Despite challenges, she rebuilds her life with resourcefulness and determination.
SINGAPORE: After enduring significant personal and financial setbacks during the COVID-19 pandemic, a resilient Singaporean woman has shared her journey of recovery and the extreme money-saving strategies she is implementing to rebuild her life and financial stability.
Retrenched without a severance package during the pandemic, she faced additional hardships when she developed a serious illness that left her bedridden and burdened with mounting medical bills. Despite these challenges, she recently managed to clear her debts and is now focusing on securing her financial future.
Reflecting on her journey, she shared:
“After COVID, I tried to save up but unfortunately I got a major illness and almost lost my life. I incurred medical bills along the way and only managed to pay them off this month. I had a bad SME boss who even tried not to pay my salaries for months while I was bedridden.”
Though grateful for her recovery, she admitted struggling with feelings of failure:
“I feel like a major failure. I’m so upset, yet at the same time, I’m grateful to be alive… Now I really need to save for housing. My salary is $4,000 after CPF, so it is a bit tight.”
Her Money-Saving Methods
Determined to save aggressively over the next year, she shared a list of strategies she is adopting:
Meal Prep: Cooking light meals like cold pasta, boiled eggs, and veggies to bring to work, cutting out bubble tea and sticking to plain water.
Hobbies: Switching to online lessons from overseas to save costs, while keeping only her gym membership.
Purchases: Halting all spending on clothes, makeup, and non-essential items for the year.
Education: Deferring her Master’s degree and pursuing affordable courses on platforms like Udemy.
Travel: Continuing her no-overseas-travel policy since the pandemic.
Support from the Online Community
Netizens responded with advice and encouragement. One Redditor suggested small adjustments for balance, such as meal prepping for variety, using a microwave to keep food warm, staying healthy with home or park workouts, and indulging occasionally. Others recommended using platforms like Carousell for second-hand clothing.
Many emphasized the importance of self-care, cautioning against cutting out hobbies entirely. Another user noted:
“Don’t be too hard on yourself. Not having debts is already a good position to be in.”
Her journey serves as a reminder that success isn’t solely about financial milestones but also about maintaining balance and well-being while striving toward goals.
