joannepoh

Articles by Joanne Poh

In my previous life, I was a property lawyer who spent most of my time struggling to get out of bed or stuck in peak hour traffic. These days, as a freelance commercial writer, I work in bed, on the beach, in parks and at cafes, all while being really frugal. I like helping other people save money so they can stop living lives they don't like.

3 Things That can be Done to Stop Singapore’s Hawker Trade from Dying Out
Opinion
3 Things That can be Done to Stop Singapore’s Hawker Trade from Dying Out
Ask any Singaporean living overseas what he misses most about Singapore, and there’s a 90% chance he’ll say hawker food. Japanese sushi and American burgers are nice and all, but...
28 February 2017
2 Ways the Government Can Really Help Singaporeans Find Partners Instead of Giving Them Money to Attend SDN Events
Opinion
2 Ways the Government Can Really Help Singaporeans Find Partners Instead of Giving Them Money to Attend SDN Events
Whenever talk of Singapore’s dismal birth rate pops up, you can always count on the government to give people something to snigger at. Let’s not even mention that small spaces...
28 February 2017
3 Uncomfortable Truths All Freelancers Must Face
Career
3 Uncomfortable Truths All Freelancers Must Face
Recently, one of my friends was complaining about how he’d been stuck at the office till 11pm. “You, on the other hand, don’t even have to work,” he said bitterly.
27 February 2017
3 Reasons Online Love Scams Spiked So Much in 2016
Opinion
3 Reasons Online Love Scams Spiked So Much in 2016
Just in time for Valentines’ Day, the Straits Times published a report about how online love scams are on the rise, despite other types of online cheating going down.
24 February 2017
3 Assumptions About Money Many Singaporeans Make and Later Regret
Opinion
3 Assumptions About Money Many Singaporeans Make and Later Regret
You have to be careful when you walk into one of those bars where there’s no menu and they create a cocktail based on your personality. Because there’s always the...
24 February 2017
3 Ways the Singapore Education System Needs to Change to Prepare Kids for the Future Economy
Education
3 Ways the Singapore Education System Needs to Change to Prepare Kids for the Future Economy
Our local students might have come out tops in the Pisa tests, but that’s actually bad news. It confirms that the Singapore workforce is seriously underperforming relative to its test...
21 February 2017
3 Ways the Government Can Regulate Short-Term Home Rentals in Singapore
Property
3 Ways the Government Can Regulate Short-Term Home Rentals in Singapore
Renting out your condo on Airbnb is a little bit like having gay sex—it’s technically illegal, but the government hasn’t taken any action yet.
20 February 2017
3 Ways to Really Future-Proof Your Job
Career
3 Ways to Really Future-Proof Your Job
The future—it’s something that Singaporeans are constantly worrying about. When parents enrol their kids in 28 different tuition classes, it’s for their future. When couples buy a big flat they...
20 February 2017
4 Ways Money Can Ruin Your Personal Life
Opinion
4 Ways Money Can Ruin Your Personal Life
For every alpha male who steps out of his Ferrari, waves his wallet and sees a thousand girls fall at his feet, there’s someone else whose wife has ditched him...
17 February 2017
4 Beautiful Regions in France That are Much Cheaper to Visit than Paris
Travel
4 Beautiful Regions in France That are Much Cheaper to Visit than Paris
Your dream trip to France involves the following scenarios: enjoying a picnic and wine from the top of the Eiffel Tower as you’re serenaded on the violin by some guy...
17 February 2017
Is Nissan’s New Hybrid Car Really Going To Get More Singaporeans to Start Driving Electric Cars?
Opinion
Is Nissan’s New Hybrid Car Really Going To Get More Singaporeans to Start Driving Electric Cars?
Electric cars have failed to change the world, so far at least. When the first mass-market 100% electric car, the Nissan Leaf, came out in 2010, some imagined we’d finally...
16 February 2017
Are you Dying of Career Boredom? Try These 4 Things Before Changing Jobs
Career
Are you Dying of Career Boredom? Try These 4 Things Before Changing Jobs
The most mind-crushing boredom I’ve ever experienced was as a student in primary and secondary school. That desperate feeling of being trapped at a desk as you helplessly tried to...
16 February 2017
Has SMRT Found the Solution To Getting More Taxis Back on the Road?
Opinion
Has SMRT Found the Solution To Getting More Taxis Back on the Road?
Remember the days when you would hop into a taxi whenever you needed to get somewhere in a hurry or missed the last train home? No? Well, they once existed,...
14 February 2017
5 Stupid Things Singaporeans Are Doing in the Current Job Market
Career
5 Stupid Things Singaporeans Are Doing in the Current Job Market
You already knew the economy was in trouble. But here are some cold, hard figures to back it up—In 2016, employment growth reached a 13-year low, while the unemployment rate...
14 February 2017
3 Ways Our Stressful Lifestyles Make Us Spend More
Opinion
3 Ways Our Stressful Lifestyles Make Us Spend More
Despite complaining about the high cost of living, middle-income Singaporeans seem to enjoy a fairly high disposable income. We are some of the Asia Pacific’s top spenders on dining out,...
8 February 2017
6 Ways to Waste Money When You’re at the Office
Budgeting
6 Ways to Waste Money When You’re at the Office
Ever get the feeling that no matter how hard you work, you seem to be getting even poorer? Why are you working so hard anyway, when you would have more...
8 February 2017
3 Reasons You Should Be Excited About Singapore Becoming Car-Lite
Opinion
3 Reasons You Should Be Excited About Singapore Becoming Car-Lite
For the longest time, all that talk about turning Singapore car-lite sounded like a lot of hot air. Yeah right, said everyone, easy enough for the authorities to tell people...
7 February 2017
Singaporeans Who are Planning to Work Past Retirement Age Should Do These 5 Things
Opinion
Singaporeans Who are Planning to Work Past Retirement Age Should Do These 5 Things
There will come a time when we realise the true cost of those designer bags and the hipster coffees we’ve been consuming daily. And that will come when we receive...
7 February 2017
3 Money-Related Mistakes You Must Avoid Making in a New Relationship
Budgeting
3 Money-Related Mistakes You Must Avoid Making in a New Relationship
Ah, young love… in the early days of a new relationship, many people are ready to bend over backwards and do things that they wouldn’t normally do just to please...
6 February 2017
Bloomberg Says You Can Find a Job in 8 Weeks in Singapore – Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Feel Too Happy
Opinion
Bloomberg Says You Can Find a Job in 8 Weeks in Singapore – Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Feel Too Happy
Recently, Bloomberg published this report with a very utopian-sounding headline–“It takes just 8 weeks to find a job in Singapore”. It went on to compare Singapore with countries like Australia,...
3 February 2017
6 Generous Sign Up Bonuses That Make Us Want to Sign Up For These Credit Cards Right Now
Credit Cards
6 Generous Sign Up Bonuses That Make Us Want to Sign Up For These Credit Cards Right Now
In the right hands, credit cards can be a source of tons of freebies. I especially love cash back credit cards since you get back a bit of the money...
2 February 2017
6 Popular Side Jobs Singaporeans Take on to Earn Extra Income
Budgeting
6 Popular Side Jobs Singaporeans Take on to Earn Extra Income
Singaporeans may not be the most productive people at the office, but when it comes to making money a lot of people are much more industrious than you think. Your...
2 February 2017
4 Things You Must Do Before Commencing Your Job Search
Career
4 Things You Must Do Before Commencing Your Job Search
There comes a point in almost every Singaporean’s career when, after yet another all-nighter at the office/getting screwed over by your boss/realising you’re being underpaid, you decide this is the...
1 February 2017
6 Tactics Gyms Use to Make You Sign Up Even If You Hate Working Out
Fitness & Beauty
6 Tactics Gyms Use to Make You Sign Up Even If You Hate Working Out
Based on the number of people I know with expensive gym memberships, I should be surrounded by six packs.
31 January 2017
4 Reasons You Should Change Jobs Other Than a Better Salary
Career
4 Reasons You Should Change Jobs Other Than a Better Salary
Singaporean employees have the bad reputation of being job hoppers who’ll jump ship as soon as someone offers them $100 more to to do the same job.
31 January 2017