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Independent Singapore
2 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
‘I survived on Indomie and cucumbers': When you're broke in Singapore, what do you eat?
SINGAPORE: It started with an unpretentious, level-headed question posted on Reddit: 'What should a Singaporean eat if they've gone broke?' The user who posted the question provided a rather miserable answer of his own — an 'endurance kit' comprising Indomie instant noodles, one cucumber split across three meals, some bread, and Milo. A little pathetic, a little tear-jerking — but it touched a nerve. The thread rapidly took off, becoming an unusually bolstering joint confessional. From frugal food hacks to community resources, fellow Singaporeans weighed in, providing guidance, compassion, and tales of resilience. Community before calories One suggestion didn't involve food from a store at all: 'Queue up at a Sikh temple for free meals. They have it 3x a day.' Langar, the practice of offering free meals at Sikh place of worship, has long been a silent pillar of support for the famished. In a country where 'dignity' and pride can occasionally stop people from asking for help, the idea that such support is present is both practical and profoundly sympathetic. Another commenter built on this spirit of kindness and genuine care: 'I think I would go to temples to get free meals, or look for soup kitchens. You need the nutrients and don't want to end up with medical conditions due to deficiencies and end up saddled with medical bills.' The message is clear: rudimentary nutrition is important, not just for endurance, but to evade a downhill spiral into health emergencies that can be more expensive than food. Hacks from the hungry However, not everyone who participated in the thread was penniless. Countless others knew what it felt like to stretch a dollar until it pleaded for mercy. And their imagination and resourcefulness were apparent. A user recommended: 'Get packet instead of cup instant noodles, and the extra saved can get cheap add-ons like eggs, imitation crab sticks, and some fresh veggies.' It's the type of logic born out of inexpensive grocery trips and hawker-centre economics. Another shared a time-tested and validated technique: 'I used to buy those red bean bun packets that had like 6 inside and tried to make it last for two days. I remember it was like $1.80 back then. Now don't know if $2 can cover.' Inflation has made these recollections feel like wistfulness from another age, but the approach — make small things stretch — still works. Others took a somewhat darker, more cynical attitude. One commenter, countering the cucumber idea, remarked flatly: 'Wa cucumber ah, I think I rather drink water and save the money to buy something else.' Broke in body, spirit, and energy Not all responses were firmly about financial difficulty. One predominantly touching response came from a student who depicted a different kind of destitution — emotional burnout: 'Wasn't 'broke' broke in terms of bank, but broke in terms of spirit and energy… I kept a container of instant oats in my dorm room… some weeks, almost the entire week.' Now and then, being broke isn't just about the wallet; it's about mental reserves, social investment, and the resolve to carry on. Their nourishment consisted of oats, hot water, the sporadic raisin or chocolate bar taken from school events, and a great deal of skipped mealtimes. The hidden economy of being poor Possibly, the most valuable observation to arise from this Reddit thread was not a suggested dish or food item, but a broader awareness — being broke calls for more than just being frugal. It requires imagination, community responsiveness, and frequently, a throbbing 'realignment' of pride. See also Singaporeans say S$2K monthly salary is considered poor One wise commenter condensed it seamlessly: 'Home-cooked food, well-planned and budgeted, far outstrips anything like cup noodles or low-nutrition food. This should be practised even on a normal budget, not just when you're poor.' More than just a meal Food has always been more than just nourishment. It's about individuality, well-being, and, for countless people, a device to gauge stability. What this thread disclosed was not just how Singaporeans feed themselves when times are hard, but how they care for one another. The penniless, the once-broke, and the still-financially-stressed all congregated around an online table to exchange recipes, recollections, and hard-fought wisdom. For sometimes, just to know that another person has made it through on raisins, noodles, oats, cucumber, and free grapes is enough to help another one get through one more day.
Independent Singapore
20 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
Employer says her maid can't maintain an organised routine, pleads for sample schedules online
SINGAPORE: Frustrated by her maid's inability to maintain an organised routine, a local employer has taken to social media to seek advice from the public. In a post on r/askSingapore on Thursday (July 3), the employer shared that she had recently wrapped up a demanding period of caregiving for her 97-year-old grandmother, who passed away not long ago. Since then, things haven't eased up. Both of her parents are now in poor health, and she has taken on most of the caregiving responsibilities herself, despite living with a physical disability. Her daily tasks include feeding, bathing, changing diapers, and handling hospital visits. The helper, she clarified, is not expected to assist with any of that. Her job is to manage household chores like cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and picking up fresh groceries. 'There's just me and my parents,' the woman explained. 'I can manage taking care of them on my own in spite of my physical handicap – toileting, diaper changes, showering, feeding, meds, medical appointments, and staying over at the hospital with them. I also cover all night duties. The maid doesn't have to do any of this.' Unfortunately, she said the helper has been unable to stick to or create a consistent routine. With everything else going on, the woman admitted she no longer has the time or mental space to come up with a detailed schedule for someone else. 'I just don't have the mental capacity right now while grieving my grandmother and taking care of my parents to create a schedule for her,' she said. 'I wish I didn't have my handicap; otherwise, I'd be able to take care of all chores myself like I did before I became handicapped.' She ended her post by asking fellow Redditors if they had any sample schedules to share, saying it would lift a huge weight off her shoulders. 'I'm appealing to anyone who is willing to share their maid's daily, weekly, and monthly schedules with me,' she wrote. 'Thank you in advance for your help.' 'Good on you for not offshoring the intimate caregiver duties to your helper.' In the discussion thread, one Singaporean Redditor suggested breaking household tasks into daily, weekly, and monthly chunks. 'Daily stuff would be things like laundry, cooking lunch and dinner, dusting, vacuuming and mopping, doing the dishes, and cleaning the kitchen counter and sink at night,' they wrote. 'These daily tasks will take up most of her time. So you may have only 1 hour or so left for the weekly task or monthly task. I would also recommend once-a-week grocery shopping.' Another Redditor, meanwhile, shared a more detailed schedule. They wrote, 'Tasks daily in the morning: 7-8 am: Grocery shop (can give NTUC trust card and ask for recipes. Do a weekly check. I didn't do this previously, and my helper cheated our money). 8-10 am: Pack shopped items. Wipe down furniture, Vacuum and mop floors. 10-11 am: Cook lunch. 3-5 pm: Cook dinner, 8-9 pm: Clean kitchen after cooking for the day is done.' A third said, 'My deepest condolences. Grief is the price that we pay for love, and the grief that you are feeling is the manifestation of the love that you had for your grandma. Honestly, good on you for not offshoring the intimate caregiver duties to your helper. Your parents should be proud to have you as their daughter.' In other news, a man shared on social media that he's 'getting sick' of his girlfriend's behaviour of cluttering their home with unnecessary items. Writing on the r/askSingapore forum on Tuesday (July 1), he explained in a now-deleted post that his girlfriend has a habit of buying things on impulse. Not expensive items, but just random things that catch her eye, even if she rarely uses them. Over time, their home has become cluttered with unused items filling shelves, drawers, tables, and corners, collecting dust. Read more: 'Sick of it': Man rants about his girlfriend's habit of cluttering their home with unnecessary items, seeks advice on Reddit Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)
Independent Singapore
20 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
Woman shares retired parents keep footing her grocery bill — now she feels 'awkward' as they keep bringing it up
SINGAPORE: A woman recently opened up online about her complicated feelings after her retired parents began casually mentioning how much they've been spending on groceries for her household. While they've repeatedly said they aren't expecting repayment, the comments have left her feeling awkward and unsure how to respond. In a post on r/askSingapore, she explained that money was always a major topic growing up. Her dad was extremely careful with spending. Every cent was tracked, and every expense was accounted for. She and her siblings did well in school, so most of their education was funded through scholarships. Still, when one of them needed to borrow money from their dad, he made sure the amount was fully repaid once that sibling started working. The woman also mentioned that her parents often reminded them how much it had cost to raise them. 'There was a lot of talk about how much it cost for our parents to bring us up, their sacrifice, etc.; typical Chinese filial piety brainwashing stuff, I suppose,' she said. 'If my parents spent money on a bigger ticket item for us, they would talk about it a lot to 'make us appreciate it.' Especially my dad, maybe because he was very poor growing up and was not accustomed to spending.' Fast forward to the present, and the financial dynamic has shifted. She is now a high-income earner, married with children. Her parents, although retired, are financially independent and no longer have to worry about money. They aren't flashy spenders, but they live comfortably. As part of helping out, her parents have been buying groceries for her and her husband around two to three times a month. While the amount spent isn't small, she said that from her perspective, it didn't seem like a huge deal, so she never felt the need to offer to pay them back. However, recently, she noticed that her parents kept bringing this up. Not in a direct or confrontational way, and not as a request for money, but just as a passing comment about how much they had spent at the supermarket or how groceries are getting expensive. While they were quick to say they weren't expecting anything in return, the fact that it kept coming up made her feel slightly uncomfortable. 'I can't help but feel rather awkward about this,' she wrote. 'By the way, I treat them to meals often. I just don't track how much I spend on them and, likewise, how much they spend on me. I have children now, and my parenting philosophy towards money is quite different from how I was brought up. I'm having very complex feelings about this situation.' She ended her post by asking others how they would interpret this kind of situation. 'Can anyone help me unpack these feelings? Is there anyone who can explain my parents' POV?' she wrote. 'Things are getting expensive outside, so you could start by offering to pay or getting your own groceries?' The post quickly gained traction on the platform, and many users were not impressed with the woman's attitude. Some felt it was pretty entitled of her to let her retired parents keep buying groceries without offering to pay, despite knowing how frugal they had been all their lives. Others said it was strange that she understood her parents' values so well, having grown up under their strict money management, yet didn't think twice about letting them cover household expenses. One user said, 'Hmm… High-income earner, but comes here to complain about parents asking for money to buy groceries. Just get your own next time lah. NTUC (National Trades Union Congress) does delivery.' Another told her, 'Why do your parents buy groceries for you? LOL like they should be enjoying retirement, not be some part-time aminah, and if you ask them for help and they are willing, you can't even pay for your own groceries for a family of 4 or more using your parents' savings? Treating meals is your own accord. It shouldn't be a trade-off kind of thing, a.k.a. Because I treat them meals, they should buy groceries for me and use their own money.' A third commented, 'It's not a big sum to you, but for how they've lived like 90% of their life, it is a big sum to them. Things are getting expensive outside, so you could start by offering to pay or getting your own groceries?' In other news, a 20-year-old woman has alleged that her parents threatened to report her to the police for 'theft' after she moved out with a phone and a laptop that they had previously purchased for her. In a Reddit post published on Wednesday (July 2), the woman stated that she had recently left her family home and did not intend to return. She brought with her a phone and a laptop, which had either been gifted to her or bought for her by her parents when she was still residing with them. According to her, these items had long been treated as her personal belongings. Read more: 20 yo woman says parents accused her of 'theft' after she moved out with gifted phone and laptop Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)
