SINGAPORE: A Singaporean man felt upset after his old friends from the army and secondary school reached out to him on Instagram, not to reconnect, but to “help him reach his financial goals.”
In his post on r/askSingapore, he said that his once close friends have now become financial advisors and are now incessantly messaging him about investment schemes and other money-making opportunities.
“I have been blue-ticking them all, but it just makes me kinda sad how it is gonna be very difficult to even be normal friends with them again with this new weird dynamic,” he said.
“Telling them that ‘I am not interested’ usually leads to them still pushing or being outright hostile. What the hell happened to the friends I was once close with, man,” he added.
He then asked others in the forum, “How do you all deal with this, and is it still possible to keep in touch with them after this?”
“Tell them no, and if they insist, ghost them. No explanations needed…”
Under the post, many commenters said this is a super common experience in Singapore, where a lot of people end up in financial advisory or sales roles and start treating their friends as potential clients.
One individual shared, “Hard to keep the relationship. I had a few friends like this, but once they decided that our friendship was a stepping stone for their sales, I drifted and cut off contact after a few rejections.
Same situation as you, lor. They are damn pushy and don’t take no for an answer. Then say stuff like why you don’t want to support your friend.”
Another commented, “Everyone goes through this phase in life. When it comes, it comes. Friendships will change. Accept it, tell them no and if they insist, ghost them. No explanations needed.”
A third said, “It’s common nowadays when they contact me. I would ask myself this: if they aren’t doing FA, would they be sincere enough to reach out and connect with me? If the answer is no, just politely decline, ghost them if necessary.”
Still, a few shared that they managed to stay friends by making it clear from the start that they wouldn’t mix friendship with business.
One wrote, “I have a few FA friends who have approached me before. I was upfront and told them no and that most weren’t pushy about it. And now, when I meet them, they don’t even bring up their products anymore unless I ask about it. So yes, good friends will understand boundaries. If they don’t, doubt they’re your friends anyway, and they only see you as a potential sale.”
In other news, a 26-year-old Malaysian woman shared on social media that her application for permanent residency in Singapore was rejected. However, she has lived in the city-state since she was one year old.
“I applied for PR for the first time in September 2024 and just received the results today; it was unfortunately unsuccessful, with no reasons provided,” she wrote.
Featured image by freepik (for illustration purposes only)
