Pls advise on expat package

[Advice]

With income of 3000 SGD per month without any housing you as a sole breadwinner it's going to be tough. The basic necessities as rent, grocery shopping, electricity bills, telephone bills, transportation etc. take already a quite a bite of your income. You have to keep a really tight watch on your wallet. And I don't think so that you are able to travel more further than JB.

Only if you think that the offer is going to have an immense positive effect on your career, should you consider this offer. Sincerely, I think this sounds more like exploitation from the side of your company.

[enough]

when I came here single in my late twenties I got about $4K no cpf, no housing. I rented a room for years at S$500 a month which left me about mmm... 3.5KS$ Whats wrong with that, food costs little. Oh and Im an Angmoh  

I think there are a lot of 'fat cat' expats (dont you just hate it when other snear and mutter 'not enough' when the offer is probably what a lot of people work very hard to get each month) on these pages so judge for yourself if you have more to gain than loose and are young enough to recover if it doesnt work out then why not try it if its what you want ?

[Mark D]

Well that's still 33% more than Doubtful is being offered, plus he has a wife to support as well.

At the risk of being accused of being a Fat Cat, I concur with the majority opinion above that $3k a month is not enough by any means for 2 people to live a life "untroubled by money worries" which was what was asked in the first place.

Of course the decision whether to accept is up to him, but at least he and his wife know what to expect.

[true enough]

I have definitely lived here on a miniscule budget, renting a room in an HDB for $400/month. Legal? I don't know, but deal's over and done with now!   Have to say though, easier when single. Harder to rent a room as a couple.

In all honesty 3k/month for 2 people CAN be done...hell pretty much anything CAN be done, but it won't be easy or necessarily enjoyable. Been to lots of countries and lots of others in Asia where it is easy to live and ENJOY life on very little money. Singapore, however, is not one of those places, I've found. SOmetimes you feel like you really just want to treat yourself to a nice meal or a taxi ride or a coffee, but being on the minor end of the pay scale, it's harder to justify and to do. Whatever you decide though, enjoy it to its fullest!
As far as I know, you only live once!

[evehow]

Tough for 2 to live on $3K, unless you can really live like a "typical" local.  By that I mean

1)  Use public transport (with bus/MRT as the first choice, not taxis!) as much as possible;
2)  Buy from the neighbourhood NTUC instead of Jason's;
3)  Eat at hawker centres instead of restaurants and cafes;
4)  Rent a HDB room instead of a district 10 condo.

My starting pay was $2K and I had to support 2 people (mom and studying brother) and service a study loan.  But the house is paid for and we don't have the "usual" luxuries at home (e.g. aircon, cable, computer) so it wasn't too tough.  But I did have to forgo the though of buying new clothes for a while.... after 3 years I'm just starting to buy some new suits.  I could still afford the occasional outing to restaurants (cheaper ones).  You really need to tighten your belt and watch every cent.

Now I'm married but am still contributing to my mom's household allowance.  But my pay has since risen and my loan paid-off, which is a great relief.

Well, one thing good abt low-pays: you pay less taxes to the government!