With no savings put aside for a rainy day, and much of the family's income spent on loan repayments, bills and pre-school fees, Mr Mohammad Faizal Jaafar was glad to hear about the changes to the additional subsidy scheme for pre-school fees.
The extra subsidies would help ease the family's financial burden.
Mr Faizal, 36, works as a safety officer, and his wife, Ms Nurkaramariah Aman, 33, is a bank executive. Together, they earn about $9,600 a month, and have two children aged five and three.
Now, they are not eligible for the additional subsidy, which applies to families earning up to $7,500 a month. The income ceiling will be raised to $12,000 from next year.
More details about the subsidy were announced yesterday. Mr Faizal's family may receive up to $130 per child in additional subsidies.
He told The Straits Times: "Right now, we are quite stretched financially; we don't even have enough savings for a rainy day or an emergency.
"The subsidies can help us save more money, and we can use the extra money saved for urgent household needs."
About 10 per cent of the couple's combined salary goes towards paying for full-day childcare services at NTUC First Campus' My First Skool at Block 208B Punggol Place. They currently pay about $900 a month for both children.
"Childcare can be costly but it doesn't matter because at the end of the day, the education will benefit them. Now, the additional subsidies will be a relief," said Mr Faizal.
Correction note: This article has been updated for clarity.
