Since launching his page, @duasenmy has been documenting his path to financial independence with clarity, consistency, and a grounded sense of purpose.
From monthly net worth updates to lessons learned from crypto losses and side hustle wins, his content strikes a rare balance between honesty and practicality.
What started as a quiet accountability project has grown into one of Malaysia’s most relatable and insightful personal finance accounts.
His goal? To hit RM1 million by 2028 — not through shortcuts, but through smart investing, simple systems, and steady momentum.
In this interview, we unpack the strategies, shifts, and setbacks that shaped his financial mindset — and why he believes personal finance doesn’t need to be flashy to be effective.
Q: Let’s start with your story — what inspired you to create @duasenmy and pursue financial independence?
I’ve always had an interest in personal finance, inspired by my dad who talks about investments regularly.
Shortly after I started investing, I decided to track my Net Worth & investments in an excel sheet. When I looked at the data I gathered over time, I decided sharing it anonymously on social media might be beneficial for others and myself.
That’s how DuaSen started. I don’t claim to be a financial advisor, I’m just someone who is in pursuit of financial independence.
Q: You’ve set an ambitious RM1 million goal by 2028. How did you arrive at that number, and what does financial independence mean to you personally?
Firstly, I think that number just sounds “nice” 
Financial independence to me is the freedom to make choices.
I don’t want to be tied to my 9-5 job or worry about what the next x number of years will look like.
Q: Can you walk us through your current financial strategy — how do you balance your 9–5 income, side hustle, savings, and investments?
I have a 9-5 job and side hustle – thankfully both do not clash with each other in terms of time & resources needed.
As far as savings & investments, I keep my strategy simple. Invest RM6K into low-cost index funds like VWRA / CSPX each month. Around RM60-70K principal for individual stocks, mostly dividend-paying blue chip stocks.
Spare cash kept in high-yield savings accounts or money market funds. I don’t track my expenses or set a fixed budget each month.
Q: Tell us about your side hustle! What motivated you to start it, and how has it played a role in your financial goals so far?
I made a post about this on my Instagram page. To summarise, I tried reselling second-hand items when I was studying overseas and treated it like a hobby.
Over time, I realised I could generate a decent amount of money from doing this and decided to continue back here.
Today, I have registered myself as a business and treat this as another income source.
Q: What’s a typical month like financially for you — how do you stay on top of budgeting, spending, and saving habits?
I keep things very simple, no budgeting unless I know I have a large expense.
The main thing I do is to ensure continuous DCA into my index funds.
Q: Your crypto journey has had its ups and downs — what’s the biggest lesson you’ve taken away from investing in crypto?
Don’t chase the hype.
Yes, typically if you’re “early” you can make astronomical gains.
However, most people get in too late and end up getting burnt. I still think everyone should have some allocation to crypto though.
These days, I’m invested mostly in Ethereum which helps me sleep better at night than alt coins.
Q: What does your investment portfolio look like at a high level? Are there any assets you’re particularly bullish or cautious on right now?
I make monthly posts of my investment portfolio so feel free to check them out for more detail.
My biggest slice of the portfolio comes from low-cost index funds followed by individual stocks. The individual stocks I try to invest in these days are mostly blue-chip stocks that have decent dividend yields.
That said, I’m still learning and experimenting with different strategies. The KLSE market hasn’t been kind to me though.
Q: You once shared a scam experience — what key tips would you offer to help others avoid similar situations online?
I have 2 tips from scams.
Start questioning when the other person is “pressuring” you by dangling a threat (i.e you will lose your money if you don’t do this).
Second tip is to NEVER deal in unregulated platforms (i.e WhatsApp).
Q: What’s a money mistake you’ve made that taught you something valuable — either emotionally or practically?
Don’t chase fast wealth.
In my early days, I invested blindly into penny stocks, rubbish crypto coins and NFTs (hype asset).
I learnt the hard way by losing hard-earned money which hurt more considering it was my first few years of work.
These days, I maintain the philosophy that investment should be a slow and gradual process without astronomical returns (there are exceptions).
I’m happy to let my investments compound over time and reap the returns later on in life.
Q: For Malaysians who feel overwhelmed or unsure about where to begin, what’s your best advice for getting started on their personal finance journey?
There’s an abundance of information everywhere. If I could start over, I think YouTube is a fantastic resource.
I like a mix of international content creators (i.e Ramit Sethi) and local ones (i.e Ziet Invest).
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Following that, you can also find tons of information from finfluencers on Instagram/Threads. I would treat this as inspiration for ideas/strategy and not actual financial advice.
At the end of the day, finance is a personal journey you’ll need to carve on your own.
Final Thoughts
A huge thank you to @duasenmy for sharing his story with such thoughtfulness and transparency. His journey is proof that you don’t need to track every single expense or chase quick wins to build wealth — sometimes, keeping things simple and consistent is the most powerful approach.
Whether it’s DCA-ing into index funds, growing a side hustle from a uni hobby, or learning from early investing mistakes, @duasenmy shows that every step (and every sen) matters.
Here are 3 takeaways we loved from this interview:
- Keep it simple — you don’t need a perfect plan to begin, just the commitment to show up and stay curious.
- Index funds, side hustles, and cash buffers can do more than just grow your net worth — they buy you freedom.
- Every mistake is part of the process — especially when it teaches you something.
You can follow his journey on Instagram @duasensmy for more honest updates, investing reflections, and practical money tips from a fellow Malaysian on the path to financial freedom.
