The cost of living in Singapore has been rising. 

In fact, in Dec 2021, the headline (or overall) inflation rose to 4.0% year-on-year. Furthermore, GST is set to increase from 7.0% to 9.0% between 2022 and 2025. 

Therefore, knowing how to manage your personal finances has never been more crucial. But, do you even know how to? 

We set out to understand the financial literacy of Singaporeans and whether it has a positive impact on their financial standing. 

We surveyed 1,183 adults aged 18 and above. Here’s what we found, along with other noteworthy statistics. 

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With a higher income, you’re able to create wealth at a faster pace (if you practice proper financial planning). 

In Singapore, despite it being a small country, there are already 269,925 millionaires in the population. 

Does this mean that Singaporeans are earning a high income? What about the average man on the street? 

We set out to find the average (median) income, or salary, in Singapore. And we further break it down by age, sex, education, occupation, and industry. 

So, if you wish to compare your income with others and see whether it’s good enough, then you should read on! 

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All Singapore citizens or permanent residents (PRs) who are earning an income here must familiarise themselves with the Central Provident Fund (CPF). 

This is because many aspects of financial planning revolve around it. 

Knowing the interest rates you’re getting on your CPF balances and how they’re calculated are crucial because the interests will be compounded over many decades, resulting in a significant sum when you enter your golden years. 

So, today we’ll take a deeper look at CPF interest rates and the best ways to maximise your returns. 

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Financial planning becomes essential once you enter the workforce. 

An integral part of it all is the Central Provident Fund (CPF). 

Although CPF draws flak for being “forced savings”, its use is undeniable. For example, part of your CPF savings can be used as a downpayment for your property or to repay your mortgage loan. Without this savings scheme, how many people are able to buy a house when the time comes? 

Contributing to your CPF also comes with multiple benefits, especially towards saving for your retirement. This is why understanding and being able to utilise all of what CPF can offer will absolutely improve your financial health. 

Today, let’s take things slow and just look at CPF contribution and allocation rates. 

So, read on!

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Insurance is always best bought when you’re young, as the chances of you having a clean bill of health are much higher, and you’re thereby able to receive the full extent of insurance coverage. 

However, some groups of people would say that insurance isn’t urgent and they can always buy it at a later age. Indeed, statistics have shown that the probability of getting a critical illness or death is greater at older ages. 

But there are two things to take note of. 

Firstly, such uneventful events can still happen at earlier ages, and they often have a far greater negative impact on you and your family’s finances. Secondly, even if only minor illnesses come up, they’ll still affect the chances of you getting approved for insurance in the future. 

Perhaps no one has told you that before. If you find yourself in that situation, what are your options? 

Although we can’t reverse time, here are some things you can do if you want to get insurance with a pre-existing medical condition.

So, read on! 

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You may have seen this phrase: “protected up to specified limits by SDIC” in product brochures and advertisements by financial institutions.

What exactly are you insured for and how much is the limit?

In this article, we cover all that and took a deeper look into SDIC in Singapore and the schemes it administers.

So, read on!

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Benjamin Franklin once said, “Investment in knowledge pays the best interest”. Although Benjamin Franklin lived in the 18th century, his words are still relevant today.

However, the total cost of investing in knowledge would look quite different in the 21st century.

How much should a parent expect to pay for one child’s education journey from preschool all the way to university?

We take a closer look at the true cost of education in Singapore in 2021, for both public (government schools, unless otherwise stated) and private schools (including international schools).

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More people are seeing the wisdom of investing early to grow their wealth.

As one of the more common types of financial instruments in the market, bonds are something that everyone should definitely seek to understand before deciding which tool to invest in.

In this article, you’ll get to understand how bonds work and what are the different types of bonds out there in the market.

So, read on!

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Investing your hard-earned savings wisely helps you combat inflation and gain higher returns.

Maximising returns is desirable as it can help you to achieve your financial goals more quickly.

According to statistics, over half of all Singaporeans are aware of this and have investments in stock or equities. However, stock and equities are not the only way to store your wealth.

Among the variety of options available, fixed deposits in Singapore are one of the safest and easiest long-term investment instruments to understand.

If you are simply looking for a simple, passive instrument to store rather than grow your wealth, fixed deposits may be of interest to you.

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Do you fall within the majority of Singaporeans who are invested? Which instruments have you chosen to invest in?

Bonds are one of the most popular forms of investments in Singapore. This is because they generally pose lower risk than stocks and equities.

Even within this category, there are many different types of bonds, with Singapore Government Securities (SGS) being possibly the most secure.

In this article, we’ll cover the different types of SGS and more.

So, read on!

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