Need advice on relocation to SIngapore

[7io]

Hello everyone,

This is my first post here and I would much appreciate any help on the questions I have.

In short: I was offered a job in an early stage company in Singapore. The remuneration package includes
* Cash: S$132K per year; $S11K per month
* Company shares: paid once, you can not use for the next 4 years; at the end it might be worth much more (e.g. 10x-20x...) or nothing. Hence not relevant for the life style in the short-mid term plan.

I have a family: a wife and a child (2 years old). Roughly speaking, 3-4 months after the relocation my wife should be able to find a job in Singapore but the expected monthly salary for her would be S$3-4K (based on research in glassdoor.com). The options for my relocations are on Employment Pass (EP) while my wife will be relocated as dependent.

I have tried to estimate and break down the living cost for my family (assuming 3 family members):
* Taxes (my salary, ~12%): S$1.320,00
* Rent (2 bedroom apartment): S$4.000,00
* Workday lunches (1 person): S$100,00
* Medical insurance (3 people): S$120,00
* Kindergarden (1 child): S$800,00
* Food (3 people, ~80% time eat at home): S$2.500,00
* Communal (water, electricity etc): S$280,00
* Transport (3 family members): S$200,00
* Mobile phone + Internet (2 mobile phones): S$135,00
* Others (Entertainment, hircut, cloths): S$200,00
===========
> Total Costs : S$9.655,00 (per month) | Savings: ~S$1300 (per month)

My questions:
* Can you let me know whether my cost estimations are relevant for the real-life in Singapore?
* How well can a family of 3 people (husband, wife and a toddler) live with monthly income of S$14-16K and with a monthly income of $11K
* Do I miss any costs?

Biggest question:
* We have plans for a second child and our concerns are that with an income of S$14-15K it might be hard to take care for 2 infant children (good food, school, kindergarden). Do you agree?

I would appreciate your answers!
Thanks in advance.

[Arsenal_fan]

I have tried to estimate and break down the living cost for my family (assuming 3 family members):
* Taxes (my salary, ~12%): S$1.320,00
would be slightly lower than this. try the calculator on the IRAS site (comes to around 10 K p.a.)

* Rent (2 bedroom apartment): S$4.000,00
generally should be ok. (you might be able to save a bit here, rents are generally going down)

* Workday lunches (1 person): S$100,00
might need to budget a bit higher. around $150 if you intend to eat only at hawker centers or food courts (20 days a month). If you intend to eat at restaurants budget higher (eg. salads 12-15$ at a soup and salad place)

* Medical insurance (3 people): S$120,00
ok for hospitalization cover. not sure if your company covers for regular GP. If not you might want to add for regular doc visits (gp's generally charge around 30-40$ per visit with medicines, pediatricians around 60$ just for consulting) .

* Kindergarten (1 child): S$800,00
a big it depends. the above is around the average you would spend (eg. we pay around 1.2k a month).

* Food (3 people, ~80% time eat at home): S$2.500,00
you might have budgeted on the higher side. It depends on where you shop ( dept. stores based on pricing fairprice / giant < cold storage < marketplace ) and what you eat (beef, fish more expensive). booze is also expensive. If you eat out at fancy joints you will easily go over the budget otherwise you should be ok.

* Communal (water, electricity etc): S$280,00
depends on aircon usage. without aircon our bill is around 150$ for a 3 bedder.

* Transport (3 family members): S$200,00
should be ok. but if you intend to take a lot of taxi rides expect this number to go up a bit.

* Mobile phone + Internet (2 mobile phones): S$135,00
around 150$ should be ok.

* Others (Entertainment, hircut, cloths): S$200,00
If you go for the 10$ haircut and not too much shopping then ok. It's the wife's expenses you need to look out for (haircut, mani/pedi etc), all those end up costing an arm and a leg

No budgets for vacations? trip back home?
If your wife starts working, do you intend to hire a maid? (that would be around 1K+ a month)

===========
> Total Costs : S$9.655,00 (per month) | Savings: ~S$1300 (per month)

[7io]

Thanks a lot Arsenal_fan,

Your comments helped a lot to get a better idea about the expected costs; I have done a better research based on your comments. Your suggestion about a maid was a great one - totally missed this one.

[the lynx]

Arsenal_fan has done a good job on most points but let me add on something else: your wife's chances of working.

Always, always budget as if your wife will never be able to work in Singapore. It is very hard for foreigners to get jobs in Singapore these days, especially the trailing spouse so as long as you are comfortable with your current estimation based on that scenario, you and your family would be on good track.

We have seen many examples of couples who conveniently assume that the trailing spouse would be able to find work immediately upon arrival, and hence decide that the single (tight) income would be an okay compromise. Then they find themselves in a long-term budget sinkhole when they realise the wife won't be able to be the secondary income earner for a long time and it creates cracks in their marriage.

But your salary is a very good start. You can definitely afford to save and make room for other expenditures that Arsenal_fan has pointed out.

[sundaymorningstaple]

^^This.

[Addadude]

See my pointers in red below:

* Cash: S$132K per year; $S11K per month
That's a good salary. By all accounts it is very 'survivable' but your lifestyle choices can make a big difference on how much you can save or if indeed you can save.

I have tried to estimate and break down the living cost for my family (assuming 3 family members):
* Taxes (my salary, ~12%): S$1.320,00
About right

* Rent (2 bedroom apartment): S$4.000,00
Nah. These days you can get a much better deal than that - depending on where you choose to live. For example I've heard of 2-bed apartaments in Bayshore Park on the East Coast going for less than $2.8k. Bayshore Park would be a great place for a stay-at-home wife and small child.If you go the HDB route you should be able to get an even better deal. I figure you'll be paying no more than $3,000.00.

* Workday lunches (1 person): S$100,00
It depends. Eat local style within the CBD and your workday lunches should work out around $5 a day so $100 a month would be in the right ballpark. Eat Western-style - sandwiches, salads, wraps etc - and it would be in the range of $8 - $10 a day. If you are working outside the CBD in more 'industrial' areas (Jurong, Bukit Merah etc), your food costs will be less.

* Medical insurance (3 people): S$120,00
About right I think.

* Kindergarden (1 child): S$800,00
Not sure about this one.

* Food (3 people, ~80% time eat at home): S$2.500,00
Maybe a bit on the high side depending on your lifestyle. All organic Western-style food will cost way more than this. "Average food" will be less.

* Communal (water, electricity etc): S$280,00
About right - assuming your wife won't have the aircon running all day because she finds it too hot at home.

* Transport (3 family members): S$200,00
Allow for more - as much as $500. From my observation, small kids and public transport like busses and trains don't mix very well, resulting in stressful journeys for mom and dad as well as the kids. Taxies, though cheap compared to Europe, can add up fast.

* Mobile phone + Internet (2 mobile phones): S$135,00
Hmm, I'd budget $200.

* Others (Entertainment, hircut, cloths): S$200,00
No way. Take the $1000 I'd estimate you'd save on rent and add it to this and you'd be more realistic..

As Lynx said, don't assume that your wife will be able to find work or get permission to work. This is absolutely key in any calculations you might be making.

Also, as others have mentioned, what about vacation time or home leave? Is this part of your calculations or will your employer cover the costs of flights home once a year?

Overall, as I mentioned at the start, your salary is pretty good by local stadards. Your lifestyle and leisure choices will be the deciding factors on whether it is enough for you.