S’pore man earning $2.8K a month feels burned out and depressed after worrying about finances, wonders if he can even survive

A 36-year-old man who had struggled with his finances since the Covid-19 pandemic worried if he would even be able to retire at age 65.

In an anonymous post to popular confessions page NUSWhispers, the man wrote that he earned around $2,800 in the civil service sector while his wife, who is not local, earned about $2,000 monthly.

In his post on Thursday (Jun 16), the man wrote that since the Covid-19 pandemic, he had been looking for a job for over a year but was not able to land one that matched his academic qualifications. He was told that he either did not have relevant experience or the necessary certification or that his employer simply preferred younger candidates.

He then managed to get a job in the civil service sector but had to take a pay cut. The man added that his job would only offer him yearly increments of $80 to $150.

“My concerns are with this low salary will I be able to survive, consider the facts if my current job retirement age is around age 55. I have not much saving and cpf in my OA for housing also”, the man wrote.

In his post, he added that he had been trying to have a child so that they can apply for a Built-To-Order (BTO) flat, adding that because of his financial status, a resale flat was out of the option.

“Kind of burned out and depressed lately worrying over financial. Everyday worrying about whether I will have enough money to retire even after age 65. Been looking out at my peers earning 5k to 10k per month just makes me more miserable and depressed”, the man wrote. He added that he personally did not spend much on food. In order to save money, he would even resort to eating two meals, or even one meal a day.

Netizens were sympathetic to his behaviour and advised him to relook at his finances. Here’s what they said: