The Big Read: With inflation putting the squeeze on families, some give up the frills while others cut back on basics

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SINGAPORE: When his petrol cost started to almost double to S$300 a week last month, warehouse manager Vincent Chok decided to save money by taking the bus from his four-room public housing flat in Punggol to Tai Seng MRT station where his bicycle is parked, and then cycling the last mile to his office in the vicini

He has been doing that since but the 42-year-old sole breadwinner for his family of five is not the only one who has had to make adjustments.

Homemaker Lynn Sabari, 51, has completely stopped using air-conditioners in her four-room flat in Bedok. Similarly, Madam Mala Rai, 44, who has seen her household expenses go up by about S$200 in recent months, has also made some changes in her household, such as cutting shower time for her entire family by half.

Since the start of the year, a host of cost pressures — brought about by the surge in economic activity, rising commodity prices and global supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19-pandemic — have been passed to end consumers around the world in the form of higher prices of goods and services across the board.

Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes transport and accommodation, eased to 2.2 per cent in February from 2.4 per cent in January. The fall in core inflation was the result of lower rates of increase for services, food, electricity and gas. “Our full-year forecast for inflation this year is 3.8 per cent and next year, it’s 3.2 per cent. This is significantly higher than the historical 13-year average of inflation at about 2 per cent,” he said.

“If the US and Europe are able to tap major energy exporters like Saudi Arabia and Canada to increase production, this will help reduce oil prices,” said Mr Chua, noting that the US is also pushing for higher domestic oil and gas production. Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, in a ministerial speech addressing concerns about high inflation and escalating business costs on Apr 4, said these are “immediate actions” that the Government will take to help Singaporeans cope with rising costs.

Several low-income families told TODAY that their expenditures have already been pared to the bone, and there are no frills left to cut. “We don’t go out, we don’t shop for clothes. We can only afford to buy daily necessities … I know that sometimes my children get frustrated because we don’t do anything anymore,” said Ms Siti, who was diagnosed in January with polycystic kidney and polycystic liver disease, conditions where cysts grow in the kidney and liver.

Source: Real Estate Daily Report (realestatedailyreport.net)

 

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The Big Read in short: Families tighten their belts as inflation continues to biteSINGAPORE — When his petrol cost started to almost double to S$300 a week last month, warehouse manager Vincent Chok decided to save money by taking the bus from his four-room public housing flat in Punggol to Tai Seng MRT station where his bicycle is parked, and then cycling the last mile to his office in the vic Aiyoh so sad If one bothers to take a walk to the markets/coffee shops etc in the morning,people are not talking about Covid but life issues like prices of coffee, food,electricity,eggs etc it all adds up. You can’t sit in the office or do polls and say you know… Remember always eat the $1.50 fried carrot cake at the market for all your daily dietary needs!
Source: TODAYonline - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »

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The Big Read: With inflation putting the squeeze on families, some give up the frills while others cut back on basicsSINGAPORE — When his petrol cost started to almost double from S$170 to S$300 a week last month, warehouse manager Vincent Chok decided to save some money by taking the bus halfway from his four-room public housing flat in Punggol and then cycling the last mile to his office in Tai Seng. Articles like these will not see the light of day on our only spreadsheet English newspaper or headline on CNA despite being affiliated with CNA.
Source: TODAYonline - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »

The Big Read: With inflation putting the squeeze on families, some give up the frills while others cut back on basicsSINGAPORE — When his petrol cost started to almost double from S$170 to S$300 a week last month, warehouse manager Vincent Chok decided to save some money by taking the bus halfway from his four-room public housing flat in Punggol and then cycling the last mile to his office in Tai Seng. Articles like these will not see the light of day on our only spreadsheet English newspaper or headline on CNA despite being affiliated with CNA.
Source: TODAYonline - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »

The Big Read in short: Families tighten their belts as inflation continues to biteSINGAPORE — When his petrol cost started to almost double to S$300 a week last month, warehouse manager Vincent Chok decided to save money by taking the bus from his four-room public housing flat in Punggol to Tai Seng MRT station where his bicycle is parked, and then cycling the last mile to his office in the vic Aiyoh so sad If one bothers to take a walk to the markets/coffee shops etc in the morning,people are not talking about Covid but life issues like prices of coffee, food,electricity,eggs etc it all adds up. You can’t sit in the office or do polls and say you know… Remember always eat the $1.50 fried carrot cake at the market for all your daily dietary needs!
Source: TODAYonline - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »