I need to stop procrastinating and file my income tax!
Did a post previously on how to save on that so you guys can search #incometax for it! (October 2016) post.
@sgbudgetbabe:270916
Quite excited as I've just been asked to speak at a talk about how I maximise my CPF account for more money from the government π
For those of you who missed my #dayrefinance meet-ups / crash courses, this might be something you wanna take a look at? Actually even for those of you who attended my crash course will probably find this useful because I didn't talk about the CPF in mine!
But! The talk is organised by an external company of which I am not a part of, so it isn't free this time!
The other two speakers who will be sharing alongside me are two men who are already financially free! One is a lawyer in his 40s who practises dividend investing for income, while another is..a grandfather? I'm not very sure cos I've never met him but he's in his 60s I think. I do like his writings though quite naggy and funny I really feel like my grandpa talking to me about money management π
I'll be speaking on 16 March 2017!
Not sure about where the location is yet but it should be somewhere central. Furthest will be Buona Vista if I have to guess cos that's where their office is.
They're selling the tickets at $25 but if you wanna sign up with me for early bird price, I can help you to get it for $19! Just drop me an email so I can let the organisers know π
No idea if it was deliberate, but I like how the talk is designed to have 3 speakers from vastly different backgrounds and age groups. So there's something for you to learn regardless of your age.
What can you do to get the most out of your CPF while you're younger and in your 20s or 30s?
Already in your 40s and 50s with heavy financial commitments such as a #dayrehome mortgage and kids? #dayremoms
Or are you thinking of how you can help your retired parents maximise their CPF accounts?
Confused over CPF Life and what the different types of annuities offered mean? Should you / your parents go for the basic or standard plan?
Should you withdraw as much as possible from your CPF account when you're young (to pay for your house) vs when you're retired and can now withdraw in excess of the basic minimum sum?
(received your emails! I'm not sure if there's a limit to the number of discounted tickets they're offering but I've put you girls on the guestlist!)
I still remember my first #dayrefinance meet-up and crash course, which was also my first talk with SGX! Dunno if y'all could tell but I was super nervous that day cos I seldom address such a big crowd!
Can't wait to see y'all soon again it'll be like another #dayrefinance meet-up yay!
On a side note, I made really yummy black pepper chicken for lunch as part of my #dayrebrides #eatclean diet but forgot to take a photo before I hungrily devoured it. Aiya!
Spent my lunch hour editing an email for my friend over a dispute with her bank about credit card scam π³ it is really crazy how the bank is trying to fleece her for an unauthorised transaction?!?
Maybe I should do this writing thing as a sideline gig? Over the years, so many people / ex-clients have asked me to write letters, university application essays or appeal letters, speeches, letters, press releases, even blog posts (yesss some blog posts are outsourced to ghostwriters didn't you guys know!).
I remember feeling cheated when I found out my friend writes for misstamchiak. I'd been following her cos I liked her style and food escapades! Never knew that her articles aren't all written by her omg. Maybe she grew too famous / busy bah
Does anyone want to write articles for www.sgbudgetbabe.com too so I have more time to reply emails and Dayre? Now you guys know why I'm only active on the blog, Dayre, Facebook (I've got a page! Can follow for updates) and emails. Not full-time blogger leh how to maintain so many platforms lol. Can I outsource too? ππ
Just kidding. I would never outsource my blog writing to anyone else. If I do, I'll probably need to rename it to SG Budget Babe (and her ghostwriters) π»π₯ π
I love our CPF system and how so much thought has gone into its design by the government both at the start and over the years. My only grouse is that it is extremely difficult for the ordinary man on the street to understand it, much less try to "hack" it for maximum benefit that they're entitled to! (Not to mention females, who generally do great at #dayrebeauty but usually are clueless about their CPF accounts as well.)
A lot of people hate the CPF. I can understand why – when I was a fresh grad I was pretty annoyed that I couldn't keep all of my salary. Seeing only $1.9k in my bank account when I was on a $2.5k job made me feel frustrated. Kind of like a kid who wants those candies in front of him but they're locked up in a glass box and he doesn't have the key…
(if you picked up on the π± problem up there, good catch! Yup I was cheated of my money by my company last time, but that's another story.)
π Really see no touch sia π
Dinner affair now.
It is easy to hate a system (or even people) when you don't understand it or them.
That's what I went through. But as I started learning more about the CPF, and picked up tips and tricks from others much older than me along the way, I realised that there was no point wasting my energy hating on something that I couldn't change.
Since I can't change it, then I might as well make the most out of it right?
So in 2015 and 2016 I started my journey of cleaning up and topping my CPF account (to a certain number only!).
I even came up with new CPF hacks of my own (no one taught me these!), such as discovering how I could make use of the system and get more money even while I pay my parents their monthly allowance. β
I managed to chart out a plan for my CPF and my future, and in 2016 I started the wheels running on this system to make sure I'll have plenty for retirement without too much effort.
Some of my older friends earn $8000 in CPF interest alone. And they aren't that much older than me leh! I wanna get there soon as well!
Another twist is that the guy I'll be marrying next month does not have much money in his CPF, because he has been mostly self-employed all along, and was living paycheck to paycheck before he met me as he spent most of his money on his previous girlfriends. Branded bags, frequent restaurant dinners, etc. Needless to say, he hadn't topped up his CPF nor made any voluntary contributions to it.
Better to have money in the pocket than locked up with the government right?
That's what he thought, and I was appalled when I learnt this about him. So once we're married, I'm effectively taking over his CPF and will be handling it so I can share how we intend to do that as he's in his 30s already. I'm in my late 20s.
Oh and the most expensive dinner this guy has ever bought me was $220 of steak at some fine dining place in Sentosa. After the meal, we decided we'll rather cook our own or with friends, and save $80 per person π I totally cannot appreciate fine-dining…it'll be wasted on me. I only know how to appreciate good value-for-money stuff or meals.
His savings back then was also close to being non-existant. It was 2 digits for someone in his 30s. Pretty incredible huh π¨π°
In the past 2 years since we got together, I've managed to ramp this up to 5-digits for him. Yay!
Still not as much as me yet but I'm sure he'll get there soon! I've faith in him πͺ plus this girlfriend / wife-to-be of his is so easy to maintain leh. $4 hawker centre meals are my Achilles heel, and I've no desire to own any branded bags!
Maybe just the occasional flowers can la cos they're so pretty and make my day. Just don't buy them on Valentine's Day when they're overly marked up lol.
So anyway, I've tons more to share but this post is really getting too wordy so I shall end off here for the day.
If you wanna learn more about optimising your CPF, whether for retirement, housing, medical bills, insurance, etc…do see if you might want to attend this talk to learn from the different financial writers on how they did it! π
Let me know if you're coming, and say hi!
