I live in Singapore, which is one of the most expensive cities in the entire world. The cost of living here is through the roof. The sad part about it is that while there is public housing (which makes buying a house significantly cheaper), my partner and I can’t qualify for that within the next decade. Just because we’re in a LGBT relationship. So the odds are stacked against us and it doesn’t leave us with much choice. There also isn’t a countryside that we can retire to. Everywhere in my country is expensive.

We still want a place of our own, so we just have to work around all those obstacles.

Wow, thanks so much for letting me know. It’s so interesting to hear about this. I went to Melbourne a few years ago, because my mum’s best friend resides in the heart of Melbourne. She was lamenting about how expensive housing was!

I googled Bacchus Marsh. It looks stunning. I should definitely check it out one day 🙂

An “ignorance tax” sounds about right, Karena!

You know, my parents told me that I could no longer work in my dad’s business because I was now “poor” and would have the inclination to steal from them. (Crazy, right?) If I hadn’t returned the money to them, I’m sure they would have used it against me to prove their point.

Also, I was trying to salvage my relationship with them. If I had chosen not to return it, it would have been an instant killer. At least now, (I think?) things are getting a LITTLE better. Hopefully in time to come, when they see that I’m steadfast in the choices that I’ve made, and that I’m happy, they may change their minds? Hopefully. I don’t actually know what will happen.

Thanks for your input, Karena! I agree that it’s important to have a good time, definitely. But I think the difference between you and me was that you were more mature in setting aside savings for yourself. For me, on the other hand, I spent everything that I had. Which left me in a pickle when things got rough. So yeah! It’s good to have fun, but also put aside some money for a rainy day 🙂 How did you buy your first home when you were 22? That’s incredible! When I was 22, I had almost nothing in my bank account!

You’re definitely right about this. If my parents were like regular folks, I don’t think they would have dropped me so easily. From the fights I had with them, I could tell they were under a lot of pressure from the rest of the family. Everything is always about image, image, image. And it wasn’t only about sexual orientation. My parents used to try and get me to buy more expensive clothes. Otherwise, as my mum told me, “people would think I’m poor and have no clothes”. It’s not like I dressed like a bum, I just didn’t have that many pieces of clothing to wear. It’s sad, really.

I still do believe that my parents love me, though. I think they were just trying to force my hand. To make my life so miserable that I would have no choice but to go back to them. I guess I would say that my parents care about me, but they just show it in an extremely weird way though.

It is very very encouraging to hear your incredibly kind words, thank you so much! Growing up, I kept thinking I was in the wrong. That I’m doing a wrong thing by loving someone of the same gender. So I’m really happy to know that the world has amazing, open-minded people like you. Thank you so much for making my day 🙂

Hi Ann, thank you for your well wishes. It’s so heartwarming to receive such kind words from open-minded people like you, and it makes me really happy. 🙂 And I totally agree – having people who love us is worth much more than money.

I’m glad you find my story interesting and unusual! I definitely will embrace it. 🙂

Your story is uniquely yours (and I think is a tale that is very unusual among personal finance bloggers). Embrace what makes your life unique.

Peace,
Ann

Thanks so much for your kind words, Joel, it truly means a lot to me. And yeah, while the experience was very troubling and left me fairly emotionally scarred, I can definitely say that I’m a wiser and stronger person today. Everything I went through changed me for the better. 🙂

And true that! Knowing what I do now… Man, I could have done a lot better too. But I’m glad that we learnt our lesson sooner, rather than later. With this, we can look to the future and do even more!

Definitely want to slap the 20-yo version of myself too. I was decent at saving, but knowing what I know now I could have done so much better!

Hi Nick!

Thank you so much for your kind words and for stopping by my blog; I’m really, really happy that you enjoy my writing!

As for wishing that we had saved more earlier, it’s best for us to leave that in the past, despite how difficult it may be. I think it’s a blessing that we are discovering the importance of frugality and saving now; some people never discover that their entire lives. So, don’t live your life with any regrets of the past. Let’s work on ourselves with a view to the future. 🙂

Cheers,
Liz

Just found your blog and have read through a few posts. I really enjoy your writing, but I have to say this post was deep and I applaud you or sharing. You hit home on a few points that I think about all the time. Why didn’t I do more of this when I was in school….? Anywho I just wanted to say that and tell you I will definitely be reading more of your content and I am excited to follow your journey!

Best,
Nick