Malaysia Versus Singapore Cost Of Living Comparison: RM5000 VS SGD5000
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 พ.ค. 2024
- There has been an ongoing comparison between the 2 neighbouring countries, Malaysia and Singapore, on their cost of living. While the Sing Dollar has been steadily appreciating against the Malaysian Ringgit, how has that impacted the purchasing power of each currency?
In this video, we are breaking down the numbers for you, side by side. We are going to compare a RM5000 budget in Kuala Lumpur, the state capital of Malaysia, versus SGD5000 budget in Singapore. At the end of the video, you will be able to understand how an accurate dollar-to-dollar comparison can be made between the 2 countries.
What can one afford with a RM5000 budget in Kuala Lumpur versus an SGD5000 budget? Find out in this video!
If you are new to this channel, we are Fran and John, the Corporate Breakout Couple. Fran is Malaysian and John is Singaporean. We broke out of the corporate rat race in Singapore and retired early in year 2020 at the age of 40 years old. We love doing cost of living videos from countries all around the world and early retirement videos, to inspire and motivate people to get out of their comfort zones and go for their dreams!
We hope you enjoy watching this video, and do let us know in the comment section if you like it!
With lots of love - Fran and John
Timestamps:
00:00 Malaysia & Singapore Cost Of Living
01:17 1. Basis Of Comparison Between Malaysia & Singapore
04:18 2. Budget Comparison
10:50 3. Comparing Currency Strength
12:49 4. In Conclusion
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Credits
MOM Singapore
New Straits Times Malaysia
Yahoo Finance
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@@Justice..58 what's the point in comparing PM salaries?
Bro, just a small observation, your hand gestures was opposite of the cities you referenced in the background. Otherwise, good and clear presentation. 👍
Haha yes, thanks for that!
Will be nice if you guys can explore this topic in your next video: What has gotten more affordable over the years in malaysia and singapore? On top of my mind, phone bills
Great suggestion! Will definitely put it in our video idea vault ❤️
Yes, phone bills have dropped in pricing for sure! More data at way lesser price. Another would be the price of TVs
Thanks for making this video!! Always been a joy to watch the comparison! For me best is can early retirement, own a flat in SG and rent it out. Head over to Malaysia to rent a condo to enjoy! Also can get a chance to buy some second hand nice sports car to drive around!
Definitely get the best of both worlds!
Thank you for the comparison. We have relatives living in Kulai that work in Singapore. Tough commute to and from work, but the salary is worth it for them. Appreciate the vlog.
Definitely. Short term sacrifice for long term gain. They can definitely retire earlier back in Kulai if they are diligent with their money
@@corporatebreakoutcouple and where can Singaporeans go to retire early? Kulai? There are immigrations laws and it changes all the time.
@@davidchan9187 so many retirement visas all around the world. Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Portugal etc etc
Good stuff. Though here are a few consideration.
1. No doubt if you exclude rent and cars the average Singaporean is 'better off'. However once space and cars are included things become more favourable to the Malaysian.
2. Since living with parents was used as an assumption and Malaysia is a car hungry nation, many kids use hand me down cars from their parents, which removes the instalment portion of transport cost.
3. A mix of ride hailing and public transport is also made available to Malaysians, although since KL is a bigger region, it's case by case. But I reckon it's around RM 6-800 a month.
4. It's worth noting that the tax system in Malaysia is not as efficient. It is commonplace for many who earn informal income to not declare it. So the median income statistics only capture the partial earnings of a median KL/Selangor person. The reason why Malaysia wanted to introduce the GST system was to circumvent this problem. It is estimated this 'shadow economy' is around 30% of GDP.
The situation for Malaysians much more diverse vs Singaporeans. There's more room to play around so it really depends on the individuals creativity.
EDIT: I want to say that much of the advantages that SG have over Malaysia is artificial in the sense that the government gives tremendous handouts/benefits that is far superior than what the Msian government gives. For example, hawker store owners in SG get rent ceilings, that is they will not pay rent above a certain amount, which helps with the pricing of hawker food, and the big one is HDB, where the SG government subsidizes land cost for 90% of singaporeans. Assuming the average house in KL is 500,000 MYR, this is like if the Malaysian government gave each Malaysian house owner 200,000 MYR after they've bought the house.
As formers hawkers in Singapore (we did several videos on that), for new hawker entrants, it is via a bidding process through NEA. We paid SGD3k a month for our stall, excluding conservancy, table cleaning, utilities. It is only on the 3rd year onwards that our rental would normalise to the average rental of the stalls around us, which then would be estimated to be around SGD2k or more. This is why new entrants to the hawker scene usually die out after 1-2 years due to the heavy rental and manpower costs.
@@corporatebreakoutcouple that's crazy. Good insights!
Don't understand it. Singapore has the largest government debt to GDP ratio in ASEAN, 160% in 2023 compared to Malaysia 's 67% and Thailand's 61%. Thus, Singapore is borrowing beyond its means. Yet it is considered a developed nation.
@@pakngah3715
What about the US? Their debt is US34 trillion currently, which is around US102k per person.
@@pakngah3715 in Singapore's case, it borrows to invest, not to spend. So Singapore remains a net creditor.
I do think currency do play a part in the goods and food or services do made a difference. Esp things and food that are import. 500RM and 500sgd is not the same when one is buying imported products.
Indeed. That is the whole point of this video. Malaysians will always suffer to the weakening ringgit the moment they purchase imported products, even things like Starbucks, McDonald's, Nike, Uniqlo etc etc.
As a Singaporean, we might have a better knowledge or education on financial literacy and in particular this segment on currency comparison with MYR. I say this because most of my friends and relatives in KL still thinks that Singapore's cost of living is very high as compared to them. And they cant see beyond the pricing of our cars and housing. It baffles me and my conclusion is the government of Malaysia is doing an amazing job creating a rosy picture over there. Malaysia should thank you guys for creating this awareness.
Yup, you hit the nail on the head. It's a pretty popular misconception that Singapore's cost of living is very high compared to Malaysia's.
We actually meet a lot of Malaysians who have no been to Singapore before, so it is actually because the lack of exposure that they form these opinions
@@corporatebreakoutcouple, thanks for the content. The popular buzz phrase would be how expensive Singapore cost of living is. A good dive (not sure if u have already covered it) is 'How affordable the cost of living in Malaysia really is for the locals'.
@@sadistmy we did many cost of living videos all around Malaysia. We also did the RM5000 video recently on how well can one live on that take home salary.
This series can definitely be expounded further in the future.
@@corporatebreakoutcouple, thanks and good to know. Glad to find a channel with such quality content related to such matters rather than the usual mindless-rants.
I am from KL and the people I know here I would say majority thinks earning SGD is better. Only minority thinks Singapore is more expensive with less savings. But we have our reasons for not going over to Singapore. Such as family and friends here. Also more freedom to travel around different states for food since KL is central and most good Malaysian food are between mid to north. Also the luxury to live in bigger space and owning car(s). And not everyone is so fortunate to find a job in Singapore that they desire.
how ca yo when comparing sg and msia, selectively omit rental and car , which are most expensive big ticket item, in favour for sg?
We already explained this in the video.
Hi Corporate breakout couple - do you still have your own home in S'pore?
Yes, we do! We own properties in Singapore
I find it quite interesting how hawker food is so inexpensive in SG compared to overall cost of living.
This is due to the mandate of the govt of Singapore to keep hawker prices low and affordable for the mass public. Unfortunately the hawkers themselves pay the price as they have extremely low margins to begin with and then with inflation, it eats into their razor thin margins even more (we can speak from experience as we were once hawkers too, feel free to check out our video on that).
The main running costs for hawker food are ingredients and rental. Singapore source most of their food materials from Malaysia, especially if you want it to be fresh. The lower the RM drop, the cheaper you can get with your SGD. If the government keeps the rental of hawker centre stalls low then the low cost can be transferred to the customers. This will have a cascading effect on privately owned coffeeshops as well because they can't sell their dishes there three or even two times higher than hawker centres. In comparison I don't think there are that many hawker centres in Malaysia that are run or controlled by the government. Even if there are it would probably be predominantly rented out to the Malays. The majority of Malaysian street food are found in privately owned premises and they'll probably adopt the business practice of charging as high as they as long as customers keep turning up
P
@@corporatebreakoutcouple00
My friend expenses in Malaysia
Transportation: RM50 (fixed monthly MRT/Bus unlimited)
Condominium: RM800 (Room rental near MRT with swimming pool and gym)
Food: RM1200 ( plus minus all eat out, sometime eat luxury and sometimes eat salad)
Groceries: RM400 ( snacks, treats and fruits)
Healthcare: RM1 (free medication and healthcare basically)
Phone/internet: RM40 ( unlimited 5G highspeed data)
Insurance: RM300
What's your friend's savings rate? Do they travel out of Malaysia?
Yeah, practically don't need insurance because it's free especially if you or your spouse is a government servant.
RM 1 annual medical fee is only for Malaysian citizens. But private sector medical costs are relatively value for money...such that Malaysia has medical tourism industry.
Well presented and scripted. Yes, due to the high exchange of 1 to 3.52, Singaporean do have a very good standard of living with the exception of Cars, Property, alcohol and cigarettes. Hawker food prices in Singapore are increasing but still within the means of Singaporean to choose the lowest budget food. Maybe you can include the annual handouts of the Singapore government to its people. Do Malaysians get handouts too from the government?
Thank you very much for your feedback!
Recently, Malaysian govt handed out RM100 via Touch N Go E-wallet for tax paying citizens. That's as far as we know.
Subsidies petrol , cooking oil, egg, rice ，sugar , & Malaysian go to Gov hospital pay only Rm1 (with medicine) , senior citizen is totally free .
@@user-xu8vt8uc8qElectricity is subsidised too 👍
RM1500 for car is incorrect.
if you own a perodua axia at RM40K with 5 years repayment and depreciate 10% pa, your monthly cost is about RM356per month plus RM100 road tax and insurance.
But having a car is more fun. You can bring your girl friend jalan jalan see stars haha. Maybe go taman and chit chat
Also you can choose to take public transport like SG if you staying in KL.we do have MY50 unlimited travel pass in KL
For accommodations, there are plenty of options from RM800-1000 to rent near LRT station to your working place too.
The assumption is a Perodua Ativa so it's correct.
I live in Danang, my gym is USD$4 and I play basketball for USD$20 per month. I do not go to the mall, there is only 1 BIG mall here. So we have to go more beach walks here. So I think that I save more here in Vietnam
We love Danang! We did a 1 month trip around Vietnam last year and we totally loved Danang, her beaches and the seafood
Cost of living in sg is actually lower than in Malaysia if you work and earn in singapore. In sg you can get a plate of chicken rice for 3 dollars in Malaysia it's 8 ringgit.
Yes, that's what we experience as well
problem is those earn 5k in malaysia can get same 5k sgd for the same job or not.
Fran used to be a headhunter in Singapore, so this is speaking from actual professional experience. Usually, Malaysians who move to Singapore will take a pay cut of 10-20%. Some lucky ones whose roles moved to Singapore will receive the same salary, but in SGD.
However, that being said, they can quickly surpass their old salary in Malaysia with bonuses, increments and changing jobs/roles as the job market in Singapore is more robust than Malaysia's.
@@corporatebreakoutcoupleniche and high skill yes, normal office salary maybe in some cases, low/non skill definitely no.
Singapore City is 2nd financial centre City like New York City after London Brexit. Malaysia is best retirement country in Asia. The one Asia in list of best top10 retirement country.
Love how you categorise it. There is always something good in each country
I actually found both places affordable as for cost of living. The biggest difference was housing costs. Much cheaper in Malaysia 🇲🇾
Yup, housing is expensive in Singapore
Almost everything else is cheaper in Singapore
If by 30 years old you don't buy a house and a car, something is wrong with you, especially with that high income. And because of that, I prefer to live in Malaysia.
To include vacation costs is irrelevant to most Malaysians. Why? Every year, we balik kampung during Raya celebration, Chinese new year or Depavali and have lots of fun. In fact, there are still many interesting locations that Malaysia can visit. I still have not visited Sarawak compared to all the states in Malaysia. In some states, visiting them 10 times is still not enough! Then, once in a lifetime, we go for a hajj/pilgrimage as a Muslim. We can visit many interesting places at that time.
Thanks for sharing your point of view!
From 2025, From 2025, new applicants for the Employment Pass (EP) system will have to earn at least 5,600 Singapore dollars ($4,140) per month, up from 5,000 Singapore dollars ($3,700).
Thanks for sharing
You should factor in accommodation instead of "living with parents" and see how the tides turn.
We believe we already explained why we chose to do this method.
We also did 2 videos (1 each) on SGD5k in Singapore and RM5K in KL. The tides didn't turn. Standard of living in Singapore still came up tops.
Singapore City is like New York City after Brexit.
Malaysia is best retirement country in Asia. The one Asia in list of best top10 retirement country.
How does New York City look like after Britain exited EU? What's the correlation?
Why focusing KL, the worst city to live 😅. To bad SG don't have small towns where the cost of living is way cheaper.
Gotta compare city to city. And yes, no small towns in Singapore for us to compare 😂
Only the upper middle class can afford a car in Singapore. In Malaysia most households have a car, many even two or three cars.
80 to 90% in Singapore stay in HDB apartments whereas the majority in Malaysia even those in KL stay in landed property
People staying in landed in Malaysia wish to stay in condo as there are amenities and the atas feel 😂
People staying in condo or hdb in Singapore wants to stay in landed 😂
@@corporatebreakoutcouplethat is what you think or actual?
@@hc8714 it is our opinion based on having conversations with people from both countries. The grass is always greener on the other side
Buy gold guys.
Great advice. Before one buys any assets, please do your homework and due diligence. Never go into something blind & unaware
2/3 🇲🇾 fresh graduates get RM2k
Most 🇸🇬 fresh graduates get S$3.5-5k
Not true for Singapore. It's a benchmark but it's not industry norm.
Not true for Malaysian graduates get 2K in KL City now. My salary 26 years ago was 2.5K (excluded allowances). Now fresh graduates who works in Banking industry starting salary is from lowest 3.8K (a lot of banks offer 4K+). It is even higher for IT industry
These MY vs SG videos are getting old n tiring to watch
Then don't watch them
Great attitude you have
Absurd comparison. In Malaysia there are so much choices of cheaper food. At 30 , most Malaysian already start a family and buy a house. Travel around in a family car. Singaporean at this age can only dream in doing the same thing
Have you lived and worked in both countries before?
Do you have the actual experience when you write your statement?
Most Malaysians don’t buy house at 30 lol
5000 less 20% cpf, take home pay only left 4000
This is after deduction already. Take home salary. We did the same in a recent video
Stop comparing Malaysia and Singapore. You cannot compare apple with orange. Singapore should be compare with Japan, South Korea, Taiwan or Hong Kong. While Malaysia should be compare with Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Ok, we will wait for you to do videos on these comparisons. Let us know once they are done ya
Malaysia is much richer then other countries you mentioned
@@hasinabegum1038malaysia is crap all corrupt to the core ...called madani government yet done nothing to the people since won pmx only burden the peoples like more and more increased in all price of living
In s'pore, those that keep whining about the cost of living being high are either ignorant, brainless or deceptive.
If one compares to the cost of living in Singapore 15 years ago to today, it is undeniable that indeed the cost of living went up in Singapore. However, that being said, one can still live life well in Singapore as long as one continues to work and draw a decent salary.
This is really really worrying. The long term implications of brain drain and skill migration will further contribute to the decline for Malaysia. Malaysians remain hopeful but i fear it has past the point of no return.
Our fear is that Malaysia is in a bubble that will burst anytime. When it does, many middle class folks will suffer and may spiral into poverty. We did videos previously on T20 earners and M40 earners in Malaysia. Being a Top 20 earner in Malaysia might sound good but it's an illusion. The M40s which are the middle income earners are slowly sliding into the Bottom 40%
What’s worrying is that Malaysians will flood Singapore for work and will there be enough of jobs really for all?? As a Singaporean, one has to now compete with foreigners for jobs. And have to live n spend in Singapore unlike foreigners who can go back to their countries when they make their pile of money. This is a terrible situation to be in.
@@davidchan9187 Singaporeans do have choices to live elsewhere too. One is not locked to their home country. All is not doom and gloom for Singaporeans.
Well not everyone can afford to or have the liberty (family obligations, not having the right skills to migrate etc) to just take off and live in another country, not everyone can afford to own houses in the most expensive city on earth 😬
@@davidchan9187Singapore Gov is smart. They took in skilled migrants, who will build up Singapore in the long run. That is how Singapore progress. You guys have the best brains.
This comparison is not correct.You must compare apple with apple.So In Singapore should include the cost of using a car.
Anyone who earns 5k in Singapore has no business owning a car.
Did you listen to our explanation on why it is not feasible?
Singaporeans can travel around easily with the public transport, but not Malaysians. For Malaysians owning a car is a need-to-have.
@@simplyme3306 precisely
@@simplyme3306It is feasible in KL, not feasible outside of KL I have worked in KL for 10 years without owning a car, I do know a number of friends or colleagues who don't own a car too. But majority are used to driving a car so they are not used to taking public transportations.
sg purchasing power is strong when only going to msia and developing countries.
Actually that is not factually correct. If you look at the forex charts that pit SGD against other world currencies, you'd see that SGD is a strong performer
When yen was stronger few years ago my jpn trip cost $3k for a 8 days package but now it will cost $5k at least even sgd appreciating and if not appreciating it will cost even more now. So the fact here is not about how strong the forex rate but rather the purchasing power instead.
@@JJW0314 inflation hits everyone on a global scale. No one can run away from it.
@corporatebreakoutcouple probably u can do a video on comparing inflation between the cities you comparing for cost of living
@@JJW0314 great idea, thanks!
In MY, no car is as good as no leg😂
Hahaha!!
If no car, need to use leg to walk everywhere 😂
In MY yes, but since this video is about KL, actually can use rm50 unlimited lrt/mrt/monorail/rapid bus monthly pass. Don't really need to own a car in KL. But I agree outside of KL still need car.