Actually, his son had lofty aspirations and, with his excellent grades, was accepted into a top British university. While overjoyed, Officer Chung then received the bills for tuition and boarding fees, which for one academic year was 8,000-odd Pounds, plus quarterly boarding fees of another 1,000-odd Pounds. He had to settle the fees together, but he had little savings, often thinking police life was steady, living in PMQ, getting a pension and education allowances. He had not thought of precautions and did not know what to do now he was in need of more than $100,000 in cash.

His difficulty could have been avoided. His son's need to study was foreseeable. He could have also learned of his son's wish to study overseas well in advance through communication. Fees would have been expected too.

Officer Chung could have shared the happiness of his son's success in study if he had planned and saved early. Everyone may come across unavoidable events which often involve money, such as marriage and a home purchase, etc, when we are young. Then we have children and prepare for their education, we then have to take care of our parents and prepare for our retirement. If we don't plan well for our future and manage our finance prudently, we will be in the same predicament as Officer Chung.

This article was based on a true story. For any comments or enquiries, please call the Staff Relations Hotline, 2866-7519.







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