‘Retrenchment hits the most expensive, dispensable person’: HENRYs discuss frugal living and lifestyle downsizing amid job cuts

SINGAPORE: The current ‘cautious hiring’ environment in the job market has Singaporeans job-hugging, and with retrenchments making headlines left and right, even HENRYs (High Earner, Not Rich Yet) are discussing how to live frugally and downsize their lifestyles to brace for impact.

One wrote on r/SgHENRY, saying, “It feels like being a HENRY right now is a bit of a tightrope walk, where the 15k–25k/month Professionals, Managers, Executives, and Technicians (PMET) bracket could be the first to get trimmed when companies want to ‘lean out’ or pivot to artificial intelligence-led workflows.”

Asking other HENRYs, he added, “Is anyone downsizing your lifestyle because of layoff fears? And those looking for jobs, do you find it harder to negotiate the same packages as before in this ‘cautious hiring’ environment?”

HENRYs who were once laid off shared their experiences and advice in the comments.

One commenter, who was the first to be let go when his company had to cut expenses, said he had to learn it the hard way in his 20s. “Retrenchment doesn’t hit the most incompetent. It hits the most expensive, indispensable person,” he said.

Another who was let go in his 30s said that after experiencing his first retrenchment, he told himself “not to be caught off guard again” and prepared for the next one.

“I managed to keep the job for 10 years before getting the axe again in my late forties. However, thanks for my mindset, I was frugal and invested heavily during that 10 years and was mentally and financially prepared for the second retrenchment.”

Now, with his new job, he looks forward to retiring in five to seven years’ time—this time, though, he says, he would actually be grateful to be retrenched.

A third, however, noted that job cuts nowadays hit everyone, “even the extremely cheap people.”

Several others shared that while they have not downsized their lifestyle, they have refrained from upgrading their property for the sake of upgrading, while those who have downsized from a landed property to a penthouse shared that they saved a lot on maintenance fees.

Some noted they did not really need to downsize anything because they have always lived a minimalist or “lean” lifestyle—no taking Grab, cutting down on restaurant food and opting for hawker meals or meal prepping, no buying new stuff unless essential or to replace broken things—all while saving and investing at the same time. /TISG

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