This paper examines mindfulness as a costless cognitive asset in reducing stress and improving subjective well-being and psychological well-being among Malaysian bottom-forty-percent and middle-forty-percent income earners, known as B40 and M40, respectively. The participants recruited for this experimental study were divided into intervention and control groups and completed pre- and post-assessment questionnaires. The leveraging on digital technologies during pandemic times from May to June 2021 enabled participants in the intervention group (n = 95) to undergo four weekly online mindfulness intervention sessions through Google Meet and completed daily home mindfulness practices using the mobile application for mindfulness: the MindFi version 3.8.0 mobile app. Based on the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, the intervention group’s mindfulness and well-being levels increased significantly after four weeks. This outcome contrasted to those in the control group (n = 31), who exhibited lower mindfulness and well-being levels. The PLS-SEM structural model consists of mindfulness as an independent variable, subjective and psychological well-being as dependent variables, and perceived stress and financial desire discrepancies as the mediators. This model has a goodness-of-fit of 0.076, proving that it is a fit and strong model. There is a positive relationship between mindfulness and subjective well-being (β = 0.162, p-value < 0.01). This model supports the mediation effect of perceived stress between mindfulness and subjective well-being variables (β = 0.152, p-value < 0.05). The overall structural model implies that the effectiveness of mindfulness intervention training not only enhanced bottom- and middle-income earners’ well-being but also lowered the perceived stress level that, henceforth, brought the mind and body together in the present moment.

“Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) has reshaped consumer spending behaviors, with Malaysia experiencing a significant surge in adoption and usage. BNPL is widely used by Gen-Z and millennials as a form of payment, leading to increased spending due to this borrowing scheme. It has introduced a shift in consumer spending patterns, often characterized by the ‘Buy Now, Think Later?’ mindset. Due to the rising popularity of BNPL schemes, Bank Negara Malaysia is looking to amend the Consumer Credit Act. As BNPL schemes often synthetically promote positive payment behaviors through readily available installment credit options, many consumers seem to adopt a “buy now, think later” attitude. However, the financial knowledge and impulsivity of Malaysian consumers’ attitudes toward BNPL remain underexplored. Therefore, this conceptual paper develops a framework to investigate the role of financial knowledge and impulsivity in shaping attitudes toward BNPL among Malaysians. The study will employ a quantitative approach by collecting primary data through an online questionnaire among BNPL users from Gen Z and Millennials in Malaysia. Data analysis will be conducted using IBM SPSS software, incorporating demographic analysis, reliability testing, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression to test the proposed hypotheses. Practically, the findings can help policymakers, financial institutions, and educators promote responsible BNPL usage among young consumers to prevent excessive reliance on BNPL.

Stress is a natural response to being unable to cope with specific demands and events. Even though it is a well-known fact that almost everyone is facing stress, discussing stress is still taboo. Stress has been something everyone has been expected to ‘adapt to’ since ‘everyone else is doing it.‘ Day by day, people feel burdened and pressured, wanting to handle their stress yet feeling like they meet dead ends. Stress sparks emotional tension, growing tiredness, overstrain, and discomfort, which affect one's health, both mentally and physically. However, with mindfulness practices, people learn how to focus on the present moment and tend to have the ability to be calm, leading to better reactions to stressful situations. This study is timely by exploring the implementation of mindfulness intervention in managing stress and improving well-being. In essence, mindfulness allows someone to be non-judgemental about their feelings and situations as they are in the present moment. By practicing mindfulness, people will have a better approach to managing their stress, have an accepting mind, and be happier.