Many of my core memories with my mother take place over good food. They say mum’s cooking is the best cooking, but for my mother, no cooking is the best cooking. She would take a quaint café, bottomless brunch, or afternoon high tea any day over having to step into the kitchen and do all the hard work herself. Worse still would be if I donned the chef’s hat for the day and subjected her to my cooking. Ugh, everybody loses! So on Mother’s Day, I do things my mother’s way. Bring on the hotel buffets and restaurant set menus! Mother’s Day 2024 is on 12 May 2024. Here’s a round up of th ..read more

Most of us wish we had the time to study the economy, actively invest, and grow our savings. But let’s face it—by the time we drag ourselves home after a long day, we don’t have the time or energy to stare at charts. So that begs the question. How do we save up for retirement, our kids’ education, and all our other goals? Don’t worry; we’re here to show you a powerful way to build wealth for the future—without needing any expertise in investing. Tap Into the Power of Passive Investing One easy method to grow your savings hassle-free is passive investing. You may think passive investing won’t ..read more

Are you guilty of always buying the cheapest travel insurance policy you can get your hands on? I know I am. After all, they more or less cover the same things, like travel delays, lost luggage, and medical expenses…that’s what most of us think, right? Well, if you have pre-existing medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or asthma—you might want to think twice.  It may come as a surprise to you, but pre-existing medical conditions are often not covered under a standard travel insurance plan. Even if the plan includes S$200,000 medical coverage, you might not be able to ..read more

Petrol stations are always the reliable, dependable stops that you can count on when you’re in need of some juice for your car, no matter the hour.  But beyond their fundamental function of providing petrol, some offer much more.  Take Shell petrol stations, for instance. They’ve become a one-stop shop that offers way more than just petrol. In addition to snacks and essential items at the convenience store, there are also car servicing facilities and even a loyalty programme that offers rewards to drive up your savings.  Let’s explore the 5 hidden gems at Shell petrol stations ..read more

You know what’s special about the Jun 2024 HDB Build-To-Order (BTO) launch? It’s going to be the last BTO launch ever that’s under the mature vs non-mature housing estate model. That old classification system is going to be defunct in BTO launches after Jun 2024. As PM Lee (who’s also on his way out as PM!) announced during last year’s National Day Rally, BTO flats will adopt a Standard-Plus-Prime model from H2 2024. So if you for some reason want to avoid the new model, this is your last chance to buy a BTO flat. The good news is that you’re in the right place to get acquainted with what the ..read more

The other night, I came across a YouTube video of John Mayer interviewing Ed Sheeran about his watch collection. The video was over an hour long and I told myself I’d just watch the first 5–10 minutes. Before I knew it, half an hour had passed—I was hooked. At around the 16:40 mark, Mayer brings our attention to Sheeran’s Audemars Piguet White Ceramic QP Piece Unique. In non-horological plain English, that’s a very valuable watch from a very reputable watchmaker (it’s one of the Holy Trinity) that AP customised for Sheeran, making his bespoke piece the only one of its kind in the world. Imag ..read more

Would you put your trust in Trust? The local digital bank is backed by a partnership between Standard Chartered Bank and FairPrice Group, so it’s safe to say that it’s not going to disappear with our money. Which means taking a loan from it should be ok… right? Well, with loans, it all depends on what you need a loan for, any fees to pay, and how much you can pay back, with interest. Let’s see how Trust Bank’s Instant Loan fares. Trust Bank Instant Loan application criteria Before we go into what’s different, here’s the eligibility criteria: Be a Singaporean citizen or permanent resident Be ..read more

I grew up with unlimited pocket money. I know. That sounds kinda crazy to me too—at least now as an adult. But back then, when I was a kid in school, I didn’t think anything of it. In the blissful throes of childhood without bills to pay and salaries to earn, the most important things in my life were probably my cat (still true now), High School Musical, and getting MP3s of my favourite songs into my phone from my classmates via Bluetooth. Money was never on my mind. It’s not that I didn’t care about money or understand its value. If I were that ignorant, I would have splurged my way into hav ..read more

Let’s face it, Singapore isn’t exactly known for being cheap. With GST sitting at 9% and the cost of groceries, transport, and housing constantly rising, we need to be more strategic with our money. To make things more challenging, our salaries just can’t seem to catch up. Inflation is at a multi-year high, effectively shrinking the value of our hard-earned dollars. In 2023 alone, salaries in Singapore suffered a 1.5% drop—although there’s some hope that they’ll increase by 0.5% in 2024.  Most of us want to cut back on our expenses and build up our savings accounts. A survey by YouGov on ..read more

The coolest festival with the hottest music acts is washing up on our shores. Waterbomb Singapore 2024 is South Korea’s biggest water music festival, and it’s coming to Singapore for the first time this Aug 2024! If you’ve always wanted to dance in the rain over the soundtrack of your favourite Korean music, this is probably the closest you’re going to get. The 2-day festival will be held at Siloso Beach on 24 and 25 Aug 2024, and is expected to draw a crowd of 20,000 festival-goers from Singapore and the region. Whew, that’s a lot of people. Are ticket sales for this beach party going to be ..read more