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WHAT IS
BELANJAWANKU?
An expenditure guide, providing estimated minimum
monthly expenses on various types of goods and
services for different households in Malaysia.
Belanjawanku can help Malaysians plan their
personal and family budgeting to achieve a
reasonable standard of living.
A Reasonable
STANDARD of Living is...
Having enough money to meet basic needs
How To Use
BELANJAWANKU?
Choose your household category.
SINGLE
(PUBLIC TRANSPORT USER)
THIS
IS WHO
I AM...
MARRIED COUPLE MARRIED COUPLE
(WITH TWO CHILDREN) (WITHOUT CHILDREN)
MARRIED COUPLE
(WITH ONE CHILD)
6 KLANG VALLEY • 2019
SINGLE
(PUBLIC TRANSPORT USER)
RM1,870
RM6,620 RM4,420
MARRIED COUPLE
(WITH ONE CHILD)
RM5,730
KLANG VALLEY • 2019 7
SOCIAL FOOD
PARTICIPATION
DISCRETIONARY HOUSING
EXPENSES
THINGS I
USUALLY
SPEND
CHILDCARE
BASKET
ON... TRANSPORT
ANNUAL HEALTHCARE
EXPENSES
What Is My
Estimated
Budget?
KLANG VALLEY • 2019 9
SINGLE
(PUBLIC TRANSPORT USER)
Budget Estimate/month
RM1,870
Food Housing Healthcare Transport Utilities
SINGLE
(CAR OWNER)
Budget Estimate/month
RM2,490
Food Housing Healthcare Transport Utilities
MARRIED COUPLE
(WITHOUT CHILDREN)
Budget Estimate/month
RM4,420
Food Housing Healthcare Transport Utilities
MARRIED COUPLE
(WITH ONE CHILD)
Budget Estimate/month
RM5,730
Food Housing Healthcare Transport Utilities Childcare
MARRIED COUPLE
(WITH TWO CHILDREN)
Budget Estimate/month
RM6,620
Food Housing Healthcare Transport Utilities Childcare
RM1,550 RM870 RM120 RM1,040 RM310 RM1,150
ELDERLY COUPLE
Budget Estimate/month
RM3,090
Food Housing Healthcare Transport Utilities
UNDERSTAND PLAN
My financial needs My spending budget
My general spending Money to put aside for
behaviour savings and emergencies
How much I can afford My short-term and long-
to spend term financial goals
BAS-
SO THAT I CAN...
Want to Know
More About
Belanjawanku?
KLANG VALLEY • 2019 17
BELANJAWANKU
A Reference Budget For Malaysians
Introduction
A reference budget is a basket, or collection of goods and services that are considered
necessary to achieve an acceptable standard of living. Reference budgets are usually
estimated for many different individual and family situations. Unlike poverty line income
calculations, a reference budget is not used to label whether an individual or a family is “poor”.
Aside from spending on just basic necessities, a reference budget also includes items that
allow individuals or families to lead dignified lives with active involvement in society. It is the
minimum expenditure required to not just survive, but to thrive in society.
Since a reference budget is a useful tool on many levels, the Social Wellbeing Research
Centre (SWRC), University of Malaya has started a research programme aimed at compiling
a “Reference Budget for Malaysians”, or Belanjawanku, the first results of which are laid out
in this publication. Belanjawanku is a compilation of detailed minimum monthly expenses
for different baskets of goods and services consumed by different households, to achieve
an acceptable standard of living. It is based on actual spending patterns of individuals and
families from urban households in the Klang Valley and can serve as a guide for monthly
expenses and personal budgeting.
To estimate how much each type of household needs to spend on these items, the SWRC
conducted a survey of household expenditures, and survey of prices of goods and services
through catalogues, the internet, and at actual business premises, between July 2017 and
July 2018. Prices from different sources were averaged, and where there was a wide range of
prices, a cut-off point at 25 per cent from the lowest price was used instead.
The SWRC also conducted focus group discussions with academicians, representatives from
the EPF, AKPK, the EPU, the National Wage Council, BNM, as well as NGOs, industry specialists,
experts from financial institutions, and reference persons from different households. These
discussions were added to data from the Department of Statistics’ Household Income
and Expenditure Surveys and BNM. Given this wide range of sources, and the addition of
expenditures that households commonly spend on, Belanjawanku provides an alternative
reference to the official Poverty Line Income (PLI), and is more in tune with the standard of
living that Malaysians aspire to.
Not surprisingly, married couples need more to maintain an acceptable standard of living,
with the minimum expenditure required increasing to RM4,420, under the assumption that
couples are more likely to either rent or own a house rather than a room. Having children
raises the required expenditure level even more. Having just one child raises the required
expenditure by nearly 30 per cent to RM5,730, an increase of RM1,310. Having two children
KLANG VALLEY • 2019 19
raises the required expenditure to RM6,620, an increase of RM2,200, or almost 50 per cent
higher than for couples without children. Belanjawanku includes spending for day care,
diapers, milk and baby food, tuition fees, and pocket money, as part of childcare expenses. On
top of these expenditures directly related to childcare, other existing expenditures especially
on food, increase noticeably when couples have children.
Belanjawanku also estimates the monthly expenditure for senior couples at RM3,090. Senior
couples were found to spend less than other families for most of the items in the expenditure
basket, with the exception of healthcare, and are also less likely to save.
However, the minimum required expenses of RM3,090 for senior couples, which translates
to an average of RM1,545 per person, is far higher than the RM1,000 a month assumption
the EPF uses to calculate its basic savings requirement for every retiree. This suggests that
greater attention and focus needs to be given to whether households are saving enough for
retirement. This is especially true since even under the RM1,000 a month assumption, more
than half of EPF members near withdrawal age are not even meeting this minimum level.
One key insight arising from a detailed examination of Belanjawanku is that aside from
spending on food, an over-sized share of Malaysian household spending actually goes to
20 KLANG VALLEY • 2019
transportation when using their own vehicles. For singles and couples without children, the
cost of owning a car or motorcycle actually exceeds spending on food. This suggests that
increasing the use and availability of public transport would go a long way towards tackling
the cost of living burden, and give households a better chance to meet their aspirations.
40
05
5
08
KLANG VALLEY • 2019 21
SURVEY METHOD & DATA COLLECTION
Duration of study : July 2017 – July 2018
Location of study: Klang Valley
PRIMARY DATA
Published
DOCUMENTS
Data from DOSM and BNM
PUBLISHED Household Expenditure and Income Survey
(HES and HIS)
Data on prices from KPDNHEP, LKIM, FAMA,
and relevant agencies
Message from
Vice Chancellor of UM
Financial literacy is a key determinant of
people’s overall wellbeing, which eventually
contributes to the nation’s financial stability
and an increased upward economic mobility.
In active collaboration with the EPF, University
of Malaya will continue to promote financial
education to enhance people’s ability to
handle financial matters.
Belanjawanku is useful as an
indication of the cost of living as
well as a guide for Malaysians to
improve their personal financial
management in order to lead a
happy and meaningful life.
Glossary
KLANG VALLEY • 2019 27
AKPK Agensi Kaunseling dan Pengurusan Kredit
Annual expenses Includes clothing & footwear, furniture & household appliances,
school/kindergarten registration fees, and vehicle maintenance,
road tax & insurance. These items are allocated on a monthly
average
Budget Estimate Amount estimated based on focus group discussions and price
surveys
Discretionary expenses Includes life, health, accident, & property insurance, sports &
games, vacations, membership fees, and donations to religious
or charitable institutions
Elderly couple Couples with at least one spouse aged 60 years or older
Healthcare Includes care for common illnesses & small injuries, contraception,
oral/dental care, and basic family medical chest (first aid kit)
Housing Rental rates for singles are obtained for several districts and
based on prices in www.mudah.my, www.ibilik.com, and the
Research Structure Plan for Selangor 2035 Report (2010).
Owned property prices for couples and families refer to low -
medium cost PR1MA and RUMAW1P properties that are below
RM200,000
Personal care Includes hand, oral, & body hygiene, sanitary pads, shaving
items, hair & skin care, and basic bathroom equipment
Social participation Includes festive celebrations (Hari Raya, Chinese New Year,
Deepavali, and Christmas), attending weddings, doa selamat,
funerals, or other religious ceremonies/rituals, celebrating
newborns, wedding anniversaries, and birthdays
Utilities Includes mobile phone, cable TV, internet, water, and electricity
30 KLANG VALLEY • 2019