T20 households, what is their income? Is their income enough?

T20 households, what is their income? Is their income enough?

Let’s refer to the data from Department of Statistics of Malaysia (DOSM)

I often hear some views about the household income in Malaysia which goes along these lines. T20 households would mean a comfortable life. M40 would have to do a balancing act between needs and wants. B40 would have to reduce expenses as much as possible and focus on needs day in and day out. Well, it also depends on what the different groups do with their income or maybe the circumstances. I know if they have children, they will need to spend more.

My capable B40 friend who brings breakfast to office

Just wanted to say that one of my B40 friend has 2 properties. One for own stay, one for rental income. Quite an amazing feat? Well, she eats inside the office every day. Food prepared from home versus having to eat outside during lunch. If she could save just RM5 per day by doing this, that’s RM1,320 per year. That’s just lunch. What if she does both lunch and breakfast? It becomes RM2,640 per year. Just need to do this for 10 years and she has enough for a downpayment for a RM350,000 apartment which she could then rent out for rental income.

Tenant will slowly make her rich

As long it covers all her interest payments, the tenant is going to make her richer every month by paying the part of the principal payment. The best would be the rental covering the whole loan amount including both the principal and interest payments. Else, covering all interest and just part of the principal is good enough. 30 years later, she has 2 properties of which one was paid for by others. How amazing is that? Well, RM350,000 property should slowly… climb to RM500,000 by the end of 30 years. 2 properties would thus make her a millionaire.

Okay, how much does a T20 household earn every month?

As per the raw stats, median household income for T20 (the starting point) is RM12,567 per month. This will continue to go up to RM16,202 per month.

Let’s look at the lowest earning T20 @ RM12,567 per month

We look at Single and Married. I also think my calculations are conservative too. If the person buys a cheaper car, then of course everything will also be reduced too. If the person takes public transport, then the expenses would be reduced tremendously too. If they person is willing to eat cheaper versus cafes all the time, then expenses will reduce too. In other words, it’s all about choices.

Generally, if one single person earns this salary, he / she will be just fine. He / She will be able to save and also potentially invest the extra amount too.

However, if a husband and wife is earning this income, then they would have two make some adjustments. Otherwise it’s in the negative.

We need to note however that if this couple has a baby, then all the expenses would suddenly increase and even after they have adjusted their lifestyle, the money is probably just about enough. Perhaps this is also the reason why many are delaying their plans to have a baby or if at all they would like to have a baby.

What about T10 then? Salary of RM16,202 per month

From the above, I do think they would live a comfortable life unless of course they really simply spend as if there’s no tomorrow… What are your thoughts? Do you think above is conservative enough? If I did miss anything, please do let me know too. I can adjust the above too. Now, what should be the focus? Well, everyone needs to do their best to keep earning more and reach the T10 salary sometime in the future.

Happy 2026!

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