She Could Save 70% Of Her Salary In Singapore - So Why Not In Australia? | Money Mind

Indexed: 2026-05-22

[00:00:02]Ying thought moving overseas would mean earning more. Instead, she earned the same, but ended up saving far less. 2 years later, she made the tough decision to leave her dream life. I think I cried for 2 weeks straight.

[00:00:18]In 2023, after years of wanting to live overseas, Yeetsing finally made the move to Melbourne, Australia, taking on a role in social media marketing while waiting for her BTO.

[00:00:30]I also started thinking, oh, to be uh to be good at my job, to be good at marketing, I can't just be thinking from a Singapore's perspective. And I also felt like the the world is so big and life is not meant to be lived in one place. So yeah, I wanted to try living overseas for a while.

[00:00:48]She started on a working holiday visa, but turning that into a full-time job wasn't easy.

[00:00:55]So, I actually applied for I think 800 plus jobs. I had 30 interviews and only one employer who was willing to sponsor me.

[00:01:07]When she settled in, the lifestyle was everything she imagined.

[00:01:12]Work ended at 5:30. It changed how she thought about life, even family.

[00:01:20]>> And then there was once I had a meeting that dragged on like 10 minutes after working hours. Then she was like, "Oh, I'm so sorry for making you stay late."

[00:01:28]My colleagues that were parents, they were able to like, you know, just when their kids end school at maybe 3:00, they are able to just leave work and pick up their kids and then they'll go back home and continue their work. So, I really respect that, you know, they take this so seriously. And it was also only in Melbourne that I started considering having kids, >> but financially something didn't add up.

[00:01:51]>> So, when I first got my first salary, right, I got a shock cuz they pre-deduct your salary. And then I realized that I was paying more a month in Texas in Australia compared to a whole year in Singapore for the same salary. The AUD was always sleeping when I was there. So then when I converted it back to SGD, I'm like, "Oh no, like I'm I'm earning much less."

[00:02:12]>> So don't just compare headline salary figure. Consider your net savings after this trade-offs in these three areas of tax, cost of living, as well as healthcare protection.

[00:02:27]Realized that her salary didn't stretch the same way anymore. In Singapore, she could save up to 70% of her income living with her parents and being frugal. But in Melbourne, after tax, daily expenses, and currency conversion, her net savings dropped significantly.

[00:02:46]So yeah, public transport was another one that really surprised me because in Melbourne, each step was about $5 plus.

[00:02:54]So even if you are taking like one train stop or one tram stop, it will be $5 no matter what. And that was that really adds up cuz like you know on the way there to work on the way back it's already $10. So in the end we ended up buying a car cuz like petrol was just cheaper >> everything added up even socially >> and also like because we didn't have friends in Melbourne and I had to go out and make friends right and obviously for new friends I can't be doing this and be like oh can you go so much cheaper with me so that was some expenses as well.

[00:03:28]she realized she was not building wealth the way she used to.

[00:03:33]>> So financially I was obviously not saving as much and I felt like yeah I cuz I'm very I'm a very obsessive person. I have like a Google sheet that tracks my investments and my savings my net worth every month. So obviously the graph wasn't growing as much as it used to in Singapore. And then I was like h it's I feel like it would definitely delay like retirement if I were to say stay in Australia.

[00:04:02]>> So eventually she and her partner made a decision for this stage of their lives.

[00:04:08]Building wealth for the future mattered more. So they decided to return home.

[00:04:14]So we decided, yeah, for sure Singapore is a better place if you want to save money, if you want to like try to grow your investments.

[00:04:24]>> Back in Singapore, she's now freelancing and her time overseas is paying off in a different way.

[00:04:32]>> I feel like it definitely makes me more marketable cuz when people look for someone in social media marketing who can like talk to Ape audiences, I can say that, you know, I have the Asia part and the Pacific part of it.

[00:04:44]The life she built in Melbourne didn't fail, but it came with a financial trade-off. For now, she's chosen to rebuild her finances from home with the option to reopen her Melbourne chapter later on her own terms.