Malaysians who wish to work in Singapore, or in other advanced countries, would do well to improve our command of the English language first.

First impressions are very important in job applications.

At least get a friend to review your application and correct those obvious grammatical and/or spelling errors first.

That is true. A cook in a Chinese restaurant probably does not need to have a good command of English.

I am in fact referring to those who wish to work in Sg as professionals or corporate executives.

Since you mentioned "cook" and "kitchen helper", however, I would like to say that you will be competing with many, many more people for such jobs and also facing ever tightening foreign labour laws in Sg for such categories of workers.

All the best to you!

Malaysians can get audit jobs in Sg without too much difficulty unless you are choosy about working in big4 or top6 firms.

Of course getting a job there and being able to survive there are two different matters. I'm not talking so much about the pay as the working conditions. Long hours and multiple jobs are quite standard and you experience that in KL too. However, be ready for some discrimination, some bullying and a much more serious work culture.

Sg employers are open to graduates from here, even those from private universities. I know of many graduates getting jobs in banks there, even though these are largely sales jobs.

The main thing is your ability to secure an interview and your being able to articulate yourself at the interview.

All the best!

Assuming you are not staying overnight in Sg, $100 is more than enough.

Taxi can take you anywhere in Sg but why spend that kind of money? Find out from your prospective employer which is the nearest MRT station and/or which bus service goes to their location. Then take public transport and save your money! The vast majority of Singaporeans take public transport, so you can also ask around for direction/information.

A plate of economy rice or chicken rice will only cost you $3 to $4 in an airconditioned food centre. Tea or coffee is 50 or 60 cents. Just try to get some Singapore coins handy to use on buses. Pay for your food in notes so that you can get some loose change.

$20 should cover your meals and bus fares (providing for taking the wrong bus a few times!), but just bring $100. You can always use the balance for your next trip(s).

All the best!

When you work in Sg and earn SGD, you should not convert the costs of living to ringgit and compare that way. Especially if you are earning the same salary dollar for dollar i.e. RM3K and S$3K

So, if you spend $3 for a chap fun and 0.80 for a cup of tea, your costs are lower than rm5 for the chap fun and 1.40 for the tea.

Only if you are visiting Sg, then it is more meaningful to convert and compare to see how much more you have to spend visiting Sg.

If you have a personal culture/habit of spending more than you earn, then earning $4K will also not be enough.

Some Singaporeans actually raise a family and pay for their flat on a $2.5K salary. Of course it must be tough, but it can be done. My guess is that the majority of you guys here in the forum are single right? It all boils down to self-control and prudence.

The only additional and sizeable expenditure is your accommodation, and if you are from smaller towns in Malaysia working in the Klang Valley, you would have spend on rental too anyway.

For your information, we have to fork out more than rm20 a person just to have a Chinese meal at a non-aircond restaurant here in KL. Utilities providers are poor and the quality of utilities provided (internet connectivity, handphone lines etc..) are still so low.

So, you get higher quality of life working in Sg, not to mention the better exposure and opportunities - intangibles but important.

So, press on, stay positive, save the strong currency and enjoy the environment there!

The average Singaporean doesn't inherit that much from their parents. In fact their parents should still be alive if they are below 50 years old. Probably the younger ones have the advantage of not having to pay rent.

Sorry I should have made it clearer about the costs of food.

Let's say you and 2 friends go to Chinese restaurant (non-aircond type) in setapak or puchong or ampang etc.. and order 3 or 4 dishes for a simple dinner, nothing extravagant. The bill could end up around rm80+. If you order seafood, it will be rm100+. If you have the simple dinner at an aircond restaurant or one in a mall, it will set you back around rm120! If you eat around Bukit Bintang, you will be 'slaughtered'!

Another example : one piece of yong tau foo here in KL is now rm1.20 per piece while it is 0.60 cents per piece in Sg!

The point I am making is that our inflation here in Malaysia is worse than that in Sg. So, our cost of living is higher (not counting housing and cars), and our standard of living is much lower than that in Sg. It is a sad situation. Yes, one can move to a smaller town where food is probably cheaper, but there will not be any jobs there for you.

If you earn $5000 a month, spending $10 for lunch is ok. If you earn half that and spend $10 for lunch regularly, then you need to review your lifestyle.

That's true, sometimes when you socialize you might spend more than you plan. That's why it's important to have a budget.

Happy to see that you can work out roughly where your money goes.

Always 'pay yourself' first. Set aside $300 or whatever amount you plan when you get your gaji. Let that be your basic savings and don't touch that for your living expenses.

One way of doing that is to open another bank account and do a auto-debit from your bank account which receives the salary. That way, even if you have some unexpected socializing to do, you would have limited your own spending.