Unless you have been living under a rock, you would notice that GST had gone up from 7% to 8% with effect from 1 Jan 2023. The impact of GST hike is significant because it affects almost every facet of our everyday life. Unsurprisingly, many merchants and retailers pushed out “Beat the GST Hike” promotion during the year-end period to drive up sales. Were these genuine promotions or mere marketing ... continue reading...

Review of GXS bank and Trust bank Savings Accounts
The digital bank sector in Singapore is akin to a blue ocean whereby the first bank to gain a foothold may gain significant first mover advantage. Word from the grapevine is that GXS heard about Trust’s impending news release and “potong jalan” (translates into cut the road from Malay) by making a press release on the eve of Trust’s announcement. This is despite its flagship product not even being ... continue reading...

6 benefits when you upgrade your long-term care insurance coverage with Singlife CareShield Standard or Singlife CareShield Plus
CareShield Life is a national long-term care insurance scheme that provides basic financial support should Singaporeans become severely disabled and need personal and medical care for a prolonged duration. (Source: CareShield Life) It was launched in Oct 2020 and made compulsory for all Singaporeans born in 1980 or later. As the description suggests, coverage afforded is meant to be basic and ... continue reading...

Tips on getting the best interest rates from banks’ high-yield savings accounts
Having spent most of my adolescent and adult years accustomed to 1% -4% interest rates on my savings accounts, never would I imagine that I would witness 7.8% interest rates in my lifetime. Well, as a result of the fastest interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve, that is the reality now. This spells good news for savers, but bad news for borrowers especially home-owners who are on floating ... continue reading...

Heartland Boy 2022 Investment Performance Review
The time has come for me to perform my annual stock investment portfolio review. Outside of STI, 2022 have been a tough year for most indices. At an annual gathering with like-minded investors, majority of them commented that 2022 was a whitewash for them. It was no different for me either as I had deliberately expanded to overseas markets (Hong Kong, USA) and alternative assets (cryptocurrencies) ... continue reading...