SG man’s “football betting” addiction leads him to suffer S$44K in debts

SINGAPORE: A man confessed online that he has accumulated a total of S$44,000 in debt due to his addiction to football betting.

In a candid post on r/singaporefi on Sunday (June 30), he revealed that he started betting “only what he could afford.” However, as losses mounted, he increased the stakes in a frantic attempt to recoup his losses.

Unfortunately, his attempts to reverse his fortunes only deepened his financial troubles. Depleted savings led him to borrow money from friends and eventually turn to moneylenders for financial support.

“Now I owe around 19k to money lenders and 25k to all around my colleagues and friends,” he said. 

Seeking redemption and a way out of his dire situation, he reached out to the online community for advice and support.

“I really wanted to get out from this debt and can advise me on what I should do. I’m leaving from gambling too.”

“Drive down your expenses and channel everything to repaying the debt.”

In the discussion thread, one netizen advised him to use the snowball method to pay off his debts to moneylenders.

This approach involves starting with the smallest debt balance and working towards the largest, regardless of the interest rates.

Once those are taken care of, the netizen suggested paying off debts owed to colleagues and finally addressing debts owed to friends.

He also suggested that the man earn extra money through multiple side hustles, work seven days a week, live on rice and beans, construct a monthly budget, sacrifice all his wants, and only spend his money on his needs like rent, food, clothing, and transport.

He added, “That being said, the first thing to do is actually your mindset. When you said it is fine when you bet with the amount you can lose, you have yet to learn the lesson.

Your chance of success is slim though, because humans usually can’t learn from our mistakes.”

Another netizen commented, “Hope you have learnt your lesson and never gamble again. Drive down your expenses and channel everything to repaying the debt. You can do it!”

Meanwhile, others suggested that he seek advice from a debt advisor to either consider bankruptcy or set up a repayment scheme.

One netizen pointed him to the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) website, urging him to check out the help resources there and take the first step in seeking support.

Another netizen agreed on seeking help from NCPG, saying, “This is the only solution, getting someone to repay your loans won’t fix your addiction.”

Read also: “How do I convince my friend not to get into crypto?” – Man asks as his friend suffers S$20,000 in debts

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