NUS Student Interns Shares Her Weekly Expenses Go Up To S$385
As a young adult in Singapore, it can be tedious to constantly keep track of our expenses and stay within our budget. Some of us might even find it impossible to do so without spending beyond our limits.
A student at the National University of Singapore (NUS) thus decided to document her daily expenses for a week.
She revealed that in a single week, the amount she spent could go up to S$385.
However, she caveated that she usually spends less in a week as she usually works from home. She also went out several times during the week.
NUS student interning at accounting firm reveals daily expenses
Content creator Zhishinn posted to YouTube, detailing her expenses for the week of 11 July, beginning on Monday.
She explained that it’s her last week of interning at PwC, an accounting firm in Singapore.
Source: zhishinn on YouTube
As it was her final chance to document her weekly expenses as an intern, she chose to film the video for her viewers.
She starts off with a simple breakfast of two free slices of kaya toast alongside coffee, which cost her S$0.22.
Source: zhishinn on YouTube
Zhishinn then reveals that she usually gets her lunch from a food court in Shenton House. While most of the stalls sell economy rice, she opted for yong tau foo, forking out $5.70.
For a teatime snack, Zhishinn had a packet of wafer sticks at PwC’s office.
Source: zhishinn on YouTube
Shares expenses for daily meals
At 6.30pm, it was time to clock out, and Zhishinn shared that she had Korean cuisine for dinner with her friends.
Source: zhishinn on YouTube
The meal included a kimchi pancake, four different barbecued meat dishes, Korean steamed egg and an army stew, costing S$33.80 per person.
Her transport home via bus and MRT was S$1.68. She added that in the morning, she would usually have to pay S$0.99, with an additional S$0.73 for transit to Shenton Way MRT.
The total fares for transportation thus came up to S$3.40.
Source: zhishinn on YouTube
On 12 July, she worked from home and had an oat milk beverage for S$0.87. She then had lunch at a food court in NUS, purchasing a bowl of dry yong tau foo for S$4.60.
Another snack of beancurd cost her S$1.60, and for dinner, she had chilli pan mee that cost S$6.80.
Source: zhishinn on YouTube
The day after, she went back to the office and shared that she went for a different meal for lunch — economy rice that cost S$4.30.
For dinner, she opted for fish soup noodles and a bitter gourd omelette for S$9.80 in total.
On 14 July, she had economy rice again, this time S$3.90, and fish noodles with soup the day after for S$9.
NUS student shares that weekly expenses was S$385
Zhishinn noted that she usually doesn’t spend this much in a week because she usually works from home.
She also admitted that some of the activities she partook in led to a spike in her weekly finances.
For instance, she visited the Hard Rock Cafe for a night of clubbing, which was S$25. A two-way Grab ride then cost her S$9.48.
Source: zhishinn on YouTube
After work on Thursday, she went to a barre studio, sharing that seven sessions cost S$135. With three of them being free, each session was S$13.50.
She also restocked her hair conditioner and eyebrow pencils for S$12.70 and S$6 respectively.
Her dinner for the last day of work was a healthy bowl of teriyaki chicken, greens, and other ingredients for S$7.
Source: zhishinn on YouTube
Other meals for the rest of the week included one from The Daily Cut at S$9.39.
At the end of the video, she provided a quick summary of her expenses. Food and drinks cost S$118.31 in total.
As for entertainment activities, she forked out S$41.49. Clubbing, she thought, was a waste of money and she doesn’t intend to go again unless ladies’ night is free.
Source: zhishinn on YouTube
Transport was S$17.73, which she said could be cut down even further with a concession pass for unlimited rides.
The total sum of her expenses came up to about S$385, after adding in rental and other such expenses.
But she shared that the amount can still be reduced further with the help of other savings such as promos and food deals.
Zhishinn additionally shared in the comments that an intern in Singapore can get a monthly salary of between S$800 to S$1,500, depending on the industry.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Zhishinn on YouTube.
