Expense tracking app Seedly and consumer research company Milieu Insight have partnered to publish the ‘Seedly x Milieu Insight: The Impact of Inflation on Singaporeans’ report. The report aims to find out how Singaporeans have been impacted by inflation and rising home prices.
The ‘Seedly x Milieu Insight’ report is based on an online survey conducted by Milieu Insight. The survey was commissioned to understand how residents of Singapore have been affected by inflation, alongside their opinions of the government measures introduced to tackle this.
1,000 Singaporeans aged 16 years old and above took part in the survey between 30 November and 5 December 2022.
The report details that the year-on-year headline inflation rate has risen to 6.7 per cent. The Monetary Authority of Singapore core inflation rate is also at 5.1 per cent year-on-year. Because of this, the cost of living for Singaporean residents has also risen.
Insights from the report include:
- Eight in 10 Singaporeans said that their personal financial situations had been affected in the past year due to inflation.
- Areas most impacted by inflation: spending on necessities (71 per cent), retirement plans (34 per cent), and investments (26 per cent).
- Thirty-one per cent of Singaporeans are “very” or “somewhat satisfied” with the Singapore government’s measures to help cope with inflation. Overall, 24 per cent were dissatisfied, with 46 per cent neutral.
- Only 19 per cent of people were “very” or “somewhat” satisfied with the Singapore government’s measures to keep housing affordable. Around 41 per cent are dissatisfied, and 41 per cent are neutral.
The report also details Singaporeans are now taking more precautions with their investments, with 65 per cent investing less actively. The same 65 per cent are also investing in lower-risk investments compared to one year previous.
Yeap Ming Feng, head of Seedly, commented on the findings. She said: ‘’Inflation has a higher impact on those with lower household incomes, and it is important for us to go back to the basics of personal finance to effectively tide through this difficult period of time. This includes getting sufficient insurance coverage and having a proper budgeting plan.
“We’ve also observed that our Seedly community members are generally shifting their mindset to park their spare cash on safer investment instruments such as Singapore Savings Bonds (SSB), treasury bills, short-term endowment plans and even their CPF account, to reduce the impact of inflation on the value of their savings.’’
