Can you survive in KL on RM10 a day?

NIXAR

Malaysia
Can you survive in KL on RM10 a day?
By Matthias Sim
November 21, 2013



KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 21 -- Could you survive living in the Klang Valley on just RM10 a day?

Stretching your ringgit in KV is definitely getting harder. The price of everything is increasing but wages are frustratingly stagnant. The problem is, that though there are those of us who have the opportunity to debate whether or not RM10 is enough – there are those (those earning minimum wage) who don’t have a choice.

The RM10 survival assignment

We asked ourselves this question a week back: is it possible to go through a day in KL with just RM10?

To get the answer, I was asked to go through a workday with just that little red note.

My commute wasn’t too far out of town (Kuala Lumpur to Petaling Jaya and back) and I only needed to survive the workday. Luckily, the office provides drinking water and basic beverages such as coffee and tea. Not every office stocks such amenities but if it does, it really helps cut corners.

The cheapest mode of transportation for my route was the bus service. A single journey from Kuala Lumpur to Petaling Jaya costs RM2.50. For two ways, it was RM5. That left me with only RM5 for meals.

I chose to skip breakfast for a good lunch at an economy rice stall which cost RM4. With only RM1 remaining, I was forced to go home and eat a pack of instant noodles for dinner.

I did note that for those taking the LRT and Rapid Bus daily to KL for work had the option of a RapidPass Integrasi. This pass costs RM150 for 30 days, which equals to RM5 a day and has a no limit usage for buses, LRT and monorail services. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work for my route.

With RM10, I had just enough to eat a few meagre meals and get to work. Supper with friends, entertainment or any other form of recreation can be absolutely dismissed.

Readers sound off

After my findings, we posted an article on Yahoo! about the experience. It seemed to resonate with readers immensely if the overwhelming response and great feedback (which we are grateful for) is anything to go by.

According to a majority of our readers, surviving a day in KL with just RM10 was impossible whilst others shared how they got on with such a sum when finances were tight.

“You can’t expect people to eat roti canai or maggi goreng every day… It’s a cruel life for someone who really does go through this daily, which I am sure a lot of people do. Most Malaysians are very underpaid!!”—Sharan

“Yes we need to have discipline and sacrifice at least one meal for the day. Not forgetting to bring along our home cooked food either for late breakfast or lunch.”—Arujunan

“This suggestion might work: 1. sleep under the flyover or kaki lima near your office—this will save you transport fee, 2. for lunch, buy packet nasi lemak which will costs between RM2-3 and get your water from the vending machine which costs RM0.20 per litre. Then you will have some extra for tea breaks and some snacks.”—Mark

“…ten dollars where got enough? Try doing that 365 days per year, and for RM3,650 you can survive one year?....even beggars spend more than that.”—Rita

Based on this and other feedback from readers, we created an infographic with 3 scenarios where RM10 could work. We admit that number 3 is particularly extreme but neither should that be the way to live.

The verdict

The article was created out of curiosity and for good fun but the process of the challenge proved to be nowhere near comfortable. What we discovered was that whilst it is possible (I did make it through the day) it is more of surviving than living. It certainly wasn’t healthy nor a sustainable way for anyone to live.

And yet, a minimum wage worker who earns RM900 – RM1,200 a month will find that RM10 a day (RM300 a month) is not a small sum.

The RM10 challenge was eye-opening for me. How did we get to the point where the minimum wage actually equates poverty? The saying of the simplest thing in life is to be enjoyed is perhaps redundant, since it is almost impossible when everything, even the simplest thing, costs money.

Are we really robots to the economy, thinking that we are all living our lives, when in fact we are just surviving? Now that is something to think about.

* This was brought you by Matthias Sim from RinggitPlus.com. RinggitPlus compares credit cards, home loans and personal loans to help Malaysians get more for their money.

- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.co ... thash.i33BQVJw.dpuf

NIXAR

RM10? pegi balik keje punye belanja campur lunch dgn sarapan pun dh RM50 sehari

Farini

zaman pramlee boleh le 10 hengget sehari..

wak_karman

lunch roti canai ada ka...
kadang kedai x buat coti canai tgh2 ari...

LuCkY-sTaR

Itu utk daily expenses. Utk fixed monthly expenses? Sewa rumah, loan rumah, bil letrik, air, telefon, kereta? Tak cukup, tak cukup.

leylapple

surviving in KL in rm10??

boleh.....

tapi duduk kat rumah jer la...

minyak keta pun rm10...

makan sehari pun dah rm10....

NIXAR

wak_karman posted on 22-11-2013 11:28 AM
lunch roti canai ada ka...
kadang kedai x buat coti canai tgh2 ari...

tunggu masa dia buat la br lunch

Bedah.Cun

Bedah minggu lepas mase datang KL outstation agak terkejut gak lar walaupun maintain divva. Nasik lemak kau RM2.80-RM3.00. MInuman biasa yang bergula dan berperisa dalam RM1.70-RM2.00. Bedah agak kau pegi keje lagi memerlukan kos untuk bahan api. Yang tu kau kira lar sniri sebab kau je yang tau lejang kereta atau motor kau. Tol lagik kau ikut route yang mana yang konon nye value kat fuel dan jugak duit kau untuk save tol kata nye. Yang ini Bedah rasa subjek perbelanjaan harian korang kat KL. Good luck uolss   

espritvin

Nasi lemak biasa pun dah RM1.50..tu pun ciput je...

tintabiru73

Minyak kete seharipun ngam-ngam RM10 kalau guna untuk pegi-balik keje sahaja.

Santeira

PASTI BOLEH! (said no one ever).

MeeSai

bungkus roti canai utk lunch ..utk diner  

tintabiru73

Option #3 tu aku tak tahan. Patut la biskut aku kat pantri cepat jer habis...

siti_kus

ddk rumah diam2 blh. x pasang kipas x mandi x makan. x pn dlm lokap kl.

mahmoode

kalau makan biskut opis kt pantry jer untuk satu hari...mau kena parkinson aku nih.....

ifanonline

Andartu boleh survive

sitisitu25

minyak - seminggu aku isi rm50 - makna nya rm50/5 = RM 10 da sehari..lum masuk tol pegi balik da rm 1.80x2..nsb baik parking pree..

makan pg - rm3-5
lunch - rm5-7
dinner - rm 3-5

tu aku sorg..lum msuk tanggungan..

haryatie

rm10 sekadar utk mkn/minum sahaja....boleh kut..
lain-lain....

GhostWalking

Boleh kalau ada free flow food kat pantry

WawaRaRa

iye2 jer bihun tu sebungkus RM1... mana nak cari???? kat umah aku plg koman 1.50... klu kat opis 3.00... haha... tipu2...