Spending $10 a day for a week sounded manageable, until I was quickly humbled when two meals and a bus ride brought me well over budget.<\/p>\n
Rising costs feel like a permanent fixture in society, from higher energy prices driven by global conflicts to daily necessities hit by \u201cshrinkflation\u201d.<\/a><\/p>\n Online, Singaporeans have been vocal about these pressures. One Redditor, for instance, lamented that affordability feels increasingly out of reach,<\/a> especially for students and interns.<\/p>\n To see how far $10 a day could go, I took on the challenge for a week \u2014 how hard could it be, right?<\/p>\n Day 1 began promisingly: a 30-minute walk to save on transport, followed by a $2.20 plate of cai fan (economy rice) for lunch comprising two vegetable dishes, earning me pitiful looks from my colleagues as they tried to slip me food.<\/p>\n By mid-afternoon, a mixture of hunger and fatigue had set in, as I struggled to string together coherent sentences at work.<\/p>\n Somehow, I made it home after another long, slightly delirious 30-minute walk. Dinner was thankfully provided by my parents \u2014 along with a lecture on why this self-inflicted Sisyphean task might be doomed from the start.<\/p>\n For the next two days, I skipped breakfast, determined to prove that my $10 budget was entirely possible.<\/p>\n Hawker meals became small comforts: $4.50 Ipoh hor fun, $5 char kway teow, $4 chee cheong fun. Though carb-heavy and light on protein, they provided just enough nourishment to tide me over until dinner.<\/p>\n Despite sticking to low-cost meals, it only took one social activity to blow my budget. Catching up with a friend over dinner cost $8 in a mall food court, before I caved and took a bus ride home.<\/p>\n Together with lunch, the day\u2019s expenditure shot up to $15 \u2014 not my proudest moment.<\/p>\n Days 4 and 5 coincided with the weekend. I followed my mother to the wet market, where she doubled as a self-appointed tour guide, and watched with admiration as customers haggled with astute precision, pride thrown aside in pursuit of a better deal.<\/p>\n We emerged with five types of vegetables for $7, enough to last us for a week. Factoring in the cost of other ingredients, I worked out that each home-cooked meal would cost roughly $2 to $3 per person \u2014 a fraction of eating out.<\/p>\n Buoyed by this small victory, I embraced another cost-free activity \u2014 swapping an $8 drink at a cafe for a bottle of water and a picnic mat laid over a grubby spot at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. But my triumph was short-lived as the skies opened up, leaving me thoroughly soaked.<\/p>\n As much as I tried to romanticise a frugal lifestyle, I spent the final two days of the challenge fending off a cold and quietly counting down to freedom.<\/p>\n I had gotten used to the hunger, but the brain fog that descended in the afternoons persisted.<\/p>\n Thinking felt like wading through cotton wool, and I found my writing severely hindered, much to my supervisor\u2019s frustration.<\/p>\n (Don\u2019t worry \u2014 my supervisor knew about the experiment. I still have a job.)<\/p>\n Stumbling out of that eventful week, I finally conceded \u2014 $10 a day was, for me, impossible.<\/p>\n According to a Stomp poll, 44 per cent of 2,555 respondents said they could \u201calmost never\u201d keep their daily spending under $10.<\/p>\n A Stomp poll found that majority of respondents could not keep daily spending under $10.<\/p>\n PHOTO: STOMP<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n Several students echoed this view.<\/p>\n Nathaniel, a 24-year-old student at Nanyang Technological University, said he spends about $20 a day on two meals. During his internship, he earns $1,000 a month and saves about half.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is hard to keep expenditure below $10 when going out for social reasons,\u201d he explained, adding that it was only possible to lower expenditure by frequenting food courts offering meals below $10, or eating at home.<\/p>\n Rachel Lee, a business major at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, agreed that a $10 budget would be a stretch, especially with an $800 internship allowance.<\/p>\n \u201cI never stick to below $10 expenditure unless I\u2019m at home and my parents are cooking for me. Transport is also expensive, even if you take bus and MRT,\u201d the 23-year-old said.<\/p>\n Ernest Chua, a 20-year-old student at Nanyang Polytechnic, spends between $5 and $20 a day on food. During his three-month-long internship, he earns about $700 a month while working in an office in MacPherson.<\/p>\n To save money, he would choose to eat at his school canteens, visit affordable coffee shops near the office, and occasionally forgo meals entirely.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I needed to keep my expenditure low, I would normally just skip meals. Coincidentally those periods were also cramming periods for work, so often the \u2018work high\u2019 would keep me sufficiently nourished,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n While he acknowledged that food prices were rising, he noted that coffee shops and canteens still offer relatively affordable options.<\/p>\n Students aren\u2019t the only ones feeling the pinch. Hawkers and business owners I spoke to said they are feeling it too.<\/p>\n Abaf, a 49-year-old hawker who has worked at an ayam penyet stall in Toa Payoh for two years, said rent and utilities take up a large chunk of costs.<\/p>\n Despite rising costs, prices at the stall have remained unchanged \u2014 for now.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019ve heard rumours that my boss say want to increase (prices), by 20 cents, or 50 cents,\u201d Abaf added.<\/p>\n When asked if the stall would consider offering discounted prices for students, he explained that prices were already considered \u201creasonable\u201d and on the lower end.<\/p>\n For some businesses, however, price increases have been unavoidable.<\/p>\n At Pazonia Italian Street Food, a casual eatery along Amoy Street, owner Daniel Pazonia said the business sees 200 to 300 customers daily but operates on \u201cvery marginal profit\u201d.<\/p>\n Prices have risen about 10 per cent, due to cost increases of 10 to 15 per cent.<\/p>\n Khoo Keat Hwee, a former F&B operator turned consultant, said many businesses are seeing sales fall by 10 to 20 per cent \u2014 a trend he described as \u201ccommon\u201d in the industry \u2014 while logistical costs continue to climb.<\/p>\n Newer businesses are facing rents ranging from $4,000 to $10,000, even in coffee shops, he added.<\/p>\n But raising prices isn\u2019t a straightforward solution either.<\/p>\n \u201cIt can actually reduce overall revenue if customers feel the value is no longer there,\u201d Mr Khoo said, noting that many value convenience and price over quality.<\/p>\n If price hikes are inevitable for both businesses and consumers, a $10-a-day budget can pretty much be thrown out of the window, as my feeble attempt at the experiment showed.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s without factoring in regular social gatherings, gifts or hobbies. Healthier meals can easily cost $8 to $10, and I\u2019ve occasionally found $9 transport charges buried in my bank statement \u2014 not to mention the constant pull to spend with every ad that pops up on social media.<\/p>\n While surviving on $10 a day might be possible with extreme self-discipline, $20 a day would be more realistic \u2014 and far less miserable.<\/p>\n Have something to say? Join in!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Explore more on these topics<\/p>\n<\/div>\n See something interesting? Contribute<\/a> your story to us.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nTrying hard to stay within budget<\/h2>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nSocial gatherings, transport costs add to expenditure: Students<\/h2>\n
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Skipping meals, cramming work to cut rising costs<\/h2>\n
F&B operators struggle to keep prices low<\/h2>\n
Increasing prices might drive customers away: F&B consultant<\/h2>\n
$20 a day might be more realistic<\/h2>\n
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