Financial planner claims expats with families need to make over S$300K/year to live in S’pore

Australian financial planner claims expats need S$300,000 yearly income to live in Singapore

An Australian financial planner recently claimed that an expat family of four will need to make over S$300,000 a year to live in Singapore.

Taking into account factors such as rent, education, utilities, and savings, he breaks down how much an average family needs to be comfortable here in a TikTok video.

His video has gone viral, garnering more than 142,100 views as of this writing.

The breakdown of costs also prompted much discussion online over the expenditure of the average Singaporean family, and how accurate the Australian’s account is.

Financial planner says expat family of 4 needs minimum S$320,000 income to live in Singapore

On 13 March, Jarrad Brown, a financial planner from Perth who specialises in helping Australian expats in Singapore, posted his breakdown of how much an expat family of four would need to make to live here.

Per his calculations, Brown claims that an “average family” will need a yearly income of between S$320,000 and S$335,000.

This amount, however, does not take into consideration “all the lavish things” that Singapore has to offer, he disclaims.

In summary, his breakdown of costs is as follows:

• Rental for a 3-room condominium unit — S$6,000 per month, or S$72,000 per year
• International school fees — S$48,000 per year for one child, S$96,000 per year for a family with two children
• Utilities — S$250 a month, or S$3,000 a year
• Food and groceries — S$1,000 a month, or S$12,000 a year
• Public transport — S$100 a month, or S$1,200 per year
• Insurance — S$12,000 per year
• Entertainment and other discretionary costs — S$500 per month, or S$6,000 per year
• Phone, Internet, TV and the likes — S$6,000 a year
• Clothing and personal care — S$6,000 a year

Factoring in the fact that one household needs to save about 20% of their gross income, Brown concluded that an expat family of four, including two children, will need an annual income of between S$320,000 and S$335,000.

Viewers shocked by high costs, some suggest ways to reduce expenses

TikTok users who came across the video seemed flabbergasted by the exorbitant costs.

One user commented saying that S$6,000 for rental is “ridiculous”, to which Brown said that his calculations are “simply a case study” and not a “one size fits all”.

Another user suggested renting an HDB flat and sending the children to local schools to drive down the expenses.

The financial planner seemed to agree, responding: “Certainly very effective steps to increase the savings or reduce the required income.”

A Singaporean TikTok user also chimed in, saying that they sympathise with the high costs as a Singaporean household making S$150,000 a year is “already struggling” without international school fees or rent.

In response, Brown said: “That really puts it perspective, particularly the impact of inflation on Singapore households.”

Also read: S’pore Named World’s Most Expensive City For 9th Time, Has Highest Transport Prices Globally

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Featured image adapted from @australian.expat on TikTok.