When I mentioned average income of Singaporeans is S$6,000 a month, it sparked some debate at an internet discussion forum.

It is common that when we discuss income, it refers to Household Income. For a household with 1 person earning income, the Household Income is equivalent to 1 person's income. For a household with 2 persons earning income, thus, the Household Income is that of the total of the 2 persons' income.

Thus, when I mentioned Average Income of Singaporeans, I refer to Household Income. My apologies for any confusion caused.

According to 2007's statistic, the average Household Income is S$6,280. Forumers might want to take note of Warren Buffett's teachings that "it is better to be approximately correct, then precisely wrong." Thus, if I want to be precise, I should say "the Average Household income in Singapore is S$6,280, not S$6,000.

I think some internet forumers are "missing the point". The point is if you earn a total income of S$1,080,000 (S$6,000 x 12 months x 15 years), can you acccumulate S$1 million dollars, excluding Your House? The answer is Yes, becos I prove it can be done by doing it myself.   Most Singaporeans might earn a higher income and yet have much less wealth than I do. Thus, my sharing is NOT to boast, but is supposed to Encourage and Inspire, that you can Earn a million Dollars and Have a Million dollars, by learning how to plan and manage your finances and also learn how to grow your money!

Cheers!

Dennis Ng, http://www.MasterYourFinance.com

"Singaporeans' household incomes in 2007 highest in a decade.

Data published on Wednesday by the Department of Statistics showed that the average household income from work rose to $6,280*, from $5,730 the previous year.

But it doesn't say the median household income from work was less: $4,870 or more a month for the employed households.

(Please note all figures in Singapore dollars. One US dollar is worth about 1.5 Singapore dollars.)

But you will find the median household income in the  Key Household Trends 2007 report which you can download from the Department of Statistics website.

The median income tends to be lower than the average income. In  2005, according to the department, average household income from work was $5,400 while median household income from work was $3,830.

The median income is considered by many statisticians to be a better indicator than the average income, says Wikipedia.

Why?

Because if nine people earn $1,000 each and another person earns $11,000, their average income will be $2,000!

Wikipedia explains the difference between average and median income, quoting the US Census Bureau:

Median income is the amount which divides the income distribution into two equal groups, half having income above that amount, and half having income below that amount. Mean income (average) is the amount obtained by dividing the total aggregate income of a group by the number of units in that group.

The income gap is widening, as The Straits Times says. It adds:

The Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, rose to 0.485 from 0.472. This is one of the biggest increases in the past seven years.

But the government statisticians added that taxes and Government benefits such as the GST offset package, helped to narrow the income gap, and if those were taken into account, the Gini coefficient would come down to 0.46.