Is it possible to live modestly in Singapore without feeling like you are too frugal and surviving at mere sustenance level?

Well, a 27-year-old Malaysian, who is working here full-time, has put up a TikTok documenting how he keeps his spending to under S$10 a day, which covers his meals and transport.

The video's caption read: "Part 6: Is spending 10 dollars enough for a day working in Singapore?"

@jonlzx Part 6: Is spending 10dollars enough for a day working in SINGAPORE? #sgvlog #worklife #minivlog #fypシ #simplelife ♬ 千与千寻 口琴版 - 口琴伟宝

Working as a civil engineer

The man, Jonathan Lim, who works as a civil engineer (which pays about S$3,700 a month starting out and on average), has a hybrid work arrangement: He goes to the office in Singapore three days a week, and he gets to work from home on other days.

According to Lim, he spends more than half the week at home in Kulai, Johor, and stays at a capsule hostel in Singapore on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

This helps to cut costs as he does not need to rent full-time and base himself in Singapore, but requires him to make trips back and forth Malaysia and Singapore weekly.

He travels to Singapore on Monday mornings at 6am and stays two nights in the hostel.

He pays about S$35 (RM120) a night, and leaves for Malaysia on Wednesday evenings after work.

His TikToks are focused on how much he spends in Singapore without factoring in accommodation.

Food costs

The good thing about hostel-living is that it provides free breakfast for guests.

Although privacy during bedtime is minimal, as Lim sleeps in a shared space with other guests, he gets to save costs for at least one meal a day.

Breakfast offered by the hostel includes bread with spreads and cereal.

However, Lim is not averse to spending money on breakfast — or a restaurant dinner sometimes.

He is seen buying bread from a confectionary, as well as soya bean milk in another TikTok where he explained how affordable such food items can be in Singapore.

For lunch and dinner, his favourite go-to food, which undoubtedly powers the Singapore economy, is cai fan, or economic rice.

For this meal, he spends about S$3.60, which consists of a meat dish, vegetables, and rice.

For a pre-workout run after work, Lim bought a piece of cranberry cream cheese bread for S$1.50 from a neighbourhood bakery.

After his exercise, which he does for free at a public stadium, he eats grilled chicken drumsticks bought from FairPrice for S$5 in total.

The protein-only dinner might not sound like much to some, but Lim explains that the size of the two drumsticks he bought were unusually huge, and more than sufficient for a grown man like him.

Inclusive of his transport costs of S$3 but sans his accommodation, Lim spent S$13.10 in one day.

Trade-offs

In the latest TikTok that Lim put out, he addressed both positive and negative comments about this video on living on S$10-plus a day in Singapore, and said such thriftiness can be normalised.

He also wanted to debunk the notion that what he is doing is unhealthy and he is not enjoying himself just to save a few dollars.

@jonlzx Replying to @limjiu1 Part 8: Spending LESS than 10SGD for 3 meals a day in SINGAPORE?! #simpleliving #budgetliving #sgtiktok #sgwork #worktok ♬ original sound - Jonathan Lim

He acknowledged that working in Singapore for a few days a week takes him away from his family and loved ones even though he is taking advantage of the favourable currency exchange rate, but at his age, such an arrangement is giving him the chance to find himself.

With fewer commitments now and being able to focus on his career, he said this is giving him a chance to grow professionally.

He said that he would eventually have to make the choice of whether he wants to settle long-term in Singapore or back in Malaysia.

His latest video also mentioned that he does not live frugally like this every day, as this arrangement is for when he is in Singapore.

He also made the point that cai fan is his go-to food for dinner too because he gets protein and fibre for S$3.50, and he has it before sometimes going to jog on the streets here, which are safe even late at night.

Having streets that are even suitable for running is a perk of working in Singapore, he said.

All media via @jonlzx TikTok