Mr C.H Teo, 71, is accompanied with his wife. Funnily enough, he tells me that he did not go to the clinic because he was sick. Rather, he went in just to find out how much a flu vaccination would cost there.

“I’m already so old. That means my immune system is very weak. If I don’t take care of myself, who will?”

“I love my children,” he adds, “But I don’t want to rely on them financially. Anyway, they have their own families to raise, let them use the money better.”

Within a minute of meeting the financially astute Mr Teo, I already find myself thoroughly impressed.

He elaborates further, telling me that he was trying to find out which clinic in the vicinity charged the lowest for a flu vaccination after deducting his CHAS (Community Health Assist Scheme) subsidies.

CHAS offers subsidies for medical and dental care for Singaporeans, tiered in three categories.

Households with a monthly income of $1,100 per person and below qualify for the Blue Health Assist card, which gets them for the most CHAS benefits after the CHAS for Pioneer Generation. Singaporeans who are Public Assistance (PA) cardholders also receive the same benefits.

Meanwhile, individuals in a household where the monthly income per person is between $1,101 and $1,800 receive an Orange Health Assist card. While not as powerful as the Blue card, it still covers a comprehensive list of medical conditions.

Then there is the CHAS for Pioneer Generation, which all Singaporeans who were at least 16 years of age in 1965 qualify for. Mr Teo is one of them.

“As a retiree, I don’t have much to do every day. Since I have the CHAS benefits as a member of the Pioneer Generation, I decided to look around for the best price in the neighbourhood.”