A student from a B40 family who secured a scholarship to study overseas has sparked discussion after sharing their dilemma over whether to buy a new iPhone using part of their scholarship allowance.
That student said they will be flying abroad in September and will receive a relatively generous allowance as part of the scholarship.
However, being the eldest child in a B40 family has made them think twice about spending the money on something as expensive as an iPhone.
Wants to document life overseas
According to mStar, the student explained that they wanted the phone mainly to record memories from their time studying abroad.
They also hoped to use the device for several years, potentially until they start working.
“Is it wrong for me to want to buy a new iPhone? I want to record moments while studying overseas. I also want to use the phone for a long time, hopefully until I start working.”
The student acknowledged that the phone was expensive but pointed out that they would not be using their parents’ money to buy it.
“Of course, it is a little expensive. But can’t I? It’s not like I’m using my parents’ money.”
Says they rarely got what they wanted growing up
The student also shared that they had been used to working for the things they wanted since Form Two.
Despite doing well in school and receiving awards over the years, they claimed they rarely received something they genuinely wanted as a reward.
Am I being unreasonable, guys? Since Form Two, whenever I wanted something, I always had to work for it myself.
“Every time I did well, received awards and other achievements, I never really got anything that I actually wanted.”
They admitted feeling tired of constantly being told to wait until they started working before buying something they wanted.
“I’m tired of hearing people say, ‘Wait until you start working first.’”
Says allowance is enough to cover expenses
The student added that they had already calculated their expected expenses for the year before considering the purchase.
According to them, the scholarship allowance would be enough to cover their living costs throughout the one year study period, with a sizeable amount still left over.
“The allowance is definitely enough for one year. There will still be quite a lot left over,” they said.
The student then turned to fellow Threads users for advice, asking whether buying the phone would genuinely be wasteful or whether it was reasonable to treat it as a reward before beginning a new chapter overseas.
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