SINGAPORE: A man in his early 20s took to social media saying he was “Genuinely curious why sg parents have an entitlement to ‘a portion of child’s salary’ mindset once they enter the workforce”. He found it “strange that there was such a practice to begin with”.
In an anonymous post to popular confessions page SGWhispers, the man said he did not have a high income. He took home about S$3,500 a month, and after CPF deductions, it only came up to $2,800. He gave each of his parents $200 a month. The total came to about 15 per cent of his monthly take-home pay.
“Parents justification for the allowance is that we are still living with them, so we should give them money to offset the home bills and miscellaneous, as they COULD HAVE earned a lot of income from renting out the rooms we currently live in. Um, weren’t you just doing fine when I wasn’t working, no? I don’t get the comparison of such, and why the sudden attitude of being calculative”, the man wrote. He said he was envious of his friends whose parents did not have the practice of taking money monthly.
“My friends that have this privilege, shared with me that their parents understand they’re still slowly building a steady income, and should focus on saving enough for their own future instead. Wow, I wish my parents would think this way”, the man wrote.
He said he would never expect money from his child and added that it was important for parents to be financially independent and savvy. “It’s time for our generation to make a change and let’s not add additional burden to the already stressful life in sg. Probably also the reason why I’m steering towards a ‘no kids’ in the future. Inflation, expectations, stress…It’s tiring”, he wrote.
In his post, the man said kids did not ask to be born. “If you decide to have children you jolly well ensure you take care of them, and not treat them as your cash cow and retirement plan. If you took good care of your children when they are younger, naturally they will be very willing to take care of your needs when you’re older without even having to ask. If you’re going to be toxic and reek of self entitlement, you’d have no children at the end of the day”, he wrote.
Here’s what others who commented on the post said:
Last month, another man, an only child of parents who was not working, took to social media, complaining about the financial burden he shouldered.
In an anonymous post to confessions Facebook page SGWhispers, the man wrote that his parents’ HDB mortgage was still unpaid and added that he was expected to take on the remaining debt of less than $100,000, which was still “significant”. In addition, he said he was forced to give his father an allowance of $600 monthly, which was spent on cigarettes, beer and travel. “i have my upcoming bto to pay for as well.. and i’m so frustrated watching all my money just disappear!” the man added.
He wrote in his post that he tried to convince his parents to sell their current flat and downsize or possibly even rent out his room when he moved out. However, they refused both options, saying they were used to living in that area and did not want a stranger in their house. Frustrated, the man wrote that he was not earning too much, with most of his pay going towards their mortgage and allowance money. “i have to scrimp and save every cent, making me so stressed out everyday”, he wrote.