#trending: Malaysian civil engineer working in S'pore says he spends as little as S$10 a day on food here

SINGAPORE — Despite Singapore's reputation as the world's joint most expensive city, 27-year-old civil engineer Jonathan Lim claims that it is possible to live on a shoestring budget of about S$10 a day here for food.

Still, the Malaysian acknowledges that he does not live frugally every day, and occasionally splurges on a restaurant meal costing as much as S$23, which in a relative sense, is a lavish meal for him.

In various TikTok videos, Mr Lim's tips on how to keep costs down have gone viral.

Singapore was found to be the world’s joint costliest city to live in in a 2022 survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit. New York City was ranked equally as expensive.

In one TikTok video, Mr Lim — who lives in Kulai, Johor and has been working in Singapore for more than three years — said that he works from his employer's office in Singapore on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

He works from home in Malaysia for the rest of the week.

He travels for three hours from his home in Malaysia to the Singapore office on Monday mornings and goes back on Wednesday evenings.

On the first three days of the week, he opts to stay in a capsule hotel during the working week, which he says he tries to keep below S$35 for a night’s stay. TODAY was not immediately able to verify if this is possible.

Mr Lim said that the hostel provided a free breakfast as part of the deal, which means he saves on breakfast costs. Breakfast provided by hostels is usually coffee, toast and cereal.

In his most-watched video to date, Mr Lim breaks down his spending in a day. The video, posted on Aug 29, had received more than 240,000 views and more than 8,000 likes as of Thursday (Sept 7). 

For lunch, Mr Lim spends S$3.60 on economic rice or cai fan. He says that this is his meal of choice given the price and various choices of dishes available.

After work, he buys a S$1.50 bun and walks to a public stadium for a jog, which he considers the “best choice compared to a gym” since it is free for the public.

Mr Lim then gets a “giant” grilled chicken for S$5 from an NTUC FairPrice supermarket as dinner.

In total, he spends a little over S$10 in total on food for the day.

Naturally, Mr Lim indulges in a restaurant meal once in a while, as shown in one of his vlogs in which he spent S$23 on a meal at a restaurant. 

“I don't live like this every day... But I think there is no harm to live with simple expenses if you have not achieved financial stability yet,” Mr Lim said in an interview with TODAY.

Asked to explain his thrifty habits, he said that he hopes to travel and work towards his long-term goal of buying a house.

Mr Lim's videos have been met with praise from social media users, who have been impressed by his smart budgeting skills.

One wrote on TikTok: "You’re my new motivation for hard work. Hang in there!”

Another agreed: “I think (being thrifty) is a good virtue. Even though I'm rich, I also spend a lot way below my means and I love it.”

Speaking about spending habits, one online user said: “I believe it's all about priorities and your long-term goals.”

However, some others hold the view that being frugal might compromise one’s happiness. 

One remarked: “In life, (there’s) no need to be so frugal. Life is short, don't deprive yourself.”

Mr Lim said that he is glad that his videos have inspired others.

“I hope to help some fresh graduates or youngsters who wish to start their career in Singapore.

“These are the questions I often get from people around me.”