But four years ago, her husband, the family's sole breadwinner, died from a heart attack.
They had bought a five-room flat in Woodlands and she was left with a $360,000 loan to pay off.
Unable to keep up with the monthly payments of $2,000, Madam Gurusamy, who took up a cleaning job for $800 a month, had to move into a rental flat in Jalan Bukit Merah last year.
None of her four children is working although her eldest son, 21, is doing his national service.
Her eldest daughter Ranjini, 20, is looking for a job as a beautician. The other two - aged 17 and five - are in school.
'I wanted to buy a three-room flat because this place is too small for us, but we have no cash,' she said. Every month, she pays $44 in rent. She still owes the HDB $141,000 for the family's previous flat.
While their rental home looked well furnished - with a TV set, sofa, dining table and a desktop computer - Ranjini said the items were given to them by relatives.
They had given away their own bulky furniture.
Madam Gurusamy hopes her financial situation will improve when her daughter finds a job and when her son finishes NS next year.
'They may want to study further and then get married. I don't know if I'll ever finish repaying my loan,' she said.
When asked if there are more deserving people needing their rental flat, she said: 'Where else can we stay? We don't have money to buy a flat now.'
This article was first published in The Straits Times on August 31, 2008.
