You Need RM 12,000 Household Income to Live ‘Comfortably’ in Malaysia as a Couple

Are you a Digital Nomad or looking for a job in Kuala Lumpur & researching the cost of living in KL?

This article will help get a rough estimate on the estimated cost of living & to see if your salary package is enough to survive in KL as a couple.

From my estimation, you’ll need a monthly household income of RM 12,000 (USD 2,700) to live ‘comfortably’ in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, without children. 

How did I come up with this number?

1. I created a survey on social media (Twitter & LinkedIn).
2. I created my own budget as a newlywed couple living in Kuala Lumpur.

Disclaimer: My definition of ‘comfortable’ will be different to yours. My calculations are intended as a rough guide only.

My Definition of a ‘Comfortable’ Life in KL:

My definition of a ‘comfortable’ life in Kuala Lumpur is based on the typical lifestyle of the local middle class & above earners (locally referred to as the M40 & T20 group) couples around me without children:

• A home where your one-way commute is 1 hour or less
• Owning one car to go to work & run family errands
• Restaurant or café weekend outings
• Travel locally and maybe internationally once a year
• Able to save & invest at least 10% of monthly salary
• Have enough money for a hobby

But what is a good salary (household income) to be able to afford a ‘comfortable’ life as a couple in Kuala Lumpur?

To find out, I created a poll survey on social media and asked my followers:

Survey: Cost of Living From Real Malaysians

The majority (67%) of the voters believe that a household income between RM 5,000 to RM 10,000 is enough to live a typical middle-class lifestyle in Kuala Lumpur without children:

Real Malaysian Cost of Living Survey:

How much monthly household income (couple without children) do you need to live comfortably in KL?

– Can enjoy restaurants & cafés
– No debt except mortgage & car
– Can travel
– Can save at least 10% monthly
– Can afford a hobby

— Helmi – Balkoni Hijau Blog (@HelmiHasanBH) May 11, 2021

However, everyone lives a different lifestyle. My vote is that we needed a combined income of between RM 10,000 to RM 15,000. Here’s our budget:

My Budget For a ‘Comfortable’ Couple Lifestyle

To estimate the gross income or salary to support a ‘comfortable’ life as a couple in Kuala Lumpur, I assumed taxes are 7% & EPF deductions are 11% (retirement savings).

CAUTION: Tax calculations are complicated and everyone has different deductions. I am using an estimated 7% income tax as a ball-park calculation.

• You need a household income of RM 11,893 to live comfortably as a couple in Kuala Lumpur
• Car expenses are shockingly high, sometimes more than housing.
• Saving a min of 15% from take-home pay is quite tough.

Let’s dive a little deeper & start with the car ownership costs:

Malaysian Car Expenses

Let’s be honest, Malaysian public transportation sucks. Most couples need a car to get to work, visit their in-laws, do weekend outings, and run errands.

The cheaper the car, the better it is for your finances. But a Mercedes is too expensive, and on the opposite extreme, a Perodua is cheap, but it sucks. So what’s a nice middle ground?

From my research, the Honda Civic Turbo is the best value, all-rounder family car under RM 130,000 ($30,000) & it shows as there are so many of them on Malaysian roads.

Let’s take a look at the monthly cost breakdown if I were to own this car:

¹: Maintenance costs around RM 300 every 6 months. Divide this by 6 is how I got RM 50 a month.
²: Full-rate insurance will cost me RM 3,500 a year without any NCD discount.
³: Road tax a year is RM 90 for a 1.5L engine.

RM 2,600+ a month to own a common Honda Civic? Absolutely shocking.

Thinking Outside the Box: If you choose to not own a car and use car-pooling, trains & car rentals everywhere you go, It might not cost you more than RM 2600+ a month! Plus, you don’t have to deal with driving, parking, and maintaining a car.

Housing Expenses in Kuala Lumpur

We all want a decent place to stay not too far from where both of you work. For example, Bandar Utama is a decent place to work and live.

A quick search for property rentals in that area shows that there’s a healthy selection within a budget of RM 2,000 a month:

Not the best property to live in, but it’s good enough if you’re not overly picky.

Here’s the estimated cost breakdown if I were to stay at a similar place:

¹: Maintenance Fee: You don’t have to pay for this if you are renting. The landlord usually pays for you.

From my observations, a min 2-bedroom housing in Klang Valley rental/mortgage can be classified as:

Low End: Below RM 2,000
Average: Around RM 2,000-RM3,000
High End: Anything above RM3,000

Cost of Food & Groceries

Cost of Lifestyle in Kuala Lumpur

This budget is important. I believe it’s healthy to splurge in moderation. Something that you and your partner enjoy doing.

For my wife & I, we love to eat out at decent restaurants & cafés at least twice a month.

You can pick how to splurge your money in this budget category. Here’s mine:

¹: We might not travel or spend on a staycation each month, but this budget can be accumulated for an even nicer experience in the future.

²: I believe that I should be treating my family regularly. Unfortunately due to my career change, I can’t achieve this budget target yet, but I am working on it.

Personal Savings

Saving 15% from our take-home pay may sound small, but having the discipline to do this is actually pretty tough.

There’s always something breaking down and needs to be replaced that needs money.

So it’s super important that you stick to your min savings plan of at least 15% each month.

To read how to invest for beginners, check out all the stuff that I’ve tried.

The easiest way to invest for beginners is to use Wahed Invest robo-advisors as it’s quite easy to withdraw your money anytime you want, and it gives decent returns:

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Summary: A Good Salary to Live Comfortably

The majority of Malaysians who answered my online survey say that they need a minimum of between RM 5k – RM 10k to live a ‘comfortable life as a couple in Kuala Lumpur.

However, from my budget, we need at least RM 12k, and if you look at the breakdown, it’s by no mean super luxurious either and totally relatable to the desires of most M40 & T20 Malaysians.

Car expenses are shockingly high, amounting to more than 25% of my monthly budget.

I recommend not spending too much on a car, so you’d have more money to spend on other things that might be more meaningful.

Transfer Money to & From Malaysia

If you’re reading this as a foreigner who’s planning to move to Malaysia. You’d probably need a reliable cheap money transfer.

I’d recommend Wise as I’ve been using them to transfer money back to Malaysia when I was working abroad.

Let me know in the comments what you think about this survey.