Arun Menon, 31, is a marketing manager earning $7,500 a month, and he takes home $6,000 after CPF. He rents a room and had guessed he spends about $3,000 a month. His March statements show $7,120 leaving his accounts, so he sets out to build a budget from them.
According to the Department of Statistics (SingStat), resident households spent an average of $5,931 a month in the Household Expenditure Survey 2023 (checked 28 September 2026). That average covers households of every size and income, so a household's own statements are a better guide to its own budget.
Once card bill payments, transfers and investments come out, Arun's March spending is $4,420. His three-month average gives a budget of $3,853 a month and a savings rate of about 36%. The sections below follow how he gets from the statements to that budget.
Which Statements Does He Need?
Memory misses small, frequent purchases and bills that arrive once a year. A statement lists every charge, with the date and the merchant. A household needs three months of statements for each of these:
- Every savings and current account that pays bills or receives salary
- Every credit card and debit card
- Any e-wallet topped up from a bank account or card
Three months shows the usual pattern and at least one irregular month. Twelve months also catches annual bills, such as insurance premiums, which three months can miss. Arun has one bank account and one card, so he downloads six statements for January to March.
Which Lines Are Not Spending?
Some lines move money without spending it. Counting them adds the same money twice, or counts money the household still has.
| Statement line | Spending? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Credit card bill payment from a bank account | No | The purchases on the card statement are the spending |
| Transfer to the household's own savings account | No | The money is still the household's |
| Transfer to a brokerage or investment account | No | It is saving, not spending |
| Refund on a card | Reduces spending | It returns part of an earlier purchase |
| PayNow or bank transfer to family or a landlord | Yes | The money leaves the household |
| ATM cash withdrawal | Yes | The cash is spent, even if the statement does not say on what |
| GIRO bill for utilities, telco or insurance | Yes | It pays a merchant |
Source: Worked classification
PayNow is spending in a budget. It is still left out when checking a credit card's minimum spend, because a card pays no reward on a transfer. Arun's allowance to his parents therefore stays in his budget.
What Did Arun Spend In March?
Arun pays rent by bank transfer, sends his parents an allowance by PayNow and pays his card bill from the same bank account. His March statements list these outflows:
| Line | Account | Amount | Spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent to landlord | Bank | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Credit card bill payment | Bank | $1,400 | $0 |
| Transfer to own savings account | Bank | $800 | $0 |
| PayNow to parents | Bank | $500 | $500 |
| Transfer to brokerage | Bank | $500 | $0 |
| ATM withdrawal | Bank | $200 | $200 |
| Utilities by GIRO | Bank | $120 | $120 |
| Card purchases | Credit card | $2,100 | $2,100 |
| Total | $7,120 | $4,420 |
Source: Worked example
Money going out is $7,120. The card bill payment, the savings transfer and the brokerage transfer come to $1,400 + $800 + $500 = $2,700, so spending is $7,120 less $2,700, or $4,420.
How Does He Set Each Category Budget?
Each remaining line goes into one category. The monthly average over three months becomes the first budget for that category.
Arun's January spending was $3,720 and February's was $2,970. Rent, the allowance, cash and utilities stayed at $2,320 a month, and his card spending changed.
| Category | January | February | March | Monthly budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | $1,500 | $1,500 | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Allowance to parents | $500 | $500 | $500 | $500 |
| Utilities | $120 | $120 | $120 | $120 |
| Cash | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 |
| Dining, groceries, transport | $900 | $450 | $1,500 | $950 |
| Other card spending | $500 | $200 | $600 | $433 |
| Annual insurance premium, set aside | $0 | $0 | $0 | $150 |
| Total | $3,720 | $2,970 | $4,420 | $3,853 |
Source: Worked example
March's dining figure includes a family celebration. Arun could budget the usual $900 and plan the celebration as a one-off, but he keeps the $950 average for the first three months.
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How Does He Handle Annual Bills?
An annual bill paid in one month makes that month look expensive and the other eleven look cheap. Dividing it by 12 and setting the amount aside each month keeps the budget even.
Arun's $1,800 life insurance premium falls due in September. $1,800 ÷ 12 = $150 a month goes into the budget from January, so the money is there in September.
How Does He Check The Budget Each Month?
Once a month, the household compares each category's spending with its budget. A category that runs over for three months in a row needs a higher budget or a change in spending. One over-budget month with a named reason, such as a wedding gift, does not.
The same statements also show the savings rate. Arun's take-home pay of $6,000 less $3,853 of budgeted spending leaves $2,147 a month, a savings rate of about 36%.
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Which Households Does A Statement Budget Suit?
Arun sets his budget at $3,853 a month, about $850 above his guess of $3,000. He moves the $2,147 left each month to savings and investments, and after three more months of statements he will replace each category budget with its new average.
A budget built from statements suits households that pay most things by card, GIRO or PayNow, because nearly every dollar appears on a statement. Households that spend a lot in cash see those amounts only as ATM withdrawals and need a note of what the cash paid for, and every household's categories depend on its own statements.