2 in 3 Singaporeans save no more than 20% of monthly salary

[Mr Nobody]

...In Singapore and in fact throughout the world, earning more would automatically elevate one's status and brings about a huge increase in ego, thus most people would feel they "deserve" the better things in life. The lifestyle inflation would thus occur, and this psychology is made even harder to break as people usually end up working harder to earn more money (or to justify a higher salary), thus they feel they have to spend more to "relax" or "pamper" themselves.

Classic vicious cycle - earn more, spend more. Trapped forever in the relentless rat race!

In the book "How much is enough?" by the authors Arun Abey & Andrew Ford, this is referred to as "hedonic threadmill" - once you are on the threadmill, you have to keep running. If you run faster, you will have to keep running faster.

We choose the "slow walk".