By Genevieve Jiang

HE doesn't earn very much and didn't manage what little he earned properly.

As a result, Mr Saadon Rabian, who is the sole breadwinner for his family of eight, including his mother-in-law, racked up debts of more than $1,000 in utilities, service and conservancy, and phone bills.

The 38-year-old technician's situation worsened when his wife developed complications after the birth of their fifth child in late 2006. The hospital bills plunged the family deeper into debt.

Mr Saadon's wife, Madam Noorhidah Abdul Rahim, 33, was found to have an abnormal heartbeat and had to be hospitalised for nearly two weeks.

The medical bill came up to about $1,850.

Said Mr Saadon, who earns $1,500 a month and has five children aged between 14 and 2: 'I couldn't pay using Medisave because it was my fifth child. I can only use Medisave up to my fourth child.

'So this time, I had to pay cash. But I didn't have that kind of money.

'I had always spent whatever I earned, so I had barely any savings.'

Meanwhile, he had already received several warning letters from Singapore Power to pay his bills.

'I was quite desperate, so I resorted to borrowing from my family members.'

A $3,000 loan from his sister and $1,500 from his mother-in-law put him further in debt.

He decided to seek help from his Member of Parliament, who referred him to the Southeast Community Development Council (CDC) in May 2007.

By then, he owed $650 in utilities, $50 in service and conservancy, $400 in phone bills and $1,850 in hospital bills.

Together with his personal loans, he was almost $7,500 in debt.

CDC help

But in less than two years, with the help of the CDC and through careful planning and budgeting, Mr Saadon has managed to clear close to half the amount.

Mr Saadon's story may be simple but his is a case the Southeast CDC wants to highlight as an example of how small acts of budgeting and saving can go a long way into stretching one's dollar.

From June to November 2007, the CDC helped the family by giving them monthly cash vouchers of $125 for utilities, and service and conservancy under the ComCare work support self-reliance programme.

Mr Saadon also attended a one-day budgeting workshop organised by the CDC.

He said: 'I realised that I had been very careless with my spending. Previously, I never planned or budgeted. Whatever my family needed, I would buy.

'That was how I ended up over-stretching myself in the first place.'

In June 2007, he started repaying the hospital in instalments every month.

He also made a conscious effort to cut down on the family's spending.

Said Madam Noorhidah: 'We now put aside $300 a month for marketing and $350 for utilities and phone bills. We also try to save at least $30 every month.'

The family, who used to eat out at least once a week, cut that down to once a month.

A fast-food meal is considered a treat.

Said Mr Saadon: 'When we go grocery shopping, we don't take the kids anymore because they will make demands, which we find hard to refuse. So we stick strictly to what we need now.'

The couple have also learnt to compare prices and shop at nearby provision stores.

Family holidays are not an option for now, said Mr Saadon. The last family holiday - to Kuala Lumpur - was in 2005.

Mr Saadon's efforts have paid off.

During a case review by the CDC in January last year, he had already reduced his debts to about $4,600.

At that time, he owed the hospital $930 and his utilities debt totalled $300. He managed to clear the phone and conservancy bills, but still owed his sister $3,000 and his mother-in-law some $400.

Because of his efforts, the CDC extended financial help for another six months.

When a second review was done in July last year, Mr Saadon was found to owe the hospital $760 and his outstanding utilities bills totalled $160. By then, he had repaid his mother-in-law another $250.

The CDC gave him more help from August until January this year. The aid will not be extended. Mr Saadon now owes about $3,000 in total

Said Mr Saadon: 'It feels good to soon be debt-free.

'All it takes is to be disciplined about your spending, and spending within your means. It's something so simple, but it took a course at the CDC to make me realise it.

'It's really not hard to do.'

This article was first published in The New Paper on January 29, 2009.