Living alone in Ho Chi Minh City was expensive, now it’s even more expensive

Under less pressure and financial burden due to being unmarried, many single people living in Ho Chi Minh City used to “fill gas without looking at the price, go to the market without bargaining”. They focus on improving their income and personal life instead of worrying every time consumer goods go up in price.

However, in a difficult period because of epidemics and storms, the current price can “hit” directly into the pocket of all workers. Not only those who are married and have children, the group living alone in big cities also have to tighten their belts and change their spending habits.

Four people living alone in Ho Chi Minh City shared the effects and difficulties of life in the midst of the price storm, and talked about how to change their habits to adapt to it.

Le Thuy Hoa (29 years old, living in Binh Thanh district)

Never before have I seen the direct impact of gasoline price hikes like now. From news, social networks to conversations with friends and colleagues, it all revolves around the price of gas nearing the mark of 30,000 VND / liter, or how much it costs to refill the fuel tank for each car.

The high price of gasoline and a variety of commodities has made it even more difficult for many people living in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Chi Hung.

Not stopping there, gasoline increases, gas increases also drags the cost of living up. 45,000 VND is no longer enough for a lunch near my company. The grilled meat noodle shop in the alley I stayed at recently also increased the price from 20,000 to 25,000-30,000 VND/piece.

Now take 100,000-200,000 to go to the market, haven’t bought much but see all the money. The day before, I went to the supermarket to buy 2 mushrooms, looked at the price of 60,000 VND and immediately put it back on the shelf.

Words such as “dramatic increase”, “surge”, “massive increase” before I paid little attention, almost only read in the press, now directly affect every daily meal. Life in Saigon is inherently expensive and expensive, the next time will be even more difficult.

Kieu Anh (final year student, communications officer)

It was a graduation internship, so I took a break from my full-time job to focus on my studies. Currently, I live in Thu Duc city, more than 13 km from University of Social Sciences and Humanities and 15 km from my old company.

Kieu Anh gave up the habit of drinking milk tea every day, planning to go to school by bus to save money. Photo: NVCC.

Deciding to quit my job, my biggest crisis was about money, especially at a time when everything was so expensive, especially gas costs.

To solve the problem, I still collaborate on writing articles, but the royalties for each article are now only enough to fill a tank of gas. This makes me quite afraid when I have to go back and forth many times each time.

Gasoline prices have increased, which has made me limit travel, hang out with friends as much as before. I choose to stay at home more and walk to buy food and go to the market instead of riding a motorbike like before.

No longer having a decent income from a full-time job, I had to “F5” back all my expenses and return to a life of economic dependence on my family during my internship.

I am not a thrifty person, always comfortable spending the money I earn and find it worth it. If before, my monthly living expenses were about 6 million VND, now I reduce it to 4 million, limiting unnecessary things.

Living in Saigon for 4 years, this is the time when I find it the most difficult. Eating and traveling are expensive, especially during the epidemic, the amount of money I had to buy a test kit alone has reached millions of dong.

Before, I used to drink a cup of milk tea every day. Now I have given up this habit, because I think each cup of milk tea is equal to 2 liters of gasoline. These days, I also plan to switch to taking the bus to school to save money.

Tran Thanh T. (32 years old, Thu Duc City)

Last month, I spent nearly 2 million dollars on self-treatment for Covid-19, not to mention food and drink during the quarantine period.

As F0 living alone, I can only transfer money to friends and colleagues to help buy everything.

Ms. T. asks you to buy a test kit and medicine when she becomes F0. Photo: NVCC.

My job is paid by product, so not going to work means no pay.

A week of isolation and treatment at home, I was supported by the company 2 million VND. This amount is not enough to cover the cost of treatment and food.

Money difficulties continue to cling when this month, all expenses from gas to travel, lunch money to gatherings of friends, eating out also gradually increase in price.

Gasoline increased, the house is far from the company, so every week I spend nearly 400,000 VND for gas.

The company’s lunch money for employees has not changed, the salary is the same, but the gas and food prices have increased. My colleagues and I often say half-jokingly to each other that if we don’t go to work now, we won’t be able to eat, but working is not necessarily enough to live.

In order to save money, I recently gave up the habit of gathering to eat, drink, and have coffee with colleagues and friends after work or on weekends. I also cut back on unnecessary purchases.

Next week I will try to cook for myself and bring lunch to the office to see if it saves more money. I think prices will continue to rise, the pandemic has not yet passed, so now I’m starting to save money.

Pham Huyen Trang (23 years old, sales staff)

Honestly, so far I have never cared about gas prices. But now that everyone around me is talking about it, along with the change in the prices of many items, I’m a little worried that it will affect me.

Huyen Trang balances her expenses, sends money back to her hometown to help her parents. Photo: NVCC.

After the translation, my income has decreased a bit. Currently, I can work from home, so I save a lot of money when I don’t have to spend money on gas to travel. Mainly working from home, I also rarely go out to eat or hang out with colleagues after work.

I am also quite worried that if I go back to work soon, I will spend money on gas, because besides going to the company, I often go to meet customers in many places.

With my current income, I can still balance.

I mainly cook at home, sometimes order food on the app or go out to eat, which can actively save costs.

Previously, in addition to taking care of myself while living alone in Ho Chi Minh City, I also sent money back to my family to help my parents raise two children to go to school. This year, a younger brother of mine has entered university in Ho Chi Minh City, I will have to take care of him.

On March 11, the price of gasoline in Vietnam increased to nearly 30,000 VND/liter, marking a record price increase of this item so far.

The sudden increase in the cost of gasoline, gas, raw materials, etc. is putting great pressure on consumers’ spending, and at the same time increases the burden on manufacturing enterprises, especially in the context of production recovery. doing business after a long time of social distancing.

Due to the impact of the sharp increase in gasoline prices, in recent days, food prices at many traditional markets have also been pushed up.

According to Zing