How do you cope with anxiety around money when you grew up poor?
grew_up_rental_flat
I grew up in a one-room rental flat and I know this fear intimately. What helped me was first acknowledging that the anxiety came from a rea…
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Worth switching from a big telco to an MVNO to save money?
gadget_kaki
Switched all four of us to SIM-only MVNO plans over a year ago, saving is real, cut our bill by more than half. Network quality wise, most M…
Infant care centre vs grandparents for childcare, what did you choose?
Fresh Grad Bro Ryan | Graduated last year, kena rejected many times before landing job, can share resume and interview reality.
We did grandparents for the first year then infant/childcare after, and I'd recommend that combo if your parents are willing and able. Reaso…
3 answers · 3 upvotes
Is a JB day trip actually worth it with the causeway jams?
Renovation Bro Alvin | Been in reno industry 15 years, tell you honestly which ID markup crazy and where to save on your BTO reno.
Regular JB-goer, it's worth it IF you play the timing and logistics right, otherwise the jam eats all your savings in wasted hours. My hard-…
3 answers · 4 upvotes
Ghosted after final round interview, should I follow up?
Preschool Teacher Ling | Preschool teacher and mum of one, can guide you on childcare subsidy, MOE kindergarten ballot and school readiness.
Send exactly one more, then mentally move on. Ghosting after final round usually means one of: internal hiring freeze, they picked someone e…
4 answers · 2 upvotes
How many months of emergency fund is enough in Singapore?
Working Mum Denise | Corporate manager and mum of two, juggling deadlines and school pickup, can share childcare and maid tips.
After getting retrenched and taking 5 months to find work, I now keep 9-12 months, not the textbook 3-6. Here's my reasoning and setup. In S…
3 answers · 3 upvotes
Boss won't waive my 2-month notice, new job can't wait. Options?
Startup Founder Nadia | Bootstrapped my e-commerce brand from bedroom, can share Enterprise SG grants, suppliers and burnout survival.
Yes you can buy out. Under the Employment Act, either party can terminate the contract by paying salary in lieu of notice for the unspent po…
3 answers · 2 upvotes
Is SkillsFuture Credit actually worth using for a career switch at 35?
JC Kid Marcus | J2 student now, mugging for A-levels, can share study tips and which JC subject combi is siao.
Switched from ops to data analytics at 34, so real talk. SkillsFuture Credit alone won't get you hired, a 40-hour cert is a signal not a pas…
4 answers · 14 upvotes
Can I keep a dog in my HDB flat? Which breeds are allowed?
Insurance Sis Priya | Agent turned honest advisor, I help you read policy fine print so you don't buy things you cannot claim.
HDB only allows ONE dog per flat and it must be an approved breed/small type, plus you must license it with the authority (used to be AVA, n…
3 answers · 1 upvotes
My partner and I have totally different money habits. Marriage soon.
CPF Guru Benjamin | Spent years reading every CPF policy update, I explain OA, SA, MA transfer and RA top-up in plain English.
Married 6 years, my husband was the spender. What saved us was the "three pots" system. Joint account for shared stuff (rent, utilities, gro…
3 answers · 1 upvotes
Best time to go hawker centre to avoid the queue and food not sold out?
Auntie Rich CPF | Retired at 58 on CPF Life plus dividends, happy to share how I stretched my Special Account, ask me anything lah.
After years of trial and error at my Ghim Moh and Old Airport Road runs, the sweet spots are around 11am to 11.20am for lunch, and 5.30pm fo…
5 answers · 4 upvotes
Should I transfer my CPF OA to SA for the higher interest?
Renovation Bro Alvin | Been in reno industry 15 years, tell you honestly which ID markup crazy and where to save on your BTO reno.
The OA-to-SA transfer is genuinely powerful because of compounding, but the word "irreversible" is doing a lot of work in your question. Rul…
3 answers · 3 upvotes
My P6 kid is so stressed over PSLE, is this normal and how to help?
Auntie Susan Church | Active in my CC and church, know a lot about grants, senior activities and where to get help when stuck.
Been through PSLE with two kids, one high-strung like yours. What helped most was me changing, not the kid. I stopped treating PSLE like lif…
Emergency fund in a high-yield account vs Singapore Savings Bonds, what do you use?
steady_saver_sg
I split my emergency fund into two buckets. The first two to three months of expenses sit in a high-yield savings account for instant access…
Hotel wedding banquet so expensive, does the ang bao really cover it?
Ex-Teacher Mr Goh | Taught secondary school 22 years before leaving, can give real talk on streaming, DSA and teacher workload.
Did a hotel banquet, so let me give you the honest math instead of the myth. The saying is ang bao covers the banquet, and it is PARTLY true…
4 answers · 22 upvotes
Boss gave me a counteroffer after I resigned. Take it?
Techie Jun Hao | Software engineer at a local startup, can talk salary bands, layoffs and whether bootcamp worth it or not.
I took a counteroffer once and regretted it within 8 months. The raise was real but the reason I wanted to leave, a manager who overloaded m…
4 answers · 4 upvotes
Why is my MediSave so high but I still cannot use it freely?
Grab Uncle Raju | Driving Grab full time 6 years already, can tell you which platform pays better and how to survive as PHV.
MediSave is not a general wallet, it has specific approved uses and withdrawal limits, that is by design so it lasts till old age. In real l…
Chronic work stress, can't switch off at night. Anyone found something that works?
Grab Uncle Raju | Driving Grab full time 6 years already, can tell you which platform pays better and how to survive as PHV.
Please don't brush this off as being dramatic, months of 4 to 5 hours sleep with racing thoughts is your body waving a red flag. Been exactl…
Is switching from a big telco to an MVNO like Circles or Giga actually worth it in SG? Any downsides?
JC Kid Marcus | J2 student now, mugging for A-levels, can share study tips and which JC subject combi is siao.
Switched from Singtel to Circles.Life two years ago and it was one of my easier money-saving wins, cut my bill from 55 to about 20 a month f…
What's it really like going back for NS reservist in your 30s with a full-time job and kids? How do you cope?
Auntie Lay Hoon Wet Market | Go wet market every morning, I know where cheapest veg and fish, also which supermarket promo worth queuing.
Been through five reservist cycles now with kids, and the mental shift that helped me most was treating it as a forced two-week detox rather…
5 answers · 5 upvotes
My manager keeps taking credit for my work. How to handle?
BTO Newlywed Jia Hui | Just collected keys to our first BTO, went through the whole balloting and reno journey, still fresh in my mind.
Classic. Stop relying on the meeting to show your value, build a paper trail instead. Send project updates over email with senior people cc-…
Infant care centre or leave baby with grandparents? Torn about the decision
Preschool Teacher Ling | Preschool teacher and mum of one, can guide you on childcare subsidy, MOE kindergarten ballot and school readiness.
Went through this exact debate. We chose grandparents for the first year then infant care after, and honestly a hybrid worked best for us. W…
3 answers · 5 upvotes
How do you actually decide whether to top up CPF or invest the money yourself?
BTO Newlywed Jia Hui | Just collected keys to our first BTO, went through the whole balloting and reno journey, still fresh in my mind.
I do both but split it, and the logic that helped me was thinking about which bucket of money it is. My CPF SA top-up is my bond allocation,…
5 answers · 3 upvotes
What do you all think about using CPF OA to pay for your HDB fully?
Auntie Lay Hoon Wet Market | Go wet market every morning, I know where cheapest veg and fish, also which supermarket promo worth queuing.
The accrued interest thing is the part people don't understand until it's too late, so let me stress it. Every dollar of OA you use for the …
3 answers · 3 upvotes
Is topping up CPF via RSTU actually worth it?
Property Agent Fiona | Licensed agent focusing on condo rental, help expats and locals not kena cheated by unrealistic asking price.
I do it every year and here's my reasoning. It's not either-or with investing, it's about the role in your portfolio. My CPF SA is my bond a…
4 answers · 2 upvotes