http://www.smu.edu.sg/news_room/smu_in_the_news/2009/sources/ST_20090926_1.pdf

How much is a burger worth?

The Big Mac index has been widely used as a measurement of price level in a country. According to the study, and using the prices of Big Macs and wages across countries as a benchmark, comes statistical confirmation that, yes, living standards are higher in Singapore.

As mentioned in the study, one of the two main questions relevant to financial literacy is:
Do Singaporeans lead better lives than they did in the past?

We often hear our grandparents nagging and reminding us about their tumultuous and impoverished pasts, of scavenging for sweet potato and having that rare sliver of meat during only special occasions. There are two things we can consider, in response to this question.

Firstly, are we counting our blessings? We may think that our parents reminding us of the starving African children during meal-times are just one of their tricks to get us to eat our greens (together with ‘the police will catch you’), but it’s actually a wake-up call for us to give thanks for our food. Rather than whining about having to switch from latte to kopi-o, why not just be thankful we have safe drinking water and caffeine?

Secondly, can we really buy these better lives? Will getting that Blackberry make our lives happier when on one hand, it is a cool gadget we can boast of, but on the other hand, is essentially an umbilical cord to your job. The question to ask here, is what exactly are our priorities? Are we able to, using our available finances, reconcile health, wealth and happiness?

Financial literacy is looking beyond the monetary value of items. It is understanding the satisfaction and necessity we glean from our material items, moderating them in order to maximize the utility from the finances we have. It’s about regulating your emotions – giving thanks and finding happiness in the little or much you’ve been blessed with or earned.

-stella