No Money? No Marry and No Baby

No Money? No Marry and No Baby

I got married after working for 5 years. That was way back in 2003. Ages ago yeah. That was when I was 26 years old and my wife was 27 years old. We graduated from the same university, with the same degree and started work at around the same time too. Wedding expenses was definitely covered by our parents at the time. My wife and I did buy a small apartment and started paying for it when we got married too. Actually there’s hardly any savings for anyone who’s started working in their first few years. Everything then was expenses.

However, if our parents did not support us financially at that time, then I think we would have delayed the wedding by probably a few years. So, the situation we faced then is not something uncommon even today. This is based on the 2026 RinggitPlus Malaysian Financial Literacy Survey (RMFLS) results published in the news. Read the below.

Article in nst.com.my One in four Malaysians aged 25 to 44 have postponed or decided against getting married, holding a wedding or having their first child over the past five years due to financial constraints.

The 2026 RinggitPlus Malaysian Financial Literacy Survey (RMFLS) found that 24.3 per cent of respondents in this age group had faced such circumstances, with the figure higher among those aged 25 to 34 at 28.9 per cent.

In comparison, 19.1 per cent of respondents aged 35 to 44 reported the same.

The findings highlight how financial pressures are influencing major life decisions, particularly those involving marriage and family planning. Read the full article here: Article in nst.com.my

Maybe the perception for marriage can change a little?

Actually, signing the marriage papers do not need much money. It’s the dinner for all the friends and relatives which will take a lot of money. So, maybe we could do a smaller function. I do think some of those friends whom we invite would also prefer to just treat us to ZUS Coffee anytime versus giving us a big angpow because they do not want to feel bad and yet, even that amount in their angpow may still not be enough to cover the cost of the wedding too. So, a smaller function of close friends, close relatives could save us a lot of funds. Restaurants still get to host the wedding lah, just not at a super scale.

Yes, baby is the expensive part, I cannot disagree

Checkups during the pregnancy is expensive, necessary supplements are expensive, after birth the confinement centers are expensive (can be up to 5 digits…), diapers are expensive, milk is expensive and well, all the expenses for their education is also expensive and just sending them to the daycare centre is going to be five figures every year too. So, okay, I understand why people are delaying having their first baby because they may have to skip holidays, skip good meals, skip entertainment and skip many more things too. Perhaps these are also all the additional reasons too.

Solution?

Cheaper checkups? Government hospitals. Necessary supplements? Buy cheaper generic brands? Confinement centers, choose one which is cheaper, maybe more people in the same centre? Maybe a smaller room? Choose the in-house brand diapers maybe? Maybe find cheaper daycares? Send to the government ones? A better option is definitely for the couple to earn more. Then, things can be more affordable too, versus too expensive.

As for property, maybe government can also step in too. Special priced homes for couples with a baby? Actually, doable I feel since this is unlikely to be all couples. We will see if someone from the government reads this article maybe? All the best and all Malaysians should do our part to increase the population in Malaysia.

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