As Budget 2024 is just around the corner, what do Singaporeans remember from last year’s edition? We asked the public to jog their memory and share how they spent the extra cash.
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00:00 Hi guys, Paul here from Asia01.
00:02 So Budget 2024 is around the corner
00:04 and we're going to be asking the public what they know so far.
00:07 So let's go!
00:07 Hi, I'm Ziff.
00:09 Hi, I'm Will.
00:10 I'm Darian.
00:11 Hi, I'm Aizan.
00:13 I'm Raihan.
00:14 Did you receive any GST vouchers last year?
00:17 Yeah, I did receive some GST vouchers.
00:19 I think so, I received some money from the guy in the back.
00:23 Last year, we received the GST cash voucher
00:28 for a rating amount of about $500, if I'm not wrong.
00:30 Did you receive any GST vouchers last year?
00:32 Yes, I did.
00:33 Okay, so on a scale of 1 to 10, how much has it helped you?
00:37 1 being the lowest, 10 being the most helpful.
00:39 5?
00:40 I'll give a rating of 7.
00:43 It's helpful to a certain extent.
00:45 I'm able to use it to offset some of my expenses.
00:49 Yeah, of course it's free money.
00:50 Everyone wants free money.
00:51 It helped a bit during that particular month.
00:54 I mean, an amount of $500, it will finish very fast.
00:58 So, what have you used it on so far?
01:00 Mainly on my expenses.
01:02 And actually, I use it to buy some gold and stuff.
01:06 Ooh, that's very smart.
01:07 I used it on groceries, I remember.
01:09 And some hogger food.
01:10 Some basic necessities like gold market,
01:14 apart from the CDC voucher, right?
01:16 So, all these we use for necessities.
01:19 But it lasts, I think, during this one month plus.
01:23 Have you already experienced the increase of GST so far?
01:27 And how has it affected you in your daily life?
01:30 Actually, I like to go to this one shop.
01:33 I like to order burrito.
01:35 Then, only I think recently I realised there was an increase
01:39 and I was so upset because the burrito was the most optimal thing to get
01:43 because of the value.
01:46 And then recently they shoot up by I think $2 or something.
01:50 I'm not sure whether the GST has something to do with it.
01:52 But the portion is still the same?
01:53 The portion is still the same.
01:54 But the price is different?
01:55 The price has increased a bit.
01:56 So, we're starting to feel it now?
01:58 Yeah.
01:59 I do see the cost going up a lot on our daily necessities
02:03 such as food, electricity, so on and so forth.
02:07 I'm quite lucky to be in the middle class
02:11 and I don't think that it has impacted me as much
02:14 as what it will be impacting the lower income.
02:16 For now, I can't really see that much of a difference.
02:20 Mainly for the bigger ticket items,
02:22 I think those people that are buying the new houses and all will get affected more.
02:27 For me, for the past two months, there hasn't really been a lot of difference.
02:32 But maybe when I start to get things like bigger ticket items,
02:36 I will feel the pinch.
02:38 Did you remember that there was a budget announcement last year?
02:41 What do you remember from it?
02:42 I can't really recall.
02:44 GST increased by a percent.
02:46 I think that's what everybody remembers.
02:48 I remember that I'll be receiving, I think it was like $700?
02:53 I know it's case by case, depending on your income, how much they give you.
02:57 We increased a bit for this year, it's for the CDC, I think.
03:00 But from that, I think they do the Medi-Safe top-up, CPF top-up for age 50.
03:06 I think above, if I'm not wrong.
03:07 I don't expect much, but if it's a little bit more, I mean, why not, right?
03:12 It will help people.
03:13 But then if it's less also, I also don't want to complain, I still get something.
03:17 I think unemployment will be one of them that will be touched a lot upon.
03:21 I think into this year, that might be an unusual spike as compared to the last three years.
03:28 Hopefully, with the rising GST cost, I think if you compare to the CDC voucher,
03:34 last time they gave $250, so recently they gave $500, that's a double increase.
03:41 So hopefully, government will give more cash vouchers.
03:44 It does help a lot of families in Singapore to tie off during that certain period.
03:52 Even though the period might be small, it does help.
03:56 Alright, thank you guys so much for watching.
03:58 We hope that you enjoyed this video.
03:59 Do let us know what your comments are or what you hope to expect in this year's budget.
04:03 Till next time, bye bye!
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