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Indulge in Esplanade’s festive offerings without breaking your bank.

Come December, Esplanade offers a whole month of free programmes, activities, crafts workshops and roving performances for families, friends and lovers alike. There is even PJ Harvey to look forward to when January arrives.

Don’t miss Alan and Evan’s ukulele performance on 16 December. Together, they have over 12 years of experience playing the ukulele. Alan has performed at major festivals such as Bangkok Ukulele Festivals. At only 11 years old, Evan has already performed for three years. Let them take you through different eras and music genres on this traditional Hawaiian instrument.

Celebrate meaningful relationships and positivity with local singer-songwriters Audris Ho and Charlyn Too. There will also be a special guest appearance by Lily Goh, Founder of ExtraOrdinary Horizons (a social enterprise for the Deaf) on 18 December.

If you’re itching for some action, catch SherePunjab Bhangra (SPB) around Esplanade, as they teach you some Bhangra dance moves so you can groove along with them. Bhangra dance is a traditional dance originating from Punjab, and SherePunjab Bhangra has uniquely combined Punjabi folk traditions with Western pop music in their performances.

Introduce your little tots to a world of music with Vocal Fun!, a music workshop for ages 3 to 6. Angelina Choo from Urban Music Productions brings music in through various games and songs, and lets children experiment the endless possibilities they can do with their own voices. Don’t miss this one session held only on 10 December!

If you‘ve watched popular Taiwanese movie film Our Times《我的少女时代》, you don’t want to miss Arpeggione Quartet rendition of it. Happening on 29 & 30 December at the Esplanade Concourse, let this talented string quartet serenade you with an evening of classic jazz and local favourites.

And of course, countdown to the new year at Esplanade with some of the best views of the impressive 8-minute long fireworks display over the marina. With a total of 6 performances on New Year’s Eve, Singapore Char Siew Baos! And The Mad Company will be there to entertain you all night long at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre from 7pm to 1am. If you’ve watched MediaCorp Channel 5’s 2010 One Moment of Glory, The Singapore Char Siew Baos! would be familiar to you. They came in as semi-finalists in this reality competition. The Mad Company, on the other hand, consists of alumni from Republic Polytechnic who express their passion for music through unplugged music.

For the full list of upcoming events, please visit the Esplanade’s website here: www.esplanade.com/celebratedecember.

We can’t help but share other exciting news brewing in Esplanade this January. Usher in the new year with musician, poet, artist, and only two-time winner of the Mercury Music Prize, PJ Harvey. Harvey is an international icon who has commanded attention throughout her career of more than two decades. She has carved a name for herself in the international music industry, earning numerous Grammy and Brit Award nominations and Artist of the Year awards from Rolling Stone and Spin. Throughout her music journey, she has worked with various music veterans such as Thom Yorke, Nick Cave, Tricky, Björk, Mark Lanegan, and Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes.

At her only stop in Southeast Asia as part of her international tour, Harvey showcases music from her acclaimed latest release The Hope Six Demolition Project, together with her full 10-piece band on 13 January. Prices start from $68 ($45 for students, NSFs and seniors).

Get your tickets from: http://bit.ly/PJHarveyEsp

“If there were any rules about what makes a genuine rock god, then Polly Jean Harvey has torpedoed most of them by now…she is a powerhouse.”

– The Guardian

‘Tis the season of giving (& receiving)!

Win a trip to Club Med Maldives or Bali!

Purchase the Esplanade&Me Black or White Card and stand a chance to win a free holiday to Club Med Maldives or Bali! Valid from 1 – 31 Dec 2016.

Festive Specials

Enjoy festive deals and take a lucky dip to win special gifts such as limited edition esplanadeXsupermama porcelain plate sets, E&Me White cards, to #artsXlife experiences only at Esplanade Mall! Valid from 1-31 Dec 2016. *T&Cs apply.

Touching Lives with the Gift of Arts

Esplanade is a not-for-profit arts centre with a social mission. They believe in transforming lives through the arts. This December, join them as they bring the joy of the arts to even more people from different communities. Your contribution will help their beneficiaries from various VWOs to enjoy a hosted visit to a performance at Esplanade, as well as creative workshops conducted by artists. Find out how you can make a difference here.

Dangerous Misconceptions That Singaporeans Have About Money

Being trapped into the majority’s preconceived beliefs about money is easy. However, debunking these misconceptions will help you to reach your financial goals.

#1: ALL THE SHOPPING MALLS IN SINGAPORE ARE EXPENSIVE

Potential Danger: Risk of diving into debt as you only frequent the high-end shopping centers.

Because of the harmony between the East and West, Singapore offers endless shopping opportunities for its inhabitants. There is a wide array of products sold at the stores. There is a place for traditional and contemporary tastes as well as for foreign luxury and locally-manufactured goods. You can find just about anything in Singapore.

If your perception of shopping was boxed in the hefty category then, you must be frequenting the Orchard Road a lot! Consider heading to the funky flea markets that are starting to boom in the recent years. One of its most popular markets is the MAAD: Market of Artists and Designers.

Image Credits: museum.red-dot.sg/maad

MAAD houses pet-friendly and budget-friendly items for the whole family. Their innovative creators are from independent and are known for artsy fashion and artisan stationary pieces. Here you will find plush toys, handmade jewelry, and paintings. The price range starts from S$10 to S$50.

#2: START WITH A HUGE EMERGENCY FUND

Potential Danger: Risk of setting yourself up for failure.

Emergency fund is an account utilized to set aside money in the event of personal financial dilemma such as unemployment or theft. Most financial planners suggest to build an emergency fund worth at least 6 months of your income. This is tough to accomplish if you are living from paycheck to paycheck.

For instance, your household spends S$5,000 each month. You managed to eliminate 10% of your expenses. Building a 6-month stash can set you back by nearly 5 years. This is too long! A better route is to start small by aiming for an emergency fund of S$1,000. This will help you cover minor financial hiccups. Once you are on track with your debts and retirement account, focus on growing your emergency fund.

#3: ONE’S CPF SAVINGS IS ENOUGH TO COVER RETIREMENT

Potential Danger: Risk of enduring an insufficient fund due to the over-reliance on a single welfare system.

Contrary to the popular belief, your Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings may not be enough to sustain the lifestyle you envision during retirement. Your CPF account is essentially a basic safety net to cushion the minimum standard of living during your golden years. Aim for other streams of income that can help grow your nest. Why?

For starters, your CPF savings depends on how much you earn during your working years. If your income is relatively low throughout the years then, you can expect to receive lesser payouts than your “higher earning” colleagues.
Furthermore, you may use your CPF savings to pay for your present necessities. If you exhausted your account to purchase an HDB flat then, you shall expect to receive lesser payouts.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Stop making excuses! Plan strategically for retirement, now.

6 Significant Reasons Why You Must Plan For Retirement Now

According to a recent survey by Nielsen, 1 in 3 working Singapore adults are not planning for retirement. This is alarming because many people have curated a list of “excuses” for not saving money. Rather than adding glistening fuel to the fire, this article will give you six good reasons why you must save for your future.

1. TO DANCE TO THE BEAT OF YOUR OWN DRUM

Planning for your golden future likely ensures that you covered your living arrangements for the rest of your life. You can move freely to beat of your own drum without worrying about the perceptions and rules of other people. Believe me when I say that living in someone else’s household robs you of privacy. Discretion is one of the fruits that you can reap from your prudence.

2. TO NOT RELY TOO MUCH ON THE CPF SAVINGS

Your Central Provident Fund account (or CPF Savings) was established to provide a basic safety net to cushion the minimum standard of living during your senior years. You must aim for financial independence and not fully rely on what this welfare system can bring.

3. TO HELP YOU DEAL WITH FINANCIAL HICCUPS

As your body’s reflex interplay, hiccups occur unexpectedly. This applies to your finances too. Regardless of the financial hiccups that you will face throughout your life, a secure nest will do wonders! It can help you cope and save you from bankruptcy.

4. TO MAINTAIN YOUR CURRENT LIFESTYLE

Whether you want to admit it or not, you have stable spending habits that you cannot do away from. It is difficult to maintain these habits if your financial resources are limited. More so, the limited funding can put you at risk of barely being able to afford the necessities. This is why you must set a realistic budget to fit your lifestyle.

5. TO BUFFER COSTS DUE TO UNFORESEEN ILLNESSES

Your body will continue to deteriorate with age. Unless you find the “Fountain of Youth”, of course. Old age usually leads to elevated healthcare costs and unforeseen medical problems. Do not forget to plan for emergencies to support your Medisave account.

6. TO EARN THE COMPOUND INTEREST

Creating a bulk of savings ahead of time can help you earn the compound interest. Compound interest allows you to not only earn interest on your principal deposit, but also on any interest that is credited to your account. It helps your money to grow at an accelerating rate! The longer you keep your money invested, the greater the rate at which your initial investment produces returns.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Sources: 1, 2, & 3

The Basics of Technical Analysis

A technical analyst’s best friends are charts and patterns. But to the uninitiated, these are hard to make sense of. Once you get a hang of the basics however, your new-found knowledge can be used to search for potential investment opportunities.

The Assumptions

Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s start from the beginning. What is technical analysis anyway?

Simply put, it is a study of past price movement patterns and market data to forecast future price movement directions that is built on 3 key assumptions:

1) Key factors are accounted for
The company’s fundamentals, broader economic factors and market psychology, are all priced into the stock, removing the need to consider these factors separately.

2) Prices follow trends
After a trend has been established, prices tend to move in the same direction.

3) History tends to repeat itself
This is because market participants tend to react consistently to similar market events over time.

However, it is important to remember that past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. New factors or market conditions may arise which deviate from past trends and patterns.

Candlesticks as Building Blocks

You can’t think about technical analysis without picturing a candlestick chart. It may surprise you to know that candlestick charts are not a modern-day invention. They have been used since the 1700s, having been introduced by Homma Munehisa, a rice merchant in Japan.

There must be something to candlesticks if they have been able to stand the test of time. And indeed, a single candlestick holds invaluable information which investors can distil at a glance:

Spotting Patterns

Individual candlesticks can be strung together to form charts which technical analysts pour over, looking for patterns which give them trading ideas. However, you will have to understand how to spot these patterns and what they mean before you can capitalise.

Here are two simple patterns to ease you into things:

Putting It Into Practice

These two patterns are just the tip of the iceberg. There are many other technical analysis patterns that you can learn about that may help you spot potential trading opportunities.

But even if you know what patterns to look out for, there is an entire universe of stocks to choose from. If you have no prior interest in any stock, it would be hard to know where to begin. It simply wouldn’t be efficient to look at charts of every single stock and find actionable patterns within.

One possible option is to use stock screeners to identify stocks that meet your own criteria. For example, a stock screener can help you find stocks like the one below that exhibited a head and shoulders pattern, during a specified period of time.

Source: Technical Insight on Maybank Kim Eng’s KE Trade platform

Technical analysis is useful for investors to understand. But like we highlighted earlier, it isn’t infallible and is built on several assumptions. Therefore, it is best to use technical analysis along with other tools in your investment toolkit, like fundamental analysis, and to practice often in order to gain a better understanding of how these strategies could help you meet your investment goals.

Disclaimer: This message is for general knowledge or information only. It is not an offer or invitation to buy or sell securities, futures or other products or services. Our products or services vary in different jurisdictions, subject to their respective terms and conditions and the licences our affiliates and us hold. This message is not an advice or recommendation for any financial planning, investment, legal, tax or other purposes and, accordingly, no responsibility or liability is assumed by us or our affiliates, whether directly or indirectly, from any person taking or not taking action

Surefire Ways To Waste Your Money As A Parent

Many parents, including my own, are guilty of spoiling their children with affection and attention. They spend money on the things that would make their child happy. Do not get me wrong! This is a normal reaction. However, excessively giving in to these impulses can lead to serious monetary consequences.

Awareness is the first step!

Repair your spending habits by knowing the “Four Ways To Waste Money As A Parent”:

ELECTRONIC ENTERTAINMENT

Back when I was a child, coloring books and sticker albums were all the rage. My friends and I used to compare each other’s collections and artworks. Let us fast forward to the present age. The children of today are utterly obsessed with Smartphone apps and video game consoles. Downloading no-cost gaming apps are okay, but its extras come with costly price-tags. Furthermore, the unit upgrades of video game consoles are insanely rapid.

For instance, the Xbox One may potentially be the last generational console from Microsoft. The renowned brand is looking forward to re-imagining consoles by combining its features with a Windows-operated PC.

DESIGNER CLOTHING FOR CHILDREN

Children can have sudden growth spurts. Thus, it is unnecessary to purchase loads of baby or toddler clothes. This holds true for shoes and socks as well. Instead, you may ask your friends and family members if they still have their kid’s outgrown clothes.

A kid’s wardrobe is both temporary and cluttered. This is why you must not purchase designer or boutique apparel.

SPECIAL BATHROOM PRODUCTS

The people behind children’s bathroom products lure you with the vibrant array of cartoon characters in their packaging. Barbie bath bombs and Angry Birds toothpaste sounds attractive in theory. However, they may contain chemicals that are harmful to your beloved child. Look at the ingredients rather than focusing on the pictures.

If you really care for the well-being of your child, you will take care of his or her health first.

INFANT FORMULA

Breastfeeding is among the most empowering gifts that women can offer to their babies. As much as you can, opt for breastfeeding because it will not only be healthy but also be able to save you as low as S$1,500 per year.

You may also borrow a breast pump from your friends or family members, but ensure that you change the plastic attachments. You can buy those for far less than a brand new pump.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Whether you want to throw an extravagant birthday party or to purchase a domestic pet for your child, there are different ways to flush your money down the drain. It is time to make better choices for your family and your finances!

Sources: 1 & 2

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