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.

bicycle singapore
Opinion
Will Singapore Ever Become a Nation of Cyclists?
A few years ago, when faced with the prospect of cycling, Singaporeans would always cite the scorching weather as a reason why it was not a viable transportation option. Fast forward...
14 July 2016
3 Big Ways Grab and Uber Have Made Singaporean Lives Better
Opinion
3 Big Ways Grab and Uber Have Made Singaporean Lives Better
If there are saviours Singaporeans should all bow at the altar of, it’s Grab and Uber. While taxi drivers might disagree, for most of Singapore there is no doubt that Grab...
12 July 2016
free mrt rides
Opinion
3 Reasons Nobody Can be Bothered to Claim Those Free Early Morning MRT Rides
Recently, Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo announced that LTA would continue doling out free morning rides to commuters for another year. Sure, the idea sounds great in principle. Offer...
11 July 2016
3 Ways Almost Every Singaporean Wastes Precious Time
Opinion
3 Ways Almost Every Singaporean Wastes Precious Time
Time is money, and I’m not just saying that because I’ve got something against those people who spend all their lives surfing Facebook. Part of the reason Singaporeans spend so...
11 July 2016
3 Things You Should Do When You Receive Your First Paycheck
Career
3 Things You Should Do When You Receive Your First Paycheck
What are you going to do with your first paycheck? Ask a bunch of millennials that, and they’ll probably tell you: buy a Prada bag, open a bottle at the...
11 July 2016
digital wallet singapore
Shopping
Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay: What Singaporeans Need to Know About Digital Wallets
The phrase “digital wallet” must ring some sort of bell by now, even for the most technologically backward amongst us, simply because everyone’s been going on and on about them—well,...
8 July 2016
3 Common Mistakes That Make Singaporeans Lose Money on the Property Market
Property
3 Common Mistakes That Make Singaporeans Lose Money on the Property Market
Most Singaporeans will never, ever have to rent property. Many just make the transition from children living in their parents’ flats to (mostly married) homeowners. That’s just the way things...
7 July 2016
3 Things Too Many Singaporeans Pay a Premium For Without Realising It
Budgeting
3 Things Too Many Singaporeans Pay a Premium For Without Realising It
Singaporeans complain so much about not having enough money and the high cost of living that you’d think everyone was eating stale bread for dinner, with an old TV set...
7 July 2016
super skills
Entertainment
5 Super Skills You Can Pick Up Absolutely Free
Those kids whose daddies have money might be sending them to tuition classes and golf lessons to give them the edge over their peers, but don’t worry, as an adult...
4 July 2016
hot weather singapore
Budgeting
4 Cheap Ways to Beat Singapore’s Ridiculously Hot Weather
Singapore is hot, but not in a Brad Pitt / Angelina Jolie way. Just when true blue Singaporeans thought they had gotten used to feeling like they were bathing in...
1 July 2016
PMETs Starting New Careers Should Turn to These 5 Resources for Help
Career
PMETs Starting New Careers Should Turn to These 5 Resources for Help
When it comes to the job market, there is no mercy. One day you’re coasting on the high of being at a cushy spot on the career ladder, and the...
1 July 2016
5 Things That Hipsters are Gentrifying in Singapore
Budgeting
5 Things That Hipsters are Gentrifying in Singapore
Everyone has that hipster friend who owns an actual typewriter which he displays proudly in his room right beside his MacBook. Things that were once considered old and decrepit are...
30 June 2016
Singaporeans Living From Paycheck to Paycheck Must Do These 3 Things Now
Budgeting
Singaporeans Living From Paycheck to Paycheck Must Do These 3 Things Now
People who count down to payday every month aren’t all poor. According to this recent news report, a lot of the people who end up in credit counselling because they...
30 June 2016
Here’s How You Should Change Your Financial Management If You Are Going to Become Self-Employed
Career
Here’s How You Should Change Your Financial Management If You Are Going to Become Self-Employed
People always give Singaporeans flak for not being entrepreneurial enough, but that might not be entirely fair. Sure, we might not have another Mark Zuckerberg (and we bet Mark Zuckerberg...
29 June 2016
valentine's day dinner singapore
Opinion
Who Should Pay on a Date in Singapore?
So a friend of mine goes on a blind date and the guy takes her to Starbucks. When they’re at the counter, he leaves her to pay for her own...
28 June 2016
4 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Accept That Contract Job
Career
4 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Accept That Contract Job
It used to be that contract workers were just one rung above pond scum, and two rungs above interns. They were just there to do a job the company’s employees...
28 June 2016
3 Things Young Singaporean PMETs Should Consider Before Starting New Careers
Career
3 Things Young Singaporean PMETs Should Consider Before Starting New Careers
To many old folks in Singapore, the road to a good life used to be to study hard, get a nice, cushy PMET job and then live out the rest...
27 June 2016
How to Go on a Week-Long Holiday to Phuket For Less Than $400
Travel
How to Go on a Week-Long Holiday to Phuket For Less Than $400
When you step off the plane at Phuket Airport, you invariably see groups of Singaporeans lining up at the duty free shop to buy bottles of Martell for their dirty...
23 June 2016
A New Study Shows What You Should Really Be Spending on To Make Yourself Happy
Opinion
A New Study Shows What You Should Really Be Spending on To Make Yourself Happy
It’s becoming the norm for upwardly mobile young Singaporeans to spend lavishly to make their lifestyles look as Instagrammable as possible.
23 June 2016
3 Reasons Becoming an Uber and GrabCar Driver is Great for Tertiary Students Who are Old Enough
Career
3 Reasons Becoming an Uber and GrabCar Driver is Great for Tertiary Students Who are Old Enough
Part-time jobs for Singapore students are quite unromantic, at least for those who are serious about making money. You’re more likely to see university students breathing down their tuition kids’...
23 June 2016
3 Things Singaporeans Hardly Do But Should to Save Money On Overseas Holidays
Travel
3 Things Singaporeans Hardly Do But Should to Save Money On Overseas Holidays
Never try to part a Singaporean from his overseas holidays. If you’re denying an employee his annual leave for that weekend trip, you could well find him on MC on...
22 June 2016
3 Things That Make Singapore Hiring Managers Trash Your CV
Career
3 Things That Make Singapore Hiring Managers Trash Your CV
So your resume isn’t actually the best in the world, but neither is everyone else’s, aside from the odd overachiever. Why then have you received no call-backs after attending so...
22 June 2016
short course career singapore
Career
How to Make Sure You Don’t Waste Your SkillsFuture Credit on a Crappy Course
Singapore is known for efficiency, not so much for quality. Sounds harsh, but it’s the truth. We can get stuff done fast, but when there’s no quality control companies try...
21 June 2016
Besides Affordability, Here are 3 Areas Where the Singapore Healthcare System Has Room For Improvement
Opinion
Besides Affordability, Here are 3 Areas Where the Singapore Healthcare System Has Room For Improvement
One of those phrases Singaporeans chant all the time like a mantra is “it’s better to die than get sick in Singapore”.
20 June 2016
3 Reasons Young Singaporeans are Shunning Traditional Jobs for Entrepreneurship
Career
3 Reasons Young Singaporeans are Shunning Traditional Jobs for Entrepreneurship
So everyone is always complaining about how Singaporeans aren’t entrepreneurial enough, that we’re such sticks in the mud, but is that really true? As far as I know, most of...
20 June 2016