Category: Finance

All about CPF today – Part 1

On By RistrettzIn CPF, Finance, Interest1 Comment

Deductibles on MA – CPF

Happy Friday. My mood is getting better by the day because I have clarity over what I have to do with my life in the next few weeks. I believe everyone has received their CPF interests. Some people have a lot more while others are just started out. I understand human psychology makes you a bit more envious than others. Not many people can shut the noise out. Here’s what I am going to do. You need to learn to cut it out because you are you. Not to worry, we must believe that we can do a lot more.

Today’s focus will be on deductibles for your CPF. This is not for everyone but it is good to know. It may not apply to you today but it will some day so be in the know. By now, if you are looking through tax deductibles via CPF, you would have known that 1st Jan 2024 is a great time to receive interest in your CPF account. Slowly but surely, your CPF will compound. In my very early days of financial blog, I talked about the power of compound. Do refer to that and you can see how powerful it is and time flies very quickly.

All about CPF
Compounding interest (Image from BYJU)
All about CPF
Where do your CPF monies go

CPF is divided into OA, SA, and MA and apportioned according to your age. If you have planned it well by some time, you would have maxed out FRS in SA and the cap at MA. The interest portion that you received will not flow into your MA but goes to the other accounts and if you hit your SA, then it goes only to your OA. That means that by contributing cash to your MA or what we know as a top-up. That helps in your tax deduction for the year.

Usual years – likely due to normal inflation rates, the top as projected is about 2 to 2.5k every year. As of 2024, one can top up to 3k in the MA. That helps with tax deductions.

Just a disclaimer that everyone’s situation is different so you have to consider some factors:

  • Do you have a mortgage that you need to pay from your OA?
  • Did you use any CPF monies for T-bills. If you need cash flow, then you have to plan it out.
  • Do you require liquidity? CPF Is an irreversible process until you reach the statutory age of 55 or longer.
  • If this does not apply to you. Just be in the know, let it be a motivation.

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 or general rule for your every 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

New Year, New Start in 2024

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

Before we start on anything for 2024. I would first apologize for disappearing for a full year. I was fully focused on getting my career on track to only lead to a single result. The end result is actually disappointment, anger, and fear. I ask for peace and hence over it. I am keen on moving forward and this is actually good for me.

Everyone is different

My situation can be similar or different from many others. One can choose to focus on the negative aspects or the positives. This year, I will try my best to constantly blog more, and provide more deals, promotions, and thoughts about stuff. Provide more referral sources to find out about life hacks and travel more.

Doesn’t this picture make you happy?

We keep looking into blogs, about deals, life, investments, about promotions. It all begins with one thing, you need to have the basic necessities of life. Food, drinks, bills that you pay. If a certain segment does not fit where you are heading or takes some time to reach, just ignore it and focus on your current situation.

Work on it until you have built your emergency funds up. Inflation today has dropped but it is not a joke, prices will not drop even if there is a deflation (Unlikely so) However, I do personally think that interest rates might just drop drastically – This has already been priced in in the most recent treasury bills and SSB. Personal Finance consists of many parts, some choose to focus on P&L while others focus on finding great deals.

What is Personal Finance to you?

For me, personal finance is a game of psychology. It is how one deals with another person’s boasts or proof of what works for them. I do not see red over others and I actually would celebrate their achievement. My only gripe is that everyone is different and one does know another’s situation. So, my ask here of you if you are humbly reading my posts is that. If you have excess cash, good for you, you can seek better and more deals. If you are of a humble background, a fresh graduate, or someone in a situation.

Don’t fret. Many people are in the same situation – You just need to be aware of the situation you are in. Drop the “I’m unlucky, I’m old, I’ve to restart” stigma. Age is just a number and your situation is only temporary. However, if you continue your rut and continue to be unhappy then I can only say that you’ll take a longer period to get out. You will eventually.

Take care of my readers (My LJs). Time will heal and recover. Meanwhile, it is back to my store store and referral time!

Disclaimer

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes for other services at Referral and Recommendations

These pictures were taken off the website. I thank you in advance for keeping my lights on on my humble blog.

Making more than 5% interest in Money bull

On By RistrettzIn Alternative Income, Deals, Finance, Interest, Interest Rate Series, New Ideas, Promotion, RandomLeave a comment

It’s been a while since anything kind of got me excited and Webull along with the money bull is coming along pretty nicely. During the Christmas period, there are some nice promotions to be taken away for a new Webull customer. That’s pretty sweet.

There are two items here to take note of:

  1. There’s a time factor now for anyone who is not a WeBull customer. The promotion campaign is ongoing and running until 29 Dec 2023. Click here to sign up Webull sign-up link
  2. There is something that is running similar to a Cash Fund promotion which doles out extra money.

Benefits of signing up

  • You just need to open an account with Webull, and fund any amount (no minimum) –  get 10 free shares when you open a Webull account and fund any amount. There is also a Moneybull promo you can get up to US$3,000 by participating in it.
  • Click here to sign up Webull sign-up link
  • Next you have to sign up with Webull and click on the promotion link to open a Moneybull account.
  • The T&Cs are pretty clear from here. you can only get one of the two promotions. One point to take note of is the SGD-USD exchange rate, you have to ensure that the SGD deposited is equivalent to the USD when exchanged. Then the bonuses are tiered according to either:
    Accumulating deposit with Moneybull before 29th December 2023 (3.59PM) and hold the funds until 31st March 2024 (11.59PM) US$2,000: US$80 cash vouchers

    US$100,000: US$3,000 cash vouchers
  • Additionally, you can put the funds into money market funds and earn the projected yields.

That’s how easy that is. Good Luck!

Remember to read the T&Cs Webull sign-up link

Conclusion

It is really a no-brainer to get free cash. You can also explore another app to see if it does fit with you. Never say never because if you do not try it. You will not know.

Click here to sign up Webull sign-up link

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes for other services at Referral and Recommendations

Promising deal from Webull

On By RistrettzIn Alternative Income, Deals, Finance, Interest, Interest Rate Series, Interest Rates, PromotionLeave a comment

It’s been almost nine months since my last post. I am distracted a little in my new job..I’ll say that it is a job, not a career, running almost one year into this new role. I must say that I have not gotten any positives out of this but it is probably a good transition. That brings me back to my goals once more. That is to invest and build more passive income. The basics of passive income seem like that is the way to do things and remember that it is never too late to start anything.

There are two items here to take note of:

  1. There’s a time factor now for anyone who is not a WeBull customer. The promotion campaign is ongoing and running until the end of October 2023. Click here to sign up Webull sign-up link
  2. There is something that is running similar to a Cash Fund promotion which doles out extra money.

Benefits of signing up

  • You just need to open an account with Webull, and fund any amount (no minimum) – The mechanics is that you get 3 free shares.
  • Click here to sign up Webull sign-up link
  • Next, maintain the amount for another 30 days and you get another 3 free shares. That makes it a minimal USD60 for this effort. The risk Reward on this is a 5-star so it is a must-do.

That’s how easy that is. Good Luck!

Remember to read the T&Cs Webull sign-up link

1a. Fund any amount +3 free shares TSLA US$10 each
AAPL US$50 each
AMZN US$100 each
GOOG US$500 each
2 Maintain funds for at least 30 days +3 more free shares
3. Click here to sign up Webull sign-up link

Conclusion

It is really a no-brainer to get free cash. You can also explore another app to see if it does fit with you. Never say never because if you do not try it. You will not know.

Click here to sign up Webull sign-up link

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes for other services at Referral and Recommendations

Being Micro (Understanding your Portfolio)

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

When discussing the portfolio of Financial Planning, it is common to waive it off if you have no interest in it or talk about investments only. Like any broken recorder, the basis of Finance Literacy is fundamental however you dislike it.

Let me put it on a storyboard – As a child or if you have a child, you would want them to learn skills from a young age. (NO! I am not talking about enrichment). Here I am talking about pure survival skills like swimming, psychomotor skills, being literate, learning to drive when you are older, learning simple skills like dealing with disappointment, etc.

Similarly, financial planning is no exception to life skills. Imagining a pyramid, the top layer is not investments but insurance. Meaning risk transfer. Now, skip the boring part of insurance planning. There are a few alternatives to cheaper insurance coverage.

One of them is actually SNACK by Income. Yes, Income Insurance.

Don’t miss out now because there’s a good deal going on at the moment.

The Promotion

Here’s $50 for you to start your investment journey!

All you need to do is:
1. Download the SNACK by Income app (https://income.sg/dl-snack)
2. Enter my referral code “PAU4055” and tap on SIGN UP
3. Complete your SNACK account creation with MyInfo
4. Start SNACK Investment and ensure that you have boosted Investment! (Refer to steps 1-4 here: https://income.sg/si-start)

Get your complimentary $50 investment credits in your portfolio the following week!

Technically, it can be termed as an ILP (Investment Linked Plan) and honestly I am not a big fan of it. But you can exclude the investment option if you don’t wish to. However, for a start, you probably should do the investment portion until you get the signup rewards.

The Limit

I use the personal accident, critical illness and life insurance portion to supplement my current insurance. In any case, there is a maximum that one can be insured and it starts from $0

Life – $200,000 coverage

Accident – $ 100,000 coverage

Critical Illness – $200,000

How it Works

How this micro insurance work is that:

  1. You need to set your lifestyle activities for different classes of insurance coverage and investment (if any). For each activity that is fulfilled, a new policy will be created and added to your total coverage. In this step, you can also set a daily cap so that you don’t spend more than $0.30 (for example) per day.
    • Food & Drinks
    • Transport
    • Retail
    • Groceries
    • Entertainment
    • Utilities
    • Petrol
    • Steps
  2. Then you set your activity source. These are the ones that measure your activities such as step or visa credit card if you spend on certain categories.
    • Apple Health
    • Burpple
    • EZ-link
    • Fitbit
    • Garmin
    • Visa
  3. Then set your weekly cap – This is for the investment cap. Up to one to decide
    • You will need to have your investment objective assessed such as CKA – Customer Knowledge Assessment
    • Risk Profile.

There you go and your SNACK account will be set up for you. That said, you can redeem the fund units anytime and can stop using the insurance app anytime you want.

I get that it takes a while to get used to it but you need some time to get used to it as it is pretty automated.

If there are some brands which interest you, you can also spend and get additional coverage from them as well. Once in a while, they will run some promotional campaigns and you can get additional investment credits. So far, luck has been on my side, I have collected more than a couple of hundred in investment funds terms. Like any insurance, this is pretty efficient for an ILP since I investment directly into a fund I am comfortable with.

Disclaimer

If you decide to sign up with SNACK, do remember to use my referral code: https://income.sg/dl-snack and my referral code PAU4055.

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes for other services at Referral and Recommendations

These pictures were taken off the Endowus website for reference.