2022 couple's average cost of living in Singapore
I designed my own website. This article is available on my website for a much better reading experience. Please follow the link below to husnyjeffrey.com. TIA
The cost of living is currently one of the hottest topics worldwide. Most developed nations are fighting against skyrocketing inflation, including Singapore. According to the most recent report, Singapore's core inflation rose to 4.4% in June 2022, the highest since November 2008.
My Background
I've been living in Singapore as a Sri Lankan ex-pat for the past five years. About seven months ago, my partner and I moved in together. Hence, I understand the cost of living for a married couple in Singapore. People who plan to relocate to Singapore may benefit from this article.
The expense of living in Singapore for a bachelor's was the subject of one of my previous posts. If you'd want to read it, here's the link.
Your way of life determines the cost of living. This article explains how much a typical couple (without children) spends each month. After reading this article, I hope you have a general idea of the costs involved in Singapore.
All costs are in Singapore dollars (SGD)
(1 USD = 1.38 SGD as of July 2022)
Cost of living for a couple in Singapore
01. Housing
The rental price is the most significant when you figure out the cost of living in Singapore. However, Singapore's rental prices are steadily rising.
Renting a fully furnished house is the most common type of accommodation for a couple. According to recent statistics, a fully furnished one-bedroom condominium or two-bedroom HDB will easily cost around $2800-$3200 per month in an average location. The rental will be much higher if you want to stay near the city (CBD area).
PropertyGuru is one of the famous websites looking for an apartment in Singapore.
02. Bills (Electricity, Water, Gas)
The total electricity, water, and gas bill for average usage will be around $250–300. This number highly depends on your aircon usage.
03. Internet
Home broadband will cost around $50 per month. However, it is dependent on the plan you select. To learn more about broadband plans, click on the link below.
04. Aircon Service
In most rental contracts, the tenant is liable to do the aircon service at least every three months. A unit with two air conditioners will cost $60-$80 per service or about $25 per month.
05. Food
We prepare meals for ourselves 80% of the time. Hence, we buy meat, vegetables, groceries, and dairy products weekly. We spent about $150 per week on this, which amounted to $600 per month.
06. Eating Outside
We eat out 2–3 times per week and bring 8–12 meals per person per month. The average meal cost in a food court (usually inexpensive) is around $7. So the cost of eating out is approximately 56–84 dollars per month per person or about $112–$168 per couple.
07. Mobile
The cost of mobile also varies greatly depending on the plan to which you subscribe. A mobile connection with a device will typically cost the couple around $130. If you want to use a sim-only plan, the cost for the couple will be around $45.
08. Public Transportation (Bus & MRT)
If you both have to travel to work (not working from home), public transportation costs $100 per person or $200 per couple.
09. Taxi
We sometimes have to take cabs due to late-night parties, work delays, or simply being too lazy to take the MRT. We, on the other hand, avoid taking taxis on purpose. On average, we spent about $50-$60 per month on cabs. A taxi ride of about 18–20 kilometres will cost about $20. Grab is one of Singapore's most famous taxi booking apps.
Here is the cost of travelling 30 kilometres from Woodlands to Changi Airport.
10. Personal Life Insurance
Singapore is one of the world's most expensive cities. Hence, medical costs are also relatively high. The hospital bill will ruin your wallet if you are ill and hospitalized and do not have medical insurance. Therefore, in addition to your company insurance, it is recommended that you have adequate medical coverage. It will cost approximately $300 for medical insurance for a couple.
If you wish to take a medical insurance plan, I recommend Megan Chan from prudential. She is a friendly and helpful consultant.
You can contact her at +65 8540 3811.
11. Saloon
A simple male haircut in an average saloon costs around $12, and basic female eyebrow threading costs around $10.
12. Cost for Subscriptions
YouTube premium => 8 dollars per month (family membership)
Netflix => 6 dollars per month (Currently, one of my wealthy friends is paying for this for me. :P)
Office365 => 3 dollars per month (family membership)
13. Cost for Other Activities
We play badminton twice a month, which costs approximately $20.
14. Gym
We cancelled our gym membership and began working out in our neighbourhood. If you want to join a gym, it will cost around 190 per person in a decent gym (Fitness First)
15. Shopping
We do random shopping almost every month to buy some household items, some electronic gadgets or some clothing. We spent approximately $100–120 per month on non-essential shopping.
16. Social Life (this may apply to you)
You have to consider some other expenses when calculating Singapore's living costs. Please leave it if it does not apply to you.
The cost of 320 ml x 24 Carlsberg beer cartoons is around 57 dollars
The average price per packet of cigarettes is approximately 15 dollars
The total cost (excluding the cost of the gym, social life, subscriptions and other activities) is around 4832 Singapore dollars. When computing the final cost, I used the middle number. (Considered as 275 if the range is 250–300)
As previously stated, living costs highly depend on how you live. This article will provide an overview of the costs involved in Singapore.
Are you living in Singapore, or do you know how much it costs to live there? I'd be delighted to hear from you.
Published on Jul. 29, 2022
