Singapore is expensive. But nobody shows you exactly how.

The Real Cost of Living in Singapore — Every Number, Laid Bare

Salary. HDB. Condo. Car. Insurance. Childcare. We break down every major financial decision Singaporeans face — with real numbers, real scenarios, and zero fluff. So you stop guessing and start deciding clearly.


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Numbers.sg — The Problem
The Problem

You earn a good salary.
So why does it still
feel tight?

Most people in Singapore aren’t bad with money. They just never got to see the full picture — clearly, in one place, without the financial jargon.

The problem isn’t your salary. It’s everything that quietly eats into it: CPF deductions before you even see it, an HDB loan that runs for 25 years, a car that costs more than most people realise, childcare fees that don’t show up in any lifestyle guide.

The numbers add up differently in real life. And nobody was showing Singaporeans exactly how.

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That’s what Numbers.sg fixes. Not with motivation. Not with generic advice. Just clear, honest numbers — laid out so you can finally see your financial life for what it actually is.

Your Salary $5,000

What gets deposited — before the real picture begins.

CPF Deduction −$1,000

20% employee contribution. Gone before you touch it.

Housing −$1,400

HDB mortgage or rental. The single largest monthly cost.

Transport + Car −$900

COE, loan, insurance, petrol, parking — it all adds up.

What’s Left $1,700

For food, bills, savings, childcare, and everything else.

20%
of your gross salary goes to CPF before you see a dollar
25yrs
average HDB loan tenure — most people don’t model this out
$2k+
true monthly cost of owning a car in Singapore, all-in
Numbers.sg — Why We Exist
Why Numbers.sg Exists
What most financial content does

“Save 20%. Invest early.
Spend less on lattes.”

✕ Tells you what you should do — without showing you your numbers
✕ Motivational language that feels good but explains nothing
✕ Generic advice that ignores CPF, COE, HDB realities
✕ Leaves you nodding along — but still confused about your own situation
What Numbers.sg does

Here’s exactly what $5,000 looks like after CPF, housing, and transport.

✓ Shows you your actual numbers — not averages, not theory
✓ Breaks down every major Singapore financial decision clearly
✓ Built around CPF, HDB, COE — the stuff that actually matters here
✓ Leaves you with clarity — and a real answer to “can I afford this?”

We don’t tell you
what to do.
We show you what
it actually looks like.

Most financial content was not built for Singapore. It doesn’t account for how CPF silently shapes your take-home, how HDB rules constrain your options, or how a single COE bid can change your finances for a decade.

Numbers.sg was built to fix exactly that — not with opinions, but with honest, specific, Singapore-grounded numbers.

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We exist because “it depends” is not an answer. Real decisions need real numbers — and that’s all we do.

01
Reality over motivation
We don’t inspire. We don’t sell a mindset. We show you what your financial life actually looks like — even when the numbers are uncomfortable.
02
Singapore-specific, always
CPF contribution rates. HDB loan limits. COE premiums. Childcare subsidies. Every breakdown reflects how Singapore actually works — not how a US finance blog thinks it does.
03
Clarity over complexity
We take financial decisions that feel overwhelming and break them into tables, scenarios, and clear comparisons you can actually use to decide.
04
Decisions, not just data
Every article ends at the same place: a real answer to “can I afford this?” — with the trade-offs laid out so you can choose with your eyes open.
“

Most people aren’t bad with money. They just never had someone show them the full picture — clearly, honestly, with actual numbers. That’s the only thing Numbers.sg is here to do.

Numbers.sg — What We Actually Do
What We Actually Do

Every major financial
decision in Singapore —
broken down clearly.

We pick the financial decisions Singaporeans actually face — the ones with real money on the line — and we break them down with specific numbers, realistic scenarios, and zero padding.

Not a blog. Not a calculator. A clear answer to: “What does this actually look like for me?”

Salary HDB Condo Car Ownership CPF Insurance Childcare Loans Cost of Living
💵
SALARY
What your salary actually becomes
Gross salary means very little. We show you take-home pay after CPF, what it buys across different lifestyles, and what income levels actually feel like month to month.
Take-home after CPF Lifestyle scenarios Single vs couple Savings capacity What feels tight
🏠
HOUSING
HDB & condo — what you can actually afford
Loan limits. Monthly repayments. CPF usage. The gap between what the bank approves and what you can comfortably carry — made clear.
🚗
CAR OWNERSHIP
The true all-in cost of owning a car
COE, loan, insurance, road tax, petrol, parking. Most people only see the monthly instalment — we show everything that doesn’t make it into the showroom brochure.
🧾
COST OF LIVING
Monthly costs for different lifestyles
Food, utilities, childcare, entertainment. What a lean month looks like vs a comfortable one — mapped to real income levels.
📋
LOANS · INSURANCE
What debt and coverage really cost you
How loans shrink your monthly flexibility. What insurance actually makes sense at your income level — without the sales pitch.
Step 01
We pick a real decision
Something Singaporeans are actually trying to figure out — not a hypothetical. “Can I afford a condo on $8,000?” “Is a car worth it?”
Step 02
We run the actual numbers
Realistic assumptions. CPF rates, current HDB prices, actual COE premiums. Not best-case scenarios — real ones.
Step 03
We give you a clear answer
Tables. Scenarios. Trade-offs. And a direct verdict — so you leave knowing exactly where you stand, not more confused than when you started.

No fluff. No generic advice. Just the numbers behind every decision Singaporeans actually have to make — laid out so clearly you’ll wonder why nobody did this sooner.

100% Singapore-
specific
Numbers.sg — How to Use This Site
How to Use This Site

Start with
your situation.
Get your numbers.

Numbers.sg isn’t meant to be read cover to cover. It’s meant to be used. Find the decision you’re facing right now — and start there. Everything is built around your situation, not a generic one.

What’s your situation right now?

🧑‍💼
Just started working
Figuring out what my salary actually means
🏠
Planning to buy a home
HDB or condo — what can I actually afford?
🚗
Thinking about a car
Is it really worth it at my income level?
👨‍👩‍👧
Starting a family
Childcare, housing, income — what’s realistic?
01
Pick the decision you’re facing
Salary reality. Housing affordability. Car ownership. Cost of living. Find the article that matches what you’re trying to figure out.
→ “Can I afford a condo on $8,000?”
02
See your income translated into real life
We show take-home after CPF, monthly commitments, and what’s actually left — not the number on your offer letter.
→ “$6,000 gross = $4,800 take-home”
03
Compare the scenarios that fit your life
Single vs couple. With car vs without. Renting vs buying. We map 2–3 realistic paths so you can see the trade-offs before you commit.
→ “With vs without car: $1,100/month difference”
04
Walk away with a clear answer
Not “it depends.” A direct verdict on what’s affordable, what’s a stretch, and what you’d be giving up — so you can decide with your eyes open.
→ “Tight but possible. Here’s what has to give.”
Know exactly what you can afford
Real numbers, not rough estimates. What the bank approves vs what you can comfortably carry.
Understand where your money actually goes
CPF, housing, transport, food — laid out so the “why is it tight?” question finally has an answer.
See the trade-offs before you commit
Every major decision has a cost somewhere else. We show you where — before you sign anything.
Ready to start?

Find your situation.
Get your real numbers.

No sign-up. No guessing. Just pick where you are right now — and Numbers.sg will show you exactly what your financial life looks like in real Singapore numbers.

Start with my situation →

Free. No account needed.
Just your numbers.

Numbers.sg — Founder & Final CTA
The Person Behind It
JS
Jeremiah Say
Founder, Numbers.sg

Numbers.sg was built after seeing the same thing happen over and over — smart, working Singaporeans making major financial decisions with incomplete information. Not because they weren’t trying. Because the honest breakdown simply didn’t exist anywhere. So Jeremiah built it. No fluff. No agenda. Just the numbers, laid out clearly.

Reality first. Always.
Ready to see your numbers?

Stop guessing.
Start knowing.

Pick your situation. Get a clear breakdown. Walk away knowing exactly what you can afford — and what it costs you to get there.

100%
Singapore-specific
0 ads
No sponsored advice
Real $
Actual numbers used
See what you can actually afford →

Free. No account. No sign-up. Just your numbers.

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