Did you manage to start saving money for your retirement?
Did you finally start investing for your future?
Have you bought insurance to protect yourself and your family?
If this is you:
then you might want to pay attention.
Be Part of Singapore’s Largest Personal Finance Festival
This 2020, Seedly wants to help YOU take control of your personal finances with Seedly Personal Finance Festival 2020 — the LARGEST personal finance festival in Singapore — that is happening on Saturday, 7 March 2020.
For 24 hours only, starting on Thursday, 2 January 2020, 12pm, enjoy 50% OFF all Seedly Personal Finance Festival 2020 tickets with a special early bird promo code.
Simply enter EARLYSEED50 before checkout to enjoy the following:
Early Bird Ticket at $29 (usual price $58)
Buddy Ticket at $40 for a pair of tickets (usual price $80)
Regular Ticket at $44 (usual price $88)
The first 1,000 ticket sign-ups will also get a limited edition goodie bag worth $55!
Act fast because the tickets for last year’s Seedly Personal Finance Festival were sold out within 30 hours!
What Is Seedly Personal Finance Festival 2020 About?
Seedly Personal Finance Festival 2020 is Singapore’s largest personal finance festival where you can learn to take control of your personal finances in one day.
There will be discussion panels, fireside chats, talks, and workshops on various topics like:
Investment (Stocks, REITs, Alternative Instruments)
Property
Insurance
Career
CPF
All of these will be presented in an actionable and simple manner by experts, industry titans, and leaders from Singapore’s personal finance space.
You will also stand a chance to win $3,000 worth of lucky draw prizes, just by attending the festival!
When and Where Is Seedly Personal Finance Festival 2020?
Seedly Personal Finance Festival 2020 is happening on Saturday, 7 March 2020, 9am to 6pm, at Suntec Convention Centre Hall 405 and 406.
Where to Buy Tickets for Seedly Personal Finance Festival 2020?
How you spend your dollar is just as important to your financial health as your decision to save or to pay for debt. Savvy spending habits keep you from overspending on an item or a service. Nobody needs a stack of infomercial items paid for by impulse buying.
Spending smartly by kicking your bad habits to the curb allows your dollar to go further. Lead a resolute year by leaving these spending habits in 2019! A better 2020 is up ahead.
ADDITIONAL ATM FEES
I am guilty of paying for out-of-network ATM fees at the expense of my convenience. I withdraw money from other banking institutions from time to time as it is more favorable proximity-wise. The service fee may be minimal, but it adds up. A good solution is to open up an account at a bank that is more favorable to where you live in or where you work at.
SPENDING MONEY YOU DO NOT HAVE
Many Singaporeans are guilty of spending money that they do not have. How is this so? They spend money through taking loans, cash advances, or credit cards. Spending money you have yet to earn creates a pile of debt for year 2020. It will continue to grow, if you do not fully repay your debt each month.
Image Credits: pixabay.com
Solve this bad habit by cutting down your expenses and relying on your debit card or income to pay for your essentials and wants. Prioritize your needs first.
BOTTLED WATER EXPENSE
Speaking of expenses that pile up, you must look into your bottled water expenses. Water is a necessity, which we cannot escape from. Your daily water consumption can cost you more than S$1,000 per year. Reduce this number by drinking from the just-as-healthy tap water from the tap. In the long run, a little savings goes a long way.
CREATING MORE DEBT
Using debt to pay off your debt is not healthy. You are lying to yourself when you think that you are solving your problems by paying your initial debts with other cards. You are simply shuffling your debt around and incurring more interest in the process.
Using debt to “pay off” debt can only be beneficial if you can transfer a balance from a high-interest rate credit card to a lower limit one. Be careful when you do this. Transferring balance to take advantage of a good rate is different from continually dodging your credit card payments.
LIVING WITHOUT A TRACKER
Last year, I refrained from using a money tracking app. I lived without a financial tracker to see how my finances will be affected. Interestingly, I spent more within the year than I ever did in the past couple of years. Keeping up with your expenses is a healthy way to ensure your financial health.
Image Credits: pixabay.com
You can either whip out a ledger or download a money tracking app. Start using a budget tool such as Mint or Spendee to stay on top of your spending habits and to eliminate unnecessary expenses.
Swiping a credit card is the polar opposite of using a debit card. The latter allows you to spend the money that you already have in your checking account. While, the former lets you borrow money from a financial provider. You have to pay an interest at the end of every billing statement.
Be forewarned that having a credit card does not equate to having “free” cash around. It only means that you are expected to pay back whatever you borrowed at a given period of time. Furthermore, you are held responsible to check whether you are spending within the maximum limit.
MECHANISM
How do credit cards work? As a responsible owner of a credit card, you must know the mechanism behind owning one.
Firstly, you must apply for a credit card. Research on which type of card suits your needs the best. Choose a card based on your eligibility, your credit score, your annual income, and your lifestyle. One credit card may have an annual fee, while the other may have a discounted fee for the first year.
Secondly, you must wait for the financial provider’s approval. Major credit card companies often use online services for their card applications. Thus, you will he able to review your application results immediately. Once approved, your financial provider will send you a physical card.
Thirdly, you must make purchases with your card. To spend online, simply enter your credit card number and other additional information (e.g., CVC at the back of the card). Your balance will add up as you spend. Remember to keep an eye on your credit card limit.
The last step is for you to review your billing statement and pay promptly as you have agreed.
SUGGESTION
For beginners, some of the best credit cards this year are as follows. You can count on the American Express Platinum Credit Card for rewards, OCBC 365 Card for dining benefits, and Citi VISA PremierMiles Credit Card for travel miles.
A. American Express Platinum Credit Card lets you reap these benefits:
* Receive 1 Night Stay at Swissôtel The Stamford Singapore worth S$529 upon Annual Fee payment.
* Receive an additional Samsonite Sigma 76cm Expandable Spinner worth S$600 when you spend S$4,500 within the first 3 months of Card Approval.
* Receive S$20 CapitaVouchers each, for the first two approved Supplementary Cards.
* Enjoy Love Dining @ Restaurants privileges which offers up to 50% savings on food orders at a handpicked selection of popular restaurants.
* Love Dining @ Hotels offers you exceptional year-round privileges and savings of up to 50% on food bills for unlimited visits at selected 5 star hotels around Singapore.
* Enjoy a complimentary drink with purchase of at least one item from the merchant’s menu at over a dozen fashionable bars in Singapore.
To qualify, you must have a minimum income requirement of S$50,000 per annum for Singapore Citizens and Residents and S$60,000 per annum for Expatriates. Terms and conditions apply.
B. Citi VISA PremierMiles Credit Card lets you collect travel miles, which you can use in renowned airlines’ frequent flyer and hotel loyalty programs. These include Krisflyer, Asia Miles, and Qantas. You will be rewarded fast as you spend with your card. Terms and conditions apply.
C. OCBC 365 Card is best used for dining. It has a cashback promo that allows you to reap rewards whether you dine internationally or locally. Here is a layout of the rewards:
* 0.3% cashback on ALL spending
* 3% cashback on TELCO bills, local supermarkets, and online purchases
* 3% to 6% cashback when you dine in restaurants island-wide
* 5% cashback on petrol purchases
* Up to 18.3% discounts at petrol stations
* 3% cashback on medical spending – under Child Development Account
* Complimentary travel insurance (up to SGD $800 coverage) Terms and conditions apply.
Personal finance is one of those things which was never taught in school but it immediately became apparent how important it is when you start working and have to pay for your own sh*t.
It gets worse when your friends start talking about stuff like “qualifying for tax relief by doing voluntary top-ups to SA” and discussing hacks to “maximise miles accrual and cashback rebates” by using different credit cards to pay for their monthly bills.
After a while, it seems like everyone has successfully transitioned to adulthood while you’re still figuring out what you actually want to do with your life.
Eventually, you’ll find yourself going quiet during group gatherings because:
If this is you, or if you’re afraid that this will be you in a couple of years time…
It’s a huge online community where lots of personal finance enthusiasts and professionals from various institutions related to personal finance (like insurance, wealth management, and investment) hang out.
Best of all, you can even ask your questions anonymously!
Free Advice? Sure Boh…
If you haven’t heard of Seedly, they’re a one-stop personal finance platform, which aims to help Singaporeans make smarter financial decisions.
They do this through their educational, but fun to read SeedlyReads, which explains issues and topics related to personal finance in a simple manner.
But they also recognised that readers of SeedlyReads might have questions after reading.
That’s why they created the Seedly Personal Finance Community where you can ask your personal finance-related questions and get answers.
Yep.
They’re awesome like that.
How Can the Seedly Personal Finance Community Help Me?
The Seedly Personal Finance Community is made up of various personal enthusiasts, experts from various institutions and even the CPF Board.
Regardless of what kind of questions you have, you will definitely find a community or topic page that should satiate your curiosity. Even if you can’t find the answer, you can post your question and a community member who can answer it will do so.
Oh, and if you come across a question which you can answer, why not pay it forward by leaving an answer as well?
Whether you’re a seasoned investor or an amateur looking to make your first investment, the Stocks Discussion community is the perfect place to ask like-minded stocks investing enthusiasts and gurus for their investment insights and advice.
After all, it’s always better to learn from someone’s mistakes than to make them yourself right?
So, How Do I Ask the Seedly Community My Questions?
Simply head over to the Seedly website, click on “Ask Community” to get to the Seedly Personal Finance Community Page.
Once you’re there, click on “Ask A Question” to ask your question.
If someone has asked a similar question, you’ll be prompted via a dropdown menu.
All you have to do is pick the question that is closest to yours to find out what the community’s answers are!
And if it’s a question that no one has asked before, simply complete the form, choose the category which you think best suits your question and click “Post”!
Psst! If you’re really shy, just check the “Ask anonymously” box and your question will be posted anonymously.
Why Should I Ask My Questions on Seedly?
Still sceptical about asking your personal finance questions and getting answers?
What if you could stand a chance to win an all-expense-paid trip to Bali for 2 just by following Seedly communities and being active on their platform?
Seedly is sending three lucky winners to Bali (via Scoot) to enjoy a 3D2N stay at Lloyd’s Inn Bali, Seminyak for their Secret Santa Holiday Giveaway!
You can ask or answer questions, and even receive upvotes to gain points and move up the leaderboard!
The Top 10 from each community will participate in a Live Lucky Draw during Seedly’s exclusive Christmas Party where one lucky member from each community will walk away with the Grand Prize. The rest will each win a $30 NTUC Income Voucher + a Mystery Gift!
Ask your burning personal finance questions, get answers, and even stand a chance to win Seedly’s Secret Santa Holiday Giveaway?
They’ve also managed to do this without the backing of any bank or financial institution. And they deliberately chose to do so in order to create a calculator that is unbiased and that will truly identify the best savings account with the highest interest rates for you.
Yep.
That means that they’re not sponsored in any way for the creation of this calculator.
The interest rates of savings accounts differ widely between bank to bank.
Some banks even have different savings account with varying interest rates.
Naturally, the highest interest rates are awarded only if you fulfil certain criteria like:
credit your monthly salary
spend a certain amount every month
have an investment account and actively make monthly investments
take a housing loan
own insurance policies
Once you get all of this information, you would have to compare the savings accounts in order to find out what is the highest interest rate you can qualify.
The problem with doing this manually is that it’s an extremely tedious process.
Ain’t nobody got time for that.
Enter the Seedly Savings Account Calculator – a simple tool that can help you calculate the highest interest you can potentially get.
How Do I Use The Seedly Savings Account Calculator?
Integration With Seedly’s Main Site
What if you’re still unsure about the recommended choice?
Well, you’ll be pleased to know that the calculator is also integrated with SeedlyQnA and SeedlyReviews.
This means that you can click on “More Details” and the dropdown list will display questions which other people have asked (and answered) as well as user reviews about the particular account you’re recommended.
