So it seems like many people are user-friendly and many people are the types who like to have a few user-friendly people around them. We can say that generally, people don’t really use their common sense much. In the workplace, most people have pretty low EQ and are generally politically correct. Most people just have the natural tendency to inconvenience others for their own purposes. You probably hear more Yes men and lackeys instead of someone more competent. Big companies lack the human touch and are too far to understand or feel the work put in by the layers of reporting lines.
Thumbs down to the Head American Honcho JF
When I was fresh out of school, CEOs, CFOs, and COOs seemed like a far-reach. Beyond the touches of anyone. As time went by, I realized that they were just a normal human being with nothing more than a connection than knowledge. Most do not have a vision but work with a team of advisors who have personal gain to their names. The problem with C-suites is that most of them panic at the smallest movement. What they do stand out from us locals is that they speak well and have a good storage of vocabulary in their sack to be used.
Competence-wise, Nah..not many since the days of Bill Gates and Jack Ma. The top-level people today are less visionaries and more workers. Are the people who planned for takeover to blame? I actually do not think so. Rather, I felt that people have been too comfortable and less resilient in themselves. They poop in their pants when shit comes by hence making more mess out of a big mess.
The idea of management is beyond managing people
What is Management? Management is about democracy. You don’t just manage people, but you also share your visionaries and ideas to convince people that you are the right person to follow. You can’t please everyone but at least set some standards and don’t be a half-bucket who sways your ideas once something else comes along. More importantly, it’s the working style and those who work below you will have to look up to you. Then, because it is a democracy, you need more than 50% of the people on your side. It is basic.
Random musings that I get from being as frustrated as hell early in the morning.
Chinese New Year is around the corner and there seem to be multiple promotions during the festive period. I hope everyone has a great new year and I do have something that I would like to share with you. These deals are kind of hard to come by and they depend on festive, promotions and company budgets. While some people might have stability in their lives, some don’t, and let’s make that simple and happy this 2024. I have another CNY Ang Pow Promotion that I would like to offer to anyone interested.
This article is brought to you via the Life Journey Blog Affiliate Partnership with Moomoo.
This special promotion is brought to you via the Moomoo Futu Trading app. If you use a normal referral code that gives you $660 in the welcome package. By using my unique link here Sign Up link, you get an additional $20 cash voucher by funding just S$100 on top of the welcome package that I have put below. The threshold is really low here.
Moo Moo is licensed by MAS
The process is as follows:
For clarity:
a. Click on the signup link here to Open Account. Sign up and submit your details
b. Using any of the 4 deposit methods
Deposit via Direct Debit – DDA
Bank Transfer (Add MooMoo as the payee)
PayNow
Transfer via Wise (Another payment App)
c. Transfer or Fund SGD 100 and wait for your rewards. That’s a 20% Return on Investment (ROI) that is risk-free.
d. (Something special) – The first 10 who have completed the signup and funding. Put in your details here: Contact List so that I can give you a little Ang Pow of S$5 for your efforts once I have verified the sign-up is complete. My only request is that you join my telegram group at Life Journey Telegram.
Those who already have the Moomoo accounts would have been long-time deal hunters so this is specially done for all of you who don’t have a lot of funds to play around to get some cash using limited resources.
Campaign Period
The campaign will commence from 2/11/2023 at 10:00PM SGT – 23/1/2024 at 9:59PM SGT** (“Campaign Period”).
Eligibility for Activity Participation
New users who have never opened a Moomoo SG universal account and/or deposited funds before 10:00PM SGT on 2/11/2023.
Activity Summary
When new users complete tasks, they can get corresponding rewards, such as free stock/ cash coupons and free real-time quotes.
(vi) 1 Year commission-free for SG market (includes only stocks, ETFs and REITs)
(vii) Moomoo Cash Plus 5.8% p.a. Guaranteed Returns worth up to S$380 (Applicable to the first S$80K subscription, valid for 30 days only)
Deposit a cumulative amount of at least S$3,000 before 23/1/2024 at 9:59 PM, complete 3 cumulative buy trades and redeem rewards before 9:59PM SGT on 30/1/2024. Maintain assets for 30 days.
Reward 2
(i) Receive 1 x Stock Bundle#: AAPL, NVDA TSLA, SE, NIO (worth S$70)
Deposit a cumulative amount of at least S$10,000 before 23/1/2024 at 9:59 PM, complete 8 cumulative buy trades and complete buy trades and redeem rewards before 9:59PM SGT on 30/1/2024. Maintain assets for 90 days.
Reward 3
(i) Receive 3 x Stock Bundle#: AAPL, NVDA TSLA, SE, NIO (worth S$210)
Who is Moomoo?
Backed by Chinese tech giant Tencent, Moomoo makes trading accessible with a gamified, easy-to-use interface.
Disclaimer
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 and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram
By using my unique link here Sign Up link, you get an additional $20 cash voucher. The first 10 in my google forms get additional Ang Pow after verification.
If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services
After all that hype and pretty good promotion AngPow vouchers for Lendlease Malls. I must say Capitastar pales in comparison. This is another easty$5 voucher from the CapitaLand app to get. It is little wonder that they are not even too concerned with the fact that their properties are located in areas that are pretty prime and have relatively decent or good location value.
If you have not heard about the Lendlease promotion shopping app. Read my article here: Lendlease $20 free money. Hopefully you will still be in time for the promotion which is limited to 5000 sign ups.
Another easy $5 voucher from Capitaland and additional $5 on spending
Well, better than nothing. The initial quote is to go to the app click on profile on the top left, followed by Rewards for the code “LNY10OFF’
1. The initial $5 e-Capitastar voucher is only valid for 10 days and for the 1st 5,000 redemptions
Note that only 1 redemption per Eligible Shopper during the promotion period
2. The next 5 comes when you spend $100 at participating Capitamalls and for the 1st 500 redemptions per participating mall
Note that 1 redemption per Eligible Shopper, per mall, per day of the Promotion Period
Not fantastic but yeah, save while you can. If you do not have a Capitastar Shopping App, then you probably need to get one first in order to get those deals.
There’s no refer programme at the moment so probably get the one from the official app for a $5 sign up bonus by Capitastar themselves.
Capitastar Promotion T&Cs
The CapitaStar Rewards Programme
CapitaStar is a card-less Rewards Programme with no membership fee or expiry. They reward you with STAR$® (on top of all other rewards on your everyday spend) when you make purchases at participating retailers across CapitaLand Malls. STAR$® are awarded automatically when receipts uploaded via the CapitaStar App are approved.
The STAR$® accumulated in this programme can be used to exchange for eCapitaVoucher and/or exclusive Deals on the CapitaStar Mobile App.
Note: All purchases (including purchases with eCapitaVoucher as payment mode) made in ION Orchard are not eligible to earn STAR$®
How does CapitaStar work
1) SHOP or SPEND Shop at any participating CapitaLand Malls (with min $20 spend per receipt) or at Jewel Changi Airport (with min $10 spend per receipt) and retain your receipts to earn STAR$®.
2) EARN Simply snap your receipt with min S$20 spend and upload via the CapitaStar Mobile App ($1 spent = 5 STAR$®). Receipts of purchase(s) must be submitted no later than the next day of purchase (11.59pm) to be eligible for STAR$®.
3) REDEEM Redeem eCapitaVouchers via the CapitaStar Mobile App (5000 STAR$ or 4500 STAR$ for Passion Card Members = $5 eCapitaVoucher). You can also redeem exclusive shopping and dining rewards on the CapitaStar Mobile App to enjoy greater savings!
Disclaimer
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 and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram
If you have not heard about the Lendlease promotion shopping app. Read my article here: Lendlease $20 free money
This one comes a little at time but at limited supply.
Happy redeeming for new lendlease app owners.
You can spend at Parkway, Somerset 313, Paya Lebar Square and JEM malls for now.
Example of how it looks like
Lendlease Promotion Refer for each to get $20 in e-Vouchers
First time I am seeing a referral $20 for $20 for both referral and referee.
If you restart the app, you need to rekey in the code to get the vouchers. Otherwise nothing will be allocated.
The app is a bit glitchy so be warned for now.
Only 5000 new lendlease sign ups get S$20 SIGN UP gift. Grab it early.
Once you download the app, you can only choose referral code or promocode. For this sign up promotion, the $20 for $20 is the most efficient one for now.
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 and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram
Just earlier today. I wrote a piece about saving money and I was reminded of petrol prices. Stay tuned until the end for a nice freebie at the end which is in limited stock.
Sometimes saving money is about not spending it at all or cutting back on what we commonly call an austerity measure. Usually, that is quite drastic and meant to be a joke of some sort. However, some things have to be spent, necessities or even things that you have previously committed to paying for. It is akin to having a car and petrol prices are directly linked to costs.
For Example:
You purchased a home. You can’t stop the mortgage
You purchased a car. You can stop the financing payments (If any) and the petrol costs or the charging costs.
You purchased a subscription plan that has a contractual period. You can’t stop the payment. (Well, you can do an early termination if it makes economic sense)
I don’t wish to keep discussing the increase in GST. In a sense, this increase is necessary for economic gains and country-building. Additionally, business costs have increased, snowballing effect of the laggard inflation and upcoming soft landing is becoming apparent.
Petrol Prices
Discussing petrol prices has always been contentious with people around here. Regardless of any discussion, the price is as such. On the Price Kaki website, there’s a comparison of petrol grade 95, 98 and Premium.
Petrol Prices: Petrol Grade 95 as of 12 Jan 23
Petrol Prices: Petrol Grade for 98 on 12 Jan 23
Petrol Prices: Petrol Grade for Premium on 12 Jan 23
In this year 2024, I wish to be able to bring joy to others as much as possible so in that aspect I have a good deal for anyone who drives a car and would like to get direct discounts from the petrol kiosk.
Don’t be confused and don’t be sceptical about it. It is a good deal and I have been using it for 9 months now so it is not a sham. I have a limited fleet card on hand at the moment and would like to offer to the first 5 pax who indicate their interest on google forms here:Fleet Card Interest Gathering and First 5 GIveaways.
One condition is to follow/subscribe to my blog and also to add my telegram channel here at Life Journey Telegram. Thank you!
The first lucky 5 gets it.
Rest assured, this information is for me to understand how to address you and share that information via email. I’m gathering some interest here so let me speak with the guys and see if we can release more slots for you.
Save on Petrol Prices – Pros
1. No age or salary restriction
This is not a credit card. Anyone who has a vehicle registered in Singapore has proof of address in Singapore and a credit card for recurring payment can apply for this. There’s no bank involved in this.
2. A physical card
It is a physical card at the moment and is only available to ESSO and SHELL kiosks in Singapore.
3. Fabulous Discount on petrol prices
Perks for this card are a direct 23% or 24% for SHELL and ESSO respectively.
4. No Complications. No minimum spend or Top Up
Away with the complications of minimum inclusive spending and potential discounts. To me, cold-hard discounts are the best since they are upfront discounts.
5. Ease of Payment on petrol
This fleet card works like a credit card and you need to set up a credit card payment to pay once a month.
6. Convenience
Once you have been registered by the company, you will get a pin and each time you visit the kiosk, just the card and you can skip the cashier queue. That’s really convenient.
7. Continue to earn credit card rewards/miles/cashback
Even more, discount via double dipping and still be rewarded with your credit card rewards.
Save on Petrol Prices – Cons
1. New to Many
I understand the scepticism but what have you got to lose other than savings for your petrol.
2. No accumulation of reward points on your petrol loyalty card
You don’t earn kiosk points or rewards that you have accumulated for some time. To me, there’s a cost to everything including reward points. Just finish up your points or claims and move on to something else. But you still earn reward points for your credit card (No exclusion for most cards – At least I still earn mine on my Premier Miles Card)
3. There will be a 1.8% fee for the credit card charges
I believe that they use Stripe as their provider so the B2B fees will be at 2.4% and they roll it to consumer at 1.8%, hence the discount will be All-in 21.2% or 22.2% which is still decent.
From what i understand, one can use the giro payment and it takes 4-8weeks to set it up. There’s no fee for that however if any one Giro payment fails, thats the $10 fee slapped on your bill for the GIRO return so think wisely. I think it is still good to go on credit card recurring payments.
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 and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram
Saving money is an essential aspect of personal finance. Implementing some smart strategies can help you build your savings and achieve your financial goals. Here are a few tips on how to save money:
A Rainy Day fund is more apparent in 2024 as we all set ourselves for the soft landing ahead
Create a Budget:
Start by reviewing your expenses and income. This will give you a clear picture of where your money is going and help you identify areas where you can cut back.
Track Your Expenses:
Keep a record of all your expenses, including small purchases. This will help you understand your spending patterns and identify areas where you can make adjustments.
The envelope theory involved stashing cash away in different envelopes. This helps with the first condition – budgeting. In this day and age, perhaps a better way is to use a digital app such as Dobin.
I’ve found the ultimate personal finance app: It helps to manage my money & save on everyday purchases.
Review your expenses and identify items or services that you can live without. Consider making small lifestyle changes such as reducing dining out or entertainment expenses.
If you really still plan to have these expenses to eat out. Perhaps playing the miles game as you spend to double dip on rewards.
Kris+ is a lifestyle rewards app that gives you discounts and privileges at over 1,000 partner outlets islandwide! Earn rewards (KrisPay miles) for payments made on the app, and use them to offset future purchases!
Quote: Sign up now with my link below, and my referral code L329518 and we’ll each be rewarded with SGD 5 worth of KrisPay miles upon your first transaction on the Kris+ App
Don’t forget to check in daily every week to earn about 30 KrisPay Miles. Meanwhile, you can also utilize Google Pay to make payments via Krist+.
Quote: Use my code when you sign up and transact at least S$10 for the first time in Google the e Pay App or use my code t74cf8f
Meal Planning:
Plan your meals ahead of time and create a grocery list. This will help you avoid unnecessary trips to the store and impulse purchases. Look for sales and use coupons to save on groceries.
The CDC vouchers should do most household some good and defray some costs. More about that here if you have not claimed yours. Claiming your CDC Vouchers
Save on Utilities:
Make small changes in your daily habits to save on energy costs. Turn off lights when not in use, unplug electronics when not in use, and adjust the thermostat to optimize energy usage.
Perhaps switching to an Open Electricity Market retailer can save you 10-15% off your electricity bills.
Quote: Sign up for Senoko Energy with my referral code: “YM8SCA2D”. You will receive a S$20 rebate on your electricity bill. Browse their price plans and start saving today. T and Cs apply. Senoko is your electricity retailer
Compare Prices:
Before making a purchase, compare prices from different vendors or stores. This can help you find the best deals and save money.
Double or Triple Dip for More Savings
For comparison’s sake, if you are exchanging a foreign currency for any purpose. You can try iChange for money exchange and remittance.
Quote: Their rates are very competitive. Sent $5 for you to try it out. Download the app here https://ichange.onelink.me/Px1i/iyv9ymrr and add paul38 to receive it.
Alternatively, if you want the convenience of using multi-currency cards, there are three options that you can consider. You get the idea.
The other option is to perhaps consider using a Revolut Card as an alternative and you can get $80 when you make three $10 transactions: My Revolut Referral Link
Quote 3: Use this Crypto.com App to sign up for Crypto.com and we both get USD 50. Code: im3py887ty
Automate Your Savings:
Set up automatic transfers from your checking account to a dedicated savings account. This way, you’ll save money consistently without having to think about it.
Other than a bank standing instruction, the alternative is to use Money Market Funds for either:
Using Tiger Brokers as a platform to sign up to make that regular saving.
The other option is to select another provider such as Moomoo Brokerage Invest App for a great welcome starter kit here at Moomoo Invest App
The third option is to select Webull and get your starter kit promotion. Click here to register at Webull Sign-up link
Avoid Impulse Buying:
Before making a purchase, give yourself a cooling-off period. This will help you evaluate if the purchase is necessary or if you’re buying on impulse. As the saying goes, delayed gratification. Any new tech is always appealing and after a while, it loses its appeal.
Cancel Unnecessary Subscriptions:
Review your subscriptions and cancel those you no longer use or need. This could include streaming services, gym memberships, or magazine subscriptions[1].
Prioritize Debt Repayment:
If you have outstanding debts, focus on paying them down. High-interest debts, such as credit card debts, should be prioritized and paid off as quickly as possible.
Remember, saving money is a gradual process, so be patient with yourself. Small changes can add up over time and lead to significant savings. By implementing these tips, you’ll be on your way to building a more secure financial future.
Disclaimer
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 and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram
If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services
Travel season is back and I have been reading up quite a bit about the miles and cashback camp. The last two years, void of travelling were purely a cashback play from many folks except some whom believed that it would all go away. It really depends on how one views rewards because some of those payments are excluded from earning any form of miles or cashback.
With the introduction of a fee-based payment, these rewards come at a price. CardUp used to be a game changer in that sense because rents could be paid and rewards could be earned at the same time. Similar to many companies, they throw out marketing dollars so that people get to know their brand and use their proprietary systems. With the data they have, they can then find out more about people’s behaviour, and make marketing trends that keep the stickiness in clients to continue to use their platform.
Earn to Business or Economy
Credit Card Rewards & Earning Rewards
I’m no exception. I used to be the kind where I would not spend more to earn more rewards. As time went by, I realised that buying miles or arbitrage on cashback difference does make sense for me. My insurance, MCST payments, tax, property tax and other exclusions can now be added to my miles game or cashback. This is pretty awesome if you ask me. Paying and earning the rewards seems to make sense to me today.
I still wasn’t sure what kind of changed me and I constantly paid a small fee to gain that reward which all amounts to nothing previously.
Who and what is card?
CardUp is on a mission to provide individuals and businesses with a better way to pay and get paid. CardUp operates regionally across Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia as a major payment institution
If I recall rightly, some time last year they were acquired by funding societies
With CardUp, you can now make and collect payments digitally, including with a credit card, even in places where cards are traditionally not accepted. Some of the items that you can make payments to will be:
Insurance
MCST Fees
Rent and Rental Deposit
Education
Car Loans
Miscellaneous Payments
Domestic Workers salary
Taxes and Stamp Duty
Season Parking
Electricity Bills
I personally forgot about them until they sent me a reminder about the property tax season. It was a pretty decent deal at a 1.75% fee that has no cap. It is not a sponsored post but if you have not had a CardUp account do check it out. If you need any help to understand more, just drop me an email.
Use my code when you sign up at this CardUp Link or use my referral code PAULL34.
Earning Rewards and Miles is a long game and can be rewarding
Meanwhile, thank you for reading here. I am working on something and I might have something interesting out by tomorrow to get a direct 23% off your petrol bills at ESSO without any minimum spending in the form of a fleet card. I probably will avail it to 5 readers for a start before I request more of such deals. Those who drive and want to save all the hassle of saving petrol. It is a simple sign-up process so keep a lookout for it.
Disclaimer
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 and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram
Use my code when you sign up at this CardUp Link or use my referral code PAULL34.
If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services
Whenever or do we ever discuss the CPF system with friends and family. The actual fact is that I never really do unless it is time to do something about it. That involves tax season or even property tax season. I do feel that it is a system that we think we all know but once we delve deeper, there’s always something new to takeaway.
Let us also face it. It is a dry topic and a very long-term one. It tries to mimic a pension fund of some sort with some level of control yet it works differently for different people. I can understand why some people come to dislike the policy but in general, there’s not much hate around it. We also have to be factual that Anti-government does not mean you need to be anti-CPF. Some might differ but I think all tools that bring one to the final goal are the ultimate endpoint.
Contribution rates according to age and wages
The rules are pretty simple. Understanding that before 55 years of age, all employees have to contribute 20% of their gross salary. Subject to the ordinary wage cap which we have discussed previously.
After 55 years of age, the contribution starts to decrease. This makes sense since the decrease in employer contribution, older employees will become less expensive and it helps to make employment more affordable.
After 55 years of age, the OA and SA will be combined and set aside in one’s RA to safeguard a monthly payout in the later years. This is probably why the contribution rates start to decrease then. Further, with increasing age, the focus will be more on wealth preservation and income that can be utilized. That would be the next reason why the contribution is lesser as time goes by.
Contribution by age from the CPF website
Understanding the CPF – Did you know? What contributes to your CPF?
Understanding that CPF system – These mainly include all forms of payments that are paid out to the employee by the employer.
Basic Wages
Overtime Wages
Bonus
Cash Incentives
Commissions
Cash Incentives
Understanding the CPF – Did you know? What does not contribute to your CPF?
Termination/Retrenchment Benefits
Reimbursements
Benefit in kind
Disclaimer
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 and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram
If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services
We have been in a deflationary world for the longest time and in the last year, everyone has been fighting inflation. It isn’t that fun to know that what you have now buys less of everything. The resulting outcome is that every single item such as consumables, staples, and costs would have increased.
There is a laggard in the sense that the resulting costs of home purchase would mean that home prices have crept up. The cost of hiring has increased since the waste management, your electricity and water bills and the employees behind maintaining the order of infrastructure would have increased. Eventually, this would lead to a higher annual value of everyone’s home prices and that subsequently leads to a higher property tax and so on and so forth. You will get the idea.
When we talk about homes, there’s always something in me that worries for the young. I’m thinking about my kids yes it is and I think it is always at the back of our minds that how are they going to afford housing in another two generations or so? Personally, in a land scarce Singapore, it is hard to agree that property prices will drop. What it currently does is that it is slowly down the increase that Hong Kong failed to do so many years ago resulting in small houses and social issues.
This came from CNA
Inflation
With inflation rates normalizing globally, the same effect will be a laggard. However, let’s also be real because no business will reduce prices knowing inflation would have normalized. Moreover, GST has increased in 2024 and it just means that costs will have increased yet again. It would take at least two quarters for anyone to see the easing effect.
While looking at the most recent CDC vouchers, I also started my hunt for CNY purchases. Things like drinks, Bah Kwa, and consumable items: CNY Shopping Items have crept up.
I do hope that I am wrong. I do sense that there is a soft landing rather than a hard one. Recession is a strong word and we have to come to a reality. Recent job cuts in the news is not by chance. What we do not know are the unofficial ones.
Inflation rates have plenty of benchmarks such as the Big Mac. In Singapore, we have the Milk Powder Benchmark: Milk Powder haha
I do remember that during the “covid period” a lot of homeowners became pet owners. I do hope, they did not discard their pets because that is not great behavior. Hopefully, you can find some good deals here at Pet Shopping
Disclaimer
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 and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals. Join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram
If you are doing some shopping, click on the affiliated links here: CNY Shopping
If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services
It is very interesting to know that many people are interested to know about the CPF. Hence, I’ve decided to do a simple part series that focuses on selected and focused information so that it doesn’t take too long to read and understand. In my previous CPF series, we discussed the increase in CPF contribution on Ordinary Wages aka Salary.
CPF is a complex retirement module indeed and it has different accounts. CPFIS in turn has its pros and cons. One needs to understand it to use it to your own advantage. Most of these come at retirement as a motivation or tax deductibles. That said, it works differently for everyone so good to be in the know. One can be anti-government but we should applaud a strong and stable governance. This in turn will relate to a trusty CPF system not everyone can replicate.
Types of CPF account and what they can do
Ordinary Account:
Be happy retiring and be happy doing what you do when you retire
Though CPF is restrictive OA is the most flexible out of all three accounts before one turns 55. This is the account that one can use to invest a portion into selected CPF-approved investments (CPFIS), gold, approved insurance, and also property payments. One can look at index investing using a Robo Advisor of some sort. such as Endowus or StashAway. Endowus ticks a little better for me for the investing portion. If we look at the iShares US index Fund S&P 500 that Endowus offers to track the S&P500 (100 years of historical performance). I also have my funds consistently invested in them and it has worked well. What I really like is that they care about who invests with them and the fees.
You can check them out here at Endowus or in my previous posts which I slowly grew to like over 2 years. Asset Allocation does not time the market and during times when I’m distracted, I do not need to log into my app to proceed with my own adjustments or take action. (These take time and effort)
Asset Allocation
Special Account:
This account builds the Retirement account that will eventually be used in the retirement account in the form of an annuity. More restrictive than the OA, it has limits and can only be utilized for retirement-related financial products (Nothing much can be done in this account) It is also known that OA can be transferred to MA – This is well known to be irreversible once you have done so. Do consider your circumstances before you do anything)
Medisave Account:
This is the most restrictive of all and as it states Medisave means it can be used for certain medical payments with a limit. The MA account is also allowed to be used to purchase medical-related insurance.
Retirement Accounts
Retirement Account:
This account is non-existent until you reach 55 years of age at the point of writing. This is the combination of your OA and SA to form the annuity payout.
There are also many ways for one to contribute to your own CPF accounts. I’ll say it is a good problem to have if you need to think of fresh ways to contribute to your own CPF funds. (i.e. self-employed and looking for proper and forced retirement). Side note that CPFs are monies that are locked away in the form of something like a trust so one can’t claim your assets in your CPF (If for some reason, you are locked up in a situation of some sort)
Some ways to look at contributing to your CPF accounts
Make cash top-ups or Top up Cash + CPF
Your OA, SA, and MA – through these cash top-ups, you can earn interest. Note that these are long-term retirement uses.
Can’t say that too many times if you want to do forced savings.
Matched Retirement Savings Scheme (MRSS)
If you’re 55 to 70 and have yet to meet the current Basic Retirement Sum (BRS), you can make cash top-ups to get higher retirement payouts. The Singapore Government will match every dollar of cash top-ups made to your RA, up to a maximum grant of $600 a year. The scheme will run from 2021 for five years for a start. (Taken from the CPF website)
Helping your parents or in-laws with the CP scheme helps you and the older folks as well.
Invest your OA savings
We discussed the option of investing in a wide range of investments to grow your retirement nest egg in the form of the CPF Investment Scheme which is very highly restrictive.
As for SA, you can invest in those too but even more restricted.
Voluntary Housing Refund
If you have used CPF to purchase your house and have excess cash. One way is to kind of payback voluntarily. However, recently the cash returns outweigh that of CPF returns so with careful management, it does seem like it is better to hold cash but it is a better yielding instrument for now.
Too complicated? Leave it as it is and put the cash via this method to earn that CPF consistent return.
For CPFIS/Investing – The reason for Endowus
Like a broken recorder, why do I like using them for now:
Endowus is the first and only robo-advisor to be approved by the CPF board.
100% trailer fees back to the consumer, not the fund management fee. This is really one of a kind I’ve seen so far.
They do have a decent team that makes sense when introducing their platform in my personal opinion.
I believe all retail investors should try them out because of how they are trying to disrupt investing and make investing work for everyone.
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 and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram
If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services
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