Everyone in Singapore knows the cost of living is relatively astronomical. Despite that fact, a Malaysian civil engineer working here has managed to spend just S$10 daily.
Mr Jonathan Lim achieved this low spending with clever financial management.
He lives off cheap but cost-efficient meals, including a free breakfast at an affordable hostel, which he showcased on his TikTok.
Mr Lim also makes an hours-long commute twice a week to and from his home in Malaysia.
Mr Lim is a civil engineer who lives in Kulai, Johor but works in Singapore for three days a week.
His first TikTok post chronicled his journey to his workplace, as Mr Lim departs Kulai at 6am and reaches his office by 9am. The three-hour commute includes a 20-minute walk across the Causeway to avoid congestion.
To avoid a six-hour journey every day, Mr Lim stays in a capsule hotel along Jalan Besar. He specified that it was partially to avoid the dreaded Singapore rent prices.
He described the capsules as “spacious and clean”, with a heater and hairdryer provided, for less than S$35 a night.
Source: @jonlzx on TikTok
More importantly, the hostel provides a complimentary breakfast with fresh food and clean cutlery. This allows Mr Lim to start his day off without spending anything on a filling first meal.
In one video, we’re shown two slices of toast with spreads, a bowl of cereal and milk, and a cup of hot tea.
Source: @jonlzx on TikTok
Without spending a single cent so far, Mr Lim heads to work.
Come lunchtime, he prefers to go for cai fan or economy rice, providing a diverse choice for cost-efficiency. The price varies from meal to meal, but he usually gets a nice helping for around S$4 or so, with the example in his video costing him just S$3.60.
Source: @jonlzx on TikTok
Mr Lim then spent S$1.50 on a cranberry cream cheese bun after work, before jogging at a stadium. He highlighted that for simple workouts, the stadiums are superior to gyms as they are free and there are no queues to use gym equipment.
For dinner that day, he bought two juicy BBQ chicken drumsticks for only S$5 at a FairPrice supermarket.
Mr Lim explained that around S$10 or slightly more is enough for a day in Singapore. Ignoring the snack as an occasional expense, his public transport fee of S$3 on top of his lunch and dinner costs added up to around S$11.60.
His dinner might be even cheaper, as he purchased a large plate of cai fan for just S$3.20 in one video.
Source: @jonlzx on TikTok
After work on Wednesdays, Mr Lim makes the long commute back home to Malaysia once more. For the next two days of the week, he works from his own computer setup at home.
The exhausting three-hour one-way commute sure puts our own daily travel time to work in perspective. Many local netizens agreed, expressing surprise and respect for the Malaysians who cross the borders to work.
Source: TikTok
Others praised Mr Lim for his efficient budget management while not skimping out on looking presentable.
Source: TikTok
Other commenters could not help but fixate on the low cai fanprices he was getting.
Source: TikTok
In the end, the real highlight of the series of videos was Mr Lim’s responsible and careful budgeting.
Even so, he sometimes would spend more on special occasions such as a meeting with an ex-colleague at a restaurant.
Source: @jonlzx on TikTok
If anything, Mr Lim has shown us how much can be saved through proper financial planning and frugal spending even in a city as expensive as Singapore.
In another example, a 23-year-old Singaporean woman bought a condo through careful savings and working multiple jobs.
MS News has reached out to Mr Lim for more information. We’ll update the article if he replies.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from @jonlzx on TikTok, TikTok & TikTok.
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