'I didn't have enough money to buy my home': Patricia Mok borrowed 5-figure sum from friends to purchase 3-room flat

Money will never be enough for most of us and we would have our own fair share of money-no-enough moments.

For local comedian-actress Patricia Mok, it was when she was purchasing her own home in 2021.

"I didn't have enough money to buy my home because I didn't have savings when I was younger," the 52-year-old revealed to AsiaOne in an interview for her new movie Money No Enough 3 yesterday (Jan 31).

Patricia added that she used to spend her money purchasing luxury products and going out for drinks.

Luckily, she received some help from her friends.

She shared: "I have two very good friends who helped me with cash, and it's not just $4,000 or $5,000 that kind, it's a five-figure sum."

Patricia, who plays Henry Thia's sister in the movie, also advised her younger co-stars — Braven Yeo, Regina Lim and Kelly Wong — in the same interview to start saving from young.

"When you are young, you want to buy branded goods and enjoy your life, but you must save money. Because nobody taught me that before, so now I want to educate young people about this," she said.

Patricia also shared that she bought a three-room HDB flat and still owes money to one of her friends who had helped her.

She added: "I bought the flat during the Covid-19 period, so although we are already in recovery now, it is still not as good as before, so I hope that more people will look for us to film shows or livestreams, just give us jobs!"

Braven, who acted as Henry's son Roy in the movie, also shared that he lost a six-figure sum from cryptocurrency investment about two to three years ago.

The 26-year-old shared: "I think everything happens for a reason because at that point in time, my investment was doing quite well, so I got a bit lazy because I didn't need to work and could see money coming in. But after I lost my money, I realised that I should go back to earn money the 'old-school way'."

Braven's experience motivated him to work hard in his career and he overcame his financial difficulty eventually.

"I think this experience is a good reminder to myself that hard work is still the best way. Because how I got money to invest initially was also through hard work," he shared.

Money No Enough 3 centres around three lifelong friends, Ah Hui (Henry), Ah Qiang (Jack Neo) and Ah Huang (Mark Lee), who are young seniors with their own family and financial problems, including money issues surrounding Roy's (Braven) shotgun marriage to his girlfriend (Kelly).

When single father Ah Huang's mounting debts drive him to desperate measures, he borrows money from Ah Hui and Ah Qiang to operate an illegal business, which eventually prospers. However, he refuses to repay the money to his trusted friends, encouraging them to invest more money into cryptocurrency instead.

Ah Huang's business eventually collapses from his unethical business tactics, which affects not just his daughter (Regina Lim) but also Ah Hui and Ah Qiang's loved ones, which makes them reflect on whether money is really the solution to everything.

Money No Enough 3, which also stars Xiang Yun and Tang Miaoling, is out in cinemas now.

Jack Neo, Xiang Yun, Regina Lim, Ivan Lo, Braven Yeo, Denise Fong and Kelly Wong will also be meeting fans and viewers at the Money No Enough 3 Meet-&-Greet on Feb 3, 6pm at Our Tampines Hub, Festive Plaza.

ALSO READ: 'We got another actress to stand by': Jack Neo reveals Patricia Mok almost lost role in latest Money No Enough 3 movie

yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com

No part of this article can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.