This report asks, “Is 1000 USD month enough to retire early in Malaysia?
Video Part 1:
Video Part 2:
| Expense | Malaysian | USD |
| Rent | 2800 | 680 |
| Electricity | 140 | 34 |
| Water | 16 | 4 |
| Gas | 32 | 8 |
| Internet+
Netflix |
193 | 47 |
| Grocery | 500 | 125 |
| Restaurants | 200 | 50 |
| Visa | 30 | 8 |
| Total | 3911 | 948 |
Names: Pauline (Malaysian) and Matt (American)
How did you meet? OKCupid.com
Area of Kuala Lumpur Malaysia where you live? Petaling Jaya
Safety: Generally safe, some petty theft in some areas.
Health Insurance: Out of pocket, may purchase hospitalization
Medical Specialists in Malaysia: Allowed to do some procedures not allowed in the USA. They found a specialist in Malaysia that helps people remove mercury from your body. They spent $60,000 USD.
Medical Costs: Malaysia costs are 25% of USA prices.
Visa: 30 MYR, 8 USD Month. Immigration compliance has been limited under current international travel restrictions.
Cost of Living: You can get under 1000 USD in Malaysia. Our rent was 1600 MYR per month (400 USD). Balcony in the new place is nice because we spend more time at home presently. Other 1 bedroom apartments at 700 square feet at 1400 MYR (350 USD Month).
In an email exchange, Pauline had the following responses to my other questions (black):
-what country are you in today? Malaysia
-are you near the mountain, beach or what? I am in the middle of a cosmopolitan city, and not far from the hills/mountains, and beaches.
-do you have plans for where you will go next? Yes. Probably Portugal, or Serbia, ….
-would you like to try living in other places? Yes, very much so.
-how much time per year do you live outside your home country?
Well, last year and this year, with the pandemic, traveling is limited. I plan on living about 7 or 8 months elsewhere, and the rest back here. When I was doing some ‘little’ traveling, it’s just 2 1/2 weeks here, and there, because I was working.
-have you been to and or lived in other countries? (how many?) Actually only 1, (NZ) for about 10 months. It was pretty pricey.
-what are your favorite countries and why? My favorites so far is France. Bali, and Sri Langka was pretty nice.
-are you working or retired? Currently I’m not working, maybe I will call it retired, but I can’t say for sure 🙂
-do you have a pension? (SS or other?) I do not have a pension fund per se, I have a bit of savings,
-what is your rent? electricity, water, gas, and internet? My current rent is RM 2800.00 p/m (USD 680.00). Electricity is about RM140.00 p/m ($34.00), water around RM16.00 +- ($4.00), Gas comes in a tank form, it’s about RM32.00 ($7.8/-) every few months, and we do use it quite a bit. And last – Internet is fixed @ RM142/- + RM51 for Netflix. ($47.00)
-do you cook at home more or eat in restaurants? We mostly cook at home, eat out about 3 times a week.
-about how much do you spend on groceries per month? Generally about RM350 to 400 p/m. ($ 100.00 or less)
That is including a lot of stuff, for 2.
-about how much do you spend in restaurants per month? Not more than RM 150.00 p/m. ($37.50)
-do you speak (local language) (how well)? I speak Bahasa , Cantonese, Hokian, and the regular is English or we Malaysian call it ‘Maglish’
-how do you get around town and what does that cost? We’ve a car. Otherwise the feeder bus to the LRT/MRT are right around the corner, feeder bus is RM1.00 per ride, ($0.25 cents) for example LRT/MRT to the heart of KL is about RM4.50 per person, one way. ($1.20) It all depends where you go. Here, Grab which is the equivalent of Ubar is one of the best to get around if one doesn’t own a car – it varies around RM5.00 ($1.25) one way to about (RM30.00) $7.50
-do you spend money on things I haven’t mentioned yet, hobbies, toys, trips, whatever? Occasionally an item of clothing? toys nope, short trips yes. Oh books – 1 per month or less.
-do you have health insurance, what does it cost? (Do you recommend the company?) No we don’t, and in Malaysia we generally don’t need one, it’s all out of pocket, and doesn’t cost a lot. However with that being said, it’s best to get an insurance package for more severe events, in case of accidents, or unforeseen circumstances.
-what type of visa do you have? Cost, renewal? Annual reporting? No visa for me. For my husband, annually for now, is regarded as a spouse visa, it costs RM30/- Subsequently it will be once every 2 years, and so on.
-what are your tips for someone thinking of living this lifestyle?
Be frugal, mindful, Be in touch with the people, be nice, and respect is important. SMILE is a good way of making others feel good.
-would you do things differently if you started over today? Yes definitely. I mean I’ve absolutely no complaints about my country, however, if I could choose, I would want to live somewhere else, where the weather isn’t so hot.
-are you happy? Yes, very much so.
-how many rooms in your house? 3 + 1 rooms (3 bath)
It’s a duplex. Usual rentals are or were around RM3.5K per month, we were lucky to have gotten this one, whereby the owner isn’t too worried about the $$, but she wanted good/considerate tenants.
-what amenities are in your complex? Yes, there are 3 pools in proximity.
There are 2 large gyms., and two tiny ones. 2 tennis courts, 2 squash courts, a mini-mart, a cafe, a table tennis area, a spa, a dance, yoga studio, and lots of space & greeneries to walk around. A few paths for the kids to cycle, playgrounds, and such.
So is 1000 USD enough to retire early in Malaysia? The answer is probably no for most westerners. But Qiang and I have lived this cheap in Malaysia a few times before.
One: Our Living Costs to Retire in Malaysia
Two: Penang Malaysia Retire Cheap
Three: Malacca Malaysia Low-Cost Retirement
To see our retire-cheap reports all over the world visit VagabondBuddha.com. To have a copy of my free eBook emailed to you, visit this link, How I Fired My Boss and Traveled the World for 13 Years. To learn how I paid for our world travel expenses for 2020 read how I pay for things without having a soul-sucking job–hint–it is my hobby.
Thanks for reading my post–Is 1000 USD month enough to retire early in Malaysia?
This is Dan of Vagabond Awake, the YouTube Channel for Vagabond Buddha. The world is your home, what time will you be home for dinner?