Life is Hard But It's Not The End
Here in Singapore, people are always complaining so much so we have been labelled as one of the unhappiest countries in the world. But beneath this group of frequent complainers, there is still a niche group with a heart of gold.
People say that we need a lot of money to survive in Singapore because the cost of living here is so high. I used to agree fully judging from my situation but now, from the couple of videos I have seen recently, I realize that while having substantial money is good to have to survive the high costs here, it doesn't mean that we have to live in misery and be unhappy.
I watched these two videos about how they are pretty much worse off than me with one Malay man having only a take home pay of $700+ doing ad hoc work to feed 6 children and his wife. The other one is actual this pair of siblings who started their own blog shops and sell 'anything cute' to make some money and help their mum who is currently unemployed.
Here I am feeling guilty at times because I have a stable job sitting in the air conditioned room and getting a regular pay which has increased to almost $400 since middle of last year. This was a far cry from my previous pay. While most of the time I enjoy my work, there are of course times I feel rather overwhelmed by the amount of work I have to do. I try not to be taken in by the feeling and just plan and follow my to do tasks and try to follow them as much as I can. I mean seriously all work can't finish in one day and my boss has been rather helpful in a sense that she is giving us fair advantage by letting us focus on certain main job areas.
So honestly, I should be more grateful. These people have stable jobs and have a family with young children to take care of. I am glad that they are not too proud to ask for financial assistance for the children's school needs pretty much like my situation concerning my brother's studies because it does help to lessen the financial burden. If I have not written in to the school to take my brother to repeat his O level to take advantage of the enhanced financial schemes, he would have to take it in a private school which I most definitely can't afford. I don't think I would even let him repeat if I have to pay so much and he wouldn't get a second chance to do better and get a place in polytechnic.
I admire this single mother's courage in taking up ad hoc work to make ends meet and while she is not employed, she is taking courses to improve her chances of getting a better job. For the other parent, while he is facing financial burden, he still find the time to improve the social situation around his estates which is one of the poorer estates in Singapore by forming a self help group to inculcate the kampung spirit or get together spirit. It provides free tuition for the kids, religious classes and his main concern is the children living in the rental estates who often go unsupervised because their parents are out working and they can play in the areas until late at night. He wants them to be disciplined, concentrate on their education and be good moral citizens.
His vision includes setting a social enterprise to help some of the poor families in his estates where half of the population there are unemployed.
While many Singaporeans are becoming far too materialistic and being consumed by the popular tech gadgets out there, there are still those who look out for others despite their own struggles. They live within their means, doing financial planning for the families and do not give up hope for a better future not just for their family but for other people as well.
Very inspiring indeed.
Visit my online store http://www.facebook.com/mylittlecardshop
People say that we need a lot of money to survive in Singapore because the cost of living here is so high. I used to agree fully judging from my situation but now, from the couple of videos I have seen recently, I realize that while having substantial money is good to have to survive the high costs here, it doesn't mean that we have to live in misery and be unhappy.
I watched these two videos about how they are pretty much worse off than me with one Malay man having only a take home pay of $700+ doing ad hoc work to feed 6 children and his wife. The other one is actual this pair of siblings who started their own blog shops and sell 'anything cute' to make some money and help their mum who is currently unemployed.
Here I am feeling guilty at times because I have a stable job sitting in the air conditioned room and getting a regular pay which has increased to almost $400 since middle of last year. This was a far cry from my previous pay. While most of the time I enjoy my work, there are of course times I feel rather overwhelmed by the amount of work I have to do. I try not to be taken in by the feeling and just plan and follow my to do tasks and try to follow them as much as I can. I mean seriously all work can't finish in one day and my boss has been rather helpful in a sense that she is giving us fair advantage by letting us focus on certain main job areas.
So honestly, I should be more grateful. These people have stable jobs and have a family with young children to take care of. I am glad that they are not too proud to ask for financial assistance for the children's school needs pretty much like my situation concerning my brother's studies because it does help to lessen the financial burden. If I have not written in to the school to take my brother to repeat his O level to take advantage of the enhanced financial schemes, he would have to take it in a private school which I most definitely can't afford. I don't think I would even let him repeat if I have to pay so much and he wouldn't get a second chance to do better and get a place in polytechnic.
I admire this single mother's courage in taking up ad hoc work to make ends meet and while she is not employed, she is taking courses to improve her chances of getting a better job. For the other parent, while he is facing financial burden, he still find the time to improve the social situation around his estates which is one of the poorer estates in Singapore by forming a self help group to inculcate the kampung spirit or get together spirit. It provides free tuition for the kids, religious classes and his main concern is the children living in the rental estates who often go unsupervised because their parents are out working and they can play in the areas until late at night. He wants them to be disciplined, concentrate on their education and be good moral citizens.
His vision includes setting a social enterprise to help some of the poor families in his estates where half of the population there are unemployed.
While many Singaporeans are becoming far too materialistic and being consumed by the popular tech gadgets out there, there are still those who look out for others despite their own struggles. They live within their means, doing financial planning for the families and do not give up hope for a better future not just for their family but for other people as well.
Very inspiring indeed.
Visit my online store http://www.facebook.com/mylittlecardshop
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