Singapore — Mr Gabriel Wong probably could not have known that his Facebook post would go viral. However, what he wrote about the lesson he learned from “one of my worst decisions” in his young life has resonated with the online community.
Mr Wong talked about a Lexus he had purchased 10 years ago when he was only 19 and added that the time had come to finally say goodbye to it.
He said: “I bought this car at 19 when I first made some money, honestly it’s the stupidest decision ever because I wanted to look like I’ve made it at 19.”
He added that he had bought it before he could even drive since he could not get a driving licence until he was at least 20. So he had to hire a driver.
He also found that it was expensive to drive in Singapore.
The founder of a marketing agency went on to say that the Lexus cost him an average of S$3,000 or more monthly because of “all the road tax, insurance, maintenance, occasional breakdown, parking”. He then explained that the S$3,000 or more he spent every month did not even include his driver’s salary for the two years he employed him.
While Mr Wong claimed that his old self “wanted to look like a baller”, it was money that he could have invested in his future. Computing the amount with compounded interest over 10 years, he could have possibly put an additional S$500,000 in his bank account.
He also mentions the time his car got towed away from his then-girlfriend when he had no money to make a payment. She saw it happen but still married him later on.
The car is now “a reminder of my past 10 years of foolishness, ups and downs, also a reminder that material stuff don’t bring me any long-term happiness”, said Mr Wong.
Mr Wong and his wife have decided that since his Certificate of Entitlement (COE) has expired, it is now time to finally let the car go. And they will go without a car for the time being considering that everyone is working from home these days. Apparently, his wife is also pregnant, but as he explained, “we’ve no need for a car until the baby is born”.
He added: “It’s better to keep my expenses low now, so I can afford to take more risk for the things that are truly important.”
So what was the point of his post?
He said: “The point is … if you live in Singapore, don’t get a car until you’ve really made a truckload of money.”
“Be a good steward, reinvest your money to more important things. It’s okay to look poor in your 20s and 30s compared to your peers. What people think about you will change when you reach your 40s and 50s anyway,” he added.
In response to a comment that what was important was that the car had brought so many good memories, Mr Wong said that, while he appreciated it, if given the chance, he would not do it again.
There was then an exchange of messages over whether Mr Wong would have been able to “get a girl” without the car.
So far, the post has received 7.8K reactions, 1.7K comments and has been shared at least 9.2K times. /TISG