SINGAPORE: When we were young, we were promised by grown-ups that if we worked hard enough, we’d be able to achieve the Singapore dream. But it seems that, with the soaring cost of living and the competitive job market, this no longer holds true today.
Recently, a Singaporean man nearing his thirties shared on social media that he has grown increasingly jaded by the assurances given to him in his youth.
“My parents always told me, if I work hard, I will get results. I can live the Singaporean dream of paying off debt, affording a BTO and having kids. But those dreams feel impossible,” he wrote in a post on SGWhispers. “I’m almost 30, my partner’s PR application got denied, and I feel stuck, yet nowhere to run.”
The man also said that despite holding two jobs, one full-time and another freelance role done during his spare time, he still feels like he has achieved nothing meaningful.
According to him, he can’t “afford holidays and can’t even bear to go JB because the few hundred dollars for a weekend trip can be used to pay off debt or to buy my grandma a few shifts off her cleaning lady job.”
The only concrete achievement he could point to, he said, was clearing half of his S$25,000 debt in six months. While he acknowledged that this was something to be proud of, it did little to fill the emotional void he feels daily.
“I feel like I’m just a cog in the machine and that I am nothing,” he expressed. “I feel useless. I can’t even provide a small sum for my grandma to fully retire.”
Adding to his frustration, he said his parents boasted about how they used to give most of their salary to his grandparents while still being able to pay for their BTO, raise children and go on holidays.
“This simple life seems out of reach to me,” he continued. “I want to just pay off my debt and give up on life. I am so tired. I’m overemployed, burnt out, and feeling like a loser. The only thing keeping me going is that after six months, I can drop one job and give my grandma the allowance to let her enjoy her retirement. I hope I can survive till then.”
“Figure out how to increase your income and how to grow it.”
In the comments, one netizen told him that he did very well in clearing half of his debt in six months, and advised him not to compare his life with others, particularly his parents.
“Young man, I would say you are doing great, just plan for yourself first. If you can’t even try to help yourself, why think about helping others?” they said.
“If your Grandma is not trying to retire herself, why do you have to worry about her? If your parents are so capable of giving everything to your Grandma than why isn’t your grandma retired yet? Talk is cheap, action is expensive.”
The netizen also suggested that the man set targets for himself: first, to clear his debt; second, to plan for his own retirement; and third, to plan for a passive income so that money can work for him.
Another user, meanwhile, expressed his surprise at how defeated the man sounded at his age.
“LOL, 30 yrs old and you sound like you have lived for 70 yrs. Come on la….25k debt is nothing if you can clear [it] within 6-12 months,” they wrote.
“What you should be worried about is why you are earning so low and how you can increase your income. Don’t bother about self-blame or blame the system, blame the environment.”
“The world isn’t going to change for you just because you find it tough. In fact, it will just be tougher. If there is one [piece of] advice I can give you, that is to figure out how to increase your income and how to grow it.”
A third added, “It is a norm in Singapore for your generation. Bite the bullet and believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Don’t compare yourself against others, as you are getting yourself emotional for nothing.”
In other news, an HDB tenant, an international student holding a student pass, has allegedly suffered an asthma attack after his landlord repeatedly smoked inside the unit.
In a post on the r/asksg forum on Tuesday (Jan 20), the tenant said he had informed his landlord about his asthma condition early on.
Read more: Foreign tenant claims he suffered an asthma attack after landlord repeatedly smoked inside HDB unit
