my colleagues think anyone hitting the 6-figure mark is living like Crazy Rich Asians.
Every single time there’s a thread on r/singapore or EDMW about salary, the moment someone says they make $8k to $9k a month, everyone starts spamming the “wah big shot,” “can buy GCB already,” or “remember to donate to charity” comments. Can we please wake up and look at the actual math? $100,000 a year in Singapore is NOT rich. It is the absolute baseline for a basic, dignified, middle-class existence if you have any semblance of a family or adult responsibilities.
Let’s break down the reality before the taxes even hit.
First of all, $100k base means your monthly is around $8.3k. Take out your 20% CPF contribution because you need to feed the retirement and housing black hole. You’re left with about $6.6k take-home cash.
Now, let’s talk about the Singaporean Dream™ costs:
If you are married and trying to get a roof over your head, a resale 4-room HDB flat in a decent location easily sets you back $700k to $800k these days. Your monthly loan repayment eats a massive chunk of that CPF and cash. If you were foolish enough to want a basic entry-level Japanese sedan so you don’t have to squeeze on the MRT with your toddler, that’s easily $1,500 to $2,000 a month down the drain just for COE, loan, petrol, ERP, and ridiculous parking fees.
God forbid you have a kid. Preschool fees at a private childcare center? Easily $1,000 to $1,500 a month. Formula, diapers, insurance, and pediatric clinic visits when they catch the monthly childcare virus? Another few hundred gone.
By the time you pay your income tax, insurance premiums, give allowance to your aging parents (because filial piety is a structural financial pillar here), and settle the utilities bill (which goes up every quarter because why not), you look at your bank account at the end of the month and you have maybe… $1,000 left for “savings.”
One major medical emergency, one breakdown of your aircon system, or one corporate restructuring exercise, and that $1,000 buffer is completely wiped out.
Being “rich” means having financial freedom. It means looking at a menu and not checking the price column on the right. It means not sweating when the government announces another GST hike or CDC voucher tranche because it doesn’t move the needle for you.
At $100k a year, you are just a glorified corporate peasant. You are stuck in the sandwiched class—too “rich” to qualify for any government subsidies, grants, or BTO income ceilings, but too poor to actually afford a condominium or luxury without drowning in debt. You are one bad month away from panic.
Stop gaslighting the ground into thinking 6-figures is the peak of luxury. It’s just the cost of surviving comfortably without eating private brand instant noodles every night.
If we were back in our parents era in the 70s, yes 100k a year is big deal. now not so much