The man's salary 1.5k/mo  .. the woman's salary how muchie?

SINGAPORE: Bus and train fares will go up by 10 cents per journey for adult commuters from Dec 28, the Public Transport Council (PTC) announced on Monday (Sep 9) after its annual fare review exercise. For concession card holders such as students, seniors and people with disabilities, their public transport fares will increase by 4 cents per journey.  There will be no changes for people who travel with monthly passes. Overall, fares will go up by 6 per cent - less than the 7 per cent increase last year when adult fares rose by 10 to 11 cents per journey.  Lower-income households will get public transport vouchers, which can be used to top up fare cards or buy monthly passes. The vouchers this year will be worth S$60 each, compared with the S$50 in vouchers provided last year.  The income criteria for the vouchers will also be raised and made available to households with a monthly household income per person of not more than S$1,800, up from the previous S$1,600.  An additional 60,000 households will stand to benefit from the vouchers as a result. WHY FARES ARE GOING UP Explaining the increase, the PTC - Singapore's regulator for public transport fares - said the decision was driven by core inflation and wage growth in 2023. But this was partially moderated by a drop in energy prices from a peak in 2022. These three factors form part of PTC's fare adjustment formula, which derived a 3.3 per cent increase in fares based on inflation, wages and energy prices. On top of that, there is a deferred fare increase quantum of 15.6 per cent from previous years, meaning the maximum allowable fare adjustment this round is 18.9 per cent.  The PTC then decided on a 6 per cent rise, which is less than one-third of the maximum allowable fare increase.  This is to cushion commuters from the full fare increase, with the agency saying that it understands that the cost of living remains a concern for Singaporeans Chairperson of the PTC Janet Ang said the reason for the deferred fare quantum of 15.6 per cent was because the agency did not grant the maximum allowable increase “as much as we can” to ease the impact on commuters.  “As a result, the deferred quantum from previous years has accumulated, due to sharp increases in energy prices in 2021 and 2022, elevated core inflation, and strong wage growth,” she said.   This is the second fare review exercise under the new fare adjustment formula that was announced in April last year. The new formula is aimed at keeping fares affordable and less volatile, the PTC said then, as two components were fixed to reduce swings in fare changes. HOW TO MAKE SENSE OF THE NUMBERS? From 2018 to 2022, the fare formula was made up of five components - the core consumer price index (cCPI), a wage index (WI), energy index (EI), productivity extraction (PE) and network capacity factor (NCF). For the new formula in place from 2023 to 2027, the last two components have been tweaked and given fixed values to reduce volatility. Productivity extraction was changed to productivity contribution (PC) and has been fixed at minus 0.1 per cent at least until the next fare formula review, which takes place every five years.  The NCF was also changed to the capacity adjustment factor (C) and was fixed at 1.1 per cent at least until the next review.  The other three components remain unchanged.  For this year’s fare review exercise, the cCPI increased by 2.1 per cent, the WI increased by 2.1 per cent, and the EI saw a drop of 1.9 per cent.  Taken together with the fixed PC and C, it led to a fare adjustment of 3.3 per cent.  This sum has to be added to the quantum carried over from the previous fare adjustment exercises which is 15.6 per cent.  This means the maximum allowable fare adjustment is 18.9 per cent. The PTC is granting a fare adjustment of 6 per cent, leaving a deferred fare quantum of 12.9 per cent. Collapse BALANCING INCREASING COSTS AND KEEPING FARES AFFORDABLE The 6 per cent fare increase will lead to a deferred fare quantum of 12.9 per cent that will be carried over to the next fare review exercise, bringing it down from 15.6 per cent. This serves to “narrow the gap between cost and fares where we can to maintain the financial sustainability of our public transport system”, Ms Ang said. “PTC will continue to weigh this against our objective of ensuring that public transport remains affordable.”   To cover the deferred fare adjustment, the government will provide an additional subsidy of S$250 million in the coming year. “The additional government subsidy will help to moderate the fare increase, while still accounting for the higher costs of providing public transport,” said PTC.   Both rail operators SBS Transit Rail and SMRT Trains had applied for the full 18.9 per cent fare increase - that is, 3.3 per cent derived from inflation, wages and energy prices, plus 15.6 per cent in deferred adjustments. They cited factors such as cost pressures from inflation as well as the slow recovery of public transport ridership.  SBS Transit’s train segment had reported a loss of “several million dollars” even with government support, while SMRT Trains recorded an operating profit of S$6.2 million with government support.  The PTC said it encourages adults and concession groups who travel frequently to consider buying monthly passes to cap their public transport expenses.  There will also be no changes to fares for commuters who pay in cash. Editor's note: References to "trip" have been changed to "journey" after the Public Transport Council clarified that "trip" refers to a single bus or train ride while "journey" takes transfers into account. Source: CNA/jx(gs)

SINGAPORE: A woman is heartbroken after a man who had been actively pursuing her for three weeks abruptly decided to end things and suggested they remain friends. Sharing her story on Reddit’s ‘sgdatingscene’ forum on Wednesday (Nov 20), she explained that the man became distant after they met his successful friends. Prior to this, everything went smoothly.   During their talking stage, he regularly sent her food when she worked late, stayed on calls until she fell asleep, woke her up for her morning shifts, and even shared his Spotify, Disney+, and Netflix accounts without her asking. He appeared genuinely invested in her, talking about future dates and their potential as a couple. “He openly spoke about me to all his friends and family, where I e-meet most of them through the nights we were calling, and sent me tele bubbles and audio notes throughout the day to assure me he was okay,” she said.   The woman also provided some background on the man, explaining that he had mental health struggles and that his family was an important part of his life. Additionally, she shared, “He never completed his education, and his highest qualification is O levels. He just started a job with a base salary of S$1.5k, without commissions.” Despite these details, she didn’t mind and was simply touched by how sweet he had been to her. However, things took a sudden turn after their first date.   The woman explained that during the evening, some of his friends invited them for a drink, and they decided to join them.   “We decided to drive down and spend some time with them. His friends shared about their majors like law and banking and mostly had corporate talks,” she wrote. The next morning, she noticed that the man suddenly became different. When she asked what was wrong, he admitted feeling conflicted about continuing their relationship. He told her there were personal reasons he couldn’t share but reassured her that their connection had been special. “He said he can’t commit, and he doesn’t want to risk pursuing this half-heartedly. He proceeded to apologise to me and said I deserved none of these things he had done,” she wrote. Heartbroken, she shared that his sudden withdrawal had left her confused and hurt. “The last thing he said to me was ‘hope you’re ok’ and that was our last conversation,” she lamented. “No more good morning texts, and conversations throughout the day. Everything took a 180-degree turn in less than 10 hours.” She then asked others in the community for advice, writing, “What went wrong here? Please. What could be so personal that jeopardised everything? And what should I do now? Do I continue to pursue? Do I give up? It hurts. It really does.” “Guess he feel that the gap is too big.” In the comments section, several Singaporean Redditors speculated that the man might have felt insecure about his lack of qualifications and low-paying job compared to his successful friends in corporate fields like law and banking. One Redditor said, “Sounds like he doesn’t want to hold you back considering his lack of qualifications and future career prospects. “There’s gonna be a big gap between the both of you in terms of education, career and salary if things were to progress further and I’m assuming he wants to avoid that.” Another commented, “Guess he feel that the gap is too big. I think maybe meeting his friends and how his friend comment or how it happened affected him.” Some also suggested that the woman was ‘lovebombed’ and that, unfortunately, once the initial excitement faded, the man’s insecurities took over. One Redditor explained, “You were being lovebombed and things got serious, he ran away because he isn’t ready yet. He enjoyed the process of pursuing you but not ready for long term. He sounds like an avoidant.” Is love bombing a bad thing? According to psychotherapist Ami Kaplan, love bombing is a big red flag. It’s a manipulative tactic often used by people with narcissistic traits or abusive tendencies to make others feel overly dependent on them.   At first, it feels amazing—they shower you with attention, compliments, and affection, making you feel like you’re the most important person in their world. But then, as the relationship moves forward, that intensity starts to drop. The person who was once all over you starts pulling back, becoming distant or even cold. This sudden change can lead you to chase after the affection and approval you used to get, making you even more dependent on them. Sasha Jackson, a licensed therapist, stresses the danger of this pattern, calling it a form of emotional abuse. She explains, “If someone gives you something, you feel that you owe them something equal or greater in return. “So if your partner is giving you excessive love and attention, you feel like you have to give this behavior, dedication, or ‘loyalty’ in return despite the red flags you experience.” This is why it’s crucial to recognize if you’re being love bombed. Being aware of this tactic can help you avoid falling into an unhealthy cycle where you’re constantly seeking validation from someone who might not have your best interests at heart.

fully agree “Only the bride and groom should plan the wedding. Other people, like family, friends, and event planners, should only act as helping hands for this big day. Only suggestions are allowed.”