SINGAPORE: A Singaporean who recently started his first full-time job went on Reddit to ask a question many young working adults quietly struggle with: Should he lie to his family about his salary?
In a post on the r/askSingapore forum, the young man shared that he has been seriously thinking about keeping his salary private. He is concerned that once his family finds out how much he makes, their expectations, spending habits, or overall lifestyle might shift.
“My parents have yet to ask me about my salary. They aren’t terrible with money, but let’s just say they don’t seem to have concerns with the rising cost of living despite being fairly low earners, like they look at the median fresh grad income of S$4.5k and think degree holders live like kings,” he said.
He added that questions from the extended family are almost guaranteed as well. “My relatives will confirm — they will ask what I’m making next CNY (just nice this year, I was sick, so I didn’t attend). I feel if I underreport, they might actually look down on me because they had really high hopes for my education and job.”
Unsure about how to handle the situation, he asked others in the forum if they had ever faced negative consequences after revealing their true salary to family members.
“If you are earning above average, say your salary is lesser than average.”
In the discussion thread, many local Reddit users said they felt it was safer for the man to keep his salary private. Some even suggested that if he really felt pressured to give a number, he could simply state an amount lower than what he actually earns.
“Always underreport — that’s my experience. There’s a chance that people might feel entitled to your money if they know you’re making a decent living,” one comment read.
“Please don’t tell anyone how much you’re actually making,” another chimed in. “If not, you might eventually become the de facto person people expect to help with family financial matters. Seen it happen to friends and even myself.”
“My salary has been S$3k to my relatives for more than a decade,” a third said.
“If you are earning above average, say your salary is lesser than average. If you are earning less than average, ask them if they can lend you money. That’s bound to scare off their questions,” a fourth wrote.
Still, not everyone agreed with keeping things secret. A few users shared positive experiences and encouraged the man to be open with his parents if he felt safe and comfortable doing so.
“My parents know how much I make and what my net worth is LOL… Know what they told me? Told me to rest and enjoy life more instead of working so much,” one said.
Another added, “It depends on whether your parents are mature and are willing to take in advice. I disclose mine because my parents are good savers (but not good investors), and because they don’t ask for filial piety (aside from paying utility bills and CNY gifts and the occasional house emergency like leaks/infestations at my own volition).”
In other news, a European woman took to social media to share that, out of all the places she and her partner visited in Asia, Singapore stood out to her as the rudest.
“Singapore was, hands down, the rudest place we visited in Asia,” she wrote on the r/SingaporeTravel subreddit on Sunday (Feb 15). “And before anyone jumps in: No, this wasn’t just us being difficult, clueless, rude tourists. We travelled through China, Japan, and Malaysia with zero issues. Singapore was the outlier.”
Read more: European tourist says Singapore was the ‘rudest place’ they visited in Asia
