Is It Possible To Survive In Klang Valley For A Day With Only RM10?
Nothing is impossible with a little sacrifice and determination.
By Mei Mei Chu — 22 Nov 2013, 03:30 PM — Updated almost 11 years ago
The cost of food, property, petrol, sugar in Malaysia is rising but many of our salaries remains the same. Would you be able to survive in Klang Valley on a daily budget of RM10?
Ringgit Plus took on a challenge to survive in Kuala Lumpur for a day with only RM10. This is how they did it:
Ringgit Plus took on a challenge to survive in Klang Valley for a day with only RM10
Image via malaysiaedition.netWe learnt that to be able to survive in the Klang Valley with such a tight budget, you will need the following "skills":
From this infographic, we learnt that to be able to survive in the Klang Valley with such a tight budget, you will need the following "skills":
Image via tumblr.com1. You need to love, and keep an eye out for free stuff
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.
2. Say goodbye to a healthy lifestyle
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.
3. You will need to have a lot of patience and tolerance
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.
The cheapest mode of transportation for my route was the bus service. A single journey from Kuala Lumpur to Petaling Jaya costs RM2.50. That left me with only RM5 for meals.
themalaymailonline.com
4. Get ready to give up on entertainment, extra meals to catch up with friends, and any other form of recreation
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.
malaysiaedition.net
Get ready to give up on entertainment, extra meals to catch up with friends, and any other form of recreation
Image via gr-assets.comHere are some other creative suggestions on how to survive with only RM10:
“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
themalaymailonline.com
“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
yahoo.com
The conclusion: It's possible, but it will not be an easy, healthy nor comfortable life.
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.
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 that it is almost impossible when everything, even the simplest thing, costs money.
malaysiaedition.net
