On some days, Madam Mala Ramakrishnan, 45, would look at her balance sheets and cry.
For two years, nearly half of her monthly income as a legal secretary went to pay for tuition for her three children - aged 15, 13 and 11 - and the rest would be used for rent, bills and food.
The centre-based tuition cost her $200 per child.
To make ends meet, the single mother took up an additional job as a house maid, earning another $100 each week.
"Life was hard then, it was a struggle and I was so tired every day that I didn't even have time to spend with my kids," she says.
The family lived in a one-room rental flat after an amicable divorce in 2009.
Although they had a roof over their heads and just enough money to get by, the environment was not conducive to her children's studies.
Madam Mala says: "It was a messy neighbourhood and there were many fights and quarrels every night."
But to her, tuition was always a necessity as it gave her children the chance to be on an equal footing as their classmates.
If her children did well in their studies, perhaps they may end up in a better place in life than her, she thought.
She also received calls from teachers who told her that her children's grades were slipping, which worried her further.
Madam Mala says: "I didn't want my children to be looked down on because of their grades.
"I believed that I need to do more for them, even if it means that I have to take up an additional job, then so be it."
ONLINE BUSINESS
Today, she no longer juggles two jobs as she has found additional income in her online business as a beauty consultant.
She has also taken her children out from centre-based tuition as it had little effect on their grades, but she paid $2,000 to sign her 13-year-old daughter to an education programme that encourages learning.
Living on tight budget, with no savings
His family of four can live quite comfortably on their total household income of $3,800, says cabby Goh Teck Seng.
Except that he spends $2,100 on tuition for both his children, he tells The New Paper on Sunday.
Mr Goh, 45, used to drive the morning shift, but since last year, he has been on the road for about 12 hours a day, six days a week.
His wife, Madam Linda Tan, makes about $1,400 a month working two jobs, as a clerk and as a cleaner in a karaoke lounge.
Mr Goh, who lives in a three-room HDB flat, says: "We are thrifty and we have no debts. But we also live on a tight budget with no savings for now."
This is so that he can pay a private tutor for his son, 15, and send his younger daughter, 11, to a popular learning centre.
His son, he says, is an average student who needs help in maths and English.
WAITING LIST
"We want him to do well enough to get into a junior college," adds Mr Goh.
His daughter was on the waiting list for about six months before she got a place in a leading education centre.
Mr Goh pays $1,200 for a term at the centre and another $400 for private Chinese tuition.
He says: "Our daughter is the smarter one, so we want to invest in the best for her."
Mr Goh admits that his daughter's school offers supplementary classes for the pupils, but says he does not want to take the risk.
"It's not that the teachers are lousy, but there are about 30 children in one class, so how much attention can they give to my daughter?" he says.
"We would prefer to make our own sacrifices so that we can give her a head start in life."
'It's better to pay more for proven quality'
Madam Florence Chan, a housewife, was given a blank cheque by her husband to spend on her son's tuition.
"Pick whatever is the best out there," her husband, who is a director in a contractor firm, told her.
So she did exactly that, spending days going through online forums to research options for her 16-year-old son.
They now spend nearly $1,000 every month on small group tuition for various subjects at the junior college level, including economics, his weakest subject.
Madam Chan, who is in her 40s, says: "We noticed that he needed to buck up. If he stays at home, he would be playing computer games rather than studying.
"Now, he is a lot more disciplined."
Madam Chan says her son's tuition class covers topics 30 per cent faster than the school. At lectures, he is able to grasp concepts better since it was already taught in tuition.
She declines to share what their household income is.
"I'm blessed that we do not have to worry about money.
"Yes, we may have to give up some luxuries, but investing in your own children is always the right option," she says.
"I could have paid less for tuition, but the quality of the tutor may not be as good. It's better to pay more for proven quality."
Although they had a roof over their heads and just enough money to get by, the environment was not conducive to her children's studies.
Madam Mala says: "It was a messy neighbourhood and there were many fights and quarrels every night."
But to her, tuition was always a necessity as it gave her children the chance to be on an equal footing as their classmates.
If her children did well in their studies, perhaps they may end up in a better place in life than her, she thought.
She also received calls from teachers who told her that her children's grades were slipping, which worried her further.
Madam Mala says: "I didn't want my children to be looked down on because of their grades.
"I believed that I need to do more for them, even if it means that I have to take up an additional job, then so be it."
ONLINE BUSINESS
Today, she no longer juggles two jobs as she has found additional income in her online business as a beauty consultant.
She has also taken her children out from centre-based tuition as it had little effect on their grades, but she paid $2,000 to sign her 13-year-old daughter to an education programme that encourages learning.
Living on tight budget, with no savings
His family of four can live quite comfortably on their total household income of $3,800, says cabby Goh Teck Seng.
Except that he spends $2,100 on tuition for both his children, he tells The New Paper on Sunday.
Mr Goh, 45, used to drive the morning shift, but since last year, he has been on the road for about 12 hours a day, six days a week.
His wife, Madam Linda Tan, makes about $1,400 a month working two jobs, as a clerk and as a cleaner in a karaoke lounge.
Mr Goh, who lives in a three-room HDB flat, says: "We are thrifty and we have no debts. But we also live on a tight budget with no savings for now."
This is so that he can pay a private tutor for his son, 15, and send his younger daughter, 11, to a popular learning centre.
His son, he says, is an average student who needs help in maths and English.
WAITING LIST
"We want him to do well enough to get into a junior college," adds Mr Goh.
His daughter was on the waiting list for about six months before she got a place in a leading education centre.
Mr Goh pays $1,200 for a term at the centre and another $400 for private Chinese tuition.
He says: "Our daughter is the smarter one, so we want to invest in the best for her."
Mr Goh admits that his daughter's school offers supplementary classes for the pupils, but says he does not want to take the risk.
"It's not that the teachers are lousy, but there are about 30 children in one class, so how much attention can they give to my daughter?" he says.
"We would prefer to make our own sacrifices so that we can give her a head start in life."
'It's better to pay more for proven quality'
Madam Florence Chan, a housewife, was given a blank cheque by her husband to spend on her son's tuition.
"Pick whatever is the best out there," her husband, who is a director in a contractor firm, told her.
So she did exactly that, spending days going through online forums to research options for her 16-year-old son.
They now spend nearly $1,000 every month on small group tuition for various subjects at the junior college level, including economics, his weakest subject.
Madam Chan, who is in her 40s, says: "We noticed that he needed to buck up. If he stays at home, he would be playing computer games rather than studying.
"Now, he is a lot more disciplined."
Madam Chan says her son's tuition class covers topics 30 per cent faster than the school. At lectures, he is able to grasp concepts better since it was already taught in tuition.
She declines to share what their household income is.
"I'm blessed that we do not have to worry about money.
"Yes, we may have to give up some luxuries, but investing in your own children is always the right option," she says.
"I could have paid less for tuition, but the quality of the tutor may not be as good. It's better to pay more for proven quality."