Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Is a salary of 60K SGD enough to live a healthy life in Singapore? What areas can I find cheap accommodation? How are travel and food expenses? What will taxes on my salary be like?



Vinay Rasam, CEO, Entrepreneur, Living in Singapore for over 10 years.

You will be making $5K SGD a month. There is no CPF (central provident fund) for foreigners, so you wont be paying towards it but you will be paying a income tax at around 7-8%.

The rentals have been falling for the last 6 months, so you should be able to get a shared apartment in areas like Pungool or Sengkang for about $500-600 a month. I am assuming you are single considering you want to share a apartment.

There are some foreigners who also live as paying guests with local Singaporeans. You might want to explore that option as well.

If you can cook, your groceries will set you back by about $100-150 a week depending on how much you want to pamper yourself. For Indians, Mustafa carries everything under the sun. I have seen stuff in Mustafa which isn't even available in India.

If you drink or smoke, add a good $50-100 a week on those silly expenses.

Travel by MRT/Bus will set you back by around $40-50 a week.

My best guess is you will be able to save around $3200-3500 a month if you are single and sharing with friends.

That means in INR, you will save around INR 150000+ a month and INR 18,00,000 a year.

On a side note, when I came to Singapore, I had a better offer than what you got today and that was 10 years back.

I strongly suggest that you take the offer. Not for the money but for the exposure you will get in Singapore. I have lived in 5 countries in the last 15 years and every time, I learnt a great deal. Each city will teach you new things.

However, If you are dreaming of a high end life, do not set foot in Singapore unless you are earnings at least SGD 15000 a month.

Good Luck.

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