Managing your finances together is one of the most important roles you partake on in a marriage.
Differing views and attitudes towards money can pose issues to a relationship. For instance, you may seem frugal to others and stingy to her. If you both live beyond your means and spend lavishly on each other, you might find yourselves trapped in debt. There is time to change. Planning ahead as a team can help you build a strong foundation for your marriage.
1. GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER
Get to know each other’s financial beliefs and spending habits. Understand where your partner is coming from and adapt if necessary. If your partner is a spender, agree on establishing some limits. If your partner is prudent, agree on the things you would like to prioritize. Make your expectations clear to arrive on the same page.
“The handling of finances is one of the major emotional battlegrounds of any marriage. Lack of finances is seldom the issue. The root of the problem seems to be an unrealistic and immature view of money.” – David Augsburger, The Meaning of Money in Marriage
2. DELEGATING FINANCIAL DUTIES
Assess the differences in your income and money management strengths to determine how to divide the financial duties. Delegate the person who is financially savvier to take the role of managing your family’s investment options. While, the person who is better at budgeting can take charge of managing the household bills. Take advantage of each other’s strengths and fill the gaps in between.
3. PROVIDING SOLELY FOR YOUR FAMILY
For families with a sole breadwinner, it is practical to maintain an adequate emergency fund to withstand unexpected financial woes. Please consider the number of dependents when finalizing the amount of money to be set aside.
Single income couples should consider helping each other in terms of their CPF responsibilities. You can top up your spouse’s CPF account, especially if he or she has low CPF balances. You can transfer your CPF Ordinary Account savings after setting aside the Basic Retirement Sum in your own CPF account.
4. SHARING BANK ACCOUNTS
There is no one size fits all! Your household arrangement depends on your marital assets, income levels, and financial commitments. Think about which expenses you want to keep separate and which you want to share. You open a joint account for their household bills. Set aside a specific amount monthly to grow your joint account together. Meanwhile, you can keep your own individual accounts to fund your own spending.
5. AVOIDING FINANCIAL INFIDELITY
Financial infidelity refers to hiding financial information behind your partner’s back. Failing to mention a significant expenditure to your spouse may cause problems in the long run. Top money lies include under-declaring one’s income or hiding one’s debts. Such dishonesty can diminish the level of trust between a couple.
6. WORKING ON SAME FINANCIAL GOALS
Find a way to work on shared financial goals. Agree on the amount of personal contributions depending on your income. Some of the common themes that most financial goals share are having a budget, living frugally, getting out of debt, and having a good credit score. Do not forget to save for your emergency fund and retirement plans.
Creating customer avatars for your business should be part of your marketing plan. Remember that you want to nudge a lead or customer to the next level by smartly employing digital marketing.
Many start-ups deal with cold prospects in the beginning. To convert these cold prospects to fans and beyond, identifying your ideal customers’ profile is necessary.
This is where a customer avatar comes in handy. A customer avatar can also be referred to as a target audience for the laymen. We will use it interchangeably in this article.
Give life to your avatars with these components
To help you better understand your target audience, you want to give life to your avatars.
Tackling these components are useful – know their goals and values, the platforms they source for information, and their demographics. It’s also wise to think through the potential reasons why your avatars would reject your product or service.
There are many ways to gain the abovementioned information. You can conduct a study, schedule surveys, or have conversations with members of the public. But lest you think it’s do or die, that’s not true.
Go ahead and make the first cut while trusting your assumptions about your target audience. Once you have done enough research and gathered results, fine-tuning is all it takes to move forward.
Find your niche with the “but no one else would” trick
Let’s zoom in on the finer details with the “but no one else would” trick. This trick will allow you to choose the right tools, platforms, and influencers to engage.
Take a look at these sentences:
My target audience would read [name of a book], but no one else would.
They would subscribe to [name of a magazine], but no one else would.
The company’s ideal customers would attend [name of a conference], but no one else would.
By answering the above, you will filter and narrow down on some hows and wheres of marketing. The main idea here is finding your niche, so it’s extremely targeted. You won’t want to be wasting any of your marketing dollars, right?
Use different customer avatars for various campaigns
Throughout the lifetime of your business, you will be running several marketing campaigns in a year. No one campaign should be precisely the same as the other.
If you’re simply using the same profile for each of your campaigns, you will quickly realise that it doesn’t work. To craft personalised content and offers, you need to establish who you’re marketing to.
Knowing your target audience will help you deal with the rest of your marketing components, including the type of content to produce, the social media sites to use, and what kind of advertisements you should buy.
Taking a little break in between your festive shopping? Rest your legs and tuck into these mains below $10 in shopping malls! Be it your neighbourhood malls or those in town, North or West, with 5 different cuisines to choose from – Thai-Indo, Japanese, Chinese, Local and Vietnamese – be spoilt for choice. Only one red note is needed to fuel up your tummy, don’t say bojio with this list of good value eats in the comfort of a mall!
1. Bali Thai
A perfect fusion of Thai and Indonesian cuisines, Bali Thai definitely does not disappoint. Slurp on the spicy Tom Yum Soup ($7.50), or chow down the XO Fried Rice ($9.80) or Nasi Goreng Buah Keluak ($9.80)!
Locations: Causeway Point (#05-05), IMM Building (#01-21), NEX (#02-13), Suntec City (#B1-121A/121B), Waterway Point (#B1-13), Ngee Ann City (#05-29)
2. White Restaurant
Tuck into The Original White Beehoon (S: $7, M: $12)! Originally prepared as a homely dish by founder Mr Tay King Huak for his family, the dish today has developed into a well-loved dish by all. White Restaurant’s inimitable homemade broth is simmered for more than 8 hours with a combination of chicken feet and bones to extract the sweetness and nutrients. To achieve the fragrance of ‘wok hei’ that all Singaporeans love, this tasty broth is then used to stir-fry the beehoon plate by plate under careful controlled temperature, timing and the right amount of broth.
Locations: Causeway Point (#05-05), IMM Building (#01-21), NEX (#02-13), Suntec City (#B1-121A/121B), Waterway Point (#B1-13), Ngee Ann City (#05-29)
3. Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice
Each plate of Wee Nam Kee’s Chicken Rice ($5.20) comes with tender, lean chicken, fluffy rice and a fragrant bowl of soup! Choose between the Steamed / Roasted Chicken / Roasted Pork / BBQ Pork in the Vegetable Set ($7.50) and the Dumpling Set ($8.30).
Locations: SingPost (#B1-125), Changi City Point (#B1-35), Jurong Point (#B1-60/61), Northpoint City (#B1-52)
4. Ah Chiang’s Traditional Porridge
Tuck into the well-loved favourites such as the Mixed Pork Porridge, Pork Ball Porridge and Sliced Meat Porridge! To ensure the best quality, all ingredients used are fresh and not frozen. The Mixed Pork Porridge boasts fresh pig liver, pig intestines and pork slices that are cooked to perfection; The Pork Ball Porridge is made with freshly hand-kneaded pork balls for a smooth and springy texture. The sets with 2 sides and you tiao retail from $8.50 – $9.50.
Location: Hillion Mall (#01-15/16)
5. Newspaper Curry Rice
You won’t find any shortcuts or instant curry powder here: all of Newspaper Curry Rice’s sauces and recipes are made from scratch, including the homemade sambal, and of course, their signature curry, which contains blue ginger, chili, curry leaves and freshly-ground pepper. Indulge in the Mama Wee’s Hainanese Curry Chicken Drumstick Set ($7.80) or the Mama Wee’s Hainanese ‘Kou Rou’ Set ($8.80)!
Location: Hillion Mall (#01-15/16)
6. The Hainan Story
Looking for some Hainanese Delicacies? Look no further! The Hainan Story has the following up for grabs: Hainanese Claypot Chicken ‘Char Siew’ Rice consisting of Chicken ‘ char siew’, chinese sausage, mushroom, scallion ($8.50), the Chinese Claypot Ee-fu Noodle Soup with Minced pork, sliced pork, mushroom, prawn, lala clam, vegetable, egg ($8.50) and the Laksa with Hainanese Steamed Chicken ($8.50).
Location: Hillion Mall (#01-15/16)
7. Monga Fried Chicken
Calling all fried chicken lovers! Pair your favourites with rice in the Monga Crispy Chicken Rice Box consisting of fragrant chicken rice, 2pcs crispy fried chicken and achar ($6.90). Prefer nuggets instead? Opt for the Monga Nuggets Chicken Rice Box with fragrant chicken rice, 6pcs monga nuggets and achar. Don’t miss out on the 2pcs Combo too, which comes with Sweet Potato Fries, and a Soda ($8.90)!
8. Tim Ho Wan
Supplement your dim sum meal with Noodles and Congee at Tim Ho Wan! Opt for the Pork Congee with Century and Salted Eggs ($6.00), Hong Kong Style Wanton Noodle (Soup/Dry) ($7.80), or the Hong Kong Braised Beef Noodle (Soup/Dry) ($9.80).
Locations: Aperia Mall (#0101/02/03), Citylink Mall (#B1-63/63A), Great World City (#01-139), Jewel Changi Airport (#02-223), Marina Bay Sands (#B2-02/03/04), Plaza Singapura (#01-29A/52), Suntec City (#02-389/390), Waterway Point (#01-62), Westgate (#01-13/14), 18 Tai Seng (#01-36)
9. LeNu
Affordable yet remarkable, LeNu is a casual Chinese noodle bar that strives to achieve perfection in every bowl to delight all diners at an affordable price. Opt for their selection of dry noodles: Pork Wanton in Chili Vinaigrette Dry Noodle ($9.80), Dried Shrimp and Scallion Dry Noodle ($6.50) or the Braised Pork Rib with Scallion Dry Noodle ($9.90)!
Locations: Bedok Mall #B2-10 Bugis Junction #B1-22Compass One #03-05, Funan #B1-22, Jurong East Mall (JEM) #B1-11, Jewel Changi Airport #04-244, Northpoint City South Wing #B1-101, Resorts World Sentosa #B1-201, VivoCity #02-91
10. Ya Lor
Have you tried Ya Lor’s Signature Braised Duck Rice ($7.10)? Featuring the Original Sean Kee boneless braised duck rice with succulent duck meat, bean sprouts, braised peanuts, braised egg(half) and beancurd! Also try Ya Lor’s Braised Duck with Noodle or kway teow ($6.10), we’re sure you won’t regret this. For the health conscious, the Braised Duck Porridge ($6.10) is a healthy meal choice of porridge topped with braised duck meat and peanuts. Opt to top up $2.50 for drinks with every main ordered!
11. Streats
Serving up popular Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesian and asian street food, give Streats’ HK Shrimp & Chicken Dumpling Noodle (Dry/Soup, $9.80), Bak Mee Ayam Pangsit ($8.80) and Spicy Dry Nissin Korean Noodle with Fried Chicken ($8.80) a try!
Locations: Bukit Panjang Plaza (#02-17), City Square Mall (#01-01), IMM Building (#02-17/17A), Resorts World (Asian Café) (#01-205), West Mall (#01-28/29/30), Tampines 1 (#B1-05)
12. Hongguo
The Star of Hongguo, the Xiu Cai Mi Xian ($9.20) is double boiled for hours with selected duck, chicken, pork parts, making it extremely flavourful and tasty. Served with vegetables, egg, meat and vermicelli, this is an excellent choice for anyone looking for comfort food. Also try the Pork Ribs Yunnan Noodle Soup ($9.50) and Black Pepper Beef Fried Rice ($9.80)!
Locations: Bugis Junction #B1-06, NEX #B1-75
13. Penang Culture
Get transported to Penang immediately with the Penang Sambal Fried Rice ($9.90)! A well-known Penang dish not to be missed, the Penang Assam Laksa ($7.90) broth consists of sardine, ginger flower, laksa leaves, assam (tamarind), fermented shrimp paste, garlic, galangal, turmeric and lemongrass – all boiled together to form the tasty gravy. The secret of the robustness of the Fried Hokkien Mee ($8.90) lies in the home-brewed flavourful prawn stock used during frying – add a good dose of wok-hei and there you have shiok Fried Hokkien Mee!
Locations: NEX Shopping Mall (#B1-76), Compass One (#03-13), White Sands Shopping Mall (#03-21), JEM (#04-27), Vivocity (#B2-23E)
14. Sushi Tei
Illustrating the emerging influence Asia has on modern Japanese cuisine, Sushi Tei’s menu features a fusion of traditional Japanese dishes with modern innovative trends. Opt for the Oyako Don ($9.80), Tonkotsu Udon/Soba/Ramen ($8.80) or the Yakitori Don ($9.80)!
Locations:China Square (#01-28/30), Sushi Tei (#03-04), JEM (#03-18), NEX (#03-15/16), Northpoint (#02-15), Paragon (#05-04/05), Raffles City (#03-13/14), Serangoon Gardens, Tampines 1 (#04-13), Thomson Plaza (#03-46), Tiong Bahru Plaza (#03-110), Vivocity (#02-152), West Coast Plaza (#01-87), Jewel Changi Airport (#03-209)
15. Ichiban Bento
Hearty meals for everyday! Pick your favourite from the Black Pepper Yakiniku Bento ($9.80), the Double Katsu Bento consisting of Chicken cutlet with spicy cod roe mayo and miso sauce ($8.80), or the Chicken Nanban Don, a Chicken cutlet with sweet & sour nanban sauce and tartar sauce rice bowl ($8.80).
16. Idaten Udon
At Idaten Udon, you can be your own head chef! Match your favourite tempuras with the Niku Udon, a Sliced beef with udon and soup ($8.90), or the Beef Sukiyaki Don ($9.00) and Niku Curry Don, a sliced beef curry rice ($9.00).
Locations: Nex (B1-02), Tampines 1 (B1-07), Changi City Point (B1-12), IMM (02-52), Causeway Point (B1-17)
17. Crave
Enjoy some award-winning Adam Road Nasi Lemak by Selera Rasa, topped off with crunchy flavourful ikan bilis, nuts and the tantalising iconic sambal! Choose your favourite Nasi Lemak: woud it be the Nasi Lemak Royale ($8.70) with fragrant Basmati Rice, Crispy Chicken Wing, Fish Fillet, Bergedil, Fried Egg, Ikan Bilis and Peanuts, Sambal Chili and Cucumber, the Nasi Lemak With Curry Chicken ($8.70) or the Nasi Lemak with Chicken Wing ($6.50)? Opt to top up $1.30 for drinks with every main ordered.
Locations: Ang Mo Kio Hub #B2-54, Asia Square #02-13, Bedok Mall #B2-22, Bugis Junction #B1-K05, Bukit Panjang Plaza #01-18, Causeway Point #B1-K12, Changi City Point #B1-06/07, City Square Mall #B2-K2/K3/K4 & K11, Clementi Mall #B1-K4/K5, Compass One #B1-02/03, E! Hub #01-K105, Fairprice Hub #02-24, Funan Mall #B2-K07, Grab Kitchen #06-00, Guoco Tower #B2-26/27, HarbourFront Centre #01-K8, Hong Leong #B1-12, Hougang Mall #B1-11, Jem #B1-K3, Junction 8 #B1-K8, Jurong Point #B1-03, Lot One #B1-K17, Marina Bay Link Mall #B2-63, North Point #B1-45, One Kent Ridge #01-09/19/20, Our Tampines Hub #01-106, Parkway Parade #01-K09, Paya Lebar Square #B1-45, Sun Plaza #01-26, Toa Payoh #01-524, The Commerze@Iring #01-30, The Star Vista #B1-42, Changi Airport T1A #02-K18, Changi Airport T3L #B2-34, Waterway Point #B1-K7
18. So Pho
Experience authentic and traditional Vietnamese food in Singapore with So Pho’s fresh, healthy and mouth watering Vietnamese dishes. Warm up with Pho Noodle Soup with sliced beef ($9.80), or opt for the Baguette with Beef/ Chicken ($7.50)!
Locations: Jem (#03-22), Tampines Mall (#04-30), Paragon (#B1-20), Novena Square (#02-43/45), VivoCity (#01-171), Causeway Point (#B1-16), Northpoint City (#B1-182/183), Marina One The Heart (#B2-50), The Star Vista (#B1-11), White Sands (#02-04), ION (#B3-19), Changi T3 (#03-30/31), IMM (#02-53), Jewel Changi Airport (#B1-248), Great World City (#B1-112), Suntec City (#B1-126)
Romance does not have to fade just because you are at home. Considering the impact of the pandemic and the need to practice social distancing, you have probably struggled to keep your indoor dates exciting. Fret not! There are a myriad of creative date activities that you can enjoy right in the comfort of your own home.
Spend Valentine’s Day with your special someone with these fun ideas.
#1: DO YOGA TOGETHER
Stretch the night away by practicing couples yoga with your partner. Now is the time find your inner Zen. Poses suitable for couples are more intimate and challenging. It is a shared experience focused more on the connection with one another, rather than just yourself.
#2: MAKE DELICIOUS PIZZA
Add spice to your Netflix and chill by making your own pizza. Try different recipes such as baguette pizza and Marinara pizza.
#3: TEST YOUR SINGING ABILITIES
Do you have a favorite love song? Challenge your partner to a melodious night of karaoke. Sing your hearts out by searching karaoke videos on YouTube. Singing some of your favorite tunes is guaranteed to boost your spirit.
#4: TRY A VIRTUAL MUSEUM TOUR
Whether you are a fan of Vincent van Gogh or cultural art, you can find a virtual museum tour for both of your interests. I recommend watching the National Museum of Singapore’s Zoom Into History Video series. It is an insightful look at the artifacts and everyday objects that have defined our nation’s past. You can also watch the virtual tours streamed on the National Gallery of Singapore’s Facebook Live.
#5: CREATE FUN COCKTAILS
Show off your bartending skills in the comfort of your own space by making a cocktail together with your loved one. Make the Love Potion #9. It is made with gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and pomegranate juice. Enjoy!
#6: START A BOOK CLUB
Encourage your friends to join your book club. Bring your partner along too. Choose a book to read together with the group and then pick an evening to discuss it over wine and cheese on Zoom or Skype.
#7: HAVE A PHOTOSHOOT
Spare a few hours for an at-home photoshoot. Ensure that your pictures have backdrops and decorations that fit your theme. You can have these photos printed and gathered into an album.
#8: SET THEMATIC NIGHTS
Whether you want to indulge on a game or movie night, you can set February 14 as your “best day ever”. You can forgo dinner by turning the lights out and preparing snacks that can boost your movie night experience. If you cannot agree on a movie you both want to watch, consider the first movie you ever watched together. Alternatively, you can play video games. Your partner can either be impressed by your mad skills on screen or will think it is adorable to see you consistently losing.
#9: INDULGE IN A SPA DATE
Drop in your nearest Lush outlet or create your own DIY bath bombs to enjoy a spa date. Have a bath together with bath salts and bath bombs. Afterwards, you can give each other massages with aromatherapy oils. Lastly, you can give your partner a manicure or a pedicure. Complete the experience with matching robes!
The coronavirus pandemic has upended the lives of many families and caused a loss of jobs. To help retrenched workers and jobseekers, GovTech collaborated with Workforce Singapore (‘WSG’), e2i, TADM, TAFEP and SkillsFuture Singapore (‘SSG’) to develop new modules on the LifeSG App (rebranded from Moments of Life). These employment support modules take a user-centric approach to show relevant information in a bite-sized manner that is easy to understand for the everyday man on the street. It informs target audience on the assistance and job opportunities available to them. Simply look for these modules under “Discover your next career steps and find support” section under the home page of your LifeSG App.
Here’s a summary of each employment support module that you will find on LifeSG App and how they can be of help.
1. Know Your Retrenchment Benefits and Measures
Workers who have been retrenched or are at-risk of retrenchment may not be aware of the resources available to help them during this difficult period. They may also be unaware of the benefits due to them when faced with an impending retrenchment. Some of the benefits that retrenched workers may be eligible are the following:
a notice period,
retrenchment benefits,
alternatives to retrenchment, and
help in finding a new job
As employees, it is critical for us to understand our rights so that we know what precautions to take and what to do if there is a dispute.
2. Support for Your Job Search
The “Support for your job search” module helps retrenched individuals and job seekers to:
Find opportunities for new jobs via career fairs, access government support schemes and convert existing skills to make a mid-career switch. These enable the job search process to be more efficient, as well as increase the number of job opportunities that they can access.
Access customised advice and forge career plans from career coaches at WSG, e2i etc. These professionals will help you to understand your personality, area of interests as well as strengths and weaknesses. All these are useful to guide you to better understand your career objective in life
Explore courses to upskill/reskill to ensure that you are always ready for your next role in this fast-changing world. Armed with the relevant professional certifications, you will be one step closer to landing the job that helps you achieve your career goal.
Do not underestimate the toll that every unsuccessful job application takes on a job seeker’s morale. Therefore, having a well-thought-out strategy advised by the professionals and executing it is half the battle won in your job search.
3. Financial Support for Workers and the Self-Employed
Ever since COVID-19 struck, the Singapore government has been quick to dole out relief measures to provide financial support in an unprecedented manner to ensure that no one is left behind. This specific module is handy in allowing individuals across the different employment categories to browse the various listings of government agency schemes and COVID-19 relief measures:
Unemployed (including retrenched) individuals
Lower-income individuals
Individuals with reduced income
Self-employed persons
Here is a case study of how an unemployed individual can tap on the various government agency schemes and COVID-19 relief measures to tide him through this difficult period. Mr Tan is a 40-year-old Singaporean who works in the travel industry. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, he has been placed on involuntary No-Pay leave by his company. He can apply for the COVID-19 Support Grant and receive up to $800 per month for 3 months which would be credited directly into his bank account. In addition, he can receive Job and Training Support by Workforce Singapore (WSG) or The Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) to help him upskill and reskill. This allows him the option of convert existing skills to make a mid-career switch should he decide to. Understanding the various schemes and grants available to him, he can conveniently apply for them online via the mobile app.
With information organised in a succinct manner, it is easier for them to know what financial schemes they are eligible for, as well as information on the application process. This ensures that those who need financial aid gets them in the shortest possible time so that the disruption to their daily lives is mitigated.
Scan the QR code for more articles on the type of support available for Singaporeans affected by COVID-19.
Download the LifeSG App Today
Government has set aside plenty of help so that Singaporeans can tide through this pandemic and emerge stronger. Download the LifeSG App today to get a firm grasp of this helpful information. Also keep a look out for more features related to providing employment support that will be rolled out in subsequent phases.
![](<iframe loading="lazy" class="giphy-embed" src="https://giphy.com/embed/l2JdUkxgv6LoNvzri" width="480" height="362" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>)
