Man says parents take 15% of his pay, leaving him unable to save for a home - Singapore News

03 May 2026, 06:03 · The Independent

SINGAPORE: A man in his 20s recently shared that his strict parents, who take 15% of his salary every month, expect him to buy a home by the time he turns 35.

In a post on the r/asksg subreddit on Sunday (Apr 26), he shared his fears, saying he does not have enough money to fulfil his parents’ wishes.

“I don’t have enough money to buy a house at 35,” he said. “I feel like my life is screwed. I’m already prepared to sleep on the streets at night.”

He then elaborated on the main reasons he has been unable to build up savings.

He recalled that when he was younger, his parents never allowed him to develop financial independence. When he needed food, he said they would “buy the food for him” instead of “giving him pocket money.”

During his polytechnic years, his parents forbade him from taking on any part-time work, limiting his ability to earn or manage his own finances. “I literally had $0 in my bank account until I started my first full-time job.”

At age 20, after graduating from polytechnic, he said his parents pushed him straight into full-time work, as, according to him, “they didn’t want him to go to university.”

Even after he started working, he said control over his finances remained largely in their hands. His salary was deposited into a bank account managed by his parents.

“My parents have full control over the bank account where my salary goes. I also have the password and stuff, so I can log in to see the balance, but every month, my parents will log in and transfer 15% of my salary to their own bank account.”

He added that because his parents were strict about spending and limited his social life when he was younger, he later found himself overspending on experiences and items he had missed out on, such as going to Halloween Horror Nights and buying things he had previously been denied.

At 22, he said his parents pressured him to resign from his job. “The worst thing is, there were people at work who cared about me, but I was dealing with too many family issues. I didn’t have the capacity to tell people at work that I was being pressured, and I wanted to stay.”

He has remained unemployed since then.

Despite this, he said his parents continue to stress that he needs to buy his own home by 35, something he now feels is increasingly out of reach.

“Stop giving them access for a start.”

His post drew concern from other Singaporean Redditors, many of whom urged him to take steps toward financial independence.

One commenter suggested opening a new bank account at a different bank and arranging for his salary to be credited there instead. “Just have HR transfer the money to the new account. Then, once you have enough, please further your education. A private uni or whatever niche courses are ok,” they wrote.

“Lastly, and I say this with a lot of concern, please have a good therapist. It must be stifling and traumatic growing up with these people.”

Another advised him to leave home as soon as he is able to. “Yes, you are screwed. You are their backup plan for their retirement age, not their child. I don’t know how old you are right now, but you need to walk away from them. As a legal adult, nobody can force you to do what you don’t want to do unless you let them.”

A third user criticised his parents, writing, “Them transferring money into their own account is absolutely disgusting and not normal. Stop giving them access for a start. I know the job market sucks now. But do continue trying to get a job and don’t give up. Time to start being an adult. You can’t change the past, and what’s done is done.”

In other news, a woman confessed on social media that she is starting to feel anxious about the future of her marriage, as she and her husband are still living apart a year after their wedding.

She shared on the r/askSingapore forum on Saturday (April 25) that she only stays over at her husband’s place “one to two times a week.”

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