Anyone know what is the median income in Penang?

https://open.dosm.gov.my/data-catalogue/dos...te=pulau-pinang

Take 50 percentile : RM6,130/mth

This is per household income, not individual income? How much average income for age 40?

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This post has been edited by nebula87: May 24 2023, 02:23 PM

just divide by 2; assume the average household is 2 pax

why do you want to compare your salary to others? just take the amount needed for you .. each person has different commitment and expenses

Some people 30k, some people 3k

Honestly dont know what’s the objective of the question

whats your expenses and lifestyle like?

do you have debts? have you cleared your loans?

don't compare with others, look at your own lifestyle

Depends on industry. Age. Qualification. Reputation.

how about 5k per month??

this is actual salary... for one of my family member...

still surviving

down side... No foreign Holidays... all cuti2 Malaysia only...

2 child (2yo & 5yo), Housewife, 500k House, X50 & Kelisa car

home cooked foods (if u wondering)...

This post has been edited by nexona88: May 24 2023, 03:35 PM

divide by 2....

I have 2 housing loan (260k + 140k), 1 car loan (27k). 1 wife and 1 new born baby.

This post has been edited by goolie: May 24 2023, 03:50 PM

how much is your installment for those?

and general living expenses?

add the two up.

then maybe top up rm1-2k for emergency or saving...

make sure you have aavings too

At least he saving 👏 able to buy house and 2 cars but for sure when retirement will be debt free if he keeps on going 👏

if u plan right...

not YOLO type... can survive...

problems comes when one overspend... high ego... show off lavish lifestyle to others....

Especially those buying rubbish iPhones or handbags when they can’t afford it and buying it using instalment 🤦‍♀️

If a person don’t have 100% cash to backed it it means they can’t afford it all

true...

everything buys using instalment....

if u calculate back.... the $$$ paid is wayyy higher than buying in Cash

Of course banks need to make money

Go ask former Penang CM for better answer on how much need to live in Penang 🤦‍♀️ as now he is out of the decision making yet spewing nonsense on OPR hike 🤦‍♀️

Penang is no longer a low cost place, its by far and large similar to Klang Valley. Especially on the island side.

40 year old single? married with no kids? married with kids?

wow respect can survive like that.. and driving better car than i do..

planning is important

don't spend lavishly... home cooked foods.... can save quite sums

got any passive income or not?

not that I know off...

just the ordinary EPF & some ASM funds

keep it up! great planning and control

Penang Island expensive lah, it's same everywhere, a tale of 2 cities. Beautiful laid back city, if wealthy.

Unker keeping quiet many weeks liao. Self reflecting.

Auntie just gifted 18 yo son in Mar, $1.6M landed b4 he goes Monash. Auntie takut inflation. Kakak-kakak pun sudah dapat their own.

Yet, Unker can survive on $1.5K/month. Petrol, 4D, work lunch when Unker belanja co workers, are my major expenses.

Unker get choice of cars to drive n free meals for breakfast, dinner n all weekend makan...now almost every weekend, task to distribute musang king to neighbours.

Unker hoping strike 4D jackpot or crypto 20X, then can buy own Maruah.

Just sharing, don't tembak Unker, no mood to defend.

1.6 million at such a fine age...

unker got very well distributed investment, i only see MUSANG KING.

crypto 20x is nice too

it depends on your lifestyle bro..
if hari hari makan shark fin of course RM 50K wont be enough lo..
but notice the price at Penang is more expensive than in KL..not sure this is because i makan at tourist area..mcallister there..

totally agreed on this..
eat out for 2 person..minimum RM 250
with this RM 250, go NSK can buy 1 week food supplies..

Rm250 for 2??

Hotel foods???

I like to calculate my yearly expenses, then I know how much money is needed. Monthly is not accurate due to different expenses at different times of the year. If I did a simple one like below, averagely for 2 person also need RM3k per month these days. Haven't included KTM yet



For me and my wife, currently, I need 80k per annum, which is under RM7k a month. Coz I include expenses like medical card insurances, cost for 2 cars, and many more which I removed from above example. Even my daily meal I put RM25 each. Thus, with 80k and with a conservative 4.5% returns pa, I need assets amounting to under RM2m to generate the yearly returns in order not to touch the capital. But as me and my wife age and as inflation catch up, we will eventually start tapping into the capital which should last us till 75-80 years if we live that long We have no children, and that helps. Or to some, the expect got children to help when golden years come.

I had to top up my allowance to my elderly mum during pandemic days when FD rates were super low. She couldn't get enough interest to cover her expenses even though she didn't need much. Now that FD naik, I am happy once again coz we got no home or car loan. Debt free is bliss.

I also hoping for jackpot, tak mali mali pun

Actually Penang not that expensive except for buying a home. Otherwise, food and normal consumables, same saje with KV, could even be cheaper. In fact, no need to pay tolls unless you going across to mainland. Here in KV, it's almost impossible to avoid tolls when going out to see friends or family or for some jalan2 during weekend. My monthly toll already close to RM150 p/m.

Me pun sharing je.

RM250 cannot even buy you a nice romantic dinner these days 🤦‍♀️

Buffet 😂 most likely he meant for a week

Ahhhh....

Then it's logical 😁

But can still cut down.... If u reduce the eating time per day or portion....

This post has been edited by nexona88: May 26 2023, 02:24 PM

If it is buffet you will get best bang for your bucks if you fast the whole day and then whack the buffet 🤦‍♀️ but be careful some might get sick easily from overeating 😂

On the contrary, works by Ida Auken; Jessi Streib.
3 generations.curse?
Let's hope it stops with Unker.

Thanks for sharing the budgeting table. I feel that the food costs are higher these days and portions are smaller in Penang. Rm20 would be just nice for one pax per meal per day. Drinks at kopitiams in Penang are also mandatory😂

Butterworth or BM or Kulim how? Cost of living I mean.

I’m not sure, but would expect mainland side would be slightly lower.

i would think so expensive meal was the message he wanted to tell us.

only people with thought incoherence can think he meant RM250 is buffet for 2 pax for a week...sigh..
totally illogical huh?



thought incoherence ? read in context lah
dont just simply blah without thinking.

he said that Rm250 a meal is expensive, cook ourselves can feed for 1 week

Not telling u RM250 you can go eat buffet for 2 pax for a week!!
Wake up bruh
1 buffet is how much now do you know?
1 week only RM250 for 2?

Read properly in context in the 1st place 🤦‍♀️ rm250 was either implying a buffet or weekly allowance for meals at home 🤦‍♀️ only ppl like you will eat more expensive like abalone when rm250 is not enough 🤦‍♀️ I myself can budget rm50 for a week cooking for myself 🤦‍♀️

The older you get...post-retirement, the lesser you spend on meals.

Dont understand why some people prefer starving but drive big car and house. I myself prefer just have simple things but no need worry about foods. My food budget alone can go to till 1200 if didnt do any self control

Bruh say what you mean
and mean what you say ok?

dont try twist and turn now after being confronted.

Clearly you pandai pandai replied
That RM250 for 2 was for buffet for 2 for a week
gila kah he meant RM250 was buffet for 2 for a week?


bulshit read your own post above .
either you don not know how to express yourself
or you have thought incoherence
nothing to do with me eating abalone, so dont tukar topic!

he is well known lah... always try to trigger ppl... must have last word... hahaha...

most ppl just ignore him... i read his post sometimes see how he spin stuff... hahaha...

dun let him get to you ah...

imho not really... eating less quantity for sure... but going for higher quality instead... also fresh fruits getting expensive...

Hmm..yeah…you’ve got a point there.
Healthy food does cost more😊

RM20 was more for the truly budget. I set mine for RM25 for 2 pax. Reason being is, it is not always I eat out. Half the time, I eat my breakfast at home. Can be cereals, can be toast, can be eggs etc. Likewise for dinner. At times, it is just mixed rice for me and my wife. Sometimes we even share a packet coz as we/I age, we tend to eat lesser. I did an extensive 6 months diligent monitoring of every dollar and cents that I spent on last year. And my meal budget truly reflects lesser than RM20 (between RM17-18) averagely for me and my wife, even with the occasional cafe meals. I tally every meal per month and added to the food groceries from supermarket to average out the 30/31 days. It was a tedious task to open my google sheet each time I spend. But it gave me a true reflection if my average 6 months was what I expected it to be.

RM20 per meal per person is very generous already. Which is great is you allow for it, and end up spending less every month.

Is it really all kopitiams charges a fee if you don't order drinks? I'd only support those that don't. I don't owe them anything to support such establishments. I do order but I don't agree on it being mandatory on principle. We are lucky we don't get that here in KL.

This post has been edited by McMatt: May 29 2023, 09:11 AM

what do you eat for rm20 / meal ? or is it rm20 for a day

if a day make sense
if a meal that is one heavy meal

20 bucks is for one meal for 1 pax including a drink.
Am budgeting on the higher side based on klang valley rates.

i just take a more holistic view on budgeting... assumption that minimum wage, say 1.5k, would be more than sufficient for food, utilities, etc... since one doesn't need to spend on rental/housing, petrol going to/fro work, parking, etc... a more generous starting pay say 2.5k would allows more luxuries...

Friends n fellow forumers, most of you here are much, much better off than the masses. It's the same people active in Epf dividend, fire, forex, asnb, etc thread. Then suddenly here, all try to spend less.

As long as it's not squandering the wealth, it's ok to spend.

Unker say come Penang enjoy, a typical meal for 2 pax. $60+ total. 6 chapati, 2 ayam bawang thigh, 2 fried fish, 2 dalcha with real vege, 2 cooked white radish, 2 plates sardine, 1 iced kopi, 1 nescafe tarik, 1 ais kosong, 1 air panas.

1 breakfast meal can last till late afternoon. Just have patience, approx 45 mins wait....but if use Unker photo, cut to 40 mins wait under the hot sun or sometimes kena halau.

Life is too short, let's pick fights with strangers in the internet.

just had jap dinner yesterday RM100 per pax, followed by ice cream waffle for dessert RM35 shared with wifu lah... and soba noodle the night before RM25-35 per pax

obviously budget is higher... and sometimes should just enjoy... hehehe...

Life is short and fragile. I guess we hv to enjoy as much as possible😅

I enjoy nasi kandar and banana leaf in PEN, however I find these have become sort of luxury cuisine nowadays

Jesus. 10k if want to be safe and secure for future of child

But why are you asking like this like salary is something we can just pick and change?

If not why not just pick the best salary you can find?

This post has been edited by sadlyfalways: May 29 2023, 10:05 AM

Yup, Bro...just go to Lowyat Gold Forum, thread #4441.
I get your drift..wink! wink!

This post has been edited by Unkerpanjang: May 29 2023, 10:06 AM

Here we go again.

Life's too short to fight, my mama taught me to make peace and love, not fights.

But life's too short also not to enjoy. so enjoy good food while we still can, until we got restrictions from our medical doctors telling us not to eat this or that.

Thank you! This was really useful insight.
My gf and I are considering a move to Penang within the next 18 months.
No debts, no loans, no car.

We're planning to achieve 10K/mo from passive income.
And fund any shortfall from inflation or otherwise from part-time active income.

I have a goal of winding down my active work life within 18 months (but can't completely switch off so will still work part-time).
She's still early in her career and willing to continue fulltime remotely until she can go part-time as well.

Our goal being to enjoy our time together while we're both healthy and active over the next 20 years versus waiting.
From past visits, Penang seems ideal and worth trying out at the very least.

Really appreciate your and the other contributors input in this thread.

Living in PEN without a car will be problematic. Would advise you to get a small, used P2 (Axia, Myvi) to get around.

I don't know about you. Assuming your car is RM50k and you keep it for 10 years, that's an average of RM5k a year, with RM416 per month. Depending how often they go out, would RM416 a month be sufficient for Grab car services in Penang? At RM15 per trip, you can take about 27 rides a month. And this notwithstanding car maintenance service every 6 months, your yearly insurance and other factors. Have not even factored in petrol.

My wife and I have decided to only live with just 1 car if we really want when I retire. In the event both have to go different places at the same time, one of us will just GRAB. In fact, this applies for us only because we are in Klang Valley. If I was in Penang, I would be more inclined to do without a car. And this coming from me who don't have kids. Couples with young children, they would have difference priorities.

If we need a local road trip, we can just rent a car.

We need to rid ourselves thinking that we need "things" to live. In reality, we just need to change perception and change the "perceived and common" lifestyle. No wonder Malaysia has one of the highest car ownership in the region.

This post has been edited by McMatt: May 30 2023, 09:39 AM

Ehhh..this one serious ne. Outsider mau kacau Penang punya pasal. Later Unker panggil other Bro attack your post le. Wink! Wink!

Depending where you stay...renting or buy property.
Be free as a wandering nomad. Spend some months in

*Pulau Tikus/Gurney Drive area, all amenities within walking distance.

*Georgetown area, street food, street art, UNESCO, get inspirations from heritage area for your side gig. Environment not so good, ...noisy.

*Some weeks in Balik Pulau. Idyllic lifestyle.

Read up b4 commiting your stay...

2nd hand Myvi 6-7 old car, can get $25k. Otherwise, a motorbike. Only problem, monsoon starting in Aug..leceh.

I've been car-less for years using Uber and now Grab for almost 10 years.
It's definitely been more cost effective so far.
No payments on a depreciating asset, no gas, no insurance, no parking, no fines etc.
And most importantly, so much time saved going door to door.

We live close/walking distance to all our amenities currently in KL.
And we'll look for a similar location in Penang close to public workplace, groceries, mall etc.

We both work remotely so we really only commute when we need/want to.
Our average week may see 2-3 roundtrips each at the most.
And to be safe, we've over-budgeted RM500/mo for ground transportation.

Thanks for the suggestions.
The diverse options you've mentioned is one of the reasons we are considering Penang.
We're definitely planning to check out a few locations short term prior to choosing anything permanent.

I've been nomadic for years and she's recently caught the travel bug herself.
But we do want a hub to be based out of and Penang checks a lot of boxes.

Really appreciate all the feedback from everyone!

I understand your point of view, even though I do not agree with it, as needs are subjective.
To each his own, I guess.

As a "car guy" and with kids, I'm used to a lifestyle with personal mobility, hence having a car is a very important part and parcel of my lifestyle.
Having my own car means I can go anywhere, anytime I want w/out having second thoughts.
Public transport in Penang has not yet developed to such an advanced and reliable stage when one could confidently do w/out own transport.
Maybe in future when it does, I would consider to.

Car maintenance, insurance and petrol are costs which I can very well afford, I am not at the situation where I need to count pennies like how
many trips on Grab or on public transport lol

Motorbiking in Penang is feasible too.
Always good to be home. My fav place is Batu Ferringhi.

penang rm15 enough for one meal...

want dessert and drink, rm20 cukup

make it rm50 per day, rm1500 per month.

Normally, Unker cannot argue with this logic.
But the spending turns upside down with this Unker fav.

This shop nice?

My kind of dessert. Siew bao. 2.50 ok liao. Happy
Or mcd ice cream. 2 also ok.

No money go to real tonbgsui shop 😅

Unker cannot feed everyone, but if given an opportunity to treat a kind forumer. It'll be my privilege.

i thank unker in advance first... ill get you siew bao in return

Family of 2 adults + 2 schoolgoing kids

Hotel where got so cheap..per person already about 180++ lo...
was at the one of the restaurant and order fish

if kids in government school ok..if private or international..susah also

Then have to "cut your coat according to your cloth".
Or have less kids....or none at all.