When should you not take the best hospital ward your insurance can cover?
So you have top-shelf hospitalisation insurance, and you can chill in a private hospital ward with your own TV, and set the air-conditioner to whatever you want it to. Why wouldn’t you do it every time? Well the reason is, there’s a public and a private route to healthcare; and a single digit millionaire may […]
Are we trading parenthood for housing affordability?
Measuring housing affordability isn’t an exact science; but the general consensus is to look at a ratio of median wage, versus housing costs. This Mother’s Day though, we thought we’d look at it a little deeper. To be clear, we think either parent (mum or dad) can be the one to stay home with the […]
Can you afford to live on a cruise ship?
There’s the old story about an old woman who, instead of going to a retirement home, chooses to spend her days on a cruise ship. Why? Well on a cruise ship, if something’s broken, she calls room service. She can have meals whenever she wants, not an old folks’ home’s schedule, and the people are […]
Minimising the crap in your portfolio
By now you’ve heard the “balanced, well-diversified portfolio” speech a dozen times, and it always has the same issue: almost any product can be called “balanced” or “well-diversified” by someone with a vested interest in selling it; and these days, those same people will be the ones nagging at you to let them “optimise” your […]
Are higher interest rates making you richer or poorer?
Higher interest rates have been in the news since last year, with US Federal Reserve rate hikes slowing only at the start of 2024. Due to the increasing chaos from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and further issues in Gaza, it’s uncertain what direction we’re headed in for the rest of the year – but […]
5 ways for a single-digit millionaire to end up poor
$2 million or $3 million was a lot of money – back in the days when $100 would feed a family of week. At our current cost of living (the core inflation rate in 2023 was 4.2 per cent), it means you’re barely one step ahead of middle-class. Give it a decade or so, and […]
Why the changes to CPF in Budget 2024 are a big deal
We all got a huge present for Budget 2024: a change in the CPF system. This latest tweak closed a loophole in the system, causing some Singaporeans to potentially earn less interest from their CPF account. And now, just like World Of Warcraft players in full tantrum because Blizzard fixed their millionth exploit, everyone wants […]
What are the odds of “average” Singaporeans becoming millionaires by 65?
Potentially yes, but as I’m fond of saying on this site, potential is meaningless. Potential is you could win the lottery tomorrow and be a multi-millionaire, or that you’ll find $50,000 in a plastic bag on the road in a few minutes. Potential is a pointless fantasy, and what matters is probability. So to refine […]