SINGAPORE: A man earning S$6,000 monthly turned to social media to ask Singaporeans whether spending $2,000 on rent was a good move.
He also asked, “Do you think 4k is enough for a single person to survive after rent ?” The man said that he planned to eat out two times a day and only purchase meals that wouldn’t cost more than S$10.
The man then shared, “I live a very modest lifestyle, I can pretty much adjust anywhere and with anything, but where I live is something I can’t cheap out on. My calculation is that I should be able to save around 1.5K each month. After my rent and fixed costs. That money I can keep for ad-hoc expenses, and if I ever date someone, or for travelling.”
‘You can probably keep food and transport expenses under $2k without being super thrifty’
The majority of Singaporean redditors told him in the comments section that he could live comfortably on his salary.
One redditor said, “It’s plenty unless you want to hang out with expats who eat fancy, go to pubs, clubs, concerts etc. Local fresh grads often earn around 4k and live with their parents. 20% of their salary goes to CPF and yours doesn’t, but they also get subsidised medical and maybe some home-cooked meals.
You can probably keep food and (public) transport expenses under $2k without being super thrifty.”
While another redditor commented, “Easy, I pretty much eat out all the time ranging from hawker to restaurants, go for drinks at least once a week. Living a very comfortable life without looking at my expenses too much and I have yet to spend more than 2-2.5k a month unless I do any big item purchases.”
One redditor also assured him and said, “Bruh I survived on 2k after rent and lived more than comfortably. I ate out all the time too.”
Another redditor, meanwhile, said that it all depends on his lifestyle habits and what he’s content with. He also gave him advice, saying, “Do a simple calculation of how much you spend daily, and how much on average you spend on other stuff like shopping, hanging out with friends etc. You might wanna date at some point, gotta leave room for that. Cabin fever’s a real thing here, you gotta set aside some if you wanna travel etc.
And of course save and invest whatever you can. The amount doesn’t matter, just that you do. You never know when you’ll need it and you’ll be damn thankful when you do.”
Nowadays, more and more Singaporeans are becoming uneasy because of the rising cost of living. Back in November 2023, an annual survey conducted by Channel 8 revealed that 52% of respondents believed their income fell short of meeting inflationary demands.
Read more: Over 50% Singaporeans believe their income is not enough to cope with inflation