Tag Archives: Lifestyle

Luxury or Lifestyle? Decoding Expat Spending Habits

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Living in Singapore as an expat comes with a unique set of opportunities; world-class food, vibrant social scenes, excellent gyms, and cultural experiences that can make life feel full and exciting. But it also comes with a challenge many expats don’t initially anticipate: deciding how to spend your money without losing sight of what truly matters.

It’s easy to slip into a pattern where your spending is influenced more by social comparison than by personal fulfilment. That’s where the distinction between lifestyle spending and luxury spending becomes essential. Understanding this difference can transform not only your bank balance but your sense of wellbeing as an expat.



1. Lifestyle Spending: Enhancing Daily Life

Lifestyle spending is money used to improve your quality of life, not just signal wealth. It’s about comfort, convenience, and personal enjoyment. Examples include:
• A membership at a fitness studio that energises you and keeps you healthy.
• Attending cultural events or workshops that bring joy and connection.
• Occasional dining at a restaurant you genuinely love, rather than somewhere just to impress friends.

The common thread? Lifestyle spending aligns with your values and priorities. It supports your well-being, relationships, and growth. It’s money well spent because it has a tangible, positive impact on your life.



2. Luxury Spending: Status Over Substance

Luxury spending, by contrast, is often influenced by perception rather than personal value. It’s when purchases are driven by:
• A desire to “keep up” with peers.
• The assumption that higher cost equals higher status.
• The need to project a particular lifestyle to the outside world.

Examples might include designer goods you rarely use, expensive gadgets bought for image, or memberships that don’t align with your interests but are “expected” socially.

The danger of luxury spending isn’t the occasional treat…it’s the habit of over-prioritising image over utility or joy, which can quietly erode your financial stability.



3. Why Expats Are Especially Susceptible

Expats often face unique pressures that make luxury spending feel “normal”:
• Social comparison: You see peers living in stylish condos, driving new cars, or dining out frequently. It’s natural to measure yourself against that.
• Temporary mindset: Feeling like your time abroad is limited can create a “spend now, worry later” mentality.
• High cost of living: When everything seems expensive, it’s easy to justify splurges as deserved or necessary.

Recognising these pressures is the first step to taking control of your spending habits.

4. Decoding Your Own Spending Patterns

Here’s a simple framework to help identify whether your spending is lifestyle-driven or luxury-driven:
1. Ask yourself the why: Does this purchase bring me lasting value, convenience, or joy — or am I doing it to look good or fit in?
2. Measure impact: Will this spend improve my daily life, my health, or my relationships? Or is it purely external validation?
3. Track habit frequency: Occasional indulgence is fine. When purchases become routine and don’t align with your values, it’s a red flag.
4. Check alignment with goals: If you’re saving for a home, building a safety net, or planning long-term investments, does this spending move you closer or farther from those goals?

By honestly evaluating your purchases, you begin to spend intentionally rather than reactively.




5. Strategies for Intentional Expat Spending

Here are practical steps to maintain a balance between lifestyle enjoyment and avoiding unnecessary luxury spending:
• Set clear values: Write down what matters most to you — health, experiences, learning, travel, security. Use these as your spending compass.
• Budget by purpose: Create categories for essential, lifestyle, and occasional luxury spending. Allocating in advance reduces impulse decisions.
• Use conscious indulgence: Plan luxury purchases intentionally. Buy that designer bag or tech gadget when it truly brings joy, not just because “everyone else has it.”
• Evaluate subscriptions and memberships: Are they genuinely used or just collecting digital dust? Cancel or pause those that don’t add value.
• Track mindset shifts: Regularly reflect: “Did this purchase enhance my life, or my image?” Journaling or a quick monthly review can build awareness.


6. When Lifestyle Spending Feels Luxurious

Interestingly, lifestyle spending can feel luxurious, and that’s okay. The difference lies in motivation and impact.

For example:
• A weekend getaway with friends might feel like a luxury, but if it strengthens connections and rejuvenates you, it’s a value-aligned investment.
• Cooking classes or personal training sessions might seem expensive, but the skills, confidence, and health benefits are lasting returns.

By framing spending around personal value rather than social signal, you can enjoy the richness of Singapore’s lifestyle without financial guilt.



7. The Emotional Payoff of Spending Aligned with Values

When you shift from reactive or image-driven spending to intentional lifestyle spending, the benefits extend beyond your bank balance:
• Reduced anxiety: You no longer feel pressured to keep up with peers.
• Greater satisfaction: Purchases bring real joy or improvement, not fleeting status.
• Financial clarity: Your money works for you, not against you.
• Confidence in long-term planning: When your spending aligns with your values, saving and investing becomes less of a chore and more of a natural extension of your lifestyle.

It’s not about austerity, it’s about making choices that honour both your life today and your life tomorrow.


Understanding the difference between lifestyle and luxury spending is a cornerstone of financial freedom as an expat. On my blog and podcast, I explore strategies for managing expenses, building a resilient portfolio, and aligning money with your values while living abroad. You can dive deeper here, or reach out to find out more.

The Top Ten Most Expensive Cities In 2022

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Every year, Mercer rank the world’s most expensive cities to live in; the criterium is based off of things like rent, transportation costs and food. This year we’ve had a lot of volatility in the economy, exacerbated by the war, inflation rate and interest rate hikes. So, how did this affect the listings this year? Let’s take a closer look:

10. Beijing

Beijing is still a lot more affordable than the other cities on this list, but the main reason it has become increasingly more expensive is due to its population size. The city’s increasing population has caused rental prices to double over the past ten years.

9. Tokyo

Tokyo is in this list year after year. Japan in general is a country with high cost of living expenses, such as rent, owning a car and transport in general.

8. Singapore

Here we are, Singapore. No one is shocked to this here- over the past year rental prices have shot up astronomically and the lack of land will always mean that property purchase is expensive in comparison to other countries. Speaking from personal experience, going out for food and drinks can be particularly expensive, taxis, whilst cheaper than the UK, have increased over the past year and we all know owning a car is pricey in Singapore.

7. New York City

NY has always been more expensive than other places in the US, particularly rent. If you haven’t read my article, ‘Sex and The City, and Broke’, please do! I have always been baffled by how people on low to mid salaries can live comfortably in this city

8. Tel Aviv

A common theme on this list is rental; this seems to be the main reason cities land here, and the same goes for Tel Aviv. Whilst the city has a tonne of stuff to do for tourists, including bars and restaurants, this comes with a price tag. This means that rent for a one-bed, on average, is about 1725 USD a month!

5. Bern

We’re getting to the part of the list now where most of the cities are in Switzerland. A week-long holiday to the capital city would cost a family of four approximately $6000!

4. Basel

This city has a great art and history scene; Switzerland’s oldest university city is home to beautiful modern architecture and the world’s biggest art fair. This comes with a whopping price tag of living expenses of approximately $3000 a month.

3. Geneva

Similar to the previous Swiss city on this list, living in the luxury city of Geneva would cost you approximately $3500 a month. Very pricey!

2. Zurich

The financial capital of Switzerland sits at the second spot. It’s the most expensive Swiss city to rent, and the city itself is choc a block full of high shopping and decadent restaurants, so it’s very difficult to escape the high cost of living in Zurich.

1. Hong Kong

Are we shocked? HK has over 7 million people living in the city, meaning that the demand for housing is incredibly high. Not only that, food, transport and nightlife is also very expensive in Hong Kong. One thing I will always remember is watching a documentary showing people in HK living in literal cages, with a bed, TV and all their stuff. These types of housing have a shared bathroom and small kitchenette and can cost about 500 USD a month! That’s so expensive for such a small, cramped space.

In my opinion, I’m not shocked that the vast majority of these cities are European (40% of this list are in Switzerland!) and I’m actually surprised that London wasn’t now in the top 10 (it’s 15th). I did think that where we live, Singapore, would be higher because of the high cost of alcohol & rental, but I guess our lower taxes and the fact that the government are able to stop inflation and utility bills from getting out of control helps. All in all, this list is very useful when it comes to someone making a decision to move overseas.

Did this list shock you? Is your city an expensive place to live?

How Social Media is Messing Up Your Money

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Social media has definitely become a very integral part of our lives; we can connect with our friends, share our idea, show off our photos and pretty much expose every part of our lives online if we wanted to. It’s especially great for us expats to stay in touch with people at home and abroad. I also think social media is a great tool for broadening our horizons, listen to new ideas and keep up with the news. However, it has a flip side; what we see on social media is not 100% real…people only showcase the best aspects of their lives online; be that be their jobs, their holidays…their belongings…everything is not as it seems. That’s why it’s particularly important to be conscious of how social media affects you. Here’s some ways that social media is BAD for your bank account.

FOMO Spending

This is a term I heard of lately and, as soon as I read it, it instantly resonated with me. FOMO (or, ‘fear of missing out’) is something I suffer from frequently. I often feel like I need to attend every social event or gathering, and that if I don’t, I’ll be missing out on so much fun and good times. Especially now, during lockdown 1094829953892 (whichever one we’re on), I feel like I need to get as much social interaction as I possibly can. But, this isn’t always so good for my wallet…brunches, drinks…. some of you may go on friend staycays. This all adds up!

  It’s always good to cultivate a friendship circle that is empathetic and adapted to your financial lifestyle. Having friends that are understanding of your financial needs and limitations, is not only healthy for your bank account, but also for your mental health. It’s not fun feeling pressured into buying something, or spending when it’s beyond your means, and if you’re not able to express this to a friend, maybe it’s not the right group for you. A recent study shows that 27% of millennials feel uncomfortable saying no to a friend when they can’t afford an activity. And 48% admitted to spending beyond their means to hang out with friends. This is only exacerbated with that fact that we will see everything on social media.

  Not only that, being in financial trouble because of spending on nights out or luxury items, it a lot tabooer (yes, that’s a real word) than admitting to being in student debt or having a housing loan. This can lead to secretism, shame and denial about one’s financial standing. Honesty is always the best policy, even when it comes to voicing out to your friends not wanting to spend beyond your means.

Advertising and Luxury Goods

This one seems obvious but it may not be as obvious as you think. Adverts are almost everywhere, including plastered all over social media. What’s even worse, they’re not adverts for things we don’t particularly want or like- they are specifically tailored for each and every person, based on the videos they’re watching, the content they’re digesting. Product placement is secretly crafted into everything we watch; from product reviews, video sponsors and sneaky product placement, we are always consuming adverts one way or another. Luxury brands in particular are coming up with fresher ways to reach younger audiences, such as TikTok, and it’s working; a recent survey showed that millennials spend $500 on average a month on luxury items, and 51% said they would forgo healthcare in favour of luxury goods. Which, is crazy to me. Where I believe that healthcare is a human right, I know that we don’t live in a perfect eutopia where everyone has free healthcare and education. So, to hear that the majority of the younger population favour brands over health, it really saddens me. This shows that the ads we’re seeing, are working! I also think that more expensive isn’t always better quality, which is what a lot of people forget to remember. Think of all the celebrity products and brands that…aren’t good?! Like all the Kardashian ventures that were a flop, or all the influencers skincare lines, that have been proven scientifically not to be any better for your skin than drugstore brands. It’s always good to be aware of what advertisements are there to do- they are there to SELL. Of course, they’re not going to tell you all the negatives. And at the end of the day…is a designer handbag going to make you feel better if you fall sick, or would that healthcare insurance have been better?

Hauls and  OOTDs

All these trends, particularly the ones on TikTok, I originally thought were harmless, but when I thought about it deeper, I can see that they could be quite toxic and detrimental for one’s relationship with money. For example, the idea of ‘Outfit Of The Day’, suggests that it’s not ok to wear the same outfit twice. Which of course, is ridiculous. Of course people wear their clothes more than once. Studies show that comparing ourselves to the highlight reels we see on social media can lead to feelings of depression and inadequacy, which in turn leads us to spend more on items we don’t particularly want or need, in order to look good for a day- a split second in time!

  I love watching a good haul video, but they are not healthy. Decades ago, fashion had four seasons, and people only had a select few pieces in their wardrobe, that they would mix and match to create new looks and outfits. Flashforward to today, where fast fashion sites have thousands of new products added every day, with fashion seasons being broken down into micro-seasons, adding more pressure for us to buy. A haul video is this concept on steroids, whereby influencers will buy multiple pieces, spending a tonne of money in one go, try them on, on camera, review them, and probably never wear them again. People doing the hauls are often sponsored, or are being paid every time someone shops with their discount code. If we were to do these hauls, we’d just end up spending a tonne of our money, on clothes we probably don’t need, and maybe we’d wear these items a couple of times and that’s it. What a waste of money.

I’m not trying to sound like a Grinch, or a preacher, as I will admit, I do partake in fast fashion and I enjoy watching product reviews online, but I wrote this so that we can be mindful of how our emotions affect our spending; what we see on social media is not fully real, and we don’t need to spend beyond our means to emulate these kinds of habits. I could go on for ages about how unrealistic beauty standards and social media models is a toxic and expensive concept, but maybe that’s for another article. What’s your biggest social media pet peeve?

How To Eat Healthy On A Budget In Singapore

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So we all know that hawker centres, although cheap, are not the healthiest, and buying ‘free from’ or organic food can be ridiculously expensive. So is there a way to find a happy medium…by making healthier choices but still not overspending? Here are a few top tips I have for you!

Less Rice

When you’re ordering at the cai fan stall (the one where you can pick and choose what you want), ask for less rice, brown rice or no rice at all! That way you don’t overeat processed carbohydrates and you can fill up on healthy stuff, like boiled vegetables or steamed fish. Even if you they don’t give you less rice, you can use the excess rice to soak up the extra sauce and oil! And all this for just a few bucks.

Cook At Home

This is an obvious choice; cooking at home means that you know what you’re putting into your body and the quantities of food you’re using. But sometimes produce can be pretty pricey, especially if you’re ordering your groceries online. But there are ways you can save the pennies when buying your weekly shop;

  Do a bulk-buy of dried food such as beans, lentils, rice and even herbs and spices. Keep track of how much of these you have. These good can keep for a very long time and you normally don’t need huge amounts with every meal, meaning they will last longer!

  Buy your fruit from fruit stalls- it’s way cheaper than the supermarket and often riper and juicier (check out my article ‘Random Money Hacks I Do’, where I talk about buying fruit at night).

  Not only that, you can start buying your meat and vegetables at wet markets; if you go later on in the day, there are often discounts and deals to be had!

  Get protein from non-meat products such as tofu, which is so cheap in Singapore. Top Tip- press the tofu by layering it in between kitchen roll and putting a plate with a heavy weight on top of it. This will squeeze out all the water. Once all the water has been squeezed out, you can marinate it in whatever you like…honey, soy, chilli, you name it! Then all it needs it a quick roast in the oven (or air fryer) and you’ve got a juicy, tasty meatless protein for dinner.

Healthy Cheap Restaurants

If you do want to eat out on a budget but still want to eat something fresh and healthy, there are loads of places you can try! Smol do great tasty grain bowls that are affordable and have vegan options, Green Dot has all veggie bentos there are easy on your wallet, Simply Wrapps has cheap and affordable healthy options and the Soup Spoon have classic and delicious soup and salad at a reasonable price.

So check it out! Explore with your cooking! Venture into the hawker centre! Just because you want to eat healthily, doesn’t mean your relationship with food has to be boring or with a scarcity mentality. Live life and enjoy!