Singapore Expats

Salary at 145000 - Please advice

Discuss about getting a well paid job or career advancement. Ask about salaries, expat packages, CPF & taxes for expatriate.
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morenangpinay
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Post by morenangpinay » Wed, 16 May 2012 12:46 pm

i wonder which ethnic group is that sms? im out of the loop. :???:

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the lynx
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Post by the lynx » Wed, 16 May 2012 1:06 pm

If that SGD145K is annual income, then I think OP should be fine (depends on his family's lifestyle) for as long he/his wife doesn't live extravagantly to begin with. Even with a child in tow (international school, that is). That amount is properly enough for a decent lifestyle.

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Post by nakatago » Wed, 16 May 2012 1:32 pm

morenangpinay wrote:i wonder which ethnic group is that sms? im out of the loop. :???:
our ethnic group's bestfriends.
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Post by Darthcoder » Wed, 16 May 2012 2:49 pm

Man, now I know why SMS and others are so fond of my brothers :D.

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Post by ecureilx » Wed, 16 May 2012 3:00 pm

Darthcoder wrote:Man, now I know why SMS and others are so fond of my brothers :D.
You got it .. finally :)

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Post by secretcondom.com » Fri, 18 May 2012 2:27 pm

good enough pay for a decent living in Singapore

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Zeenit
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Post by Zeenit » Fri, 18 May 2012 6:05 pm

$500 for food a month means you eat hawkers everyday and dont buy any groceries. My food bill is at least 3x that a month but I cook everyday and if you a meat eater the bill is high.
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Post by nutnut » Fri, 18 May 2012 7:22 pm

We cook and eat meat and veg everyday family of 4, and a maid, it's $1500 a month! My maid does the shopping and gets great fruit veg and meat from the wet market for much better prices than I would! :)

To be fair when we were shopping ourselves, we spent twice that, cause we don't watch the prices like our maid does!
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Post by QRM » Fri, 18 May 2012 9:46 pm

I nearly fell off my chair with the bill for the last home cooked meal for two and and half, wagyu steaks, fresh white asparagus, brocolinis, and a huge bunch of fresh herb, celery, organge, onion juices etc to make the sauce ( took a day of simmering to make) not much change from 500 bucks. The only saving grace was the meal was stunning and would have cost alot more if eaten in one of those fancy resturants.

If you like to cook nice european dishes everyday using all airflown fresh produce then it start to seriously add up.

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Post by JR8 » Fri, 18 May 2012 9:48 pm

morenangpinay wrote:i wonder which ethnic group is that sms? im out of the loop. :???:
Oh, he's Other


:cool:

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Post by BillyB » Sun, 20 May 2012 10:30 am

QRM wrote:I nearly fell off my chair with the bill for the last home cooked meal for two and and half, wagyu steaks, fresh white asparagus, brocolinis, and a huge bunch of fresh herb, celery, organge, onion juices etc to make the sauce ( took a day of simmering to make) not much change from 500 bucks. The only saving grace was the meal was stunning and would have cost alot more if eaten in one of those fancy resturants.

If you like to cook nice european dishes everyday using all airflown fresh produce then it start to seriously add up.
How much of the cow did you buy?1

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Post by geheimnis » Thu, 24 May 2012 1:21 am

what on earth are people talking about here? This guy is going to earn 145000 sgd annually ... that's like 90,000 euros a year .... AND PEOPLE ARE SAYING YOU'LL GET BY!!!!
Are all expats millionaires or what? please someone explain to me what exactly do you guys envision when you say a "mediocre" lifestyle? Because otherwise, singapore HAS to be atleast 4 times more expensive than the urban western europe!

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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Thu, 24 May 2012 6:57 am

The average expat is nowhere near that figure, but a lot of western expats ARE. Most westerners here are Expats, but most Expats here AREN'T westerners. Therefore you are being somewhat misled by the small majority.
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Post by the lynx » Thu, 24 May 2012 8:54 am

Well just to be fair, this is where the parts get iffy. When people pop by here to ask questions on daily expenses and whether their annual income is enough, it is very very very subjective. Hence we take a basic assumption that those who pop this question would like to be as comfortable as possible.

And OP has a family in tow so we need to help him to give a clear picture on how it would cost to send his kid to school and to provide for his spouse who will not be working (another assumption also).

With that said, it is better to overestimate than to underestimate.

And oh, I know few foreign white collar workers here who earn SGD18K annually and are still able to get by, plus with humble savings (being single, renting a single room instead of an entire unit for themselves, eating $3 per meal).

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Post by zzm9980 » Thu, 24 May 2012 9:53 am

geheimnis wrote:what on earth are people talking about here? This guy is going to earn 145000 sgd annually ... that's like 90,000 euros a year .... AND PEOPLE ARE SAYING YOU'LL GET BY!!!!
Are all expats millionaires or what? please someone explain to me what exactly do you guys envision when you say a "mediocre" lifestyle? Because otherwise, singapore HAS to be atleast 4 times more expensive than the urban western europe!
Basically if you come to Singapore and want to keep your Western lifestyle, it will cost you a lot of money. Especially if you have kids,

Small japanese 1.6l car will be $1300/month+ after petrol parking and insurance.

To rent a house or condo in most areas will start at $4500-7500/month and easily double that, especially if you want to rent the house.

International schools are priced all over, but a good figure for a western nation's school is $30,000/year per child. Probably not including bussing.


Now, you can live "like a local", but that is significantly different lifestyle and many westerns are not prepared to do that. You can rent an HDB unit for S$2500/month+ (I do this.). You can take public trans everywhere (I don't). You can try putting your kids into local schools. Foreigners get last pick, and very little input into the location of the school, so they may be travelling very far. Also the curriculum rarely matches that of where you're from, so it can be difficult for children to transfer between the two.

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