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“Three levels of wealth” in Singapore
Tourist/non-local QuestionI recently met up with a group of friends, most of them people who’ve been living in Singapore for years, and one discussion really stuck with me.
They explained what they jokingly (but half-seriously) call the three levels of wealth in Singapore. I’m curious how accurate this sounds to locals.
Level 1: You own a dog
Having a dog in Singapore is expensive. Vaccinations, vets, permits, general upkeep, it all adds up fast. According to them, if you see someone walking a dog, that person is definitely not poor.
Level 2: You own a car
Car ownership is on another level. They said it’s roughly two to three times more expensive than in Dubai. Import duties, insurance, and especially the licence to own a car make it prohibitive. We roughly calculated that a Mercedes E-Class could end up costing around USD 300k.
Level 3: You have two or more children
This was described as the real “wealth tier”. Education is extremely expensive, nannies are costly, and then you add extracurriculars, clubs, activities, camps, and so on. If you’re raising two or more kids in Singapore, you’re doing very well financially.
Does this way of looking at wealth in Singapore resonate at all, or does it sound off? How would you personally describe the so called levels of wealth?
Genuinely curious to hear local perspectives.
