CekikDarah.com [empowering youth with pitis literacy]

Many believe that living abroad, especialy in first world countries, is expensive. But is it really so? I beg to differ... 

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To me, cost of living is not just about how much items cost in a particular state or country, it’s about the cost of the items versus how much a typical person in that country earns. 

For example a typical degree student could earn about RM 2000 in Malaysia and still struggle to meet ends meet while one could only earn 1600 Euros in Germany and live quite well and still have savings of a summer holiday in Spain.

It's not that chicken in Germany is cheaper than in Malaysia, but it's the purchasing power of the Germans are higher.

That simple examples illustrates the vast difference of purchasing power of a typical Malaysian as compared to a German. 

Everyday essentials

In 1943, a psychologist named Abraham Maslow proposed a paper titled The Theory of Human Motivation. In which he outlined the infamous Hierarchy of Needs. This hierarchy is usually portrayed as a pyramid with the most basic human needs on the bottom and the more advance intellectual need on the top.

Picture from Wikipedia.org

The theory states that generally human beings are compelled to see that their basic needs are met before letting themselves dwell on higher issues or needs. That said, today I would talk on the basic needs before moving on to higher issues. 

Before I go any further, its probably good to look into what I did there and how much I earned. I was in Mannheim, Germany on an AIESEC internship in a consultancy company for 5 months. I was a software development trainee and earned 650 Euros per month, with was about 3/8 of a normal degree holder’s salary. 

In Germany it is compulsory for everyone to have insurance. As a student I am entitled to get a cheaper insurance policy at about 30 Euros per month but because I didn’t have the correct paper work to prove that the internship is needed for my studies, I was considered as a normal employee, where I had to pay for EPF as well as a higher insurance premium.

This is deducted directly from my salary. This totalled to an amount of about 119 Euros.

Logo copyright G+H Betriebskrankenkasse, Germany

The first thing you would want to get when you arrive anywhere is a place to stay. As I came to Germany under AIESEC, my accommodation was pre arranged by AIESEC in Mannheim.  However because of the shortage of a place to stay, I had to stay at a place that is relatively expensive. It cost 203 euros per month. But I think it was OK since I needed the internet connection and the place was conveniently located in the city centre. Besides, it had the facilities that I needed a kitchen to cook, a fridge, toilets, washing machines and most important great neighbours.  So these 2 items takes care of the need for safety, the 2^nd level of the hierarchy. 

The student hostel I stayed at

You’re probably starting to think…”wha…is that enough?” well, the good thing is I basically already have everything I need to live. Now, its only food that I have to worry about. Well, its not much of a worry anyway. Here are a few tips if ever you have the chance to stay in Germany or any European country for that matter: 

1. Labour is expensive, so anything that has labour in it IS expensive. Because of that, Restaurants are a big NO if you’re on a budget like me.
2. Cooking can save you heaps of money. The amount you can save is like buying a Perodua Kancil instead of a Honda Accord.
3. Cook and eat local dishes instead of Asian food. Asian food use so much spices and cost more.
4. Cooking in a group also can save you a lot as well as getting to taste different kinds of food.

Example of cost for a few food stuff items in Germany: 

-          Pasta, 1 pack, 30 cents

-          Tomato Juice 200ml, 30 cents

-          Curry powder 1 packet, about 2 Euros

-          Santan small packet (like in Malaysia) , 70 cents

-          10 Eggs, about 80 cents

-          Good quality rice, 7.50 Euros for 5 KG

-          Potatos, 2 KG, about 2 Euros

-          Mineral water 1.5ml 19 cents

-          Fruit juice 1 litre, about 80 cents

So generealy a cooked meal will only cost you just a little more than 1 Euro, or a bit more if you're cooking Asian food.

While the cost for a decent meal in a restaurant :

  So roughly food will cost you at most 120-150 Euros per month, including if you have lunch in a restaurant for a couple of times a week. cooking tools can be baught at the 1 Euro shop so it might only cost 5-8 Euros, and maybe less if you share the tools with a friend.

But after eating, you surely want to get some personal hygine products. Essential porducts such as toothpaste, shampoo, soap etc would only set you back 10-15 Euros per month, but will cost more if you are a girl. Nothing personal, but it is a fact that girls hygine requirements are higher than guys, no?  So that all pretty much sums up the 1st level of the Heirarcy of needs,

Which means....

How I use it, I will leave it to the next post. Till then, ciao!!

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written by Nisha , August 22, 2008

love the name! cekikdarah, thats how I sum up the Americans here in San Antonio NM.