While there is a general consensus that taking a master’s degree in Singapore today may be beneficial in many respects from brighter employment prospects to enhanced cognitive abilities, the true value may be less evident. .A master’s degree isn’t cheap, but there are many ways to find financial help Some might even resort to getting a loan from a moneylender.
Truth be told, evaluating a financial and temporal investment in a master’s degree should be as rigorous, if not more, than an investment in a financial asset. Just like ploughing through a heap of annual reports to pick the best stocks, specifically the most undervalued stocks, selecting the most ideal master’s degree course should spare no less effort.
Contrary to popular belief that it is difficult, if not impossible, to quantify the net monetary gain/loss from pursuing a master’s degree, the diagram below illustrates a rudimentary step-by-step decision-making guide for studious graduates striving to further develop their intellect.
First, explore the roles that are in demand in the job market. Then, answer the next 2 questions. If both answers are “yes”, proceed to conduct extensive research on the possible range of salary increment. At the end of the evaluation process, it is likely that you would obtain a better idea of the “payback period” which you can then deem a master’s degree as a worthy or unworthy investment.
“My formula for success is rise early, work late and strike oil” by Jean Paul Getty, the world’s richest man who amassed billions from oil according to the Fortune magazine in 1957. This is no secret. Hard work always comes before success in many respects.
Sakichi Toyoda, the founding father of Toyota, took a protracted period of 23 years to perfect the non-stop shuttle change automatic loom, Type G in 1924. It incorporated numerous automatic, protective, and safety devices based on Toyota’s legion of earlier inventions and underwent rigorous and uncompromising commercial testing to deliver unparalleled performance in the textile industry worldwide. The patent was eventually sold to a British leading innovation company, Platt Brothers & Co for a whopping £100,000 in 1929. This unpremeditated development had set the cornerstone for Toyota’s industrial and technological achievements we witness today.
His eldest son, Kiichiro Toyoda subsequently took the plunge into the automobile business and never looked back since. Presently, Toyota is crowned the world’s top-selling automaker for a third consecutive year. Ultimately, success is often more easily built on prior successes as the acquired funds and a prudent risk-bearing attitude would allow one to navigate the treacherous waters more cautiously and readily exploit the illuminated opportunities. Nonetheless, to bag the first success, working assiduously is never an option but a priority.
Thomas Edison, the reputable American inventor, drew leading scientists and outstanding engineers from all over the world to his Menlo Park research centre to advance scientific and technological developments. The tight collaboration and painstaking efforts undertaken by the brilliant minds from diverse fields shed powerful insights and revolutionary ideas that culminated in a series of inventions indispensable to our daily lives. Essentially, the invention of the incandescent light bulb was a fruit ripe with both industriousness and dynamic teamwork. Currently, General Electric – established by Edison in 1890 – is a colossal conglomerate worth more than one quarter of a trillion as of May 2015.
While some people may be flush with cash by a stroke of luck or by birthright, most people shore up their wealth through enduring hard work and unmitigated perseverance.
As the Mexican Proverb once said: “Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are.”
It is no secret that your friends influence your life in one-way or the other. This influence can either be small such as picking an outfit to work or huge such as choosing which bank to invest on. Either way, being surround by financially responsible friends is always a good idea.
Here are the reasons why:
1. THEY CAN TELL YOU WHEN TO STOP
When you are trying to eliminate an unhealthy habit such as overspending, you must first recognize that the problem exists. Financially savvy friends who care deeply about you can tell you when your spending goes overboard. Because sometimes, all it takes is a little nudging from your friends. Having a friend who will make you realize that you have a problem can make you think harder about your spending weaknesses.
2. THEY CAN STEER YOU TO BETTER FINANCIAL DECISIONS
The time spent with peers increases as the child ages. As the time increases, the power of peer pressure tends to increase as well. Using peer pressure to your advantage, you can make friends with people who are thrifty as they lead you to better financial decisions. For instance, instead of going to a fancy restaurant, they will opt for having a fun dinner at your place while splitting the expenses for pizzas and beverages.
Your friend does not have to be as monetarily wise as Warren Buffet to guide you to better finances. You can be both starting from the bottom as long as you are responsible for each other’s financial growth. Do this by reminding yourselves about the monetary goals you set. And, if you have no financially responsible friends, you can always introduce them to the idea. Start by introducing the basics of budgeting such as knowing the envelope budgeting technique.
Image Credits: Riza Nugraha via Flickr With Creative Commons License
Truly, money matters get easier when you have financially savvy friends to support you along the way!
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Cybersecurity is defined as the measures taken to protect a computer or a computer system against unauthorized access or attack. Those who gain unauthorized access to the data in the computer or the system are often called as hackers. What is alarming about the breaching is that it may involve taking of personal data or credit card information.
To prevent these from happening, precautions must be set. Start by limiting the amount of personal data you post online then, strengthen your home and business Cybersecurity in 4 ways…
1. TAKE CONTROL OF THE AUTHENTICATION AND PRIVACY SETTINGS
Maximize the use of your privacy settings by using two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication, often used in online banking, involves “what you know” (e.g., 6-digit password) and “something you have” (e.g., verification code sent thru SMS). You can also change your security questions and your passwords frequently, especially for your emails that contain sensitive data.
2. FILTER YOUR EMAIL
Filter your email contents by not opening the spam mail. To avoid downloading virus or other malware, only open attachments that were given by your friends, family, partners, and clients.
Image Credits: zodman via Flickr with Creative Commons License
Delete the previous emails that are no longer needed so that no one can use them.
3. ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR DATA
I am a klutz! It is unavoidable to have my laptop on the repair shop every year. The only thing worse than having cyber attacks is losing the important data by myself. This is why; a good habit I developed is to back up my data. With this, I can peacefully rest.
4. REGULARLY UPDATE YOUR SOFTWARE
Aside from backing up your data, it is vital to update your software regularly as latest security patches minimize the threats of bugs, viruses, and other malwares. Increase your shield by using free programs that scan your computer for bugs, viruses, and other malwares that come from external sources.
Image Credits: Perspecsys Photos (www.perspecsys.com) via Flickr with Creative Commons License Attribution-ShareAlike
With the increasing number of successful cyber attacks, Cybersecurity has become everyone’s responsibility. Individuals can take the 4 mentioned ways to prevent breaches. While huge companies shall execute robust security practices.
The Ministry of Finance has announced in a press release that 1.6million Singaporeans will receive a letter in the first week of July with details about the 2015 GST Voucher Benefits (GSTV), as well as information on other Budget benefits such as Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) rebates, U-Save and Medisave Top-ups.
If you are eligible, you will receive the payout in the month of August.
To find out how much you are eligible for, you can log on to https://www.gstvoucher.gov.sg with your SingPass. *Make sure you check your payment mode is correct.
1. Cash Payouts
a. GST Vouchers – Cash payout (Age: 21 and above)
This applies to most Singaporeans if you have an assessable income (YA 2014) of less than or equal to $26,000 with Annual Value of Home less than $21,000.
b. GST Vouchers – Additional Cash Payouts as Seniors’ Bonus (Age: 55 and above)
In addition, those aged 55 and above can receive payouts of up to $600 to help with their daily expenses. (Note: This means up to $900 in cash per person when you include the previous payout in 1a.)
2. Medisave Payouts
a. GST Vouchers – Medisave Top-up (Age: 65 and above)
Those aged 65 and above can receive GSTV – Medisave top-up of up to $450.
b. Pioneer Generation Medisave Top-up (Age 66 and above)
In addition, those that belong to the Pioneer Generation can receive top-up that ranges from $200 to $800 annually. (i.e a 76yo retiree Pioneer that lives in a HDB flat and do not own a second property will receive $600 + $350 (from 2a.))
c. 5-year Medisave Top-up (Age: 56 and above who do not enjoy PG benefits)
Singaporeans born on or before 31 Dec 1959 (i.e. aged 56 years and above in 2015), who do not enjoy Pioneer Generation benefits, will receive Medisave top-ups of $100 or $200 annually from 2014 to 2018, as announced in Budget 2014. This will benefit about 528,000 Singaporeans. The vast majority (i.e. those living in HDB flats who do not own more than one property) will get the higher top-up of $200 a year.
3. Other Budget Benefits
a. GSTV – U-Save
The regular GST Voucher – U-Save is given out quarterly to help offset utilities directly, and costs $180 million annually. This July, over 800,000 eligible households will each receive up to $65, depending on their HDB flat type.
b. S&CC Rebates
The S&CC rebate is given out in April, July, and October this year, and costs $80 million in 2015. This July, around 800,000 eligible households will receive the S&CC rebate which will offset half a month to one month of charges, depending on their HDB flat type.
Additional Information
Most Singaporeans will automatically receive their GSTV payouts and 5-Year Medisave top-ups. For the small number of citizens who have not signed up for past Government payouts and/or are not CPF members, the letters they receive will inform them of the actions they need to take by 31 December 2015 to receive their benefits.
More details on the GST Voucher can be found at www.gstvoucher.gov.sg, and information on the other Budget benefits can be found at www.singaporebudget.gov.sg. If you require more information, the contact details are as follows:
MoneyDigest
Anna Agoncillo
