What are your monthly expenses?

[nassaugirl]

fuel $400.00 Can't comment as we don't have a car
Grocery $2,000.00 That is a lot. We spend max $800 a month for 2 of us with us eating most meals at home and includes alcohol. We work at home.
parking $75.00 Can't comment as we don't have a car
Cable TV $100.00 We have the upsized basic package and pay $45
Internet $100.00 We pay $42 a month
Mobile Phone $300.00 No need to spend that much. Some of the pay as you go offers work out very cheap. I pay $28 a month roughly.
Restaurants $800.00 Variable
Taxis $700.00 Like others have said, you could cut down on this significantly
Electricity $800.00 For a 2 bed flat, we pay about $160-180 per month for all of our utilities but we don't keep the aircon on extremely cold and watch our consumption to some degree.
School Bus $500.00 No kids
Maid $350.00 No maid
Babysitter $200.00 No kids
Air Cond Service $100 every quarter for 4 aircon units
TV License Landlord pays
Leisure Variable
Clothing Variable
Total (Temp) $6,325.00

[mrshamilton]

So has anyone gone to the extent of working out beauty costs - eg waxing and hair?!!

[wcs]

"Under the block" salons are the cheaper option for hair and waxing. I don't accurate prices in front of me though. But if you go to an upmarket salon I recently discovered you can pay $53.50 for a men's trim! (plus free shampoo/head massage and a drink, but still! )

Also for those with older school aged kids I would factor in a trip to the movies every week or two. It seems to be one of the main social activities for kids to do with their friends. Tickets are $6.50 on a weekday for a student or up to $13.50? on a weekend. Food and drinks there can see another $10 disappear!

[Hugo_R]

How much could one expect to pay for a 1 bedroom flat?

I could cut most of the expenses compared to starline by using the MTR, not having a maid and so on, but is it possible to live on S$2,000?

I'm estimating the following
MTR $100.00
Grocery $500.00
Internet $50.00
Mobile Phone $30.00
Restaurants $300.00 (lazy cook)
Electricity $100.00
Leisure Variable
Clothing Variable
Total (Temp) $1080.00 before rent and beer.

[hellonoko]

Reading all these budgets and the things people need reminds me how simply I live.

Budget for SG:

Rent @ Backpackers - 630SG
StarHub top up - 18 - 32SG
Eating out - 600SG
MRT - 60SG
Drinks/Clubbing/Eating out - 400SG
Fun & Such (Going to Sentosa/Zoo/Movies) - 200SG
Monthly 7-10 day long trip to Thailand/Malaysia/Indo etc. - 600SG

About 2522SG Month...

And this must be wrong cause I am spending more like 1500SG...

[SGBoyxxx]

gee seem like many has budget to spend alot?

as a local here mtly I spend around few hundreds.

maybe I didn;t go out eat often...

only apply on weekend if going out with frds..

mostly is at food court or fastfoods.

movies .once awhile buyinng clothes.

[Tas Burrfoot]

gee seem like many has budget to spend alot?

as a local here mtly I spend around few hundreds.

maybe I didn;t go out eat often...

only apply on weekend if going out with frds..

mostly is at food court or fastfoods.

movies .once awhile buyinng clothes.

Agree, good for these people who have these much to spend... They do deserve it anyway!

As for me as much as possible I try to stick it out with a $1,500 budget (inclusive of the $655 room rental) - although sometimes I might overshoot by $200 - $400 but at the end of the day I am still contented with my lifestyle here plus I do get to save up for the 'rainy days'.

[TinyK]

So is it possible to survive on a budget of S3000-S4000??? We are a family of 3 contemplating moving here. No expat pkg just 1 salary of S$3500. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[ilovemexmany]

So is it possible to survive on a budget of S3000-S4000??? We are a family of 3 contemplating moving here. No expat pkg just 1 salary of S$3500. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Truthfully, it's going to be hard. Your largest expense here is going to be housing. I don't know where you come from, or what your standard of living is, but a decent master bedroom is about SGD1-1.2K (on the low range). That's nearly half of your salary gone. Plus, depending on the age of your kid, cost of schooling, which I have no experience in commenting. But I hope you get the picture.

[GoGreen]

I am no expat, but am just a foreign student trying to survive in Singapore, but here is my break-down;

Food: $500 (I don't cook often, so I eat out and eat a lot)
Grocery: $100 (Usually stuffs like Milk, sandwich bread)
Rent: $750 (single-unit near town)
Bill: $50 + $50 (Electrical, water bill contribution, internet and handphone bill)
Cable TV: $0 (I don't watch TV)
Transport: $120 (Occasional taxi)
School fee: $1700/sem
Total - School fee: $1570 +/-

And that left me with basically not much room for leisure..
I love to party, I love to drink.. but daymnn..

And I got less than $1800/mth. I feel sick some time last month, medical bills was at $80 for Tonsilitis. My gawd!

But all I got to say is living here made me independent. And yea, good security (thumbs-up) unlike other countries too

[Zimm erman]

Just to clarify... in terms of household bills;

Are they all covered under one fee?

So I am referring to things like:-
electricity
gas
water
Is there anything else?

Do they have household insurance in Singapore?

Sure I have seen a reference to refuse collection? Does this cost?

Are there any other costs associated with renting an apartment?
For any Brits on here.... I am thinking along the lines of council tax.

[GoGreen]

So has anyone gone to the extent of working out beauty costs - eg waxing and hair?!!

I have no choice but to get those $10 quick hair cut every month. It took me sometime finding the right hairstylist, after that, the hair cut looks as good as those of Shunji Matsuo.

I only use over-the-counter daily shampoo and buy big bottles which can last to 2 mths or more, even if I wash my hair everyday.

But this applies to guys and children only.. Ladies are sure to have higher maintenance cost. Shampoo for colored hair, conditioner, serum, etc.

And that brings you to beauty products cost as well?
I know some facial products, make-ups can total up to $300-$400 or more, excluding body lotions, scrubs, perfumes, etc.

And the list of expenses continues...

[RalphVR]

Helo there..

im very much surprised by the figures here.. I dint even know such lifestyles -involving $6000+ per month- had existed in singapore (excludin millionaires).. wow man.

Well Rachel / TinyK
According to me, Since you live a simple life, You will need about 3000-3500 dollars for you and your family to live a decent life in singapore.

Rental+utilities+Cable TV - 1600 (2 bed, 1 hall)
groceries - 300
travel - 300-400 (Excellent Trains/Buses.)
Restaurants - 200-220 (once in a week to decent restnts.)
Clothes/others - 100-150.
Entertainment - 200
This totals to = About ~ S$2900-S$3100. (MAXIMUM for a normal family)
additionally, u have ur child's studies.. Please estimate urself since i dunno about tht part.

You can very well survive with a salary of 3500-4500 (depending on child's study expenses).

And I again like to remind u.. SIX thousand dollars and all... out of question..i dunno how they come out wit such figures.. aiyo.!

Regards.,
Ralph vineeth
vinzlife.blogspot.com

[x9200]

We are spending less (well less less) but I would say these figures of 6k look pretty ok to me. This is a budget for a family with kids where you just can buy/use everyday stuff without really analysing every single penny to be spent. I would even add some more for "incidental shopping". It is not about surviving. It is about living and not even to the full

[revhappy]

I think you should divide you expenses into
1)Rent
2)School Fees
3)Others

1)Rent can be anything from 1500 to 20K?
2)School fees from paltry 150$ to 5k?
3)Others- This includes everything else, groceries, transport, eat out and should cost about 1500. And its fairly fixed can go beyond say double of it.

So for expats without kids and ready to live in HDBs and earning 6k or more Singapore is a great place to live a gr8 live, splurge a bit and save a lot!

For the rest fussy expats who want to put their kids in International Schools, live in condos buy car etc, you might as well stay in your home country as creating an environment similar to your country will cost a lot and may not be worth it afterall!