Cost of living here

[reachme2003]

real cost of daily use product here.

2 tubes of 200gm Colgate(made in thailand) cost S$2.20 or 0.55 cent per gm.

1 tube of 250gm Colgate(with English words on packaging and product, it does not say where it is made) costs S$3.20 or 1.28 cents per gm.

132% higher!

Or

1 bottle of 1 litre Ribena(made in malaysia) costs S$5.50.

1 bottle of 1 litre Ribena(again, with English words on packaging and product) costs S$6.50(used to cost S$5.45). i won't analyse in this example.

seriously thinking, cannot afford to retire here. what are your thoughts?

 

[auron]

real cost of daily use product here.

2 tubes of 200gm Colgate(made in thailand) cost S$2.20 or 0.55 cent per gm.

1 tube of 250gm Colgate(with English words on packaging and product, it does not say where it is made) costs S$3.20 or 1.28 cents per gm.

132% higher!

Or

1 bottle of 1 litre Ribena(made in malaysia) costs S$5.50.

1 bottle of 1 litre Ribena(again, with English words on packaging and product) costs S$6.50(used to cost S$5.45). i won't analyse in this example.

seriously thinking, cannot afford to retire here. what are your thoughts?

now then u know meh.... unless u are rich, u cannot afford to retire here.

 

[adamadam]

Many come here to retire
Well, try to...

 

[reachme2003]

Many come here to retire
Well, try to...

are you in perth? if you are, what is the cost of a 200gm toothpaste there?

 

[MichaelLee]

but when u are old...u have less teeth..u dun need so much Colgate and I seldom see old man without much teeth drink Ribena.. :bsmilie:

it is true that Singapore is a land to make money and enjoy the living. But it is definately not a very affordable place to retire.

Can't u see one of the singaporean hero still working even he is 80 ?

 

[reachme2003]

But it is definately an affordable place to retire.

not when our retirement funds comprised mainly of cpf funds and other classes of investments are performing poorly. recent article in Sunday Times bears out my sentiment, not yours.

 

[Robin]

Even for milo also...there are 2 kinds of milo...1 is the made in australia one....the other in malaysia or thailand....

The 1st costs significantly more....I tried both....there is a difference in the quality of the 2...The australian milo powder is finer in quality and taste slightly better than the malaysia one...

 

[nova_nebula]

wong se, did you shoot yourself in foot? if s'pore is affordable for retiring why is that 80 year old man still working? why is he not retired? for me, I would want to retire in s'pore if I can still afford it, next choice would be thailand then malaysia. if my kids gets a job in Ozi land ...then Ozi here I come.?

 

[MichaelLee]

wong se, did you shoot yourself in foot? if s'pore is affordable for retiring why is that 80 year old man still working?

sorry..I missed out a "not"..just amend the early reply. pai seh...

 

[jsbn]

Even for milo also...there are 2 kinds of milo...1 is the made in australia one....the other in malaysia or thailand....

The 1st costs significantly more....I tried both....there is a difference in the quality of the 2...The australian milo powder is finer in quality and taste slightly better than the malaysia one...

Wow! U mean u can actually taste the diff? :bigeyes: Goodness. I swear I can't even taste the diff between those 2. Basically u can say that food goes thru my tongue is wasted, no matter what the difference is cos I can't taste what's bad and what's not.

I once drunk up a whole pack of spoilt milk. After drinking, I wondered why izzit so sour.... :bsmilie:

 

[StreetShooter]

The whole idea of retirement is a relatively recent one. Used to be, people worked until the day they could not work, then died shortly after (if they were lucky). No such thing as looking forward to retirement.

The truth is, many retirees suffer from interminable boredom and a sense of uselessness, and become pretty depressed. There are only so many cruises you can take or games of mahjong you can play (or photos you can take, for that matter). Either that, or you end up taking care of your grandchildren, whether or not you want to.

Myself, I intend to work until the day I die, or shortly before. No need to wait until I retire before I take holidays or do the things I want to do. Can do them right now, while I am working or taking leave if necessary. Probably better this way, otherwise may not be physically able to do a lot of things when I retire.

Since I do plan to continue working till the day I die, Singapore is probably the best option, because the earning power in Singapore is also better than in cheaper places (for obvious reasons). So it cuts both ways, I guess.

Something to think about, eh?

 

[spindoctor]

real cost of daily use product here.

2 tubes of 200gm Colgate(made in thailand) cost S$2.20 or 0.55 cent per gm.

1 tube of 250gm Colgate(with English words on packaging and product, it does not say where it is made) costs S$3.20 or 1.28 cents per gm.

132% higher!

Or

1 bottle of 1 litre Ribena(made in malaysia) costs S$5.50.

1 bottle of 1 litre Ribena(again, with English words on packaging and product) costs S$6.50(used to cost S$5.45). i won't analyse in this example.

seriously thinking, cannot afford to retire here. what are your thoughts?

I dont understand your post. Firstly, you conclude that the cost of living here is high because one 'version' of a product cost more than another. But if both types can be found in Singapore, then one has a choice of buying either the more expensive one or the cheaper one. In that case, the cost of living should not be higher because you can always choose to buy the cheaper one.

Secondly, in order to determine the cost of living, shouldn't you include the cost of healthcare (important in your old age) and essential items like rice and utilities. Ribena is not an essential item.

Dont get me wrong. I agree that Singapore is an expensive place to live and retire but I just cannot understand from your post how you came to this conclusion. :dunno:

 

[student]

I hope to work as long as my mind and body allow me!

Retirement? Blah! Working for me is therapeutic! Forces me to keep my brain alive!

While we are not rats, there was a very interesting study which showed that old rats kept active (really active!) have better interneuronal connections than the "retired" ones!

I am not by nature hardworking. I fear retirement will just finish me off! So I work, and therefore can afford my Colgate! At least for my dentures!

 

[Sion]

Wow! U mean u can actually taste the diff? :bigeyes: Goodness. I swear I can't even taste the diff between those 2. Basically u can say that food goes thru my tongue is wasted, no matter what the difference is cos I can't taste what's bad and what's not.

I also can taste the difference leh.

Once someone came from Malaysia and left a tin of Made-in-Malaysia Milo here. Made-in-Australia Milo has more flavour but Made-in-Malaysia Milo is sweeter. For my taste I like the Made-in-Malaysia one.

Can anyone send me a tin please?

 

[Petf69]

Generally, the standard of Made in Australia stuff is better, and hence also more expensive.

Actually, besides capital item such as private house and car, Singapore has a lower living standard then Australia....in fact, Oz's prices..food, house, and day to day items has all increased substantially in recent years...and the effect is even greater if you convert S$ to A$.... :cry:

I stayed in Melbourne since 1984....the food there use to be very fresh and quality is very good but more expensive compared to Singapore....in recent years the food standard has also dropped as most top notch stuff is probably exported out....

how to find 2-$3 chicken rice/economy rice in Australia?? :sticktong

 

[stingraytan]

Ahh.. many treat retirement as "expiring"...
see it this way,
retirement=no NEED to work to meet daily expense

therefore, still can work, but without the deadline, stress, etc... the negative implications becomes positive:
stress becomes challenges <--stress=bad for health, challenge=good for heart

and the list goes on... so perhaps, if we do a mental shift, while still Depending on work to feed the family, we can associate work in a more positive terms?? And still strive to retire... make sense? :dunno:

 

[reachme2003]

I dont understand your post. Firstly, you conclude that the cost of living here is high because one 'version' of a product cost more than another. But if both types can be found in Singapore, then one has a choice of buying either the more expensive one or the cheaper one. In that case, the cost of living should not be higher because you can always choose to buy the cheaper one.

Secondly, in order to determine the cost of living, shouldn't you include the cost of healthcare (important in your old age) and essential items like rice and utilities. Ribena is not an essential item.

Dont get me wrong. I agree that Singapore is an expensive place to live and retire but I just cannot understand from your post how you came to this conclusion. :dunno:

firstly, not all products have parallel importers who brings them in cheaper. so, the choice available is not across the board.

secondly, you are not suggesting that I need to do a 'basket of essential goods' approach done by the Statistics dept, right? i am using random daily use product which i have some figures from my recent marketing trip. it is not intended to be representative in nature for average households. but it does give food for thought.

 

[loupgarou]

you should consider only items which are non controllable or utterly inconvenient to buy in bulk.

a) conservancy fees
b) property tax
c) tv/radio tax
d) internet. (retiree no internet very boring)
e) telephone line
f) cost of housing
g) transport

--
food can buy in bulk and cook at home, at most everyday eat jwee kueh... hah

 

[Big Kahuna]

real cost of daily use product here.

2 tubes of 200gm Colgate(made in thailand) cost S$2.20 or 0.55 cent per gm.

1 tube of 250gm Colgate(with English words on packaging and product, it does not say where it is made) costs S$3.20 or 1.28 cents per gm.

132% higher!

Or

1 bottle of 1 litre Ribena(made in malaysia) costs S$5.50.

1 bottle of 1 litre Ribena(again, with English words on packaging and product) costs S$6.50(used to cost S$5.45). i won't analyse in this example.

seriously thinking, cannot afford to retire here. what are your thoughts?

Actually you have a choice.......by buying cheaper colgate your living cost will reduce...if that doesn't help then don't drink Ribena :thumbsup:

What I am trying to say is sometimes we have to compromise a bit in life..... if you can't afford Corolla from Japan then Altis from Thailand also not bad lah :thumbsup:

 

[spindoctor]

firstly, not all products have parallel importers who brings them in cheaper. so, the choice available is not across the board.

secondly, you are not suggesting that I need to do a 'basket of essential goods' approach done by the Statistics dept, right? i am using random daily use product which i have some figures from my recent marketing trip. it is not intended to be representative in nature for average households. but it does give food for thought.

Perhaps I misunderstood your post. By saying 'made in Thailand' do you mean 'sold in Thailand'? If so, then it would be more reasonable to conclude that items here are more expensive.

As to your second point, no I am not expecting you to do a comprehensive survey. We have limited resources and limited access to data. What bugs me is that why is it people from other countries can retire comfortably at a 'decent' age but not here in Singapore? Unless of course you are very rich. It cant be because the cost of living is lower because I would assume that their salaries are lower and therefore their savings would be lower and there would be less in the bank once they retire.