Michael Wong

What gap in financial education led you to create your courses?

After 8 years working as a financial advisor at one of Hong Kong’s major banks, I noticed something frustrating. Most professionals wanted help with their finances, but they’d sit through meetings filled with jargon about “asset allocation strategies” and “portfolio rebalancing” and walk out feeling more confused than when they arrived.

The real issue wasn’t that people couldn’t understand finance — it’s that nobody was teaching it in a way that connected to their actual lives. A Kowloon professional doesn’t care about theoretical frameworks. They care about whether they’re saving enough for retirement, how to maximize their MPF without missing out on growth, and how to handle the rising cost of living without constant financial stress.

That gap is what drove me to transition into education full-time in 2018. I wanted to build courses that felt like talking to someone who actually gets your situation.

Your focus is specifically on Kowloon professionals. Why that audience?

Kowloon has its own financial personality. You’ve got professionals working in tech, finance, services, and government — people with solid incomes but facing specific pressures. High rental costs eat up 30-40% of salary for many. Commute costs add up. School fees for families are brutal. The pressure to maintain appearances in a fast-paced environment is real.

I started seeing patterns when I was doing advisory work. A banker earning HK$600,000 annually would stress about money because they weren’t making intentional choices about their savings. A young professional in their 30s would ask “Should I buy property or invest?” without understanding the actual numbers.

When I built courses specifically for this group, focusing on real Kowloon scenarios, the engagement completely changed. People felt like the content was built for them — because it was.

What does your approach to savings planning look like?

It’s not complicated, but it’s deliberate. I break it down into three layers that people can actually execute.

First, we build a realistic budget that doesn’t require you to eat instant noodles or eliminate joy from your life. This uses the 50-30-20 framework adapted for Hong Kong costs — 50% for needs, 30% for wants, 20% for savings and debt repayment. But that “30%” isn’t guilt-based. If you need more for rent or family, we adjust. The point is awareness.

Second, we optimize your MPF. Most people don’t realize how much flexibility exists within the Mandatory Provident Fund system. Choosing the right fund mix, understanding fee structures, and timing contributions can make six figures of difference over 30 years. It’s not exciting, but the math is undeniable.

Third, we build an emergency fund properly. Not “save whatever you can” — actually three to six months of living expenses kept accessible. Then, once that’s solid, we talk about what comes next: property, investments, insurance gaps. You’d be surprised how many professionals jump to property investment without a safety net.

What’s the biggest misconception you see among professionals about personal finance?

That earning more money automatically means financial security. I’ve worked with people earning HK$1 million annually who were genuinely worried about their financial future, and people earning HK$400,000 who felt completely stable.

The difference? One group had a plan. The other didn’t. High earners without structure often end up spending more as they earn more — bigger flat, better restaurants, nicer holidays. The income increases but so does the lifestyle, so they never actually build wealth.

The professionals who feel secure are the ones who’ve done three things: decided on a realistic savings target, automated it so they don’t have to think about it every month, and reviewed it annually. That’s it. Not complex. Not risky. Just intentional.

What do you see changing in personal finance for Hong Kong professionals?

A few things. First, younger professionals — people in their 20s and 30s — are starting to think about retirement in ways my generation didn’t until much later. The conversation around MPF sustainability is creating earlier urgency, which is actually healthy.

Second, there’s growing interest in supplementary pensions and insurance products beyond the basic. People want to know if their MPF alone will be enough, and the answer is usually “probably not” — so they’re looking at solutions.

Third, and this is important, there’s less stigma around asking for help. Five years ago, admitting you didn’t understand your finances felt like a weakness. Now, busy professionals openly acknowledge they’d rather learn from someone who speaks their language than muddle through alone.

That shift is what makes my work rewarding. We’re normalizing financial literacy as something you deserve to have access to, not something only wealthy people with private advisors get.