SINGAPORE: A Reddit user wrote asking others to weigh in on how much allowance she should be giving her parents because her mother got upset when she reduced the amount she gave her mum from $550 to $350 per month after she gave up her part-time job.
The post author wrote that she has more bills to pay, and her expenses have increased the older she gets. She further explained that her family has always received financial assistance. Her father is a factory worker who only makes $2,000 a month, and ever since she was born, her mother has not worked in any jobs.
The post author is a 23-year-old poly grad who earns $3,500 a month and used to earn an additional $1,500 to $2,000 but now she only has her regular job.
She is also saving for a car and flat one day.
“I’m diligently saving money and doing consistent investment with an insurance plan as well. I’m a strong believer that as a female, I should be financially independent and not rely on anyone, even my future husband.”
The family currently owes $250,000 in home loans, and since the property is in her and her father’s names, she can’t get a BTO or secondhand HDB flat one day, except a condominium, a situation that is highly stressful for her.
Her mum always found the allowance she was given to be small and asked for more. But the post author explained that aside from her regular expenses, she’s also saving up for university.
“My mum claims that it’s overboard that I’m saving $2k/mth but that’s because I do not want to drag too long for my Uni education. In fact with $2k/mth it takes about 3 full years of working time to accumulate the full sum.”
“I could not reason out with her as she is always comparing and says that I’m too stingy with her when it comes to money but she does not understand that I have my financial goals to achieve too.
On top of monthly allowance, she expects me to pay for her shopping expenses, she wants me to sponsor her to travel w my dad. She thinks that I should give more because they’ve been feeding me and raising me, and she claims that no amount of allowance can give back to what she had done as a mother.
Hope you guys can give some advise on what I can/should do, thank you.”
Commenters have told her to give what she can afford and to stand her ground.
/TISG