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Anonymous

24 Jun 2021

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Do you give your parents a monthly allowance? If so, how much?

Recently had a discussion with my friends on how we’re not earning enough as fresh graduates and the amount we can fork out to give allowance to our parents seem too minuscule.

Some of our families don’t mind/never asked so we decide not to pull the trigger and save instead. But there’s that guilt ofc.

Hoping for more perspectives. Did you provide your parents an allowance once you entered work?

If so, how much or how did you determine what amount to give? And if not, when did you start?

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I give 25% of my salary to my parents (after CPF), and 20% goes to my mom and the rest goes to my dad. I also realise that 25% is actually a lot after seeing all the comments below but I think it's worth it.

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I started work in July 2019 (20yo, right out of poly) and discussed with my parents that I wanted to set a "base" for myself so I didn't give any allowance until 6mths later (Jan 2020, nicer date to remember lol). FYI, I'm an only-child and my parents are decently well-to-do / can survive without my allowance.

I :

  • gave 7.5% of my take-home salary
  • provided hosp insurance coverage (amounts to 1.5k/yr)
  • gave CNY angpaos (up to 1-2k in total)
  • gave birthday presents/angpaos ($500-1.2k)

I also aggressively save a huge portion of my salary and separate them into expenses(needs) / shopping(wants) / insurance / stocks-robo-investments.

Hope this helps! :) In the end, I believe parents would appreciate any amount given <3 Paying with quality time works too!

Similar question asked before on Seedly, let me provide a scenario replied by none (so far), as food for thought.

But before that, it really depends on the situation of the family and communication.

Since young, my mom taught me, 1/3 of salary. Didn't specify take home or gross.

The question is allowance, so, does allowance means pocket money for spending or household expenditures (somewhat like rent + defray household expenses)

In my household, the lines are not clear. Hence, I don't know how much goes to allowance, how much goes to household.

And also not very sure what exactly is the question referring to?

As both are legitimate cost and adds up to our personal expenses.

For me, I am still following the rule of 1/3 of salary.

As some of the replies have indicated, parents shouldn't treat children as retirement funds, however, factoring in different mindsets and family situations, such situation are possible.

Communicate well but don't give until you cannot plan for yourself and your future.

When I did my first job serving at Chilli's, my colleague who studies at Ngee Ann said he give 20%. So for the first five years of working, I also made it a point total for family = 20% of take home pay, but covers allowances and most of the household bills.

Now that I almost work > 15 years, as a rough guide, the annual amount I spend on my family is about 1.8 months take home pay which covers the household bills, their medical insurance, monthly allowances, and payouts on CNY, father / mother's day, birthdays and Xmas.

Most of my peers tell me every month give each parent 300 enough loh. When I hear that, I often wonder if I have been too generous, or my peers are too stingy - after all we earn about the same, they can stay nice condo, drive nice car, take multiple cool vacations per year, and spend lots on the kids.

But I would advise not to compare.
If you really want to get it right, have a discussion with parents and find the middle ground of what you can afford.

Most important thing is find out what insurance they have, and think about best way to cover within budget. Don't try to save and skip medical insurance, when those bills come, they are no joke - and the medisave may cover only small amounts. Make sure they get some cover, if you really have to, you can pay most of the premiums from your medisave, and minimize the cash out.

It really depends on your own and family's financial situation. Perhaps have an open discussion with...

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