Here is a question that has been asked after the recent 50% oil price increase in Malaysia - Can a man survive on RM3,000 salary?
Let’s do some simple calculations here.
In Malaysia , the average family income is RM3,000 per month (where father works, mother doesn’t).
I understand there are many families whose monthly income does not reach RM3,000 but to make things simple, let’s take RM3,000 as the figure. Ok lah, right?
Okay, let’s start rolling with a family which has Papa, Mama, 1 daughter and 1 son. Ngam-ngam ….
Calculation starts…
Electricity and water bill: RM100
(No air-con, No home theatre, No water heater … ok?)
Phone bill ( Telekom): RM100
Meals for a happy family: RM775
(3 meals on RM25/day, RM25 for 4 persons…?)
Papa makan or teh-tarik during working hrs: RM155
(RM5/day, RM5 … can eat what?)
Car repayment: RM400
(A Proton Saga Aeroback, 7 yrs repayment)
Petrol (living in city, traffic-jam): RM300
(go to work, bring son to school, only can afford one car running)
Insurance: RM650
(kids, wife and myself)
House repayment: RM750
(low cost housing repayment for 30 yrs, retired still have to work to pay!)
Tuition: RM80
(got that cheap meh? i don’t think so)
Older children pocket money @ school: RM20
(RM1/day, eat bread?)
School fees: RM30
(enough ah?)
School books and etc: RM100
(always got extra to pay in school)
Younger children milk powder: RM50
(cannot have the DHA, BHA, PHA one, expensive)
Miscellaneous: RM100
(shampoo, rice, sauce, toilet paper)
Oh wait!!! I have to stop here, so…
No Astro,
No Movies @ cinema,
No DVD or CD,
No online Internet or Streamyx,
Cannot eat at KFC,
Cannot have a burger at McDonald,
Cannot go Park walk during weekend (petrol expensive),
No chit chat on phone with grandparents, and etc…
Let’s use a calculator to total up … WALAO EH! Shit! RM3,610 already…
EPF belum potong, income tax lagi……..oledi RM3,610 …
How to survive lah tuan-tuan dan puan-puan sekalian ???
Our Deputy Prime Minister asked us to change lifestyle?
How to change? Don’t eat? Don’t work? Don’t send children to school and study?
Besides that, I believe in Malaysia population, there are millions of rakyat Malaysia which still don’t earn RM3,000 a month!!!
What is this? Inilah Malaysia Boleh… Sorry… it should be Malaysians Boleh , because we’re still alive and kicking!!
Our politicians must be mad!!!!
No wonder so many Ah Loong around ..
What do you think? Send me your views on this, parents.
on Jun 12th, 2008 at 10:18 am
In Klang Valley, how to survive with RM3,000.
An average family would need RM5,000 to RM8,000 a month. Even with this amount, you are not comfortable. Just sufficient.
The prices of foodstuff is unbelievable. Just 2 - 3 months ago, a 10kg Sunwhite rice was RM29.90 (Jaya Jusco promotion). Last week, it was RM50.18 (also on promotion).
Our cost of living is going up drastically, and consequently our standard of living dropping.
Just look at our per capital income. We are far from Singapore, and close to those countries which we once looked down upon.
I used to be in the banking sector. About 20 years ago, a fresh graduate gets about RM1,500 to RM1,800 in most of the local banks. But 20 years later, most of the banks are still paying about RM2,000.
Hey, that was 20 years ago pricing. The prices of everything has gone up tremendously but not the income of most people.
The increase in the cost of living affected Malaysian more than some of our neighbors, say Singaporean, Korean, Japan etc….
A friend of mine told me to compare the per capital income of Malaysia with Korean i.e. before 1997 (the year Soros attack and Korea went to IMF and we didn’t) and now. It seems since then, Korea’s pci has gone up while ours remain stagnant.
Personally, I think if this situation goes on, there will come a time when Malaysia will be like some third world country where there will hardly be a middle class. There is only be the RICH and the poor WORKING CLASS.
God help us.
on Jun 14th, 2008 at 8:05 am
the easier way of change the life style is to change during election 1st ,vote for goverment who is capable, then all malaysian can have new life style.
on Jun 15th, 2008 at 10:06 am
The recent oil price increase in Malaysia accentuated the RM3,000 sole income for a family man.
We were barely surviving with the basic daily necessities, tuition fees, miscellaneous expenses and commitment before the oil price rise.
Now, we can barely survive at all.
That is why I am looking into increasing more streams of passive income from what I am currently doing now.
That is how I deal with this world wide problem now.
May Ong