TCS 8, is $4,000 not enough for a Singapore man ?

I saw this article on the web and decided to share it with my Facebook.

TCS 8 mocking Singaporeans

Initially I was a little indignant. The cap on my monthly expenses which covers giving to my family is about $4,600 because that's how much passive income I get every month from my investments. As a policy for me, earned income is invested into education or income generating assets.

My breakdown of my expenses are as follows :

Wife and daughter allowance $1,500 ( Mum in law helps look after baby )
Mom $1,000 ( Mum cooks for me )
Taxes $300
Telco expenses $120
Insurance $160

That leaves barely $1520 for my transport, food, certification classes, games expenses and costs incurred in publications. I draw about $200 from the ATM every week.

If you examine Calvin Soh's character, he earns $4,000 before CPF and taxation so he's at a fairly hard place in Singapore. It's miracle he can feed a car and pay rent but odds are someone like him can't really afford to help his parents out. He's someone who barely makes it.

But if only if the viewer thinks that he's the only source of income around the house.

But if you look from another POV, modern Singapore families show wives helping out with the finances. Over time, you see wives chipping in financially so if Ng Hui's character draws $3,600 take home, we have a fairly comfortable Singapore family here which gets even better if they ditch the car and use public transport.

I think the moral of the story is that we have to take stock of our earnings and save first before we decide on the lifestyle that we can afford to have. If I were Calvin Soh, I am aware that I make about $4,000 a month, the last thing I would do is to date a woman who has aspirations that I cannot afford. Men in this spectrum actually have no choice, they need to marry a financial equal and plan conscientiously to have a working retirement.