Many of us have dreamed of fantasy getaways, or months-long tours around the world. This week, we met someone who struggled financially in her youth; but who was indeed a single-digit millionaire today. The downside? She was already near retirement by the time her finances turned around. The upside? She’s still energetic and healthy enough to travel. Here’s her story:
From riches to rags at the beginning
Mei (not her real name) was born into a comfortably well-off family, with two other siblings. Her father was the sole breadwinner, and her mother and two domestic helpers were the main faces she saw at home.
But when Mei was 11 years old, her father divorced her mother. She says:
“I’ll only heard things from my older sister, or through a few conversations behind closed doors. Even for years afterwards my mother refused to talk about it. I believe my father had another family abroad, where he always went for his business trips, and I suppose he had picked them over us in the end.”
Mei’s father left the property, a semi-detached house at Holland Road, to her mother, as well as a significant sum. However, her mother was uneducated and financially illiterate, and the rest of Mei’s extended family took advantage of her.
“My uncles, aunts, cousins, were all borrowing money, gambling, making bad investments. One of them even went to prison and got caned, and he owed my mother a huge sum…but when he’s in prison already how could he pay it back?
Eventually we ended up living with one of my good aunts, when my mum’s savings were totally dry.”
The house that was left to her mother was sold; Mei says that, had they held on to it today, it would likely be worth several million dollars. The site is located less than five minutes from where Holland Village MRT is today (currently it’s still the site of some other landed homes).
Working without a break
After completing her primary schooling, Mei went straight to the workforce. For the first few years, she helped the aunt she was living with.
“She ran a provision shop, and she took me under her wing to teach me. My maths and record keeping became very good because they were my main job. Even today, when my daughter fills her cart at the supermarket, I can tell you the total before she even scans it.”
By the time Mei was 20, she was already married, and had saved up a significant amount. Together with her husband, who was a former ship chandler, they started a food supply business. They started out working with small eateries, but over the next two decades they were supplying to hotels and high-end restaurants.
Mei says her entire life was work. Right up to her mid-forties, Mei had only ever taken two vacations: one was a trip to China, to visit her late father when he fell ill; he passed away just a few days after her last goodbyes.
The second vacation was in Jakarta for a week, and even then it wasn’t really a holiday. Mei and her husband were there to source spices for import.
“I always dreamed of going on a solo trip, to explore places like China, Japan, Europe…but every time I wanted to go, something would come up.”
The situation worsened when her husband was diagnosed with stage two cancer – she insisted he take time to recover, and took over most of the business by herself.
(Her husband’s cancer went into remission several years ago, and he is currently well).
Forced to go on the trip she always wanted
Mei announced her semi-retirement in 2019, at the age of 62. She would still work, but only be in the office for three or four days a week – an arrangement that she continues till today.
“On the day of my retirement party, my husband told me he was insisting I go on my dream trip. For many years I told him about my friend T, who had travelled on her own for a month when she was in her mid-twenties. So now he said it’s my turn.
I said he was crazy – so old already, is it even safe to travel alone? But after I thought about it for a few days, I decided I should go. I may be late, but I am lucky because I am still healthy; so I should take advantage.”
Mei says she was daunted by the huge amounts of luggage at first, and even her husband began to question if she could handle it. But she was determined to manage – so at age 62, she single-handedly trundled down the departure hall with a huge carry-on and a grin on her face.
Three different countries in a single month
Mei’s first stop was Toronto in Canada, where her sister and eldest son lived. She had kept the trip a secret from her sister, with the help of her son.
“My son had the key to her place, so when she walked into the living room and saw me she got a total shock. I told her a few days before I’d ‘see her on Saturday’ as normal, when I usually Facetime her. So I said ‘I told you I would see you, I never said it’s on Facetime’.
I think at that moment I truly felt happy in life; I started as a girl who had to borrow money for bus fare, and now I could afford to fly here.”
Mei says she drastically overspent in Canada, as it was her first time shopping overseas. “It was the first time I realised when you’re a tourist, everything you see, no matter how useless, is very interesting and desirable.”
Fortunately, her son and sister arranged to have her items shipped back to Singapore, so she wouldn’t have to lug it on the rest of her trip.
From Canada, Mei travelled to Switzerland, where she saw snow for the first time. She also got lost while taking the train, and laments that – unlike Singapore – missing a single stop meant a double-digit train fare and several hours riding in the opposite direction.
In Switzerland, she was able to visit the Patek Phillipe museum in Geneva, and later bought a watch for her husband. This was another first for her, as Mei says she had never before spent that amount on a single luxury purchase.
Mei’s final stop was the city of London, where she stayed with a friend from her younger days. She says:
“My friend was quite amazed I was travelling alone, she said these days it’s so dangerous – but I said that’s why; I am already so old right? if anything happens, so be it. I have lived long enough. We older people are actually less scared.”
Mei’s stay was extended by an extra day, due to a delay with her flight. This was one of the first problems she realised with solo travel, as there was no travel planner or tour guide to resolve the issue.
“Luckily I was staying with my friend,” Mei says, “If not I don’t know how to find a hotel at the last minute. I think it would have cost me $300 to $500 just for the extra night.” Nonetheless, Mei feels there was a pleasantness to it in the end, as she finally had travel stories of her own to tell.
Mei’s advice on travel, health, and money
Mei says her greatest blessing is her health, which is what allows her to travel. She advises that:
“If you have the means when you’re young and healthy, it’s worth it to travel. When you’re older you may have the money but not the health, so you end up never going. I will go as often aa I can now, because at some point I won’t be able to travel anymore.”
Mei also says travel is good for your finances, although not in the way you may think:
“If you love to travel, if you have a passion for something, you will naturally work harder and work smarter. If you want anything bad enough you will find a way to make the money.
If you are content, you want to laze about and have no ambitions, then you will settle for less. It’s not always wrong to want something badly, if you can channel that into real effort.”
Mei should know – she was willing to roll up her sleeves and labour for decades, and work her way up from the provision shop floor – because of dreams like seeing the world.
Do you know any travel fanatics with interesting stories? Let us know in the comments, or reach out to us. Follow our blog to check out the experiences and insights of single-digit millionaires, and their take on life in the current economy.
