Things To Expect When Meeting A Financial Adviser For The First Time

You have decided that 2019 is the year that you are going to meet a financial adviser. Many Singaporeans can casually start a conversation about sports, fashion, and travel. However, discussing about money is another story. The mere act of reaching out to a financial adviser brings you a step ahead towards your money goals. That being said, here are the practical things that you can expect when meeting one.

1. YOUR CURRENT FINANCIAL SITUATION WILL BE ASSESSED

A competent and conscientious financial adviser will never assume to know your needs at first glance. It is important for you to provide all the necessary financial information available. I am referring to the bank statements, insurance premiums, tax returns, and so on. These details will help the financial adviser to tackle the toughest question in one’s financial life.

What steps do you need to take to secure your future?

2. YOUR FINANCIAL PHILOSOPHY WILL BE QUESTIONED

Be honest with yourself! What is your philosophy on wealth and investment?

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If you decide to work with a professional to give you advice on money then, ensure that he or she understands your limits. Discuss each other’s financial philosophies as these would dictate his or her actions toward your account. If you are willing to risk it all then, the financial adviser will lead you to that. While, risk averse clients will have more conservative options.

The financial adviser’s approach needs to balance your goals, your financial timeline, and your appetite for risks.

3. YOUR OVERALL PROGRESS WILL BE REVIEWED

With your financial adviser, your milestones will be set on a timetable. Do not be surprised when you are asked about your ideal retirement age or ideal marrying age. These may feel too intimate, but your success lies on having a concrete plan.

Your financial progress will be reviewed based on your plan. You see, Personal Finance is a process. It helps to have a knowledgeable and emphatic professional to track how far you have come and to guide you to your next goal.

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May your financial adviser create the most suitable financial road-map for you. Good luck! 🙂

Sources: 1 & 2

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Credit Card With Best Sign-Up Bonuses

There are many benefits to having and using a credit card. From enjoying cashback and discounts to chalking up air miles for your next holiday, the credit savvy are charging everything to their credit card.

When used wisely, it could actually help you save money while letting you enjoy the perks exclusive to the cardholders.

And for a limited time only, receive up to $500 cash, vouchers, cash backs and more when you apply for any of the selected credit cards before 30 November 2018.


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Debunking The Myths On Frugality

Do you seek to attain financial independence? Well, you may consider taking “frugality” at heart. Frugality is the quality of being thrifty, prudent, or economical in the consumption of consumable resources (e.g., food). This quality is embodies while avoiding waste and extravagance.

For people who are mystified by this term, keep reading along.

MYTH #1: FRUGAL PEOPLE HAVE NO CHOICE

For a fortunate number of people, frugality is a choice. They see frugality as a method to create a strong link between time, labor, and money. Every purchase represents the time and effort they have spent working. It is a conscious decision to plan ahead for their short-term and long-term financial goals.

MYTH #2: FRUGAL PEOPLE ARE CHEAP

On the surface, people may assume that frugality and cheapness are one and the same. Similarities may be present, but these two are entirely different characteristics. A frugal person sees the best value for his or her money. While, a cheap person focuses on the lowest price.

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Say that you are grocery shopping for the entire family. A frugal person will use accumulated coupons and purchase items that are only on his or her shopping list. On the other hand, a cheap person will highly decline to spend more than S$50 on a week’s groceries.

MYTH #3: FRUGAL PEOPLE NEVER SPLURGE

Even frugal Millennials splurge from time to time! When you are able to skip on things that are not essential to your lifestyle, you will be able to free up more money for the things that are important to you. It’s a no brainer! For instance, I spend most of my money on quality food and cosmetics.

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Frugality is not all about self-sacrifice. If you are skilled in long-term savings, you may choose to spend the excess on something that you deem to be priceless. Personally, catching a sunset in Santorini sounds like a great idea to me!

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How to recoup from the 11.11 sales shopping disaster

Lelong lelong!

What’s better than a Great Singapore Sale? The 11.11 crazy Singles’ Day sales.

If you’re an avid fan of online shopping, you wouldn’t have been spared from the numerous “virtual” billboard signs plastered on your favourite e-commerce shopping platforms, screaming descriptions claiming to offer the biggest and largest deals of the year.

Even if you’re not, you’re not spared either. Virtually every social media platform would have had advertisers interrupt your viewing pleasure with attention-seeking colours to tempt you to shop, shop, shop.

I hate to admit it, but even I have fallen prey to such sales tactics.

Have you accumulated too much credit card charges during the 11.11 sale? Here’s how you can make yourself feel better – choose to repay your credit card outstanding amount with a credit card balance transfer card that has a short-term loan tenure at 0% interest with $0 processing fees.

What is a balance transfer?

Simple logic – the lower the interest rate, the less you have to repay your credit card charges. Balance transfers involve a transfer of funds from a high-interest credit card to a lower-interest card.

This is where the Standard Chartered Credit Card Funds Transfer card comes in.

Some of the Standard Chartered Credit Card Funds transfer card features include:

  • Loan tenure of 6-12 months
  • 0% interest rate during tenure
  • Exclusive 0.9% processing fee, which can be offset by $220 cash back, for new Standard Chartered cardmembers
  • Flexible repayment amounts
  • Comes together with a Standard Chartered Unlimited card

Instead of having to suffer from high interest charges for loan amounts that can be fully repaid in a short period, i.e. 6-12 months, you can now pay them off without these incurring these interest fees and putting an even greater dent on your shopping expenses.

Find out more about the Standard Chartered Credit Card Funds Transfer card on the SingSaver website.

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How To Shield Yourself From Grab’s Surge Pricing

As a country whose location is near the Equator, Singapore experiences “dry and wet days” throughout the years. Generally speaking, the dry months last from March to August. While, the wet months typically span from September to February. Its tropical climate makes the weather unpredictable.

The most convenient way to travel while it is raining is through a personal or a public car. There is no denying that hailing a cab becomes difficult when it is raining! What’s more? You may experience surge pricing when hailing a cab or booking a Grab car. Surge pricing is the adjustment of ride prices to match driver supply and rider demand. During periods of excessive demand where there are not enough drivers on the road (i.e., rainy weather), Grab increases its normal fares.

To combat this issue, insurance cooperative NTUC Income launched the product Droplet last October. Droplet is a pioneer when it comes to protecting the commuters against unpredictable surge pricing on ride-hailing platforms. Further down the road, it aims to cover other platforms aside from Grab. Just wait for their announcements by the end of the year.

HOW DOES IT WORK

Reap the benefits of Droplet by purchasing the rainsurance at least a day ahead of your rides. The premium will be no more than S$9.60 for the day. You can submit as many ride receipts for claim and receive a maximum of S$50 in a day. Commuters who buy the Droplet coverage closer to the forecast of rain are likely to pay a higher premium that those who purchase the premium cover in advance.

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To buy the insurance, you must select a date range that you would like to receive coverage. Then, you must send your claims by forwarding your E-Receipt through email (to [email protected]).

As of now, Droplet only covers rides booked on the Grab app. It will pay up to 60% of your trip fare or the cancellation fee should it be raining at the point of pickup.

THE BOTTOM-LINE

This post shall end with a statement from NTUC Income.

“Droplet is a blue-sky response to consumers’ pain point – surge pricing due to rain – when they book a ride on ride-hailing platforms. In Singapore, where an average of 167 days of rainfall can be expected a year, consumers can now meaningfully address this pain point with insurance cover by Droplet.”

It is exciting to see how insurance products sync with the modern times. Hopefully, other insurers will be as innovative as this one for the commuters to enjoy the benefits of having options.

Sources: 1 & 2

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