Belanjawanku is a reference budget guide published by the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) together with the Social Wellbeing Research Centre (SWRC) at Universiti Malaya. It estimates the minimum monthly spending needed to achieve a 'reasonable standard of living' by household type and city. In the 2024/2025 edition, a single car-owner in the Klang Valley needs about RM2,800 a month, while a couple with two children needs RM7,440 a month.
- Belanjawanku was developed by the EPF and Universiti Malaya's SWRC starting in 2019; the 2024/2025 edition was launched on 12 December 2024.
- The guide covers 12 major cities in Malaysia and analyses nine household categories.
- In the Klang Valley (2024/2025), a single car-owner needs RM2,800 a month and a couple with two children RM7,440 a month.
- The cost of living in the Klang Valley rose 6.7% between 2022 and 2024; the Klang Valley is the most expensive, Alor Setar the cheapest.
Who this applies to: Malaysian households planning their budgets, as well as policymakers and researchers who need cost-of-living benchmarks.
On this page
“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.
How much does a single person need to live in the Klang Valley?
According to Belanjawanku 2024/2025, a single car-owner needs about RM2,800 a month in the Klang Valley, up 7.7% from RM2,600 in the 2022/2023 edition.
Who publishes Belanjawanku?
It is published by the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) in collaboration with the Social Wellbeing Research Centre (SWRC) at Universiti Malaya.
Is Belanjawanku the same as the Poverty Line Income?
No. Belanjawanku measures the spending needed for a 'reasonable' or comfortable standard of living, which is higher than the poverty line, which reflects only the basic needs for survival.
The following are deliberately unstated or described only qualitatively until confirmed by a subject-matter expert:
- Lokasi pelancaran edisi 2024/2025: siaran akhbar rasmi KWSP menyatakan datelin 'Kwasa Damansara', bukan Menara KWSP — sahkan venue sebenar sebelum menamakannya.
- Angka perbandingan edisi 2022/2023 lawan 2024/2025 (RM2,600/RM2,800, RM6,890/RM7,440, RM2,520/RM2,690, RM3,210/RM3,390) diambil daripada laporan The Vibes; sahkan dengan buku panduan Belanjawanku rasmi.
- Senarai penuh 'sembilan kategori isi rumah' — buku panduan rasmi hanya empat baris disebut dalam laporan media; sahkan sembilan kategori penuh.
- Angka khusus mengikut bandar (cth. Alor Setar termurah) belum diperincikan secara berangka; sahkan daripada buku panduan rasmi jika perincian bandar diperlukan.
Sources
- 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 — The Vibes
- How much to spend monthly and save for later: Your guide to EPF's new Belanjawanku and retirement framework — Malay Mail
- EPF Releases Belanjawanku 2024/2025 And Retirement Income Adequacy Framework (siaran akhbar rasmi, 12 Disember 2024) — Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja (KWSP)
- Launching of 'BELANJAWANKU Guidebook 2019' by EPF — Collaboration between University of Malaya and EPF — Pusat Penyelidikan Kesejahteraan Sosial (SWRC), Universiti Malaya
Change history
| Version | Date | Change | By |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01.00 | 8 Aug 2026 | Approved and published. | — |