Shopping and dining out have become luxuries for former product development engineer Ng Siow Siong.

The 41-year-old bachelor was retrenched in May last year when the semiconductor company he was working for restructured its operations. Today - more than a year later - he is still looking for a job.

For Mr Ng, recession is not just a word or news that he reads about. It is bitter reality.

He is living off his savings and supporting his elderly parents.

'For people who are not affected by the crisis, it is easy for them to say there is no recession going on. But for those like me who were retrenched, it feels like our world has come tumbling down,' he said.

Mr Ng has not shopped for the past one year, and he limits dining out to cheap meals at foodcourts.

'Luckily I'm not the type who shops very much,' he said.

When he was retrenched, he received $30,000 in benefits. He also had about $50,000 in savings.

He does not have many financial obligations, apart from $1,000 in monthly household expenses. The four-room Pasir Ris flat the family owns has been fully paid for.

However, he worries that his savings will not last very long.

To better his chances of getting a job, Mr Ng lowered his expected salary to about half his last drawn pay of $3,500. He said this is 'normal' for retrenched workers like himself who are desperately seeking new jobs.

While waiting to get a job, he is also studying for his Master of Business Administration on a part-time basis. He has a degree in electrical engineering from Oklahoma State University.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.