Last Updated on May 2, 2022 by Chin Yi Xuan
Chinese New Year is right around the corner! (I can’t wait!)
As an Angpau Giver in 2019, have you ever wondered how much to pack into the red envelope? As an Angpau Receiver, how much are you expecting to receive from your Angpau this year?
No matter which side you are in during this CNY, there will be something just for you in this article!
In conjunction with CNY 2019, a survey has been conducted to find out the Angpau ‘market rate’ among Malaysians across different relationships. Without doubt, while this survey has been a fun one to conduct, it is also first of its kind as it takes into account of not just the perspective of Angpau Givers, but also of the expectation of Angpau Receivers.
Without further ado, let’s dive straight into the findings!
Note: This article serves merely as a guide for those who need it. In life, it is the heart that matters the most when it comes to CNY Angpau. With that in mind, I urge everyone to engage this article with curiosity and an open mind.
Table of Contents
How many Angpau Givers and Receivers are there in this survey?
In total, this survey has collected a total of 131 responses (31 Angpau Givers, 100 Angpau Receivers) in a span of 7 days.
Among the Angpau Givers, a big majority of them are between the age of 31 to 40 years old, followed by 25 to 30 years old and 41 years old and above.
On the other side, 2 majority age groups for Angpau Receivers are between age 18 to 24 and age 25 to 30. Together, they make up to 91% of the Angpau Receivers in this survey.
Next, we are going to look into the responses from both Angpau Givers and Angpau Receivers according to their relationship to each other:
(1) Siblings
In this section, it is obvious that Malaysians are very generous when it comes to Angpau for siblings. As such, near to half (45%) of the Angpau Givers will be putting more than RM51 into the red envelope for their siblings. This is followed closely by RM31 to RM50 (36%).
As for Angpau Receivers, it seems that they are also not modest too as the majority of them (35%) are expecting RM51 and above from their siblings.
Surprisingly, this is followed by a distinct expectation of RM5 and below (16%). I guess these are the respondents that have cruel elder brothers or sisters since young haha!
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(2) Close Family Members (eg. Nieces/Nephews, Close Uncles/Aunties)
After our siblings, relatives within our close family are also considerably close to us in terms of relationship.
In this section, Malaysians are pretty split in terms of opinion.
As such, near to 50% of the Angpau Givers are more inclined to pack either between RM6 to RM10 and between RM31 to RM50 for their nieces or nephews. This is followed by the very balanced share of other amounts in the list (16% each).
On the other hand, 30% of Angpau Receivers are expecting to receive between RM11 to RM20 from their close uncles or aunties, followed closely by RM6 to RM10.
One thing for sure, anything below RM5 is certainly not popular in this spectrum of relationship.
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(3) Extended Family Members (the ones you normally don’t know how to address)
During CNY, we will often get to meet relatives from our extended family which we only see once a year. These are the people that we don’t even know how to address or call (for me it’s always Uncle or Aunty).
For this part, both Angpau Givers and Receivers displayed result that is almost identical.
In short, almost half of the people from both ends are looking at Angpau between RM6 to RM10, which in my opinion, is fairly reasonable. RM5 and below followed closely as the second most popular opinion from both ends.
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(4) Connections with no Blood Relation (eg. Friends’ child or neighbours)
In this case, we can see a slight difference in opinion between Angpau Givers and Receivers.
The majority Angpau Givers (61%) are looking to pack between RM6 to RM10, followed by RM5 and below (23%).
On the other hand, the expectations of Angpau Receivers are generally split between RM5 and below (43%) and between RM6 to RM10 (40%), albeit more are inclined towards the former.
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(5) Random People that We Just Get to Meet
So, say during CNY, your son’s friends pay you a visit. As an Angpau Giver, how much will you be packing for them? As an Angpau Receiver, how much are you expecting from these uncles and aunties?
While the general pattern of Angpau value is about the same from both sides, there is a big difference in terms of proportion. Let me explain:
For Angpau Givers, a huge majority (71%) are looking to pack RM5 and below in this scenario, followed with a distance second of between RM6 to RM10 (23%).
While most Angpau Receivers look into receiving RM5 and below, but the proportion is significantly lesser compared to Angpau Givers (48% vs 71%). As such, 40% of them are looking to receive between RM6 to RM10 in their red envelope.
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No Money Lah’s Verdict
So here you go! It is a wrap for No Money Lah’s CNY 2019 Angpau Guide for Malaysians!
Are the outcomes something you’ve expected, or do you find something new while reading this guide?
All in all, this study only serves as a general Angpau guide for those who need it, and should not be taken as a must-follow rule.
Ultimately, no matter the amount, I think it is important for us to come back to the purpose of giving and receiving Angpau – for the blessings of health, luck and wealth for this amazing new year.
With this, wishing everyone a blessed and prosperous Chinese New Year!
To all of you that have been part of this study, thank you so so much! My biggest appreciation goes towards all No Money Lah readers and subscribers, friends and everyone in the Personal Finance & Investing Community Malaysia group! Also, special thanks to Suraya from Ringgit Oh Ringgit for the help in spreading the study!
Without all of you, this study would definitely not become a reality. Thank you!
