While we are on the topic of money and relationships let me rant about money and friendships
This happened a while back but pertains to the govt giving out the gst voucher. I stay in a HDB and these “friends” are staying in condo/landed. We were first all excited being able to get the voucher until they realised that one of the criteria to get the voucher was to be staying in a HDB and they went into an uproar stating that it was not fair as it was not their house, but their parents’ house.
At the moment, it felt wrong for me to even be getting the voucher. It felt wrong to be “poorer”. These same people were people who went on yearly holidays with their families to countries far away. Before I started university, the number of times I flew on a plane could be counted on one hand. If we are counting anything more than 4 hours, I don’t even need the hand to count lol. One of them could get sneakers once every quarter and I was there with my 4 year old superstars ._.
Don’t get me wrong, I was never poor. my family gave me the very best they could and I was never hungry, just never had as extensive opportunities as those “friends” and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous. I’m also not saying that the govt’s way of setting their criteria is foolproof, but I do think it is a decently accurate indicator, especially for some younger folks.
We were younger then, but looking back, I realised how tone-deaf they were and I won’t be surprised if they are still as tone-deaf. Privilege is very real and I am ashamed that they don’t recognise it and based on what we studied, frankly find it ironic. The amount given to us by the govt seems like an additional bonus, but to those really needy, it could be a month or two worth of groceries and utilities etc. Needless to say we aren’t really friends anymore.