Cost of Living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Most Affordable Luxury?)

good day my name is Jack and I'm an Aussie expat living in Malaysia I moved to quala Lumpa 2 years ago from Sydney and in this video I'm going to reveal my full cost of living if you're local to Malaysia see how my spending compares to yours perhaps you can give me some tips if you're an exper or thinking of visiting Malaysia this video will give you a completely honest picture of the real cost of living you can expect believe it or not I'm a bit of a nerd so I've actually recorded every single transaction I've made line by line since Landing in Malaysia on the 4th of March 2022 this means I have 24 months or about 735 days of real line by line spending data it isn't just made up out of nowhere or a rough budget guide like some other YouTubers this is my real expenses in this video I'll show you my real cost of living broken down by 16 categories like rent groceries phone bills and even my grooming costs like haircuts I'll convert every major number from Malaysian ringot to us do and also Australian dollars so you can compare the costs in your local currency this is the most realistic video on cost of living in Malaysia on YouTube especially for guys under 30 just like me it's not how to live cheap it's not how to live luxurious it's my real raw data from living here for 2 years maybe it will surprise you enjoy you might be asking how is is this possible how the hell does this guy have all this data well here's my process back in Sydney I used an app called pocketbook for many years it would import all your bank transactions and you could manually add your cash transactions to have a full record of every transaction you made it closed down in 2021 just before I decided to move to Malaysia I had built up many years of my expenses living in Australia so I really wanted to compare how that stacked up to what I would be spending in Malaysia so I started recording every transaction manually in my phone as soon as I landed down in klia for the first time in March of 2022 I built a custom spreadsheet and made it part of my daily morning routine to update the spreadsheet based on my transactions from the prior day this was so I could see where exactly my money was going just like I had before in Sydney with pocketbook the advantage of a custom spreadsheet is that you can build it exactly how you want I made 16 categories that made sense for me and my lifestyle they grouped into three major categories the first one is non-discretionary so these are all the costs that you have to spend it could be your mortgage payment or your rental payment or stuff like food and groceries the second major category is discretionary costs this is where you have much more control it could be categories like entertainment my variable business expenses or simply buying something you like the third one is purely optional cost so this is where I put my travel expenses like holidays if I want to save costs or simply not spend as much I can just cut these holidays right I also had dating in this category as well at least for my first year in Malaysia it's purely your choice if you want to go on a date or not you get what I mean I also added a graph to track my expenses versus my income so I could also calculate my savings rate and projection I won't go into income in this video but I will give you a hint about my savings the rate is about 5 to even 10 times what it was living in Sydney because the cost of living here is just so much lower the number you really want to know how much do I spend on average living here in qu as an Aussie xad here's the answer including everything with no breakdowns just the total number over the past 2 years in total I spent 232,000 ring per month on average that's $245 per month and $3,142 Aussie per month bear in mind that this number includes all the travel and holidays that I've done and documented in these Vlogs each year I travel back to Australia for a whole month which is expensive and those costs are also included in this figure so let's remove the travel costs and see what I would be spending if I simply just stayed in Malaysia and didn't do all this extra travel I spent 56,57 ring on travel and holidays over the last 2 years so if we remove that from the calculations we get 7,354 ringot per month if I don't travel that's 1,549 or $2,380 Australian I didn't realize these travel Vlogs were so expensive but I do it for the YouTube for you guys one question you might have is what was the most expensive month that you've had living in Malaysia since being here from March 2022 my most expensive month was December 2022 but this included when I flew back to Australia for the month of December over the Christmas period the most expensive month when I didn't do any travel was June 2023 I spent 9,219 ring but that included buying this watch which cost about 3,000 ring so that's why I wear it as much as possible on the other side what was my cheapest month with the lowest cost of living it was May 20123 in this month I only spent 4539 ring I think that's a really good representation of what my cost would be if I just went to work ate and didn't do much else so Jack how does this cost of living compar to Sydney since I have the data I can compare in Sydney my average cost of living was about $4,500 Australian dollar per month which is 14,000 ringot or about $3,000 my cheapest was about $3,500 Aussie doll if I didn't leave the apartment at all and did monk mode and my most expensive months in Sydney were about $10,000 when I went on holidays or bought major items so overall Malaysia is about half the price of other major Western cities like Sydney or London for comparison if you equate living standard it's actually even better it's about 40% of the cost and what I mean by this is that my apartment that I'm living in here is significantly better than the apartment I can afford in Sydney for a similar price the internet is faster and more reliable here in Malaysia and the healthc care is better and far more accessible here in Malaysia I'll make a video on those topics as well but once you take into account the actual quality of life Malaysia works out to be an even better deal than just looking at the money now I said I have 16 categories of expenses so we're going to go through them one by one so you can see exactly what the cost of living is per category if you were to live in Malaysia if you live a lifestyle just like me the first and most important category that you're probably interested in is rent you've got to have a roof over your head and if you're living here as an exper you're going to be renting my average rent expense for the last two years living in quala Loompa is 2552 ring per month that's 538 USD or 826 Australian do per month when I first came here I moved into my dream condo called ARA luxury residences you can watch the video here or in the description it cost over 3,000 ring per month I've since moved to a cheaper condo that works out for my expenses to be about 2,000 ring per month in general I'd expect to pay about 2 to 3,000 ring per month for a decent condo near the center of quala lompa City you you can also find condos in KL for as low as 1,000 ring per month and you can also find super luxury condos with many many rooms for a family for about 6,000 ring a month there's heaps of variety and options in Malaysia so you can really find what works for you in your budget I can't say the same about Australia there's a minimum flaw and once you go below that you're on the streets the next major category we have to talk about is utilities because everyone needs an internet connection and electricity right my average utilities expense has has been 282 ring per month that's $59 or 91 Aussie doll of course this depends entirely on your living situation if you live by yourself it's going to be more because you're shouldering all the expenses if you live with a partner or your family it's going to work out to be less high-speed internet plans and I mean highp speed 100 megabits a second work out to be about 100 ring per month and electricity will also be a few hundred ring per month because you're going to be blasting the air conditioners like I do I blast them 24/7 I need it cold when I sleep but the electricity costs are still very reasonable the next important category I considered was fees this includes banking fees currency transfer fees because if you're an expat you're going to be sending money overseas now my average for doing this only worked out to be about 80 ring per month which is $17 or about 26 Aussie doll so this is not a major line item but it's an important cost that you need to consider so that's why I have this category the next one is groceries now you're you got to eat and if you're being smart you're going to be buying groceries even though the food here is excellent and you can eat out for cheap if you want to be eating healthy especially I do I prioritize this then I spend on groceries on average I've spent 941 ringot per month that's 198 USD or 304 AUD now this line item is a bit complicated because I spend on premium groceries like grass-fed meat and organic vegetables but we also got a very generous grocer benefit from work which offset a lot of these costs so taking that benefit into account I would assume your costs on groceries would be similar to mine because you're probably not buying the really expensive groceries but you're also probably not getting the benefit so about 940 ring per month is a good guide for groceries the next one is food and it's so easy to be tempted by the food cuz it's just so damn good but since I spend most on the groceries I spend less on food I don't eat out a lot even still I've spent an average of 632 ring per month or 133 USD which works out to be $ 204 Aussie doll this just includes food for myself social or corporate activities any food costs associated with dating are included in a separate category called dating which we'll get to later if it wasn't for the date I'd be cooking groceries that's why next important category is health so this includes all health care costs anything to keep upkeep of my body it also could include the gym and other utility like that now I've only spent 48 ring a month or $10 or1 15 Aussie doll why so low our work includes a gym health insurance and other benefits realistically yours will be significantly more if your work doesn't include this but if you're here as an expat you probably will get these benefits so keep that in mind even considering that I can definitely say that health insurance here in Malaysia is much cheaper than the west and also much more effective gyms are about the same price as Australia even after accounting for currencies so gyms aren't super cheap but on the positive side pretty much all nice condos come with their own gym which is what I switch to and what I use next super important category is transport you got to get around right I've spent on average 251 ring a month or $53 us or $81 Australian dollar this is also very low and in very stark contrast to Australia I actually think this cost is extremely accurate I don't have a car and I don't need one I take the Mr which is the underground train system to and from work and I use grab to get around to other places as needed I highly doubt you will spend more than 250 ring a month if you mostly stick to public transport which is very effective around KLCC and the general K City all right what about phone costs this was one of my first memories in quala Loompa after I left the quarantine hotel after 5 days stuck on there with no SIM card or internet connection I got dumped on the street not knowing where I was and I had to find how to get a SIM card I found my way to the nearest 7-Eleven and I got a u Mobile prepaid card it cost 38 ring per month and I've just kept the Prepaid Plan until today when I travel to other countries I also buy travel SIM cards so those costs are also included in this figure I would recommend sticking to a prepaid plan if you're just visiting or even if you're an exper you'll need to pay a deposit if you want to get a postpaid number and personally I just don't see the reason to prepaid plans are really good so my monthly average spend for SIM cards and my phone is 76 ring per month $16 or $25 Aussie dollars the next important category for me is subscription so this includes things like Netflix Spotify Google drive or anything along those lines I cut Netflix and some of the other subscriptions cuz I'm focusing fully on YouTube and my work so my costs now for subscriptions are about 60 ring per month but my average cost for the last 2 years was 137 ring per month or $29 or 44 Aussie doll so subscriptions here are generally cheaper the Netflix price is cheaper prices generally change depending on where you are and Malaysia is considered a more affordable country now those were all the main non-discretionary categories you're probably going to be spending them every single month whether you like it or not now let's go into discretionary categories and the first one is my business expenses this is something I'm choosing to do and this includes YouTube videos my business costs including YouTube average 460 ring per month or $97 or $49 Australian dollars so you could minus this from the total expenses I've made if you're not running a business or a YouTube channel next one is entertainment now I'm not a big entertainment guy I'm not a concert guy so I don't really spend much on entertainment or events my average cost per month is 227 ring or $48 or 72 Aussie doll for context a movie at the cinema here is only about 15 ring so basic entertainment and events like that are actually really cheap and there's a lot happening in KL that doesn't cost a penny next one this is probably more for the ladies but we're going to have to talk about shopping there's a lot of nice stores in KL it has everything you would expect and be able to get in the west it actually has probably more options than Australia so the shopping here is good but I'm not much of a shopper so this category includes clothes jewelry any other little things electronics that you just want to buy my average cost per month on shopping is$ 343 ring or $72 or $111 Australian per month next category here is home now this includes all those little nitty-gritty things that you need around the house it could be plates Cutlery or a vacuum cleaner now since pretty much every condo in Malaysia comes furnished you don't need to spend a lot on furniture or all these other Home items my average cost has been 124 ring per month $26 or 40 Australian so not much at all the next one is grooming so you got to look fresh right guys grooming covers all costs related to haircuts skin care or any other looks maxing products or Services when I first moved to quala lompa in 2022 I was pretty high maintenance and I went to the most expensive Barber I could find near me the cost for a haircut was about 80 ring now I go to the awesome Bangladeshi Barber down the road it costs half that amount and he also gives a Massa now I do give a solid tip so that does raise the price but you know he deserves it and guys if you travel here I would recommend giving tips if you can afford it even though it's not a necessity so my total grooming costs on average are 162 ringa per month $34 or $52 Australian now the next category is going to be a super popular one dating what is the dating like here and how much does it cost I'm just going to call it exactly like it is dating is cheaper here and easier than in Western countries you will run into a different type of issues so be careful but that's another topic for another video so in this category I include any cost that I spent that I wouldn't have spent if I wasn't going on dates for example going out for dinner with my girlfriend would count as a dating expense if I wouldn't have gone out for dinner otherwise another point I would like to make here is that it's very affordable to go out for dinner or lunch on first dates it's obsurd to be spending $100 going out with someone you haven't even met before and you don't even know if you like so I've got good news it costs about a quarter of that here so it's much more feasible it's much more relaxed it's much more conducive to a romantic connection here in quala Loompa so you're going to get better first dates and you're going to be much more flexible with the experience instead of just sticking to drinks also consider that a lot of people here don't actually drink alcohol anyway so my average costs on dating were 953 ring per month and that works out to be about $200 or $37 Australian doar per month now you might be a woman and you say Jack how much is it going to cost me to go on dates well I assume it's going to be free for you because you're probably going to be very popular here and there's definitely a culture of the man pays so I wouldn't be worrying about that the next category we have to talk about is travel this is the biggest discretionary item as obviously you don't need to travel and you don't need to go on a holiday but for me international travel around southeast Asia and Beyond was a big reason for me to move from Sydney to quala Loompa because traveling from Sydney it's so far away from everything it's expensive and it's timec consuming but traveling from quala looma to Singapore to Changi Airport to everywhere in the world is much more feasible and more affordable I take an international trip on average every 2 to 3 months and I also do local trips as well this category includes my share of travel costs including the flights accommodation and anything associated with organizing the holiday such as pre-booked activities or planned tours now I mostly travel around Asia but I also go back to Australia I for a month every year so those big costs are also included in this category Singapore is another place I've gone quite a few times that is also quite expensive relative to koala Loompa so if you only travel domestically your costs on travel will be a lot less than this my average travel or holiday cost is 2,354 ring per month $498 or 759 Australian I hope this video gave you the best breakdown on real raw cost of living in Pala Malaysia on the whole of YouTube these were my real costs as an Aussie exper living in Malaysia if you're a young man like me from a Western Country this video is probably your best proxy of what your cost of living would be like if you moved to qual Lumpa Malaysia otherwise I honestly believe I live a reasonable lifestyle it's not super luxurious but I do travel a lot and it's also not cheap you could do it for way way cheaper Malaysia is an affordable country and it's also very flexible please keep in mind that locals do not earn as much as you do or you will and if you're a local looking at this video please don't compare yourself too much to me our circumstances are different I do honestly believe Malaysians are underpaid they are wonderful people but that's a topic for another video if I move to a smaller apartment and cut my discretionary spending I believe I could live here comfortably for about 4,500 ring per month or $940 if I wanted to live it up in luxury you could easily spend double what I currently am to get the best of the best the choices are all yours make the right decision for you I'm Jack auditon and I primarily help men under 30 gain extreme Clarity around major decisions in their life so you can achieve Freedom gain respect and find purpose in record time reach out to me via email or book a free 15minute call with me if you want to discuss decision coaching and how I might be able to help you subscribe if you loved this video and share it with someone if you think they would love it too also comment below if you have any questions and let me know what you want to see next see you in the next one die if you try you just buy get a little bit of trouble k n i f e right in your you never see me

Channel: Jack Alderton

Views: 27,268

Keywords: cost of living in malaysia, retire to malaysia, kuala lumpur, kuala lumpur malaysia, retire to kuala lumpur, digital nomad malaysia, south east asia cost of living, malaysia expenses, malaysia rent, malaysia condo, cost of living in kuala lumpur, moving to malaysia, cost of living, affordable luxury, expat in malaysia, aussie expat, aussie in malaysia, love malaysia, malaysia lifestyle, kuala lumpur lifestyle, matsaleh, malaysia travel, kuala lumpur travel, south east asia

Id: 8S-00PbNH9E

Length: 20min 17sec (1217 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 07 2024