With the rising cost of living in Singapore, it is time we who live in this gergraphical boundary of Singapore start to think about how we are going to live inside this 649km^2 of land space. I must admit that the large part of the rising cost is due to the limited land space available for movement, and for settling down.
But let's talk about the cost. What defines the cost of living?
I believe everyone will have their own definition of "cost of living", be it whether they will be happy or not, whether they got friends or not, etc. But i shall be a Mr. Typical Singaporean. I talk about MONEY. Expenses.
It is a well known fact that Singapore is one of the HIGHEST cost-of-living countries in the whole world. 2nd in ASIA, 8th in the WHOLE WORLD. (correct me if I am wrong) So how high is the cost of living to be considered a cost-of-living as such?
Living in Singapore you need to consider a few factors, and that few factors are enough to let everyone of us gauge how much income we need in order to support ourselves, our family and our housing, and thus lead a comfortable lifestyle.
Expenses list:
1) House
2) Parents
3) Children (start thinking of this already!)
4) Insurance
5) Transport
6) Food
7) Utilities
8) Miscellaneous.
Of course, LUXURY families have far more than that. a LAUNDRY LIST of expenses await them. But let us say we are a NORMAL family. What kind of expenses do we expect?
1) HOUSE. If you are living in a typical 4-room flat, congrats.
$1500/mth. Condo?
$3000/mth. That is the installment. DOWNPAYMENT 20% (ie. $75,000 for 4-room, $140,000 for condo). For downpayment please save it up before the age of 30. And we are not sure whether the prices will go up when we hit 30.
2) Parents. Your parents are not going to settle for some $200/mth are they? So I say you are some not-so-stingy guy. $500 per parent, total 4 X $500 =
$2000/mth. Why 4? Ask your wife. ^^
3) Children. That is the killer. As any parent we want the BEST for our children. We can afford to eat grass, but our children cannot. We have to set aside large amounts of money for education, food, allowance, courses, skills, and the laundry list goes on. But on average, $800/mth per child doesn't sound too harsh. Agree? An average family gets 2 kids. so that makes
$1600/mth.
4) Insurance. Whole family, (your side plus your wife's) get an average of 2 savings/medical/investment policy. That sums up to
$1600/mth (considering an average of $100/mth per policy)
5) Transport. Car? or BMW? Let's settle for a good budget car. TOYOTA VIOS. $800/month, $10000 down payment. plus fuel and road tax and whatever-nots, should go up to
$1200/month. If you are a good saver. What about BMW? Average per adult (if you bother to buy concession) $200/adult, $30/child, $100/parent. Makes up about
$1000/month. That is slightly cheaper, but at the expense of squeezing with the bangalas, sniffing other people's armpits, having to endure people's body odour. Well, at least you got a free human sandwich for breakfast.
6) Food. You are a healthy family. Your parents, finding nothing better to do, decide to prepare meals for the whole family EVERY SINGLE DAY. Average $300 for the whole month for the family eating at home? Is that enough? Plus your meals outside at work. Another $400. That makes
$700/mth.
7) Utilities. Not so bad... If you play some tricks here and there and managed to tie up with some corporate plans. $200 for Handphone and internet, $200 for water and electricity. Saver enough?
$400/mth.
8) Miscellaneous. Family outings? Are you really that no-life? Can't you bring your family out for a good meal outside to relax? Or are you one that coops the whole family up at home just because you don't want to spend any more money? Hmm. But still on average some events are unavoidable! Birthdays? BOMBS? Car summons?
$200/month is that really that a lot? I don't think so.
These are the basic expenses that i am able to think of. That every family should spend at least. Let's sum up together all these list of expenses (i take the cheaper option if provided)
1) $1500
2) $2000
3) $1600
4) $1600
5) $1000
6) $700
7) $400
8) $200
TOTAL: $9000/month.
CONGRATS. That is your monthly expenses. At the age of 30.
Can you earn at least $9000/month by age 30?
Not even DOCTORS can. They only start earning that at the age of 32.
This is a rough gauge of how high the cost of living in Singapore is. Yes you may still insist that these are a bit too much. That my wife can work also. But, are you sure? When I had not even added a CAR to this expenses yet? Do you want your wife to work all the way suffering? There is a chinese saying, wifes are married over to be loved, not to suffer. As a real man, do you have that ego low enough to ask your wife work for you?
Think about it. If you still think your ENGINEERING DEGREE, ECONOMICS DEGREE or SCIENCE DEGREE is your trump card for your future, then I wish you all the best in the realistic world outside.