Mr Vincent Leow has two sons and would like to have a third child. But the current economic downturn has put paid to his dream of having a daughter.
The 41-year-old runs a car-care business which he started after he was retrenched seven years ago during the 2001 recession.
'Times then were really tough. I even had to clean casket vans to put food on the table. But it was because of the quality service that I offered to customers that my business survived,' he said.
Hard times are back and he is feeling the pinch again.
While he used to polish about 80 cars a month, the number has gone down to 50 to 60 from July this year.
During festive seasons, his business used to get a 30 per cent boost in revenue. But this did not happen during the recent Hari Raya and Deepavali stretch.
He notes that customers now spend less, abandoning their thrice-weekly car wash at $6 each time for just a weekly cleanup.
He also faces stiff competition from illegal operators based in carparks who charge lower prices.
To stay afloat, Mr Leow has cut staff strength from eight to six and has rolled up his sleeves to help out.
He leaves his five-room Tampines flat at 8am and returns at 10pm every day. By then, his two sons are asleep.
His 35-year-old wife quit her managerial job when their second child was born in 2000 so that she could look after him. Their older boy was born in 1999.
The family have become more frugal recently. They used to visit restaurants at least once a month but now head to hawker centres.
Rising utility bills are also a matter of concern. 'Before the electricity tariff hike, I used to pay $90 a month; now I pay $140 a month.'
His wife is doing what she can to trim costs. 'I used to go shopping thrice a week but now I go only once a week,' she said, noting that the prices of basic necessities keep going up.
Mr Leow is hanging on. 'For businessmen like us, it's quite difficult to cope in these times. It would be helpful for us to know where we can get help,' he said.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on November 02, 2008.
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