Category: Wealth & Health

Earning Rewards and Miles on your Credit Cards

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

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.

Earning Rewards
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
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

Investing or Gambling or Punting

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

I recently read quite a bit of online articles to explore fresh new ideas and I came across some blogs discussing the fact that investing is gambling and also several others that discuss Singaporeans being overly confident with themselves. I mean there’s really no right or wrong answer to these and I personally feel that it is a little bit of a righteous standout or declaration. Yes, we all know that many people are snobbish but I would like to think that most Singaporeans are smart, clever, and full of empathy. The ones who are snob are usually the affluent group. Probably think that with a 6-digit asset, they have the right to everything.

That said, our small country has exceptional talents. These people don’t voice or come out to talk about their opinions in public. Usually, they can avoid it in its entirety or put their opinion on where it matters the most. After all, we are still humble Singaporeans, aren’t we? There was an increasing trend in the last decade about some topics that irk me a lot, let me list them down:

Kiasu/Kiasi

Meaning scared to lose or scared to die. It was prevalent in the last decade where FOMO exists today and I felt that it was uncalled for because people just flock to what most people did. It kind of made many next-gen be contrarian

Best

The concept of best has been something I disliked for some time now. At least for 30 years. For 30 years, I have been hearing the words best and “bestest”, even words that do not exist in the English dictionary appear in my everyday life. My question is, what is best? Who determines the best or why is it the best? Is what one defines as the best really the best? I beg to differ in all aspects. There is no best, there’s only what one thinks is the best. By the way, it doesn’t mean cheap means it is no good.

Similar to the way one measures a valued company. It’s not the best but it is the most valued. Then again, value is perceived hence my point – beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.

Invest in gambling

It is said that gambling is punting, investing is gambling of sorts and investing is a study of risk management. If one sees risk management the same as gambling then I’ll ask, why invest and spend so much time understanding a company or an investment? Life is an entirety of risk and we understand the risks, manage the risks, and reduce risks to enhance our lives, our experiences, and our money.

Lady luck plays a big part in our lives no doubt. Some people seem to have more of those but I’ll say, you make your own luck. If lady luck is not on your side, it is probably because it is the wrong lady. Some find their lady earlier and some later. There’s no loser at the end, it is part of the risk management and tools we can use to enhance our priority.

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 in 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. 

If you have not opened a Moomoo account to start your investing journey, you can give it a go here to recieve rewards up to S$660 (T&Cs apply). Cliek here to Open a Moomoo account

Thank you in advance. It keeps the light running on my blog. Cheers!

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.

A New Beginning – The Year of the Rabbit

On By RistrettzIn Psychology, Random, Wealth & HealthLeave a comment

So, I took some time off from my previous job because it was giving me a mental breakdown as well as a job fit. Most importantly, I didn’t feel that I got a good start, everything just felt off from the onset. The last three months have been exciting, scary, enriching, anxious and everything else mixed together.

For the best part of my work in the last five years, was the pure flexibility of it. I enjoy the work and I enjoy how flexible it is. Honestly, it feeds me and the family well too. Everything has to end eventually so the transition was not too great. As for me, I didn’t feel that worried but once I stopped receiving calls for interviews after three weeks, something didn’t quite click and I reached out to my contacts for help. Meanwhile, I also seek my own spiritual help.

I didn’t come from a privileged family but I always had an issue with applying for jobs. It doesn’t come that easy compared to many others that I have known. There’s always something available for others. Personally, social capital has always been a help to me. Perhaps my role is niche or my experience is different from others but it is always the “highly recommended” that gives me the first call for interview. Whatever happens next is up to the individual.

There was a bit of a hiccup during my onboarding process but eventually, with the grace of God, everything worked out.

The thing about this process of job hunting is that often it is nerve-racking. For some reason, it didn’t feel this way. It just felt that something will come back at the right JD, the right remuneration. Given the external factors, it does get a bit anxious when you keep hearing about the job cuts in several key industries that have boomed over the past few years.

I definitely feel those who are still hunting for a job, looking for their next work. I also feel for those who have been retrenched, who had to resign for whatever reason and who have no work for any reason. All these take a hit on their retirement planning, life plans, child and many more. I will pray for you and everything will be fine with God.

This is just a random thought that I would pen down. In five or ten years, I will probably come back and look at it and see what has changed. But for sure, many of you out there don’t despair and don’t lose hope. Because with time many of the answers will be revealed.

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.

Be thankful for the things we have

On By RistrettzIn Psychology, Wealth & HealthLeave a comment

With the increase in countries changing their covid stance, the world has slowly but surely tried to come to an equilibrium. The pandemic created a lump of opportunities and closed off many others. We still need to be thankful for the things we have. If you had a job or still have a job. If you have a bonus or still have a bonus. If you can travel or if you cannot travel. The beginning of the past (comparison and envying doesn’t help)

Rather, be thankful for the things you still can do. Still can afford it. Still can provide. Don’t forget to give back to society, help others and be empathetic. For those who gave up or stopped their usual routine, if those are good for you and are spiritually rewarding – take time to plan to get back in 2023. For the world is a state where it is revolved around capitalism, it is easy to get lost. It is also not easy to live in.

The friend or social media is becoming toxic yet again with plenty of posts with the goal of? showboating or keeping up to date with your friends? No one knows but just remember to be thankful for the things you have. Money, in this world, can accelerate many things but chasing it has it detrimental effects. Yet, it is a form of acceptance that we can afford in this world today.

Maybe not now, maybe in the future. To many who have and have not. To the many whose ambitions have yet and going to be achieved. Be calm, only a clear head will let you think properly. It is never easy for me to come to any decisions but it does seem like it is easy for many. For some reason, every step of the way can be a stepping stone to something. Struggling is what makes us move forward. Being complacent does not and it does not even come knocking until it hits one too late.

I shall end off here and say that everyone’s stance is different and one should stay focused on your own principles and life. The things you see are different from the things others display. Everyone is in a different phase of life. If it does not work out now, it will work out later. The problem is the duration of that while it works out.

Count your blessings and be thankful. God Bless You Always.