I have always lived with my parents until I started studying in the UK and I was always given every opportunity in my life, my parents always drilled into us that we should save. whatever we wanted for ourselves we had to buy. (I’m one of 7 siblings, 5 of us were still living at home).
I liked the rules being that way, I got a job at 15 and bought my own clothes, my own phone, saved for my first watch, paid for every single thing myself on a job only paying me $5 an hour…
I learnt to live off of little money and never asked my parents for financial help because I was lucky enough to have my own room, and food paid for, and again it was drilled into me that if I wanted something I pay for it myself. I paid $100 a month to my parents from the age of 16.
One day after the lockdowns ended in the UK, my parents decided they wanted to move to the USA as I will be graduating soon. They did not include me in their plans and wanted me to be independent.
They did it so they could be mortgage free, which I don’t blame them for… but the house sold in less than a week, they had just under 300k in cash leftover from selling the house along with the returning of the CPF money…
I realised I’d have nowhere to live if I return to Singapore. Quickly I realised that my part-time wages were not enough to even rent a bedroom… let alone a flat if I return to Singapore.
I worked 40 hours a week so tried to get another job on the side, I was panicking.
I luckily reached out to my auntie and she saved me. I begged my parents for help as they didn’t want me to move with them due to the new house having 1 less bedroom. I for the first time, begged my parents for financial help. They said no and to “just get a better paying job” but I wanted to come back to Singapore.
Fast forward to today, I stopped speaking to my parents as much, they also cut me out of things because I didn’t have the money to travel to them… I would’ve been homeless without my aunt. And they neglect to care… I to this day blame them for my financial difficulties during my teen years.
All the other kids around me never had to work the hours I did so young, or buy their own things. Or worry about if they would have a roof over their head… and my parents just use the excuse that it’s “tough love” and that I wouldn’t be okay financially today if they hadn’t of done that to me..