Just last week, I was approached by one of my friends who I had not heard from for a long time. He texted me saying how long it was since we last met and he wanted to meet up.

Knowing that he was an insurance agent, I told him upfront that I already had someone looking into my finances and I would meet him as a friend and not as a potential client. He agreed and so we met.

We had dinner at a restaurant at a mall nearby my place. Dinner went well and we caught up over the last five years that we had been apart.

And then it came. As we spoke about what had been happening so far, he started talking about how he was privileged to be put up for the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) and being one of the top earners every month in his firm, to which I congratulated him genuinely for.

He then asked if I was willing to trust him to review some of my financial and insurance plans. I said no and changed the subject, which he complied with.

However, as we talked about getting hitched, it started to Segue way back into how I should be planning for the future and whether (again) he could have his input in my financial and insurance plans.

Again, I repeated my stand and said I wasn’t interested, and reminded him that I was a friend not a client. He apologised again and switched the topic.

It wasn’t until we were talking about parents and how they were retiring that he began saying how important it was for me to look into their financial health, suggesting again that I can trust him with their plans.

That was the last straw for me – I looked at him and held my ground. No means no, and I really hope you can respect my decision as a friend.

He became very apologetic, and the rest of dessert became very brief. We said our goodbyes and I never heard from him again.

I’m all for celebrating success in your careers and how you’ve achieved your potential. But if this is how you attained it, I honestly feel for you.

If you choose to surreptitiously get business from people around you in the guise of friendship, you’re standing to lose a lot more than you’re gaining.

Please respect my choice and keep the friendship alive. But I still have faith that the industry is bigger and better than these methods, and I wish you good success and achievement in your career.

Hello friends, anon here, I need some help! Some background:

I’m an NSF who recently came into possession of a significant amount of money (around 100k), and now I need some advice as to how I should use it to not only keep up with inflation but also possibly grow the money.

My parents just told me to put it in a Fixed Deposit account at a big bank and leave it there until I ORD, but with interest rates around 0.5%, I’m not sure if it’s the best idea. I’m currently toying with the idea of using a robo-investor such as Stashaway to invest a small amount of the money (<10k) and see where it goes, but I’m not sure if this is even wise…

I intend to make use of a portion of the money for my University studies in about a year when I ORD. So I hope to grow the money before I have to even start using it, if even possible. I don’t really trust “financial advisors” from the big banks who try to sell endowment schemes so I came to reddit! Thank you!

Here are what netizens think:

• I think one of the number one thing you should take note of, is don’t tell anyone other than your parents about it. People will come to you to ask for any number of things from investing/partnering in their business, buying insurance or investment vehicles that don’t actually benefit you, or encouraging you to start a business. Don’t, just don’t. I’ve seen way too many instances of people rushing into “business” with their windfall.

• Putting it in a fixed deposit, or some roboadvisor just to earn some compounding rate without human error/exploitation factor seems like a good idea. Take the time in uni to learn about investing and practice with other sources of money. Once you finish, you can more actively invest with it, or to build a business with your extra years of experience.

• Your parents are right. Put it in a fixed deposit since you’re going to be using it for your uni soon. In the meantime, read up on more finance matters and don’t rush to any decision that makes your money hard to liquidate.

• Hi Sir, I’m a nigeran prince with an investment for you.

What he did with his money

Thank you everyone for all the advice given, right now I have most of the money in an OCBC FD account with 0.6% interest rate, maxed out my existing StanChart JumpStart account @ 1%, and I’m planning on putting a little (<$5k) into a roboadvisor. Meanwhile, I will try to save at least 60% of my NS allowance (which isn’t alot) and learn more before I do anything stupid with the money.

My former boss is overworking their employees. I formally resigned and found a new job but they won’t give me my required documents nor did he give my last payment.

The former company is severely understaffed. The boss doesn’t care if you can’t finish your heavy workload. Me and my former co-workers would work 7 days a week from 9am to 2am. Just to finish our work.

I formally resigned and they accepted. They didn’t give me my last pay check. The reason why they can’t pay me is there is no proof of work. But there is, it is all saved in the cloud and my co-workers are working on it. His favourite line is, “You are lucky to even have a job. There are so many jobless people right now.” He says this to everyone and every time. He wants you to feel proud by being a slave to his company.

As much as I want to punch him in the face, I always remained calm and never talk back. Because people like him has a huge ego and talking back would do more harm than good. Even as I resigned, he wished me good luck.

I found a more decent company that treats its employees like humans. But the former boss seems to be jealous or something. He didn’t reply to my request for my work documents.

What can I do to get my documents? Where can I report such unfair labour practises?

UPDATE:

1. Call finally went through my former evil boss. Passively aggressively pins the blame on me. Told me he tried calling and emailing me. But there is no record of this. He lied.
2. He still cannot issue me my paycheck because, again, he pins the blame on me because they cannot contact me. He sent me no email, text, nor call. So it is my fault he can’t pay me.
3. Current company understood the situation and waived the required documents.

Edited:

1. Already reported it to MOM.
2. However, can’t show them proof since my previous employer destroyed all evidence.
3. Employer has control of the chat, emails, and co-working software. All of our previous conversations, transactions and my resignation are all deleted.
4. I am a foreign worker. I work for the company remotely.
5. This company has an office in my country, but I work with the SG team.
6. Here is part of the contract where it says I cannot say anything BS about said company.

Edited out some details to prevent them from recognising me.

Hey all, Bit an about me. I’m 27, and moved to Singapore last year for work.

The excitement upon moving here was overwhelming, the life and cultural experiences I would gain, the professional advancement, the chance to travel.

I was finally getting rewarded for years of hard work with my company and given a chance to see the world and grow. It all sounded incredible. The reality, however, is that I felt isolated almost immediately.

I am relatively inexperienced in the specific field that I am now working in and I learned it really fast. I’ve been advancing quickly, but I have felt like an outsider the entire time.

My insecurities towards my professional life have made it extremely difficult to network and develop a friend group and have led me down a path of constant anxiety and depression.

Now, a bit of a backstory about me. When I was in college I tried my hand at online poker. Despite the fact that I had no bankroll management skills, I developed pretty quickly into a strong player.

I continued to play and play and play, always making loads and busting it all. I was lucky to cash out any amount. Anyways, I thought those days were long behind me until I moved out here.

To cope with anxiety and depression, I began gambling heavily out here. And I mean very heavily. On the weekends I would find myself at MBS or Sentosa playing blackjack for 1k a hand, betting sports online for several thousand…I have depleted all of the money that I’ve earned from my job, so I turned to money lenders.

I don’t gamble anymore, but I continually have to borrow in order to pay back existing lenders. It’s crazy to think that I make over 10k a month and can’t get a loan from an actual bank.

The interest rates on the money lender loans are killing me! I have talked with my parents and they can only offer their love to me.

This year I’m going to start seeing someone about my depressive thoughts and unhappiness. Work-wise, things are actually going well. I still very much feel like an outsider but I’ve been making great improvements despite the way I feel.

I really need help out of this deep dark hole, but the truth is I have no one to talk to or that will listen. I owe 19,800 in money lender loans, and I have 75 dollars in my bank account to make it until February. No idea what I’m going to do….anyways, thanks for reading and if anyone out there wants to chat I’m free.

Two Saturdays ago, my girlfriend and I were on leave. When the rain stopped, we decided to resume our original plan of visiting a few farms in the Kranji Area which our friends recommended.

We took a grab there and had a good time exploring the area. Our last stop was Bollywood Veggies where we had lunch at 2 pm. We were treated to a nice lunch platter of locally grown produce, spent a good few hours exploring the farm and finding out about the rich history of the place.

By then it was about 5 pm and the staff closed the gates. We were due for dinner with her parents back home at Bishan by 630 so all in good time.

We took out our phones and called for a grab. Ten minutes passed and no grab. “No worries let’s try Gojek” I said. My gf opened Gojek while I waited concurrently with my Grab app opened. Another ten minutes passed and still nothing.

Reluctantly we opened the Comfort Delgro app and hailed a cab at 33 bucks for the ride. We waited and waited…and still nothing! 30 min had passed.

I reasoned to my girlfriend that our best bet was to walk out to Lim Chu Kang Road and to try to either get a cab or bus. Worst case scenario being having to wait 45-50 min for a bus to CCK MRT, and then grabbing back from there. The entire journey would take us about 2 hours including the walk out. My girlfriend was upset but we had no other options.

We started walking along the main road. We passed a few farms, often having to jump out of the way of frustrated trucks coming behind us as there wasn’t pedestrian pavement. By this time, it was 6 pm and we were three quarters in with LCK Rd about 15 min away.

I told my gf to text her parents and apologise profusely that we would be extremely late. They better eat first – No way we could get back to have dinner with them.

As she was texting, I pulled her back onto the grass hearing an oncoming car from our backs. I saw a grey Toyota slow down considerately and waved him along with a smile. To my great surprise, he pulled up alongside us and the driver shouted “do you want a lift out!”

I was overjoyed. I shouted yes please and both of us hopped into the car. We started conversation and it turned out that Daryl (I didn’t get his name) worked in an ornamental fish farm with the office located at Kaki Bukit.

Of all days, Daryl was told by his boss to go check on inventory at the farm, which wasn’t even in his job scope! We had a Long and friendly chat about family, work, his children and Reservice.

Daryl apologised that he couldn’t bring us nearer home but asked if we were ok if he dropped us off at Jurong MRT. We told him that he could drop us anywhere he wanted.

When we reached Jurong MRT, I asked for his name and number so I could thank him properly. He said “no worries it’s a small thing, Glad I was there to help”. We took a grab back and managed to reach home by 635 pm in time for dinner with her parents.

Bro if you’re reading this, I never got your name and number but I wanted to express my heartfelt thanks. You saved me from an embarrassing situation and we managed to make it for dinner with her parents.

We could have been stuck at a bus stop in the pouring rain along Lim Chu Kang Rd had you not come. My girlfriend was especially moved because like most Singaporeans, you could have moved along and carried on your merry way.

Instead, you invited two strangers into your car and made a detour at your expense and time. Hope you made it in time for dinner with your family. We are extremely grateful for your selflessness and hope that others will emulate your spirit and example! Hope I can repay you in a small way if we ever cross paths again!

Netizens shared their job experiences online with bosses or supervisors that are overly repulsive.

Here are 3 stories that will make anyone quit their job.

Supervisor says his an Officer in NS and used age to “makan” intern

Supervisor: One of the earliest day, mentioned that he’s an officer in NS and older than me (double the seniority). Also, no need to work so late (past 6pm)… A few months in, called me at 8pm during dinner expecting me do a video call for some meeting minutes discussion, asked me to solo client meeting, asked me to take minutes (cuz he’s feeling sleepy), scolded me for himself not understanding how tables work in MS Word, saying he’s a perfectionist but makes plenty of errors….

Boss: “I trust the guy knows what he’s doing and will not intervene unless it’s a serious case”, “you should be paying us for your experience instead”, “not sure if you are sheltered”…

Tendered my resignation after my supervisor called me the worst intern ever and shortly after got a place at the big 4 (flat hierarchy, pay multiple times better, Flexi hours, annual leave, etc).

The 2 Face Manager

Ex-manager pretended to be nice to me in the first month and got me to talk to her about my time in school then used it to try and convince me that I have autism. Which she used to scold me whenever she thinks I did something wrong (even when it turns out the mistake was made by others or even herself). Kept saying that she understands that I “understand things in a special way” within earshot of others.

Also sabotaged me by telling the head of dept that a certain project was stuck with me when I submitted my part to her long ago. And when I resigned, another dept wanted to ask me to join their dept but she went behind my back to badmouth me till the other dept decided not to give the offer.

I guess I should have seen it coming given how she was badmouthing other colleagues when I first came into the company and how everyone gave me their condolences when they heard I was under her.

The Boss that doesn’t care

while most of the stories are about micromanagement, i hope to share one on the other end: no/little management. ya it’s not THAT terrible per se but it kinda sucks too, and can put you in a weird situation where you dont know if you should quit especially if you’re just starting out in your career and looking for growth.

examples:

1. Boss leaves me on read almost all the time, when I catch him in real life he always brushes me away and says he’s busy. This was since my first HOUR at the company lol.
2. Informs me of potential opportunities or projects that I may get to participate in, but never updates what happens in the end despite me asking (tactfully). honestly, even a “they decided to look for someone else in the end” would be ok.
3. from other colleagues: he FORGOT (verbatim) annual target setting or does it with them 6 months late.

I see a lot of people on Singapore’s side of Reddit complain about and bash Grab. The fees, the prices, their support team, etc. Some of it is deserved, but the other half doesn’t make that much sense.

For example, I remember reading this post, asking whether it’s ethical for Grab to cancel his/her bubble tea order and then raise the delivery fee when they reorder.

Isn’t it obvious? It’s because there was no driver found to deliver their bubble tea, so to incentivize drivers to deliver it or go to that area, the delivery fee is raised. If you think the delivery fee is too high, you don’t need to order it.

Grab didn’t deliver the drinks and then increase the price halfway through the delivery. That would be unethical.

And then people complain about Grab’s CEO buying a good-class bungalow. Yes, that’s a lot of money and most of us will probably never have enough money to buy one 🙁 but why should we hate on him just because he has the money to buy one? There are so many more unscrupulous and unknown businessmen with GCBs.

Hasn’t Grab provided value to Singaporeans? Remember the days when street-hail taxis were hard to find? Or when you do find one of them and tell them where you want to go through their half-opened window, the driver then says “not going there” and drives off.

I don’t see why people should hate on a company/founder unnecessarily. Sure hate on them if they do something unscrupulous or with bad faith, but to hate on someone else’s success simply because they are (semi) successful accomplishes little. Or maybe that’s just the anonymous internet where it’s much easier to hate on others without showing your face.

Thanks for reading my semi-rant. Typed out a lot more than I thought I would. Feel free to share your thoughts below. Whether you hate Grab, like Grab, or you’re somewhere in between. I’m not trying to rile anyone up with this question. Just genuinely curious.

TLDR: SG Reddit appears to have a habit of hating on Grab. Some complaints make sense. Some look like they just want to hate on Grab because they can or because they don’t understand supply and demand. What are your thoughts? Agree, disagree, am I wrong?