Financial Benefits Of Having A Second Job

For the longest time, moonlighting was seen as a means to take on extra work in order to supplement one’s full-time employment. It was exclusively for underpaid employees or those who are severely strapped for cash. Nowadays, moonlighting and having a second job are seen as acceptable means to expand one’s income without the weight of stereotypes.

Having a second job does not only expand your wallet, but also maximize your skills and talents. Many employers are open to the idea of giving their employees the freedom and flexibility to take on other jobs to keep up with the rising cost of living. To illustrate, combining your full-time job with a 20-hour per week sideline can pull in a greater income. You may also combine two part-time positions to get an income that will equate to a full-time position while working for less hours per week.

That is just the beginning. The following are other benefits of having a second job.

LESSENING YOUR TRANSPORTATION COSTS

Four years ago, I juggled my work as an enrichment teacher and as a freelance writer. As a teacher, I needed to travel three to four times per week around Singapore. While, my job as a freelance writer brought me to the comforts of my own home.

If your second job is either at a home office or at a place near you, you will be able to save more money on transportation costs. This situational advantage can help you shave dollars on monthly petrol consumption or EZ-Link top-up.

OPENING NEW JOB OPPORTUNITIES

We cannot fully guarantee that the economy will stay the same in a few years time. Say you lost your job. If you are running out of full-time job options, you may try your luck in several part-time employment positions that can eventually turn into a coveted full-time slot. After all, it is more cost-efficient for an employer to hire individuals who are already trained than to hire individuals who are unfamiliar with the field.

When given the chance to partake in a team as a part-timer, show how eager you are to know the tricks of the trade. Volunteer your time and exhaust your energy as much as possible. Do not waste the opportunities given to you.

GIVING MORE MEANS TO PURSUE OTHER ACTIVITIES

Freedom – is easier said than acquired. Experts say that people who have second jobs or second careers have a higher sense of freedom such as the feeling of not being shackled to one company. Furthermore, practicing in a different field gives you a financial cushion in case the economy becomes sour towards your other career.

Having a second job gives you more freedom to pursue other activities that will showcase your skills. If you are thinking of switching careers and want to minimize the risk, take on a part-time position that will enable you to test the waters. For those people who lack prerequisites or academic credentials to pursue their dream job, a part-time position may serve as a stepping stone that provides free training and meaningful experiences. While, others may use part-time positions as a means to climb the ladder within an existing field. For instance, a teacher may obtain an entry-level part-time work in order to finance his graduate studies. Further education will land him a more lucrative job in the field.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

It is up to you to find ways to maximize your income and make the most out of your second job.

Sources: 1 & 2

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How P2P Lending Works In Singapore

BY DEFINITION

P2P Lending, short for Peer-to-Peer lending, took off in 2005. It sprung due to many companies’ efforts to deviate from the financial institutions that let them borrow money. Borrowing from banks took about two to three years’ worth of records. And, many companies do not have the luxury of time. Instead, they turn to the Internet for help.

P2P websites allowed private people from around the world to lend money to various companies. For instance, you can lend S$100,000 to a company requiring money for an expansion. In return, you will receive repayments with interest from the company. P2P lending is very attractive to lenders due to the extremely high interest, which is up to 20% per annum.

SINGAPORE: THE ASIAN CENTER

Singapore reigns as a the Asian center for P2P lending due to being a regional hub for trading, a safe storage of precious metals, and a well- established economy. Singapore is appreciated for its direct approach to lending and borrowing as supervised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. It even issues promissory letters.

Moreover, Singapore has a cash-intensive economy where a great deal of lending happens outside of the banking system and inside of the online platforms.

HOW TO START LENDING

Take Part In A Larger Portfolio

A well balanced portfolio has a mix of low-risk assets and high-risk assets. By nature, P2P lending is a high-risk asset that invites high returns. It can be used to offset the low returns from your conservative assets such as fixed deposits or Singapore Savings Bonds (SSBs).

Seek help from a qualified wealth manager to balance out your portfolio. As a rule of thumb, experts suggest that high-risk assets should not take more than 15% of your portfolio.

Invest On What You Can Afford To Lose

One of the leading advantages of investing in P2P lending is that you can take on small amounts. You can have various investors pitch small amounts of S$1,000 to fulfill your business goals.

Limit your potential losses by investing only what you can afford to lose. Do not gamble your savings away! Any amount that you cannot recoup within two months is too much.

Spread Out Your Investments

Try not to bury your eggs in one nest. As much as possible, choose to spread out your investments in a list of companies found in a P2P website.

If one company fails to repay you, the rest can do better for your account. It is less likely that every company you chose will fail to repay you. Furthermore, a company may repay you less for a long period of time. You have to get some cushion.

Sources: 1 & 2

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Cheap Investment Opportunities In Singapore

Many Singaporeans think that should accumulate a significant amount of wealth before investing in the stock market. Well, let me prove you wrong! You can start investing with as little as S$100.

This seemingly low amount has three investment options. Choose wisely!

OPTION #1: REGULAR SHARES SAVINGS (RSS)

Regular Shares Savings plans (RSS) are also called monthly investment plans. Your mere S$100 can turn into a stock on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) as long as you commit to it monthly. Simply open an RSS plan with one of the four leading banks in Singapore. For instance, you may choose OCBC bluechip investment or POSB Investment-Saver.

The broker for the financial firm will invest your fixed amount based on the instructions you gave. I may instruct the broker to invest to Strait Times (STI) every month or to other bluechip companies. Do your research before spending! The best part about it is that you have full control over your investment decisions. What’s more? Your instructions can be submitted online thru the bank’s platform.

OPTION #2: UNIT TRUSTS

One a scale of risk taking, you may fall under the conservative end. Fortunately for you, you can invest your money in unit trusts. Unit trust works by combining money from a set of investors. The pool of money will then be invested by a professional fund manager. The professional fund manager will have control over your investment.

Nonetheless, you must educate yourself about the type of unit trusts wish to invest in. Unit trusts can be bought for about S$100 in various local banks.

OPTION #3: ROBO-ADVISORS

The future is upon us! Investors can use robo-advisors to allocate their assets in the portfolio. Robo-advisors automatically help investors by tapping on the formulas to manage their assets.

It is a relatively new system in Singapore. Hence, there are only a few brands to choose from. For instance, you may hop to Smartly or AutoWealth. However, the latter has a minimum investment of S$3,000 while the former does not. These two platforms use different algorithms to arrive at optimal solutions. Moreover, these platforms can charge up to 1% per annum for managing your money. The fee is calculate based on the percentage of the total portfolio held in your account.

Source: dollarsandsense

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Best Personal Loans in Singapore with the Lowest Interest Rates (for 2019)

OCBC, HSBC and Standard Chartered offer the lowest interest personal loans in Singapore, available exclusively on SingSaver.

Editor’s note: Personal loan and bank rates are subject to change. Last updated 7 October 2019.

Whether it’s due to an emergency or simple cash flow management, most of us will need a personal loan at some point. Personal loans do get a bad reputation sometimes, but if you understand how to manage cash flow and know how to take advantage of promotional interest rates, they can be used to your advantage.

The most important factor when deciding on a personal loan is the interest rate for the personal loan. The lower the interest rate, the better. This is especially true if you need to borrow a large amount. Interest rates being offered via SingSaver are often lower than the ones being offered by the bank but also take note that ultimately, the final loan interest rate will also take into account your credit score, salary and repayment history.

Also pay attention to any admin or processing fees involved (sometimes, they are waivable), annual fees, how quickly you can get your cash as well as the monthly instalments to be repaid. Here’s a quick guide on the dos and don’ts when applying for a personal loan. We’ve compared the lowest interest rate personal loans available on the market right now and shared them below.

S$20,000 LOAN WITH 3-YEAR TENOR

Bank Loan Flat Annual Interest Rate Effective Interest Rate (p.a) Processing Fees Monthly Payment
OCBC Personal Loan 3.5%* 7.27% $200 $614
HSBC Personal Loan 3.7%* 7.00% $200 (min of $88) $617
SCB CashOne Personal Loan 3.88%* 7.97% $199 (waived as cashback) $620
*NEW* SCB CashOne Fee Free Personal Loan 4.38%* 8.2% None $630

*Exclusive rate only available on SingSaver

1. OCBC Personal Loan

Enjoy the low interest rate of 3.5% p.a. (EIR 7.27% p.a.) — the lowest in the market currently — when you apply for an OCBC Personal Loan. This rate is exclusive for new to OCBC loan customers who apply via SingSaver. In addition, receive up to $320 in Capitaland vouchers with a minimum loan amount of $8,000. (Note: existing OCBC loan customers will be offered an interest rate from 4.7% p.a)

The downside for this loan is there’s a one-time processing fee of 1% of the loan amount. So if you’re looking at a $20,000 loan amount, that will be a processing fee of $200.

Do note that you will need to open an OCBC Credit Card or OCBC EasiCredit account to service your loan. Your maximum credit limit will be 6x your monthly salary if you’re earning $120,000 a year and above (if not, it will be 4x your monthly salary). Click the “Apply Now” button below, which helps you apply for both the credit account and cash loan all at once.

SingSaver Exclusive Rate

This low rate of 3.5% p.a. (EIR 7.27% p.a.) for your OCBC Personal Loan is exclusive to customers who apply through SingSaver and is not available on the bank’s own website.

Eligibility

Nationality Age Minimum Annual Income
Singaporean or Permanent Resident (PR) 21 – 65 years old S$30,000 and above
Foreigners (residing in Singapore) 21 – 65 years old S$42,000 and above

2. HSBC Personal Loan

If you’re looking at a loan tenor of 2 to 4 years, the HSBC Personal Loan offers the best annual interest rate of 3.7% p.a. (EIR 7% p.a.) for all income levels above S$30,000 per annum. This interest rate is only available on SingSaver and cannot be found on HSBC’s own website. 

The HSBC Personal Loan also offers the longest loan tenor on the market — you can spread out your payments over up to 7 years. Enjoy a waiver of the S$88 processing fee as part of your welcome offer.

Loan amounts range from a minimum of S$5,000 to a maximum of 4x your monthly salary. If your annual income exceeds S$120,000, you can borrow up to 8x your monthly salary, or a maximum of S$200,000.

Foreigners residing in Singapore will need a minimum annual income of S$40,000, and may borrow up to 2x their monthly income, or a maximum of S$100,000.

Nationality Age Minimum Annual Income Other requirements
Singaporean or Permanent Resident (PR) 21 – 65 years old S$30,000 and above N.A.
Foreigners (residing in Singapore) 21 – 65 years old S$40,000 and above Employment Pass with at least 12 months’ validity

3. Standard Chartered CashOne Personal Loan

With a guaranteed flat interest rate of 3.88% p.a. (EIR from 7.63% p.a.), regardless of loan amount or tenure, the Standard Chartered CashOne Personal Loan is one of the best options in the market.

There are no processing fees for this loan but Standard Chartered charges an annual fee of S$199 (waivable for the first year). Subsequently, a S$50 fee waiver will also be awarded (in the form of a cashback) from the second year onwards if all payment is received by the due date for the past 12 months.

What’s more, you can now get instant approval and loan disbursement – no more waiting 3-5 working days to receive your cash! From now till 29 February 2020, you can also receive an Apple AirPods worth $239 when you apply for a minimum loan of $10,000!

Nationality Age Minimum Annual Income Other requirements
Singaporean or Permanent Resident (PR) 21 – 65 years old S$30,000 and above N.A.
Foreigners (residing in Singapore) 21 – 65 years old S$60,000 and above • Foreigners must be holders of P1, P2 or Q type Singapore Employment Passes
• Q Pass holders must have minimum 1-year validity remaining on their passes

4. *NEW* Standard Chartered ‘Fee Free’ CashOne Personal Loan

For a limited time between now until October 31, Standard Chartered are offering a fee-free personal loan with a flat interest rate of 4.49% (EIR from 8.4% p.a.). It comes with:

  • annual fee permanently waived
  • no early redemption fee (after 9 months)
  • instant approval and cash if you apply via MyInfo
  • $160 cashback for successful applicants with minimum $20,000 loan

As there is no “lock-in” period, this limited offer is ideal for people looking for a fuss-free (and fee-free!) product as a means for investment or quick emergency cash.

Nationality Age Minimum Annual Income Other requirements
Singaporean or Permanent Resident (PR) 21 – 65 years old S$30,000 and above N.A.
Foreigners (residing in Singapore) 21 – 65 years old S$60,000 and above • Foreigners must be holders of P1, P2 or Q type Singapore Employment Passes
• Q Pass holders must have minimum 1-year validity remaining on their passes

If you’re still undecided, we’ve compared all the personal loans being offered by banks so you can easily compare the various terms and conditions. Compare and apply through SingSaver now and save more with exclusive welcome gifts and better interest rates.

Alternatively, check out our summary of the Best Personal Loans in Singapore 2019 for our recommendations of the best loans based on different needs.

This article first appeared on Singsaver.com.sg.

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