A man who blew a whopping £60,000 on luxury clothes, high stakes gambling and a £230 pen to impress his colleagues has revealed how he went on a ‘debt diet’.
Shallum Mas had to claw his way back from the brink of financial ruin.
His life may have looked luxurious from the outside, but behind the scenes, the 40-year-old’s addiction to gambling and keeping up a facade almost ruined him.
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He would often splash a stomach-churning £5,800 per bet while with his high-rolling friends, and once lost £17,300 in one go.
Shallum found himself living paycheque to paycheque, with every dollar already spoken for before it even landed in his account.
“By the time payday came around, most of it was already gone,” he told What’s The Jam.
“It felt like I was trapped in a loop.
“Nights were restless and days were anxious.
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“Every small expense felt like a mountain I wasn’t able to climb.
“I was working tirelessly so that I could pay the minimum on my credit card debt.
“And hoped I wouldn’t fall further behind because there was no room for anything else.”
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It all started when Shallum began his career in banking at 26, earning around 0,000 (SGD) (£40,000) per year.
Surrounded by colleagues flashing luxury goods, he felt the pressure to keep up.
He bought pricey items, such as a 00 (SGD) (£230) Montblanc pen and a 4,000 (SGD) (£13,900) Ducati motorbike.
The parties, clubbing and thrill of showing off quickly turned dark.
He said: “Everyone around me had the flashy stuff.
“The moment I bought something new, I felt a rush.
“But it only lasted until my colleagues had the next thing.
“I thought having these luxury items would make people accept me, but the happiness vanished as soon as I showed them off, and I was back to square one.
“It wasn’t even about enjoying the stuff anymore – it was about proving I could afford it, even when I really couldn’t.”
His debts quickly spiralled to an amount 00,000 (SGD) (£58,000), leaving him with maxed-out credit cards, sleepless nights, constant stress and even high blood pressure.
In a desperate attempt to claw some of his money back, he turned to gambling up to four times a week.
Shallum said: “The more I lost, the more I thought I had to keep playing to win it back.
“It became a vicious circle.
“I thought if I just played a little more, I could make some of the money back.
“Gambling became a habit – I did it almost without thinking, just because it was there.
“Sometimes I won a bit, sometimes I lost, but I kept going, hoping the next game would change everything.”
Unlike many who end up in the grip of debt, Shallum, who now works as a broker, pulled himself back by restructuring his life.
He took out a three-year bank loan at just two per cent interest to pay off his “crippling” financial turmoil.
A 00,000 (SGD) (£290,000) flat he wanted to purchase became his focus, and he cut back on every luxury; quitting gambling, designer splurges and even cigarettes.
Shallum, from Singapore, sold his beloved motorbike for 8,000 (SGD) (£16,200), borrowed cash from a close friend and started bringing food from home for lunch instead of spending 50 (SGD) (£145) a week.
He said: “It wasn’t easy, but I knew I had to take control.
“Every dollar I saved brought me one step closer to freedom.
“Selling the bike and cutting back hurt at first, but it was worth it to finally feel like I was winning back my life.
“I had to be strict with myself.
“It was all about priorities – pay off the debt first, then everything else could follow.
“For the first time in years, I felt like I had a plan, and I wasn’t living paycheque-to-paycheque anymore.”
With his £3,000 per month salary, he used half to chip away at the debt.
And within three years, it was completely cleared.
Now he owns a .8m (SGD) (£1.03m) property.
He added: “It was such a relief to go back to having a normal life.
“I could finally breathe and think about the future again.
“Clearing the debt wasn’t just about money – it was about taking my life back.
“I learned that no problem is too big if you face it head-on and stick to a plan.
“There’s always a solution, and it’s never the end of the world.
“The urge to gamble is still there once in a while, but I resist and tell myself it’s not worth it and find something more valuable to do.
“You just have to take a step back, face it and start again.
“That’s what I did, and it can be done.”
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