I am an insurance agent. So many negative and hilarious posts about my job. Thought I’ll offer another perspective to some people who are considering joining.

My credentials: I am under 30, in this line for years, quarter-million annual taxable income, MDRT and all the other awards, blah blah blah….

1. Do not underestimate the privilege of having no liabilities & responsibilities.

I joined this line at 21, and only needed to take care of myself financially. This means I could afford to earn only $12k a year back then while building my career slowly and organically. Treating every day working as a learning opportunity rather than being super despo to close the sale. Those desperate to close the sale usually fail because consumers are not idiots. Then it becomes a vicious cycle, no sale = no money = more despo. Trust me, you will earn like nuts the first few years. That’s normal. Those “successful”, “young” agents that earn money “fast” are liars. There are so many dirty tricks in this industry to con the consumers. If you know you know.

2. Literally get good at money.

So many agents only call themselves “investment specialists” but can only sell their companies’ ILP. That’s bull. I know so many junior agents that do not even have a brokerage account and whatever issues the client has, ILP will always be the answer. While you are earning like peanuts, you should invest your own money and be legit good. Attend courses like CFA, CFP, ChFC, Certified Private Banking etc and APPLY the knowledge learnt. Do your own investments, talk to doctors to be aware of medical trends, be extremely familiar with all the different hospitals processes. Personally, I have certain qualifications and run my own investment holdings company, hence clients trust my advice more than some XMM in a LV bag talking about why her ILP is the best.

3. Network like f.

Consumers can buy insurance online and this trend will increase in the future. So what is the agent’s value proposition? I am the problem solver. Need some free legal advice? I can set up an informal dinner with my lawyer clients. Need a medical appt soon, I can bypass the long waiting time and set one for you within 3 days. Need to divorce your spouse? I know many private investigators and dirty tricks to increase your chances of winning. Need car mechanics and workshops? I get kickbacks from the shops and pass it to you as a form of savings. Need renovators and interior designers? I know people. Wanna get a job in IB (JP, UBS, Morgan Stanley etc), I know people, lemme set up a lunch. This network is exclusive to paying customers only, not even my extended family or friends have access to it, unless they are paying customers. The more the customers pay, the more priority you get in my network. So, it becomes a bidding war among customers and it makes good business sense.

That’s all. You can earn a lot in this career, but it is all blood sweat and tears. Young naive people also quite dumb ah, you think can just suka suka earn $100K fresh out of school, with no qualifications meh? There is always a price to pay, hope this enlightens people out there.

Maybe I shall do a confession exposing how agents appear successful? and churning practices? hahahahaha

When I was 14 I found out my dad stepped out on my mom and got another woman pregnant when I was a baby, so I have a half-sister I’d never met. My mom found out when she realized he was making child support payments, and she kicked him out for a few weeks but she eventually forgave him on the condition that he never contacts the “affair baby” (her words) and she never has to hear about or see her.

I’d grown up the youngest of the family with 4 older brothers so little 14yo me was just excited to have a) a sister and b) a younger sister at that. I begged my dad to get me in contact with her and eventually he gave me her name so I could look her up on social media. Turns out she knew already she had half-siblings, her mom was pretty open with her about the situation, and she had always been pretty curious to know us, so she was happy to be in contact with me.

I gave my mom a heads up that I was talking to my half-sister and she was obviously very unhappy about it and said she just didn’t want to know about it. My half-sister and I became really close, I didn’t tell my mom about it, it was weird but we made it work. Fast forward 6 years and both me and my half-sister were starting to think about moving out of the home. We both felt like the most obvious thing to do was get a place together, since we both needed a housemate at the same time in the same area, and we were so close, but with my mom’s issues with her, we weren’t sure.

Eventually, I just bit the bullet and asked my mom how she’d feel if I moved in with my half sister. Again she was obviously not thrilled about it but said she’d be fine with it as long as she doesn’t have to see or hear anything about my sister. I took that to mean if I wanted to spend time with my mom I’d just go visit home or we’d go out somewhere together. After we moved in, I found out my mom meant she wanted to come visit me sometimes and she wanted me to either have my sister leave or hide in her room for that time.

She’s acting like I should have known that without her telling me, and she’s upset with me that I refuse to kick my sister out of her own flat or make her hide like Harry Potter, “I’ll be in my room, making no noise, and pretending I don’t exist”. It turns out she’s also mad at me for moving in with her in the first place, apparently, I was supposed to know that when she insisted she’d be fine with it, she actually wanted me to not do it.

Here is what netizens think:

• Think your mom needs marriage counseling and therapy. She “forgave” your father but faulted his child when it wasn’t her fault. Guess she thought that by pretending the child didn’t exist, her marriage isn’t broken and her family remains whole.

• My grandmother did this and my grandfather didn’t even cheat. He was married before he met her and had kids together. When he got with my grandma, she banned him from seeing the kids or contacting them. I didn’t even know I had other aunts and uncles until he passed away. My mom’s two half brothers wanted nothing to do with him after he cut them off like that, but my mom’s half sister was devastated because before that, she was a daddy’s girl. Neither of my grandparents were good people, but I never understood how she could punish literal children for her own jealousy.

• My husband cheated on me and got a young woman, 10 years younger than our sons, pregnant. Our marriage ended despite his protests because it was not his first time to cheat. He ended up marrying the young female. We have a grandchild that was born two months after this child was born and they are the best of friends. I see her at birthday parties, I hear about her through the other grandchildren, etc

I have been dating my 25y.o gf for about a year. And she visits the doctor A LOT. And I mean… a lot. Like once or twice every month.

She claims that she’s having lots of health issues (hypotension, chronic migraines, a minor heart condition). They all seem like minor issues (except her migraines) and I feel like she’s causing more harm than good by pumping her body full of pills.

She also developed a bunch of stomach ulcers due to all the medication. And recently she had an allergic reaction to some antibiotics because apparently she’s been experiencing diarrhoea for a week. Her reaction was severe and she had a fever of 40+ °C paired with mental confusion.

The next morning I decided to talk to her about her frequent trips to the doctor. I told her that taking too much medication might compromise her health further. That I haven’t met someone else that frequents the doctor as much as she does. And I also bought up the fact that health care is expensive… and asked her how she’s planning on sustaining her lifestyle.

She told me that money isn’t an issue – that her parents are helping her out and she’s on a great healthcare plan. And that I can’t compare her health to other people I know.

But I still feel like she’s compromising her health further….especially given her stomach ulcers. I reminded her that she’s still young, and if she causes damage to her body now it might cause more issues in the future.

She got upset at me and said that I have no right to speak on behalf of her body. That she’s fully aware of the side effects of the meds she’s on, but that she’s fine with it.

She went to her parents and haven’t returned yet. She’s not talking to me either. I reached out to her parents to ask if she’s okay. They say I was out of line, and that she’s dealing with a lot at the time. She’s still recovering from her allergic reaction and they reminded me that illness is something that she’s been dealing with for ages.

She’s ignoring my texts and calls. Was I out of line? did i do wrong?

Here is what netizens think:

• Hypotension and a heart condition are more concerning than migraines in a 25 y/o. Diarrhea isn’t an allergic reaction, it’s a side effect that some experience on some antibiotics. A fever is also not an allergic reaction.In short you have no idea what the hell you’re talking about. She’s seeing her doctor about her health. of course your wrong

• my sister went to the doctors for 3 years in considerable pain and the (male) gp accused her of being addicted to the pain medication they were prescribing while they barely looked into the cause – eventually she was rushed to the hospital where, surprise! It was stage 4 cancer the whole time! Luckily she got onto a trial for immunotherapy and it’s really helping her – her cancer is looking like it might be dormant now, 3 years later! – but before the trial, even with chemo, her life expectancy was only months by the time they found it

I’m 26 this year and I have a wife that is 2 years older than me and she is currently 3 months pregnant. We were watching a movie last night when I got up to use the bathroom. I was gone a little bit, as I’ve been dealing with a nasty stomach bug from food poisoning.

When I came back from the bathroom, she wasn’t on the couch. Confused, I went looking for her, and found her outside the door smoking a cigarette. I was FURIOUS.

Keep in mind, our unborn child is a planned pregnancy. We’ve been trying for over a year and were overjoyed when we learned that we were expecting. I’m so excited to be a father and ready to marry her soon.

In the heat of the moment, I might’ve been a bit harsh, but I was so shocked! I didn’t even know she smoked. After I found her and expressed how I was frustrated and confused, she screamed at me that it was just a singular cigarette. She also confessed that she’s been having a few shots a week with her girlfriends, and the doctors haven’t said a word.

She made me sleep on the couch last night, and she hasn’t said a word to me since. I just got home from work, and she’s said nothing.

Am I the bad husband for getting frustrated with her about this? She says it’s not a big deal, but I feel like it is. I tried talking to her sister, who’s had a few kids already, but she doesn’t think it’s a big deal, either.

How am I wrong…

Here is what netizens think:

• Absolutely they are different, that’s why I’m not defending that woman in the post. Smoking and taking shots is bad.

• 100% this!! I know a woman who wouldn’t eat a chocolate chip cookie while pregnant because of the caffeine in chocolate. Meanwhile every other woman in the office had their daily coffee throughout their pregnancies with no negative affects. Don’t drink. Don’t smoke. Don’t do drugs. Anything else, get out of my body.

• In medical training, we’re actually told that the recommendation is still 0 alcohol during pregnancy since it’s still uncertain what amount is “safe”

• but it sounds like she might want to… lose the baby? Or something strange is happening to her. OP doesn’t even know she smokes (which means she at least doesn’t usually do it) and decides the best moment to enjoy smoking isnwhile pregnant?

• Starting Smoking on the other hand is really really really bad behaviour, and again, it just seems really strange, and somehow worse then someone who stopped smoking sneaking one, I just don’t understand who STARTS smoking when they’re pregnant?