‘Why does everyone seem so rich?’ — Man opens up about feeling left behind

SINGAPORE: Noticing that many of his younger peers are quickly moving ahead in life, one man turned to social media to ask how they manage to progress so fast.

In a candid post on the r/singaporefi forum, he wrote, “Everyone, despite being so young, already seems to have a good, well-paying job, have lots of money on the order of at least a few hundred thousand dollars, have a car and some even seem to own a flat or are planning to have one and some are even getting married soon.”

“How are they able to get ahead in life so quickly? I’m talking about those in their mid-late 20s. They seem to be so successful in life already,” he added.

By contrast, he feels painfully behind. “I haven’t achieved anything of significance in life yet and even materially wise they are way ahead of me, even for those that are 7 years younger than me.”

Daunted by this realisation, he confessed that he often finds himself thinking about how to catch up with them, at least financially.

“I feel like I have to keep comparing myself with them and hope to outdo them or at least be their equal. I realise that I want more money and chase after it not because of the money itself but more so to avoid falling behind them financially.”

In search of some clarity, he asked others in the forum, “Why is everyone here and people around me seem so rich and ahead of me in life?”

“Don’t compare with others lah, you run your own race.”

In the comments, many users told the man not to be disheartened by everything he sees, particularly on social media, as much of it may not reflect reality.

A few others also pointed out that some people are only successful because they benefited from parental support or generational wealth.

One user wrote, “Many people are financially comfortable thanks to the support of their parents and wealth built by previous generations. Their family may have broken the poverty cycle long ago, and they are now enjoying the benefits.”

Another shared, “I have friends whose parents simply passed them S$100k to invest.”

Additionally, others reminded him that constantly comparing himself to others would only add to his frustration and that it is more important to focus on his own progress and goals.

One user said, “Don’t compare with others lah, you run your own race. Instead, compare yourself from a few years back. Are you better off than last time? If not, what went wrong and how can you recover from/make do with it? Money is not end all be all. Some of my old schoolmates have worse paying jobs than most people, yet they are genuinely happy about their life.”

In other news, an employer was slammed online for limiting her domestic helper’s phone use to only two hours a day, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. and asking whether she should keep the device after that time.

Posting anonymously in the “Direct Hire Transfer Singapore Maid / Domestic helper” Facebook group on Tuesday (Jul 22), the employer wrote, “As agreed with helper, she can only use the phone between 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. at night. Should I keep her phone with me after 11 p.m., or should I request her to put the phone in the living room after 11 p.m.? Thanks! If I keep her phone, she will only be able to get it from me after 9 p.m. and use (it) for two hours.”

Read more: Employer slammed for restricting helper’s phone use to just 2 hours a day