10 value for money restaurants in Singapore

With rising costs in Singapore, house, car, transport costs has climbed faster than your wage increment. Even basic necessity like food is not spared. Where can you get a bowl of noodle for 50 cents or a packet of chicken rice for a dollar nowadays?

No, I’m not going to tell you which Kopitiam to find those cheap eats. Because there isn’t –
Perhaps you can still get them from the Primary School’s canteen.

We are talking about restaurants in Singapore that offers the most value food without hurting your wallet. What’s worse is when you are being slapped with GST and service charge. I know how you feel when you thought you have spent $20+ for your food and you get billed for $30.

Don’t you want to spend more and still want to enjoy dining in a restaurant?

To get your moola worth of dining experience, let’s take a look at some of the restaurants below which offers the most value meals. By most value, we mean you get the most bang for your buck without compromising quality and quantity. Restaurants that offers cheap eats but at small portion don’t meet our selection criteria.

1. Saizeriya Ristorante E Caffe

Where can you get your pasta fix for $5.90 in a restaurant nowadays? Saizeriya offers a wide ranging Italian foods from pasta to pizza at affordable price. There are also hotplates offering pork, chicken and beef steak coupled with potato wedges, corns and sunny side egg with the lowest priced at $5.90. No, it is not a typo and i have not forgotten to add a ‘1’ – it’s $5.90 and not $15.90.

Wait, so a 2 person meal will cost $20+ after GST and service charge? You’ll be surprised that you end up paying less than $20 as there is no GST and service charge.

Estimated cost for 2 Pax: $15

2. Nakajima Suisan Grilled Fish

(Photo Credit: duhville.com)

If you have not heard of this place, i’m not surprised. Hidden in a corner of Takashimaya’s foodcourt at the basement, you will usually witness a queue outside Nakaijima Suisan during peak hours. At first glance, it looks like an ordinary Japanese food store selling grilled fishes that is placed alongside stores that sell Katsu, Udon and Ramen.

When you browse the menu, you will see a wide variety of grilled fishes set and they are reasonably priced.

Try their signature Gindara (Cod) Teriyaki and you’ll be taken back by the freshness and sweetness of the fish. The succulent white meat melts in your mouth and makes you eat smaller portion so that you can extend your enjoyment to the fullest.

They have other grilled dishes such as Saba, Salmon, Meiro, Sawara and Squid grilled nicely with different sauces such as Mirin, Teriyaki and Saikyo where diners are spoilt for choices.

The set comes with miso soup, tofu with bonito flakes, appetiser and salad.

It costs around $8.50 for a grilled saba lunch set and $11.50 for a grilled salmon set.

They only charge you a 7% GST excluding the 10% service charge which makes it an affordable dinner or lunch fix in the town area.

Estimated cost for 2 pax: ~$25-30

3. Swee Choon Tim Sum

(Photo Credit: lifebesiderunning.blogspot.com)

Swee Choon has been around for 50 years and they serve different kind of Hong Kong and Shanghai Dim Sum. You will definitely see items such as your usual Siew Mai, Har Gow, Char Siew Pau on the menu.

Don’t miss out the salted egg yolk custard bun! The custard ozzes out on your first bite so make sure you savour every drops of it!

Their standard item are priced around $2-$3 and they also serve cooked items such as Horfan, Fried Rice and other Zi Char food.

This place is good for late night supper as they close around 2am.

They don’t charge you 10% service charge so you’ll save on that.

Estimated cost for 2 pax: $20

4. Little Vietnam Restaurant & Cafe

(Photo Credit: Burpple.com)

This is one of the popular casual Vietnamese restaurants in Singapore. You can find authentic Vietnamese food such as your Pho and Vietnamese Rice Roll at affordable price.

It costs around $6-7 for a bowl of Beef Pho.

You can also try their Com Tan (Broken Rice with Grilled Lemon Grass Pork Chop with a sunny side up) which is a favourite of mine.

There is no GST or service charge so expect to pay less than $20 for 2 pax.

5. Kim Dae Mun

(Photo Credit: phyllistan.blogspot.com)

If you are in town and crave Korean food, drop by Kim Dae Mun which is located at Concorde Hotel level 2.

Their highly raved Spicy Chicken set cost $6.50 and you have the option to choose brown rice to go with it. The set also comes with two sides where you can choose kimchi, cucumber slice or anchovies.

Pair it with a bowl of kimchi soup and you will walk out of the place feeling hearty and satisfied.

Estimated cost for 2 pax: $13-$15

6. The Wicked Garlic

(Photo Credit: Burpple.com)

Craving for Italian food but on a budget? Look no further to The Wicked Garlic. You can get your usual Italian fares like pasta, pizza and risotto but what stands out is the price. Most of their pizza and pasta are priced below $10 and the portion and quality are not compromised.

Your Margherita and Hawaiian pizza cost $8.70 for a 10′ and did i mentioned their pizza are hand-made?

For pasta lovers, you can consider their Aglio Olio at $4.70 – top that off with 5 huge gigantic prawns for an additional $6.00. I will take that.

7. Standing Sushi Bar (8 Queen Street)

(Photo Credit: aspoonfulofsoul.blogspot.com)

You are missing out the good stuff if you have not heard of Standing Sushi Bar.

What? Do i have to stand and consume my food? Is it cheap?

No, you don’t have to “stand” as there are seats around for you to enjoy your food.

If you are having Monday blues, make a trip to Standing Sushi Bar located at 8 Queen Street for their promotional $3 salmon sashimi. It’s not 1 slice but 5 think slices! They have a similar promotion on Thursday night.

End off by washing down the goodness lingering in your mouth with a $2 sake or $5 Asahi Beer and Umeshu.

8. Aston’s

(Photo Credit: Foodstreetdirectory.com)

This place don’t need any introduction. Aston has been around since 2005 and open its first shop in a coffeeshop before moving into a flagship store and expanding to 27 stores as at November 2014.

Aston served quality Western fares such as your fish & chips and steaks, with your own choice of hot and cold sides ranging from fries, onion rings, salad, baked beans, potato wedges and even tasty rice.

It’s simply great food at great price.

It costs less than $10 for most of their mains. If you want to slightly indulge and go for a steak, it’s not too bad for a Prime Ribeye Steak at $16.90.

9. Taste of Thailand

(Photo Credit: joonelovesfood.blogspot.com)

Taste of Thailand was formerly located at Sembawang Shopping Centre before moving to Yishun’s industrial canteen.

Not too much of an authentic Thai cuisine but rather cheap and affordable Zi Char dishes. There are still Tom Yum soup and Pineapple Fried Rice for those who insists on a Thai fares.

Be warned though – come early on a weekend evening or you will be joining the long queue to watch other diners enjoy the value for money eats.

Their deep fried calamari is chewy and tasty – goes well with the red and green chilli sauce they specially made themselves.

Don’t leave this place without trying their signature Deep Fried Fish. Drench it with the sauce that comes with it and you will go thumbs up!

It ends up costing about $40 for a family of five, which works out to be less than $10 a person, pretty value-for-money i would say.

10. Nakhon Kitchen

(Photo Credit: Yelp.com.sg)

Next on the list, Nakhon Kitchen is another Thai restaurant with wallet friendly price tag.

You might think it is cheap because the quality is compromised or the serving size is small but you are wrong.

The long queue on a Saturday lunch hour is a testament of how popular they are.

If you are a fan of Pad Thai, it costs $5 for a yummy plate of rice noodles top with prawns, squids and tofu.

Try their green curry chicken for $8 and Tom Yum soup for $6 and you will understand why this place make it into the list.

Why Men Hate Shopping And Women Are Obsessed

Christmas is just around the corner and while we get ready for the festive season, most ladies are racking their brain on where to get the most elegant Christmas dress and where to shop to get Christmas gifts for their colleague and loved ones. They visit different shopping malls, tried different dress and visit different stores – often spending hours to get something (or nothing at all).

It seems like a fun and enjoyable past time for the ladies as they comb the entire mall, leaving no stones unturned. It was almost like a conquest.

That’s also the time when you see men carrying shopping bags and look like they have never slept for days.

It’s a known fact that most men hate shopping while the ladies are the exact polar opposite.

Have you wondered why?

1. Men were hunters, women were gatherer

According to evolutionary psychologist, Daniel Kruger, it is natural for men to hate shopping while women love it due to our evolutionary past.

In ancestral culture, men are primarily the hunter and when the found an animal, they want to shoot it before it get away. While women tend cave and have a different inert characteristics of acquiring food in primitive time – they gather. They goes around looking for the ripest berry patch alongside other female members in the group.

2. Men go into a shop knowing what they want

Most salespeople would be delighted to see a man who come into the store. That’s because without much persuasion, men would already know what they want and take out their wallet and charge their card without hesitation – just like hunting.

For the ladies, they will go into a shop to try different dresses and go to the next shop to try the next (rinse, repeat) and then tell you “Oh the dress in shop A is better, but ran out of my size. Shop B is more expensive and not worth it. Shop C has too many designs for me to choose!” The men go crazy when when their girlfriend wants them to make a decision by saying: “So which one should i buy?”

The answer is neither, let’s go home.

3. Pushy Staff and Egocentric Men

In another study, they pointed out that men hate shopping because of pushy staff. Men are usually egoistic and they think they know their stuffs more than anyone does. If the salesman comes and pitch their sales talk, it usually won’t work for the egocentric men. It hurts their pride if you salesman or saleswoman out there tries to show that you are more knowleageable than him.

4. Men hate to try stuffs

You will often see snaking queue outside a female changing room in an apparel shop but not the male’s. Similar to the evolutionary theory, men prefer to be more decisive in making choices. They go into a shop, see something he like, pick it up and walk to the cashier to make payment. This also explains why men prefer to purchase their clothes online.

In constrast, the opposite gender see many things they like, pick everything with different sizes and different styles as though they are buying to stock up an entire year supply of clothes.

5. Men have better things to do than shopping

Ask your boyfriend out on a weekend’s evening to shop and he will say no. That’s because he don’t want to miss his favourite soccer game. Look, why would he want to squeeze with the crowd and idle around the mall doing nothing while you shop till you drop?

Hunger, tiredness and boredom is going to turn your otherwise perfect boyfriend into a grumpy old man.

Perhaps it is time to suggest to the mall developers to consider building a dedicated men area – to have a beer, watch soccer and play snooker for the ladies to drop us off.

Planning for retirement

To most people, early retirement would probably be at the age of 55. That’s when you bid goodbye to your tie, suit and briefcase and donned your polo tee and go golfing. You will travel around the world not once in a year but once every few months. That’s the dream retirement for many. Let’s take Tom, a 24 years old who has just graduated from his university. He found a job that pays him an average of $3,600 a month. He is a saver and his monthly expenses adds up to $400 a month. After CPF deduction, that would leave him with around $2,500 a month. Now Tom cracks his head and wonders what would be the best possible way to grow this $2,500 a month.

1. List down and prioritise his financial goals

Listing down his goals give him a clearer picture of what he need to achieve and how to plan for his finances. Tom has goals ranging from short to long term which he wants to achieve.

Short Term (1-5years)

1. Getting married
2. Buying a house

Mid Term (5-15years)

1. Saving for children’s expenses
2. Purchasing a family car

Long Term (>15 years)

1. Children tertiary education
2. Retirement
3. Health expenses

2. Starts budgeting

Short term goals come first and that is something that he needs to set away without taking too much risk. Let’s make the assumption that he will need to accumulate $40,000 in 5 years time to meet his short term goals. He needs to stash away $8,000 a year, not in a bank, but in higher yield assets such as the SGS government bonds or T-bills.

3. Make plans to invest the extra dollars

Many people are risk-adverse and when the word ‘investment’ is mentioned. They shun it because the older generation told them that putting away your money in the bank is the safest and best option. Wait. Best? If you want work to a 9-5 job all the way to 65, then by all means. Otherwise, make your money work harder. A general rule of thumb of investing is do a ‘110 minus your age’ stock-bond portfolio . That is to say Tom should allocate his remaining money into a 86% stocks and 14% bond portfolio. READ ALSO: How to invest in STI ETF? We can’t foresee Tom’s future whether he will be able to rise up in ranks to take home a bigger paycheck, win a lottery or whether the stocks market will go smoothly. So we have to make some assumption of all other things being equal, a 8% growth of $2,500 a month. When he turns 40 and assuming the stock market has not crashed, he would be sitting on a portfolio of close to a million dollar. He could also explore other ways such as investing in dividend yielding stocks or property to generate a passive income.

4. Re-visit his plan and make changes accordingly

As his life stages change, his income and expenses changes and he will need to revisit his strategy to see if it is in line with his retirement goal. The more Tom reduces his expenses, the earlier his retirement would be. Furthermore, as he grows older, he will need to adjust his holding in different assets to minimise the risk exposure.

5. Throwing in the towel and retire

Once Tom has reached his goal, it’s time to consolidate all his assets and starts to calculate if the money and asset he worked all his life for would be able to last him a lifetime. Most financial planners would say you can draw down at 4% – but wait, what if you live longer than expected? Mortality rate in Singapore has been increasing and with better healthcare, your money might run out while you are still around to witness the birth of your great-grandchildren. Aim for the ideal withdrawal rate that doesn’t touch the principal and you will be able to live off with passive income supplement by your CPF and other annuities. Some of you might think that to die with too much money left might be foolish but why not leave a legacy to your loved ones or people whom you care about?

Best bank accounts in Singapore

Hey folks, it’s time to wake your money up!

If you have come to this page looking for the best bank accounts in Singapore that offers the highest interest rate, look no further.

In a low interest rate environment, everyone should aim to put their savings where their money works the hardest. No doubt it cannot beat inflation, but beside being risk-free, it beats putting your money in a biscuit tin or an account that offers a paltry 0.01%.

There are 8 saving and current accounts that make it to the list. Let’s see how they match up.

1. OCBC 360 Account

One of the most popular choice among Singaporean would be the OCBC 360 Account as it offers up to 3.05% interest on your saving account.

There is a base interest of 0.05% and an additional of 3% if you fulfil 3 requirements every month: crediting your salary to the account, pay any 3 bills and spend at least $400 on OCBC credit cards.

2. Citibank InterestPlus Account

For individuals who are planning to insure and invest can look at Citibank’s InterestPlus Savings account. You can get up to 2.5% bonus interest if you meet the following criteria:

1. Insure yourself with a monthly premium of $250 for 12months or a single premium of $25,000

2. Spend $25 on Citibank Credit Card

3. Invest $250 monthly for 12 months in a Regular Saving Plan or set away $25,000 in Unit Trusts.

3. DBS Multiplier Account

Our local bank DBS has introduced a multiplier account that rewards up to 2.08% interest. This is a multi tier programme where you get higher interest after meeting the minimum required amount for regular banking. Regular banking refers to crediting your salary, shopping with their debit and credit cards, monthly installments of home loans and crediting your investment dividends from your CDP account.

For the different tiers, refer to the screengrab.

4. Standard Chartered Bonus$aver Account

With Bonus$aver account, you can get interest of 1.88% p.a when you charge $500 a month to your Bonus$aver Credit/Debit card. For those who spend at least $500 a month can consider charging them to these cards to enjoy the interest rate. Take note that the interest is only on savings up to $25,000. Any amount more than $25,000 will get 0.1% interest – the same rate applies if you cannot meet the $500 a month spending.

5. Standard Chartered e$aver Account

Currently with a limited time promotion until 31 January 2015, you are eligible for an interest rate of up to 1.35%, subject to terms and condition.

Bonus interest is awarded on the incremental average daily balance from October’s average daily balance.

6. Maybank iSAVvy Savings Account

Maybank has a similar promotion as SCB and you can get up to 1.3% interest.

For Maybank, there is a min deposit of $5,000 for incremental average daily balance to be eligible for the bonus interest rate.

7. CIMB StarSaver Accounts

CIMB offers an attractive 0.8% interest rate on their saving accounts. Min deposit is $1,000 and to be eligible for 0.8%, you just need to deposit at least $100/month. If not you will be entitled to 0.5% interest rate – not too bad.

8. ANZ Progress Saver Account

ANZ Progress Saver Account is the next on list. Customers can enjoy up to 0.70% interest rate.

Minimum initial deposit is $5,000 and to be eligible for the bonus interest, just deposit at least $500 a month.

Do i need a will to plan my estate?

Benjamin Franklin once said nothing in life is certain but only two things are: death and taxes.

In the unlikely event of your death, have you made sufficient planning so that your last wish could be fulfilled? Dying without a will, also known as intestacy, could give your family and loved ones a hard and frustrating time to sort out what you left behind. (I hope you left assets and not debts) Therefore it is crucial to make sure that you have done your estate planning when you are still around and have a sound mind.

In a survey done few years ago, 8 out of 10 Singaporeans do not have a will. This also means that the heirs belonging to this group of the population could face delay and roadblocks in getting a grant of probate from the Court.

If you do not have a will, your assets will be distributed according to the Intestate Succession Act.

The question now is whether you need a will drafted since there is law in place to distribute your assets?

You can answer this by following the checklist below:

1. First, understand the intestacy rules of distribution

There are 9 rules listed in the Intestate Succession Act (Chapter 146). The rules are distributed according to their order.

Rule	Situation	Distribution of Assets
1	You left behind surviving spouse with no issue (children) and parent	Spouse get 100%
2	You left behind surviving spouse with children	Spouse get 50%
3	You left behind surviving spouse with children	Children get 50%
4	You left behind surviving spouse and parents	Spouse get 50%, Parents get 50%
5	You left behind no spouse and children	Parents get 100%
6	You left behind no spouse, children and parents	Siblings get 100%
7	You left behind no spouse, children, parents and siblings	Grandparents get 100%
8	You left behind no spouse, children, parents, siblings and grandparents	Uncles and aunts get 100%
9	You left behind without any next-of-kin, Government get 100%

2. Ask yourself if you are agreeable to the intestacy law

After going through the list, now you need to decide if the law concur with your wish? There are people who may want to will more or less of their assets to an individual and that is when you don’t have a will, it gets tricky. For example, you may wish to distribute part of your asset to your incapacited sibling but without a will, the intestacy rules may fail to adequately provide for your needy dependant.

3. Do you have someone or an organisation in mind?

You may want to provide for your children from your previous marriage, a good friend or a charity. Without a will drafted, these group of people whom you care about will not be getting anything after you leave this world.

4. Do you have a complex and complicated family?

With the growing complexity of family structure, family relationship can get ugly over the tussle of inheritance. This can be problematic when you do not state your wish in a will. The dispute of the will and probate will likely cause stress and feud amongst your family members. Not to mention, the court and legal fees associated that could easily takes up to 5%-10% of your estate.

5. Do you have any minor children?

What happen to your children should there be no surviving spouse? The law requires the appointment of a guardian or trustee until your child reaches the legal age of 21. This person must be someone you trust to ensure your child’s financial is well taken care of. A will allows more flexibility in the appointment of the right person.

You don’t need a lawyer to draft a will and you can actually pen the will yourself. However, to proceed with caution as small mistakes could end up costing your beneficiary more in the future.