How dumpster diver Colin Lau lives on $87/month in Singapore
This is Colin Lau, an early retiree, dumpster diver, and founder of Free Ukay, a group of maids who collect discarded items from dumpsters around Singapore and ship them to the Philippines.
If you’ve ever grumbled about the high cost of living in Singapore, a look through his posts on his Extreme Cheapskates Singapore Facebook group is likely to change your perspective. Here he details his uber-frugal lifestyle in a series of long (but defo not boring!) posts.
There’s something that everyone can learn from there, no matter where you are on the frugality spectrum. Even if you’re not interested in giving up any luxuries, Colin’s posts are entertaining to read: he seems to live in an alternate universe where freebies, fun, friends, and food rain from the sky, and where every opportunity to save money isn’t a chore but a game.
So, how much does this self-professed extreme cheapskate spend, living in notoriously expensive Singapore?
In a November 2021 post, Colin recorded his (extremely low) monthly expenses in Singapore:
$87!!!
For comparison’s sake, the most recent Minimum Income Standard study here suggests a single elderly person would need at least $1,421.30 a month. (Yes, I know the Ministry of Finance doesn’t think much of it… but, lacking an alternative benchmark, this is what I’ll refer to.)
Just for fun, I decided to compare Colin’s expenses vs those cited in the MIS study.
Food expenses
MIS study: $381.96
Colin: $0
According to the MIS study, a single elderly person would spend $95.49 on food a week — about half on groceries and the rest on eating outside. I’ve multiplied this weekly budget by 4 to get the monthly amount.
Colin spends nothing on food: “My tenants, friends and neighbours pass me their extra food. I also find unopened packet food and recently expired canned food in the dumpsters.'“
Clothes & shoes
MIS study: $51.16
Colin: $0
Colin gets all of his clothes and shoes from the trash. “People throw away a lot of good stuff when they shift or renovate. This is also how I get all my household items such as clothes, bags, shoes, bedding and kitchenware.”
Transport
MIS study: $104.52
Colin: $0
The number cited in the MIS study is for public transport only.
Meanwhile, our extreme cheapskate spends $0 on transport thanks to his location: “I live in a very central area in Singapore and I can walk to Whampoa, Balestier, Toa Payoh, Boon Keng, Little India and Novena. I also get everything I need from a gigantic supermarket near my place. Essentially, I don't even need to take any public transport at all.”
Housing & utilities
MIS study: $103.08
Colin: $52
The MIS study had a $38.98 line item for “housing purchase”, but let’s ignore it and assume one is living in a fully paid-up home, like Colin. The remaining housing-related expenses are $77.80 for utilities, $7.52 maintenance, $17.76 on services & supplies. I assume that town council service & conservancy fees are covered under utilities.
Colin’s corresponding expenses are $12 for his share of TC S&CC fees (for a 3-room HDB flat split between 3 occupants, with rebates factored in) + $40 for gas, water & electricity (his tenants pay for the $30/month broadband subscription).
The obvious takeaway is that the more people you share your living space with, the lower your housing & utilities expenses.
Communication
MIS study: $26.12
Colin: $25
I assume the “communication” line item in the MIS study refers to mobile phone. Finally an item where Colin isn’t paying dramatically less than the status quo! Though Colin clarifies that it’s actually for 2 mobile numbers under a package deal with M1.
Recreation
MIS study: $217.80
Colin: $10
The MIS number includes the line items “recreation & entertainment” and “newspapers, books & stationery”.
Colin doesn’t have any recreational expenses so I parked his $10 dog food expense here. “My dog is small so he doesn't eat much. I get him high quality dry dog food but of course I do prepare for him some cooked food also. I buy dog food in bulk and that is much cheaper.”
Apart from his dog, all of his hobbies are free: “YouTube, Spotify, Facebook, radio, outdoor exercise, volunteering, interest group meet ups.” The most important hobby is, of course, dumpster diving — which is sort of exercise, shopping and volunteering all rolled in one.
Personal care
MIS study: $74.80
Colin: $0
I’m guessing “personal care” in the MIS study refers to toiletries.
Colin doesn’t spend on toiletries: “Yes, you can easily get toiletries in the trash. People throw away new soaps, half shampoos and half toothpaste.”
“Stuff”
MIS study: $75.92
Colin: $0
I combined “household durables” and “personal effects” from the MIS study for this budget category. Household durables refers to infrequently purchased items like furniture and kitchen appliances.
For Colin, dumpster diving renders such spending unnecessary. As with clothes, people throw away household goods on a regular basis. Perfectly useable items can be found for free.
What about healthcare & travel?
Despite being extremely short, Colin’s budget actually maps almost perfectly on the needs listed in the MIS study. There are however a couple of “missing” line items: healthcare & medical ($77.16) and holiday ($39.84) under the MIS study.
So I got in touch with Colin and here’s what he had to say.
“I don't spend anything on healthcare. I'm perfectly well — I rarely get sick. But I do have dumpster dive medication in my drawers of course. If I don't know what something is, I Google.”
As for travel? “I travelled around the world already. Nowadays I prefer to stay next to dog at home.”
Putting it all together…
Here’s how much Colin saves when compared to the “average” single person. I’ve excluded the mobile phone category since his spending is about on par.
Food: $381.96
Clothes & shoes: $51.16
Transport: $104.52
Utilities: $51.08
Recreation: $207.80
Personal care: $74.80
Stuff: $75.92
Healthcare & medical: $77.16
Holiday: $39.84
Dumpster diving is the secret behind Colin’s amazing money-saving powers.
But it’s not a straightforward as it sounds. In terms of direct savings, i.e. using an item found in the trash instead of buying it, he saves only about $200+ a month, mainly on clothes, personal care and household items.
When it comes to larger expenses like food and recreation, Colin saves money indirectly. By giving away the bulk of his finds and making lots of people happy, he is blessed in return with free food, friendship, and meaningful fun.
It’s really dumpster diving AND the gift economy that allows Colin to live almost for free in Singapore.
P.S. a note on cost of living
It might come across like I’m trying to downplay how expensive Singapore is, and how much people actually need to live a decent life here. I’m not.
MOF may not like the MIS study very much, but if you take a closer look, there’s nothing terribly unrealistic about the results. Even if you live non-ostentatiously —buying groceries from NTUC, taking the MRT to work, eating at a restaurant at most once a week — the costs do add up.
Colin Lau’s example shows us that, to live on much less, you must be willing to explore economic alternatives beyond mainstream consumption. But Singaporeans should be free to choose this lifestyle for ourselves, not be forced into it by poverty.