How some people are managing their spending even as inflation eases in S’pore
The rising prices of groceries have been a pain point for retirees Mr and Mrs Chan, with trying to eat healthy costing them significantly more now than a year ago.ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
Colin Tan
Dec 21, 2024
SINGAPORE – Inflation has been easing, but that has not stopped some people from finding ways to better manage their expenses as prices remain higher than before.
Core inflation
fell to 2.1 per cent in October, down from 2.8 per cent in September.
Overall inflation, which includes accommodation and private transport, was down to 1.4 per cent, from 2 per cent a month ago.
The good news is, inflation in Singapore is seen easing further in 2025, in line with global trends.
However, what the official data shows could differ from the price impact that people are experiencing in their daily lives.
This is because one’s experience is coloured by his or her spending habits, income level, and psychological perception of price changes.
The consumer price index (CPI), in contrast, is a broad measure of inflation that tracks price changes of a fixed basket of goods and services commonly purchased by households.
In a nod to Singaporeans’ worries about the cost of living, the Government has rolled out major support packages over the last few years, with more help on the way in the coming months, such as
another tranche of CDC vouchers in January 2025.
The Straits Times takes a look at how some people are coping with expenses.
Housewife makes the most of her grocery budget
Housewife Germaine Teo has found it challenging in the past 12 months to stick to her usual grocery budget for her family of five.
The 45-year-old, who has three children – a 17-year-old daughter and two sons aged 14 and 12 – stopped working in 2012 after her youngest was born, leaving her husband, who is also 45, as the sole breadwinner.
The arrangement worked well for the family, who live in a five-room Housing Board flat, as her husband rose up the corporate ladder to eventually become a director in an engineering company.
But since the pandemic, rising prices and job uncertainty have thrown a spanner in the works.
“The $150 weekly grocery budget no longer bought the same amount of food it used to, and we had to make some rather draconian changes,” said Ms Teo, adding that the budget has increased to $200 a week now.
This includes switching from fresh chicken or fish at the supermarket to the frozen versions from online platform Redmart.
Ms Teo also opted for local vegetables, such as spinach and long beans, instead of pricier Australian broccoli.
Housewife Germaine Teo has found it a challenge in the past 12 months to stick to her usual grocery budget for her family of five.ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
She buys supermarket house brands, instead of reaching for the more upmarket brands, and chooses UHT milk over fresh milk.
“Pre-Covid-19, we could still go out for restaurant meals without too much thought, but now we can’t do that as frequently – especially with the same family of five eating more as the kids grow,” she noted.
“We also seldom order drinks and bring our own water bottles instead.”
The family eats more home-cooked meals now, and Ms Teo has reduced the number of dishes per meal to save money.
“We went from three – a soup, a meat dish and a vegetable dish – to more economical one-dish meals. Thankfully, my husband and kids aren’t too fussy,” she said.
Examples of such one-dish meals include pasta, fried rice, oyako-don, which is a Japanese chicken and egg rice bowl, and minced pork noodles with vegetables.
The change also meant smaller portions all around, she said.
And while she used to enjoy getting her favourite cuppa – teh-c siu dai (tea with less sugar) – from a local chain, she stopped doing so when the price rose to $2.90 a cup.
“I make my own now and it costs me 70 cents,” she said.
On the transportation front, the family decided to do without a car eight years ago, so they could channel the money towards paying for the children’s enrichment classes and family holidays.
But getting around Singapore via private-hire services such as Grab became too much of a luxury when the five of them could no longer squeeze into one car.
Separately, data from the Department of Statistics showed that train and bus fares climbed 7 per cent for the 12 months to October, unchanged from September.
Meanwhile, the fund for family vacations did not completely pan out.
Ms Teo needed more money for her children’s sports activities and equipment, while the cost of flying five people became prohibitive as air ticket prices rose.
This meant that the same amount budgeted for their annual holidays did not go as far as she expected, and options became more limited.
“We just went to Shanghai at the end of November as a family,” she said.
Usually, the family stay at a short-stay home rather than a hotel when travelling abroad, but accommodation in the Chinese city was relatively affordable, so they chose to indulge in a four-star hotel that cost just over $100 a night.
“While we were somewhat coping with the inflation caused by the after-effects of the pandemic, we were hit when GST went up,” Ms Teo said.
The goods and services tax was raised from 7 per cent to 8 per cent in 2023, and then to 9 per cent in 2024.
Ms Teo shared a tip for parents: When the children ask for special treats, wait for a sale or online deals.
Looking ahead, she thinks she may go back to full-time work to better cope with unexpected price hikes in the coming years.
“Even though we thought that we had budgeted prudently as a single-income family, the price increases have thrown our calculations off kilter.
“We have to relook our future plans again, both as a family with the kids’ education in mind, and as a couple who need to plan for retirement,” she said.
Retiree couple opted to extend COE of their car
For retirees, Mr and Mrs Chan, who are 65 and 60 years old respectively, their biggest expenditure over the past 12 months is the topping up of their car’s certificate of entitlement (COE) in June 2024.
The couple, who declined to reveal their full names, had paid $124,000 for the four-year-old second-hand continental car in 2018.
So when the COE was about to expire, the Chans wrestled with the decision on whether to get a new car or extend the life of the existing one.
The choice facing them was a small new car that would have cost $170,000, or $99,000 for the COE extension.
In the end, they opted for what seemed like the cheaper solution.
However, they may yet regret the decision as the road tax for cars 10 years and older will rise by an additional 10 per cent every year, and the cost of repairs will also increase.
But the couple felt that they needed a car, as Mrs Chan’s parents – who are in their mid-90s – have mobility issues.
“At their age, public transportation isn’t an option as it presents a very real danger, given how fragile the old folks are,” said Mr Chan.
“We really need the car because of their numerous medical appointments.”
The rising prices of groceries have also been a pain point, and trying to eat healthily is costing the couple significantly more now than a year ago.
“Everything has gone up. An example is oranges, which would have cost less than $5 for three before, but have now risen to $5 or $6,” said Mr Chan.
“I’ve had to give up my favourite cheese when it rose past $8 for 10 slices, up from the $5 it used to cost,” said his wife.
For retirees Mr and Mrs Chan, the biggest item they have had to spend on over the past 12 months is topping up the COE for their car in June 2024.ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
The Chans do not eat out often. Mrs Chan cooks frequently, adding: “My menu planning depends very much on what’s on sale.”
They have two adult children in their 30s living with them in a condominium that the Chans bought more than 20 years ago.
Meanwhile, the couple’s overseas trips also double as shopping trips because of the strong Singapore dollar.
As the frequency of these trips varies between three months and a year, they have had to adjust their buying patterns.
“I now buy a whole year’s supply of various items – from clothes to cosmetics, like sunblock, as well as less perishable food such as coffee beans from Japan or South Korea,” said Mrs Chan.
As the couple rely on passive income from their investments and savings, they are no longer brand-conscious. Said Mrs Chan: “We have no brand loyalty any more, we buy things only if they’re on discount.”
The Chans describe themselves as being price-sensitive in recent years.
For Christmas, the family put up an eight-year-old artificial Christmas tree, but the ornaments are from Japanese discount chain Daiso, costing a few dollars each.
“Previously, I had no qualms leaving the fairy lights on all day, but now we turn them on only if we’re around and shut them off when we leave the room,” Mrs Chan said.
The same goes for the air-conditioner. “We used to sleep through the night with the air-conditioner on. Now, we cool the room down for a few hours and then turn it off when we go to bed,” she said.
Utilities and fuels have risen in price by 4.1 per cent over the last 12 months to October, down from 6.7 per cent in September, according to CPI data.
Spending wisely while studying in S’pore
Ms Alice Linh, a Vietnamese national, is a second-year social science undergraduate reading politics, economics and law at the Singapore Management University.
In her first year of study, the 21-year-old’s parents gave her a monthly allowance of $1,400 but this year, they raised it to $2,000.
Back home, her parents, who are in their 50s, run a small business and live with Ms Linh’s two elder siblings in their mid-20s.
Ms Alice Linh, a Vietnamese national, is a second-year social science undergraduate reading politics, economics and law at the Singapore Management University.ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Food accounts for the lion’s share, or about 60 per cent, of the budget. While Ms Linh typically eats hawker food, she does treat herself to something special, like steak, once in a while.
Hawker food prices increased 2.9 per cent for the 12 months to October, unchanged from the previous month, official data showed.
One of the clearest indicators of inflation is tied to Ms Linh’s penchant for iced lemon tea, which she drinks regularly.
“When I first came to Singapore in 2023, a cup of iced lemon tea near my home cost me about $1.40, but I sat up and took notice when it hit $1.80.”
Ms Linh decided to cut down the number of meals she has from three a day to two to save money.
“I have a really big and heavy brunch to last me all the way till dinner, which tends to be much lighter. I’ve been doing this for some time, even though I know it isn’t very healthy.”
She admitted that she lost weight as a result of this regimen in 2023, spending about $15 a day on food.
An internship stint in December at a non-governmental organisation led her to revert to three meals a day, spending around $20 to $35 daily on food – largely because she needed a higher energy level to get through the day, she said.
Rent is the next biggest item, taking up a further 30 per cent of her allowance.
Ms Linh has been fortunate in that her landlord is her father’s friend.
“I am really grateful that he hasn’t hiked the rental of my room at his HDB flat since I moved here,” she said.
Transport expenditure has roughly stayed the same in the past two years because she is still a student and pays less than $50 for a concession pass for bus and train trips.
According to the broader CPI data, accommodation costs rose 2.5 per cent over the last 12 months to October, down from 2.7 per cent in September.
Ms Linh goes back to Vietnam every three or four months and air ticket prices could vary widely, depending on the travel period. This is a separate expense, not paid for out of her monthly allowance.
In 2025, she hopes to supplement her allowance by applying to become a teaching assistant.
“I think I can make about $600 in four to five months per class per semester,” she said.
