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If you are coming to Singapore and already have a contract, or are discussing one, the ‘cost of living’ or ‘price index’ is probably a good indicator you should keep in mind when you are negotiating your salary. The Price Index is the ratio
between the ‘costs’ in home country currency of a basket of goods and services
between the home country and, in this case, Singapore. A value of 110 meaning that that basket will cost
10% more in the new place (a little more on that in the financial > expat section).
These baskets are established and compared by
specialized companies and can include anything from a carton of milk to an
insurance. Generally, they are useful indicators for your negotiation, but the
number does not actually tell you how much that carton of milk costs of course, and
that’s where we come in. The list below includes some common household goods
and their price in Singapore Dollars, on the date indicated, at a regular
supermarket somewhere in Singapore (more on supermarkets here). Since most goods are imported, price ranges
can be wide. We are not bargain hunting here, nor are we taking the
top-of-the-line, these are normal prices. Please note that in Singapore, all taxes are included in the prices shown.
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Your Daily Bread - 12 January 2008
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| Item |
Price in S$ |
Remarks |
| Apples, Granny Smith / pc |
0.50 |
|
| Bananas, 100 gr |
0.16 |
|
| Beer (lager), 1 can 0.3 l |
2.85 |
Tiger (Singaporean) |
| Bread, 1 loaf wholemeal 420 gr |
2.00 |
Gardenia |
| Butter, 250 gr |
4.85 |
(Denmark) |
| Carrots 0.5 kg |
1.20 |
Australia |
| Cereal, 150 gr |
3.45 |
Nestle Honey Stars |
| Cornflakes 150 gr |
2.05 |
Nestle |
| Cheese, Processed 12 slice (250 gr) |
4.40 |
Kraft |
| Cheese, 100 gr Edam young |
1.99 |
|
| Coffee, ground 200 gram |
6.80 |
Espresso grind |
| Eggs, 10 pc |
3.80 |
'omega 3' |
| Fish, Salmon filet / kg |
29.90 |
|
| Jam, blackcurrant 500 gr |
4.05 |
IXL |
| Mango /100 gr |
0.66 |
|
| Margarine, 500 gr |
3.90 |
MeadowLea |
| Milk, 1 liter fresh |
3.00 |
Farmhouse (Australia) |
| Olive Oil, 0.5 l |
10.10 |
Bertolli |
| Orange Juice, 1 liter |
1.78 |
MariGold |
| Peanut Butter, 500 gr |
4.20 |
Skippy |
| Potatoes, 2.27 kg |
3.20 |
USA |
| Rice, fragrant Thai 5 kg |
9.75 |
bigger bags cheaper |
| Salad, iceberg / pc |
2.00 |
USA |
| Steak, striploin / kg |
42.70 |
Australian |
| Tomatoes 100 gr |
0.25 |
Malaysian |
| Water, 1.5 l |
1.05 |
Ice Mountain |
Keep it Clean - 12 January 2008
|
| Dishwashing detergent 50 tablets |
11.00 |
Somat |
| Laundry detergent 3 kg |
7.25 |
Fab |
For those who like the Economist's 'Burgernomics' approach (the way to value a country's currency based on a standard product i.e. a Big Mac) I prefer their Starbucks Latte comparison, because that's where this is typed; a tall Latte cost S$5.10 on 12 January 2008.
Do you need more info? Leave a message on our expat message board!
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