$2, $4, $6 – the different charges that trickle away every single time you pass an ERP gantry seems insignificant. But what happens when you put 10 years’ worth of ERP charges together?

I took a cab to work this morning from Clementi to Paya Lebar. In between chatting about how good-looking his son is (side note: cab drivers are the best match-makers) and how I should set 16 alarms in the morning instead of 6 alarms, we realized the traffic had slowed to a crawl.

And why? Well because, “Girl, now it’s 9.25am. All the cars will slow down already. 5 more minutes and ERP will be over!”

Sure enough, the cars closest to the ERP gantries started to leave more and more space between them and the unsuspecting cars that drove past the gantry at 9.28am. When the lights went off at 9.30 precisely, the cars revved in unison in an excited uproar and traffic flowed there on.

Which lead me to wonder: how much exactly do all these ERP charges add up to?

Let’s find out!

You are a working adult and your route to work passes by (I’m guessing) Anson Road.

You drive to work between 9am to 9.30am at a $2 ERP charge.

You drive back home between 6pm to 7pm at a $3 ERP charge.

1 day: $2 + $3 = $5

5 days: $5 x 5 = $25

1 month: $25 x 4 = $100

1 year: $100 x 12 = $1200

10 years: $1200 x 10 = $12,000

That’s right – you will pay a staggering $12,000 per decade.

That is excluding any events you may have to attend mid-day, any meetings you need to drive to, and any out-of-town lunch dates that will result in you grudgingly driving out to.

Can’t visualize how much is $12,000?

Here is what $12,000 can get you:

 120 meals of a $100 feast at any restaurant

You can kick back, relax and scare your waiter senseless with the 6 main courses you are ordering. That’s not the best part – you can cover the other restaurants for another 119 times and you would still fall short of what your ERP charges over 10 years have been.

80 vacations of any $150 round trips in Asia

You can be king of the skies with $150. TigerAir, AirAsia and Scoot will vie to give you the best out of your dollar. The last I checked, $150 gets me round trips to Bali, Bintan, Batam, Bangkok, Phuket, Kota Kinabalu and Langkawi. You may even have leftover cash for your island spending!

60 trips of a $200 shopping spree at Zalora

When I can’t sleep, I would go online and shop. It is a ridiculous habit and it drains my bank account dry but NOTHING will curb my love for impulsive buys, NOTHING! Especially when there is a one-day delivery promise. Oh the magic of online shopping.

 Pretty much the whole store of The Body Shop

If I ever had $12,000 to spend, here is what I would do: I would walk into The Body Shop, wear a pair of over-sized hip-hop shades, don a fake gold chain that dangles to my knees and throw my money in the air as I sweep their shelves clean. Of course, this is all happening while the song “Move B*tch” by Ludacris plays in the background.

I am not going to tell you to rethink owning a car – I would get a car in a heartbeat if I could remotely afford it. But I would tell you to check out our guide to avoiding ERPs like a professional. Yes, we got your back, buddy!

By Nicole Lee