# Regarding relocating in Singapore



## sri_2301 (Jul 8, 2014)

Hello friends,
Myself Srivastava, I am an engineer from India with 4.5 years+ experience.
I am married & have a job offer from a Singapore based company for SG$ 4000/month (all inclusive).
Me & my wife both bear a normal life style and I earn around US$1500/month in India.
So, with a normal life style what maximum we can save there every month and will it be a wise decision to accept the offer?
Thanks in advance for your valuable replies.


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## beppi (Jun 10, 2013)

I also replied to your other posting.
S$4000 is a low income for a couple in Singapore. You will not save anything, but struggle to make ends meet.
For a single person, some (moderate) savings might be possible.


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## garytan (Jul 9, 2014)

Hi Srivastava

I'll follow on from what beppi mentioned and give you a bit more detail as to what it costs to live in Singapore, for an expatriate.

*1. Monthly Income *
Say you get $4,000/month (all in)

*2. Monthly Expenses*
* Accomodation - HDB flat rental - $500 per month
* Food (Hawker Centre) - about $6 per person including drink. Over 30 days for you and your wife (3 meals a day), this will be about 6 x 2 x 30 x 3 = $1,080
* Travel (MRT) - usually $5 per day to and from Raffles Place (City Centre)
* Entertainment - let's assume a movie each weekend ($14 per ticket x 2 persons each week) and a nice meal ($20 per person x 2). So over each month this is (14 x 2 x 4) + (20 x 2 x 4) = $272
* Occasional Shopping - say you spend $100 per weekend. Over one month, this adds up to $400.
* Utilities - water and electricity - say $80 a month (assuming you don't waste water too much!)
* Broadband - will cost you about $60 per month (StarHub lowest broadband subscription plan I believe)
* Food and groceries - e.g. buying tidbits, biscuits, drinks - say $400 per month

Total Expenses each month = 500 + 1,080 + 272 + 400 + 80 + 60 + 400 = $2,792 or approximately $2,800.

This is of course assuming you don't take taxi rides or intend to buy a car (which will seriously blow your budget). I've also assumed you eat at a hawker centre
I've also not included big ticket items like buying electronics, TV, cameras, etc. Nor have I included things like investments or insurance policy premiums, etc.
And the HDB flat rental - at $500 per month it would be a pretty small flat unit, at areas far from the city, e.g. Tampines, SengKang, Jurong.

*3. My View*
This leaves you with about $1,200 discretionary income each month. To me, that's ok and pretty comfortable a life. I mean, I'm assuming you're eating out EVERY single day. With ample money for nice entertainment and food & groceries each week.

I hope this helps you out! Let me know if you have any questions.


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## beppi (Jun 10, 2013)

The above poster (garytan) seriously has no clue about current Singapore rents, which have increased tremendously in the last 10 years or so.
Nowadays you cannot even get a sublet room for S$500/month (they cost S$800-1000/month) and whole units, even small ones at odd and inconvenient locations are rarely below S$2000/month.
This skews the budget towards "No Go"!
(The other items in his post look generally o.k., but please note that clothes, home trips and other occasional but necessary expenses are not included.)


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## sri_2301 (Jul 8, 2014)

Dear Gary and Beppi,

Thank you so much for your valuable advice.
From suggestions of you people and others, I have decided to move along alone for now till I get a financial breakthrough in my job. I hope if I move alone and maintain a normal life style then $4000 can buy me a good life with moderate savings of around $800 a month. Let me know your views please. Second, I wanted to understand that for an yearly income of $48000 (12×$4000) what will be approximate income tax? My office location is 51, Pioneer Sector 1, can you people give me an idea about this place i.e. approximate rent nearby, what kind of locality it is etc.?

Thanks once again!


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## beppi (Jun 10, 2013)

Singapore income tax calculator:
IRAS: Tax Calculators
(In case the link is removed by the moderators: Look for it on the Internal Revenue Authority of Singapore - IRAS - website.)
If you rent a room for below S$1000 and live frugally (which means no alcohol, cigarettes, taxi rides, home trips, vacations, limited entertainment, most meals at hawker centres - which are cheaper than cooking yourself, etc.) you will be able to save a few hundred dollars per month.
But let's see if you can jump the next hurdle of getting a work visa - this is quite questionable with such a low salary!


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## garytan (Jul 9, 2014)

Hi beppi

Thanks for your note on the ever escalating rents in Singapore. Indeed, to rent a whole eg HDB three room flat would probably cost more than $1500 a month. 

When I mentioned $500 a month, I meant renting a sub-let room, ie you share a common toilet and basically have only one room to yourself in the HDB flat.

If you wanted to rent a full HDB flat, $4,000 is not going to be enough. 




beppi said:


> The above poster (garytan) seriously has no clue about current Singapore rents, which have increased tremendously in the last 10 years or so.
> Nowadays you cannot even get a sublet room for S$500/month (they cost S$800-1000/month) and whole units, even small ones at odd and inconvenient locations are rarely below S$2000/month.
> This skews the budget towards "No Go"!
> (The other items in his post look generally o.k., but please note that clothes, home trips and other occasional but necessary expenses are not included.)


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## beppi (Jun 10, 2013)

If you still find a sublet room for S$500/month, no matter how shabby it is and how inconvenient the location, grab it because it is a real bargain.
(You won't find many, if at all, though.)


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## simonsays (Feb 11, 2009)

for 500$ you can get a room share ... i.e. share the room with another person ... two person in a room

the smallest common room does not come less than 750 or more ... 

and a three room flat was above 2,000 for few years, and averaged 2,500. agents will say otherwise, like 1,900$ and once you show interest they will admit the rental 'expected' is above 2,200 ... 

Gary ... fyi


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## ani_india (Aug 28, 2012)

garytan said:


> *2. Monthly Expenses*
> * Accomodation - HDB flat rental - $500 per month


Surprised how your numbers are so close for all, except one which is horrible to say the least...
I would say $900 minimum for one room i.e w/o separate bath room...but a for decent living for a couple I would suggest to get partitioned one room studio...which is now growing in number and the cheapest one should be available for 1200-1300 range


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## simonsays (Feb 11, 2009)

ani_india said:


> ...but a for decent living for a couple I would suggest to get partitioned one room studio...which is now growing in number and the cheapest one should be available for 1200-1300 range


:sorry:

you mean those illegal / unauthorized partitions that URA / HDB s cracking down on?


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