Prices has really gone up!
By ahgong
@ahgong (10064)
Singapore
November 21, 2007 11:45pm CST
My goodness! I have never really monitored my expenditures for daily needs like food and groceries as I only make like one major trip to the supermarket every two to three weeks to stock up.
Recently, because my wife is busy with work, I have been cooking more regularly as compared to the previous months.
Just three nights ago, I bought my bread, paid $2 for it.
Two nights ago, I wanted to buy some bread and was looking at the tags to check the date. Price is still $2. My wife stopped me as we still had a few slices that could last for breakfast the next day. So I didn't purchase the bread as intended.
Last night, I bought the same loaf of bread, gave the cashier the $2 note and expect her to wrap up my bread for me to go. She stood there waiting for me to dig out some more cash! Only then did I realized that the cost has gone up by 15 cents!
Man! Just over night like that, the bread when up by 15 cents. I understand that prices of flour has gone up. By 25 cents per kg. But a 7.5% increase in bread price?
Just one year ago, we are paying only like $1.60 for the same loaf of bread!
Sigh~~~
Due to the increase in oil prices, electricity cost has been adjusted twice already. 9% being the last increase. Now I am paying about $10 more per month for the same consumption.
Then bus fare has also increased another 2 cents per trip.
Even eggs and vegetables have also risen in price! My average marketing for my cooking has increased about $10-15 dollars per week.
Seems like my money is buying lesser and lesser each month!
Are you also facing the same problem?
4 people like this
14 responses
@poohgal (6845)
• Singapore
22 Nov 07
The poverty gap in Singapore is indeed widening. The wage of the rich is increasing at a rate higher than inflation. So for the rich, such increase in prices is no problem (chicken feet la). On the other end of the spectrum, we have people having little or no increment in their wages every year. Eventually they will find it difficult to cope with the price increase. As for the middle class like me, such increase is still bearable but I would rather save up my money or spend it somewhere else.
Given the direction our government is heading towards, the prices will only continue to go up. We are becoming a gambling city.. what else can you expect? LOL
I really wonder if I'll have enough money to retire in the future =|
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
6 Dec 07
With the CPF locked up till we are 65, and only dispensed to us at a miserable $300 per month till we are 85, if we do not have enough savings, it is definitely not enough!
Imagine, having a home, utilities bill alone will consume half that allowance from CPF already.
Now a days go food court where to find meals that cost
@poohgal (6845)
• Singapore
6 Dec 07
Hmm.. Are we being too pessimistic here?
Anyway, I believe we cannot retire one la.. I am sure most of us will work until very old (sob sob) Given the rate we are going, it's impossible for us to retire young unless we are really loaded by our ideal retirement age.
One thing for sure, the society or government will not change for us. All we can do now is to learn to adapt if not be prepared to be left behind. We live in a world where the fittest survive. It's the same everywhere. =(
@applefreak (3130)
• Singapore
22 Nov 07
yes yes price is definitely going up all the way. although it was reported that inflation is expected at 5%, i really don't know how they arrive at that figure. all around us prices have increased at least 10%. and we are talking about essentials here. i can't imagine the kind of increase luxury goods are looking at. sigh, things are getting expensive but our salary didn't increase at the same speed.
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
6 Dec 07
That is why I cannot understand how the Department of Statistics get their figures from.
From my view point, to sustain the current consumption, I now have to fork out more for the same amount of tangible items and services.
And that increase is way more than the reported 5%!
I mean, look at it this way, imagine, for a middle income person like me, I am feeling the pinch. What about the many other who are less well off compared to me.
Mind you, I am not even using luxury items like the air conditioner, neither do I own a car.
I take the bus like everyone does and do my groceries at the market like most housewives as well. Yet the money has to be increased to meet the basic needs of a family.
I cannot imagine how much more the cost is going to be if I had a kid.
@applefreak (3130)
• Singapore
7 Dec 07
yes that's exactly how i'm feeling now. take home pay is the same, requirements are still similar. but the money just don't seem to be enough. not to mention zero savings at the end of the month. i just hope i don't have to dig into my savings to survive. no wonder singaporeans are not prepared for retirement.
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
7 Dec 07
How to prepare for retirement?
Just when you adjust your lifestyle to manage some savings, the darn things increase in cost again.
And when you try to make adjustment again, prices increase again!
It is never ending and they seem to come one after another without a break in between for people to breath!
Short of using candles to light my house and using salt to preserve all my food instead of putting them in the fridge, I cannot think of any other way to cut down on my consumption liow.
I have changed to cheaper brands for my other stuff and am already using some of the lowest priced brands on the shelf for a lot of my groceries. Even those have increased in price.
So tell me, where got chance to save?
@vokey9472 (1486)
• United States
22 Nov 07
Our bus fare went from $2.50 for a day pass to $3 per day pass. It used to be $1.00 just a couple of years ago.
Food has gone up too. Milk used to be $2.50 a gallon and now even the store brand milk is over $4 a gallon. Bread went from 88cents a loaf to $1.89 a loaf in less than a year. Veggies are a joke. I used to buy nothing but fresh but I cannot afford that now, even at the farmers market. I have to buy canned veggies. I can get cans 2/$1 but fresh is averaging $2.50 a pound or more.
A tiny watermelon was $4.99 on sale this summer. I remember buying tomatoes at 99cents a pound just 4 years ago and now they range from $2.99 to $5.99 a pound. I buy canned tomatoes. I can get 16oz (a pound) of canned tomatoes for $1.75.
And don't get me started on the cost of electricity. $206 for October!! Last year October's bill was only $129.
1 person likes this
@vokey9472 (1486)
• United States
6 Dec 07
i did a size check on eggs recently. medium eggs were 1.50 a dozen and large eggs were 1.97. I took a medium egg and compared it to a large egg. Guess what? They were the same size. I bought the medium eggs.
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
6 Dec 07
Tell me about it vokey9472!
I used to be able to go to the market with $50 and buy enough groceries to feed a family of 4 for a whole week!
As the years go by, I need at least $150-200 a week.
Now, if you do not have at least $200, you can forget about cooking for the family of 4.
Now that I am living on my own with my wife, I am spending at least $70-$100 a week on groceries!
Everything has increased. Even the size of the eggs has strung with each increase of the price too!
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
22 Nov 07
Unfortunately or fortunately (depending whether you are the one giving or taking the money), the situation is now relatively bad in Singapore.
The only thing that surprisingly dropped in price is incense. I went to buy some aromatherapy incense. Last time (LONG AGO), it costs like $10-20 at the scent shop. Luckily this overpriced place closed down.
Now (last time but not so long ago) at other makeshift stalls, I managed to buy at 3 for $5. Or just $2 each.
Just last week I went back to buy some more and asked how much is it now (I was thinking maybe no more so "cheap"). She told me 1 dollar each. Luckily my jaw never dropped.
1 person likes this
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
22 Nov 07
Unfortunately or fortunately (depending whether you are the one giving or taking the money), the situation is now relatively bad in Singapore.
The only thing that surprisingly dropped in price is incense. I went to buy some aromatherapy incense. Last time (LONG AGO), it costs like $10-20 at the scent shop. Luckily this overpriced place closed down.
Now (last time but not so long ago) at other makeshift stalls, I managed to buy at 3 for $5. Or just $2 each.
Just last week I went back to buy some more and asked how much is it now (I was thinking maybe no more so "cheap"). She told me 1 dollar each. Luckily my jaw never dropped.
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
6 Dec 07
Well, incense is not something that everyone will buy.
My main grip is the basic necessities like rice, bread, meat, eggs... etc.
They have gone up like anywhere from 5%-10%, depending on what the item is. And the increase is like overnight!
How can current stocks just increase in price like that? *Snap fingers*
Then there is electricity... 4% increase.
Then now there is a bus/train fare revision.
Now they are talking about increasing the cab fare as well.
And the recent increases in ERP is not helping much either.
Now when we go to the hawker stall, even when they claim there is no increase, the portions have all strung!
Sigh~~~ like I said, the dollar is getting stretched thinner and thinner even when we did not make increases in our consumption!
1 person likes this
@bowtieguy (5915)
• United States
27 Nov 07
Yes I have realized that coffee and milk both have gone up a considerable amount and so has bread. I guess a lot of things food and otherwise are going to go up in price with the way things are going and might never go back down to the price they once used to be. I remember when I was a kid and things were much cheaper, you could strech a dollar a lot futher those days and now there isn't much you can get for a dollar. Prices always go up and will continue to do so, it's all the natural order of things.
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
6 Dec 07
Tell me about it bowtieguy.
Just the other day, I was at the coffeeshop taking my meals as usual with my wife. When I called for drinks, the price was increased by 20 cents! What used to cost 90 cents the day before now cost $1.10!
Even my favorite chicken wings has increased by 20 cents! A good 20% increase over the dollar it used to cost the day before!
Sickening I tell you. If GST were to increase again next year, we are going to be facing another bulk of increases again.
I keep thinking, if this keeps up, and my salary never increase, how in the world am I going to be able to afford a child and complete my family?
1 person likes this
@CraftyCorner (5600)
• United States
15 Dec 07
Yes. It's hitting me really hard. My SSD increase was just $27 dollars. That doesn't even TOUCH the cost of living. In desperation I am going to buy some herb seeds and grow some fresh herbs to flavor my food.
*
The only meat I eat on a regular basis is turkey. One bird lasts an entire month. Beef is priced out of my range.
@CraftyCorner (5600)
• United States
26 Jan 08
That is a difficult question...with few satisfactory answers. There are some half answers though.
*
There are high dollar items like fruit and vegetables that take a bigger bite out of the wallet at the grocery store. Those can be grown. Bell peppers cost $4 for just three. They grow like weeds. I plan to grow rather than buy. I am also growing herbs. I grow them in the kitchen. Getting a bread maker might cut some $$ out of the shopping budget too...I don't know.
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
28 Jan 08
Hmm... from what I read from your postings, it looks like you have a small patch of land to work on. Sort of like a mini garden. You living on some landed property?
I wonder if it is feasible to grow some of the herbs and vegetables you mentioned in a high-rise apartment. It would be great if it could be done with little hassle to shave a few more bucks off my monthly bills. ;)
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
26 Jan 08
I am sure you are not alone in the quest to cut back.
Every time there is an increase, we would move the expenses line lower.
Each time prices move up, the line would be moved farther back with a new round of cut backs to our lifestyle.
There will come a day when no matter how much we cut back our expense line, we will never be able to move it back any farther. What comes next then?
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
22 Nov 07
I've been noticing the same thing. I really don't know how families with several children are able to do it these days. The thing I don't get is that here in the U.S. the Cost-of-Living increase for those on Social Security will only be a little over 2% yet expenses have gone up by well over that amount! Yet there are still those who will continue to insist our economy's doing great. I say great for whom? Certainly not for my family or any of my friends. Much of the increased cost of living is due to the price of gas. That eventually affects almost everything else we buy and I don't see any end in sight. The rich are laughing all the way to the bank while those who have to work for a living are getting the shaft once again.
Annie
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
6 Dec 07
It is the same here where I am from.
When the price of gas increases, the prices of everything increases in tandem.
But when crude oil prices dropped, the price of gas remains the same! In fact, citing rising cost of labor, things are still increasing in cost!
Heck, what increase in labor cost? I have not seen an increment in my salary in years!
Like you say, only the rich are laughing all the way to the bank as the increases are very negligible comparing to the obscene salaries that they are drawing.
@lucky_witch (2707)
• Philippines
23 Nov 07
Well, yes even in my countries, prices are going up and up and up... Seems nowadays money has a little value. But the salary, it is slower to increase.
Now, I have a big problem regarding our bills. Its getting harder to pay nowadays. Most of the time I dont know what to do. My money is short more often, and I dont know how to budget the money to make it enough.
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
6 Dec 07
I totally understand what you mean.
Even when I was away from my home for a good two weeks to celebrate my wedding, my bill for my utilities continue to increase for the following two months!
I do not understand why it is happening!
I called up the utilities company and they say they based their charges on the meter reading.
To get the meter checked, they will charge me a fee of $35 dollars and there is no guarantee that their checks will yield favorable results. Sickening!
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
28 Jan 08
ha ha ha ha ha... my colleague was just griping about the huge increase in the price of milk powders!
And he was saying something like what you are saying. Salary increments are not in line with inflation. So in effect, we are getting a pay cut each year rather than an increment! ha ha ha ha ha... so true.
Things are getting so much more expensive than before. I really felt it this year. Especially when we go out shopping for Chinese New Year goodies. For the same amount that is spent, I seem to get so much lesser than what I got last year, or the year before.
It is ridiculous I tell you. As it is, we already have to forgo quite a bit on the goodies. If this goes on, we really have to omit some items next year to be able to stick to the budget.
@spiderlizard22 (3444)
• United States
22 Nov 07
Somebody should stop inflation. Even the people who recieve the money will have to pay more too. If this keeps up bread will be $3, $4, and soon $100 per loaf.
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
6 Dec 07
Unless the Singapore dollars slump, I do not think bread will cost $100 per loaf. That is a bit too ridiculous.
If inflation were to run-away to that extend, I am sure a lot of Singaporeans would have revolted and impeached the government for allowing that.
I am sure our current governing party will not allow that to happen as well.
What I worry is that inflation is going to eat into our daily life just when things are looking up. And if things are going to continue to spiral upwards with no hope of prices ever coming down, it is going to be harder to sustain a family unit.
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
6 Dec 07
That was tabled in parliament a long time ago! Back when GST was to be introduced, they already mentioned that it will eventually be raised to 10%. But the promise was to raise it at appropriate times.
Now that the cost of living is going up, they are still going to increase the GST?
What I cannot understand is, if we are being taxed for something, the GST can also be applied to that tax as well.
Take for example, the utilities bill. There is a water tax and an electrical tariff tax. These taxes are lumped together with the usage cost and a GST is applied on the final sum.
This taxes is a tax by the government to encourage us to conserve usage of utilities, and it is subjected to GST as well?
Tax on a tax! Amazing, isn't it?
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
6 Dec 07
How true!
Sigh... things are always like that.
They will increase heck of a lot of taxes and fees citing that the reserves are depleting.
Then there will be announcements that the GDP is 8% and that the economy is paying well.
Again, a paradox in announcements.
How can we be having good GDP and still have a deficit in the reserves? If there is a deficit, that means that the GDP for that year is not at 8% for that fiscal year right?
I dunno. I took only the basic for accounting. I may have my facts wrong base on my limited knowledge. But then again, does it make sense?
@poohgal (6845)
• Singapore
6 Dec 07
I am not surprised. It has become more of a habit for our government to increase the GST once every few years. After the GST increase, they will also increase the pay of the civil servants and ministers. I think it's good to work for the government. Even though it may not be the iron rice bowl it used to be, it definitely offers one of the highest starting pay for graduates.
@mushroomLady (208)
• Malaysia
22 Nov 07
You are right. Prices of food has increase tremendously (in M'sia) the past 2 weeks. Cooking gas increased at least rm8.
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
6 Dec 07
Tell me about it mushroomLady.
My relatives across the causeway has been griping far earlier than me.
Now I am feeling the pinch as well.
And the worse part of it, there is no one going to control or curb the price increases.
The government keeps telling us it is part and parcel of life. So we have to deal with it.
Even changing to cheaper brands does not help as those have also increased in prices as well.
Sigh~~~
@jennyp08 (68)
• United States
23 Nov 07
Yes, I understand excatly where you are coming from because I feel the same way. Everytime me and my husband go and do shopping we are just amazed at the price and totals for everything we purchased! It seems like the more you buy, the lesser your total comes out, but the lesser you buy, the more your total comes out to! Gosh, that's probably why so many people are not spending like they use to when it comes to the holidays.
