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Pang vs Pang: Who has better money sense — Kate Pang or Adrian Pang?

SINGAPORE — There is an ancient Chinese saying that goes: “A journey of a thousand taels begins with a single pang.” Okay, no, there isn’t — we just made that up. But when it comes to riches and gold, it seems that the Pangs are in demand at the moment.

SINGAPORE — There is an ancient Chinese saying that goes: “A journey of a thousand taels begins with a single pang.” Okay, no, there isn’t — we just made that up. But when it comes to riches and gold, it seems that the Pangs are in demand at the moment.

In the DBS online miniseries Sparks, which aims to portray bankers as having both heart and head, Adrian Pang plays a high-ranking bank manager supervising young bankers who must navigate the turbulent waters of life and love.

And Kate Pang is the newly appointed ambassador for LeGold, the new collection of jewellery from pawnbroker Maxi-Cash’s retail and trading arm, Gold n Gems.

This brings us to one very important question: Which Pang should you trust to give good, solid advice in a financial pinch? We sat down with them to find out — and tried to hit them up for a loan while we were at it.

Q: What has been your best investment?

Adrian Pang: My family. Starting a family costs (money). I’ve got two boys who are growing rapidly and I’m desperately trying to keep up with them and their needs. And obviously trying to be smart about saving up enough for their further education ... Right now I’m managing to at least save by handing my boys the clothes that I don’t want any more.

Kate Pang (in Mandarin): Snagging a good husband.

Q: Are you “easy come, easy go”, or do you squirrel your money away?

Adrian Pang: I’m certainly not “easy come easy go”, and I’ve never been a squirreler. I always err on the side of frugality. Am I scroogey? Maybe I’m a bit scroogey. I’ve been slightly called that. No, I’m more of a Grinch — Christmas just puts me in a bad mood. It’s just the whole idea of it — having to be nice to people. I mean, presents — I suppose I want to buy stuff for the family. That’s why I don’t have friends. (And) very strategically, I have very, very, very distant ties with my relations, so that come Chinese New Year, you spend less. If that equates to being savvy, then, great — I’m very, very savvy.

Kate Pang: I tend to splurge on top-quality household or health-related items. I’m less particular about other things. But I’m not a penny-pincher — sometimes, if the salesperson provides really good service, I’ll buy their item just to support them, even if I don’t really want it. Could you not tell my husband that?

Q: Have you ever owed anyone money?

Adrian Pang: My parents. Because they supported me through my whole education, both here as well as my further education. And I will forever live with that burden of guilt of never being able to pay them back, much as I could even try to. I owe them. I owe them in more ways than I even dare to think about, not least financially.

Kate Pang: We borrowed money from my in-laws to buy our house. Andie (her husband) said it’s okay even if we don’t pay them back. But could you not tell his two brothers, please?

Q: What has been your most regretted splurge?

Adrian Pang: I don’t actually spend very much on myself. Maybe partly due to a mid-life crisis, I bought myself a semi-fancy car about 10 years ago. I was having my first mid-life crisis — I’m onto my fifth now. By no means was it a luxury car — it just looked good. This was just me going, ‘I just want to ride around in a badass looking car’. And I did, for four or five years. And then I just realised, ‘This is ridiculous. It’s so damn uncomfortable. I’m going to crick my neck driving this’. Also, the boys got too big to fit in the back and it was Cirque Du Soleil back there. So, yeah, I’m driving a sensible car now.

Kate Pang: We just moved into a new place and I ordered a bedstead from overseas. When it arrived, we realised the measurements didn’t fit the Singapore mattresses, so we had to cram our mattress into the frame. Andie looked askance at me for days.

Q: I find that money burns a hole in my pocket. What should I do?

Adrian Pang: Don’t do it again. Not to be old-man philosophical about it, but you’ve just got to learn some lessons from it, I suppose. Borrow a pair of trousers in the meantime until you can give it back and do your darnest to sew up that hole, figuratively speaking. And carry on wearing that pair of pants for as long as you can. I think it’ll always remind you of the occasion.

Kate Pang: Think of ways to earn more money.

Q: My friend owes me a lot of money. What should I do?

Adrian Pang: You see, that’s why I don’t have friends. Because I don’t want to owe them money and I don’t want them to come and ask me for money.

Kate Pang: If your friend keeps borrowing money and not returning it, then he or she is not a real friend. Cut off all ties immediately. If they’re trying their best but are unable to repay the loan, help them find a new job right away.

Q: I owe my friend a lot of money. What should I do?

Adrian Pang: Well, you’re certainly speaking to the wrong person because I can’t help you out.

Kate Pang: Join Mediacorp — it’s a company with real prospects!

Q: Can I borrow $10,000?

Adrian Pang: No, you can’t. No.

Kate Pang: In Taiwan dollars?

Watch Sparks at www.dbs.com/sparks.

Maxi-Cash will be launching new LeGold designs progressively across all stores.

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