A Day in the Life of Early Retired Couple in Penang, Malaysia

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Today's video:
We retired back in year 2020, at the height of Covid-19 in Singapore. Once the borders opened, we relocated to Penang, Malaysia to spend time with family & friends & travel extensively.
It has been 2.5 years since our early retirement and many people have asked us this question:
What do we do all day long?
In this video, we captured our lives in a day, from morning till night. We made this video in the hopes that it will inspire some of you to take action and join us in the joys of early retirement.
We hope you enjoy watching this video, and do let us know in the comment section if you like it!
With lots of love - Fran and John
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[@imohimoh3441]

I'm 54 and my wife and I are VERY worried about our future, gas and food prices rising daily. We have had our savings dwindle with the cost of living into the stratosphere, and we are finding it impossible to replace them. We can get by, but can't seem to get ahead. My condolences to anyone retiring in this crisis, 30 years nonstop just for a crooked system to take all you worked for.

[@Margerat-x]

I feel your pain mate, as a fellow retiree, I’d suggest you look into passive index fund investing and learn some more. For me, I had my share of ups and downs when I first started looking for a consistent passive income so I hired an expert advisor for aid, and following her advice, I poured $30k in value stocks and digital assets, Up to 200k so far and pretty sure I'm ready for whatever comes.

[@imohimoh3441]

@@Margerat-x That's actually quite impressive, I could use some Info on your FA, I am looking to make a change on my finances this year as well

[@Margerat-x]

@@imohimoh3441 My advisor is Victoria Carmen Santaella

[@Margerat-x]

You can look her up online

[@VioletJessica-]

@@Margerat-x The crazy part is that those advisors are probably outperforming the market and raising good returns but some are charging fees over fees that drain your portfolio. Is this the case with yours too?

[@MariaGarcia-gv8hj]

Now I have more knowledge about personal finance. I just subscribed to your channel. Big ups to everyone working effortlessly trying to earn a living while building wealth in this recession. I’m 45 and my husband is 51, we are both retired, no debts. We are planning on relocating to Thailand. We are currently living a frugal and financially savvy lifestyle and generating passive income even during this recessionary period. Our commitment to saving and investing in the financial market has enabled us to maintain this lifestyle and continue earning monthly passively through investment;:

[@lovetypauline6530]

Congratulations on your early retirement, Interesting indeed! Currently, I am in dire need of investment advice or tips. Last year, I hesitated and failed to take any action until the year concluded. However, this year, I am determined to try something new, as I am very receptive to various investment ideas. I want to be retired in my forties or fifties.

[@MariaGarcia-gv8hj]

No problem at all! If you're seeking to earn substantial profits from your investment, I would suggest determining your investment horizon and implementing a long-term plan. I worked with Claire Martha Magalhaes to create a long-term investment strategy, and she assisted us in managing our investments while we focused on my jobs without any concerns.

[@lovetypauline6530]

Thank you for your advice. It's challenging to find a reliable investment advisor here, and I appreciate your input. Seeing the successes you've achieved through investing, I would love to have access to your investment advisor's information if you wouldn't mind sharing it.

[@MariaGarcia-gv8hj]

I work with *CLAIRE MARTHA MAGALHAES* ,who is based in the United States. If you would like more information about her, you can conduct a search online. She even got featured on CNN recently.

[@davidomcculloch3109]

Maria, Thank you for talking about your financial consultant. I will definitely look her up and try to get in touch with her. I have realized that relying solely on KZbin videos and attempting to manage my finances on my own hasn't been very effective.

[@bensontan685]

Another great video I have watched, like the way Lok Lok uncle counting the numbers of stick as this is part of the penang cultures. Thank you John (uncle J) 🤭 and Fran

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Haha, you are most welcome Benson!

[@leelexus5515]

Wow 😊 you really enjoyed your life there , an energetic retirement

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Thank you! We made this video to show people that retirement can be fun, exciting with zero boredom!

[@cdwalks5243]

Thank you for the video. We are here too. Noticed the coffee shop in the video. I love the look of the Penang Lok-lok. Going to have to plan a date night and head over to Pulau Tikus for supper.

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Welcome to Penang! So awesome! We are currently in Singapore, otherwise we would love to meet up. Have a great time in Penang!

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

By the way, the char koay teow and koay teow tng, curry mee stalls are pretty good as well at the Pulau Tikus market

[@cdwalks5243]

@@corporatebreakoutcouple Thank you, we had the curry mee and the char koay teow. I have not ventured into eating the Penang Lok-Lok because I didnt know how to eat it. Seeing you mix the sauces, yes!! I am so trying this one!! Also, if you ever get a chance, get over to Qually's for some authentic malaysian food. The grilled chicken was melting off the bone and the flavors, wow! Its about 18-20 RM for a mixed plate of everything.

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

@@cdwalks5243 wow thanks for the recommendation! We just googled Quallys. It is now in our to eat list. Haha!

[@babibrain]

Your life is wonderful having retire yonung. Can enjoy life everyday without worry to face bosses and any financial commitments

[@cyt784]

Nice vid. Great content.

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Thanks so much! 🤩

[@aazizahaazizah6055]

Terimakasih sharing..

[@getsmartpaul]

John, 7 pull-ups on camera inspires me. I can do 4 now. More work needed! 😊

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Awesome!!! You can do it!!!

[@getsmartpaul]

@@corporatebreakoutcouple Thanks, I’m going to get to 10 some day !

[@ahmadrizabasir7163]

Wishing both of you the very best. Thank you for sharing with us. Very positive ❤

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Thank you very much, Ahmad. Much appreciated. Thank you for your support! Do feel free to share our videos with your friends and family. Cheers.

[@jamescps8799]

You can buy air tickets to fly to Italy, London, and Amsterdam and Paris to enjoy afternoon expresso, there are a lot of things we can do if we have the financial freedom.

[@andreandree4384]

Flying to Italy, London, Paris? Damn no!. Overpriced cities and insecurity in Paris if you aren't caught in riots or get mugged : and I know what I am talking, I am french and left the country decade ago 😂😂😂😂..

[@leonleong9863]

Lovely couple !! Wish to meet you when I retire too !!

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Thanks! Which country are you residing in? Perhaps we will bump into each other

[@stockswhizz4771]

Hi Fran and John, nice video abt life after retirement, how do you guys cope with new environment, change of Social life and status change

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Great question! The initial move back to Penang took some getting used to - the humidity, the mosquitoes. We've already been retired for 1 year in Singapore prior to the move to Penang, so the status change wasn't much different. Being retired allowed us time to work on our fitness, health and we took long walks in Singapore to discuss our future plans. This KZbin channel was a result of one of the walks. 😃 Social life in Penang is different than Singapore. We do miss our friends and family in Singapore, which is why we still call Singapore home and we travel to Singapore often. Plus we fly to our international travels from Singapore. At the end of the day, when one puts their minds to something, anything can be achieved. We humans are actually very adaptable to different environments. It's usually the mind that stops us from taking action.

[@patricksullivan4396]

Hey guys, just ran into your chanel. Really enjoyin t thus far. My wife and I are on our journey to FI here in Calgary, Canada. We should be pulling the trigger next year sometime. We plan on visiting in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam to do some slow travel. Would be wonderful to meet up for some of those tasty dishes and treats when we roll through Penang. Look forward to continuing to follow your journey!

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Hi Patrick! Welcome to our channel! Thank you for watching and supporting! We look forward to meeting you both in Penang some day. By the way, we did an extensive video on Vietnam a few months back. Do check it out! We are heading to Thailand soon to spend a few weeks there so look out for the videos in the near future.

[@shin1442]

Great video. Love the humble attitude both of you showed in every of your videos. Keep up the good work

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Thank you, Shin. We really appreciate it. 😘

[@donminoSG]

came across your video and its great. would like to see more insights into how you are saving, making passives income streams and re-investing tips +also learning from other couples that you know - probably doing podcast style.

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Thank you for watching our video! We created a video about a month ago, sharing how our 8 streams of income got us financially independent. Do check it out! We also interviewed several people as well on their journey, under the series Ordinary People Extraordinary Stories

[@jeffmathews218]

Hi fr Kiwi Jeff in Bali - YES - yr thoughts on life - ( growth and decay ) would be interesting and GREAT

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Hello Jeff! Thank you for being on our channel! The growth vs decay video is available. Here is the link : kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3XchZqbhtqcY8U

[@ryanlim8013]

Just came across your videos and watched a couple already, well done! Just curious, do you sell your property in Sg or keep it for the rental?

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Hi Ryan. We do have a rental property in Singapore

[@ryanlim8013]

@@corporatebreakoutcouple Awesome. Me and my wife thinking of retiring in her hometown. Glad to see someone who has already done so as we’re bad in planning 🤣

[@lifeafter5083]

I only retired this year at 54 and hubby also retired at 56. Thanx for sharing… this is inspiring.

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Wow congratulations to you and your hubby! That's early retirement too, as you both retired 1 decade earlier than the norm. 💗

[@kiwitones]

Yes I'd like a video on growth and decay

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Here you go! kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3XchZqbhtqcY8Usi=9ZNBJcQbYXg-amlD

[@tekkeat1457]

Hi Fran and John, Wonderful to see you enjoying the good life of retirement. Would love to see you both break out in a dance in celebration of a good meal. Thanks for sharing and showing us whats possible.

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Thank you for watching and supporting our channel! We truly appreciate it!

[@parisivana]

Tks for sharing the nice video, may i ask both of you are singaporean ? :)

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

John is Singaporean and Fran is Malaysian with Singaporean PR.

[@jeaninjapan463]

Ahhh what a great life! Thanks for sharing guys. The food made me hungry though.☺️

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Most welcome, Jean! Thanks for always encouraging and supporting us! We cannot wait for you guys to be back to Penang!

[@andrewlim6405]

Hi John & Fran, Just came across your KZbin channel. Would be good to know if you have a CAP of how much both of you spend a day on average. As I know living in Msia e.g. Penang/IPOH not even thinking about KL/PJ the food are skyrocketing high. Would love to have an idea. In addition, how difficult it is to do video editing on KZbin and what software used for editing, if you could share a bit of your experience and knowledge. Thank you.

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Hi Andrew! Welcome to our channel! Thank you for watching our videos. We love your questions! We did a cost of living in Penang part 1 and 2 for our viewers' clear understanding on what prices are like in Penang. Do check them out! For video editing, we use several software, one of them being Adobe Premiere. You do need to have a subscription service. It does take quite a bit of work to create 1 video, from the idea, the filming, stitching, editing, voice overs and much more. It takes us about 4 days or so to produce 1 video. Now that being said, we only allocate a few hours each day as we are quite busy living life 😉

[@sjelinelukiman673]

Singaporeans retired, young prospective highly educated people of Neighboring countries invited to move to Singapore.

[@paulinechong8627]

Hi! Love the video - just curious - what visa have you gotten to retire in Penang?

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Thank you! John is on spousal visa as Fran is still a Malaysian. We did an entire video on visa application last year. Do check it out!

[@paulinechong8627]

@@corporatebreakoutcouple thanks will check out! Our family just spent a month in Penang and found it amazing. Great option of families with kids - lots of educational choices and nice and safe place.

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

@@paulinechong8627 we are so glad to hear that!! We love Penang. In our opinion, it is truly the best state to live in in terms of food, safety, accommodation options, schools, accessibility and lots more.

[@wanderingsoul2909]

Hi John, watching you do PULL-UPS so well is VERY IMPRESSIVE ! You are very athletic and fit ! Congrats . I'm a senior and can't do one pullup yet ( but I'm working on it and want to get to 5 pullups ). Question: Is the nasi lemak chicken is farm raised naturally ( and not like McDonalds chicken factories ? ) . thanks

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Hi! Thank you for that wonderful compliment! ❤️ Yes, there are many chicken farms in Malaysia and they are usually village chickens so the meat is very tender and juicy.

[@eddieyeou5704]

Nice video, well made as always. Yes, a video on growth vs decay is certainly helpful, especially for an aging society in Singapore. Also, possible topics for your consideration may be material pursuits vs intrinsic meaning in life. I always enjoyed your videos!😀😀😀

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Thank you, Eddie, for your support and suggestions! We love them!

[@LouisGua]

am i can choose penang island to long stay and i do Grab driver for support my self cost living? love penang so much 🥰

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Hi Louis. Which country are you originally from?

[@LouisGua]

@@corporatebreakoutcouple im originally from kL,but now im 50 ,wanna have a slow down life style in penang,how u think abouyt that, penang is really good 😀

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

@@LouisGua the gig economy (example driving Grab) is really hot nowadays. That being said, you need to do homework on the demand and supply in Penang + if exchanging all that time driving is worth your while. Do you currently have any other income?

[@LouisGua]

@@corporatebreakoutcouple ya sure ,i still have my little passive income from some where😄

[@user-xh6cm5ue3r]

I noticed you have a dog. I am thinking of moving to Penang from the United States and have a dog (labradoodle) that is 25-27 pounds that I would bring. Do any of the high rises in Penang that have larger apartments allow dogs? Was it difficult for you to find a home that would allow a dog?

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Hi Keith! Most condos do allow dogs. We would suggest that you check with management of the condo before you commit. You can always get your Penang real estate agent to narrow down condos that only allow dogs. When are you thinking of relocating to Penang?

[@user-xh6cm5ue3r]

@@corporatebreakoutcouple Thanks for the info! I plan on flying out in September or October and looking in Penang and KL. I may rent first and then get familiar with everything before a purchase, or just rent if the pricing is more favorable. In Penang, I was looking at some of the large condo high rises by Gurney Mall and had read they do not allow dogs.

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

@@user-xh6cm5ue3r you might want to look at Straits Quay, Tanjung Bungah, Tanjung Tokong area. A lot more condos there and lots of expat community prefer to live there. Definitely allow dogs

[@user-xh6cm5ue3r]

@@corporatebreakoutcouple Thanks so much for the information! I will look into all of those areas.

[@Karim-so9jc]

​@@corporatebreakoutcouplebest to live amongst locals for real local experience

[@fondue80]

Curious on how you build the passive income to fuel early retirement and as dink what is sufficient in Penang living

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Our first portfolio is real estate. We made "a cost of living in Penang video Part 1 & 2". Do check them out as we were very detailed in the cost breakdown.

[@timjoygray]

Snuffy!

[@thomaswilke6312]

Do you need special permission to stay in Malaysia longer than 90 days? My wife and I are from US and I would love to stay in Malaysia for a year or two when we retire

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Yes, you would need to apply for MM2H visa if you want to stay longer than 90 days.

[@DLeong1]

Spending so much time together for breakfast, gym, lunch, cinema, dinner etc can be quite intense no? I am sure as time moves on both of you will venture out to do your own favourite thing viz charity or humanitarian work of some sort perhaps? Great life if one can afford one and Penang is not the worse place in the world!

[@melsdesignerdiaries]

Can u guys share how much you saved and what you invested in to achieve passive income ?

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

We invest in multiple income producing assets such as real estate, stocks, index funds, ETFs and we employ long term option strategies on stocks. The focus isn't on how much savings but it should be how hard your money is working for you.

[@Rayang4ver]

Which ETF would you recommend?

[@leslieng9229]

Would love to see your finances behind your early retirement so that I can see if I can do the same thing.

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

In which country are you planning to retire in, Leslie?

[@leslieng5392]

Johor Bahru, Penang, Bangkok

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

@@leslieng5392 in that case, you would need 3 different numbers for the 3 different places. Stay tuned for our future videos as we have something coming up to address this

[@jingjingkong4560]

And also how many children do you have and how old they are?

[@teatree6228]

Your personal trainer is gorgeous

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

We'll be sure to let her know!

[@lizziedove1364]

How much does a personal coach cost in Penang? In KL? For example, twice a week for an hour each time?

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

If you are referring to a life coach, then the cost is around USD100 per hour

[@lizziedove1364]

I mean personal trainer at the gym in KL

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

@@lizziedove1364 about RM150-200 per hour. Usually they will sell you a package of xx number of sessions

[@bennyng7790]

If you boths can retired at 40. You guys have previously have corporate job with good income and substantial savings (maybe a $1 million sing dollar). A lot of us do not have that kind of salary and saving. That is why we have to work till 65 to retire. Plus your sing dollar equal 3 ringgit. If I have 3 million ringgit sure I can retire too in Penang

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

The reason we are able to retire early is due to investments that gives us passive income. Saving money will not be able to retire so early. Even having 1 million SGD is not enough as we are only in our early 40s currently. How is 1 million going to sustain both of us and our dependents (our parents) for the next several decades?

[@bennyng7790]

@@corporatebreakoutcouple what kind of passive investment you are doing.? The only safe passive investment is FD. At 3% FD with 1 million ringgit = $30,000 a yr. I know it barely enough but can be live on frugally in Malaysia.

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

@@bennyng7790 we have several streams of passive income. We will reveal more in our future videos. But let us ask u this - Which is easier to achieve? Saving for decades to reach $3M or to work on skills that brings in $3k a month passive for the rest of your life? Think about it and let us know the answer.

[@bennyng7790]

If you are earnings sing dollar or you from US or from Eu countries that is big advantage. But I think if you are typical malaysian family with house and car pmt and have kids . It going to tough.

[@21marktan]

Love the video. Inspires me to make plans for an early retirement too, but having teenage kids is putting me off due to their schooling and future NS commitments. You guys know of anyone who worked around these issues and successfully retire in Penang?

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Hi Mark. We love that you are inspired. Everyone's path is different. We all have different financial commitments. Whether one has kids or not, there are similar means to get early retired. If the intention is strong, use that intention to build passive income through investments and other income skills that you can progressively grow over time.

[@aerix12345]

At age 52 retired for more than 3 years I don't think retired life and traveling is for me. I have been hopping countries for the past 30 years. Life is more than work and retired. Do something for better humanity would be more meaningful than anything imho

[@garyt7232]

So that is what retirement looks like.

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Part of it! There's lots more that we do on a daily basis like spending time with our families on weekends, going for holidays and having get-togethers

[@eckkeust7868]

You can do all of those things while still working full time and having passive incomes, no?

[@Karim-so9jc]

I visited Penang this year. Beautiful place, kind people, excellent food. However, way too hot for me

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Haha yes, the humidity and heat gets to us too. Penang is hot and humid because firstly, it's a small island. Second, the inhabitants and city are all in the center of the island and surrounded by hills so the through draught is blocked.

[@limlim5828]

Hi sweetheart where u r but only on your site ok Have any on it that's really good 4 us

[@totallyraw1313]

Who cares if you want to stay at home all day and do what you like? It's your life. Really, it's no one's business what you do.

[@Kitiwake]

It is boring being retired

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

Not if you have a purpose & goal

[@sandy950]

Only rich people can retire early and enoying life

[@weesonteh8751]

Not really true. Yes it is definitely easier but you do not have to be rich to retire early. You first need to have right mindset. Simple and fulfilling living really does not require a lot of income. Yes you do need a reasonably large savings (investment) to generate a passive income but the number is within reach for average income Malaysian or Singaporean. What make the difference is your attitude towards money and spending. If you cherish a branded lifestyle (nothing wrong with that) obviously you will need a larger pot of savings. However if you are happy with a roti canai lifestyle, it requires a lot less to hit financial independence 😀. Again only you can answer this question...remember there is no right and wrong or judgement either way. Early retirement however is well within reach of ordinary working couple and not the the exclusive playground of the rich... Again me and my wife are retired (young 40's) and we are not anywhere near rich by any stretch of the imagination 😀

[@bumihijau5670]

How about housework?

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

We have a part time helper who does the cleaning.

[@soochenwoo2373]

They possibly have no family responsibilities.

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

This is a very weak statement. Family responsibilities comes in many ways and forms. Unless one is all alone in this world, everyone has family responsibilities.

[@khoonng5417]

Do you have children

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

We have a fur kid! But no human kids

[@pierrechang55]

No children?… is that a life choice or medical condition?

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

We live life by design and not by chance.

[@brendafrancis894]

It's their business and no one else's how they live their lives.

[@gost7213]

No children ah?

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

If you count in Snuffy, then yes we have a lovely furkid!

[@jcwc011]

Not having any children is one big enabler for people to retire early. Once you have a kid or kids, each represents a significant financial commitment that will probably delay your retirement age.

[@corporatebreakoutcouple]

@@jcwc011 yes and no. We know of couples with no kids who can't retire early and we also know of couples with kids who are early retired. We also know single people who are in massive debts. So we don't think that a blanket statement that one does not have kids therefore they stand a better chance of retiring early holds truth. We believe that it is the Intention behind the action that speaks volumes.

[@jcwc011]

​@@corporatebreakoutcouple Hi. Finances is about managing income vs expenses. The different examples you quoted just shows how different people approach it. The single person with massive debts is a person who is spending disproportionately more than he should. The couple with kids who are early retired probably has very good income, investment and spending control. I still stand by my statement that not having kids gives a better chance to retire early - the maths don't lie, not having kids will save you a lot of money, money which can then go into your nest egg for retirement. There's no guarantee of course, especially if the person is not careful with spending and investment planning, but certainly it does give a better chance. As you said, the intention is also key since your intention will also guide your actions.

[@psionex2320]

Can't imagine retirement life without kids. Unless physically unable to. If not, life is not complete.