In a sure sign of how much I plan ahead, Lenora’s 100-day baby shower was more or less finalised weeks before she was even delivered. This idiosyncrasy of mine might have upset the wife time and again, but I assured her that this was about taking care of all things possible before the baby came […]
Getting down to some common misconceptions CPF LIFE
Several months ago, I wrote an article about my mum reaching the CPF withdrawal age of 65. As with any Central Provident Board (‘CPF’) topic, it generated plenty of interest amongst my readers. In fact, I received plenty of messages (both private and public) and I attribute this phenomenon to 2 key reasons – (1) […]
New HDB BTO Classification Framework, What Are The Possible Consequences?
At National Day Rally (‘NDR’) 2023, Prime Minister Lee announced a seismic shift in how HDB is going to classify its flats for sale from 2H 2024. The framework of classifying estates as either mature or non-mature will be replaced by one that is either Standard, Plus or Prime. When I first heard it live […]
Is GXS 3.48% Interest Rate Promotion The Shortest Ever In Singapore?
If you are plugged into the personal finance community, you would have heard by now that GXS was offering 3.48% interest rate for up to $75,000 of your savings. This move came immediately after the Monetary Authority of Singapore (‘MAS’) purportedly lifted the SGD $50 million cap imposed on digital banks. Since 19 July 2023, […]
At What Share Price Would I Be A Buyer Of AIMS APAC REIT?
AIMS APAC REIT (‘AA REIT’) invests in a diversified portfolio of income-producing industrial, logistics and business park investment properties across Singapore and Australia. The Manager of the REIT, AIMS APAC REIT Management Limited, is wholly-owned by the sponsor, AIMS Financial Group. Interestingly, the largest unitholder is not the sponsor but ESR Cayman, which holds 12.8% […]
My mum reached the CPF withdrawal age and we chose to defer her CPF Life payouts
My mum reached a huge milestone in her CPF journey when she turned 65 years old this year. Yes, this is a magical mark yearned for by most CPF members as they will be eligible to start receiving their monthly CPF payouts. As she was the first member in the household to be confronted with […]
Confinement nanny prices have in increased in 2023, is it worth it to pay for one?
There were 2 things that I did upon finding out that Heartland Girl was pregnant again. The first was to ring up my insurance agent to get the maternity insurance policy ready. The second was to secure my confinement nanny quickly. That is because some of the popular confinement nannies can be booked up for […]
Rookie Investment Mistakes I Made When I Was A Beginner Investor 10 Years Ago
This is my 10th year in investing and the outcome is very different from what I envisaged when I first started out as a beginner investor. Armed with some knowledge from investment books, I was full of confidence and firmly believed that I held an edge over other retail investors. You know Warren Buffett once […]
CPF Changes in 2023 That You Must Take Note Of
There are quite a few changes happening to the CPF system in 2023 and I know you will be equally curious to know what they are. That is because CPF affects all Singaporeans and Permanent Residents and is therefore, a topic close to the heart of plenty of us here. Some of these changes are […]
Compare CDL Hospitality Trust and Far East Hospitality Trust
In what is a rather muted economic performance for Singapore in 2023 thus far, one sector that is shining brightly is tourism. Not only have tourist arrivals recovered to two-thirds of pre-Covid-19 numbers in the first quarter of 2023, tourists also spent more per trip in what was a case of revenge spending. This got […]