‘Is S$3k–4k a month enough to live in SG?’: 20 y/o frets after seeing TikTok clips of people spending S$200 a day

SINGAPORE: A 20-year-old local admitted she has been feeling increasingly uneasy after watching TikTok clips of people spending S$200 in a single day and acting like it’s no big deal.

Posting on the r/asksg subreddit, she confessed that these videos have left her seriously questioning whether her own salary, around S$3,000 to S$4,000 a month, is actually “enough to live comfortably in Singapore now.”

"Honestly, seeing all these 'day in the life' TikToks of people spending S$200 a day is making me so stressed lol. I'm 20 and doing my own thing, but I feel like if I don't hit a certain amount, I'm failing. Do y’all actually save money or just spend it all on bubble tea and Grab? Wallow.” 

She went on to ask, “What's a 'realistic' salary for someone my age to not feel like a loser?”

“Stay away from social media.”

Recognising that she was unnecessarily stressing herself by comparing her life to others, many commenters urged her to take a break from TikTok and stop measuring her worth against flashy online lifestyles.

One said, “Stop. Just stop. Stop looking at how others are living their lives. Stop it.”

Another asked, “Do you think spending S$200 a day every day is normal? If going by that, one will have to earn at least S$6000 before anything else. Word of advice: stay away from social media.”

A third added,  “You can make S$10k a month and still feel like a loser if your TikTok is full of people spending S$1k a day. Sounds cliche but the only way to stop feeling like a loser is to stop caring about how other people live.”

Several users also offered a reality check, pointing out that many Singaporeans manage on far less than S$3,000. One commenter said, “There are quite a number of Singaporeans just getting by with S$2k or less… even the minimum wage for cleaners and low-skilled workers is below S$2k… so S$3-4k is definitely possible to live comfortably as a single person."

Another wrote, “If you are single and have no dependents or big expenses like housing, medical, wedding, loan... I feel that S$3-4k is enough! I am earning below median income, and I can save S$300-500 per month. Not a lot, but it's something!”

In other news, a man has turned to Reddit for advice after his girlfriend suggested that they pool all their income into a single joint account.

On Monday (Feb 23), he shared that the topic came up while they were discussing how to manage future household expenses. “She [my girlfriend] says she wants to have a joint account where we deposit all our money into that one account and use it for home loan repayments or other expenses like going out for meals.”

Read more: SG couple clashes after girlfriend suggests merging all income into one account