SINGAPORE: A 27-year-old worker who recently got laid off is now stressing over how she’s going to keep up with her student loan payments without a steady income coming in.
In a post on the r/singaporefi subreddit, the woman shared that she still owes around S$8,000 on her student bank loan. Under the repayment plan, she has to pay about S$680 every month, with the loan set to mature sometime in the middle of next year.
“I know this debt doesn’t sound like much, and realistically, it’s straightforward enough to pay off, but the complication stems from me losing my job (company laid off a lot of staff due to downsizing) a few months ago,” she wrote.
“I’ve been applying for jobs almost every day since then, and I’ve not had any luck. I’m getting to a point where the little bit of savings I was starting to develop has been used to pay for my student loan each month, and I’m worried I won’t land a job in time for the next deduction in June.”
The woman added that although she studied psychology, she has expanded her job search beyond her field and even started applying for retail and F&B jobs just to secure some form of income. But so far, most of the responses she’s received have been rejection emails.
Trying to buy herself some time, she also contacted the bank to ask if she could defer her payment for a month. However, she said the bank rejected the request.
“I tried calling [the bank] to explain the situation and ask if it’s possible to defer payment for a month so I have a bit more time but was told they don’t allow deferment for student loans and to ‘try to get the funds by end of June.’”
Feeling anxious and stuck, she turned to Reddit to ask, “Are there any options I can consider, or is it really a bopian (nothing can be done) situation? My parents are semi-retired and aren’t able to help, and I don’t have siblings either. I’ve never missed a loan payment, so I really don’t want to risk getting a legal letter or anything like that.”
“Just pick up whatever part-time jobs that you can get”
In the comments section, several Singaporean Reddit users chimed in with practical advice.
One commenter pointed out that if “she is still living with her parents and does not have to worry about rent or mortgage payments,” she may need to temporarily cut back on expenses as much as possible while continuing her job search.
They added, “Eat at home every day. Eat Maggie Mee if you need to. Entry-level F&B or retail usually has 0 barriers to entry; did you apply to those? ”
Another commented, “The main challenge is to put aside or amass S$680 to meet June’s payment. If you must, you need to reach out to relatives or friends to help with this 680. It may not even be S$680 unless you really have nothing to contribute towards this ATM. Look up tuition gigs.”
A third remarked, “Just pick up whatever part-time jobs that you can get. I see so many F&B businesses hiring waitstaff.”
In other news, a 33-year-old man has sparked discussion online after sharing that he spends 10 to 12 hours with his 32-year-old girlfriend during each meetup twice a week, while also footing almost every bill.
In a Reddit post, the man said he started wondering whether their relationship dynamics were actually normal after feeling increasingly drained “emotionally, physically, and financially.”
Read more: ‘Is this normal?’: Man says he meets girlfriend for 10–12 hours twice weekly and pays every bill
