FLANNERY Tay is one of those young people you see around MRT stations, clipboard in hand, stopping commuters in their tracks.

He sells credit-card memberships. In a good month, working up to 12 hours a day, he pulls in close to $3,000.

In a bad month, it is a third less. It is not an easy life, he says, but it could be much worse.

The 21-year-old polytechnic graduate works six days a week and spends very little time in his three-room flat in Tampines where he lives with his parents and sister. He is a young man in a hurry.

He moves around a lot: offices, bank branches, anywhere he can make a sale

The travelling salesman is most annoyed by the rising cost of food and transport. To save money, he is 'staying home a lot more' during the rare moments when he is free.

He is the face of recent hikes in food and fuel costs. It is people like him - young adults starting out, those working on commission and older people on a fixed income who are feeling the brunt of price rises.

That is why LifeStyle spoke to scores of people and scoured Singapore for this Cheap &Good special. Where can you get furniture on the cheap? How do you stretch your dining dollar?

Read the full story in tomorrow's edition of The Sunday Times.