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A family of six, living on S$1,900 a month The first thing you notice when you enter Madam Anna's (not her real name) flat is that the handles of the metal grille gate have broken off, with two wooden blocks crudely fastened in their place. Her boys had been kicking a football around and damaged the gate, and to save money, the housewife and her husband decided to repair it themselves with pieces of wood someone had discarded at the void deck of their block in Choa Chu Kang. The "curtain" that is draped across the living room windows is in fact a piece of colourful cotton fabric pegged to the window grille. The same fabric is also used as a throw for the sofa. Instead of chairs, the family sits on wooden benches and stools. A large Panasonic TV and a personal desktop computer take pride of place in the living room of the flat which the family has called home for the past 10 years. Madam Anna explains that these items were given to them by her youngest brother's friend who was moving house and did not want them anymore. "Nowadays people use sophisticated TV right? But for us that one not important; can watch can already," said the 48-year-old, alluding to the fact that her TV and computer monitor are not the snazzy flat-screen type in fashion these days. For Madam Anna, any money saved is money that will go a long way for her family of six - they have three boys aged 15, 10 and 8 and a daughter, 3. Madam Anna, who studied up to Secondary 2, had previously held jobs earning about S$500 a month. But since their children came along, the family has been getting by on her 46-year-old husband's income - he works as a transport supervisor at a local tourist attraction - with the occasional extra from her selling home-made curry puffs to the provision shop downstairs. His salary and bonuses were enough for the family to buy a S$45,000 Toyota Vios about four years ago and make annual trips to parts of Malaysia, such as Genting Highlands and Kuala Lumpur. But life threw a spanner in the works when her fourth child and only daughter was born prematurely at 29 weeks. Suffering from chronic lung disease, her daughter spent most of her first year in hospital and had to undergo an operation. She is left with a hole on her stomach, which Madam Anna dresses at least twice a day. These days, the monthly medical expenses for the four-year-old girl - who also has developmental delay - amount to around S$300 and she requires almost round-the-clock attention from Madam Anna, making it difficult for Mum to work and supplement the family income. Though a huge expense, Madam Anna and her husband decided to keep the car in part because their daughter's condition meant that she fell ill easily and it was better for her not to travel via public transport. Full length article