Offer acceptance dilemma - Can I live & save off 20k RM (after tax)?

Hi Aakash,

I have pm you my reply. Please check. Thanks.

Regards,
Jessie

Hi well looking at the exchange rate you just got 10% poorer this week!

Schooling will cost you 4,000 to 8,000 RM per month and for IB 6,000 ++ A MONTH! I mean 12 months.

City centre? 6k for a reasonable two bed. Can go a little cheaper but you don't get much for 4k these days.

So being budget minded and choosing NOT the best but average:

Accom 5k
School 6k
Car 2k (if you buy it still costs you depreciation/insurance etc) all in insurance etc, Can be cheaper a  little or a lot more. Car loans are hard to get as a foreigner but actually make car more expensive and hard to leave Malaysia as car loan needs settling.
Medical (?) all family say 500 RM for a good package
Bills at least 500 RM
Astro/phone/internet etc with a mobile comes out about 500 RM for me so say 500 RM

So so far before food, holidays/India travel and new clothes etc is 14k per month. Say 4k for food, entertainment, trips etc so = 18k

So can live and save 2-4k as some variables. Obviously live further out and rent 3k etc but have to commute in traffic etc. Maids will cost at least 1,600 RM full- time less if part-timr.

But however you crunch the numbers it is the education side that screws expats so I always say you MUST negotiate an education inclusive package.

But on this yes I would say a decent enough package and one that should be usual. Btw though 15 years ago I got slightly more than this as an expat and before that people got more (30%+ home salary, free car/driver/maid/gardener, free school places, all medical paid.....) and prices are far higher than then (watermelon juice 1.50 now 6.50)

So before we get all the "so much" comments I assume you are a higher end professional and want a decent lifestyle. If the RM keeps falling also note you may end up tight for money if you want some real luxury. Obviously what you get now plus your role determines if this is  a good salary! If an IT director at a bank it is a poor salary. If an IT project manager ok. If a teacher very good!

But obviously on the face of it I would take it but do use 5 RM to USD to stress test your salary.

Nemodot is right in his calculations.
20K/month is a very good salary if you are single, but with children in an International School it's impossible...
You need your contract to include at least the school fees for your daughter in an International School.
Budget depending on Grade level is about 60-70K/year (10months). Talking GIS, MKIS, Alice Smith, ISKL, so KL's top international schools. School bus is 700-1,000RM/trimester depending location.
Many deposits too: You will need to dash out 3 months deposit for your house + 1 semester deposit for school + non refundable registration fees for school. All sorts of deposits required. But of course, you will get your money back when leaving...
Income Tax would be 22-25%.
Car, road tax, insurance: very expensive.
Taxi: quite reasonable (vast majority of old smelly cars though).
Bus/MRT: Inexpensive but not always reliable.
Food: cheap if local, very expensive if imported.
Hope this helps
Good luck with your negotiation...

By the way, I forgot to mention for your information that my kiddies' school increased they fees of +15% this year!!
So, you have to take into consideration schools will increase their fees every year by 5% minimum...
So, you really need to have schooling included in your package.

Thanks Nemodot & Emicot. Your advice and suggestion has helped clear up a lot of things in my mind. Essentially this offer that I have received is after 3 rounds of negotiations. So from their side they have communicated that they have stretched it and are all in.

Your points on education fees and various deposits is very valid. I now need to make a call if I should even accept this offer considering that I am making almost as much in India. If I was to convert the salary offered its 76k USD and I'm making 69K USD in India.

You are right. Not sure it is worth it economically speaking...
Inflation in Malaysia is quite high (about 6%) and cost of leaving is getting closer to Singapore. With the economical and political turmoils at the moment and the fact that the Ringgit lost 30% of its value and is unlikely to go back any time soon to its previous value (due to huge deficits and corruption scandals), this is would be risky to make a move...
Good luck to you

you have rather high standards Nexami....my gross salary is about what you have been offered, including allowances, but I live cheap, a bit outside KL, so use up only a fraction of my salary for myself. Biggest problem in your case I see in the apartment in city center, the rents in KL have exploded over the last few years, you may still be able to find an acceptable condo apartment for something like 3-4k, if you do not insist on a luxury condo.
The maid business has been very much restricted, due to lots of cases where employers abused their maids, now there are very strict rules, and its also not cheap. To me that's a good thing as it was really kind of a slavery business before. So if you bring your own maid I see little hope that you can do that legally.
International school fees are high, and the level of education rather low. The weakness of the Ringgit is hopefully only temporary, but there is no way of knowing that. Under the line I would say the company made you a reasonable offer, its up to you what you make out of this salary here. Moving to a job in another country is always a risk, Malaysia is still a great place to live and work, KL is very international, you can have a great time and meet lots of interesting new people, so think about it not only from a money point of view.