Month: August 2020

CPF (Assisting your Retirement?)

On By RistrettzIn Personal Finance SeriesLeave a comment

Whenever we touch on the topic of CPF, also known as Central Provident Fund (Pension Fund – The Europeans and Americans call it), people get kind of edgy and upset. What I do observe is that mostly a certain group of people is really anti CPF. The first group is those who are anti-government, not fueling anything here but just a general consensus. The second group is the retirees or about to retire folks who didn’t have a decent education (At that point in time, it wasn’t necessary to have the paper qualifications) and the last group is the self-proclaimed Warren Buffet who claims to beat the market.

The Central Provident Fund

The CPF in my opinion, is something of a great system. There are certainly flaws to it but in my view it is the perfect, AAA grade, higher yield returns that can supplement all our retirement fund. There are certain risks but There are no investment tool has no risk in reality. I finally conclude that as a result of these 3 group of people, these are the reason why so many people dislike the CPF system.

The AAA rating

a. Unfortunately, it is a complex system – You need to read up and understand how it works to appreciate the system

b. Inflation rate is here to stay hence the increase in the minimum sum yearly

c. No one is taking your money away.

d. No. There is no crystal ball. Statistically, it is proven that you can never win 100% of the time. Anyone who have tried or attempted to invest their monies will know that there is no clear strategy out there but a lot of hard work so you will not be able to beat the benchmark all the time.

e. Good quality investments and yields are hard to find these days. Perhaps it is a reality check and time to reflect about strategies as well as accepting facts and the markets

Understanding what CPF is about

When I first explored CPF, it was when I was out of school into my first job. At that time, CPF seems like a Goliath – You think you know but eventually, you slowly find out stuff which you never know before and for a long period of time I put off reading up more about them. It was many years back that I started reading financial blogs and it became like a ritual. I’ll do that almost any other day.

Back in those days, there were less bloggers so you will still need to dig deep to find out how stuff works. Then came Technology advancements, social media and super apps/content apps. I also discovered a few more bloggers who actively shared about CPF. One one those whom I follow really closely is 1M65. His is a well-known blogger for CPF and he developed his own strategies around what the CPF has been doing for many years.

Life Cycle

1M65 is really about having a million in your CPF by 65 years old. Depending on how you look at it, he is preaching a 4M65 these days and base on his concept – I do think that is possible if you start really young. Anyway, his idea about have these sum of money is really to get you thinking about your own retirement early, not just when you are in your mid stage or even late stage of your life cycle.

Everyone is different

Most importantly, everyone is different. There is no need to look at it in the form of a showboat or saying that it is impossible. Being open and understanding how these people are doing do help yourself to be ready for retirement – You are doing your next generation a favour so that they will not fall into the sandwich class or fall in the same cycle again and again. Of course, teaching the value of money to the next generation is something that needs to be worked on as well. It’s not like they were given a sum of money to deal with in life.

Some people actually worked two jobs or even saved excessively so that they can put all their money into retirement. Again, lifejourney preaches about having your own quality of life. If you need to feel like you have to give up everything just to be thrifty (It is a really thin line to term it as miserly), then you would most likely have to re-think your strategy.

The Practical Approach

There are a lot of concepts that you can read about but most of them come from a theory. Personally, I don’t really like to dissect those as they are so technical and heavy. Most importantly, it is extremely boring to put them down in words and executing them is really the best way to practice

Stock market digital graph chart on LED display concept. A large display of daily stock market price and quotation. Indicator financial forex trade education background.

As 1M65 says, you can hate who or whatever but don’t hate free money. Initially, it sounded like a money grubber statement but eventually I came to realise that, it is really free money. If you have no plans to be an entrepreneur, there is a few things you have to take note of in CPF. Yes, I am sorry but everything has to start from the basics.

My View on CPF

a. My biggest take on CPF is to compound the interest. The more you have, the greater the growth. The younger you fill up your CPF account to accumulate interest, the faster and bigger your pension fund will grow.

bi. If you are below 55 years of age – Your first $60k in CPF will gain an extra 1% p.a. (This is capped at S$20k in your OA) The current base Ordinary Account (OA) is 2.5% (3-month average of major local banks’interest rates, whichever is higher)

bii. For most people, the next S$40k will most likely be in your Special Account (SA). For others who are still building your SA, that will be whatever that is in your MediSave Account (MA). The base rate for your SA and MA is at the current floor of 4% p.a. (which is also the 12 month average yield of 10-year Singapore Gov Securities – 10YSGS)

My Tips:

Your CPF interest is computed monthly based on the lowest balance for the month. This means that for interests paid out on your CPF accounts in Year 2020, the interest amount is based on what was captured monthly, compounded and only paid out to you in full before 1st Jan of 2021. (This is subjected to changes if you have transactions every month)

c. As much as possible, you have to try your best to hit the minimum sum as early as you can. (Combined OA and SA)  Once you manage to do that, you do not need to worry about the annual increase in minimum sum that is subjected to inflation.

My Tips:

Don’t lose faith if you have not or still very far from this. Everyone starts from $0. Let the small actions and do up your checklist one by one in order to build the financial confidence. Everyone is different – it is the end goal that matters.

d. Depending on your circumstances, you can choose to invest your CPF OA money after the S$20k accumulation. Similar to cash, have a long term goal and build your portfolio. Good companies and investment ideas doesn’t come easy. You have to make sure what you invest is more calculated risk. There is a risk to everything.

My Tips:

Don’t be affected by market noise. My tip is to buy when there is a price drop if the investment moat for the company still makes sense. (but always do your own diligence) You can also have different pockets of funds so that when there are opportunities or if there is a correction, you can be ready to enter the market. The rule is to always stay invested.

Summary

In Summary, CPF is not the perfect solution but a supplement of your retirement goals. In this aspect, we are responsible for our own money and retirement. No one else will take care of your money as much as you will do.  Only you will know your own financial situation. The question is to ask to meet these financial goals is that if you can cut back on your lavish lifestyle or even saving more to add to your pool of funds. No one can coerce you to do what you do not wish to.

Disclaimer

This is not a sponsored post. This is purely my own opinion about CPF and retirement. If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check them out and do your diligence. There is no one size fits all investment strategy as usual

Do check out some of my referral codes for other services here at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/ for the services.

The pictures were taken from CPF website for this article.

Code of Conduct for Pedestrians

On By RistrettzIn Personal Finance SeriesLeave a comment

Earlier something nearing the end of July 2020, LTA (Land Transport Authority of Singapore) announced that there is a code of conduct for pedestrians. Hmm…okay….Initially, I was kind of like – Do we really need something like that. As a human, common sense will prevail. You know, e-scooters, mobility devices and all things including cars and bicycle are at fault all the time.

Annoyingly and also partially true, pedestrians do cause some of these issues similar to what these personal mobility devices does. So, eventually I read and I came to terms with the new code of conduct (It is not a rule or regulation) but a recommended code. So fair enough, if you have one for everyone sharing the footpath, there need to be one for the pedestrians.

Sharing FootPath Sensibly

But truth be told, when there wasn’t such devices available back then. All humans walked on pavements and not watching a show/movie on their devices. Frankly, it is annoying – How are people watching shows while walking on the pavements and crossing the road. It is akin to someone who lights up and walks in front of you. There is just no regards for anyone around you. Since I was young, I was often told to be alert when walking and when I was really young, I had to be yanked back from a traffic light pedestrian crossing by my aunt because a car wanted to beat the red lights.

The smart phone is and will be the greatest invention in the history of mankind. The way you can use a handheld computer in the form of a mobile is just pure genius but that in the same sense has made life and our lifestyle extremely different. Sure enough, it makes it better to avoid awkward silence when you see someone you don’t really know very well in a public space. To a certain extent, I’m sure we are all guilty of using the phone as an excuse not to see someone on the streets.

But the real issue here is that people stop talking to each other. People stop doing stuffs that communicate with one another (like looking into the faces and chatting meaningfully) Tech and gaming companies are going to grow even bigger. The Chinese Tech firms are just bringing that addiction to the next level. I can’t really say that it is a bad thing.

People actually like certain genre of stuffs (Facebook, Snapchat, Tiktok, Instagram and plenty more), it even create a different industry of jobs/entrepreneurship) – so it isn’t a bad thing but eventually anything excessive is. Even work counts – I would say.

Summary

In Summary the pedestrian code of conduct and simply put:

a. Use the footpath and pedestrian crossing whenever possible.

b. Pedestrian to keep left at all times. That is fair, we are a right-hand drive.

c. Stay alert and avoid operating mobile communications and/or other functions (Listening to music) in a way that preventive of dangers that may creep up to you or in front of you.

Click here to read the actual code of conduct: (https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/dam/ltagov/getting_around/active_mobility/rules_public_education/rules_code_of_conduct/pdf/am_coc.pdf)

Will anyone read it? Yes. Will many read it? No. Will anyone obey it? Probably, after many years. Nothing will change habits and these are too harsh to be implemented as rules. The Pioneer and Merdeka generation wouldn’t really give a damned though. Mobile phone usage has become more widespread and the result from distracted walking will eventually be accidents occurring more frequently.

The whole idea is to continue to engage and educate the public on how all can play a part in building “a safer and more responsible path-sharing environment”, hopefully people become more gracious over time.

Disclaimer

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/ for the services.

The pictures were taken from LTA website for this article.

Singapore Reits or not?

On By RistrettzIn Alternative Investments, Deals, New Ideas, Personal Finance Series, Robo AdvisorsLeave a comment

Singapore Reits is something that many Singaporeans understand and take heart to. Some folks actually build their income/passive income via this source and I can see why.

My take on Reits on SGX

a. First it is based in Singapore – There is this local bias that it can do well given most people like to see for themselves if the malls are working out well in terms of retail quality, crowd, spending and how many shops are still in business.

b. SGD payouts avoids the currency risks. For a retiree or someone drawing on income from dividends, this payouts serve as a source of bill payment.

c. An alternative and cheaper way to enter the real estate market in Singapore is really through the reits/stock exchange. I know that people will argue that it is different but technically in my view, it is the same (And you do not need to pay stamp duties, get a mortgage and pay sales charges)

d. It is more liquid than real estate.

For a long time now, Reits have been growing big and popular within the investing community. Again, all investments comes with risks – Most people have more comfort in dealing with things they can see or get a sense of. For a long time, there have been plenty of wins for reits but as you can also see, the Circuit Breaker period in April through May have affected them in a way or another.

Diversification?

So again diversification is key to investing once more. If you put all your eggs into the Reits for passive income, then with such dividend cuts your bottom line is definitely affected. Currently, it doesn’t seem like this Covid situation is going back down or slow down whatsoever so dividend cuts is going to be prolonged in order to save businesses and jobs. Then again, there are certain sectors who might see a booming business such as Data Centres or even certain suburban reits. Sub-urban malls are definitely crowded but the former shopping aisles in orchard and high end malls are definitely missing the tourist crowd which rakes in the cash and spending. It is no wonder why people are worried about their livelihoods.

It is not all doom and gloom. Sectors will emerge while some will recover. It is definitely time to pick up some if you did not have any. The idea is to really have a long-term goals when you pick a stock and stay disciplined. Once you sell it off, you may never be able to pick back the company at their valuations again.

The Passive or Lazy Choice

If you are lazy, let Robo-advisors do the trick for you. For e.g. Syfe. https://www.syfe.com/ Initially i only took on the Reit+ portfolio some time in April 2020 to test it out so that I do not need to manage the portfolio and incur those trading fees. They have expanded other products such as a Global ARI portfolio (Long term investment into equity,bonds and commodities) and Equity100 portfolio which is 100% into global Equity ETF (US and UK listed ETFs)

Auto-rebalancing

Syfe has invented their ARI (Automated Risk Investing) methodology, which is a risk-based rebalancing strategy, which changes the allocations of your portfolio according to changes in risks in the market in order to limit your losses. In short, once it triggers a certain level, the system will trigger an alert and things start to sell off to re-allocate. It also means that over the longer term, you will naturally see a better performance of the portfolio.

Every rebalancing of course depends on what portfolio you choose from so everyone is different. I personally like the idea of investing into a portfolio of reits instead of picking it on my own. In terms of fees, it depends on your investment amount with them.

In terms of pricing, I think it is cost effective. Do find out more about it here https://www.syfe.com/pricing

a. Management fee per year is at 0.65% p.a. for investment amounts S$0 – S$20k.

b. Management fee per year is at 0.50% p.a. for investment amounts S$20k – S$100k.

c. Management fee per year is at 0.40% p.a. for investment amounts S$100k and above.

Do use my referral code to get some benefits when you sign up a new account with Syfe. Referral Code: SRPTSMQ5J

You will get (Find our more about their referral scheme here https://www.syfe.com/magazine/how-can-i-invite-a-friend-to-join-syfe/) :

a. S$10 bonus if you invest S$500

b. S$50 bonus if you invest S$10,000

c. S$100 bonus if you invest S$20,000

Disclaimer

This is not a sponsored post. This is purely my own opinion after using their service and/or products. If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check they out and do your diligence. There is no one size fits all investment strategy. 

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/ for the services.

The pictures were taken from Syfe website for this article.

Wellnex & My-Insurer Platform

On By RistrettzIn Wealth & HealthLeave a comment

Something interesting came in my way last week. I managed to speak with the General Manager of Wellnex (Link here if you are interested to find out – https://www.wellnex-singapore.com/) and My-insurer. (Link here – https://www.my-insurer.net/) They are in the field of Insurtech field – Insurance Technology. (Something that works differently as compared to the traditional agents who sells you an insurance) I’ll say that they are more of a 99.co or property guru in Insurance style but with a tad more zest as all interactions and details are done digitally so it is as good as meeting the customer face to face. Given current Covid situation, I’m not sure if I want to meet anyone face to face for a 2-3 hour chat about personal finance.

It isn’t a sponsored post. I’m very strict with the way things are being done regarding a sponsored post. As the way it is, I’m happy to write and type whatever my views are and trash whatever I find is trashy. In any case, my-insurer has a separate wellnex platform – which is more of a deals, news, more information kind of portal where businesses and writers can create and post articles.

The Wellnex Interface

In terms of user-interface, it is simple – no frills but also nothing fancy. The whole idea is to create content, display them out and get people to read them. Hopefully, some people actually think that my content is worth reading. I am a firm believer of things taking time to grow organically. Spending marketing dollars on stuff is what companies who have cash to burn does. Usually it comes with a price, there is always a catch or ROI to it – Then the marketing dollars will eventually be reduced or some others suckered into buying into it and spending even more marketing dollars.

Data Trustmark

Sometime last week, i received an email from them stating that they have achieved the Trust-mark for Data Protection so you can be sure that there is a standard or ISO for dealing and protection the data that you store with them. I’ll say that is a good job considering that they hold key to agents and customer data.

What I really do like about them is that, they have no requirement for me to have at least one post per week or anything of that sort. There isn’t a fee that they pay to me or I need to pay them for using their application to post articles as they wish to stay neutral and free from conflict of interest. That is respectable for a business who work on that ethics. Not many companies are true to what they preach.

Help one another / Refer a good deal

If you own a company or wish to share some deals, do reach out to these folks out there. Perhaps, they can add more marketing value for space or reach or impressions as the marketing guys call it. After all, the idea is to get what you have out there so people know and talks about it.

The whole idea that I wish to do is to create a space where people enjoy reading articles about finance. Perhaps, get them excited about finding out what is out there. What is the current trend? Sometimes, even finding a good deal or good idea will come back. Though I did not start out as early as so many other bloggers did, it is never too late.

Eventually, finding out and working together as online bloggers is something I wish to build in the community. I started out reading financial blogs for many years. In the process, I procrastinated about building one as it takes up too much time. However, the circuit breaker forced me to take on something that I have put off for many years. I hope I will grow my project to a sizable one in the near future.

Disclaimer

These are just solely opinions of mine. Different people have different needs, requirement, financial situation and views. For me, this is what I would do if I would like to build my blog. The main aim to to get more viewership and subscribers to keep the lights running.

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/ for the services.

The pictures were taken from Wellnex website for this article.

Free Entry to Sentosa & Tokens (NDP Special)

On By RistrettzIn Personal Finance SeriesLeave a comment

We are definitely not going anywhere to travel for a prolonged period at this point in time. I would not advise anyone to as well so we probably have to Rediscover Singapore as what our Deputy PM and Finance Minister said. To a certain extent, I kind of like that idea. Singapore is small but there are stuff you can really explore. To put things to perspective, If you have an overseas friend who asks you what can they do when they come over to Singapore. (Zoo? Safari? Flyer?) I think we have more interesting stuff to do other than those.

Sentosa

Speaking of which, Sentosa has been trying to complete a face lift since like aeons ago and they are introducing free entry to the island.

Free NDP Tokens

You can register for the free tokens at https://ndp2020.sentosa.com.sg/ as long as you are a local or resident in Singapore. Every registered household can only redeem two Sentosa Fun Passes. (loaded with 10 tokens) That is not too bad for a family day out.

Once you have successfully registered for the free tokens, a registration confirmation email will be sent to your registered email address. Redemption can be done at Sentosa Ticketing Counters which you have to indicate when you register online.

Things to bring

It is a little troublesome but you need to select a date when you would like to go Sentosa but at the same time, you can edit/cancel the date. You also need to redeem from a member of the household – with proof of residency. So, do bring along the original form of identification and confirmation email for verification.

Disclaimer

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/ for the services.

The pictures were taken from Sentosa website for this article.

Term or Participating Life Plans?

On By RistrettzIn Personal Finance Series, Wealth & HealthLeave a comment

Term Insurance or Participating Whole Life Insurance? This is the question that I often ask and discuss with my other half. Typically, people seek value when they buy or invest in something. For insurance, value seekers would prefer a cash value. Cash value is what you have contributed over the insurance tenor. These sum of money, deducting the cost of insurance, the fees, commissions, salary and what nots will be invested by the insurance company Fund Managers (Whether they choose in-house or external fund houses) – In short they are known as participating life insurance.

Term and Whole Life Insurance

Term Insurance are policies that do not have a cash value. They are typically cheaper than Whole Life Plans (Otherwise it wouldn’t make sense to get term insurance). For example, they cost $200 per annum for a coverage of $200K and it depends on your age at point of inception. They may or may not be renewable yearly, meaning that the premiums will increase with age and each individual health condition.

In my personal opinion, I think that a Whole Life Plan is really expensive. You pay premiums and the first three years, there is literally no value to your assets. Then your participating underlying investments are handled by someone else who tries their best to beat benchmark and regardless, they get paid in fees and costs.

Buy Term, Invest the Rest?

There is a famous saying, buy term and invest the rest. Well, I don’t have a view on that. It really depends if you want to leave some legacy behind for your family/kids/relatives or it may even be transitory. For e.g. used to cover debts such as a new house, a new car or assets. In order not to complicate matters, I’ll leave illness out of the equation and discuss solely on the death benefit. Generally, you need to cover your liabilities so that in the event of death, your family members not only are rid of their stress and pressure from the loss of a loved one as well as the financial aspect of it. To a certain extent, I believe in covering at least 2x of your liabilities so that there is comfort in dealing with more financial freedom.

The other stuffs to take note of

For a typical household, i believe that health insurance is the first thing you need to seek coverage on, followed by life plans but everyone’s scenario is different. In finance, there is a phase that all of us has to go through which is also the toughest and it is called wealth building. I’ll leave it for discussion on a separate day but my point is, you buy insurance based on what you can afford and not because it is cheap or time is not on your side.

For me, I take the approach of covering term as well as whole life plans. The hybrid style works for me as I am pretty savvy with financial contracts and insurance. In my own time, I am qualified advisor for insurance and more qualified than many out there but I never once worked for any insurance company. Though finance is my forte but there are too many products and innovation in this field that you cant keep up. So, you need to have someone in there to guide you along. It is annoying to talk to agents so you need to have someone you trust.

Let me just plant some ideas – If it make sense. It isn’t all encompassing but just to point things out.

Term Life:

A. A Substitute for liabilities (Housing loan, car loan, personal loan, student loan)

B. A transition phase which you do not mind protecting until that period is over. As term has no value, it is similar to a no-contract telco plan and you can get rid of it anytime (if the time period is short)

C. Supplement for a shortage of coverage that you have for your whole life.

Whole Life Plan:

A. It’s just for lazy people. Buy/Save and pay the premium for a period of time. Leave it there.

B. Buy at a young age and the premiums stay really really low which is smart. Consider your finances too as you need it to be as affordable until you have served the payment term.

C. If you have a young kid or elderly who are not working. You, are the income holder needs to be insured. When you are gone, the young kid and elderly will not be able to work to give you an income.

Above all, health is of the utmost importance. You will never know when or what hits you. Even then, your state of mind will be in a mess. So, no matter how prepared you are, no one will ever be prepared. All these little steps and conversations must eventually turn into real action. When shit comes, it comes and there is no point saying “I should have”. Don’t just listen to your agent out there. Seek alternative, ask and learn. No will will care more about your money more than you will – These life skills will bring value to your own life and frankly I can’t see a life with no planning and no one should.

Disclaimer

These are just solely opinions of mine. Different people have different needs, requirement, financial situation and views. For me, this is what I would do if I need to deal with buying insurance for myself and my family. There is no one size fits all – different strokes for different folks.

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/ for the services.

The pictures were taken from the website for this article.

GIGA – Even more bang for your buck [Up-sized Data for the same plan] (Part 2)

On By RistrettzIn Personal Finance SeriesLeave a comment

So, I received an email from GIGA (a subsidiary of Starhub) on updates on the data plans. I was previously on their pop up plan of S$18 monthly for 20GB of data and 200 minutes of talk time and 200 free SMSes. The best is that I do not need to do anything and 40GB will be shown on my next renewal date for the same price. It is not a temporary but a permanent change. Thumbs up for that GIGA.

With random outages from broadband throughout the country despite telcos being KPI-ed from keeping their lines up. At times, such disruptions can bring inconvenience or affect business deals. With more data, it give more assurance and back-ups should anything go wrong.

The good of GIGA

In my previous post about GIGA, the two main points is really what I like:

1. No contract means, flexibility and freedom to cancel the contract anytime.

2. Signup is digital only – meaning you can only sign up online and use an app to access your account as well as setup your payments. They accept most major credit cards and changing them us just through a click.

I still find their branding and customer approach more appealing than Singtel and M1, hence will still stick with them.

Things to take note of

You would need to pay a small registration fee and arrange for the SIM card to be delivered to your preferred location. However, you can use a referral code to supplement the discount. You will get a discount if you use my referral code – “LhS9Ng”. The referral credit is only valid for any plans except the basic $10 GIGA plans.

You can visit their website to find out more: https://www.giga.com.sg/

Disclaimer

These are just solely opinions of mine. Different people have different needs and requirements. You can also use Seedly to compare on the different type of plans.

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes for other services at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/

The pictures were taken from GIGA website for this article.

GIGA – Even more bang for your buck (Up-sized Data for the same plan)

On By RistrettzIn Interest, PromotionLeave a comment

So, I received an email from GIGA (a subsidiary of Starhub) on updates on the data plans. I was previously on their pop up plan of S$18 monthly for 20GB of data and 200 minutes of talk time and 200 free SMSes. The best is that I do not need to do anything and 40GB will be shown on my next renewal date for the same price. It is not a temporary but a permanent change. Thumbs up for that GIGA.

With random outages from broadband throughout the country despite telcos being KPI-ed from keeping their lines up. At times, such disruptions can bring inconvenience or affect business deals. With more data, it give more assurance and back-ups should anything go wrong.

In my previous post about GIGA, the two main points is really what I like:

1. No contract means, flexibility and freedom to cancel the contract anytime.

2. Signup is digital only – meaning you can only sign up online and use an app to access your account as well as setup your payments. They accept most major credit cards and changing them us just through a click.

I still find their branding and customer approach more appealing than Singtel and M1 and hence will still stick with them.

You would need to pay a small registration fee and arrange for the SIM card to be delivered to your preferred location. However, you can use a referral code to supplement the discount. You will get a discount if you use my referral code – “LhS9Ng”. The referral credit is only valid for any plans except the basic $10 GIGA plans.

You can visit their website to find out more: https://www.giga.com.sg/

Disclaimer: These are just solely opinions of mine. Different people have different needs and requirements. You can also use Seedly to compare on the different type of plans.

Picture images are taken from the respective websites for reference only.

The difference between all Chas cards & all Singaporean gets it

On By RistrettzIn New Ideas, Wealth & HealthLeave a comment

The Chas (Community Health Assist Scheme) card is for all Singaporeans! Yes, that’s freebies for all Citizens but wait, what is the catch? Well, there are different cards for different segments. There are a total of 5 different segments with two other more pronounced as a benefit for the Merdeka and Pioneer Generation. Then comes the Green card which has the lowest subsidy, followed by the Orange card for lower income households and the Blue card to help out the low income households. The criteria also looks at the Annual Value (AV) of the home that you own.

Chas Cards

CHAS cards can be used to see the doctor or dentist at participating GPs and dental clinics. For referrals to specialist outpatient clinics at public hospitals or the National Dental Centre. You will get a subsidy depending on your type of card you are eligible for.

With the new CHAS Green tier, all Singaporeans with certain chronic conditions can now receive subsidies for their treatment costs, regardless of income. Definitely a plus for all Singaporean Citizen.

From the Chas website, you can check your eligibility on their online calculator. Given the current situation, “You can apply online – It is recommended to so do in light of the current situation.”

Application

Apply for CHAS via the online application. Singapore Citizens aged 21 and above can apply for CHAS online on behalf of their household members.

Alternatively, you may download a hardcopy application form here. Once completed, please mail the form (and supporting documents, if any) to

P.O. Box 680, Bukit Merah Central Post Office, Singapore 911536.

Your application will be be processed within 15 working days from the date of receipt of the completed application.

If you have not received the outcome after 15 working days, you can visit the CHAS online application and login using your SingPass or call the CHAS hotline at 1800-275-2427 (1800-ASK-CHAS) to check on your application status.

FAQs

More of Chas FAQs can be found here: https://www.chas.sg/faq_list.aspx?id=626

Disclaimer: These are just solely opinions of mine. Taking care of your own health is also part of being financially free. Taking steps/transferring these risks to avoid those hefty medical bills is also part of financial planning. Being prepared for such events whether it happens to you or someone you know is also a harsh reality which we should be prepared for.

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The pictures were taken from the website for this article.

Ways to make some money & Reviews

On By RistrettzIn Alternative Income, New IdeasLeave a comment

This is not a click bait. I have always been interested to find out what is there in the market when I see such headlines but eventually it is usually click baits. One of the many ways to make some money online if you have time is actually through doing online surveys. The best part of it is that you can take your own time to do it.

Though you may miss out on some high value surveys but eventually it is suited to your own timing. I will review some of those, past and present and I have personally used them. Only if the time is worth your effort, you can proceed go sign up or use my referral link. It is totally up to every individual as it may not be worth the effort for some. However, if you have some time on hand – The answer is Why Not?

Make Some Money

I will run by the ones that i find the easiest to use and easy to cashout. Most importantly, you should sign up for a PayPal account if you do not have any. It is really easy to sign up, just visit https://www.paypal.com and there is no referral fee for this. Just for easy survey credits

Milieu Survey (Singapore)

Milieu Survey has a Singapore presence. Once you have chalked up enough points, you can either donate them away or Otherwise, you can choose to cash out via PayPal or PayNow. 

$10 can be redeemed with 9500 point and $20 can be redeemed with 18000 point.

Once you complete 7 surveys, both parties get 500 points each.

Key in the referral Code: DbKjxMP 

Google PlayStore – https://goo.gl/eTHTya

Apple Store – https://apple.co/2MmnprL

YouGov SG

YouGov is based in London but they also have a Singapore presence. Surveys doesn’t come as frequent as Milieu but once you accumulated enough. 5000 points redeem a S$25. There are also alternative but to me cash is always King. There are no referral benefits so click the link to sign up.

https://sg.yougov.com/en-sg/account/login/

Google Opinions

This is rather tricky as it is not for Apple/IOS users. Android Users will be able to download and setup their account. Surveys come at random and you can also set a notification. Once you reply, it varies from S$0.10 – s$1.50 or so. You can’t cash out these but you can use these credits to supplement subscriptions or pay for some paid apps that you wish to buy off. It’s just easy to use, answer and keep. Practically no upkeep. There are no referral benefits so click the link to sign up.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.paidtasks&hl=en_SG

Valued Opinions SG

This requires a little more effort but as for the rewards, I personally find it rewarding with Zalora or Cold Storage vouchers (via Edenred voucher redemption). However, with the recent covid – They seem to be less productive or less efficient. Vouchers redemption seems slower and also seem to be out of stock faster. There are no referral benefits so click the link to sign up.

https://www.valuedopinions.sg/

Rakuten Insight

Rakuten re-branded a few times in the past. Their surveys take longer than most but once your accumulate 150 Epoints or more, you can redeem $10 via PayPal. Redemption starts from 75 Epoints for $5.

https://sg.m.aipsurveys.com/

Disclaimer: These are just solely opinions of mine. You should try them out first to review if they are suitable for you. These works for me as I have tried out more than 20 of these during my free time.

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The pictures were taken from the respective websites for this article.