He put his money into Australian and New Zealand dollars and earned enough to remain invested for a few years.
In university, he 'graduated' to investment funds and started to consult financial advisers.
Buying stocks in the aftermath of the Sars outbreak in 2003, the journalism graduate earned what amounted to about $40,000 when these rebounded in value.
But like many other Taiwanese, the recent market downturn has ended his days of fat returns and frequent trips to the upmarket Shin Kong Mitsukoshi shopping centre.
Like Mr Sun, who is now 30, many employees in Taiwan also invest in the financial market. A recent survey of 1,577 employees by a manpower agency found that eight in 10 do so.
On average, each has lost about 7.1 months' worth of their wages from the latest turmoil.
But Mr Sun has lost much more - 11/2 years worth of his pay as a planner in a cultural foundation.
'I can rely only on my salary now,' he said.
He and his wife, 27, a sales assistant in a book shop, earn the equivalent of about $3,000 a month, a third of which goes to his mother for household expenses.
Slightly more than 10 per cent of their pay, or about $360, is put aside to service the mortgage on their apartment in Hsintien in south-western Taipei.
From splashing what amounted to about $1,000 a month on clothes, dining out and movies, he spends less than half of that these days.
'I try my best to look for alternatives to maintain my lifestyle,' he said.
Instead of paying about $5 for a Starbucks coffee, he now gets cheaper coffee from a convenience store.
The keen movie-goer has also been watching fewer films or mainly those on second runs.
With the downturn, more Taiwanese are looking for part-time jobs.
A labour agency said about 11,000 people have signed up for part-time work, a growth of 30 per cent from last year.
Mr Sun and his wife have already found part-time work. He teaches Chinese while she teaches English.
He also contributes articles to a Hong Kong magazine while she sometimes freelances as a songwriter. But their part-time work earns them only about $250 extra a month.
Mr Sun's wife has also cut back drastically on spending, opting for cheaper Korean cosmetic products over Japanese ones and giving up her car for the subway.
Despite the belt-tightening, Mr Sun said it would not affect their plans to have children. 'When it's time, it's time,' he said.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on November 02, 2008.
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