ST: We can barely stay afloat, say low-income folk
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Originally posted by ^tamago^:
In the 1st place why have up to 5 children when u knw yur living in a place like SG?? The children's expenses alone wld kill the family...i mean they shld knw that the cost of living here is already high rite?
[b]How one family copes
Mother of five scrimps and saves on food, household necessities and even electricity to stretch family dollar
Sunday Times, The (Singapore)
News, Pg 11
December 2, 2007
Author: Nur Dianah Suhaimi
AFTER 15 years as a housewife, Madam Maryanti Chaman, 35, went back to work in May.
The rising price of food and the goods and services tax (GST) hike over the past year have made the family's finances very tight.
To make matters worse, her 42-year-old husband, a shipyard supervisor, saw his take-home pay reduced from $2,200 to $1,600 after his company stopped overtime work.
Madam Maryanti now works five days a week as a part-time stall assistant to supplement the family income. She earns about $600 a month. Her mother or father-in-law cares for her five children when she is at work. The family lives in a five-room flat in Marsiling.
Madam Maryanti always shops around for the cheapest groceries and household goods. She has also cut down on tidbits for her children.
The family now uses cheaper detergent, which costs about $4 for a 5kg box, compared to her previous brand, which cost $6 for a 3kg box.
Her three-year-old toddler Khalaf Hubaish drinks Dugrow milk, which costs $8.50 for a 1kg tin, instead of Friso milk, which costs $20 for an equivalent tin. He wears the cheapest diapers that Madam Maryanti can find: $12 for 35 pieces compared to $17 for other brands.
She buys fish only on Sundays, around noon, when fishmongers are clearing their stocks because the market is closed on Mondays.
'I can get 2kg of ikan selar kuning (gold-banded scad) or mackerel for just $7, instead of $6 a kilogram.' That is enough to last the family a week.
She tries to buy more chicken than fish because chicken is cheaper. The family has stopped eating out.
When she shops for groceries in Johor Baru, she takes along a calculator to make sure that she buys only things which are cheaper after the currency conversion.
When money dries up towards the end of the month, the children receive less pocket money and take a packed lunch to school.
To save on electricity charges, the family has cut down on television viewing. Electrical appliances are no longer placed on stand-by mode but switched off when not in use.
Madam Maryanti said she also makes sure that her children turn off the light when they leave a room. 'We have no choice but to do this. Everything is more expensive now.'
[email protected]
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Where does the money go?
THE Hazalis' combined household income: $2,200
Their monthly expenses:
Groceries: $150
Wet market items: $200
Utilities: $220
Insurance: $380
Children's pocket money and transport: $300
Mr Hazali's lunch money, transport and cigarettes: $500
Madam Maryanti's monthly savings: $100
Miscellaneous items (mobile phone bills, snacks, clothes and so on): $350
Total: $2,200
Copyright, 2007, Singapore Press Holdings Limited[/b] -
Rubber not shiok, or too slow to withdraw ..Originally posted by In_Between_Days:In the 1st place why have up to 5 children when u knw yur living in a place like SG?? The children's expenses alone wld kill the family...i mean they shld knw that the cost of living here is already high rite? -
And what about the cigarette?Originally posted by In_Between_Days:In the 1st place why have up to 5 children when u knw yur living in a place like SG?? The children's expenses alone wld kill the family...i mean they shld knw that the cost of living here is already high rite? -
Before you ask that question, may I suggest that you go read about more about the cost of living and inflation in UAE.Originally posted by ^tamago^:Go work in Dubai, anyone?
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publish a few random bad news and yet doing totally nothing about it.... let's not forget the MP's were also featured to say how HARD they are TRYING to help. pro PAP or not, u tell me?Originally posted by Gazelle:how come no one is complaining abuot singapore governmetn controlled newspaper huh? I thought the whiners and wankers say that our papers only publish pro PAP news? Is this pro PAP news?
another chance to stick golden paper on their faces. i bet when election comes, such news will be hard to come by, or it would be attached to some silly affirmation that they will do all they can to raise GST to help the poor. -
Oh please, don't change the topic when you yourself can't even control cost of living and inflation, and you talk about others.Originally posted by Gazelle:Before you ask that question, may I suggest that you go read about more about the cost of living and inflation in UAE.
In any case, I'll rather have inflation while living elsewhere than here. The Government has no rapport with its people. -
Why dont you just say, regardless of what our government do, there will always be a reason to whine in this forum.Originally posted by ^tamago^:publish a few random bad news and yet doing totally nothing about it.... let's not forget the MP's were also featured to say how HARD they are TRYING to help. pro PAP or not, u tell me?
another chance to stick golden paper on their faces. i bet when election comes, such news will be hard to come by, or it would be attached to some silly affirmation that they will do all they can to raise GST to help the poor. -
Whenever there is a thread against the government, be sure that Gazelle will also say the above statement.Originally posted by Gazelle:Why dont you just say, regardless of what our government do, there will always be a reason to whine in this forum.
Please come out with more innovative and creative statements please. Or give some constructive comment. -
I only see a bunch of whiners echoing the same shi.t day in day out.Originally posted by Spartans:Whenever there is a thread against the government, be sure that Gazelle will also say the above statement.
Please come out with more innovative and creative statements please. Or give some constructive comment.
minister pay, GST, FT. Whats new? -
It's the Malay tradition to have many babies. But to say they didn't have planning is not entirely true too.Originally posted by In_Between_Days:In the 1st place why have up to 5 children when u knw yur living in a place like SG?? The children's expenses alone wld kill the family...i mean they shld knw that the cost of living here is already high rite?
She was married 15 years ago (1992). That time, the economy has never been better, so they ended up with four 10-somethings. In fact, many believed the economy will roar back after 1997, just like how it did after 1987, but it didn't. Still, in that case, there's no way you can blame them for not being able to tell what the future holds. Who will know that difficult times are to last when times of prosperity were assumed to be back for certain. Let us not forget how many people might be influenced by the Feel Good Times who had a wider readership then before the Internet took over.
In fact, between 1997 and now is what I feel is "The Lost Decade", like how Japan had it in the 1990's when the economy started collapsing. -
But these are the things that affect our everyday life.Originally posted by Gazelle:I only see a bunch of whiners echo the same shi.t day in day out.
minister pay, GST, FT. Whats new?
GST = prices hike
FT = lesser jobs in market etc. -
You expecting Singaporeans to be docile as you ?Originally posted by Gazelle:I only see a bunch of whiners echoing the same shi.t day in day out.
minister pay, GST, FT. Whats new?
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Why don't you just say, you can't do the job but get away with it by labelling others as whiners. What good have you all done? Do I see similarities in being labelled socially irresponsible if you have to seek welfare, when the Government could not even spare 1% of its reserves to help fellow Singaporeans in times of need? Isn't that what the reserves are for, to help us one day when there will be a need to?Originally posted by Gazelle:Why dont you just say, regardless of what our government do, there will always be a reason to whine in this forum.
I can't even speak against the Government or simply lament openly in peaceful terms? What an authoritarian style of governance. To selectively accept inputs and comments from the people to your advantage and put down those who are speaking the truth and living it, is that how you pappies sought yourselves to be? Do we sound like we had no part to play about how our lives should turn out to be, just because of the incompetence of some people for screwing us all? -
I see old aunties who could barely walk straight foraging dustbins for cans and cardboards @ 3am in the morning.Originally posted by Gazelle:I only see a bunch of whiners echoing the same shi.t day in day out.
minister pay, GST, FT. Whats new?
I see an elderly uncle ordering rice with only steam-egg for dinner.
And
I see a somewhat 'unfeeling elite', or whatever your status is, calling these pleas of help from the peasants, whining.
More 'good times' ahead, indeed. -
I don't know; it's your call and we have no say and can't do anything about it. Fare hike? I still need to take a bus to work.Originally posted by Gazelle:minister pay, GST, FT. Whats new?
And FYI, we just get screwed whenever a new term is coined by the Government. The only thing that helped are probably ERS and NSS. -
You are lucky , unlike the people who are complaining. You can afford the second hand audi for your wife as you claimed ,"first class" tickets out of Europe (as you claimed) and some percentage of some coastal condo in Australia.Originally posted by Gazelle:I only see a bunch of whiners echoing the same shi.t day in day out.
minister pay, GST, FT. Whats new?
You are lucky ,so don't label others who are not as lucky as you ,whiners.
When you end up in their shoes , you will start singing a different tune. Fortunes come and fortunes goes . Don't think that just because you got it good , the rest are no better than you. You are just an employee in some manufacturing company . Times can change rapidly.
*waits for the flaming to start now* -
no need to wait lah... what's new? He always say the same things to flame people...Originally posted by fymk:You are lucky , unlike the people who are complaining. You can afford the second hand audi for your wife as you claimed ,"first class" tickets out of Europe (as you claimed) and some percentage of some coastal condo in Australia.
You are lucky ,so don't label others who are not as lucky as you ,whiners.
When you end up in their shoes , you will start singing a different tune. Fortunes come and fortunes goes . Don't think so just because you got it better than some of the people here - that you are any better.
*waits for the flaming to start now* -
In every society, there will always be poor people and that is why, the people to blame are those that relentlessly take the people's money and put them in debt by selling them public housing / renting at exorbitant prices, for example.... among numerous other things...
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Don't worry I'll protect you from the fire..hahaha...and as to why a government controlled paper would print bad news? ever heard of 'spinning a story'? 1st you start with the introduction. Then you go on to expound how the 'heroes' are going to save us from this calamity. You end by giving a family a $500 cheque and posing with them for a photograph. The EndOriginally posted by fymk:You are lucky , unlike the people who are complaining. You can afford the second hand audi for your wife as you claimed ,"first class" tickets out of Europe (as you claimed) and some percentage of some coastal condo in Australia.
You are lucky ,so don't label others who are not as lucky as you ,whiners.
When you end up in their shoes , you will start singing a different tune. Fortunes come and fortunes goes . Don't think so just because you got it better than some of the people here - that you are any better.
*waits for the flaming to start now* -
Let me point out that the only thing, they PAP has EFFECTIVELY DONE and are GOOD at DOING, is increasing costs for the people...Originally posted by Gazelle:Why dont you just say, regardless of what our government do, there will always be a reason to whine in this forum.
anything else, it's just Token Acts for the records... -
Rising costs to recover handouts during Elections. Very surprising to Singaporeans meh?
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really.. i want to ask one thing...
apart from "spend the reserves" which is short term... no one has come up with a plausible solution...
oh.. i'm not bashing the MIW or the opposition people... screw that.. they're all idiots..
including the haters and the carriers...
suggest a solution! -
Originally posted by ^tamago^:
knn, cut off the cigarettes and they will be a lot richer damn it.
Where does the money go?
THE Hazalis' combined household income: $2,200
Their monthly expenses:
Groceries: $150
Wet market items: $200
Utilities: $220
Insurance: $380
Children's pocket money and transport: $300
Mr Hazali's lunch money, transport and cigarettes: $500
Madam Maryanti's monthly savings: $100
Miscellaneous items (mobile phone bills, snacks, clothes and so on): $350
Total: $2,200
Copyright, 2007, Singapore Press Holdings Limited[/b] -
lets say supposely rising GST to help the low income pple, den how come we dun see anything leh?Originally posted by the Bear:really.. i want to ask one thing...
apart from "spend the reserves" which is short term... no one has come up with a plausible solution...
oh.. i'm not bashing the MIW or the opposition people... screw that.. they're all idiots..
including the haters and the carriers...
suggest a solution!
i personally feel dat it is the jobs and salary, which makes the mos headache for govt to tackle with. FT come take our job means pay gets lower, but with food prices rising, i dunnoe if someday newspaper will report dat because he o she has no food to eat, he or she just starved to death
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short-term or not, it's one of the options that could be exercised. even if it is to tide over a short but difficult time, it will be helpful. in fact isn't that what it is meant for? or wait for some freak worldwide incident like WWIII that will turn these notes into worthless pieces of paper?
frankly speaking, we're not better off than last time and personal growth has been greatly surpressed by greater macroeconomical needs which is seemingly endless.