Is AK a rags to riches story?

AK has lost quite a bit of weight. 

Many people are amazed.

However, friends who know me well are less amazed. 

Others call it discipline but my close friends call it an obsession.

Yes, AK can be quite extreme and can be obsessed with stuff he believes in.





When I first started life as a working adult, I remember giving myself $300 in pocket money each month. 

The rest of my salary, I saved and invested. 

When a friend found out, he said that I was living in abject poverty. 

I met this friend a few days ago when I was window shopping which is a nice way of saying KLKK (i.e. "idling" in SAF lingo). 

He was waiting for his wife who was doing some real shopping. 

He offered to buy me a drink and, so, we sat down for a drink and chatted.






He wasn't amazed by how much weight I lost because the last time he saw me was probably almost 20 years ago. 

Instead, he said I did not change much and still looked the same except for the white hair. 

Shhh... Don't pitcha lobang, ok?

Anyway, guess what did he ask me next?

"Are you still living on $300 a month?"

I was taken aback. 

I didn't expect him to remember. 

It must have left a pretty deep impression on him.

Instead of giving him a direct answer, I told him how sales people at credit card road shows now bo hiew (i.e. ignore) me because I tell them I am unemployed.

"Aiyoh. How come? You OK or not?"

To his credit, he did not make some excuse to cut short our chat. 





Well, I am sure you know how some people might be afraid of unemployed friends? 

You are not afraid? I am. Haha.

So, I gave him a 20 minutes (ok, maybe 30 minutes) summary of my life in the last 20 years. 

At the end of it, he was wide eyed and almost speechless.

"Wow..."

His wife rang him shortly after and he had to go, promising to catch up again soon.

He didn't say anything about me living in abject poverty this time.

Was I ever living in abject poverty? 

I had these for lunch recently.

Financial hardship during my teens, yes, but abject poverty? 

Honestly, no.

However, it might have looked that way to many people, I agree.

Regular readers know the narrative. 

For examples, I rarely bought new clothes and I packed lunch to work. 

Alamak, this guy must be an orang miskin (i.e. poor man) lah.





It wasn't something I thought about at the time but I suppose I rather looked like I was living in abject poverty but wasn't than to look prosperous when I wasn't.

It is important to know and to remind ourselves that it is not how much money we make that defines whether we have money but how much money we save.

So, is AK's story one of rags to riches? 

There will be different opinions but I don't think so.





I think AK's story is simply about a regular guy who wants to have the option to work if he wants to and not because he has to.

Related posts:
1. A common piece of advice on saving.
2. Becoming a millionaire next door.
3. Another personal story of frugality.

A happy marriage is worth waiting for.

Something I have blogged about from time to time is how people who plan to get married and have children should be financially prepared first. 

Have a strong financial foundation and we would have less money problems in future.


I can understand why those who have children on the way must get married in a hurry. Oops.

Bad AK! Bad AK!

Otherwise, why should anyone be in a hurry to get married and have children? Hmmm.








I have blogged about how some people borrow money in order to have a wedding or to renovate their matrimonial homes. 

I have also blogged about how people ran out of money and had to borrow money from friends to pay the monthly installments on their matrimonial homes.


"I was told of a person in his early 30s who is married and has two children.

"He is regularly borrowing money from his family and friends.

"In fact, he would borrow from friends to pay the installments on the mortgage of his 5 room HDB flat as well.

"Amount? S$800 a month."

From: Not enough money to be married.





It is quite mind boggling and I wonder why some people just become stupid when they fall in love. 

Can being in love generate income to pay for everything? Hmm...

Of course, one thing that so many in Singapore complain about is how they cannot hope to ever retire because they don't have enough money. 

For some, if they are honest with themselves, they might not have enough money because they got married (and had children) too early in life.






Wealth needs a base and this base takes time to grow. 

If we spend all our money as soon as we make them, a base can never form and our wealth will never grow.

"... the sooner we realise the benefit of delaying gratification and the sooner we start investing for a more secure future, the better."


From: Delaying gratification and getting stuff for free. 

So, if we have a choice, it isn't so terrible a thing to push back marriage plans by a few years or is it?





"I transferred much of my CPF-OA money into my CPF-SA in the first 4 years of my working life. 

"Then, I let the magic of compounding do the rest. 


"This is something that anyone, especially those in their 20s, should seriously consider doing.

"It might mean putting off marriage plans by four years for some but it would be worth it."

From: How to upsize $100K to $225K in 20 years? 

Regular readers know that I do not believe in being overly pessimistic or optimistic. 

I believe in being pragmatic. 





In a world like ours, financial security must be of paramount importance. 

The pragmatic me tells me that this is a hard truth.

Certain decisions in life have very long term or, indeed, life long consequences. 

They are not to be taken lightly or we might not ever see the light of day.

"A Happy Marriage is Worth Waiting for."
Taken during one of my visits to the National Museum.

A happy marriage is worth waiting for.

Not I say one hor.

Our government say one hor.

Yes, I know.

Bad AK! Bad AK!






Related posts:
1. What is our attitude towards having children?
2. Financially prepared to be married?
3. How to have children and retire comfortably?