Simple Budget, Simple Life

It's rather funny that I'm talking about this at this age, when most of my peers receive their licenses after "A" levels at 18. But, I've never been bothered to learn driving. Here are the reasons why: 1) My family has no car and the only one with a license is my dad Many of my peers have family car. They were used to being driven around by their parents, and learn about driving through their trips. But our family never had a car. I had no sense of cars, driving or traffic rules and laws. Driving was unfamiliar to me and the closest experience I had was Go-Kart. Most of my peers who learn driving has a car at home, and it stems from a need to learn driving because their parents asked them to. Some were even sponsored a car after learning driving. Also, because my mom doesn't have a license, and we get on well without a car since we live is such a convenient location, it just doesn't strike me that I MUST learn to drive. 2) I'm clumsy, careless ...

Good lobang must share. A few years ago, when I had no income, I live by my debits. Straight after being employed, I signed up for a few credit cards to milk some rebates. I've never paid much attention to debits offering rebates cause their rebates were so little, until now. DBS Visa Debit offers 5% cashback through Visa paywave, Apply Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay. The cashback is subject to a $50 cap per month. You should also keep to 3 times or less cash withdrawals at DBS/POSB ATMs. Good for me, since I don't withdraw cash from POSB. Note that the debit comes with a $2,000 debit limit. I'll probably spend $1000 max to milk the 5% cashback via Visa Paywave. One more thing to add to my tips on how I accumulate $100k before 28 :)

A little too late, or it's never too late? BOC Smartsaver has been around for some time now. I've heard of it when their promo came out, but kept to my OCBC 360 account. I did my sums previously and concluded that it was best for me to keep my money at OCBC. But I redid my sums recently after my brother reminded me about this account, and, DANG, the minimum interest rate I could get was at least a 2% VS OCBC's 1.7% with salary crediting and bills payment. What's making it more attractive is that, since I'm now able to spend $500/mth for my bro's expenses, the interest rate I could receive every month has now reached to the eye-popping 3.55% interest p.a! Why didn't I think of opening this account soon ah?  The following day after I did my sums, I headed down to the BOC branch and opened my account. I was lucky to be the first to enter at the off-peak hours. Btw, thumbs up to the friendly staff at the Westgate outlet. My account was set up on th...

In my previous post , I talked about how I've hit my goal of saving $100k cash before 28. Here are some of my personal saving tips: Park your money in a high interest savings account  I started off with POSB Kids Savings then switched to FRANK account in Uni and then to OCBC 360 after I started work. The interests offered by OCBC 360 is so far one of the best. 1.2% on salary crediting and 0.5% on paying 3 bills. Clocked my expenses on other credit cards instead of OCBC, so I only have 1.7% p.a on my 360. It does help me in achieving my goal faster. But, if a better savings account comes along, I'll just jump the ship. Update as at 3 Aug - I've jumped the ship to BOC SmartSaver ! Park your remaining money in a fixed deposit Since only the first $60k enjoys attractive interest, why park the remaining amount for the low base rate? I'm always on the look out for fixed deposits, which unfortunately has been disappointing this year, and would place a $10k t...

pic from google images Well, hi guys. I've been putting off this post for a few months because I want to be completely sure that after deducting my expenses, I indeed have that amount I've goaled. So here goes. I officially have $100k cash savings before 28. But to set things right, I've been saving since young. For the purpose of this post, I took out my POSB Kids Savings passbook which was set up when I was 9. I still remembered that the first amount put in was $1, and I received a POSB squirrel raincoat! My parents deposited $161 during that first deposit. Gradually, more money were deposited. It could be money from my scholarship awards, bursaries, Eagle Awards and whatever monetary incentives I achieved in school. Of course, in goes my angbao money (which my mom took back a portion - technically, the angbao monies are from her, since she always lugi). I started working as a temp at 17, and continued to do so during school holidays. By age 19, before I enter...

When you see this logo on your envelop, you know what it means ;) I always thought that income tax is a good thing - you tax almost everyone and people who earns more get tax more. It's one way of seeking equity.  I still think income tax is a good thing. But now that I've started worked and is contributing to the tax, I kinda feel the pinch...especially when my income tax jumped significantly. Unlike my bf, I can't claim tax relief. My parents are both working and earning at least above $1k, no handicapped siblings (CHOY AH!), and the list goes on. Come to think of it, cannot claim tax relief also good la. My parents are working, and although their income is low, they get to socialise, earn their keeps (and spend it on us lol) and, worry less. Ever since my mom started work years ago after being a housewife for eons, she seems less bored. At work, she gets to banter with others and know more about what's going on in "life" versus staying at h...

Take a good 5 minutes to read this article . We all know life is short, life is fragile and life is unpredictable. Who knows if we'll die the following day, just like how Christina Grimme died unfairly. But, we don't live each day having this thought on our mind every single time. Honestly, how is it possible, and how is it healthy if you have that thought...constantly? We'll be so risk averse that we could do nothing. And maybe, doing nothing could lead you to death.... It's early morning on 13 Jun and I'm on leave. On a break from work. I woke up without a aim - no work = a dull day, but work = a strenuous, mentally and physically exhausting day with meetings, spamming and replying of emails, doing extra work (the so called CCAs) that are not relevant to my core portfolio (and I hate it). I'm someone who can't sit still. I could sit still only if my hands and brains are moving - that is, using the internet via phone or computer. Time goes too sl...