SG Budget Babe

Wow, I wasn't expecting so many of you to appreciate my previous post on reducing your income tax - thanks for the support! Remember to maximise your tax reliefs and deductions every year, so you'll end up saving up to thousands of dollars with just a few minutes of work!

To all the new readers who just visited this space because you got directed here from Ho Ching or IRAS, hello!

Anyway, as a continuation to the earlier post, now that we've explored the various ways to reduce our income taxes, the next step to look at would be the mode of payment. Should you opt for monthly repayments or a one-time yearly bill? Should you use GIRO or your credit card?

Unfortunately, if you've ever tried paying for your cashback with your credit card in a bid to earn cashback or miles, you would have probably realised by now that tax payments (as well as that to government organisations) are usually excluded from these rewards.

Even the SCB Unlimited Cashback card, which I've previously reviewed and raved about here(seriously, go get one now if you haven't already! What's more, get $270 in cold hard cash if you apply for one before 30 April 2018 here), excludes tax payments from cashback as seen in their exclusion clause 3j.

You see, most of the banks and credit cards reward based on discretionary spending i.e. products or services that you want to buy instead of the stuff that you need. That's why categories like dining and shopping get such generous cashback / miles rewards, because you could technically live without eating out and buying new stuff.

As such, one glaring gap in my credit card strategy was in how I could never get any rewards back on my mandatory spending, such as when paying for income taxes, insurance and clearing off my loans. It was frustrating to see how I wasn’t able to get anything back on the expenses I couldn’t avoid every month!

Until recently, that is.

Those of you who have read my Guidebook to the Best Cashback Tools in Singapore should be familiar with how much I've raved about CardUp since discovering them months ago.

With CardUp, you can now pay for insurance premiums, rent, school fees, condominium charges, income taxes and get cashback / miles doing so!

Macintosh HD:Users:fionacher:Desktop:Screen Shot 2017-12-21 at 3.31.53 pm.png

How CardUp works

If you study the T&Cs of most credit cards, you’ll realise that no miles or cashback are given for payments made to government agencies, insurance premiums, ez-link top-ups, donations to charitable organisations, etc. CardUp basically enables you to make single or recurring payments online via your credit cards on these spending categories where you couldn’t previously use your card.

Now, this is a big game-changer because prior to CardUp, there was no other service or tool that allowed you to do this! Previously, you could only pay for your rent, mortgage and other mandatory expenses through bank transfer, cash or cheque options. This eliminated a huge chunk of big-ticket spending that can actually help you rack up significant credit card rewards.

There is a 2.6% processing fee imposed (due to the banks and credit card fees), so it is vital that you choose a card that netts you positive rewards even after paying this.

Macintosh HD:Users:fionacher:Desktop:Screen Shot 2017-12-21 at 3.25.59 pm.png

What if the recipient doesn’t accept credit cards?

CardUp does a bank transfer to your recipient, so it doesn’t matter whether or not they accept credit card, and neither do they need to be registered with CardUp. This is what makes CardUp such a fantastic solution, and I only wish I discovered it sooner.

CardUp already has many recipients on its platform, but if you still can’t find yours, all you need to do is to set up a new recipient so that the transfer can go through. In addition, you can even set up recurring payments so you don’t have to log in every month just to transfer.

What you can use it for

Paying your income tax, property tax or utility bills
Insurance premiums
School fees (childcare, secondary schools, universities and private institutions)
Condominium fees
Charity donations
Car loans
Rental
and more!

Sounds good! Which cashback card should I use on Cardup then?

The best strategy would be to use a cashback credit card that gives you a higher rate than CardUp’s service fee in order to net positive cashback.

Here are the cards I would recommend to use with CardUp:

UOB One
Standard Chartered Manhattan (SCB is no longer accepting new signups for this card, which is a huge pity, but if you were lucky enough to get your hands on it previously please maximise it!)
BOC Family
Maybank Platinum Visa

You can also check out their cashback calculator here first to calculate the amount of cashback you'll get when you pay via the recommended cards!

Before CardUp broke into the scene, I was paying for my tax bills once every year, but now, I'm opting for monthly repayments via CardUp in order to get my credit card rewards.

So when you pay for your income tax bills from next month onwards, don't forget to route them through CardUp so you can chalk up more cashback / miles while doing so!

For readers looking for a further discount, I've reached out to CardUp and they've offered $20 off your first payment fees when you enter the promo code "SGBUDGETBABE".

Macintosh HD:Users:fionacher:Desktop:Screen Shot 2017-12-21 at 3.38.36 pm.png

Always remember, credit cards can be your best friend if you know how to use them well! You can read more about maximising cashback tools in Singapore here on my previous post too ; have fun!

Note: This post was written in collaboration with CardUp.

With love,

Budget Babe

Does anyone still remember Slim10?

The notorious dieting pill, produced by a manufacturer in China, led to various cases of thyroid problems, liver failure and even deaths throughout Asia among people who had consumed it. 2 harmful substances (fenfluramine and nicotinamide) were later detected, as well as traces of 2 other banned substances (thyroxine and triiodothyronine); all of which were not listed in the ingredients list submitted to HSA.

Now, I want you to take a close look at what happened to the distributors who were responsible for selling the pills:

Screenshot from MustShareNews

Now, you would think Singaporeans would have learnt to be more careful of diet pills by now, much less the ones that are sold online instead of through a reputable healthcare or medical store, but apparently that's not the case.

With the rise of lifestyle influencers marketing slimming pills and consumables on their Instagram, I can't help but wonder whether these products are TRULY safe, and what's to happen should anyone end up being harmed by them. After all, we now know that distributor liability cannot be really established in Singapore after the Slim10 case, so it is more crucial that consumers be aware and informed of what they're really getting into.

I was going to stay out of this, but it has been MONTHS since the issue was first raised to me by a concerned reader, and still no one has done any expose or a further investigation into the safety concerns of the slimming products that are increasingly marketed on Instagram.

The marketing and sales tactics employed by these influencers for these products are disgustingly similar - you'll find it on their Instagram Stories, where it disappears after 24 hours (unless they pin it as their profile highlights)...therefore leaving no trace or evidence that they ever promoted or sold it.

The problem also lies in HOW these slimming products are being promoted and sold by none other than mummy influencers themselves, who generally tend to enjoy higher trust among their followers who believe that they will not recommend or consume anything that could harm themselves or their babies. These influencers push out claims that the products are absolutely safe for pregnant women and breastfeeding mums, even when there is hardly any concrete evidence to prove so. This is emotional marketing at its best, guys.

Thankfully no lives have been lost, and no foetuses / babies have been harmed so far from the mothers who consumed these slimming products (or at least, none whom I know of), but could it be because it is still too early to tell?

I took a deeper look into these products that the influencers are selling and here's my take on it:

Tremella DX+

1. So, did HSA approve this product or not?

@charlottekiew states that the product is HSA-approved, going so far as to show a screenshot of the HSA document as evidence to back up her claims.

But, let's see what was covered up behind her edits...

"This letter is not to be construed as an endorsement / approval of the product TREMELLA-DX". Yes, now we can see the full statement behind what was covered by the huge "DM to order!".

At least one reader of hers believed Charlotte's claims that it was indeed HSA-approved and thus absolutely safe for consumption and sale in Singapore, but eventually found out it was false (and provided me with the screenshots above and below for the purpose of this piece to warn people).

Edit: Charlotte Kiew has clarified that she actually posted both the version with the HSA-approved edit and the full one without on her IG stories, and took it down after she was alerted that it isn't HSA-approved after all. She also adds that neither is HSA in charge of approving such products (which is something I've mentioned numerous times on this blog before). Unfortunately, she was unable to provide screenshots when I asked, so if any of you have a screenshot of this, please let me know and I'll update this post with it. My full version of the HSA statement was provided to me by the reader above, and not Charlotte herself. Also, adding on from Charlotte, she wishes to emphasize that HSA is not the one approving such products either.

2. Contradictory statements on whether this product is safe for pregnant mothers

One seller specifically highlights that the product is prohibited for consumption by pregnant women, whereas @charlottekiew and @vannytelly believe and claim that it is safe for expecting and nursing mums.

Compare these contradicting claims and decide for yourself:

Source: A seller on Qoo10

Edit: Charlotte has clarified that she was only reproducing the info that was given to her. and that she herself is taking it as well.

3. Formulated in Japan...but manufactured in? Malaysia?

In case you're wondering, the ingredients listed are: water, mixed berry powder (strawberry, cranberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry), tremella powder (a white fungus), wheatgrass, pumpkin fruit powder, dandelion, green tea, xanthan gum.

I quote the below excerpt from Diet Pills Watchdog, which has done a fabulous write-up on this:

Tremella DX+ claims to offer 30 benefits in one, when in reality it struggles to offer customers a single benefit that we could find. Any claims that this oral yoghurt can bleach or lighten skin is preposterous, and had us checking and re-checking the advertising materials to see whether we had misread. There is also virtually nothing in this product that can help customers lose weight.What makes this version different from the original Tremella DX is the use of glutathione, which is used throughout the body in many healthy functions. Unfortunately, the form that this antioxidant has been presented in is not easily absorbed by the body, making this another strange and pointless inclusion in the formula.Tremella DX+ is available to buy for relatively low prices on convenient Malaysian online stores. The lowest price we found for a standard 16-sachet pack was 76 Malaysian Ringgitt (RM) – this is around US$17.50. Although Tremella DX+ is claimed to be Japanese in origin, our research implies that the product is made in Malaysia by and for the Chinese market. The product’s unclear ownership means that it is sold mainly by independent distributors, many of whom have probably been scammed themselves into buying useless stock. We do not recommend Tremella DX+ to our readers.

4. Does it make sense that the HSA letter was issued in 2015 when the distributor was only incorporated as a company in 2016?

Source

Meizi slimming pills aka 美资玲珑素 (or 美資玲瓏素)

This has recently been promoted and sold by influencers @charlottekiew and @shantelkiehls , who encouraged their followers to DM them to order.

1. Look at it being packaged in ziplock bags LOL.

A previous screenshot featured Shanel's daughter and she has requested for it to be replaced with the one above instead. I agreed.

2. Is it really safe? What are the ingredients in the pills?

Aside from claims that it is made from purely vegetarian and herbal ingredients, I was only able to find the purported main ingredients (but that doesn't tell us anything about whether there could be any other ingredients or traces of harmful substances in it): hemp seed flour, fructose, aloe vera gel freeze-dried powder, sorbitol, soybean dietary fibre, cassia seed powder, celery fibre.

3. So, did HSA approve this product or not?

Another reader and I was unable to find any mentions of the product on HSA's website. If you do, please let me know!

WoWo Collagen Jelly

Most of you should be well aware of the entire controversy surrounding WoWo products by now, but aside from the WoWo distributors, there are 2 well-known mummy bloggers and influencers who are also promoting the jelly - @vannytelly (yes, her again) and @bongqiuqiu

1. Firstly, why is it so pink?! Were artificial colourings used?

Many of the influencers promoting this only mentioned that it is made from bird nest and collagen, but a further search led me to this full list shared by a seller on Shopee:

A5 premium grade Indo bird's nest, collagen peptides, collagen powder, soya peptide powder, wolf berries, lily bulbs, deep sea collagen extracts, gelatinum asini.

I don't really see how any of the above ingredients would have led to such a bright pink colour in the jelly, leading me to believe that either (i) some sort of chemical reaction occurred to produce this hue or (ii) there are more unnamed ingredients that we don't know of, and who knows if they are harmful?

2. Miraculous marketing claims!!! This product cures all!

If you even believe their claims that eating this collagen jelly will help you to make your breasts bigger, stabilise your menstruation cycle, improve constipation, build up your immune system, lightens pigmentation and acne scars, etc...

Yes, they're claiming this ONE product can do that much. Lol.

Source

I don't know about you, but I don't see how the ingredients can actually achieve such miraculous effects. I don't believe it one bit!

TLDR Summary

There has been an increasing number of influencers, specifically mummy bloggers, who are promoting and selling slimming pills / drinks / consumables on their Instagram Stories, where the post disappears after 24 hours without a trace.
The said influencers mentioned in this post includes @vannytelly , @charlottekiew, @shantelkiehls and @bongqiuqiu , but there could be more that I'm not aware of as these are the main 4 that readers have escalated to me due to their concerns over potential misrepresentation and safety issues.
The selling tactics generally focus on how it is safe for pregnant and breastfeeding mums, when there is little evidence to prove so. (Edit: with the exception of QiuQiu who had said on her IG Live that she wouldn't recommend it for these 2 groups.) Some sellers may even go so far as to claim that it is HSA-approved (not at all), or even offer guaranteed refunds in the event of no result.
Perhaps the influencers knew nothing about the red flags I've highlighted in this post on the products, nor do they know if there are indeed harmful or banned substances, because they merely shared based on the information they received. But one's ignorance doesn't negate the fact that the product one is selling could be potentially harmful.
As we learnt from the Slim10 saga, it is difficult to attribute liability to distributors of such slimming products, even if they are eventually found to contain trace elements of harmful of banned substances. And yes, even if the pills harm you or cause any deaths due to consumption, it is unlikely that the distributors (or the influencers in this case) will be held legally responsible.
If a slimming product sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
You should probably also never buy any questionable product online or directly from someone whom you barely know, especially if you cannot confirm the safety of the product or its full ingredients list.

HSA has repeatedly told Singaporeans to be wary of buying slimming products online. In September last year alone, HSA seized over 39,000 units of illegal health products, many which were weight-loss products ranging from pills to beverages, and were labelled with claims such as "100 percent natural", "herbal ingredients" and "quick effect".

Do you see a glaring similarity here?

Remember, even if anything detrimental happens to you because you ate these slimming products sold to you by the influencers...they will probably walk away scot-free with no legal liability.

Your health is your own. Do what you deem fit, but you can't say I didn't warn you.

And pregnant / breastfeeding mums, please, I urge you to play safe rather than be sorry when it comes to these sort of slimming supplements. Don't let your moment of vanity become a lifelong regret.

With love,
Budget Babe

Note: All screenshots in this article have been contributed and sent to me by my various readers. I do not claim credit for them, but the watermark is essential after I was recently a victim of a major news website seemingly plagiarising my article and attempting to pass it off as their own.

Warning: To Mothership.sg, if you DARE to plagiarise my story without proper credits, YOU WILL FACE LEGAL ACTION.

How do you know if your dentist is licensed to provide dental services in Singapore?

I usually look out for their practising certificate and professional qualifications. If those are not available and I'm in doubt, I do a quick check on the Singapore Dental Council's public database here.

Recently dental veneers administered by a Bibi Zhu caught my attention after I saw it being promoted by various influencers here in Singapore on Instagram.

As I mentioned previously, I avoided the Beautiful Teeth Whitening Kit like the plague when it went viral (also largely because various influencers were promoting it), as I suspected that it contained an exceedingly high level of hydrogen peroxide in order to achieve that sort of whitening effect and believed that could only be supplied through registered dentists instead of a DIY kit made and sourced from China. Yet at that time, some of the influencers who were promoting and selling it claimed that it did not contain hydrogen peroxide at all, and you can read about my original suspicions here.

Well, a month later I was proven right, and HSA officially came out with a statement containing exactly what I had suspected was wrong with the kit. But by then it was a little too late, as many of my friends around me had fallen prey to the marketing gimmick and had already used it.

Barely a year later, we have dental veneers now and once again, I'm doubtful whether this is truly safe to go for. The person administering it goes by the name of Bibi Zhu on Instagram:

I won't lie, the photos (especially that posted by the influencers who have undergone the procedure with her) look really tempting and you can judge for yourself here:

Screenshots from @abbydae Instagram highlights

Screenshots from @euchristelle Instagram highlights

Screenshots from @shrimpy.pd Instagram stories

Now, I'm not too sure if any of these influencers had done their due diligence prior to doing their procedures, much less promoting it on their Instagram, but I decided to check out more details on my own before deciding whether to go for it.

What are dental veneers?

Veneers are generally thin pieces of porcelain that are molded to fit and attached to the front of your teeth. If you've ever wondered how your favourite Hollywood celebrities seem to have perfect white teeth all the time, there's a good chance they might have done veneers.

The cost generally starts from $1000 and up for a veneer in Singapore, so if you need 6 veneers each for your upper and lower front teeth, you can prepare to fork out a 5-figure sum as an estimation. During the procedure, the teeth are disinfected and a composite cement is used to seal the teeth under the veneers.

What are the risks?

But while veneer might give you a perfect smile immediately after, it is not a procedure to cure the underlying dental problems, especially if your teeth is decayed or rotten. It can hide your problems, but that could lead to even worse problems down the road if proper dental treatment is not sought.

In extreme cases of botched procedures, the gaps between the veneers and the underlying tooth can also allow bacteria and decay to flourish, or if the dentist removes too much tooth enamel, the nerve could even become inflamed or infected that might just cause the tooth to fall off.

Source: CosMediTour Dental

Candidates with a history of weakened enamel, gum disease or any dental conditions are generally not suitable for veneers.

But when I got a friend who works in the dental profession to take a look, she pointed out that the teeth in the customer's photo below look as though they might have other underlying dental issues that need treatment first, thus potentially making this customer an unsuitable candidate for veneers. I cannot be sure on this though because I'm personally not a dentist, nor have I ever studied professional dentistry.

However, what got me concerned is that this particular procedure is being carried out in what appears to be a home salon. I was also not able to find out whether the person administering the treatment, Bibi Zhu, is licensed to provide dental services in the first place, as her name did not appear in SDC's database. Based on my research, she seems to be formerly from Xiamen.

I got worried and then went to read up about Singapore's Dental Registration Act to find out if unlicensed dentists are in fact, allowed to practice here if they haven't been registered or approved by SDC. Based on Section 22 and 28, it seems as though this could be an offence if proven to be true.

You may refer to the full Dental Registration Act here to understand the legislation governing dental practices in Singapore.

All of these left me feeling greatly unsettled. A reader told me she had called SDU to check, but was told that it wasn't under their purview. Having no answers, I've also written into SDU and MOH and am now waiting for them to verify directly.

We've seen the aftermath of the Beautiful Teeth Whitening Kit previously, where the influencers who sold it made lots of money from the sales. Although it was later reported on CNA that sellers of the product could face a fine up to S$20,000, a jail term of up to 12 months, or both, it seems like nothing has happened to the influencers who sold it thus far, and neither did any of the ones whom I was aware of ended up in jail.

That kit cost $70, but this veneer procedure costs $1,800 / $3,200 (depending on which material you go for) and supposedly lasts for 7 - 10 years. It definitely seems far more dangerous and intrusive, and I'm not quite sure if I would entrust my teeth to the hands of a home dentist whose name I cannot find on SDC's register, whether or not the influencers are promoting it.

The problem is, are there others who might have gotten influenced?

I'll update once I receive a response from SDU or MOH.

With love,
Budget Babe

BB, what stock can I invest in that is low risk and high returns?

That's one of the most common questions I get from readers and probably one of the most difficult to answer.

Everyone has a different interpretation of "low risk" and "high returns", but in my case, the answer to the above question almost always comprise of value stock i.e. stocks that trade at a discount to what they're really worth.

Sometimes this comes in the form of properties. Last month, I shared on my Patreon about a property stock which I found that was trading at a 77% discount to their book value of their cash and properties alone. Their price-to-earnings ratio at my time of purchase was also extremely compelling, at just 3.2X!

I did a full analysis and wrote a piece to consolidate my thoughts on the stock, and once I was done, I was in. I couldn't possibly pass on something so cheap!

But sometimes cheap stocks can remain cheap for long, or even crash...because they might be a value trap in disguise. So how can you tell the difference, and ensure that you don't fall for a value trap?

By getting educated and informed.

Education can come in various ways. You can read books (see my list of recommended books here) or go for courses to pick up skills, and then hone them further by practising and reading financial blogs, websites or doing hands-on (such as going in-depth into a stock analysis, attending AGMs, etc).

What should I look out for before I buy a stock?

Personally, I've read almost every book on that list, attended many courses and workshops, as well as doing hands-on investing in order to get to where I am today.

The most useful framework I've found, and eventually adapted to that of my own system, came from the Investment Quadrant workshop run by The Fifth Person. I won't go too much into detail or give away their methodology, but I'll share about some of the constants I always come back to whenever I analyse a stock.

1. Identify wonderful companies.

One of my primary criteria is to ensure that the company behind the stock is a great one, and I do this by assessing their business model, their competitive advantage, their economic moat, and the market that they serve.

If the company is facing structural headwinds or the entire industry is being disrupted and they're slow to keep up, I generally stay away from such a stock (that's a hint!).

Of course, I try to stick to things that I understand as well. For instance, I learnt through experience that I really just don't understand the O&G industry enough, so I try not to go there unless there's a compelling reason (such as if there's a huge discount for the stock). Some people refer to this as sticking to one's circle of competence, but I just call it common sense lah. Not familiar, just stay away lor. There's a whole bunch of other stocks out there for you to choose from!

2. Can I trust the management team?

I've seen poor management screw up companies, and great management turn struggling companies around.

One way of assessing management quality includes studying the past decisions that they've made for the company, but on top of that, I tend to read the Chairman Statement on their annual report as well and compare it over the years. However, just watch out for PR fluff, as a lot of them might just be all talk but no action.

One example of a stock that I feel its management truly screwed up on is Netccentric (ASX:NCL), which IPO-ed in July 2015. You might not have heard of them, but surely you've heard of Nuffnang, the company which manages some of Singapore's top influencers like Xiaxue. Its stock has crashed 94% since its IPO price of $0.20, and it suffered from internal management disputes (the original founders fell out, board calls for shareholders to dump founder, former CEO sues co-founder). In fact, earlier this year I was flabbergasted when CEO Desmond Kiu announced their decision to shut down their micro-blogging app Dayre, which I personally saw was a poor business move. Their fundraising attempts yielded just $700+, whereas I raised the $150,000 that they claimed was needed to run the app for a year...all within just 3 days. I won't go too much into the saga, but you can read about my efforts to #saveDayre here and getting investors for a successful buy-out of the app.

Another common red flag I look out for is how much management is paying themselves. If they're giving themselves exorbitant salaries, then I'm out. I generally don't like management teams who treat their company like their own personal ATM.

3.Quantitative Analysis - what do the financial statements say?

Even if the company has a fantastic business model, they might not always be earning profit. Loss-making companies are a big NO for me whenever I look for a value stock. I also study their income statement, the balance sheet and the cash flow statement, as well as run various calculations to see if the company is in good financial standing.

For someone who wasn't trained in math or finance, this used to take me days to complete, but over time I've become much faster at it with practice. If you're just starting out and are unsure of what to look at, I highly recommend this course where they teach you what to zoom into within the financial statements, lest you get lost by all the numbers!

4. Valuations

This is the most important part, and the one which always excites me the most. Here, I'll be looking at whether the stock is trading at a discount, and whether that margin of safety is good enough for me to enter.

I'll use DBS as an example, which I bought in early 2016 as a value stock because its discount was too good to resist. This has now blossomed to become one of my best-performing stocks in 2018, and now that CEO Piyush Gupta has announced its latest dividend payout, that translates to a forward yield of 8% for me given my original buy price.

Majority of the stocks I buy are stuff on a discount. If it isn't trading at a discount, I'm happy to wait.

If you're new to investing and am unsure on what type of valuations to use, do note that the suitability of metrics will differ based on the type of stock you're analysing! Thus, if you're really clueless and would like to simply get a framework to start, I highly recommend following the step-by-step process (including the flowcharts and checklists) taught in the Investment Quadrant.

Course Review: The Investment Quadrant

I shared here last year that I had paid for and signed up for The Investment Quadrant to hone my skills further, and I loved it so much that I'm back here again to recommend it to all of you this year.

If you're new to investing, you're gonna love all the checklists, step-by-step framework and the entire system that you can follow easily in order to get started. They're so comprehensive that you'll be able to start analysing and searching / buying for your first value stock the moment you're done with the course!

If you've prior investing experience but have never been to this workshop, I highly recommend that you give this a shot because (i) it will challenge what you thought you knew about value investing and (ii) you get to pick the brains of investing experts Rusmin and Victor. They've done so well in their own investing journey thus far that they've managed to use this same formula to turn around a loss-making portfolio to $2 million in profits within just 2 years, with individual stocks yielding 50% to 300% returns!

The course consists of 2 parts:
1. Online : training videos, the checklists, flowcharts and formula worksheets
2. Offline : a complimentary one-day workshop for them to give you a crash course of the entire methodology, complete with case studies, common mistakes investors made, and FAQs

The best part is that beyond just a one-time course, I also get all their future updates they make to their course content. I paid for their Dividend Machines course in 2015, Investment Quadrant in 2016, and have been enjoying that benefit since.

If you compare this to the other value investment courses out there, you'll find that this is severely underpriced at just USD 397 (and yes, I've been telling them that they need to raise their prices because the cost simply doesn't justify the value they provide!). I'll never forget how my own mom shelled out $4000+ for a value investment course with another company and the notes that she received was...so basic that you can actually learn all of them on my blog for free -.-

The Investment Quadrant course closes on 28 May 2018, and if you haven't signed up yet, I've asked them and here's a reader discount for you to get another $50 off (so that's just $347 now!)

Honestly it is ridiculous that they're even offering a money-back guarantee on this. I wish the one my mom signed up for had that (it didn't), so we could have asked for a refund on hers!

In addition, if you're a reader, let me know after you've attended the course (just drop me an email with your course confirmation afterward) so I can send you a reader freebie - a full stock write-up on one of my value stock purchases recently so you'll be able to see the IQ methodology in action (together with some of my own metrics) and find out one of my favourite stocks in my portfolio which has never been mentioned on this blog before!

With love,
Budget Babe

If you're a safe driver looking to try and reduce your insurance premiums, I might have found just the answer for you.

I recently came across Vouch when a friend of mine shared about it on Facebook. Vouch, which is essentially a local digital car insurance platform partnering with major motor insurers like NTUC Income, Sompo and Tokio Marine. The exciting news is that they’ve just launched Singapore's first No-Claims Rebate (NCR) for motor insurance last month!

You guys know how I'm like when I see a good deal - I go digging into whether it truly is as good as it sounds. So in this case, I reached out to the founder and grilled him about what Vouch is about, how they purportedly can offer a "cheaper and fairer" insurance model, and tried digging up the dirt. Surely there must be a catch!

But I found none. And that's why I'm here today to share with you what I feel is a massive game-changer for the car insurance industry and for us drivers.

Note: This is NOT a paid or sponsored post. All opinions are that of my own.

Background

Now, remember how I highlighted my concerns last month about whether the motor insurance is headed down the same path as healthcare (where consumers now have to pay higher premiums and will no longer get to purchase full riders anymore)? You can read this article on the warning signs which I pointed out here.

My worry is that motor insurance premiums could soon be raised as well, given the industry's underwriting losses and rising claims (highest since 2008). My husband and I pay pretty high premiums on our car so obviously if there's a better option in the market, I want in.

How do car insurance claims really work?

If you're not familiar with how insurance works, think of it as you outsourcing your financial risk to the insurer each time you buy a policy. The insurer collects the premiums from consumers like yourself, and pools them together - this sum of money then goes towards paying the distributors or agent commissions, administrative costs, claims...and whatever is left then becomes their profit.

So basically, you're grouped and the risk is now spread out among all of you who are paying for the insurance protection (a.k.a. "risk pooling").

Now, the problem comes in when too many claims are made and have to be paid out, which then eats into the insurers' margins and profits. If it goes beyond a tipping point, the insurer (or the industry, depending on how severe the problem is) then runs into losses and needs to find other ways now so they can sustain their business. That's what we recently saw in the healthcare space, where MOH and the insurers attribute the cause to a "buffet syndrome" which caused overall healthcare claims to go up and tip the insurers into danger zone.

Thus, is it really fair when your insurance premiums go up, even when you didn't claim anything?

Obviously not!

For drivers, statistics show that 9 in 10 consumers don't make claims on their motor insurance. So where exactly do the premiums (of the 9) go to?

Paying out the claims of others (the 1 in 10)?

But wait, there's the No-Claims Discount (NCD), you say. The truth is, that's still not good enough.

It is about time safe drivers stop being penalized for the reckless driving habits of others. How?

Introducing: Singapore's first No-Claim Rebate (NCR)

Vouch is a Singapore startup (an insurtech platform) that now rewards people for safe driving.

They have recently launched Singapore's first ever No-Claim Rebate (NCR) car insurance feature, partnering with major motor insurers to offer customers up to 15% cashback on our annual premiums, on top of our No-Claim Discounts (NCD)!

This translates into cheaper and fairer motor insurance for us consumers.

How does Vouch do this?

For all motor insurance policies bought on the Vouch platform,15% of the driver's premiums will be set aside for NCR, which is pooled with the other members in the group to form a common rebate pool.
During the policy period, if any member makes a claim, part of the claim is deducted from the total rebate pool.
At the end of each driver's respective policy period, the remainder of the pool will be returned and split proportionally amongst the members who did not make a claim (the No-Claim Rebate).
If the pool runs out, there is no negative impact to customers, as everyone is still covered by their respective insurance company. However, because Vouch is attracting safe drivers only, it is more likely that the group stays accident-free (or in the unluckiest of scenarios, claims a little bit), and so everyone should receive the 15% cashback.

Their co-founder Chean Yujun, shared with me about how the traditional car insurance model works whereby safe drivers end up paying higher premiums to cover the risks of unsafe drivers. Vouch felt that this was unfair, and saw an opportunity to work with insurers to promote and reward safe driving instead.

Is this a good deal for us consumers? Should I switch now?

Yes, especially if you're a safe driver.

If you're a reckless driver, there'll be no difference whether you stay with your existing insurer / policy or switch to purchase a new one through Vouch. The No-Claims Rebate won't apply to you anyway.

But if you're like the majority of drivers who hardly get into accidents, Vouch's offer is extremely compelling because it is not only cheaper, but also fairer.

For instance, if you choose to buy with NTUC Income, you'll pay the same for the policy, regardless of whether you buy through Vouch or elsewhere.

However, if you purchase through the Vouch platform, $138.55 (15% of your premiums) is set aside for your No-Claim Rebate, to be given back to you at the end of your policy year if you make no claims.

So with this cashback, you've effectively only paid $785 for your car insurance premiums!

TLDR Conclusion

- If you're a generally safe driver looking to reduce your premiums paid, Vouch is looking for you, because they want to reward you for your responsible driving habits with up to 15% of No-Claims Rebate.

- This is on top of your existing No-Claims Discount (NCD), which means you're paying much less for your car insurance policy now!

- You can easily get a quote online and compare it for yourself here.

- Reader's promo code: Use SGBB60 to get an extra $60 cashback!

Click here now to get your quote and see if it's the right fit for you!

With love,
Budget Babe

So...if you haven't already seen the news on my Instagram or on my Dayre, I'm pregnant with my first child! :D

My first trimester was pretty tough because I ~~suffered~~ am still having really bad nausea and acid reflux, and it felt like time couldn't pass any quicker. It was tough keeping the baby a secret from my colleagues at work, and even speaking at events - SGX and a SUSS cryptocurrency panel discussion - while trying to hide my discomfort!

I honestly couldn't wait to enter my second trimester after reading about how the morning sickness tends to go away for most people then, although at this moment I've just started my second trimester and it is still here :(

Anyway! So yes, you can soon expect to see more pregnancy-related posts from me, as well as stuff on family finances, and even how I plan to teach and raise my kid to become financially-savvy with good values (let's hope I'm successful, we've already come up with various games and methods haha)!

Right now, I thought I'll share about what to do in your first trimester, especially if this is your first pregnancy. I know I felt pretty overwhelmed and clueless in the beginning, and if it weren't for some of our good friends who guided us through, we'd probably still be lost parents right now!

1. Take folic acid.
Many ladies who are trying to conceive take folic acid right from the start, but for us, the first thing we did when we found out from our pregnancy kit that I was pregnant was to go to Guardian and purchase their 5mg folic acid supplements. This was a tip given to us by a good friend who had been praying for us over our (short-lived) #ttc journey, so I hope this gets passed on to you guys today too!

2. Decide if you wanna go private or public.
There's SO MANY things to consider once you find out that you're about to welcome a new life in 9 months and have to start preparing for it. The first thing you'll want to think about is whether the private or public healthcare route is better for you. Some factors to consider:

Costs: Is the private route affordable for you?
Waiting time: Are you willing to spend hours waiting before you get to see your gynae? Can you afford to spend (almost) an entire day waiting?
Dedicated or random gynae: Do you need / want a dedicated gynae who will see you through your pregnancy? If you go the public route, you'll be randomly assigned to whichever gynae is on duty when you visit.
What's the level of comfort and assurance you need? Generally, private gynaes tend to be able to give you more attention and put you at ease, vs. the super fast consultations at public hospitals.
Location of the gynae clinic

Source: MOH

We considered between Ward A in a public hospital and a 2-bedder in a private one. Initially, I really wanted to go the public route because I was convinced that our government hospitals are good enough, but we changed our mind after some of my readers (who work in public hospitals) wrote to me advising me against it. Another key consideration was the fact that I was quite anxious as this is my first pregnancy, and I really wanted to have an exclusive gynae who would follow me throughout my entire journey, instead of being seen by random gynaes on duty. Our busy schedules also didn't really allow us the flexibility of being able to spend an entire day waiting (and I HATE waiting), so after weighing the different factors, we decided to go down the private route instead.

My husband said something really sweet: "I don't mind paying more for my wife to have a peace of mind". =D Guys, listen to your wives!

3. Search for a gynae.
Go "gynae-shopping" if you need to! It is important that you feel comfortable with your gynae so don't be afraid of hopping around until you find the right one. The only thing you should note is that first consultations tend to be charged higher, so if you're "shopping" around for too long...you'll quickly rack up a lot of costs.

Ladies, if this is your first pregnancy and you're an anxious mom like I am, remember that it is fine to spend more money to ease your fears because it does affect the baby. You have to weigh affordability against your personal comfort and emotional needs!

You can generally expect to pay between $150 - $300 for each session with a private gynae. Our first gynae charged us $370 (although a source who was his patient last year said she only paid $280), so rates may still vary and it is best to check directly. When you call the clinic, the nurse will ask you for your last period date in order to calculate roughly how far along you are. You'll be asked to come in for your first appointment in Week 7 - 8, although some gynaes will see you earlier if you really want to.

During our search, we read online reviews, spoke to a few close mummy friends and asked for recommendations (very few, since we couldn't really announce our pregnancy yet), and shortlisted 3 gynaes to visit before we made our decision. As it turned out, our second gynae made us feel the most at ease and was within our budget, so we decided to stick to him!

4. Start thinking about which hospital you'd wanna deliver in.
Often, this is tagged to your gynae, which is why I placed this as #3. If you choose a private gynae, they tend to only deliver at certain hospitals, so your choices are limited. I made the mistake of shortlisting my desired hospitals first (including KKSH, TMC and Mount A) before I realised that not all my options were places that my gynae had delivery arrangements with. Sian.

You can also go on hospital tours to check out the facilities, although I don't intend to do this until much later.

Photo credit: The HK Hub

5. Decide if you want to get maternity insurance.
Some people say maternity insurance is a MUST, while others say it isn't necessary at all. As I've always emphasized, insurance is a very personal affair, and what works for someone may not work for you. So go ahead and speak to your agent(s), compare quotes, and decide if you'll like to get covered for a greater peace of mind!

I'll cover this more in a separate post later as I'm currently still reviewing them now, and haven't made up my mind whether this is a WANT or a NEED for me at this stage.

6. BUY MATERNITY BRAS.
The truth is that your boobs are likely to grow and become SUPER SORE when you're pregnant. I know mine did (they've grown by an entire cup size now, much to the delight of my husband, and are often sore), and I had to resort to either going completely bra-less (at home) or wearing bralettes because wired bras became too tight and painful for me.

I regretted waiting till my second trimester to buy my maternity bras (in my defence, I was concerned about whether my boobs would grow even bigger, so I wanted to save money and wait to buy only after I knew for sure -.-). Don't make the same mistake as I did! Otherwise, if you're also concerned about changing bra sizes, you can lounge out in bralettes in the meantime first.

7. Avoid exercise (?)
This is really subjective but many gynaes will recommend that you avoid cardio or any form of strenuous exercise that basically involves shaking your womb vigorously as it'll increase your chances of miscarriage. I actually exercise pretty often, but my husband forbade me to do anything during my first trimester :(

Baby, for your sake, I'll stay off my beloved abs exercise and dance classes!

8. SLEEP.
You'll find yourself feeling tired and lethargic all the time. I'm not much of a napper, but I had to squeeze in 1 to 2 naps almost every other day (one during lunchtime, another right after work) in order to survive.

The contrary happened at night, as my nausea and acid reflux would typically hit me at about 11pm and last until 2am, so it was hard for me to go to sleep early. One night it got so bad that I couldn't fall asleep until 6am!

Source: Instagram

9. Start thinking about how you wanna announce your pregnancy!
This is the most exciting part (heh)! We couldn't wait to announce and tell our friends and family (my husband had a hard time keeping his mouth shut and spilled the beans to lots of people very early on, lol) and kept thinking about how to deliver the good news!

Most people usually wait till Week 12 - 14 to announce because that's when your baby is pretty much stabilised and that's when your risk of miscarriage drastically goes down. Have fun and be creative! There's tons of great ideas here if you need some inspiration.

I'll cover my thoughts on whether it is worth getting maternity insurance next!

With love,
Dawn

If you wish to achieve financial independence, you need to plan and consistently ensure you’re on track to meeting your goals.

For anyone looking for a framework, I’ve repeatedly emphasized that the route involves:

1. Cutting your expenses

2. Setting up your emergency fund

3. Growing your savings

4. Protecting your assets

5. Invest to further grow your capital and build passive income

You’ll find this bookmarked under the GUIDE tab on this blog.

To promote this message and culture of planning for financial independence (because we all know that inflation and the high cost of living in Singapore sucks), I’ve been working quite closely with DBS Bank to speak at their classes for NAV – Your Financial GPS, held in Tanjong Pagar at their NAV Hub.

I’ve have also encouraged many of you to go for the free financial analysis and consultation sessions which they offer where there is zero product pushing or hard-selling. This is important, because if you’re unlucky enough to work with a financial advisor who has a vested interest in their own commissions, you could very well end up with “recommendations” that serve to line their pockets instead of really fulfilling your needs at the best value.

Getting such a personalized session to help you understand your current financial health (awareness is always the first step to change), getting financial tips and attending financial planning classes at NAV Hub are just some of the reasons why I’ve been supporting the intiative and sharing my experience at some of their classes.

But time is always a valuable resource, so even if you haven’t yet had the chance to go down to Tanjong Pagar for a consultation, don’t fret! DBS has now gone one step further to launch Your Financial GPS in order to deliver a digital financial advisor straight to your fingertips. Yes, or those of you who might have attended the NAV sessions before, you’ll recognise this as an extension of their their existing “NAV – Your Financial GPS” intiative.

This operates on a SAIL concept – Saving, Assurance, Invest and Life Goals – which is pretty much in line with what I’ve always been preaching. If you’re an existing DBS or POSB customer, you probably want to log into your digibank app and check out this newly-launched feature for yourself.

Features & Benefits

Your Financial GPS relies on a combination of user data and behavioural activity to offer you personalised and tailored suggestions.

This digital financial advisor is integrated into your banking transactions, which allows it to provide an analysis of your activities, including:

- automatically categorising your income and expenses (I like that you can create custom categories as well)

- provide an overview of your set budgets

- tracking your status against long-term financial life goals (that you’ve set)

Think of it as a 3-in-1 personal expense tracker + budgeting + recommendation app.

If your transactions are through DBS, it will be categorised automatically for you (based on merchant codes and transaction descriptions, in case you were wondering about the “how”). You can also create additional customisation fields, add in non-DBS transactions and input them accordingly if you wish to use this as your main expense tracker from now.

It also makes some recommendations (which you might otherwise not have thought of!). For instance, want to set up a long-term goal to save for your baby’s university fees but unsure of how much is enough? Your Financial GPS will propose an ideal savings amount that you can consider and also offer some tips on small, actionable steps that you can take to achieve this goal. Or, if you’re saving for a wedding, you’ll be fed with tips on how to save money while planning for your big day!

And for those of you who have been looking for a community to support and accompany you on your financial growth journey, DBS will be launching YourNAV Community forum next month, where you’ll be able to ask questions online and get answers or tips related to financial planning. If you’re a “YourNAVer” member, you can also look forward to getting access to exclusive members-only events, classes, games and contests.

You can visit this link for more information. Until then, I’ll see you in the community.

Disclaimer: I’ve been speaking at NAV Hub for multiple events so far, so this article is naturally written in collaboration with DBS to share their latest initiative with you guys. All opinions are of my own. Screenshots involve cursory numbers and are not meant to be taken as an accurate representation of my current financial status, which loyal readers should be able to recognise.

Just last month, I uncovered this investment that was making its rounds on Instagram, after being promoted by local social media influencer Rachell Tan (@pxdkitty) and even her friend Ang Chiew Ting (@bongqiuqiu) who had invested into it, while sharing why I found it so questionable.

Well, guess what? Here's another one again. And while the durian investments saga previously only required a minimum of $1k+ to get started, this particular one is asking for a minimum of USD 10k!

Let me ask you again, why would you put so much of your hard-earned money with someone on Instagram whom you don't even know?! Even if there ever comes a day where SG Budget Babe asks you to invest money with her (which will never happen, btw), you should rightfully be skeptical and run for the hills!

I got alerted to this by a few readers who checked in with me on whether this investment was legitimate, and that was when I discovered plenty of red flags.

And the methods used to promote this investments are starkly similar to that of the previous ones I've highlighted, with the majority of the posts being shown on the influencer's Instagram stories (where all evidence disappears after 24 hours, unless someone took a screenshot).

Let's take a closer look at these two investments that @jocelynq is promoting on her Instagram stories:

"Investment" #1: FOIN & Financial.org

Claims made by @joycelynq:

Guaranteed returns!
Monthly dividends!
FOIN is going to be bigger than Bitcoin! with proven numbers!

To present greater credibility, she also emphasizes that the company is legitimate and is a sponsor of the F1 race. She also goes on to share testimonials, supposedly by clients who have invested with her, on her IG Stories as well:

Some of my readers were initially drawn in, and asked her for more information. Here's what she said:

You'll see that she mentions two key names - Financial.org and FOIN. I'll elaborate more on each of these later.

Joyce also insists that interested parties / investors have to meet her up, and pass the USD 10,000 in cash to her. Are you kidding me?!

Why I feel FOIN is a questionable crypto investment

I'm fairly in tune with the crypto scene, so I went to ask around but NO ONE had heard of a crypto, much less an ICO, called FOIN. When I tried to research, there was barely any information on it either - no whitepaper, no details on the coin structure or technology, no github, nor any of the usual stuff that most cryptos have.

All I could find was a blog and an introductory Youtube video of FOIN here, promising that it is going to have bigger and crazier returns than Bitcoin, Ethereum and even Ripple.

Nope, I do not believe that at all.

You're telling me that a coin that no one that has simply appeared out of nowhere is going to become bigger than Bitcoin and Ethereum? Are you kidding me? How exactly are those returns delivered?

Well, this is what their company website claims:

FOIN promises guaranteed returns! Built into their programming language! *rolls eyes to the moon and back*

Isn't it also a little odd that the company's website is on a hosted WordPress site? This doesn't seem very professional to me considering what it'll cost to get a proper and official corporate website done up. You can view the original article where I took the screenshots above here.

Even their Facebook looks really unprofessional and with so little likes.

Joyce Quek also shared on her IG stories that she had to fly to Indonesia to attend the company's conference, where she took pictures with "royalty". I have no idea who those people are, but when I researched further into the gala conference that she had posted about, I found this writeup here on BTC Manager where it says that Financial.org is the main sponsor. Also, if you scroll to the bottom of the article, you'll find that it is a paid press release!

Given that MAS guidelines suggest digital tokens that promise a form of return are effectively securities and thus need to comply with the relevant securities regulations, it remains to be seen if FOIN actually meets these requirements, and what will happen to Joyce Quek for promoting such an "investment".

I'm bullish about cryptos but I've always warned time and time again in my previous posts that scams are aplenty in the crypto universe, and there are plenty of "shitcoins" circulated around. If you're not careful, you're likely to get burnt.

Financial.Org - an unregulated "investment" firm on various regulatory watchlists

Now let's take a closer look at Financial.Org, the company behind the investments.

Firstly, what on earth is Joyce Quek doing by promoting an unregulated investment firm?!?!

Financial.Org is notorious for having being placed on the alert lists of various regulators around the world, including:

MAS Investor Alert List
"UAE warns investors not to deal with Financial.org"
Malaysia warns of Financial.org
Indonesia and Thailand

Source

Financial.org seems to also be owned by a UK citizen who is linked to many dissolved and liquidated companies, according to this source investigation:

Source

If you're interested to find out more, there's this really informative website dedicated to exposing Financial.org which you can check out here.

Now, I'd watched @joycelynq promote this particular investment (Financial.org and FOIN, which you'll only find out after you DM her) on her IG Stories for the whole of last month, and was glad that she FINALLY started tuning it down.

But then I saw this:

"Investment" #2: Joint venture project for a developer!

Another new "investment"!?!?!

Looks like a leopard doesn't change its spots. And the stakes keep getting higher - initially it was USD 10k while now it has been raised to SGD 20k.

Remember what I said about corporate guarantees when I got a lawyer to examine the legal contract provided by @pxdkitty and the company in the durian investments saga? If you don't remember, you can read it again here to understand why such "corporate GUARANTEEs" are pretty meaningless.

But once more, it appears like she's getting plenty of interest in her "investment" opportunities:

Remember, stay savvy, keep your money safe, and don't be so quick to trust any random investment that any Instagram influencer promotes to you.

With love,
Budget Babe

The latest and most comprehensive list of maternity insurance plans offered in Singapore (2018 edition). I compared between the 7 plans that I considered during my pregnancy term and spoke to 4 insurance agents to get the full quotes illustrated below.

As most of you guys know, I've always been an advocate of buying insurance (after all, it is named as a core tenet under my Guide to Financial Independence tab here), so when I got pregnant, one of the first things I naturally thought about was whether I needed to get maternity insurance.

Photo Credit

What Is Maternity Insurance?

Maternity insurance is a type of policy which covers unexpected complications that arise during the course of your pregnancy, which could affect either mother or child. You pay a one-time premium for the plan and the policy provides a one-time payout to help offset any additional medical costs that could be incurred as a result of pregnancy complications or congenital illnesses in your child. Many insurers in Singapore also include a daily hospital benefit if warded for related illnesses.

How much does it cost?

$300 - $600.

I compared between AIA, AXA, Aviva, Great Eastern, Prudential, OCBC and NTUC Income while deciding whether I should get one. There's also plans offered by Pacific Prime, but I excluded them in my analysis as they aren't a recognisable household name in Singapore, and I had contacted them last year to enquire on another plan where no one ever got back to me...so let's forget it.

What is covered under maternity insurance?

The benefits vary between insurers, but generally you can expect coverage for

pregnancy complications for the mother,
congenital illnesses for the child,
hospital care benefit for both mother and child, including for premature births,
death benefit for either mother or child, or both.

Often, many of these complications may require greater medical care and a longer hospital stay, which can lead to shockingly high medical bills. If that should ever happen, your maternity insurance can help to cover the gap left by Medisave (since there are limits to how much you can claim).

Of course, this is one insurance policy no family will ever hope they need to claim :(

As the NTUC Maternity 360 plan offers the most extensive coverage in terms of the widest number of conditions, I'll use them as an illustration for the types of complications you can expect to get covered for:

For the mother, do note that Great Eastern, OCBC, Prudential and AIA only cover 7 - 8 pregnancy complications.

For your child, only Aviva and NTUC cover for 23 congenital illnesses ; the rest of the insurers cover only 17 - 18 conditions.

Is Maternity Insurance Worth It?

This is a tough question to answer, because it depends on many factors. Like all other insurance plans, maternity insurance is one where you buy for a peace of mind (especially if you're really worried about potential complications) and hope you never have to claim it.

What are the risks, or the chances of you having to claim it?

Generally, I feel the risks are quite low, given Singapore's high medical standards and low infant mortality rate. The rate of pregnancy complications and congenital illnesses are relatively low in Singapore as well, so I won't be surprised if most people never end up claiming from their maternity insurance plans (which is a good thing for them, but even better for the insurers).

Moreover, if you have done your foetus screening tests (OSCAR / Harmony / Paranoma, etc) as recommended by most gynaecologists, you would have a good idea beforehand as to whether your child is healthy or at risk for certain illnesses.

Since a pregnancy only lasts 9 months and the majority of deliveries go smoothly (albeit with a lot of pain for many mothers!), you should be thinking of this as a really short term insurance plan.

Is it affordable?

At just $300 - $600 for a $5,000 sum assured, you have to consider if you have the spare cash to spend on this.

Also, note that there's a catch! Most maternity insurance plans come bundled with another policy - typically an Investment-Linked Policy (ILP) or an endowment plan. If you don't believe in converting to another plan after your pregnancy term is over, then you can only choose from 2 insurers : NTUC and Great Eastern.

While I've said repeatedly on this blog that I'm not the biggest fan of ILPs (read why I cancelled mine here), you can also take a different perspective by viewing them as an education or endowment fund for your child. If you're not a savvy investor or a disciplined saver, then perhaps an ILP is what you need to ensure that you have funds parked aside for your child's future. (This is why ILPs aren't suitable for me, but might otherwise be for someone else if they can't enforce their own disciplined savings and investments.)

Using Prudential's PruFirst Gift as an example, you could opt for the $100 / month option for a $100k sum assured together with variable coverage for death, TPD and critical illness. In addition, a portion of your premiums will go towards investing in funds and if you have a baby girl, you'll break even when she's 21 years old ($24k premiums paid vs. $24.2k non-guaranteed cash value assuming 4% investment returns) whereas a baby boy will break even slightly later at age 22. This means that you would have "saved" $24k which your child can now cash out to pay for their university tuition fees, with all assumptions remaining valid.

TLDR Conclusion

So should you buy maternity insurance?

YES if you're worried about pregnancy complications (such as if you're not completely healthy or if you're an older mother),
OR if there's a history of congenital illnesses in your family,
OR if you really want to get your baby on a full coverage life plan before any chance of illnesses can strike.
This is your one and only chance - by buying before your baby is born and while they're still healthy. At just $300 - $600, the cost isn't a lot (skipping your weekly Starbucks will easily help you save that amount) for the peace of mind you'll get with insurance coverage.

NO if you're already tight on cash and your baby is healthy. This is one insurance plan that you could technically risk doing without, since the claims ratio is relatively low in Singapore. However, don't forget that no one buys maternity insurance ever hoping that they'll claim it anyway!

Another thing you need to take note of is how these maternity insurance plans do not cover for your hospitalisation bills, and the daily benefit of $50 - $100 per day may or may not help to offset much, depending on your bill size. The general sentiment towards maternity insurance is that the $5,000 coverage (which is the key focus and reason for buying) is also quite low compared to the premiums you'll be paying.

If you can't afford this expenditure and you're mainly worried about hospitalisation expenses, don't forget that you can always claim it from your Integrated Shield Plan (ISP) as well! Although the coverage is not as extensive compared to maternity insurance plans, ISPs should be sufficient for most cases provided nothing goes wrong.

My husband and I are still evaluating whether we should get maternity insurance (we're not adverse against it because of how affordable it generally is. It is either that, or we set aside $5k as "self-insurance")and I've narrowed it down to Aviva, OCBC and NTUC for now.

Here's my table of comparisons among the 7 maternity insurance plans in Singapore, here it is (please view on your laptop and not your mobile browser):

Please be ethical and do not plagarise / attempt to steal my research and pass it off as your own. I've hidden some "Easter eggs" in the table below so you can bet I'm gonna catch you if you copy it off me wholesale!

	AXA MumCare	AIA Family First Baby	Aviva MyMaternityPlan	NTUC Maternity 360	Prudential PruFirstGift	Great Eastern Flexi Maternity Cover (Essential)	OCBC MaxMaternity Care
Pregnancy Complication Conditions	$5,000 (10 conditions)	$5,000 (8 conditions)	$5,000 (10 conditions)	$5,000 (10 conditions)	$5,000 (7 conditions)	$5,000 (8 conditions)	$5,000 (8 conditions)
Hospital Care Benefit for Mother	$100 / day ; capped at 30 days ; if warded for 10 insured events	$100 / day ; capped at 30 days ; if warded for 8 insured events	1% of Sum Assured / day ; capped at 30 days ; if warded for 18 insured events	1% of Sum Assured / day ; capped at 30 days ; if warded for 8 insured events	NA	1% of Sum Assured / day ; capped at 30 days ; if warded for 8 insured events	$100 / day ; capped at 30 days ; if warded for 8 insured events
Hospital Care Benefit for Child	$100 / day ; capped at 30 days ; Normal ward : Incubation > 3 days or HFMD ; ICU or HDU for any related illness	$100 / day ; capped at 30 days ; Normal ward : Incubation > 3 days or HFMD ; ICU or HDU for any related illness	1% of Sum Assured / day ; capped at 30 days ; Normal ward : Incubation > 3 days or HFMD or Phototherapy or Blood transfusion for severe neonatal jaundice ; ICU or HDU for any related illness	1% of Sum Assured / day ; capped at 30 days ; if warded in ICU or HDU due to 7 conditions	$100 / day ; capped at 30 days ; Normal ward : Incubation > 3 days or premature birth requiring neonatal ICU or HFMD	1% of Sum Assured / day ; capped at 30 days ; if warded in ICU or HDU due to 7 conditions	$100 / day ; capped at 30 days ; Normal ward : Incubation > 3 days or HFMD ; ICU or HDU for any related illness
Death Benefit	$5,000 for Mum	$5,000 for Mum	$5,000 for both Mum and Child	$5,000 for both Mum and Child	$5,000 for Mum ; Refund of premiums for child	$5,000 for both Mum and Child	$5,000 for both Mum and Child
Congenital Conditions Coverage	$5,000 (18 congenital conditions)	$5,000 (18 congenital conditions)	$5,000 (23 congenital conditions)	$5,000 (23 congenital conditions)	$5,000 (17 congenital conditions)	$5,000 (18 congenital conditions)	$5,000 (18 congenital conditions)
Outpatient Phototherapy Benefit	NA	NA	1% of Sum Assured up to 10 days	1% of Sum Assured up to 10 days	NA	NA	NA
Stem Cell Treatment	NA	NA	50% of Sum Assured	NA	NA	NA	NA
Developmental Delay	NA	NA	10% of Sum Assured	NA	NA	NA	NA
Coverage for >1 Child for Same Pregnancy	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
IVF Coverage	Yes, subject to 100% loading	Yes	Yes, subject to 75% loading	Likely to be declined	No	No	No
Bundling Requirement	Yes, need to take up a ILP	Yes, only life or ILP allowed	No if you have an existing Aviva insurance policy; otherwise, need to take up a life for baby or qualifying plan for yourself / spouse	No	Yes, need to take up ILP	Optional	Yes, need to take up ISP for Child
Newborn Cover Purchase Option	GIO with Critical Illness, within 60 days, capped at $150k after enhancement	Transfer of ILP from Mum to Child within 60 days	GIO without Critical Illness, within 90 days, capped at $150k after enhancement	Simplified underwriting with Critical Illness, within 60 days, capped at $150k after enhancement	$300k cover transferred to child's life $200k cover for child's critical illness	GIO with or without Critical Illness, within 90 days	Simplified underwriting with Critical Illness, starts within 15 days
Application Period	16 - 36 weeks of pregnancy	18 - 32 weeks of pregnancy	13 - 36 weeks of pregnancy	13 - 35 weeks of pregnancy	18 - 32 weeks of pregnancy	13 - 40 weeks of pregnancy	13 - 40 weeks of pregnancy
Premiums (Single Payment) for Mums < 30	$340	$360	$326	$390	$320	$542	$443
Premiums (Additional, every year)	Yes, depends on Sum Assured	Yes, depends on Sum Assured	Yes, depends on Sum Assured	No	Yes, depends on Sum Assured, $100 - $300 per month for $100k - $300k respectively	Optional	Yes, depends on Sum Assured

With love,
Budget Babe (and mum-to-be!)

If you've ever used Obike before, open your app and check NOW.

Because the chances are, your $49 deposit is probably gone.

There's a high probability that Obike has sneakily, without your consent, taken your $49 deposit to purchase their "Super VIP plan" for 1095 days.

According to a reader of mine, X, who tipped me off about this, this happened to her earlier this year in April...and she only discovered it today, two months later. Mind you, there was no notification to inform her that her deposit was gone.

A quick glance at Facebook and Reddit shows that she's not the only affected victim.

I'm not among the affected users because a few months ago, I had already sent in a request for the refund of my $49 deposit. And nope, I STILL haven't seen the refund credited back to my account. Neither am I the only one, if you simply head over to Obike's Facebook page here to see how many people are complaining that it has been months and they aren't receiving their refunds either.

14 days my ass. LOL.

X opened her app today and was greeted by the mobile version of their SVIP membership announcement, similar to the one below:

I LOL-ed at "No deposits needed" because clearly, Obike has taken the deposits sitting in idle accounts to purchase the SVIP on her behalf, that is.

A further look into her account's purchase history revealed this:

Here are some snippets of my conversation with X this morning:

They will tell you that you are 'upgraded' to supervip when you first log in. And only when you check your transaction statement you can see that they actually took your deposit to buy that plan without your knowledge.

Yeah ikr!! At time when I agreed in Aug, there probably wasn't this membership thing.

How can you have a refundable deposit then a auto membership thing??

I didn't even have the app install on my phone on 19/4, and I did not receive any notification either.

My 'refundable' deposit is now $0 which means that I have no money to take out anymore cos they used it to buy this plan.

Thus, if you look through your account, you might realise that Obike didn't "automatically" upgrade you to Super VIP (like what they claim when you open the app and log in)...what they did was to use YOUR deposit to purchase it. Without your consent. Without notifying you.

Is this even legal?!?!

Unfortunately, yes, because of this clause in their terms and conditions:

It may be legal, but it most definitely is unethical (in my view).

But hey, there are ethical and unethical businesses around. There are also transparent and not-so-transparent businesses around.

At the end of the day,it is up to us consumers to call out businesses who carry out such unethical / non-transparent practices, so that they'll be held accountable for what they've done. Hopefully, as more people do this, over time, businesses with better and more transparent business practices will then prevail.

Let businesses know that they don't get to do things like this and get away with it.

What should I do if I've been affected?

I'm not sure if emailing Obike will work, but someone I know who made a fuss on Obike's Facebook page about how dishonest this whole thing is has successfully gotten a response from the team and her SVIP membership cancelled, with her $49 going back into deposit mode. She has since requested for the refund of the deposit as well, but like I shared with her, who knows how long that will take, considering my own personal experience and that of many others who are still waiting for our refunds after MONTHS.

So here's what I would suggest:

Leave a comment or private message on Obike's Facebook page stating you're against this practice too since you never consented to such a purchase, nor were you even informed of it.
Request for the cancellation of your SVIP membership and for your $49 to be returned as deposit
It is up to you whether you want to then, in addition, ask for your $49 "refundable deposit" to be returned to your account.

Update: Here's Obike's response.

Considering how the "technical lapse" occurred from as early as April 2018 and Obike is only coming out to apologise today after the whole thing blew out of proportion on Reddit and on their Facebook...is it really a sincere apology or more like a I'm sorry we got caught? Because that's what it sounds like to me.

Moreover, this has been going on for quite some time now. A few of my friends just found that they were also affected, and their app history show that the purchase was made at different times from April till now. So...was this technical lapse persistent for months, and only discovered now? I find that hard to believe, frankly.

In fact, Obike's "apology" sounds just about as sincere as this recent apology by another local Singapore influencer, who went on to write an entire "apology" letter (only after she received over 100 comments slamming her for her original post cyber-bullying which she has since removed, but you can still have a gist of what she did that was so wrong when you look at the comments)while tagging the whole world except the person she claimed to be apologising to. Lol.

If you're interested, I also broke down another poor example of an apology which Breadtalk issued back in 2015 after their soya bean milk saga here.

Businesses (and folks), this is NOT how you do an apology.

With love,

Budget Babe

Astrea IV Class A-1 bonds are the talk of the town right now, and I've received so many DMs about this so I'm finally sitting down to evaluate and write this.

Details:
- The bond is launched by Astrea IV Pte. Ltd, which is an indirect subsidiary of Temasek
- 4.35% interest rate offered
- IPO applications close at 12 noon on 12 June 2018
- You can apply through ATM or online banking via DBS, POSB, OCBC or UOB
- Minimum subscription amount: S$2,000
- You CANNOT use your CPF or SRS funds to apply for this bond.
- Bond starts trading on SGX-ST on 18 June 2018

What are you really buying into?

Now, don't get misled by the above headline published in The Business Times last week - this is NOT a Temasek bond. Rather, it is a bond issued by one of their subsidiaries.

This is a really new and unique asset class because they're neither government-backed nor corporate bonds. Instead, they're private equity bonds. This is the 4th private equity bond that is being issued by Astrea, and the first one that is being opened up to retail investors.

These Astrea IV Class A-1 bonds ("Astrea bonds") will then be used to invest across 36 private equity funds, which are invested into 596 underlying companies. Traditionally, I would dig up details about the investment assets, but since there's 36 funds and almost 600 companies, that's an almost impossible task because much information isn't available about these private companies, and neither does anyone have that much time anyway to scour through all.

The 36 PE funds.

If you're unfamiliar with private equity, what they basically do is to invest in distressed or promising companies, go in with their expertise and restructure or turn the business around (usually making operational or financial improvements), with the final aim (usually) being to sell it off for a profit. As a result, the returns on such investments (when successful) can be tremendous - think 2 to 3 digit percentage figures at least.

So in this case, when you buy these Astrea bonds, you're pooling your cash which will then be used to invest into these funds and underlying companies. The profits will then be used to pay the interest on your bond (4.35%) and finally return you your capital after 5 years.

Given the sheer number of funds and underlying companies, coupled with the fact that the exposure to a single partner / company / sector is quite low (even Blackstone Capital Partners, which is the largest, is merely 10.6% of NAV), the risk here is quite minimal even if one or some fold.

(There's a step-up interest portion in these Astrea IV bonds if they're not reclaimed after 5 years i.e. on 14 June 2023, but I'm not going to go into that because I've no intention to hold it for any longer than that, due largely to opportunity cost. There may be a bonus payment of up to 0.5% at redemption if performance condition is met.

For those of you who are keen on a longer-time holding period, there will be a 1% per year interest step-up rate if the bond is not yet redeemed after 2023.)

Who's behind the bond?

Okay, so now that you know this is NOT a Temasek bond...then who exactly is behind it? That's Azalea Investment Management, which was set up in 2016 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Azalea Asset Management, which is then owned by Temasek Holdings.

Although they're relatively new as an entity, Azalea's management team apparently has extensive experience and institutional knowledge in the private equity space. The senior management team comprises of PE veterans and is led by Ms. Margaret Lui-Chan, who has been with Temasek since 1985.

Temasek and its affiliates have also launched 3 Astrea investment vehicles prior to this.
Check out this really informative Fitch report for more information.

Why is the yield so high?

That was the first question that came to my mind when I read about the bonds being launched. Compare this to the Singapore Savings Bonds which is pretty much 100% risk-free (since it is backed by the Singapore government) and yields 2.63% for this month's issuance. Now contrast this to a riskier corporate bond such as Aspial's bonds, which were launched for 5.25% previously.

If this is from (albeit indirectly) Temasek, the next financial juggernaut in Singapore, then why is the yield so high?! Wouldn't it make more sense to price it at about 3+% yield, since the brand name Temasek alone would warrant some sort of a premium and perceived safety net?

According to Ho Ching, she says the main aim of this bond is largely to help retail investors in Singapore supplement their retirement income.

Why is the yield so low?

You didn't read that wrong :P for investors who truly understand the huge kind of returns that are seen in private equity (remember, 2 or even 3 percentage digits can be fairly common, if they spot the right gems / get lucky on the sale), why is the yield being offered to A1 bondholders here so low at just 4.35%?

This can be easily explained using high risk, high returns; low risk, low returns.

Firstly, the minimum investment amount to participate in Class A-1 bonds is just S$2,000, in contrast to Class A-2 and B (US$ 200k each).

The risks in Astrea IV Class A-1 bonds in terms of default are also significantly lower than the other bonds issued in this exercise, as Class A-1 bonds will be redeemed first in any event before A-2 or B. This means that even if Astrea faces liquidity or financial problems, A-1 bondholders will be paid first.

Since the risk undertaken by class A-2 and B bondholders are higher (they only get paid after A-1), they're compensated with a higher yield in order to incentivise them to buy these bonds. Unfortunately, you don't get to buy them as they're not open to the public and have already been fully subscribed anyway.

Are my returns guaranteed?

No. You MUST understand this point.

However, the risk of default is pretty low, in my opinion, due to how this has been structured. In the event of a shortfall, Astrea IV also has a 10-year committed capital call facility with DBS which will step in to cover the payments :)

When can I get back my money?

You can sell the bonds anytime after 18 June 2018 on SGX, just like how you would with ordinary stocks. Otherwise, you can also choose to hold the bonds until its call date on 14 June 2023, or even longer if you want to be entitled to the step-up interest (provided the bonds aren't fully redeemed by then).

Is there a chance that I'll lose my money? Will Temasek save us if anything happens to Astrea?

The direct risks to bondholders which you should be aware of are:

- the bond price might fall below its issued price on the bond market
- the Manager might not be able to fulfil its interest repayments
- the Manager might not be able to reclaim the bonds and pay back the original capital sum to bondholders

Now, it is important to note that Temasek Holdings is not guaranteeing these bonds. This is even explicitly mentioned in the prospectus, that is, if you bothered to read through (all 306 pages of) it. Therefore, if the bond manager fails to repay the bonds and/or interest, there is no guarantee that Temasek will step in to save bondholders.

Are they capable of repaying the bond interest and capital?

As with all bonds, you should always evaluate the financial health of the investment manager before you decide whether to buy or stay out. Remember, that's the main reason why I said I was staying away from Aspial and Hyflux bonds back then?

Since Astrea's financials are not entirely public and we can only rely on the numbers presented in their prospectus covering a limited timeframe of August 2017 - March 2018, a few figures to highlight are:
- USD 48.6 million of profits generated
- USD 342.5 million was used for their investing activities

That doesn't really tell us much, especially when there's no year-on-year comparison to gauge how they've fared. Therefore, we can only look to their Loan-to-Value below, where you'll see that Class A-1 bonds have a LTV of 16.5%, which is relatively low, and thus the chances of default should also be quite low since only $181 million in the reserve account is needed to fully redeem Class A-1 bonds.

Sounds good, but what's the catch?!

I'm a huge skeptic, so this deal honestly sounded too good to be true to me. But after scouring through the prospectus and various bloggers / investment houses' take on this bond IPO, I struggle to find anything realllllly negative about it.

Initially, I thought, is this some conspiracy?! Why would Temasek issue a bond with such a high yield?! Can't they get institutional or corporate loans for this? I bet companies would be scrambling just to subscribe! Or just get the private banks to issue it to their high-net-worth customers? Then I thought, or maybe they're in financial trouble, that's why they're raising this money from us mortals? But then I realised that the total sum of S$242 million raised really doesn't count for much, considering Astrea's access and connections to Temasek Holdings.

My cousin attended the talk on this bond yesterday and I got her to ask them this question on my behalf. The answer by their CEO, Ms. Margaret Lui-Chan was that their vision is to open to retail investors. Lol.

So I can only say, looks like Ho Ching might be right after all, and this bond truly is being created to help retail investors? You can be the judge.

Disclaimer: I am NOT sponsored, nor do I have any connections nor payment from Temasek or Astrea or anyone, for that matter, in exchange for this post.

TLDR Summary
This is probably the longest IPO analysis I've ever written for a single product, so if you got bored halfway, I don't blame you. Here's a quick breakdown of my view towards Astrea IV Class A-1 Bonds:

Pros
- This is one of the safest bonds I've seen in a long time, especially given the A-rating by two reputable rating agencies (Fitch and S&P), not to mention Ho Ching putting her own personal name behind this (I assume, since she didn't correct the BT article nor ask them to apologise / correct / take it down).
- Long track record since this is already the 4th Astrea bond being launched, with the first in 2006.
- There are some quality PE managers in the 36 funds listed above, including Blackstone and KKR. Private equity folks should recognise these names ;)
- The Sponsor owns 55% equity interest, so they do have their skin in the game and are less likely to want to see this fail.
- Their marketing is rock solid and has definitely generated the hype needed for this to become over-subscribed. Talk about FOMO!
- The first few pages of their IPO prospectus is just lovely! Kudos to whoever designed it :D

Cons
- It is not easy to understand, and is the first of its kind for retail investors.
- It was slightly mis-marketed (in my opinion) since there was so much emphasis and hype on their connections to Temasek, leading many investors to think this is essentially a Temasek Holdings bond.

You can also watch this short (marketing) video explaining the bonds here:

So Budget Babe, are you subscribing?!

Considering the hype and 4.35% yield, I'll be subscribing to these bonds and leave it as part of my bond portfolio (together with my CPF). After all, I'm the biggest skeptic of most corporate bonds, but this is one in recent years that actually managed to get my attention.

With their connection to Temasek, I doubt that Astrea will default on the bond interest payments, and I don't think their bond prices will fluctuate too much on the open market either.

But please don't follow me - do your own homework! Here's the full 306-pages of the bond IPO prospectus as well as the Fitch report for you to read before you make your next move. Nonetheless, I'm betting this is going to be oversubscribed, and can only hope that I get some allocation from my application!

With love,
Dawn

Did you know about these hidden costs in money transfers?

75% of Singaporeans don't understand the true cost of sending money overseas – which includes both upfront fees and an exchange rate markup.

If you’ve ever transferred money abroad, you’d be familiar with how the money that’s received on the other end is usually much lesser than you thought it’ll be.

I first experienced this when I had to make USD transfers for my crypto transactions and trades last year. There were so many hidden costs, to which I mostly attribute to:

(i) a higher exchange rate charged by the banks

(ii) a service fee for the transfer

In some transfers, banks go through numerous third parties as well before the money reaches the other end. In such cases, each third party takes a fee as well, so your capital becomes smaller and smaller.

Even if there's a $0 transfer fee charged, it doesn't necessarily mean that is the best value-for-money option...because you ought to measure it by how much you receive on the other side, and not how much you're charged for the transfer.

So when someone told me about TransferWise and how the fintech seeks to disrupt the money transfers market, he certainly got my attention.

What really intrigued me was how TransferWise charges just under $6 to send S$1k to the UK, in contrast to the other banks, particularly Standard Chartered and HSBC, who charge S$55 - S$57 for a single overseas transaction.

$0 fees / zero commissions promotions aren't always the cheapest

Banks that offer $0 fees / zero commission are great...but if this comes at the expense of a higher exchange rate, that's where consumers need to be careful as well. In fact, it'll be best that you always check.

Don't assume that both routes are priced the same

I was surprised to see TransferWise recommend customers who are looking to transfer GBP to EUR to use Western Union instead, based on grounds that Western Union is consistently cheaper than TransferWise on this route.

However, when you switch the route and try sending EUR to GBP, the fees become 6 times more. Western Union now becomes the cheapest in one direction, to being the most expensive (even more than the banks) in the opposite direction. You should be asking, why are people charged more to send money than people sending in the opposite question?

That's why it pays to always compare, compare, compare. Or stick to a provider who's known for (almost) always being the cheapest, but still be open to alternatives or the occasional promotions when other competitors come up with them.

My Review of TransferWise

TransferWise is a fintech company with a mission to allow customers and businesses to send money overseas at lower costs. They're able to do this as they've built a global network of (their own) international accounts, which allows them to send your money in over 60 different currencies for up to 8 times cheaper than a bank.

They're now available in close to 60 countries, covering over 500 currency routes. Whether you're transferring money to India, Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan...or to Europe and the U.S., you can see the whole list below:

Is TransferWise regulated?

That was the first question I asked, haha! So yes, aside from being regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), you can also check out their respective in-country licenses and approvals here. Being regulated under the FCA also means TransferWise is subject to the same rules as banks, so you don't have to worry about the safety of your money.

It is relatively easy to get started - simply sign up on their website and follow the instructions!

Once you've entered your details as well as that of your recipient (for them to send your money to), you'll be instructed on how to make payment to their local account in your home country, and then you can simply sit back and wait for the transfer to take place!

How does TransferWise work?

Waitttttt, what's the catch?! Surely there must be a reason why others have to pay such high fees and TransferWise doesn't. What's their trade secret?

It isn't rocket science, actually. Instead of paying exchange rate markups AND transfer fees, TransferWise guarantees the mid-market rate (on Reuters) on every transfer. A simple illustration is this:
- You transfer money to TransferWise Singapore
- TransferWise Singapore transfers to TransferWise London

Since money doesn't actually cross borders (i.e. the international transfer is a combination of two local transfers), they're able to bypass the third-parties and middlemen, and this is simply a transfer between TransferWise's own accounts, that's how they can offer lower rates to consumers like you and I.

Today, more than 3 million people around the world use TransferWise. As a result, they're also one of the few profitable fintech startups in the scene.

You can also read more about how they do it here.

Who I think will find TransferWise useful

There are quite a few groups of people whom I think will find TransferWise a godsend in helping them cut costs of their international money transfers.

These are:

1. Overseas exchange / studies - parents or students

If you're a student studying overseas, you can get your parents to remit your money to you using TransferWise. Whether you're studying in Australia, US or the UK, TransferWise has local accounts in pretty much all the major countries. Given how many Singaporean students go on overseas exchanges and need to pay for tuition, accommodation and other living expenses, TransferWise should be quite helpful in this case.

When I went for my (two) overseas exchange programs during my university years, it cost a bomb to transfer money from Singapore to abroad, and sending it via international bank transfers weren't cheap at all!

2. Expats sending overseas to your own accounts

If you're an expat working in any of the 59 countries shown above, and need to send money back to your own home country account, you'll find this useful. Many expats presently use TransferWise for this purpose to send to their own account(s) in the US, India, Europe and more.

3. Foreign workers

Whether you're a blue or white-collared worker here, who came to Singapore looking for a better job or higher pay prospects so you can support your family members in Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia or elsewhere...TransferWise can help.

In fact, many foreign domestic workers use TransferWise since they've accounts in most countries in Asia, where many of our FDWs are from.

4. Business owners who need to pay your suppliers from overseas

Many businesses here rely on overseas suppliers, and payments routed through PayPal or your bank often charge a high fee. You can avoid or reduce those fees by going through TransferWise instead! Simply add your supplier as a recipient and the money will be transferred from a local account there to theirs. The money you save will be substantial, especially if you've a high frequency of payments!

5. Small business owners who need to hire and pay freelancers from overseas

Just hired a freelance web designer, developer, copywriter or coder from abroad? Or if you're like some business owners I know, who rely on overseas writers to churn out their content and orders, you can easily make payment to them every month now via TransferWise.

6. ANYONE who needs to hire and pay freelancers from overseas

Just hired a freelance designer overseas to help design your wedding invites? I know of one bride who hired a Russian designer and had issues transferring the money when it came down to payment time. You can easily bypass this hurdle by using TransferWise as well!

Here's what other Singaporeans are saying about TransferWise:

Of course, don't just take my word for the lower fees - go compare for yourself here, or simply calculate using this nifty calculator below:

I hope this helps all of you when it comes to sending your money safely and cheaply abroad.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. In line with my advertising policy (which you can review here), I only promote and recommend stuff that I personally benefit from AND which I feel my readers will get great value from. Overpriced, overhyped or simply a brand with huge marketing budget to throw for a sponsored post? Some influencers may do that, but most certainly not me, and long-time readers can attest to this.

With love,
Budget Babe

What is a credit co-operative? Unless you’re in one, most Singaporeans do not know of them nor the important role they play in society. More importantly, you may not be aware that there are plenty of benefits you can get from being a member of a credit co-op.

Co-ops are basically regulated social enterprises. They are organised on a voluntary basis, democratically controlled and member-owned, to achieve the common social or economic aim that benefits their members and/or society at large. In fact, co-ops are founded on values of self-help, mutual assistance, equality, care for community and co-operation.

As its name suggests, credit co-ops provide financial services to their members, and as I mentioned earlier, there are plenty of benefits you can get from being a member of a credit co-op – including savings with attractive interest rates, access to loans at competitive interest rates, and more. They help you grow your savings/nest egg for the future and/or if you need to take loans, you won’t be saddled with a huge debt.

You might not be familiar with the term credit co-op, but surely you’ve seen some of these brands before! Take a look:

Some co-ops are profession-based in the sense that only individuals belonging to certain professions can join as members. For instance, if you are a teaching staff or full-time employee of a school, you can join the Singapore Teachers’ Co-Operative Society Ltd. Whilst staff from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, Certis CISCO, AETOS etc. can join the Singapore Police Co-Operative Society. So do check if your organisation has a credit co-op that you can join! For the rest of us, there are also credit co-ops that are open to public membership e.g. TCC Credit Co-Operative. There’s a really great introductory article that you can read here for more information on some other co-ops in Singapore.

How You Can Grow Your Savings with Credit Co-Ops

One good example is that of the Singapore Teachers’ Co-Operative Society Ltd, which gives an interest rate of up to 3.08% per annum on its bonus savings account upon maturity. This is relatively higher than similar products offered by financial institutions.

The Singapore Government Staff Credit Co-Operative Society Ltd is another good example. It is a co-op for public service officers looking to build financial resilience and a “nest egg” for the future. If you are employed in the Singapore Civil Service, Statutory Boards and Government-linked Companies, you are eligible to join them as a member.

Their member benefits include:

· Maximise financial growth through savings

· Receive FD for better returns

· Loans at reasonable interest rates

· Hospitalisation benefits

· Educational awards

· Free insurance coverage

· Loyalty benefits

· Funeral fund grants

· Birthday gift

· Provision of family membership and other privileges such as highly subsidised overseas tours and annual gala dinner

Taking a Loan with Credit Co-ops

Here on this blog, I’ve always advocated avoiding loans if you can help it (with some exceptions to the rule, such as a housing loan) and paying them off as soon as you can before you spiral down the path of bad debt.

I’ve also mentioned numerous times at my talks that credit card debt is something you should fear and be wary of. The interest rate on your credit card (if you don’t pay off in time every month) is much higher than most people think. It is easy to fall into the cycle of simply paying the minimum $50 payment each month, but many people forget that there are plenty of other rollover charges, not to mention an exorbitant interest rate. That is how credit card debts can so quickly spiral out of control! UOB and DBS charges 25.9% per annum whereas OCBC charges slightly higher interest of 25.92% on all outstanding amounts owed.

Source: The CPF Board, YouTube

Borrowing from a moneylender, especially an unlicensed one (like loan sharks), can be even more detrimental. If you’re not careful, your debt can easily snowball into an avalanche that you may not be able to pay off even if you sold all your assets.

But what about if one REALLY is cash-strapped and needs a loan?

Well, if I ever had to recommend a loan, then I would say to go for a loan from a credit co-op instead. They are an alternate means of seeking financial assistance when you need cash, and since they’re less profit-driven than most commercial enterprises, credit co-ops tend to be more willing to go the extra mile for their members. This includes extending loans to lower-income members or even rescheduling members’ loans, and they can even work out a debt restructuring plan with you to help clear it off.

AUPE Credit Co-Operative Limited, for instance, distributes loans to its members for the purpose of:

· Children’s educational needs

· Medical expenses

· House renovation

Members of co-ops can take short to medium term loans as the interest rate is relatively lower according to their websites. This is a HUGE difference if you compare to the interest charged by credit cards and moneylenders and are often even more competitive than personal loans offered by commercial banks.

So if you ever need to take a loan (although I sure hope you’ll never have to, but I understand life has a funny way of throwing us unexpected surprises sometimes), the ONLY place I’ll recommend you to go would be to a credit co-op rather than the usual credit card loans or seeking out moneylenders which many people resort to.

If this has piqued your interest, and you’re keen to learn more about the various co-operatives in Singapore, head over to SNCF’s website to find out more!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post written for the Singapore National Co-operative Federation to promote greater awareness of credit co-operatives in Singapore. All opinions are that of my own.

When I first found out about my pregnancy, my two biggest fears were that of (i) losing my child due to a miscarriage and (ii) being discriminated against at work.

Image source

For all the talk on gender equality in Singapore, I'll be honest and tell you that women, especially pregnant mothers, really do get it worse. Of course, there are some great workplaces, but there are also plenty of companies that aren't that supportive of pregnant workers.

I personally did not announce my pregnancy until I was safely in the second trimester because I wanted to make sure my foetus was stable, and also because I feared that my employer would then find an excuse to terminate me due to having a worker disappear for 4 upcoming months (maternity leave).

From MOM website

According to the Ministry of Manpower, dismissing a pregnant employee is against the law. The exception is if termination occurs due to disciplinary misconduct, but the onus is on the employer to undertake a thorough inquiry before deciding whether to dismiss an employee or take other forms of disciplinary action.

A pregnant employee who has been at her job for at least 3 months has maternity protection under the law, which means that if she is dismissed or retrenched without sufficient cause, the employer is still required to pay her maternity benefits. Of course, 50% of this is shared with the government, who pays for 8 weeks of maternity leave.

But what most of you may not know is that there are plenty of covert ways to discriminate as well.

So while a company cannot dismiss a pregnant employee...but employers can make the employee's life so hard and stressful that they're basically forcing the employee to quit.

Here are 3 real-life stories from people I know who had this happen to them.
*Names have been changed to protect their privacy.

Pregnancy Discrimination Case #1: Momo*

The one who lost her baby

Currently aged 32, mother to 1 child.

Q: How did you experience pregnancy discrimination in your workplace, and what did your employer do?

I was 30 years old back then and had been working for the company for close to 2 years when I finally broke the news that I was pregnant with my first child (after I had safely passed my first trimester). While I enjoyed working there, it was a really unpleasant pregnancy journey in that workplace with zero support and those of us pregnant were basically staying just so we can get our rightful maternity benefits.

It was my first pregnancy, and my boss appeared to be supportive at first, but then she started throwing hints at me to "reconsider my career options". This went on all the way until I hit my third trimester, when she started sending me out to cover events almost every week. I was then already heavily pregnant like a balloon, and everyone knew she was doing it on purpose as we have 5 of us in the team, but I was the only one she sent out most of the time.

It was one of those moments where you either bite through the hardship or give up. I had to coax and convince myself that it was a good way to exercise back then just to stay sane.

Then, in my third trimester, my boss called me in for an appraisal, and started saying that my performance was "below average" for the first time. She said that if I didn't buck up over the next few months (which was less than 1.5 months), they would have no choice but to ask me to go.

Knowing that I was about to go on maternity leave, I knew without a doubt that my boss raised this up to cover herself (so that she can dismiss me when I'm back from my maternity leave). After all, there was no mention about my "below average" performance before that at all.

As a result, I was super stressed out back then and it got so bad that my gynae said I needed some rest towards the last two weeks of my estimated delivery date.

Q: What happened to you and your child in the end?

I tried delaying my appraisal by taking hospitalisation leave, but the stress was real and while I was rehabilitating at home, I lost my first baby at week 39.

The management was informed, and most of the heads of departments came to visit me (except for her, my direct boss and supervisor). Not sure if she was feeling guilty, but I didn't have much bandwidth back then to really care about her feelings as I was still grappling from the lost of my otherwise perfectly healthy baby, who was fine all the way up until all of this happened.

Thereafter, during my maternity leave, I thought everything should resume back to normal (since I don't have a kid anymore, right?) but to my surprise, my boss was still pursuing this and asked me back to the office for the appraisal. I wasn't sure what's legal and what's not back then, but surely employees on maternity leave are exempted from this? When I went back for the appraisal, she hinted about how my current situation may implicate the entire team since I may not be mentally stable for a person who has gone through such chronic loss.

Q: Did you stay or leave after your maternity leave ended?

I was totally defeated by her perseverance and heartlessness, so I decided to go with what she wanted, and left right after my maternity leave finished.

It has been proven on numerous occasions that my boss (who's my direct supervisor) isn't a big fan of employees with kids. To her, having kids means you spend lesser time at work. You are deemed as someone less productive in the team. Staying on would have only made my life tougher since she was so determined to get rid of me. For someone who had no qualms sending me out so often even in my third trimester, what else could she not do? Previously, I already witnessed a female colleague of mine getting transferred out after she was pregnant, for no particular reason.

Q: As a working mother, what were your biggest fears while you were pregnant?

My biggest fear is meeting unsupportive bosses again.

I would rather be penalised for not doing my work properly, than be penalised for being pregnant.

Q: If you could turn back time, what do you wish you had done differently?

I shouldn't have let her take advantage of my kindness and willingness to prove myself to her. Since I needed rest, I should have just told her off firmly. I shouldn't have been afraid of her; nothing matters more than losing something more precious (my stillborn baby).

If I could turn back time, I wish I had diligently recorded down those conversations with my boss and report to the management. There was already one miscarriage in the team before me (my colleague was literally bleeding at her desk while rushing some work for her)!

Q: What do you wish your employer had done instead?

Expectant mothers don't really need extra attention or sympathy, it is all about forward planning and letting us fit into roles that we can excel in at different points of our life.

Pregnancy Discrimination Case #2: Ari*

The one who was asked to induce delivery at 32 weeks and follow her boss'
"family planning" calendar for approval on when to get pregnant

Currently aged 29, mother to 2 kids.

Q: How did you experience pregnancy discrimination in your workplace, and what did your employer do?

My story is about what I was made to go through during both my pregnancies in the same workplace.

During my first pregnancy, my female boss (EH) would always pretentiously show colleagues and clients as though she cared for me, by asking me to rest more, sit down and not walk too frequently.

But it was only the start of my nightmares in that workplace.

During Christmas 2016, when I was 9 months pregnant, EH instructed me to climb onto a chair and put up the deco on the wall, right before 6pm even though she was well aware of my gynae checkup appointment right after work. Despite me asking her if we could wait till the following week when my colleague returns from Shanghai so we can do it together (since it wasn't an urgent task), EH insisted on getting me, a pregnant woman close to delivery, to climb and do it.

In my 32nd week of pregnancy, EH even had the audacity to ask me to go for an induced labour, just so I could return earlier to support her work.

I explained to her that the baby's organs were not yet fully developed and doing so would lead to premature birth with higher health risks. EH replied that it is totally fine for my baby to sleep in the NICU incubator, even continuing her "joke" by assuring that my baby will surely survive and not to worry!

After confirming the dates of my maternity leave with HR (based on the EDD provided by my gynae), together with forms that had already been acknowledged by EH, another blow came. Right on the very last day of my work before I was due for delivery, EH suddenly asked me to delay my planned maternity leave so that I could work on her Japan event (which she had left untouched to the very last minute).

She even laughingly added that I should work until my waterbag bursts, and that she will surely assist by calling the ambulance and get the janitor to clean up the leaked water on the floor!

When I returned to work after my maternity leave, I planned for and submitted my childcare leave for my baby's vaccination by giving HR ample notice. As most parents would be aware, polyclinic vaccinations are usually scheduled 1 month prior, and any rescheduling of appointments may result to a few weeks of postponement which is not encouraged for newborns. (According to MOM, employers are strongly encouraged to grant childcare leave for matters that cannot be postponed, such as child immunisation or school registration.)

On that very day, EH asked me to reschedule my baby's vaccination date. Her reason was not due to any urgent or important work, but ridiculously, because of an office building fire drill exercise. Having been with the company for 5 years, I was never instructed before that my physical attendance is of such importance (I'm neither the executor or planner) that applied leave needs to be suddenly cancelled just for it! Even after I explained to EH about the polyclinic appointments and what the postponement would mean, she insisted that I call the clinic and postpone my baby's vaccination.

Returning from maternity leave was a nightmare, as I was often subjected to her unfair accusations that I was the one causing our team to be so busy due to my 4 months of maternity leave, even though I had properly handed over all duties and was even constantly replying emails during my leave period!

It then got worse. Out of nowhere, EH decided to create a "family plan" within our department to dictate when colleagues are allowed to get pregnant.

She indicated in her calendar that my colleague, J, should conceive at end 2017, whereas my next available date to conceive shall be decided by her on end 2018.

By God's grace, we hit the jackpot once again and I became pregnant with my second baby in June 2017. Of course, this was against EH's "family planning" calendar dates, which I believe isn't even legal in Singapore in the first place.

Soon after I informed EH that I was pregnant with my second child, my nightmare got worse.

EH began banging her drawer loudly for numerous times without any rhyme or reason. She would throw tantrums out of nowhere (these were uncharacteristic of her during my previous time in the company). The discrimination was obviously levelled at me, for instance, every teammate was issued a new laptop except for me, even though my notebook had already been declared beyond repair by our IT department.

The childcare leave which I applied for was purposely left unapproved by EH. When followed up, she denied ever receiving those leave applications due to a system glitch, but was later embarrassingly refuted by HR that there was no system glitch at all, who then further confirmed that all leave applications had been processed immediately to approvers.

After much hesitation, I decided to finally escalate the unfairness of the matter to our Managing Director. However, instead of following our MD's recommendation to have a proper dialogue with the team, EH simply brushed off the feedback by telling our MD that I was going through post-natal depression.

Q: What happened to you and your child in the end?

These went on and on...but thankfully, despite the constant work discrimination and stress I faced throughout those months, by God's strength, my second baby was safely delivered earlier this year in March 2018. My first baby was also well and safe. I did not listen to EH to induce labour early, obviously!

Q: Did you stay or leave after your maternity leave ended?

I liked my job very much and really hoped to continue working in the company, but the constant discrimination and insulting remarks from EH eventually left me no choice but to leave after the end of my (second) maternity leave.

Q: As a working mother, what were your biggest fears while you were pregnant?

I feared for my baby's health, because I was under so much stress. Even when I clearly delivered my work on time, EH would make unnecessary comments about my baby being the cause of my depression, which I never even had!

Q: If you could turn back time, what do you wish you had done differently?

I would have chosen to be firm and stand up to EH, telling her that mothers should not be allowed to go through such unnecessary treatment or remarks. I wish I had stayed firm and not been discouraged by her thoughtless and wicked remarks.

I would also have filed a formal complaint to MOM, our company global HR and global compliance that such work behaviour should not be tolerated.

Q: What do you wish your employer had done instead?

EH to apologise for her irresponsible remarks and deeds, and that such practices should not happen again to the next pregnant colleague in our workplace.

Pregnancy Discrimination Case #3: Coco*

The one who still feels her boss is responsible for the loss of her baby

Currently aged 40, mother to 3 kids.

Q: How did you experience pregnancy discrimination in your workplace, and what did your employer do?

Somehow I keep meeting bad bosses. For my firstborn, I had just started work at my new workplace when I found out I was pregnant. It took me a few weeks before I told my boss about it, and I informed her before the third month because I wanted to be fair to the company. But clearly, I was just being naive.

She was really nice to me up until I told her, and once said to me and another new colleague that she was sooooo glad that we were on board. But after announcing my pregnancy, she turned cold and subsequently refused to pass my probation even though I had done nothing wrong (except for getting pregnant).

I worked very hard when I was there, and knocked off work late almost every single day (9 to 10pm). I even had to work on certain weekends, which I did without complaint.

For certain events, other managers were granted a replacement off, but when I asked, she said I shouldn't be asking for it. So I kept quiet.

Q: What happened to you and your child in the end?

I delivered my firstborn safely, but in another workplace, I encountered pregnancy discrimination again and halfway through, my third baby suddenly stopped growing. I thought it could be stress because it was really not easy working for my boss, and when another miscarriage happened to another one of my colleagues later on, I was like, gosh, our boss really was the common factor.

She even gave me so much crap and told me she wanted me to stop pumping breastmilk during office hours. I lost my baby while working for her, and till today, I still feel she's the cause of my loss!

Q: Did you stay or leave after your maternity leave ended?

For my first job, I chose to leave. Before the end of my maternity leave, my boss called me and told me she had to demote me because I was not around for 6 months (4 months of maternity + 2 months for hospitalisation leave).

While I was clearing my stuff from my office desk, the assistant HR director came and apologised, saying that this is not their practice. I asked what they were going to do to her, and he said they had already spoken to her and she's not allowed to approach staff like this.

Yet, this did not affect her in any way. She's still a high flyer today.

Q: As a working mother, what were your biggest fears while you were pregnant?

That I would be replaced.

Q: If you could turn back time, what do you wish you had done differently?

I only wish I had reported her to MOM, or brought it up to higher management instead of taking it in quietly.

Q: What do you wish your employer had done instead?

I wish they had been more understanding. I was pregnant with my first child and was then not sure about everything, even having panic attacks so often that my husband, who originally wanted me to stay on and claim my benefits, got so worried that he asked me to quit for the sake of my sanity.

I held on because I really liked my job. Who would have known?

--------

Final note: In all my years of blogging, this article has probably been the most difficult to write, just because of all the emotions and level of unfairness that I felt for these women while interviewing them and hearing their stories.

All these stories are real and by real life Singaporean mothers, who had faced pregnancy discrimination in their workplaces.

Yes, pregnancy discrimination is more real than you think it is.

As for myself, I'm still waiting to see what will happen to me at my workplace. It has been even harder and more stressful lately, but I'm sincerely hoping that the company I'm with will not do anything nasty to me and discriminate me for being pregnant.

For those of you who know me, it is no secret that I am a big advocate of insurance. In fact, I see it as a non-negotiable purchase in our lives, and would rather spend on this than any branded goods anytime.

I believe so strongly in insurance that I've written quite extensively on this topic, including:

important questions to ask your insurance agent (aka how to sieve out the bad eggs)
your guide to hospitalisation insurance (aka Integrated Shield Plans) in Singapore
should you buy hospitalisation insurance when you're already covered by MediShield Life and your employer? (answer = yes!)
why so many consumers find their medical claims rejected (and what you can do to ensure it doesn't happen to you)
why you don't have to buy whole life insurance (if you have no dependents)
are retirement saving plans offered by insurance companies a good deal?
the 7-year historical fund performance of insurance companies (2015)
why I'm not the biggest fan of Investment-Linked Plans (and why I cancelled mine)
how much in commissions do insurance agents earn?
should you buy term or whole life insurance?
whether you should get maternity insurance when you're pregnant (including a realllly comprehensive comparison I spent hours doing up across 7 insurers here in Singapore)
the best car insurance for (safe drivers) only
the importance of getting home insurance and what's covered
how to buy your insurance directly
should you buy direct insurance or through your agent?

As a new parent-to-be, one of the biggest concerns I've been deliberating over includes the type of insurance plans I ought to and want to get for my child.

But as much as I advocate buying insurance, I'm also always reiterating the fact that you should NOT be overpaying for your insurance plans. Some are necessities, some are good-to-haves, others are only-if-you-can-afford-it-comfortably.

Image Credits

And for my child (or yours!), here are the top few insurance plans I think are essential (in order of priority):

1. Hospitalisation / Integrated Shield Plan

I would also recommend going for the highest level of coverage (i.e. private hospitals) if you can afford it. That's because you can always downgrade the policy anytime, but upgrading from a public hospital coverage to a private one may not always work. Plus, should anything happen to your child, I'll bet most parents will want to just go for private consultations and treatment (I'm saying this based on what my parent friends are doing and have recommended me to do the same).

Do note that the earliest you can buy insurance plans for your child is after 14 days (but not if they have jaundice, in which case you've to wait until the jaundice has been completely cleared), so if you want any hospitalisation coverage for your newborn during the first 0 - 14 days of birth, only a maternity insurance plan will offer you that (but there are apparently no insurers who cover for jaundice, based on the info I've been given by a few agents).

Hospitalisation coverage plans may seem a little pricey at almost $1000+ for your child every year, but we believe it'll be worth it. Even as a child, I was hospitalised for close to 3 weeks and it was thanks to my mother's foresight of having bought insurance that we were able to focus on the treatment and not worry about not being able to pay the bills.

Image Credits

2. Personal Accident Plan

Children are known to run into injuries and accidents, so this is another good basic plan to have. Other stuff like the spread of infectious diseases or Hand Foot Mouth Disease (HFMD) can also be quite common among toddlers, as well as doctor visits due to insect bites, falls, knocks and cuts, development of allergies, etc...and all these can usually be covered under a PA plan. Your plan might also help offset the financial burden of your childcare or school fees in the event of any accident, medical leave or even home quarantine (due to infectious diseases).

Although I don't personally have a PA plan (my husband does, but has never claimed from it either, so I really don't see the point as most accidents are quite minor and we don't even see a doctor or TCM sometimes on the rare occasions that it happens and it isn't serious enough for hospitalisation), I see this as essential for children given how prone they are to accidents, so don't skimp on this!

Do note though, that if you're lucky enough to be working in a company which has great employee benefits, check if your company insurance plan is extended to your spouse and/or children as well (mine isn't, but some of my friends do have this!). If so, you may not need to purchase an additional PA plan.

Good news for those who do? It doesn't cost too much!

3. Whole Life Plan with Critical Illness

I used to think getting a whole life plan on a child's life was hypocritical, since the payout will go to the parent if anything happens to their child.

But when it comes to whole life plans with CI coverage, that's where I'll make an exception, and this was also one of the key reasons why I was interested in getting maternity insurance while I was pregnant - so that my child can get access to a life plan with CI and without medical underwriting. Otherwise, waiting till something happens might then be too late to buy, due to exclusion clauses on pre-existing illnesses that will last a lifetime.

The cost of this plan is not cheap though, so ultimately it depends on your budget and affordability. If you have the spare cash for this, then this might be a good plan to consider adding on.

Image Credits

4. Endowment Plan

If you need a plan to basically force you to save for your child's future (eg. university fees), then perhaps getting an endowment plan might just give you that discipline that you lack.

However, I'm not the biggest fan of this personally, as (i) the returns are generally too low for me (ii) I don't like having the money locked up (iii) I don't need anyone to enforce discipline on me when it comes to saving money, haha (iv) I don't like having to wait for X number of years before I get to withdraw without any penalty and (v) I see more value in DIY-ing my own "endowment plan" for my child - by saving and investing money.

5. Investment Linked Plan (ILPs)

Almost everyone who knows me will know my stance towards ILPs - basically I'm strongly against them, and a huge advocate of "buy term invest the rest" instead. However, I will concede that ILPs might just be good for those who do NOT have the discipline to save and invest, because at least this is a forced safety net that keeps you covered then.

You can combine #3 with this, and go for an ILP which takes part of your premiums paid to invest in market funds and hopefully get more returns than a traditional endowment savings plan. However, this also comes with the risk that the funds may not perform as well (not up to the 4% or 8% projected returns you see in your policy document), so this really depends on you.

--

Another form of insurance (non-financial) that I'm now looking into is biological insurance i.e. cord blood banking. Will update more after I'm done with my research and also speaking to SCBB and our 3 local private cord blood banks to find out more!

Image Credits: Cells4life

Do I really need to get all?!

Obviously not! Ultimately, I would prioritise the above insurance plans in their respective order of #1 to #5, and if you have the budget for it, then going for 1 to 4 (or 5, in replacement of 4) might be a good move.

However, if you're already stretched enough from having to care for and raise a child, then perhaps 1 and 2 might be good enough for a start.

As always, weighing affordability factors against the risks you want to take is key to making your own decision when it comes to insurance.

If you're curious, my husband and I decided to get a (private) hospitalisation plan, personal accident plan and life with critical illness coverage for our child. As for #4 and #5, we do our own investments and will also be creating an investment portfolio for our child to cover that.

As always, speak with a trusted financial advisor to work out the plans for you and your family! Check out my article here on questions to ask your FA to check whether they're working for their own benefit or yours. If you don't know of any trusted agent, you can always drop me an email and I'll be glad to point you to the insurance agent I work with and entrust my family's policies to. However, do try to ask around in your circle of family and friends first!

With love,
Budget Babe

So we headed to London for our babymoon to spend some time together before our little one arrives, and here's our itinerary.

It wasn't particularly "budget" this time, because it is quite hard to be fully on a budget when you're pregnant and in an expensive city like London (at time of writing and travelling, the exchange rate was 1.8x of ours), although we did opt for a budget flight and stayed in an Airbnb room to save on costs. Nonetheless, quite a few of you have requested for my itinerary and expenses, so here's what went on while we were in London!

Overall spending breakdown (in SGD) per person:

Flights	$891.00
Accommodation	$500
Attractions	$138
Tours	$301
Musicals (3)	$246
Travel Insurance	$39.20
Transport	$154.50
F&B	$340
Shopping	$235
TOTAL	$2,844.70

Flight tickets
We took a 14-hour flight on Norwegian Air, which I've previously shared as a budget carrier where you can get a return ticket to London for $400 if you're lucky enough to be travelling during off-peak period.

I believe our travel dates coincided with the summer school holidays, so our tickets were twice the price of what I had expected, and we ended up paying $891 per person which included 2 meals, 20kg of check-in luggage, and taxes.

We travelled economy, where the seats were fairly comfortable and we had enough legroom, despite not having paid extra for exit row seats. Toilets were also clean and sanitary. However, the service and food was sorely lacking - the meals we had were extremely small in portion sizes, didn't taste fantastic at all (I'm not fussy and rarely dislike airline food, so this was a first for me), and they were also extremely stingy with water. When we asked for water, our request was declined and we were asked to purchase bottled water from the snack bar instead. And nope, I didn't get extra water even though I was pregnant, so I wonder if the crew knows how thirsty pregnant mothers can get sometimes because we really need liquids for our amniotic fluid.

If you're travelling with Norwegian Air in the future, I highly recommend that you purchase snacks and drinks at the airport before boarding. For our flight from Singapore, we filled up a 500ml bottle and it was barely enough for the both of us (we got a total of 4 cups from the crew throughout the entire flight, which was terrible for me particularly because I was extremely thirsty, being pregnant and all).

Accommodation
Hotels were extremely expensive in London, and hostels weren't any better because we needed a private room for the both of us and the prices were almost comparable to that of a budget hotel.

As such, we turned to Airbnb after our friend who lives in London recommended it, and the price was almost half of what we would have had to pay for a 3-star hotel.

To save on transport costs, we looked for accommodation within Zone 1 and Zone 2 in London, as there's a maximum cap on the Oyster travel card if you travel within these two zones (more on this under Transport).

Transport & Wi-Fi
Norwegian Air takes you to Gatwick Airport instead of Heathrow, so to get to central London, you need to take the train. You can choose from either the Gatwick Express (£22) or the normal Southern train, which is so much cheaper (cost varies depending on your location) and almost equally as fast. If you don't mind a slower but cheaper journey, you can also take the Piccadilly Line for (£3.10) which is all but 15 minutes longer compared to the Gatwick Express.

Navigation was settled through a mobile app, Citymapper, which our local friends told us to download. This was the best transport app for London as it is even updated with bus route changes and train delays (and there are PLENTY in London).

As mentioned earlier, there's a daily travel cap of £7 on your Oyster card if you're travelling between Zone 1 and 2, which is why we decided to stay in Zone 2 for our accommodation. However, the buses are generally cheaper at just £1.50 flat if you change within the hour, so if you're able to plan out your route entirely via buses, I would highly encourage that you do so (the bus routes are extensive in London so it shouldn't be a problem at all, and travel times are comparable to that of the tube). Otherwise, the tube is the next most affordable (£2.90) whereas the train costs the most (£3.40). We made the mistake of relying 100% on CityMapper for our trips and took lots of train-bus or tube-bus journeys, which cost us quite a hefty sum totalled up and we easily hit the £7 Oyster cap every single day until we realised otherwise! On the second-last day (when we were wiser about the buses), our Oyster card expenses only came to £3. Dang.

Now, also note that unlike Singapore, the trains and tubes are entirely different and have different fares for each! We made the mistake of going to Platform 3 for the train when Citymapper actually meant Platform 3 for the tube, and this mistake cost us a hefty £2.40 just to tap out of the train station and into the tube station, which was just a level downstairs, by the way. Don't be like us!

For local calls and Wi-Fi, we signed up with EE at the airport which gave us 10.5 GB and 100 minutes of calls, valid for 30 days, for just (£20). There were a few other telco providers, but this was the best value-for-money option we found.

Attractions / Musicals
I did some rough calculations before we flew off and realised that entrance tickets to many of London's attractions were quite pricey, and the best way to save was to get a London Pass, which gave us access to plenty of attractions and cruises to choose from.

As we were there for 8 days (10 days if you include the 2 days we spent flying), I opted for the 6-day London Pass, which I later regretted because there were so many out-of-town options and free museums to go to at hardly any extra cost! We ended up only using 4 days on our card due to our other trips and musicals, which was a slight waste of money.

I therefore recommend that anyone visiting London to get the 3-day London Pass instead, which should be sufficient to visit most of the key places! Here's what we did:

Day 1
Big Bus Tour	£34
City Cruises	£18.50
Day 2
Tower of London	£24.80
Tower Bridge Exhibition	£9.80
HMS Belfast	£15.45
Namco Funscape	£3
View from the Shard	£30.95
Day 3
Churchill War Rooms	£21
Westminster Abbey	£22
Kensington Palace	£17
Day 4
Kew Gardens	£15
TOTAL
TICKETS COST	£211.50
LONDON PASS	£130.90
TOTAL SAVINGS	£80.60

If you can, try to take one of the open-top bus tours on the first day of your pass so you get familiarised with the city, which will make it easier for you to navigate during the rest of your trip. We chose Big Bus Tours instead of Golden Tours as we preferred the route there, and took both the blue and red route.

The other attractions I would love to have visited on the London Pass (but which we did not have time for) are:
- Shakespeare Globe Theatre (while you're there, buy a £5 ticket for a live Shakespeare play in the yard!)
- St. Paul Cathedral
- Winsor Castle
- Chislehurst Caves
- Winbledon Tour Experience

If you're a Potterhead like me, you'll probably want to sign up for the Harry Potter Studio & Museum Tour as well. It is a little pricey (we paid £89 per person) but includes the 2-hour bus ride to and fro, as well as entrance tickets. It isn't really worth buying any of the merchandise in the store though unless you're keen on the wands, as we found lots of Harry Potter stuff for much cheaper in...Primark! No kidding! That's why I bought most of my Harry Potter souvenirs and clothes in the end.

For musicals, we caught three - Aladdin, Matilda and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. If you're looking for last-minute cheap tickets, the best way would be to queue up outside the respective theatre(s) in the morning to snag some crazy deals at £15 or so per ticket! We had a full itinerary and weren't willing to make a trip just to queue (not as easy when you're pregnant), so we opted for cheap last-minute tickets online via this website instead. If we had more time in London, we wanted to catch Book of Mormon and the Lion King, but I guess that will have to wait for another time.

Food and other expenses
Food in London is generally quite expensive if you're eating out, but a cheap trick is to get them at fast food restaurants like McDonalds, KFC or Leons, or even cold meals at the grocery stores like Marks & Spencer, Co-Op, Tesco, Waitrose, etc.

If you eat one cheap (grocery / fast food) meal and one restaurant meal a day, that should help to keep your food budget lean.

Psssst, don't underestimate the cold meals at the groceries stores - I loved the pastas, fruit smoothies and sandwiches we got from there! If you're looking for a cheap and quick coffee fix, I also highly recommend the £1 coffees from Marks & Spencer, which we felt tasted wayyyyy better than that of Costa Coffee at just 1/3 the price.

Tap water in London is treated and drinkable, so you can also save by asking for tap water on ice at restaurants instead of purchasing a drink.

Day trips out of central London
We did a few day trips out of London and loved them so much that I would highly recommend you to consider the same!

1. Lavender Fields at Mayfields
We used the CityMapper app and got there via public transport, although the journey was a little long at 2-hours each. Entrance tickets are cheap at just £2 to enter the lavender farm and walk around, have a picnic, take lots of photos, breathe in the scent of the lavender flowers, etc!

2. Richmond Park
Did you know that you can spot wild deers in London at this park? We didn't know, until our local friend told us! Although the deers are always roaming around this huge 2000-acre park so some tourists have unfortunately gone and never got to see them, we went on a hot summer day and figured that the deer would be near a water source, so we entered via Roehampton Gate, turned right and walked for 10 minutes as we followed the water stream to eventually reach a lake, and that's where we found all the deers!

Although the signs said to stay away from the deers, we saw some locals bring them food and successfully managed to pet them. We didn't know this tip beforehand so we had to settle for admiring them from a distance. But you didn't hear this tip from me, because the signs say to stay 50 metres away from the wild deer! :P

3. The City of Bath and Stonehenge
We did this through a £90 tour with Golden Tours (tip: London Pass holders get 15% off tour bookings!) and it made for a fantastic and relaxing day out. Lunch (or more like a snack box) and a bottle of water was also provided for the long ride, which was quite comfortable. I absolutely adored the City of Bath, and you can even go on a Jane Austen walking tour if time permits. Don't forget to also grab high tea at the famous Sally Lunn eatery while you're there! As for Stonehenge...let's just say it is a place I would definitely visit once in a lifetime but never go back again because there's hardly anything to see other than just...stones.

Other budget tips
Now, if you don't intend to get a London Pass (trust me, it's worth the tremendous savings! I'm usually skeptical of tourist passes like these but I'm convinced about the London Pass, having done my calculations and experienced it for myself), there are still other ways to enjoy London without having to fork out too much for attractions. Here are some tips:

- Instead of The Shard, book a slot at the Sky Garden here to get a fantastic view of London, for free!
- Go on free walking tours such as this or this (best to tip after you're done though)
- Visit the museums and galleries, almost all of which are free! We loved the Natural History Museum most of all.
- Visit other free tourist landmarks like Borough Market, Leadenhall, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Piccadilly Circus, Camden Market, etc.
- Walk around London's fabulous city parks like Hyde Park or Green Park

I hope all the above budget tips and itineraries help you to plan your own vacation to London!

P.S. Just don't ask me where we stayed in London as we need to protect our host's identity. Thanks! All other questions are welcomed.
With love,
Budget Babe

In a previous post, I wrote about what credit co-operatives (co-ops) do and the important role they play in society. I’ve also received some questions from readers as to whether it is worth joining a co-operative in Singapore, especially if they qualify for one.

After looking through all the benefits, I’m convinced that being a member of a co-op has its benefits and privileges.

Just to name a few of these benefits:

· Gaining access to a wide range of affordable products and services

· Financial solutions at reasonable interest rates (no need to resort to unlicensed moneylenders, please!)

· Educational scholarships and bursaries awards

· Hospitalisation benefits

· Loyalty membership benefits

Today, there are 66 co-ops affiliated to the Singapore National Co-operative Federation that one can choose from.

Among these, there are credit co-ops that serve members working in the civil service, with the Singapore Government Staff Credit Co-operative (SGSCC) as one such co-op. Having registered in 1925, SGSCC is also Singapore’s first co-op.

Civil Servants: Member Benefits

Open to all staff who are employed in the civil service, statutory boards and government-linked companies, SGSSC provides the resources to help its members build a better future.

According to SGSSC’s website, there are three saving options for members:

· Subscription Saving

· Specific Deposit Saving

· Fixed / Time Deposits

Working in a similar fashion as the Singapore Savings Bonds (SSBs, which fans will know I’m a huge advocate of), SGSCC’s saving schemes offer competitive interest rates, while granting you the flexibility to withdraw your savings in times of need.

Moreover, all co-ops including SGSCC are regulated by The Registry of Co-Operative Societies of Singapore (under the purview of the Ministry of Community, Culture and Youth), and are required to have their accounts regularly audited. SGSCC’s long track record and history attest to their sustainability.

For more information on how co-ops are governed and regulated in Singapore, you can head over to MCCY's website here to read more.

For all Singaporeans and Permanent Residents

The only credit co-op that has almost no restrictions (other than you needing to be a Singaporean or Permanent Resident) for joining as a member would be the TCC Credit Co-operative.

Apart from providing access to affordable financial solutions, TCC also allocates some of its surpluses to assist members in times of need through its Common Good Fund like hospitalisation grant, marriage grant and educational scholarships and bursaries awards. TCC also distributes dividends to its eligible members every year.

TCC members can even enjoy exclusive health screening packages at preferential rates at Thomson Medical. And should members get hospitalised, they can put in a claim for a hospitalisation grant of $30 per day (just like how the payouts on your insurance work, except that you don’t have to pay any insurance premiums for this one).

It’s also fuss-free to open a Savings Account as there are no administrative or membership fees involved. Their Subscription Savings Account, for instance, usually pays out 3% - 5% in dividends annually, which can be higher than other high-yield bank accounts which I’ve reviewed before on this blog!

Education Loan Options

TCC also provides its members with access to education loans at a flat interest rate of 2.2% per annum (p.a). Compare this to the likes of OCBC’s Frank Education Loan, which charges 4.5% p.a. (or effectively 5.17% per year if you pay it off within 2 years).

For Union Members

AUPE Credit Co-Operative Limitedis open to all union members. Members can also enjoy the provision of financial solutions, such as loans from as little as 4%* including medical loans for medical expenses or treatment costs, renovation loans (under $30k) to tide over getting your new home in order, and even study loans or grants for your children. In addition, should any member be hospitalised, you will also get a hospital benefit of $20 per day without the need to purchase any extra hospitalisation insurance.

Alternative Financial Solutions

I’ve mentioned previously that if you are seeking financial solutions, other than financial institutions, there are alternatives and one of them is credit co-ops. Credit co-ops are less profit driven than most commercial enterprises, and have a social mission, thus they are more willing to go the extra mile for their members.

Financial solutions dispensed by credit co-ops generally have a more flexible repayment period (up to 48 months) to help members manage their cash flow without feeling as though they’re being driven up the wall just to repay the loan.

Whether you need a short-term financial solution because you’ve unexpected medical expenses to pay off, or for your children’s educational needs, you may look at different forms of financial assistance including credit co-ops. If you’re unable to repay on time, you can also be rest assured that credit co-ops will do their best to help come up with a reasonable debt repayment schedule that meets your needs.

Where, then, does the money or interests earned by credit co-ops go to?

Well, surpluses earned by the credit co-ops are channelled back to its members in the form of benefits such as annual dividends (members of SGSCC received 3% dividend in their subscription capital in previous years), hospital benefits, or even educational awards and bursaries to members or their children.

Man, I wish my dad had joined SGSCC back then, so we could tap on their education bursaries with my good grades to help me tide through school! Unfortunately, he and none of us in the family knew about SGSCC, but now YOU do!

What Types of Co-ops Are There?

There are plenty of co-ops available in Singapore, but they generally fall under these categories:

1. Campus co-ops

Formed in educational institutions, campus co-ops offer students and staff the platform and opportunity to develop their entrepreneurial skills. Examples include The Co-operative Society of Nanyang Technological University Ltd (NTU@COOP), Ngee Ann Polytechnic Consumer Co-operative Society Ltd and Temasek Polytechnic Co-operative Society Ltd.

2. Credit co-ops

Also known as Thrift & Loan societies, credit co-ops play an important role in improving the economic and social statuses of their members through no-frills saving schemes that encourage thrift.

3. NTUC co-ops

With over 10,000 employees employed, NTUC co-ops like NTUC FairPrice Co-operative and NTUC Income Co-operative provide a wide range of affordable products and services to not only members but to the general Singapore society.

4. Service co-ops

Varying from aged care to employment services, these co-ops provide a wide range of services to their members. Under the healthcare and social support, the Silver Caregivers Co-operative and Runninghour Co-operative are great ones to check out.

To learn more about co-ops, head over to SNCF’s website! And most importantly, if you qualify for any of the co-ops, you might just want to consider whether it’ll benefit you to join, especially given all the solutions and benefits that they offer.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post written for the Singapore National Co-operative Federation to promote greater awareness of co-operatives in Singapore in conjunction with the World Credit Union Conference which is being held in Singapore for the first time. All opinions are that of my own.

I've not been the biggest fan of corporate bonds because (i) I'm not always convinced about the reasons given by the company for the need to raise money from retail investors (ii) there's too many horror stories like Hyflux and Aspial and (iii) too many retail investors seem to be drawn to the juicy yield payouts without properly evaluating the underlying financial health of the company.

However, the latest Nikko AM SGD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF might just be another decent investment tool (and far more superior than any previous corporate bonds such as the ones named above) for those who have always stayed away from corporate bonds for the same reasons that I have.

The IPO for this has gone live and will last from 23 July - 16 August, so that's enough time for you to do your due diligence before you decide if this investment makes sense to you. In the meantime, here's my take on the ETF:

Details:
- The bond is launched by Nikko AM, one of the largest ETF managers in Singapore and the same company behind popular Nikko AM Singapore STI ETF and ABF Singapore Bond Index
- Indicative yield: 3% - 3.22% per annum
- Total expense ratio: 0.3% (30 cents per year for every S$100 you invest - confirmed for the first 3 years)

- I recommend applying through FSM where there's now a 0% commission promo and since their minimum amount is lower vs. other brokers who are requiring a min. of $1000 to apply
- IPO applications close on 12 noon on 16 August 2018
- Minimum subscription amount: S$100
- Starts trading on SGX on 27 August 2018 at 9am

What I like about this ETF

1. Lower risk
By investing into a basket of corporate bonds, the risk and impact of one company defaulting is much lower compared to if you invest directly into a single company's bonds. After all, you really don't want another "big shock" like the one retail investors got from Hyflux, or see defaults like what Swiber did on their bond payments.

Buying into this ETF means you get exposure to over 100 corporate bonds from over 50 companies, which means that even if one of them default, it probably won't even leave much of a dent in your overall portfolio. The constituents of this ETF comprise of several reputable companies that are in relatively strong financial health and unlikely to go bust, such as DBS, UOB, HDB, LTA, etc. I'll go deeper into the constituents in detail later in this article.

Of course, the downside of the lower risk in this ETF is that you also get a "lower" yield of approximately 3% vs. the juicy 5% - 6% offered by some other corporate bonds, but would you rather go for a high-risk-high-returns bond option where you could potentially lose your entire capital, or accept a lower-risk investment where your returns are pretty much guaranteed? Your choice.

According to The Business Times, it seems like the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) might even be a seed investor in this, although Nikko AM has declined to confirm it.

2. Higher yields than the Singapore Saving Bonds / bank savings / fixed deposits
Some other low risk options you can also choose from, if not for this ETF:

Tool	Minimum Sum	Holding Period	Average Yield
Fixed deposits	$10,000	3 months – 5 years	0.08% - 1.4%
Short-term endowment plans	$1,000	2 – 3 years	2.02%
Singapore Saving Bonds	$500	1 – 10 years	1.78% - 3.11%
High-yield bank saving accounts	$3,000	N.A.	0.8% - 2.85%
Singapore Government Securities	$1,000	5 – 30 years	1.625% - 3.25%
Nikko AM SGD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF	$100	Up to you!	3%

The only comparable instruments that come close to the 3% p.a. offered on this ETF are the SSBs and SGS, but those require a longer holding period of at least 5 - 10 years before you start to see those kind of returns.

3. Lower investment sums needed
It is generally quite difficult for most average retail investors to access Singapore's corporate bond market, because the typical minimum sum of S$250,000 just for a single bond issue is usually out of reach for many of us. Sometimes, rare opportunities like the recent Astreal bonds appear, but even that required a minimum of $2,000 to subscribe and also carries a much higher risk (since it is on private equity investments). However, the Nikko AM SGD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF offers investors the chance to access these investment-grade corporate bonds for as low as S$100.

4. Low costs
I've never liked unit trusts or buying bonds through Investment-Linked Plans (ILPs) because the high management costs / distribution fees eat into your returns. Many people don't realise that simply paying 1% in investment management fees could easily eat up 1/3 of your wealth eventually as these fees compound to quite a sizeable sum, which is why I've never advocated investing in unit trusts, mutual funds, or any sort of investments through an insurer and prefer to DIY instead.

The only costs associated here would be the expense ratio - which is extremely low at just 0.3% i.e. yo pay 30 cents every year for each $100 you invest - and your buy/sell broker fees, which can vary depending on which brokerage or promotional rate you're using. I recommend FSMOne for this if you don't already have an account.

You can also see the impact between a 0.3% and 1% fee in the table below:

Source: Fundsupermart

5. Higher liquidity
Many of the wholesale bonds which this ETF invests in are generally traded over-the-counter instead of a centralised exchange, so retail investors not only face difficulties in getting access but also in selling it due to the lack of liquidity.

On the other hand, this ETF will be traded on SGX so you should be able to easily buy or sell lots when you need or wish to.

What am I really buying into?

You can view the full prospectus here, view the highlights here lodged with MAS, or the product brochure here.

In summary, the biggest 10 holdings in this ETF and their respective weightages are:

With the exception of Huarong Finance, you'll be hard-pressed to not recognise the other names, many of which are quasi-government agencies or even indirectly backed by our local government as well. It'll be hard for them to fail, and if any of them do, worrying about this ETF will be the last thing on my mind because there'll probably be bigger concerns of the Singapore economy failing or going into a recession instead.

In total, there are 102 bonds from 45 issuers in this ETF, with an average coupon yield of 3 - 3.5%.

How often will I be paid dividends?
Once a year.

What's the quality of the bonds in this ETF?
They're mostly investment-grade and large-cap bonds, but do note that 22% of the current bonds are not weighted, such as SIA and LTA.

Can I buy this using my CPF funds?
No, as it is currently not included under the CPF-IS. However, who knows, perhaps this might just change in the future if the interest in this ETF continues to grow.

What I don't really like about this ETF

1. Not all the constituents bonds are exactly "investment-grade" nor "corporate".
The name of this bond may be slightly misleading, since 22% of bonds are unrated and there's a significant portion which aren't exactly what we tend to think of as "corporations" (HDB, LTA, etc). Nonetheless, this is just a personal gripe I have about the choice of name for this ETF, but I don't have much of an issue about the underlying bonds it is investing into, which are actually far more solid than the previous corporate bonds I've reviewed on this blog.

2. If we continue in a rising interest rate environment, this ETF may no longer be as attractive.
3 % - 3.22% is a decent return for an investment tool that you can trade anytime on SGX, and especially when you compare it to the other fixed-income instruments that I've mentioned earlier. But if interest rates go up, the market value of the underlying bonds will likely drop, which will then also affect this ETF.

For those who are unfamiliar with the link as to why rising interest rates are bad for bonds, here's a quick explanation. Imagine you paid $1,000 to purchase a bond with a 3% coupon payout, which then trades on the bond market. Now, should interest rates rise, new bonds may then be issued with higher coupon rates in order to attract investors, so let's assume a newer bond with a 5% coupon rate now gets launched. Since investors can now invest the same $1,000 for a bond with a higher interest rate, they'll be less interested in buying your bond which has a 3% interest rate, so the market value of your bond lots go down (i.e. capital loss).

Conversely, if interest rates fall, then that usually spells good news for bonds which would then trade at a price higher than what it was originally bought for upon launch.

However, I believe the ETF manager will also continue to invest into new bonds even as this happens, and since these new bonds will carry higher interest rates, we can then watch the ETF's yield go up accordingly.

Nonetheless, we cannot predict the future, and as per my previous post on portfolio allocation to mitigate risks across market cycles, there will always be a place for bonds in one's investment portfolio.

So is this ETF worth buying into?

Yes if you are:

Looking for a low-risk investment tool with decent returns higher than what the banks / fixed deposits / Singapore Saving Bonds can offer you
Looking to add to the bond component of your investment portfolio, but you're adverse against individual corporate bonds due to all the sagas and defaults that have happened recently
Looking for a bond investment with no minimum holding period or commitment (since you can trade this on SGX once it is listed on 27 August)
Looking to get exposure to the Singapore corporate bonds market without the high minimum sum needed nor the higher risk
Considering whether to cancel your ILP and do your own direct investments so as to stop paying for the high investment management fees (you can also combine this ETF then with the ABF Singapore Bond Index Fund, which I had in my ILP before I terminated it. That ETF currently trades at an indicated yield of 2.3%)

No if you:

Want much higher return than 3% given this (low) risk level
Are willing to take on higher risk for much higher returns

Until better opportunities present themselves, parking one's emergency or excess cash in a mixture of this Nikko AM SGD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF with Singapore Saving Bonds and CPF voluntary top-ups certainly sounds like a viable idea to me as part of a multi-asset portfolio management strategy.

At any rate, I'd definitely prefer to go for this than most individual corporate bonds!

Where can I apply for this ETF?

The easiest way would be to apply via FSMOne.com as it only requires a minimum of $100 to subscribe and is also currently running a promotion of 0% sales charge during this ETF's Initial Offering Period from 23 July to 16 August 2018.

This means you can enjoy a 0% processing fee to invest into this ETF, as long as you place your order before 12 noon of 16 August.

*** Sponsored message below ***

TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS ETF

Read this article by the FSMOne.com Research Team to learn more about the NikkoAM SGD IGBond ETF.
View the ETF factsheet here.

Attend the seminar "Introducing the Nikko AM SGD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF" on 1 August 2018, 12pm, at iFAST Financial Pte Ltd, 10 Collyer Quay #26-01 Ocean Financial Centre Singapore 049315. Click here to register now!

OPEN AN FSMONE ACCOUNT

Don't have an FSMOne Account yet? You might probably want to consider opening one to get access to this bond ETF, as well as a whole suite of other investment products that is offered by Fundsupermart!

Head over here to open your free account right away so you can subscribe to this ETF and make full use of the 0% processing fees promotion! If you encounter any issues in getting started, you can also call them at 6557 2853 or email clienthelp@fundsupermart.com for more assistance.

*** End of sponsored message ***

What are your thoughts about this ETF, and is there anything I've missed out on? Let me know in the comments below!

With love,
Budget Babe

Considering how you already have to pay for your mandatory HDB fire insurance (or even a mortgage fire insurance as well, for those of you on a bank loan), do we really need to still get home insurance?

Many people mistakenly believe their house is completely covered for, but the truth is far from it. HDB fire insurance only covers for damages to core structures provided by HDB (eg. beam collapse, walls or flooring), whereas your bank’s mortgage fire insurance mainly protects your bank’s financial interest and not yours. What that means is that in the event that your house (the mortgaged property) is damaged by a fire, the bank can make a claim on the policy to protect themselves in the meantime. This works in the same way for private properties such as condominiums where the management requires you to get fire insurance. This enables the management group to make a claim on the policy to restore the premise to its original condition, should anything untoward happen.

Thus, in the event of fire, if you solely rely on the abovementioned policy(ies), you most likely won’t be able to claim for damages on your house contents.

That includes stuff like your furniture, built-in wardrobe, jewelry, electronics and more! A (home) contents insurance policy has to be bought separately, if you wish to obtain coverage for those items; and you should, especially if you’ve spent a significant amount on your renovation and/or keep valuables at home.

	Fire insurance	Home insurance
Status	Mandatory	Optional
Premiums	As low as a few dollars for a 5-year plan (eg. $5.50 for a 4-room HDBfor 5 years of coverage)	Ranges from $30 - $400, depending on your coverage
What’s covered	Only covers damage to your home structure, replacement of any original fixtures or fittings by HDB / the rebuilding of your home for landed properties. Does NOT cover damage to home contents in the event of fire.	Covers the contents in your home, renovation works, home repairs and incidental expenses incurred for the alternative accommodation period, etc, in the event of fire, burst pipes, natural disasters or burglary.

What’s more, you’ll probably also need coverage for:

- Your home contents: furniture, mirrors, domestic appliances, AV equipment, electronics, etc.

- Renovation work

- Personal liability: eg. if your neighbour’s property is damaged due to leakage caused by a burst water pipe in your house and demands you to pay for it

- Alternative accommodation and quality of life: expenses incurred for when you’re unable to stay in your insured home, including rent, laundry, daily necessities, etc.

How FWD Home Insurance stacks up

Back in September last year, I did a quick review of the various insurers that offer home insurance here, so I’m adding onto that list with today’s review of FWD after having gone through their policy coverage with its terms and conditions.

Low policy premiums

From as low as $31 a year, the value offered in terms of what you’re getting covered for is extremely compelling (compared to if you were to be uncovered and something unfortunate strikes).

No excess payable

You do not have to pay anything when you claim. On the other hand, most of the other insurers require us to pay at least $100 for loss or damage caused by burst pipes or a natural disaster, whereas another local insurer requires an excess payable of $350 for each and every claim made on personal effects, home contents and renovation. Probably not what you want or can afford when your house has just been ravaged!

Flexible renovation coverage

Needless to say, your policy premiums will depend on the insured amount, and in the case of renovation, a minimum of $50k - $100k coverage sum is the lowest you can opt for. However, do you really need to cover the entire cost of what it took you to renovate your house before you first moved in? FWD allows consumers to choose from $20k and up so we can get protected without overpaying for insurance.

Alternative accommodation and incidental expenses

Rental, laundry, daily necessities, toiletries and other expenses that may be incurred during the period where you have to find alternative accommodation since your house is no longer habitable, FWD home insurance covers for it as well.

Home assistance expenses

In the event of a power failure due to a burnt fuse or malfunction of power supply socket, FWD will also cover the cost of repair for such electrical services. In addition, should you need to clear any blockage in your pipes or floor trap, or if your air-conditioner is not working due to a fault or mechanical malfunction (not wear and tear), the costs of repairs will also be covered. Moreover, should you require the help of a locksmith if you’re unable to enter your home or any rooms within, you can also claim for this once every year.

Rent protection for landlords

I have a number of friends who rent out their second property for rental income, and they often complain about tenant issues. FWD home insurance addresses this pain point by covering the following scenarios for up to $3,000 a month:

- Your tenant defaults on their rent

- Loss of rental income because the premise becomes uninhabitable due to an insured event

- Murder / suicide within the premise while it was rented out, causing the house to be untenanted

- Up to $3,000 in legal costs for tenancy disputes

Riders for pets and personal accident

Available for just $2 or $3 respectively per annum if you wish to add those on.

For my 3-room HDB flat, this was the quote I got online:

If you’re also convinced by FWD’s home insurance offering as I am, you can get your free quotation here, and don’t forget to utilize their 20% discount right now with the promo code HOME !

Click here to learn more about FWD’s other ongoing promotions as well!

Disclaimer: This article is sponsored by FWD, but all opinions are of my own. My quote was obtained discreetly without FWD knowing that it was me who was enquiring on the other end of our Internet connection.

What I like about Dr Wealth's courses are that they delve a lot into academic research and market backtesting of strategies before they basically come up with their own formulas which you cannot learn from any investment book outside.

I recently attended their revamped Factor-Based Investing Course (FBIC) recently and found it really helpful because whether you're more inclined towards value investing, dividend or income investing, or trend following (through technical analysis), you'll learn all of that within this single course.

Here's how their results have been like so far:

What's their secret?!?!

That was exactly what I wondered, and I found out after attending their course.

As regular readers will know, while I'm a huge advocate of investing in financial education and have attended numerous courses myself, I'm very picky about the ones that I actually recommend, simply because my reputation is on the line.

I also don't believe in paying a 3 or 4-digit sum just to learn basic concepts like how to save money, how to open a brokerage account, how to calculate P/E P/B NAV or dividend yield, etc, because you can easily learn that online or even from free resources like my blog, SGX, or other financial websites.

As such, I only recommend investment courses that fulfil my following criteria:

They must be conducted by trainers I personally trust and respect for their investing prowess.
(no, past performance alone doesn't count. I talk to them and ask them questions to ascertain if this is someone I would listen to when it comes to their take on investments and how sound their strategies are. How much they've made or lost is secondary, because investing in the stock market comprises of BOTH luck and skill. Anyone who tells you or claims otherwise is either boasting or lying.) Sometimes this "trainer(s) assessment" process involves me asking them questions on their past (or present) stock picks, and why.
They must be courses that I've personally paid for with my own money, or would be willing to fork out my own cash for (if I was sponsored to attend).
The price must be value-for-money.
(and I'll be the judge of that "value", not them. And no, value does not mean number of hours spent in the classroom but rather, on the quality of content taught.)
The course must teach something that I cannot find elsewhere in a book, or in any of these books.
This can be either their unique qualitative approach or quantitative formulas. Because if I'm going to spend my time and money learning something that I already know, or which I can learn it for free from NLB or for a fraction of the fee (the book price), then why pay?
They must be strategies that I agree with and/or use, and would personally advocate on my blog.
Even better if they are strategies I've personally adopted into my own investing matrix after attending their course.
Their investment approach and philosophy to financial literacy and education must be aligned with mine.
As such, there are really only two course providers in the market whom I currently feel confident to put my name behind and recommend publicly - Dr Wealth and The Fifth Person.
If there's any up-selling of products or services after the course, it has to be stuff that I also can see the value for, even if I may not sign up for it myself.

Today's review is on Dr Wealth's revamped FBIC, and whether it is worth your money...or not.

In a nutshell, FBIC consists of four core parts:

1. Conservative Net Asset Value (CNAV) strategy

2. Gross Profitability and Dividend (GPAD) strategy

3. Technical Analysis

4. Portfolio Diversification strategy

CNAV Strategy

Most people are familiar with Net Asset Value, but Dr. Wealth has taken a more conservative approach in the form of CNAV in order to identify stocks where we can pay a very low price for a very high value of assets.

This strategy consists of 2 key metrics and a 3-step qualitative analysis, which I will not divulge here because it is not my intellectual property to share.

Seasoned investors would know that simply taking the book value of a company is problematic, because not all assets are necessarily of the same quality. If you've followed my previous stock analysis writings, you'll also realise that I tend to choose and pick which ones I value and eliminate others which I don't really care for. Dr. Wealth follows the same method, although they've simplified it into a qualitative step-by-step formula for people to apply.

There are many stocks trading at low multiples of their book value on SGX, but does that make them undervalued? Obviously not! Many of them could in fact be value traps i.e. cheap due to their poor fundamentals.

Knowing what are the right metrics and qualitative factors to apply would be the key to your investing success in filtering out the cheap and bad goods from the undervalued gems.

Stocks that fulfil the CNAV criteria generally tend to do well - here's their CNAV portfolio of 25 stocks and how it has fared against the STI. The returns are relatively superior.

And here's an example of an undervalued stock they've uncovered and profited massively from (100% in four months!) by using their CNAV strategy.

GPAD Strategy

The CNAV strategy tends to favour certain stocks due to its focus on particular asset qualities. As such, growth stocks like FANG (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google) would completely fail the criteria because they do not hold much assets in that sense.

As such, this is where the GPAD strategy comes in to help one identify asset-light businesses that have competitive advantages over other companies and whose profitability has been proven sustainable.

Suitable for investors who seek dividend-paying stocks while looking for potential capital gains, I've found this GPAD strategy helpful in honing my investment method (which is a variation of GPAD as I find its rigour too time-consuming for my regular investment research, given my limited time since I work and also blog!).

In other words, wanna get paid while you wait for capital gains? GPAD strategy might just be your answer to identifying those gems.

Here's an example of a SGX stock they identified with their GPAD strategy and made 56% within six months on.

Technical Analysis

In recent years, there has been more investors (and bloggers) who adopt a "fundamental momentum strategy", which basically entails the combination of strong fundamentals riding on a strong momentum.

This increases the possibility of one profiting, in contrast to simply focusing on fundamentally strong and undervalued stocks which could remain undervalued for a long time. I know, because I own two stocks in my portfolio which I think have been grossly undervalued since I first bought them in 2015 and I still cannot understand why the market has been so blind to their value. All my calculations and attempts to prove my own thesis (that they're massively undervalued) wrong have failed.

Subscribers to my Patreon should know which stocks I'm talking about.

Since traders rely more on momentum, it looks at prices alone without the need to analyse the fundamentals of the underlying businesses. This is where technical analysis comes in to determine one's entry and exit signals. Dr. Wealth advocates methods like price action analysis, in contrast to the Moving Average (which most TA folks use), as they believe the former enables an investor to join in and ride a trend more easily.

I'm not a big fan of TA, but I'll admit that I do look to them sometimes to determine my entry and exit points when I'm applying my fundamental momentum strategy because it is a stock that I believe in only for the mid-term. For cryptocurrencies, TA becomes all the more important and I combine it with fundamental analysis in order to decide whether to buy or sell a crypto now, or wait.

You can learn the differences between the TA indicators and hear from an experienced trader, Alex, within Dr. Wealth's team, and decide which ones you wish to adopt for yourself.

Portfolio Diversification Strategy

There are many ways you can diversify in order to minimise your risks - across multiple stocks, different industries, various stock markets, or even just varying investment asset classes.

Backtesting has shown that diversifying by factors actually perform better than simply diversifying across a large number of stocks. In fact, I'm also not a fan of having too many stocks in one's portfolio, because time now becomes the limiting factor - do you have enough time to monitor the developments in all these stocks?

I know I certainly don't. Some investors prefer to keep their portfolio within 20 stocks, others prefer 10, while I even know of a few who have their entire capital confined to just 3 - 4 stocks!

In FBIC, Dr. Wealth teaches their own portfolio diversification strategy and how it has enabled them to consistently achieve superior returns. This is crucial because we need to also remember that as much as you're gonna have great winners, you might have some losers too (due to luck!) and without proper portfolio management, this can really skew your returns.

Keen on FBIC?

If the above has captured your interest, then you might want to officially learn more about FBIC from the folks who invented it themselves.

The course lasts 2.5 days and will be divided according to the following:

- Day 1: How to detect stocks with size and value factor advantages using CNAV strategy

- Day 2: How to pick stocks with the profitability factor using GPAD strategy

- Day 3 (3 hours): How to identify and grab investing opportunities

The course price is $1399, but if you're a reader, you can quote "BBSPECIAL" for $389 off!

That works out to be $999 nett for 2.5 days, or 20 jam-packed hours of solid content to learn from!

And would I recommend it?

Having been through the course myself and currently applying some of their strategies to my own portfolio, my answer is a resounding yes.

Check out the class dates here if you're keen to find out more, and let them know you're a Budget Babe reader to get the discount!

With love,

Budget Babe

Get cashback or miles on your income tax payments? Why not!

Why are so many mummy influencers peddling dubious slimming pills and consumables?

Are these dental veneers for whiter teeth that's being promoted by Instagram influencers really safe?

What stock can I invest in that is low risk and high returns?

SAFE DRIVERS ONLY - You can now pay less for your car insurance!

What To Do In Your First Trimester

Review of Your Financial GPS – Your handy digital financial advisor by DBS

Too Good To Be True? Another Unregulated Investment Promoted By Instagram Influencer Joyce Quek

Should I Buy Maternity Insurance When I'm Pregnant?

Has Obike taken your $49 deposit without informing you?

IPO Analysis: Is Astrea IV Private Equity Class A-1 bond worth a BUY?

Save money when transferring abroad - Review of TransferWise

Saving Money and Getting Loans from Credit Co-operatives (Are they better than banks?)

Workplace Discrimination Against Pregnant Mothers in Singapore Is More Real Than You Think

What Are The Top 5 Insurance Plans That You Should Get For Your Child?

10 Days in London - Itinerary and Expenses

Is it Worth Joining A Co-Operative?

IPO Analysis: Is the Nikko AM SGD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF worth subscribing?

TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS ETF

OPEN AN FSMONE ACCOUNT

Is Home Insurance Really Necessary?

Dr Wealth: Factor-Based Investing Course (FBIC) Review