Caregiver Who Supported 6 Family Members Overcame Having $0 in Her Bank Account

When it rains, it pours.

That was what Ms So Kim Choo, or Kim So as she is commonly referred to by friends, thought when her late sister-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2016, followed by her father’s diagnosis with stomach cancer a few months later.

Ms So, then 27, soon found herself helping to look after her family. Together with her mother and sis-in-law, they took turns taking her father for his hospital visits; took her mother for her doctor visits; and helped to look after her sister-in-law for the last few months before her passing and her three children when needed, more so when their mother passed on.

She had barely any money a year later.

“I had zero dollars in my bank account,” recalled Ms So, who lived from pay cheque to pay cheque while working in the events industry.

Her monthly basic salary of $2,100 was used to pay for all her bills and living expenses, including a recurring traditional Chinese medicine bill of $500 for hives she was suffering from then. While she earned commissions on a project basis, certain projects would take months to complete and the money would come in a few months later.

“I thought it was good enough that I could take care of myself and that my parents had enough for their retirement,” she said. “But I forgot that we needed spare cash for emergencies. I realised I didn’t know much about money until my father fell sick.”

While her father’s insurance as well as a payout from his critical illness plan helped to cover some of his medical costs, Ms So decided to become a financial consultant so that she could increase her income and have the flexibility of time to accompany her father on his hospital visits. The visits sometimes stretched from 9am to 4pm, and he spent the next six years in and out of hospitals.

Her father, who had to remove his part of his stomach, is now in remission. He still visits the doctor regularly after undergoing a brain surgery in July 2023. Her sister-in-law died in 2017, a year after her cancer diagnosis.

The entire ordeal was a difficult period for the family and affected Ms So’s mindset about money – and the importance of insurance. “We would have been a few hundred thousand dollars in deficit if not for it.”

She also learnt not to rely on one source of income. Now, she has three: In addition to being a financial consultant, she works as an estate planner and has her own trading account.

While her income has greatly increased from before – pulling in a low five-figure sum a month – she is disciplined with her spending. While she used to keep each meal at $5 or less, she still makes her own coffee from time to time. Because of proper financial planning, she can now afford to co-own a car, treat friends, and travel with her parents from time to time. “This is also why I do this work, to have time and money for my family and myself. My parents are simple people and I want to create more memories and experiences together with them.”

Ms So and her husband, who also works in the finance industry, have intentionally kept their expenditure low, choosing to live in their four-room Build-To-Order flat instead of moving to a private property as they “don’t want a big mortgage”.

“We want the cash flow to invest,” she said. “We’ve learnt the power of compounding.”

Article repurpose from The Straits Times, by Alyssa Woo Assistant Business Editor