Cost of Living with Budget Planning in Malaysia for Expat Indians

Hi friends, welcome back

Planning is very important. It is not only applicable in work or tasks but much important in finance. Because, earning is hard and spending is easy.  In this post I want to share completely my personal thoughts about budget planning to live best in Malaysia. My post completely related to middle class people who occupy major percent of our society.

In general any expat from India comes to overseas to make some extra money than from his/her native country.  It might not be case with everyone but it is true with most of the people. So, one should able to save some amount which is more than what one saves in his/her home country. Then only there is a meaning to live in other country leaving all your relations far. So I strongly feel having a good plan for our spending over earning is very important. By implementing this plan you can save more than expected.

Okey! Now I go into the detailed picture. I want to discuss the living scenario for three categories of people.

Budget

• 1.       Bachelors
• 2.      Married couple with no kids and wife not working
• 3.      Married couple with 1 or 2 kids and wife not working. 

Accommodation:  

House rent is the major part in monthly expenses. In Malaysia house rents are a bit high compared to India. But it is completely subjective. As the table shows in my previous post, a single bed room apartment will comes around RM 1500/- fully furnished with extra monthly bills. Below is the budget plan J

Options for Bachelors:

Sharing a house. Yes. For bachelor person, one bed room flat, I feel it is waste. There are many condominiums which offer shared rooms. These rooms are fully furnished and the rental is included with utilities. If you opt to stay in Brickfields, Palmcourt Condominium is the famous apartment with lot of Indians. You can get small room with other facilities for RM 550/- per month. This is if you want to stay alone. You also get middle rooms which are shared with another bachelor. If you have any friend then you can share with him/her. In that case rent comes around RM 450/- per month. So option is yours.  Not only Palm Court Apartments, you can find many more cheap rooms in brickfields area.

 Options for Married Couple:  

 If you are married and want to stay with your wife then you can also go for shared house if you feel house rental is a burden. For a couple, master bed room is much convenient. So the other rooms like middle room and small room are shared with others. This type of master rooms are available RM 1100/- per month with utilities.  If you are newly married and don’t want others to be shared in your house, the you can find some apartments which are cheaper around RM 1000/- per month but you have to bare other expenses like utilities etc separately.

Married couple with 2 kids and wife not working:

For families sharing might not be convenient.  If the children are school going then it is good to take two bed room apartments. If you really don’t expect a lot luxury house then you can easily get a furnished house for RM 1800/- per month. If you want to plan a bit then semi furnished apartment also available for RM 1400/-. Again option is yours.

Summary of budget accommodation goes here:

Category of people	House Type	Rent (RM) per month
Bachelor	Small Room	550/- (Including utilities)
Bachelor	Middle room shred with friend	450/- (Including utilities)
Married Couple	Shared house with Master Bed Room	1100/- (Including utilities)
Married Couple	Semi furnished one bed room flat	1200/- (Utilities extra)
Married Couple with Children	Semi furnished two bed room flat	1400/- (Utilities extra)
Married Couple with Children	Fully furnished two bed room flat	1800/- (Utilities extra)

I will continue about the budget food planning in my next post.. Hope the information helpful. If you have any comments or queries please post here.

Cost of Living in Malaysia for Expats

Hi Friends... Hope you are doing fine.

I have come across many blogs and forums which discuss about cost of living. So here I want to share cost of living in Malaysia for Indians. Don’t feel bad if I mention for Indians.  Most of my friends are from India, so I take inputs from them so that I can give the accurate information for you.

If you are really looking for the cost of different items/housing etc., then below is a brief idea. This post contains the information taken from other sites. Most of the forums and sites say that you need to have minimum of RM 15,000/- per month to lead a good life. Mmm true. Just have a look on the below table. For more information you can visit the below sites too.

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=Malaysia&city=Kuala+Lumpur

http://www.joy-stay.com/CostofLiving.html#anchor_1996

I want to tell budget planning stay in Malaysia. Don’t forget to read Budget Planning post to know exact situation on Cost of Living in Malaysia.

Rent Per Month
Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre	2,100.00 RM
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre	1,300.00 RM
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre	4,000.00 RM
Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre	2,000.00 RM
Restaurants
Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant	8.00 RM
Meal for 2, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course	50.00 RM
Combo Meal at McDonalds or Similar	11.12 RM
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter draught)	10.00 RM
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)	12.00 RM
Cappuccino (regular)	8.50 RM
Coke/Pepsi (0.33 liter bottle)	2.00 RM
Water (0.33 liter bottle)	1.50 RM
Markets
Milk (regular), 1 liter	5.50 RM
Loaf of Fresh White Bread (500g)	3.00 RM
Rice (1kg)	4.00 RM
Eggs (12)	4.75 RM
Local Cheese (1kg)	35.00 RM
Chicken Breasts (Boneless, Skinless), (1kg)	12.00 RM
Apples (1kg)	8.00 RM
Oranges (1kg)	9.00 RM
Tomato (1kg)	3.82 RM
Potato (1kg)	3.00 RM
Lettuce (1 head)	3.00 RM
Water (1.5 liter bottle)	2.50 RM
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range)	50.00 RM
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)	8.00 RM
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)	12.00 RM
Pack of Cigarettes (Marlboro)	10.00 RM
Transportation
One-way Ticket (Local Transport)	2.00 RM
Monthly Pass (Regular Price)	100.00 RM
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)	3.00 RM
Taxi 1km (Normal Tariff)	1.00 RM
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)	25.00 RM
Gasoline (1 liter)	1.90 RM
Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car)	148,888.00 RM
Utilities (Monthly)
Basic (Electricity, Heating, Water, Garbage) for 85m2 Apartment	150.00 RM
1 min. of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local (No Discounts or Plans)	0.30 RM
Internet (6 Mbps, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL)	150.00 RM
Sports And Leisure
Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult	170.00 RM
Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend)	25.00 RM
Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat	12.00 RM
Clothing And Shoes
1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)	250.00 RM
1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...)	200.00 RM
1 Pair of Nike Shoes	300.00 RM
1 Pair of Men Leather Shoes	250.00 RM
Buy Apartment Price
Price per Square Meter to Buy Apartment in City Centre	8,611.13 RM
Price per Square Meter to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre	4,305.56 RM
Salaries And Financing
Median Monthly Disposable Salary (After Tax)	4,000.00 RM
Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly	5.00

By the above detailed list, you can find how much salary you should get to survive happily in Malaysia. This is not my main post actually.

What to expect from an Employer Agreement before coming as Expat to Malaysia:

Hi friends welcome back and glad to see you here!!!

Either for Business or for Employment, many people relocate to other countries leaving their mother land behind. It is good opportunity to know new cultures, atmospheres, global experiences. But it is not always as pleasant as expected if you don’t take proper care before relocating.

Malaysian Flag

 

As an Expat living in Malaysia, I personally faced some problems and now and then receive queries from my fellow colleagues. As we are working here, most of the problems come from employer’s agreement or contract which we have to sign before coming to Malaysia.  At the time of agreement/contract sign we may miss out some points which might cause major setback later. So I want to share some top important points which need to be taken with high priority.

1.       Genuine Company: 

When you got an offer from a company which good pay and other benefits don’t simply accept it without doing proper investigation about the Company. There are many companies which are “Black Listed” or “Suspect Listed” in Malaysian Immigration. Without knowing this, if you accept the offer then you will be troubled at the time of entry in Malaysia. Even though you could able to manage to enter, later on you will face lot of problems.

So my sincere advice to all aspiring expats who want to come to Malaysia, please make a thorough inquiry about the employer who is providing visa/pass for you.  If you have any friends in Malaysia ask them to inquire for you about the company, or else you can contact Malaysian Immigration for assistance.

2.     Proper Employment Pass:

 There are different types of Employment Passes available in Malaysia. Please check Immigration Official Website for more information. Check with your employer for how many years they are going to provide your EP and what type. You should be aware of this clearly.

Be careful with the companies which ask for money to proceed with your visa/pass processing. A good company should not charge anything

3.     Clear Salary Negotiations and Benefits :

Generally, people will get attracted to the offered salary without thinking much about other benefits. If you are one of them please concentrate on the below points.

Medical Coverage: Don’t forget to ask Medical Coverage. Medical facility is expensive in Malaysia compared to India. So better check with HR about the Medical benefits provided and it is only for you or your dependents or not. If you are relocating with family like mother, wife and kids then better to get full family coverage.

Accommodation: In Malaysia Accommodation is quite expensive. A normal, 2 bed room condo comes around RM 2,500/- per month. If you plan for good area and 3 bed rooms flat then the price might go higher. Check with your employer whether company provides any accommodation or not. If not ask to give house rent allowance or something. If not, then plan accordingly.

For bachelors normally they will say for few months company will provide the accommodation. Make sure it is combined accommodation with other employees or individual rooms etc based on your convenience.

Tax:  Normally companies tell the Gross Salary when they discuss with their employees. Some people may get an impression that they will receive that much amount in hand every month. But it might not be true always. Normally there is Income tax deduction from employee’s salary every month.  So when you discuss about salary negotiations, ask about income tax. Some companies pay income tax on behalf of their employees.

Children Education Facility: If you are married and have kids whom you plan to educate here then please do inquire about Schooling and Education facilities prior. If you want to go for International Schools then make sure you know the fee structure other extra fee etc which might be troublesome if not planned earlier. Check with your employer whether any facility for Schooling and Education of children.

Dependant Visa: The common thing happens in most of bachelor expats is, they come as single after few months they gets married. J As common, when they want to bring his/her spouse to Malaysia, dependant visa comes into scene. So again need to contact with employer.

Some companies demand for money to proceed with dependant visas.  So it is better to check with them prior.

Leaves, Bonus and Hardship Allowance:  Make it clear about the number of leaves per month or per annum and what types of leaves available. Generally most of the companies provide Annual Leave, Sick Leave, Hospitalization leave and Maternity leave. Make an inquiry with your friends.

Some companies pays yearly bonus to its employees. It is important to mention about Hardship allowance in agreement. Better to discuss this too.

4.     Clear Contract Agreement:

 Another common problem in bachelors face in Malaysia is, payment when there is no job. To make it much clear, people join to some job consultancy and placed on Client location as work assignment. The Job Consultancy will have some agreement with the Client. Based on that only employees are placed in jobs.

Generally, once the job ends with particular client, the job consultancy shows new Client to work. In some cases, if job consultancy fails to show new job for its employee, then employee has to stay at home without any work. In such situations, consultancies won’t pay salary to the employee as he/she did not work. These situations are really miserable for employees. They don’t go to work and they don’t get the pay. So it is better to discuss bench salary beforehand.

5.     Career Growth and Performance Appraisals:

 Don’t forget to check with your employer about the career growth and the frequency of performance appraisals. Performance appraisal directly connected with salary hikes. Sometimes when your designation upgraded then only hikes are given. Discuss the company policies and other stuff.

6.     About Notice Period:

Check the notice periods. Generally in contract letter, HR mentions about the notice period should be given by employee before quitting the job. But make sure that they mention about the notice period should be given by employer to its employee. This is very important. If this is not mentioned you can be fired at any point of time without any notice. But vice versa cannot be same. If you want to resign from your services you should server minimum of one month notice.

Most of the jobs openings prefer immediate joining so make sure notice period a bit less. Don’t forget to check the buyout policy if required. Some companies don’t allow employees to avail balance annual leaves in notice period time. So better check it out.

If you think I need to add some other point to this, please let me know. If you feel this post is helpful please subscribe or leave comment. Share your personal experience with others which helps them from going in wrong route.

Where to buy good Children Bicycle in Kuala Lumpur

Cloth shops and Tailors in Brickfields

Hi friends, hope and wish you are doing great. Welcome to this post.

Today I want to share the most interesting item for women, Sari and Punjabi Suite Shops and Tailors.

Malaysia is a combination different religions and cultures like Malays, Chinese, and Indians. So we can find variety of shops meant for dresses. As Brickfields area is dominated by Indian Community, you can find many Indian Cloth Shops.  In these shops you can find Indian Sarees, Ready Made Punjabi Suits, Dress Materials, Night Gowns, Blouse Pieces, Petticoats and many more.  

Top shops from Chennai, like Sri Kumaran’s, Saravana Stores etc have branches in Malaysia. But don’t expect that many varieties here. Every shop has its own specific Tailoring shop. So if you buy any Punjabi Suit material you can stitch from the same shop’s tailor. Tailoring charges have to pay separately.

Cost varies a lot compared to India.  In Punjabi Suits you can find latest trends in readymade items.  If you are really keen to buy, you can visit Masjid Jamek area where you can find many more shops especially for cloths with lots of varieties.  Price is much higher. 

Some of the Tailors provide services in hourly basis too.

Bombay Collections

Pandiyan Stores

Kumaran Silks

Fraser’s Hill, Pahang, Malaysia

Hi friends, welcome to this post. Hope you are doing great.

From hectic workloads, chasing deadlines, mechanical life style of morning 8:30 am to 8:30 pm work, practical thinking makes man really busy in his life. This modern life style not only affects the personality of the person but also affects his/her relationships too. If one continue life like this then they will lose the essence of it.

I am not telling to stop working.. J but plan your leisure times (weekends) with small family trips or trips with friends which makes you more relaxed and it is much better than watching movies, boozing etc. If you are in Malaysia, then don’t miss the opportunity to roam around this beautiful country. Malaysia is a place to live life very near to nature.

Today I am going to tell about a place which can be visited as a day trip or if you want can also stay there. It’s all about Fraser’s Hill Station.

Fraser’s Hill is a highland which is located nearly two hours away from busy Kuala Lumpur in Pahang Hills. It is also known as Bukit Fraser. This place is popular for its cool climate, nature activities. History says, British army, Scotsman Fraser who came to this place in search of Gold mines. Because of him this place got the name Fraser’s Hill. Whether he found the Gold mine or not I am not sure J but you can see the old colonial charm all around the hill. Most of the old stone cottages represent colonial style of living in olden days.

Visitors can visit this place throughout the year but be prepared for sudden rainfall most of the times. If you wish to stay there then plan to visit in off peak days so that you can enjoy cheap budgets. Temperatures usually range between 22 - 28°C during the day and 16°C to 20°C at night; with more rain, the environment becomes cold and misty.

Main attractions in Fraser’s Hill are its cooling climate, rain forests, Allan’s Water, Jeriau Waterfall, and The Paddock for horse-riding and abandoned colonial mansions. This place is also famous for its variety of birdlife.

Allen’s Water:

Allan's Water

It is a small lake which was turned into a park for recreational activities. Surrounding the lake are big trees and shrubs which provide a relaxing and peaceful atmosphere. Birds fluttering among the tree tops are common sights, with the occasional squirrel or monkey. Small paddle boats (for two people each) parked along the water's edge can be rented for a small fee, at MYR6 for 15 minutes. You can then paddle around the lake to enjoy the scenery.

Jeriau murky waterfall:

Jeriau Waterfall

The waterfall is not impressive and the amount of water is not large, but the setting is romantic, making a visit worthwhile.

The Paddock:

The Paddock

Activity at Paddock

It is a club for horse riding and Archery. Don’t expect too much about the horse riding as it is quite simple one but with lots of fun. The rate for horseride is RM8 for adults and RM4 for children. The rate for archery is RM8 for adulta (10 arrows) and RM5 for blowpipe for children.

Bird Life: 

This place is a special attraction for Birdlife. It  is home to 250 species of wild birds. In fact the International Bird Watching Event is held here. You can go to Jelai R. esort to watch birds but not necessarily

Children’s Park, Flower Garden near the Clock Tower and The Smoke House are some other places to visit in this hill area.

Map to this location:

Map

Hope this information gives you a brief idea about Fraser’s Hill. For more information

you can visit

http://www.fraserhill.info/ 

and 

http://www.journeymalaysia.com/highfrasersmap.htm

If you have visited this place already please don’t forget to share your experiences and other valuable information with others. If you like this post and information please subscribe to this blog. Valuable comments are highly encouraged.

** some of the photos are not belongs to this blog and are taken from others