SINGAPORE: What do we do when our parents seem to see dollar bills when they look at us? What can we do when we already give them a portion of our salaries, but they still ask for more?
“My mom is like my loan shark,” wrote u/mouse_lappy on r/askSingapore on Friday (June 30). “Growing up she always told me to save money. Now im 23 i give her money monthly $150 bcuz thats what i can afford to give her. She says it isnt enough. She kept asking regarding my bonus for months and now mid year is here she asked again.”
The Reddit user has told his mom that he is also putting some money into savings for his wedding, which she says she won’t help with, but his mom says he still has plenty of time to save up for this.
“Im so hurt by this, i havent gotten a single cent from both parents since 13. I spend my money buying necessities paying bills giving money to them & for years i feel like a bank. They never believed me when i said i had $0 in my bank once, which was true. Im just stuck now anyone has broken out of this situation before? Im so done.”
The post got a lot of sympathy from fellow Reddit users.
One told him to “Stay strong and don’t give in. Give what you can afford.”
A number of commenters urged him to move out.
“You need to move out. There is no changing your mom’s ideology and for the sake of your future and mental health, just leave.”
“it’s your life, be selfish, just set an allowance , don’t give, just wait for the Gov to enforce parental maintenance laws, talking about getting the younger generation to get married and have a family, how do they expect people to cope with all these demands,” wrote another.
“You said you are like a bank to your mom. A bank does not give money unconditionally. She must have “deposited” into this bank and now wants to “withdraw” some amounts regularly. A bank generates interest too,” one told him.
/TISG