Prospects shopping for groceries at a grocery store in Singapore.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Pictures
Singapore’s fame for monetary prudence and excessive financial savings is exhibiting indicators of pressure.
Rising prices and a rising prioritization for experiences and self-care are taking priority over long-term monetary planning, consultants noticed.
“On the finish of each month, when my wage is in, I exploit it to pay my credit score payments, mother and father’ allowance, insurances and investments,” stated 31-year-old Singaporean Jovan Yeo, who works for a digital financial institution companies agency.
“In spite of everything these, my wage is again to zero once more, with nothing a lot to save lots of,” he stated, including that different bills go into journey, eating out and health class memberships.
60% of employees in Singapore had been dwelling paycheck to paycheck in 2024 — notably greater than regional friends together with China, South Korea, Japan and Indonesia, and above the Asia-Pacific common of 48%, a current 2025 analysis from the payroll firm ADP discovered.
I can save if I do not exit, however I need to have a life and expertise life too!
Jovan Yeo
32-year-old Singaporean
Whereas this was the primary time the analysis by ADP, which surveyed practically 38,000 individuals in 34 markets, had this particular paycheck metric, different stories paint the same image. A survey performed by international analysis advisory agency Forrester Analysis discovered that again in 2021, the share of Singaporean customers who lived paycheck to paycheck was decrease at 53%.
Moreover, whereas younger Singaporeans of their 20s are extra possible than different age teams to spend past their means with a view to sustain with their friends, fewer Singaporeans between their 20s and 50s have began making monetary plans for his or her retirement as in comparison with 2023, Oversea-Chinese language Banking Corp’s most up-to-date monetary wellness report printed in late 2024 confirmed.
Yeo acknowledged the significance of saving, however advised CNBC that it’s an more and more herculean feat to save lots of with the nation’s rising prices of dwelling.
“I can save if I do not exit, however I need to have a life and expertise life too!”
Maybank Analysis’s economist Brian Lee famous that sure macroeconomic components have made saving in Singapore objectively more durable. Regardless that Singapore’s inflation has lately cooled to a four-year low, the nation nonetheless has one of many highest prices of dwelling, in response to a number of surveys, attributable to structural components like costly housing and import prices.
In keeping with Numbeo’s price of dwelling indices, which swimming pools crowdsourced knowledge throughout groceries, utilities and transportation fares, amongst different indicators, Singapore’s Value of Dwelling Index got here in fifth globally at 85.3 as of mid-2025, however first within the area. The studying additionally marked an 11% leap 12 months over 12 months.
A survey printed in April by knowledge analytics agency YouGov discovered that the price of dwelling was the highest concern of 72% of the 1,845 Singaporeans polled, adopted by healthcare and the challenges of an getting old inhabitants.
Dwelling bills have risen sooner than incomes in the course of the post-pandemic bout of elevated client worth inflation,” Lee stated. Because of this the standard employee’s buying energy has shrunk barely on common every year because the pandemic, as a substitute of rising because it did previously.
Actual median employment revenue fell by 0.4% each year between 2019 and 2024, reversing the common annual progress of two.2% seen from 2014 to 2019, in response to knowledge from Maybank.
Whereas actual wage progress recovered in 2024, it is predicted to average in 2025 on account of tariff-related influence, specifically for trade-reliant sectors like wholesale commerce and manufacturing, stated the nation’s Ministry of Manpower.
Housing prices have additional compounded the stress, Lee added. Resale costs of Singapore’s public flats — which home practically 80% of residents — rose 9.6% in 2024, faster than the 4.9% in 2023, knowledge from the nation’s Housing Improvement Board confirmed.
“Singapore has restricted land, house and pure assets. This interprets into excessive property costs, excessive automobile costs, and a reliance on imported meals,” the Maybank economist stated. “Resulting from our reliance on imports, our home inflation may be very a lot correlated to international inflation, which has been excessive attributable to pandemic disruptions related to elevated items demand, labor shortages and provide chain snags,” he added.
Singapore’s ‘100% spenders’?
Different consultants CNBC spoke to noticed that the difficulty goes past the upper price of dwelling — it displays deeper social and cultural shifts, akin to not feeling as a lot want to save lots of, or spending past their means.
PhillipCapital’s wealth supervisor, Joshua Lim, noticed that spending has turn into more and more aspirational. “Luxurious is an enormous factor right here — Mercedes is among the top-selling manufacturers. Individuals are pushing for a sure picture, a sure life-style.”
Vehicles are considerably costlier in Singapore due to the Certificates of Entitlement system, which requires consumers to bid for a restricted allow simply to personal a car. The COE alone, which was launched to handle highway congestion, can price over 100,000 Singapore {dollars}, typically exceeding the value of the automobile itself.
“For 100% spenders, or those that do not actually like to save lots of, it is also as a result of they’re spending what they have not even obtained but,” Lim stated, noting that purchase now, pay later plans are additionally making it simpler for Singaporeans to decide to future spending earlier than they’ve the money. In keeping with Singapore’s central financial institution, BNPL transactions reached round SG$440 million in 2021, an almost fourfold enhance from 2020. Analysis agency IDC expects BNPL funds in e-commerce transactions in Singapore to extend from 4% in 2023 to 6% by 2028.
This shift, Lim argues, is a part of a broader “debt society,” the place on the spot gratification and life-style signaling trump long-term monetary prudence, as in comparison with earlier-generation Singaporeans.
Lim additionally talked about that the majority of his shoppers who dwell paycheck to paycheck are largely the middle-income earners, which make up 60% to 70% of his clientele looking for consultations on how you can save extra. Excessive-income earners make up 20% of his shopper base, whereas these within the low-income bracket make up the least at 10%.
Generational variations?
Consumerism is extra deeply entrenched than ever, which might make saving more durable, stated He Ruiming, co-founder of The Woke Salaryman, a Singapore-based weblog specializing in private finance schooling.
“That is the era who grew up on much more advertising and marketing, so the urge to purchase is much more, they usually examine themselves to much more individuals,” stated He, who’s presently a council member in Singapore’s Nationwide Youth Council, a authorities physique targeted on youth improvement.
34-year-old Singaporean Joyce Ang echoed that she doesn’t really feel the identical urgency as her mother and father did when it got here to saving.
“I really feel secure to spend, as a result of I haven’t got a accomplice but, and I nonetheless dwell with my mother and father, so I haven’t got a home to fret about. I am not in want of cash instantly,” she added.
In comparison with her mother and father’ era, she believes the priorities of the youthful era have modified. “In my mother and father’ time, they had been saving to have youngsters. However these days not each one in all us needs youngsters… so we do not have to really scrimp and save a lot,” stated Ang, who has a take-home pay of round SG$3,800 ($2,949) per thirty days.
Singaporeans’ take-home pay is decrease than their full wage due to obligatory Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions. Each month, a portion of their wage — as much as 20% for workers beneath 55 — is robotically deducted for retirement, housing, and healthcare financial savings.
Whereas Singaporeans can solely withdraw $5,000 or extra from CPF financial savings as soon as they hit 55, they will faucet on these financial savings to pay for housing and a few medical prices at any age.
“It is not that tough to save lots of. I put aside a few of my allowance for my mother and father so if I needed to, I can simply put aside one other pool of cash for financial savings,” stated Ang.
“However I do not assume I would like to try this at this time limit,” she chuckled.
