How much did I spend in a month in Singapore ? (2023 edition)
January 23, 2023
When evaluating whether to come to Singapore (or move to any other country) to work, apart from looking at salary and local tax rates, another important factor to consider is cost. After all, if you move to another place, but the quality of life is worse, it will not be worth the move (unless you really want to live in a certain place, which is a different story).
Before coming to Singapore, I also did some research on expenses-related issues, but after actually living in Singapore, I found that some information on the Internet is a bit outdated, especially for the rental part. The rental prices in Singapore have risen sharply in the past two years, so information before 2020 is mostly not accurate anymore.
Therefore, I decided to write how much does I (and my wife) spend in a month in Singapore. If you are planning to relocate to Singapore in the near future, this article should give you a more accurate picture.
Food Expense
Food expenses in Singapore can be roughly divided into supermarket prices, hawker centers, food courts in shopping malls, restaurants and delivery, to understand the details You can refer to this article "Dinging option in Singapore".
Supermarket Price In 2023, supermarket prices in Singapore will be almost the same as those in Taipei. Take Fairprice, one of the most common cheap supermarkets in Singapore as an example, a two-liter fresh milk is about S$6 SGD, an apple is about S$1 SGD. Bread (such as red bean bread or pork floss bread) is about S$1.5 Singapore dollars. You can directly go to the website of Fairprice Supermarket to see current prices.
Hawker centre The price in hawker centers is very affordable. Take the Maxwell Center in the central business district (CBD) as an example, a Hainanese chicken rice or a barbecued pork rice is about S$5 ~ 6 SGD. Buying a meal with a drink or dessert will cost about S$8 Singapore dollars.
Mall Food Court The food court in the shopping mall is another good choice. The price is a bit more expensive than the hawker center, but it is also very affordable compared with the restaurant. A meal is about S$7 or SGD 8.
restaurant As for restaurants, there are many, many choices at different price points in Singapore. The restaurants that I eat more often are divided into three levels: cheap, mid, and mid-high. You can calculate expenses based on your own eating habits.
- Cheap: S$7~10 SGD
- Mid: S$12~18 SGD
- Mid-to-high price: around S$25 SGD
delivery Delivery in Singapore is very convenient, and you can also order many types of food. It will be the same price as going to the physical restaurant. But you will need to pay for the extra delivery fee. In terms of delivery fees, it is more expensive than Taiwan. According to my experience, delivery fees range from S$2 to S$5.5 SGD.
Clothing Expense
Because almost all kinds of international brands have branches in Singapore, and the prices are quite similar to branches in other countries. So if you want to estimate the cost of this part, you can use the same budget as what you used to spend in your own country.
Housing Expense
You have two choices of housing in Singapore -- Condo (private apartment) and HDB (government housing). The rental prices of the two in 2023 are approximately as follows (compared to previous years, rental prices in Singapore have risen a lot, and the rental cost is almost 1.5 times higher compared to last year):
The condo rental market in 2023 is about S$4500 SGD per month for two bedrooms and two bathrooms in non-CBD area (CBD are is too expensive for most working class, so I won't discuss it here), one bedroom and one bathroom is S$3200 SGD, if you only rent a master room, it is about S$2500 SGD. If it is an common room, About S$1800.
If in non-CBD area. HDB rental prices in 2023 are as follow, two bedrooms and two bathrooms will cost about S$3200, and one bedroom and one bathroom will cost about S$2500. Renting only a master room is about S$1200. And if it is an common room, it is about S$800 (about 18,000 Taiwan dollars).
In addition to the rent, you also need to pay utility bills such as water, electricity and gas. If you turn on the air conditioner every night and use all kinds of home appliances normally. A month's electricity bill will probably be around S$150 Singapore dollars. Utility bills are considered expensive in Singapore for working class (compared to Taiwan).
Transportation
Singapore government wants to promote car-lite (because it is better for the environment and there will be more space for urban planning), so Singapore has invested heavily in public transportation. Thus, Singapore has a very well developed public transportation, and the cost is very affordable.
I usually take a 30-minute MRT to go to work, and the one-way trip is about S$1.5. The monthly transportation expense for me is about S$100 Singapore dollars.
If you want to call a taxi, the one-way Grab here is about S$10 to S$20. After all, Singapore is not big, so the distance from the southernmost to the northernmost is not long, so it will not cost you a lot going anywhere.
Entertainment Expense
Entertainment expenses vary from person to person. The most common expenses are watching movies. In Singapore, the price of a movie ticket is about S$12.5 Singapore dollars. In addition, there are many things you can do in Singapore, such as hiking, visiting exhibitions, cycling, going to outlying islands, etc.
Tickets for exhibitions and scenic places are quite different. Below are fares of some well-known scenic spots:
- National Museum of Singapore: S$12.5
- Universal Studios: S$78
- Gardens by the Bay: S$10
- Doraemon Exhibition: S$30
My Actual Expense in a month
Since each person's entertainment expenses are different, this blog post only discusses the basic food, clothing, housing and transportation expenses. My wife and I usually do not go to high-end fine-dining restaurants. The monthly expense for me and my wife is about S$4050 Singapore dollars.
- Rent + bill + Internet phone fee: S$2450
- Food expenses/supermarket purchases: S$1200
- Daily necessities: S$120
- Transportation fee: S$140
- Entertainment fee: S$80
- Other miscellaneous expenses: S$60
Compared with the what we spent in Taipei, it costs about $800 USD more for us, and the extra part is mostly due to the higher rental price in Singapore. Leaving aside the rent, the prices of most things in Singapore are basically the same as in Taipei. Thus, if you really want to save money, you can save a little more by choosing to live in a HDB.
I hope the above will be helpful to those who are considering moving to Singapore. I will update this blog post every six months in the future to make sure the info here is up-to-date.