At the end of a long day, business development executive PC Lee goes back to her rented room in Kelana Jaya, Selangor, looking forward to the simple pleasure of turning on the radio for relaxing music.

There’s a snag though: two others are sharing the small room and she has to ensure that her activities do not disturb them.

There was a time when Lee, 24, luxuriated in the privacy of a single room that she rented for RM300 a month as a college student in Kampar, Perak.

This ended when she graduated from Univesiti Tunku Abdul Rahman and moved to the Klang Valley last year to begin her career.

Lee said her salary of RM2,300 is insufficient to support single occupancy of a room, as the rental starts at RM400 a month.

So, she has had to give up the notion of personal space and take in two room-mates, who split the rental of RM600 with her.

Like others of the ‘millennium generation’, she is finding it difficult to cope with the rising cost of living, especially in an urban setting.

For example, she does not earn enough to own a car and has to rely on public transportation system, as unreliable as it is.

Asked if she plans to buy a house, she replied unhesitatingly: “No."

"Some of my friends have been working for two to three years but live like me, three people crammed into a small room," she said.

To ease the pressure from higher prices of goods and services this year, Lee has decided to get a part-time job, like many of her peers who give tuition during weekends.

But she realises the need to do more to keep costs down. She has reduced the frequency of eating in restaurants and either goes to an affordable food court or cooks her own meals.

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Graphic designer Mohd Hafizul Ramli, who has worked in Kuala Lumpur for six months now, expects the worst with the price hikes , noting that even ice cubes will not be spared.

On his salary of RM1,600 a month, he cannot even afford to rent a room but stays with his brother in a low-cost flat in Bangsar.

"But my brother's son is growing up, and I have to move out eventually," said Mohd Hafizul, 22, who spends up to 30 percent of his salary on meals.

Sales assistant Yeap Ai Mei, 23, said she has found many tips on saving money via Facebook posts, especially now that her circle of friends has woken up to the fact that life is more expensive.

As her job involves much travel, she has to drive - and is therefore high on the ‘casualty list’ because petrol prices have gone up with the subsidy cuts.

"One suggestion is not to go for a full tank of petrol because this will add to the weight of the car and lead to petrol being consumed faster. Another suggestion is not to drive faster than 80kph, in order to save petrol," she said.

While her peers spend a lot of time complaining about the price hikes, she is prepared to accept reality.

"The only thing we can do is to adjust our spending pattern," she added philosophically.