Hi I am Thomson.

From a young age, I felt a strong desire to live a life of luxury. I was a good student although not spectacular, but I had a knack for dealing with people.

My father was rich enough to have two wives. He sent me to Melbourne to finish high school and study at university. On weekends, I worked as a waiter at a Malaysian restaurant and later became the captain because of my excellent interpersonal skills. This income substantially reduced the dependence on my parents.

I married when I was still a student and my wife worked at the same restaurant, adding to our savings. I completed the computer studies degree in 3 years and IBM hired me as a specialist in banking systems. Despite being a technical person, I was instrumental in closing several sales and stood out from my peers. my annual bonus was very satisfying and the salary increased rapidly.

Together with my extra income as a restaurant captain and my wife’s as a waitress, we bought a piece of land in the suburbs and contracted to build a nice house. This venture made a tidy profit partly because of the rising market. Soon I divested that property and bought another piece of land, repeating the gain.

After only 5 years into my career, I was expatriated to Germany where I serviced the international inter-bank transfer system. Expatriation plus intercontinental traveling boosted my savings. Next, a niche inter-bank transfer system provider recruited me to be CEO of their Asia Pacific business in 1989 based in Singapore. The employer gave me 10% of the shares in the company, payable from dividends. The low tax environment in the city-state resulted in a high take home pay. An investment in a comics shop brought steady cash flow and further tax deductions.

The earlier profits in Australia prompted me to invest in Singapore condominiums. From 1989 to 1996, I bought and traded properties, increasing my portfolio, yielding good profits in each case.

My high income and excellent capital gains prompted me to start spending. In succession, I bought a Mercedes, a BMW, and a Jaguar – on occasions I owned more than 3 cars. I lived in a high-end condominium. I acquired a second wife and further increased my expenses. Divorce proceedings followed and the matrimonial home was awarded to my wife.

During the Asian financial crisis, Singapore real estate prices took a dive, falling by 50% – all my properties were underwater. The divorce settlement was lengthy and expensive, which further drained my financial resources. Business at the employer company also deteriorated and the parent company sold off the business.

The new owners soon retrenched me. I was unemployed for 6 months – and had no choice but to sell off the fine cars at a great loss. I learnt to use public transport. I began to use credit cards to fund the financial gap, borrowing tens of thousands here and there. Then I landed the CEO role at a charitable organization, but the income was only a fraction of that in the previous job, leaving little after the alimony payments. The credit card problems mounted. Unable to pay I declared himself a bankrupt.
All these extras plus years of thrift helped to build up a reasonable nest egg and I retired after working for 18 years.