SINGAPORE - Mr Goh Seh Gek used to buy cans of oolong tea at the Boon Lay coffee shop, where he works as an assistant at a roast meats hawker stall.

But he stopped that practice recently, and instead, brings a bottle of water with him when he starts his afternoon shift.

"Oolong tea costs $1.80 now. It's so expensive. It used to cost only about $1.20 at the coffee shop," said the 67-year-old, who earns about $1,500 a month. "And the roast meats stall is so hot, I would have to spend a lot on drinks to quench my thirst. So I just drink water now."

Low-income individuals like Mr Goh are the focus of a new $1.5 billion inflation support package announced last week.

In addition to a $100 household utilities credit for every Singaporean household, the package helps lower-income families and vulnerable groups through measures such as a tiered GSTV-Cash Special Payment and permanent enhancements to ComCare, a key social assistance scheme.

Through this package, Mr Goh will receive the household utilities credit and a special payment of $300 under the GST Voucher scheme, which is meant to help those who have been hardest hit by rising prices.

These are on top of the regular GSTV - Cash of $400, which was previously announced in Budget 2022.

Mr Goh also received $100 worth of Community Development Council vouchers for use at heartland merchants and hawker stalls in May.

The vouchers were issued earlier than the planned second half of this year. The first tranche of $100 per household was distributed to all Singapore households last year.

Mr Goh, who lives from pay cheque to pay cheque, said the pinch from inflation is tangible and is thankful for the recently announced support package.

But with the GST due to increase from 7 per cent to 8 per cent next year, he is not sure how much these measures would help.

His one-room rental flat in Jurong is spartan, with four packets of instant noodles stacked on the top tier of a small shelf and boxes of pills for his various health conditions crowding the lower shelf.

In the divorcee's mini-fridge was a can of beer - one of his few luxuries, alongside cigarettes - and a carton of orange juice.

As he works at a hawker stall, he tries to save by eating lunch at the stall - which is free - to save on food expenses.

Mr Goh said he does not buy household items often, and when he does, he uses them for a long time.

"I only buy a set of new clothes every year to celebrate Chinese New Year," he said, adding that he tries to be frugal.

With the senior citizen concessionary fares, Mr Goh spends about $60 a month on public transport commuting to and from work.

He spends about $120 on rental and maintenance fees for his one-room flat.

Mr Goh said he makes ends meet because he scrimps and saves, but does not have much savings because of his medical bills. He has vision and heart issues, among other health conditions, and forks out about $200 every few months on visits to the doctors'.

He does not want to bother his two children for financial help or apply for other assistance programmes such as ComCare.

"(My children) have their own families to take care of. I don't want to rely on them," Mr Goh said.

"I'm happy if the Government wants to give more subsidies, but I don't want to jump through hoops to apply for aid because the application process is often tedious and confusing.

"I'm very fortunate to have a job at this age. So even though it's tough, I prefer to rely on myself and spend within my means."