Thread to discuss about cost of living in singapore

Discussion in 'Indians in Singapore' started by indirabathu, Jan 20, 2016.

  1. indirabathu

    indirabathu Junior IL'ite

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    Dear Friends,

    I will be shortly moving to Singapore as my husband works there in EP. I have benefited lot from Indus ladies forums, also happy to see lots of them making new friends here..

    Thought creating and updating this thread continuously will help all of us to know the current trend in Singapore about all the expenses such as House rents, Pub, grocery, school, medicines, touring etc. I'm sure this will be one of the most important thing to plan for all of us as cost of living in Singapore is very expensive. Sometimes I even

    My current situation is I have two kids one is 6 years old (I'm planning to put her in Yuvabhrathi or DPS) and 2 year old son, I'm a home maker (we all are travelling in dependent visa) and my husband is the only person who will be earning. Considering this could you guys please share your thought on how much would be the monthly expenses. I'm listing few category below, you guys can add or modify accordingly based on your experience. Sometimes I even gets doubt if it goes in negative and no savings is possible.

    1. House rent (preferably HDB)
    2. Water, EB, Wifi, TV
    3. School fees (other than annual fee and one time fees, every month approximately I'm planning 1000 for yuvabharathi 1200 for dps including transport)
    4. Grocery
    5. Medical
    6. Local Travel (MRT, LRT, Buses)
    7. Mobile bills
    8. Touring (assuming once in 2 months short trip like malaysia or indonesia)

    If I think of budjet this is what comes into my mind. Plz throw some lights on this.

    Cheers,
    Indu
     
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  2. AkilaMani

    AkilaMani Local Champion Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Hi Indu,

    Welcome to SG :)

    1. House rent (preferably HDB) - for a 2 bedroom HDB - $1800 range.
    2. Water, EB, Wifi, TV -PUB - $100, tv internet - $75, Mobile data plan - $60 each
    3. School fees (other than annual fee and one time fees, every month approximately I'm planning 1000 for yuvabharathi 1200 for dps including transport)
    4. Grocery - $250 - $300
    5. Medical - check if you are getting the family cover from the office. Usually a normal gp visit is anywhere from $40 upwards.
    6. Local Travel (MRT, LRT, Buses) - depending how much you travel, for us, we travel almost everyday - all four of us and its about $100. Plus occasional cab.
    7. Mobile bills - $60 each
    8. Touring (assuming once in 2 months short trip like malaysia or indonesia) - travel / visa / stay / touring - $1000

    Hope this helps a bit :)
    Take care. Best wishes!
     
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  3. indirabathu

    indirabathu Junior IL'ite

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    Thanks a lot Akila, you are very helpful not just here, but I have seen you sharing your views almost in everything.

    6. Local Travel (MRT, LRT, Buses) - depending how much you travel, for us, we travel almost everyday - all four of us and its about $100. Plus occasional cab. - It may be silly to ask, so plz excuse me. When you say $100 is it for one person each or its $100 for all the four together.
     
  4. AkilaMani

    AkilaMani Local Champion Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Hi Indu,

    Its a pleasure to share what we know :)

    Its not at all silly dear. When we are new, everything seems different and it is better to clarify than to remain silent and wonder :) Its around $100+ for all four. Although I do not keep exact account of it, its around that amount only, now that my elder daughter's school has changed, it maybe slightly higher, but not by much. Our distance usually is quite short - within 5 km (mainly to leave and fetch my daughter from school). Also kids fare isn't much, its about 0.50-0.65 cents per ride anywhere.

    Hope this helps. Take care and Best Wishes :)
     
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  5. kriztina

    kriztina Bronze IL'ite

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    Welcome to Lah Lah land, you can actually go for condo rental, now the price is drastically reduced. You can get a decent condo for 2K . Condo living has lot of advantages like swimming pool and gym for adults. Otherwise you gotta travel for community swimming pools. Traveling by using bus, MRT is most economic, and hassle free at times. You can use gotheresg.com excellent site for exploring and travelling by public transport. Sg public transport is alomost best in the world. For taxi booking we have apps as well. Let me know if you have any more queries.
     
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  6. kriztina

    kriztina Bronze IL'ite

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    Sorry OP I never checked the date :hide: ,by now you must have comfortably settled here.
     
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  7. indirabathu

    indirabathu Junior IL'ite

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    Thanks a lot Kriztina for this info, it will be definitely helpful. I'm moving in by 1st week of April :) so feel free to add if you have more to share :)
     
  8. indirabathu

    indirabathu Junior IL'ite

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    Its still early days for me, considering the expense occurred in last 3 weeks I was quite confused with these thoughts.
    I'm worried, if at all we can save some money having one person working, with 2 kids out of which one studying in Indian International School, other is still at home (just 2 years old). Average travel to/from India is 2 person per month (considering inviting parents and IL's for a visit) coz I don't want to leave them lonely.

    How you guys are managing here, are we really saving some money or its just like earn/spend kind of scenario or am I wrong with these thoughts.

    Please share your thoughts or any suggestions

    Thanks to all the lovely friends here.
     
  9. AkilaMani

    AkilaMani Local Champion Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Hi Indu,

    I get what you mean dear. Its early days, you will get used to it with time. Initially our mind keeps converting between SGD and INR, and also the number seems smaller when we say $2 or $3 instead of Rs.100 or 150, but the mind processes both info and sometimes renders us confused if it is really a small number or a big one, not really totally confused as we understand the difference, still the numbers kind of play a trick on our brains, at least initially.

    Saving is possible with one income, don't despair, it will be okay. Best wishes!
     
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