Honest accounts from people who attended
These are not endorsements. They are notes from people who completed a course and agreed to share what the experience was like for them.
← Back to Home4+
Years running courses
380+
Participants completed
4.7
Average feedback rating / 5
≤8
Per intake, every time
What people found useful — in their own words
Norizah Ramli
Retired teacher, Ipoh
March 2025
"I attended the household calendar course after my husband passed away last year. Managing all the household renewals on my own was overwhelming — I had no idea when half the things were due. The three weeks was a manageable commitment and I left with a calendar that covers everything for the next twelve months. It was exactly what I needed."
Bills, Renewals & the Yearly Calendar
Thanaraj Krishnan
Civil servant, Taiping
February 2025
"The statements course surprised me. I have been receiving bank statements for twenty years and thought I understood them well enough. Within the first two sessions I had found three charges I could not account for — two of which turned out to be optional add-ons I had never actually signed up for. Getting those removed more than covered the course fee. Worth attending even if you think you already know your statements."
Reading Your Bank & Card Statements
Faridah Hashim
Small business owner, Ipoh
March 2025
"I did the reference folder course with my husband. We kept putting it off for years because it felt like a large, complicated task. Doing it in the group sessions broke it into manageable pieces. By the ninth module we had something complete. I think the most valuable part was working out what our children would actually need to know — and making sure that information was findable."
Building the Household Reference Folder
Lim Wei Hao
Account manager, Kampar
January 2025
"The educator is patient and does not talk down to participants. That matters. I had tried to learn about financial statements on my own before but gave up because the explanations always assumed too much prior knowledge. Here the pace was set by the group and nobody was rushed. My main note would be that the sessions could occasionally run a little long, but the content itself is solid."
Reading Your Bank & Card Statements
Salmah Mohd Noor
Homemaker, Batu Gajah
February 2025
"My daughter suggested I attend after I mentioned I was nervous about managing the household finances after we downsized. The calendar course was calm and straightforward. The trainer helped me see that I already knew most of the information — I just had never organised it in one place. The printable planner has been on my kitchen wall since the course ended."
Bills, Renewals & the Yearly Calendar
Raveena Bala
Lecturer, Ipoh
April 2025
"I came to the reference folder course slightly sceptical — I have a reasonable understanding of finance and was not sure what I would learn. What I had not done was sit down and actually compile everything in one place. The course gave me the structure and the time to do it properly. The module on digital assets was particularly useful. I left with something I can hand to my executor and know they will be able to navigate it."
Building the Household Reference Folder
Participant journeys through the courses
Case Study · Bills & Calendar Course
The situation
A retired civil servant in his late fifties had been managing a household alone for two years following a divorce. He described arriving at renewal dates — insurance, road tax, property quit rent — without having prepared for them financially, and then scrambling to find the money at short notice. He had tried keeping a notebook but could not maintain it consistently.
The course
During the three-week calendar course, he brought his existing bills and renewal notices and worked through them systematically. By the second session he had a clear picture of his annual obligations and had identified two months each year when multiple payments fell due simultaneously. He restructured his savings behaviour to account for this.
The outcome
He has used the planner for two full years since completing the course. He notes that the most significant change was not the tool itself but having had the space to lay out his obligations and look at them calmly — something he had been avoiding. He has since recommended the course to two colleagues approaching retirement.
"I should have done something like this ten years ago. It is not complicated — it just required sitting down with someone to do it."
Case Study · Statement Reading Course
The situation
A woman in her mid-forties with two credit cards and a personal loan had been paying minimum balances for several years without fully understanding the interest she was carrying. She had avoided looking at her statements closely because she found them confusing and the numbers uncomfortable.
The course
The statements course gave her a structured way to read each section of her credit card summary. By the third session she had calculated the actual annualised cost of her revolving balance and identified two insurance add-ons she had not knowingly agreed to. She contacted her bank to request their removal.
The outcome
The removal of the add-ons reduced her monthly deductions by just over RM 80. She also began paying above the minimum balance and finished the loan ahead of schedule. She described the main value as "no longer being afraid of the envelope when it arrives."
"The annotated statements were very helpful. Seeing it laid out clearly beside my own document made the comparison straightforward."
Case Study · Household Reference Folder Course
The situation
A couple in their early sixties — both approaching retirement — attended the nine-module course together. They owned a property, had EPF accounts, held multiple insurance policies, and had a small business interest. Neither of them had documented any of this in a form their adult children could easily navigate in an emergency.
The course
Over nine modules they assembled a physical folder and a digital backup covering every category. The module on digital assets prompted them to deal with password access they had been delaying for months. The conversation about communicating the folder's existence to their children happened during the final session with guidance from the educator.
The outcome
They now have a folder that both of them understand, that is reviewed annually in January, and whose existence and location is known to their son. They described the course as filling a gap they had been aware of for years but had found too large to approach alone.
"Doing it together was the right decision. We had different ideas about how to organise things, and the sessions gave us a framework to work with rather than argue about."
Get in touch to ask about the next intake
Phone
+60 5-242 7836Address
5 Jalan Stesen, 30000 Ipoh, Perak
Office Hours
Mon–Fri: 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Sat: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Our credentials as an education provider
Registered Education Provider
Hearthroot is formally registered as an education provider in Perak. Official receipts are issued for all course fees.
Regional Recognition, 2024
Acknowledged by the Perak Consumer Education Initiative for structured contribution to household financial literacy among adults.
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Hearthroot holds no arrangement with any bank, insurer, or investment platform. Course fees are the sole source of income.
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