Does Your Monthly Household Expenditure Exceed $4,388?

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The average expenditure of all Singapore households is $4,388 per month. This is according to the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) report released last month by the Singapore Department of Statistics.

Households staying in 5-room and executive HDB flats spend an average of $4,926 per month, while those in 3-rooms and 4-rooms spend $2,482 and $3,551 respectively.

Families in private housing spend much more, with those in private flats (including condos) expending $7,793 per month, and those in landed properties $9,962.

As we all know: the more you spend, the less you save; and conversely, the less you spend, the more you save. Many of Salary.sg readers have accumulated $1million in savings and investments through sheer financial prudence.

How much does your household spend a month?

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56 Comments

  1. Seems to be a lot of thoughts here that having kids is an expensive affair. It may well be. But fact is, once you’ve decided to, it’s a matter of finding the money. Think of it this way, if you could force yourself to put aside $1,000 from each month’s worth of salary, could you work out a viable budget?

    Once you’ve put aside that amount, go have the baby. $1,000 per month for about 3 years. By then, put the child in full day care. Costs do go down significantly as the child gets older.

    And whatever saved can then be invested.

    There is no real need to have an insurance for the child. He/she has no dependency who really need the cash. But do buy medical insurance (can use Medishield to pay).

    Over time, would be worthwhile to also start putting aside some $$$ towards the child’s education.

  2. I guess for our case is slightly better.

    CPF loan: 1k fully covered by CPF.

    Contribution to parents (both mine and my wife side) $1000 total. Well, that the benefit of parents having more than 2 child so that each child has less to give to parent in future 🙂

    To our joint account for future planning. About 2k per month from our combine income.

    Car: 1000 per month
    Utilities: 200
    phone/internet: About 200
    Makan combine about $1200
    misc: 400
    Insurance $200+ from CPF per month cash $100
    Total: actual spending average about $3k per month.

    Rest is personal saving for my wife and me and we do save quite a healthy percentage.

    So quite ok at this point of time. We figure having a BB will bump up another 1k per month but the current saving from joint acct is sufficient for future rainy days.

    As my parents leave just a few blocks from me, we do get a healthy saving from our 5 meals a week at parents place (rotated between both his/her parents 🙂 as my wife don’t really cooks.

    Why bother when home makan is just 3 blocks away?

  3. im very fortunate after reading all the above. Im 30 yr old, earning $6k from my full time job..limelight part time in teaching once a wk, $1k. hubby earn pathetically 3.2k a mth.

    utility: $120(i seldom on air con to save $$)
    maid $590
    milk/diaper $500 (cos my 1yr dotter drinks milk like camel n refuse to eat anything else!)
    mum: $400 (for overlooking my maid n baby)
    Car+petrol+rd tax etc: $1100
    Insurance : $500per mth(only mine) +300per mth(hubby)
    My own personal expenses: i cut down all my shopping after delivering my baby… really practically all to save for my kid! FOOD: $300
    Public transport: Poor me gotta take mrt..cos hubby work in ulu place.. our timin diff.. i nd to sacrifice to take one trip of mrt ;$60
    hp/broadband: $100 (combine of mine n hubby; we select cheapest plan)

    Overall.. i think is not how much u earn.. its how much u save that matters… n how hard u try to strive n work hard… i really got NO LIFE.. work two job.my full time job already take up 12 hrs a day ; five days a wk. Sometimes..lookin back.. i really salute myself for being such a tough cookie workin so hard.

  4. I earn about 3.7k a month. Can’t do shit with it n currently in 80k debt after tat after 5 years with 2 kids

  5. BTw I scrimp n save with no rental to pay, 2 or 1 meal per day. Kids hardly go for any outing nor enrichment. NO vacation n no bday or anniversary celebrations. It’s still not enuf n still incurred debts. The cost of living is too high unless you take home 9k in order to live moderately

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