Tag Archives: cost of living

While the PAP IBs will tell you that this is because Singapore is more developed and its citizens richer and we should thus be happy to pay more. But the reality is that for most businesses, high rents means that they have no choice but to raise the prices of their goods. And who really benefits, except the government?

I spotted this chicken rice stall in the Kopitiam food court in Greenridge Shopping Centre which sells chicken rice for $5.00. How unaffordable, how unbelievably expensive this plate of chicken rice is! I care about food costs. They make up a substantially large amount of our day-to-day spending.

In a sign of skyrocketing costs of living and business after this upcoming polling day, HDB had sent us a letter right after the election was announced warning us that they intend to raise the rental of our HDB rental unit by a whooping mind-boggling 37%! That’s more than one-third of our current rental and more than $700 per month! But that’s not all. It seems like the letter (see the attached) is a standard letter that is sent to all HDB commercial and industrial property tenants, so we are not the only tenant who is affected.

According to the TR Emeritus article “Khaw dismisses critics who feel housing is unaffordable” (Aug 22) – “For Sengkang, the situation is worse. 2-room flats are priced below ratio of 4, but 3-room and 4-room flats have ratios of 4.5 and 5.4 respectively. So, in fact, Sengkang 4-room BTO flats (ratio of 5.4) are considered unaffordable by the standards laid down by the World Bank and the United Nations.”

So very often, repeatedly I hear people complaining about how expensive property is, or how expensive our cars are. It is true that our the ultimate quantum of our property is very expensive here, but so very often, people forgot to factor other things like interest rates, appreciation, education, child care, etc, which more accurately reflects the true cost of living.

About 40% of children aged 2 and below do not receive full pneumococcal vaccines because parents find the costs too expensive, according to doctors. At a polyclinic, one dose costs around $150 and between $170 and $180 at most general practitioners (GPs). It is recommended that a child receives three doses before he or she turns 1, which brings the total cost to about $500.

More than half of Singaporeans felt the pressure over the heavy burden of raising a family and the higher cost of living. Nearly 30 percent of the respondents were unable to meet their personal aspirations due to insufficient income.

In 2004, the average price of formula, including that for infants and for babies six months and older, was $22.66 for a 900g tin. It has climbed steadily to hit $50.01 in October this year from an average of $44.30 last year, according to figures obtained recently by The Straits Times from the Department of Statistics.

For Singaporean Fahmi Rais, 46, who lives in Johor and commutes across the border daily, the toll increases will dent his disposable income. Mr Fahmi, who owns a cafe in Johor, said that as travelling between Singapore and Malaysia - whether for work or eduction - has become a "bread and butter" necessity, people will just have to swallow the increase.

The Republic is now the fourth most expensive city in the world for expatriates and the second most expensive in Asia, according to the latest cost of living survey by Mercer. Singapore gained one spot from last year to come in fourth, behind two African cities – Luanda in Angola and N’Djamena in Chad – and Hong Kong.