcher
found a study about
Machine Translated by Google

143

spending behavior is found to be still understudied in different due to the uncertainty of the pandemic period
the scenario in Malaysia during the epidemic. and this is what worries the people including employers
For example, a study done by Gani et al. (2020) and employees regarding their jobs and income (Aziz,
focuses on the situation in the United States while Aziz 2020). Therefore, it is not impossible for this to happen
(2020) and Abu Hassan (2020) are more about the while the epidemic continues to spread and result in
exposure of issues of concern to the people of this many workers being thrown out and not earning
country and the importance of the spending style of continuously.
the Malaysian community today.
In an interview with the former Prime Minister
of Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad stated that the
The Covid-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on Status people need to accept the fact that their income will
Jobs decrease in addition to the risk of losing their jobs after
the company's income declines. The former Prime
The Covid-19 pandemic that has spread to all corners
Minister also advised the people to change the lifestyle
of the world has resulted in many economic sectors
that involved high expenses before in order to face the
and jobs being affected. According to Alzahrin Alias
new challenges of the national economy due to the
(2020) more than 190,000 female entrepreneurs who
Covid-19 Pandemic outbreak (Mohd Ridzuan Abu
are mostly involved in micro businesses and the
Hassan, 2020) In that context it clearly shows that
service sector are also affected due to the COVID-19
many people's incomes are affected and resulting in
pandemic. In fact, when this epidemic began to spread
people having to adopt a new lifestyle where thrift
there were companies that faced difficult times that
should be practiced when spending.
affected the payment of salaries and the more
frightening thing was that many employees were
terminated immediately.
According to Gani et al. (2020) state that
between February and April 2020, the US has seen a The Effect of Changes in Income on Style
drastic loss in the size and scope of economic activity. Expenses
Large economic sectors such as transportation,
hospitality, and tourism had to close their operations in
According to a study carried out to identify the buying
total while this epidemic spread. However, it is not only
style of the community when the curfew began to be
the US that has made such an order, many countries enforced in New Zealand, it was found that the average
have enforced various laws to reduce the movement expenditure per transaction of the community increased
and break the chain of Covid-19, including the country by 12.7% at the beginning of March 2020 (Hall et al,
of Malaysia. 2020). This increase in spending is not impossible to
happen in many countries, given that the worry, panic,
This is because according to Anon (2020) the and anxiety in preparing materials and food to
movement restriction method is seen as the best overcome the curfew period causes internal aspects
approach to control the spread of infectious diseases that encourage the emotions of the community to think
such as the coronavirus. This statement clearly proves less rationally and lead to the effect of panic buying.
that the same situation occurs in Malaysia, where this But what happened in this country, before the
epidemic not only affects health and lives, but also government made an announcement regarding the
directly impacts almost all types of employment sectors Movement Control Order (MCO), various rumors and
in our country (Anon, 2020a). fake news were spread about the enforcement of a
complete curfew. The transmission of the invalid news
indirectly caused many public individuals to go out and
make panic purchases (Anon, 2020b).
The Effect of Changes in Employment on Income

For those who work and have an income, the problem

of spending should not be a problem. But for those
Due to the situation that worries people to go
who are fired from their jobs and have no income, it
out shopping, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation
must be difficult to go through the bitter episode during
(MDEC) has launched the 'Shop Malaysia Online'
the Covid-19 pandemic, even each individual may face
campaign to drive
pressure

e-ISSN: 2600-9021
http://www.ukm.my/personalia/publication/artikel4-dis-2021/
Machine Translated by Google

144

recovery of the country's economy after COVID-19 through their shopping by using platforms available online due to
efforts to encourage and encourage people to shop online. the fear of going out of the house since the Covid-19 virus
The campaign launched is one of the initiatives under the started to spread.
National Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA) as a result
of the government's collaboration with the private sector.
The results of a study conducted by (Abdul Rashid & METHODOLOGY
Hassan, 2021) showed that a total of 75 businessmen
responded that online business can help grow their Study Design, Measurement and Analysis Tools
business and increase their income during the ongoing Data
Covid-19 Pandemic season. In fact, the study can be
This study is to find out the shopping behavior of the
further supported by the results of Yang & Lundin's (2020)
community during the Covid-19 pandemic. The quantitative
study which shows that the majority of entrepreneurs in
approach (Mohd Majid Konting, 2005) used in this study is
China agree to increase investment between 10 to 30% in
to identify expenditure management behaviour, analyze
digital business aspects during the Covid-19 Pandemic
the difference in spending style for public, private sector
period due to the fact that digital-based business strategies
and self-employed workers and identify the tendency of
have become very important and strategic and able to be
the community to spend towards needs or wants during
a driver of digital transformation towards economic
the Covid-19 Pandemic. This research was randomly
development in China in the present and in the future.
targeted to residents in Tanjong Karang, Selangor Malaysia.
Therefore, based on previous studies that have been done,
The total sample involved a total of 100 individuals. The
it is clear that the shopping style of the community during
targeted respondents are those working in the private,
the pandemic has already changed and the community is
government and self-employed sectors who are between
more inclined to shop online during the contagious Covid-19
the ages of 19 and 60.
Pandemic.

This study is to examine the difference in the

spending patterns of the community according to the job
sector they are engaged in. The convenience sampling
Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Style used in this study was obtained through the Google Form
Expenses platform. This research questionnaire consists of 5 parts,
which are parts A, B, C, D and E: parts A and B are to
In Malaysia, can witness the change in shopping style measure respondent demographics and changes in the
during the contagious Covid-19 pandemic. A lot of affected respondent's employment status during the Covid 19
agricultural entrepreneurs have decided to switch to online Pandemic, part C measures the respondent's expenditure
sales mediums such as Facebook and Whatapps to market management behavior during the Covid Pandemic- 19 and
agricultural products and take steps to make private analyze the differences in spending styles during the
deliveries. The purpose is to save operating costs through Covid-19 Pandemic for public, private and self-employed
reducing the scale of the business. According to Shopee's workers. Finally, parts D and E measure the tendency of
Regional Managing Director, Ian Ho, this not only led to a the community to spend towards needs or wants. Part C to
strong adoption of e-commerce among local small and part E are collected using Likert scale questions, where; 1:
medium enterprises (SMEs), but also created a new market strongly disagree, 2: disagree, 3: neutral, 4: agree and 5:
segment for the industry (Anon, 2021). strongly agree.

In conclusion, part C of this questionnaire will answer the

This can be seen that farmers, fishermen and
entrepreneurs began to engage in e-commerce platforms
when fresh produce such as fish, chicken, beef began to
be sold on platforms such as Shopee and showed an
increasing trend in sales.
This clearly proves that people are more likely to buy online
during the contagious Covid-19 pandemic (Anon, 2021).
Therefore, it clearly proves that society changes styles
second objective of this study which is to analyze the
difference in spending style during the Covid-19 Pandemic
for public, private, and self-employed workers. Sections D
and E will answer the third objective of this study, which is
to identify the tendency of the community to spend towards
needs or wants. For the first objective of this study which
is to identify the management behavior of expenses during
the Covid-19 Pandemic will be concluded by

e-ISSN: 2600-9021
http://www.ukm.my/personalia/publication/artikel4-dis-2021/
Machine Translated by Google

145

researcher by using the entire part B, C, D and E of this RESULT

questionnaire.
To analyze the quantitative data collected from this
study, SPSS "Statistical Package Social Science" was used. The
data collected is intended to support research information.
Descriptive analysis and multiple regression methods using
frequency, mean, standard deviation and ANOVA to measure
the difference in expenditure between each job sector and
respondent's income status during the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Finally, this entire study can be concluded to answer the first
objective of this study, which is to identify the behavior of
expenditure management during the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Demographics of Respondents
The demographic data of the respondents is shown in Table 1,
according to their data such as gender, age, form of employment,
employment sector, income and way of working during the
Covid-19 pandemic. This study uses descriptive analysis, the
researcher has analyzed based on identifying the employment
sector, the majority in this study is led by self-employed
respondents (38%) followed by civil servants (33%) and the
private sector (29%). In terms of age, 49% of respondents are
under 24 years old, 15% are 25 to 30 years old, 13% are 31 to

TABLE 1. Respondent demographics

Study sample (n=100)

Demographic Variables
Frequency Percentage (%)

Gender Men 47 47.0

Female 53 53.0

Age 19 to 21 22 to 20 20.0
24 25 to 30 31 29 29.0
to 40 41 to 60 15 15.0
13 13.0
23 23.0

Form of Employment Full-time 54 54.0

Half-time 13 13.0
Student 30 30.0
Not working 3 3.0

Employment Sector Private 29 29.0

Civil servants 33 33.0
Self-employed 38 38.0

Income Less than RM1000 35 35.0

RM1001 – RM2000 19 19.0
RM2001 – RM3000 16 16.0
RM3001 – RM4000 7.0
More than RM4000 7 23 23.0

How It Works At office 34 34.0

At home 66 66.0

40 and 23% aged 41 years and above. In terms of the percentage work full time, 13% work part time, 30% are students and 3%
of men and women about 47% and 53%. are unemployed. A total of 35% of respondents earn below
From the status of employment, 54% of respondents are RM1000, 19%

e-ISSN: 2600-9021
http://www.ukm.my/personalia/publication/artikel4-dis-2021/
Machine Translated by Google

146

respondents have an income of RM1001 to RM2000, 16% of Change of Current Respondent's Employment Status
respondents have an income of RM2001 to RM3000, 7% of The Covid-19 pandemic
respondents have an income of RM3001 to RM4000 and 23% of
Table 2 shows the employment status of respondents affected by
respondents have an income of more than RM4000. In terms of
the Covid 19 pandemic. Based on the status of respondents during
how respondents work during the Covid-19 Pandemic, 34% of
the Covid-19 Pandemic, 95% of respondents are still working and
respondents work in the office and 66% of respondents work at
5% of respondents have been fired or lost their jobs. In terms of
home.
salary status, 33% of respondents experienced a reduction in
salary and 67% of respondents their income was not affected.

TABLE 2. Respondent's Employment Status

Study sample (n=100)

Respondent Status During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Frequency Percentage (%)

Work status Working 95 95.0

Dismissed 5 5.0

Salary Status Salary Reduction 33 33.0

Unaffected 67 67.0

Expense management behavior according to respondent's save more when shopping (C1).
income status during the Covid-19 Pandemic. For question C2 'I will plan first before buying',
respondents whose income is affected agree (Mean =
This study was conducted using descriptive analysis
4.394 and respondents whose income is not affected
where frequency and average were used to determine
also agree (Mean = 4.433). For question C3 'I prefer
the average spending style of respondents whose
purchases that have promotions', respondents who
income was affected and not affected. Based on the
affected income agreed (Mean = 4.182) and
analysis, on average respondents whose income was
respondents whose income was not affected also
affected agreed (Mean = 4.333) and respondents
agreed (Mean = 4.537).
whose income was not affected agreed (Mean =
4.194) that they

TABLE 3. Respondents' expenditure management behavior during the Covid-19 Pandemic according to respondent's
income status.

Item Very No Nope Not sure Agreed Strongly Agree Average

Agreed Agreed (Mean)

Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes Nope

C1 0 2 1 2 5 11 9 18 18 34 4.333 4.194

C2 0 0 0 0 4 8 12 22 17 37 4.394 4.433

C3 1 0 3 2 3 5 8 15 18 45 4.182 4.537

C4 0 0 0 1 5 9 8 16 20 41 4.455 4.448

C5 2 4 6 8 4 7 5 22 16 26 3,818 3,866

Yes represents respondents whose Income is Affected, while No represents respondents whose Income is not Affected.

e-ISSN: 2600-9021
http://www.ukm.my/personalia/publication/artikel4-dis-2021/
Machine Translated by Google

147

Next for question C4 'I will divide and manage my shows a descriptive analysis of respondent's expenditure
salary wisely for expenses every month', it was found that management behavior during the Covid-19 Pandemic according
respondents whose income was affected agreed (Mean = 4.455) to respondent's income status. (Frequency and Average)
and respondents whose income was not affected also agreed
(Mean = 4.448). Finally, for question C5 'I am more inclined to
shop online such as; Shopee, Lazada, Grabfood and others
that have promotions', it was found that both groups of Differences in shopping styles during the Pandemic
respondents were not sure with an average of (Mean = 3.818) Covid-19 for public, private and self-employed sector workers
and (Mean = 3.866) respectively. Nevertheless, the mean sum
of both groups of respondents which is close to the average of
This study uses ANOVA to determine the significant difference
4 shows that the average respondent is more towards agreeing
between respondents by job sector category and the mean to
than not sure. Table 3
analyze the average Likert scale answered by respondents to
identify subgroups that have

TABLE 4. Differences in spending style during the Covid-19 Pandemic for public, private and self-employed sector workers.

Employment Sector

Item Private Self Employed Civil Servants

I am more frugal when shopping Mean 4.0345 4.1818 4.4474

Std dev 1.20957 0.88227 0.79517
Anova F 1.614
Sig. .204

I would plan first before Mean 4.4138 4.4242 4.4211

buying Std dev 0.77998 0.61392 0.72154
Anova F 0.002
Sig. .998

I prefer purchases that have Mean 4.1379 4.4848 4.5789

promotions Std dev 1.05979 0.83371 0.82631
Anova F 2,092
Sig. .129

I will divide and manage my Mean 4.3448 4.4848 4.5000

salary wisely for monthly Std dev 0.76885 0.79535 0.76229
expenses
Anova F 0.379
Sig. .685

I'm more inclined to shop Mean 3.5517 3.8485 4.0789

online like; Shopee, Std dev 1.29797 1.22783 1.28150
Anova F 1,420
Lazada, Grabfood
Sig. .247
and others that have
promotions

e-ISSN: 2600-9021
http://www.ukm.my/personalia/publication/artikel4-dis-2021/
Machine Translated by Google

148

significant difference. Based on the analysis in Table 4, those who are self-employed answered agreeing with
the average of the question 'I save more when spending' each as much as (Mean = 3.5517) the private sector,
shows that the private sector chooses to agree (Mean = (Mean = 3.8485) civil servants and (Mean = 4.0789) for
4.0345), civil servants (Mean = 4.1818) and respondents self-employed respondents.
who are self-employed as much as (Mean = 4.4474).
For the question 'I will plan first before buying', the
average respondent also agreed (Mean = 4.4138) for Differences in the tendency of the community to
the private sector, (Mean = 4.4242) for civil servants spend towards needs or wants
and (Mean 4.4211) for self-employed respondents. For
Based on the analysis of Table 5 and Table 6, it shows
the question 'I prefer purchases that have promotions',
the average mean and standard deviation of the
the average respondent agrees but for self-employed
respondent's tendency to spend towards the needs and
respondents the mean is slightly higher which shows
wants during the Covid-19 Pandemic by using the mean
that the average of them also answered strongly agree
as a likert scale measure in the questionnaire. In Table
with each of them as much as (Mean = 4.1379) for the
5 for the question 'I prioritize household items' shows
private sector, (Mean = 4.4848) civil servants and (Mean
(Mean = 4.6700) and (Standard Deviation = 0.62044).
= 4.5789) for self-employed respondents.
For the question 'I only buy products that suit my
personality', showing (Mean = 4.4200) and (Standard
Next, for the question 'I will divide and manage
Deviation = 0.75452). For the question 'I spend money
my salary wisely for expenses every month', it shows
on education', (Mean = 4.1200) and (Standard Deviation
that respondents also answered agree but for self-
= 1.03748). Next, for the question 'I spend on transport
employed respondents they were in the middle between
and services', (Mean = 3.6300) and (Standard Deviation
agree and strongly agree with each as many as (Mean
= 1.26854). Finally, for the question 'I spend on gadgets,
= 4.3448) sectors private sector, (Mean = 4.4848) civil
communication and internet', (Mean = 3.9900) and
servants and (Mean = 4.5000) for self-employed
(Standard Deviation = 1.08707). This spending pattern
respondents.
based on needs is not only happening in the country but
Finally, for the question 'I am more inclined to
also becoming a practice style in other parts of the world
shop online such as; Shopee, Lazada,
(Butu et al, 2020).
Grabfood and others that have promotions', shows that
the average respondents answered not sure, but this
average also shows a relatively high mean amount
towards agreeing and for respondents

TABLE 5. Society's tendency to spend towards needs.

Item Min Standard deviation

I prioritize household items 4.6700 0.62044

I only buy products that fit the personality 4.4200 0.75452
I have spent on education 4.1200 1.03748
I spend on transport and services 3.6300 1.26854
I spend on gadgets, communication and internet 3.9900 1.08707

In Table 6, for the question 'I spend
whatever is the current trend', shows (Mean =
1.9900) and (Standard Deviation = 0.99995).
For the question 'I still collect money and buy
the things I want even if there is no interest in
daily life', showing (Mean = 2.5500) and
(Standard Deviation = 1.32859). For
the question 'I spend on video games', shows
(Mean = 1.9000) and (Standard Deviation =
1.19342). Next, for the question 'I spend on
entertainment', showing (Mean = 2.2900) and
(Standard Deviation = 1.29720). Finally, for the
question 'I spend on tourism', showing (Mean =
2.2300) and (Standard Deviation = 1.23791).

e-ISSN: 2600-9021
http://www.ukm.my/personalia/publication/artikel4-dis-2021/
Machine Translated by Google

149

TABLE 6. Tendency of society to spend according to wants.

Item Min Standard deviation

I shop for whatever is trending 1.9900 0.99995

I still collect money and buy the things I want even though there is no 2.5500 1.32859
interest in everyday life
I spend on video games 1.9000 1.19342
I spend on entertainment 2.2900 1.29720
I spend on tourism 2.2300 1.23791

DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY according to the employee sector, that is, those working
in the public, private and self-employed sectors. This
This study was conducted to find out the impact of the study also shows that there is no significant difference
Covid 19 pandemic on the income and spending between respondents who experienced a change and
management behavior of the community today. This did not experience a change in their spending style. The
study focuses on three main objectives and the findings average respondent shows that they agree to maintain
for the three objectives will be discussed below so that a more frugal spending style and organize their
a clear picture of this study can be presented for mutual purchases wisely. For this objective, the research
benefit. conducted found that each of these different job sectors
The first objective is to see the impact of the practice almost the same spending style by showing the
Covid-19 Pandemic on the income of the population. average trend amount that is at a level that agrees with
Based on the findings, this study shows that the the practice of a more frugal spending style. However,
Covid-19 Pandemic has an impact on the employment the difference is quite significant for respondents who
status where 5 out of 100 respondents are dismissed or are self-employed, where they are more likely to shop
lose their jobs. This study can be supported by the online such as; Shopee, Lazada, Grabfood and others
statement of the Social Security Organization's that have promotions because the average respondents
Employment Insurance System (SIP) report which found show that they agree with this question while other
that individuals losing their jobs in this country increased sectors show that the average trend is in the uncertain
by 42 percent for the first quarter of this year due to the part. This is in line with the pattern of spending style
effects of Covid-19 (Anon, 2020b) This study also shows that determines the financial well-being of workers in
that even though only 5 out of 100 respondents were Malaysia (Zaimah & Sarmila, 2016).
fired, the group whose income was affected had a
relatively high figure of 33 percent, i.e. they experienced
a reduction in wages as a result of the Covid-19 epidemic.
As for the third objective, which is to see the
For businesses, according to the Department of tendency of the community to spend towards needs or
Statistics, the main challenges faced are paying salaries wants, this study shows that on average respondents
(77 percent), lack of customers (66 percent), paying give answers from a higher Likert scale on the part of
premises rent (61 percent), and cash flow problems (36 respondents' tendency to spend towards needs rather
percent) (Anon, 2020b). So if the pandemic situation than wants. This is because, the average shows that
cannot be overcome for a longer period of time then the every respondent agrees on every question of spending
impact on the economy will be greater. towards needs. In fact, for the part of spending towards
needs, the average respondent answered strongly
In the second objective, which is to identify disagree, which clearly shows that society emphasizes
whether there is a difference in spending style during spending on needs rather than interests. This has
the Covid-19 Pandemic for those whose jobs are indirectly answered the third objective of this study,
affected by the epidemic (that is, being fired or which is to identify the tendency of the community to
experiencing a reduction in wages) and those whose spend towards needs
jobs are not affected by this epidemic

e-ISSN: 2600-9021
http://www.ukm.my/personalia/publication/artikel4-dis-2021/
Machine Translated by Google

150

or wishes during the Covid-19 Pandemic (Zaimah & Sarmila,
2016).
In conclusion, this entire study has answered the main
objective of this study, which is to identify expenditure
management behavior during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Based
on each study analysis, the researcher was able to examine that
even though the average person's job and income were affected,
their spending style was not too different. This study can prove
that every society is more concerned with goods and services
that only have needs in daily life. This is because, people need
to spend wisely and arrange purchases using their income due
to the situation of the Covid-19 Pandemic which has a huge
impact in any industry. Furthermore, in a situation of uncertainty
as to when this pandemic will end, it is very important to change
the attitude of the community to be more frugal and prudent in
all aspects of spending.
percent in the first quarter - SOCSO. Daily news. 04 June.
Anon. (2021). Online business is growing rapidly. Daily Metro.
January 15th.
Aziz, ARA (2020). Unemployment among the workforce during
the COVID-19 outbreak. Malaysian Journal of Social
Sciences and Humanities (MJSSH), 5(11), 1-9.
Bukhari, NJ, Hyun, KK, Idris, A., & Yunus, MM
(2020). Culture and its impact on Malay youth spending in
Kuala Lumpur. e-Bangi, 17(4).
Butu, A., Brumÿ, IS, Tanasÿ, L., Rodino, S., Dinu Vasiliu, C.,
Doboÿ, S., & Butu, M. (2020). The impact of the COVID-19
crisis upon the consumer buying behavior of fresh
vegetables directly from local producers. Case study: the
quarantined area of suceava county, Romania. International
journal of environmental research and public health,
17(15), 548-556.
Gani, NS, Fitriana, AD, Sila, AM, Fitriani, R., Yuliarti, A., Thalib,
F., & Umar, NJ (2020). Covid 19 In The Frame Of
Communication. IAIN Parepare Nusantara Press.

Hall, MC, Prayag, G., Fieger, P., & Dyason, D. (2020).

Beyond panic buying: consumption displacement and
COVID-19. Journal of Service Management, 32(1), 112-125.
REFERENCE
Mohd Majid Konting. (2005). Educational Research Methods.
Kuala Lumpur: Language and Library Council.
Abdul Rashid, SMR, & Hassan, F. (2021) Practices and
Engagement of Small Traders through Digital Business
Rabeatul Husna Abdul Rahman. (2020). The impact of Covid-19
during the Covid-19 Pandemic in Malaysia.
on employees and employers. Astro Awani. April 16.
Geography, 8(2), 1-20.
Abu Hassan, MR (2020). People Need to Change their Spending
Siti Khaireena Ulas & Abu Zarren Selamat. (2021).
Lifestyle: Tun M. Sinar Harian. 06 April.
The moral dilemma of students in facing the Movement
Alzahrin Alias. (2020). Covid-19: More than 190,000 Women
Control Order (MCO) during the covid-19 pandemic: A
Entrepreneurs Affected. Daily news. 06 April.
case study. Qalam: International Journal of Islamic and
Humanistic Research, MJSSH), 1(1), 1-11.
Ammituh, R., & Abdullah, B. (2020). The Impact of the COVID-19
Pandemic on Household Income Sources: A Case Study
Yang, L. & Lundin, N. (2020). Covid-19 and Digital Transformation
of Semporna Sabah. UMS, 1-15. – What do we see now and what will we see soon? Beijing,
Anon. (2020). Covid-19: Almost Half of Self-Employed
Office of Science and Innovation.
Respondents Lose Their Jobs. Daily Rays. 09 April.
Zaimah, R., & Sarmila, MS (2016). Factors Determining the
Anon. (2020a). Effect of MCO on Business. Daily news. June
14th. Financial Wellbeing of Employees in Malaysia. e-BANGI,
11, 229-240.
Anon. (2020b). Job loss increased 42

Norazila Mat*, Muhammad Farhan Misron & Nur Atiqah Abdullah Faculty of
Economics and Management, National University of Malaysia, 43600 Bangi,
Selangor DE, Malaysia.

Jamsari Alias
Citra University Study Center,
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,
43600 Bangi, Selangor DE, Malaysia.

*Author for correspondence; email: norazila@ukm.edu.my

Submitted: August 12, 2021

Received: August 12, 2021

e-ISSN: 2600-9021
http://www.ukm.my/personalia/publication/artikel4-dis-2021/