# Belanjawanku: What Does It Really Cost to Live Comfortably in Malaysia?

> Belanjawanku is a reference budget guide published by the EPF and Universiti Malaya's SWRC that estimates the minimum monthly spending needed for a reasonable standard of living by household type and city.

- Category: cost-of-living
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-08-08
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/cost-of-living/belanjawanku-reference-budget

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"Is RM2,800 a month enough for a single person to live in the Klang Valley?" This is exactly the kind of question Belanjawanku sets out to answer — not by guesswork, but with reference figures built from the actual spending patterns of urban households.

## What is Belanjawanku?

Belanjawanku is a reference budget guide published by the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) together with the Social Wellbeing Research Centre (SWRC) at Universiti Malaya. Developed since 2019, it estimates the minimum monthly spending an individual or family needs to achieve a **reasonable standard of living** — not merely to survive.

The latest edition, Belanjawanku 2024/2025, was launched on 12 December 2024. It now covers 12 major cities across Malaysia (the Klang Valley and 11 other cities) and analyses nine different household categories.

## How much does living cost by household type?

The figures vary by family size and mode of transport. Below are the estimates for the Klang Valley in the 2024/2025 edition, compared with the 2022/2023 edition:

| Household type (Klang Valley) | 2022/2023 | 2024/2025 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Single, car owner | RM2,600 | RM2,800 |
| Single elderly person | RM2,520 | RM2,690 |
| Elderly couple | RM3,210 | RM3,390 |
| Couple, two children | RM6,890 | RM7,440 |

The sharpest increase was felt by couples with two children — up 8% — driven mainly by higher childcare costs and food prices. Single car-owners rose 7.7%, largely because of car prices and maintenance costs.

## Why does location matter?

The cost of living is not the same in every state. Belanjawanku shows:

- **The Klang Valley remains the most expensive** place to live in Malaysia.
- **Alor Setar** is recorded as among the cheapest cities.
- Overall, the cost of living in the Klang Valley rose **6.7%** between 2022 and 2024.
- Across the nine household categories, cost increases ranged from **2.1% to 8%**.

This is why a salary that is enough in one city may not suffice in another.

## How does it differ from the poverty line?

The Poverty Line Income (PLI) sets a minimum level for basic needs alone. Belanjawanku aims for something higher: what is needed to live **reasonably and with dignity** in today's urban society — including transport, communication, social care and reasonable recreation. That is why its figures are typically far higher than the poverty line.

Belanjawanku is also the basis for the EPF's new Retirement Income Adequacy (RIA) Framework. The income requirement of about RM2,690 a month for a single elderly person in the Klang Valley ("Adequate Retirement Income") serves as the benchmark for that three-tier framework — Adequate Savings RM650,000, Basic Savings RM390,000 (up from RM240,000), and Enhanced Savings RM1.3 million.

## What's next

You can check the specific figures for your own situation through the Belanjawanku app, which takes into account your city, marital status, life stage and mode of transport. Use these figures as a benchmark: compare them with your actual spending, identify the gaps, and check whether your retirement savings are approaching the RIA benchmark. To understand the poverty context, see the related article on the Poverty Line Income.

## Sources

- 12 December 2024 | The Launch of Belanjawanku 2024/2025 — https://swrc.um.edu.my/events/12-december-2024-the-launch-of-belanjawanku-2024-2025 (Pusat Penyelidikan Kesejahteraan Sosial (SWRC), Universiti Malaya)
- Cost of living in the Klang Valley up by 6.7 per cent — https://www.thevibes.com/articles/business/104297/cost-of-living-in-the-klang-valley-up-by-6.7-per-cent (The Vibes)
- How much to spend monthly and save for later: Your guide to EPF's new Belanjawanku and retirement framework — https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/12/13/how-much-to-spend-monthly-and-save-for-later-day-your-guide-to-understanding-epfs-new-belanjawanku-and-retirement-framework/159667 (Malay Mail)
- EPF Releases Belanjawanku 2024/2025 And Retirement Income Adequacy Framework (siaran akhbar rasmi, 12 Disember 2024) — https://www.maicsa.org.my/media/9802/technical_announcements_241213_1_1.pdf (Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja (KWSP))
- Launching of 'BELANJAWANKU Guidebook 2019' by EPF — Collaboration between University of Malaya and EPF — https://swrc.um.edu.my/events/launching-of-lsquo-belanjawanku-guidebook-2019-rsquo-by-epf-collaboration-between-university-of-malaya-and-epf (Pusat Penyelidikan Kesejahteraan Sosial (SWRC), Universiti Malaya)

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