I’ve had a POSB/DBS account since I received my first bursary award and an OCBC account since I started working. I chose them not because either one is superior. It just happens to stick because updating your bank account number across your employer’s payroll, GIRO payments, insurance GIRO, investment platforms, and everything else is a…
I started properly tracking my net worth in 2020. Before that, I had a rough sense of my CPF balance and a vague idea of what was in my Syfe account, but I’d never added it all up in one place and looked at the actual number. So 2020 is year zero for this tracker….
People ask what I would do if I won toto. Crazy, I don’t even buy toto, how to win? But I must admit it’s a fun question but a useless one because it disconnects from reality entirely. A more useful question is what I would actually do if I hit my number. Not lottery money….
I’ve thought about it plenty — lying awake, on the commute, in the shower — but never actually put it into words. So here it is. My honest answer to the question most people never stop to ask themselves properly. What does success actually look like for me? A day in the life at 50…
I’ve been working for 12 years. In that time I’ve had 7 jobs (including current one), taken a pay cut I shouldn’t have, chased careers that sounded cooler than they were, and slowly — not smoothly — worked my way from $3,200 to $10,000 a month. This isn’t a success story. It’s just my story….
I’ve been wanting to write this one down for a while. Not because I think my spending is particularly clever or worth copying — but because I’ve never seen anyone actually show their full breakdown in black and white. Most personal finance content uses hypothetical numbers. This one uses my own, as close to reality…
Most CPF articles explain what the accounts are. OA for housing, SA for retirement, MediSave for healthcare — you’ve read that before. This isn’t that article. This is what I actually do with my CPF, the decisions I’ve made along the way, and the thinking behind them. Some of it I figured out early. Some…
Most Singaporeans keep their emergency fund in a savings account jumping through hoops for mediocre interest. I moved mine to Chocolate Finance — here’s why. Before we talk about investing, robo-advisors, or CPF optimisation — let’s talk about the thing that needs to come first. Your emergency fund. It’s the least exciting topic in personal…
I opened mine in 2019 when the statutory retirement age was 62. That decision locked in an earlier withdrawal date — one I can’t get back if I’d waited. Here’s why timing matters more than most people realise. Let me tell you the most straightforward financial win available to a working Singaporean that most people…
I’ve tried complicated money management systems. Multiple bank accounts for different spending categories. Detailed monthly budgets with 15 line items. Spreadsheets I’d update enthusiastically for two weeks in January and abandon by March. None of them stuck. Not because I’m lazy — but because complexity is the enemy of consistency. The more decisions a system…
