SINGAPORE: It’s not every day you hear stories of people finding happiness without having much, but locals on Reddit are sharing just that. From friends to relatives, the thread has been filled with examples of folks who are content with the little they have.
The discussion was started by a Reddit user who shared that most of the people he knew in Singapore seemed to be stuck in the endless rat race, constantly focused on upgrading their possessions, chasing promotions, aggressively saving for early retirement, or striving to buy a new car, condo, bag, or phone.
Curious if anyone in the country was living outside of this materialistic chase, he posed a question to the community:
“Do you know of anyone poor but happy in Singapore? By ‘poor,’ I don’t only mean those living in poverty and struggling in their day-to-day lives but also those who are probably below average and don’t own much in general. What makes them happy?”
Preschool teacher
One user shared a story about her friend, a preschool teacher earning S$2,400, who is completely content with her job despite it being below the median salary.
“She loves to interact with kids. Love her job more than anything, and she doesn’t even wanna change to a different place for a higher pay,” she said.
“Her husband is earning S$2-3,00 doing freelance. I’m actually jealous that she’s able to do what she likes and can go to work happily every day,” she added.
Stay-at-home mum
Another Redditor talked about her close friend, a stay-at-home mum with three children, who she describes as one of the happiest and most contented people she knows.
She wrote, “Her husband only works at a gov’t ministry, makes about S$3-4,000 per month. He takes care of her, the kids and her mother.
She’s been married for 10 years, and her husband is so present in their lives. They are way happier than my other SAHM friend, whose husband earns S$12,000 onwards. My friend has no complaints about her life.”
PHV driver
One Reddit user shared about his army buddy, a private-hire vehicle (PHV) driver, who has built a simple yet fulfilling life for himself and his family.
He said, “He stays in a Tengah BTO with his Vietnamese wife and 2 kids. Brings home around S$2-3,000 a month after the cost of his car, drives for only 5-6 hours every weekday and spends his weekends fishing, lol. One of the happiest dude I know.”
Blue collar worker
Another user talked about a relative who’s the sole breadwinner of his family.
Another shared, “I personally have a relative who chose the simple life. He is a blue-collar worker, single-income, with a wife and kids. He seems to be genuinely happy.”
F&B industry working couple
One netizen shared the story of her uncle and aunt, who work in the F&B industry.
She said, “[They are] the poorest among our relatives, but they are close to their kids who are adults now, loving happy family who always spend time together; whereas I see the richer families, including those at my husband’s side, always got petty disputes among themselves until don’t even want to turn up for gatherings.”
Part-timer
Another netizen mentioned that she’s happy despite earning just a few hundred dollars a month from her part-time job.
She said, “I don’t need to pay house bill. Got tenant. No car. I am taking care of my elderly mom, who’s mobile. I just need to cook daily for her and bring her to appointments. No kid.
I can’t be bothered to make a lot of money as I prefer to give quality time to my mum and take rests in between.”
Apprentice
Another said, “I’m not really making any money (0 for the past few months) as an apprentice, but I’ve never been happier than when I had full-time jobs.”
In other news, a woman took to Reddit on Thursday (Jan 9) to share that her date got offended when she paid for their meals.
In her post on the ‘Singapore Raw’ forum, she explained that the guy she’s seeing initially offered to pay for all their dates “since he earned more than her”.
While she appreciated the offer, she turned it down and insisted they split the expenses because she believed in equality and didn’t like the idea of taking “advantage of him”.
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