A New Hope

We just rented out a room to this highly qualified IT consultant from Malaysia. Apparently, he holds a bachelor's degree from Arizona State, US and a masters from London. And boy didn't he offer a high premium for our modest spare master room: $650 fixed with $70 variable per month! Now that's way more than the market right now. Other rooms are going at $550 and $600 and I must say this guy is really generous with his cash. For his sincerity, we offered broadband internet FOC.

From the start, it seems like we have found the right tenant. He's polite, mild-mannered and very attached to his girlfriend, which means that he'll not make funny designs about my sis, who's also staying at home. Plus, he is willing to put 3 months' rent as deposit, which more than covered the risk of him breaking our contract due to job-instability. This tenant is perfect! And we welcomed him with opened-arms.

It's indeed a small miracle that things moved so fast since I last broached the idea of renting out our spare capacities for extra family income in June. The plan goes like this: the rental income will be invested in unit trusts for additional growth and will be drawn down in two years' time to finance my parents' trip to US for my graduation, while the rest will be kept untouched for their retirement further down the road.

I have always wanted a comfortable retirement for my parents, for I know that they have not spared any thoughts on that and have been spending too excessively on traveling and home improvement. Without a source of steady retirement income, it is ultimately the children that will fend for their twilight years, and I am very uncomfortable with that. Firstly, I totally subscribed to the view that 'feed a man a fish, and he eats for a day; teach him how to fish and he'll feed himself forever.' I have been well-trained in investment and wealth management and there's no reason at all why my parents should be deprived of the knowledge that I possess. Knowledge is power and I intend for them to become as savvy as I am eventually. Second, the liability of fending for my parents, my family and perhaps my gf's parents might prove too much a dent to my personal retirement dreams and I will never compromise that. But filial piety dictates that I look after my parents when they are old, so I resort to knowledge and I shall see to it that it pays off.

So, renting out this first room is a fine step forward. It builds confidence about the future for my parents and with the extra cash, their standard of living should improve. However, there's still a risk to the idyllic picture: my dad's temper and my mom's headstrong character. The two loggerheads have yet to resolve their outstanding issues and with the noise that they generate everyday, I'm afraid the tenant will not stay for long, which will then scuttle our well-thought out plan. So, I thought of a second plan to address the risk, and to rescue their marriage: 50 cents fine.

You see, my parents like to bad-mouth one another in front of my sis and me, and I'm very disturbed by that. That's not what a married couple with children do to each other. Sure, couples have their relationship problems, but when it comes to kids, it's a whole new dimension. My parents have to practice restraint, or they can say goodbye to us kids giving them any respect down the road, the same way that so many families fell apart. Therefore, after an extended counseling session with each of my parents, we struck a deal: my dad will not raise his voice or act like a hooligan, or it's a 50 cents fine by the piggy bank. Each time he felt provoked, he'll go straight to his room and write his feelings down onto a piece of paper and put it on the other party' table in private. The other party then has the option of reading or ignoring the note, which is of course better than listening to yells involuntarily; my mom will not bad-mouth my dad anymore in front of my sis and me or it's a 50 cents fine too by the piggy bank. Any grievances will be similarly put into words on a note and sent in private. The choice to change for the better in each other's perspective is totally voluntary because no one should be forced to change. The key here is simply to reduce the amount of noise in this family everyday.

It took a lot of effort to simply convince my parents that this is the way forward to mend their marriage and make this rental thing work. It is going to be rough going but I think at this point, we need all the commitments that we can get from both parties or it's really au revoir to this family unit. I still have about a month to go before I go back to the States and I hope this new tenant will be a catalyst for us to really correct all our past mistakes and irritating behaviors.

Sometimes I get really tired of being the moderator all the time in this family, with little help from anyone. But I figured that with my past experiences and training, I'm the best person for the job. I don't know if I will give up if this plan doesn't work, but I think I'm already giving it my best shot. It's brave new world nowadays, and if things still do not work out, I think the best solution for my parents is still to go their separate ways. That's the cane I proposed to them and I meant it, so they better use this chance to improve themselves or things will turn real nasty very quickly. Let's hope that this tenant is really the new hope that we've been wishing for all along.