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.

Just Got Your Annual Increment? 5 Things Singaporeans Should Avoid Doing At All Costs
Opinion
Just Got Your Annual Increment? 5 Things Singaporeans Should Avoid Doing At All Costs
Unless your boss is the devil incarnate, you’ve probably received news of your salary increment for 2016… although let’s admit it, there’s a good chance your increment barely keeps pace...
21 December 2015
5 New Year’s Resolutions Every Singaporean Should Make For 2016
Opinion
5 New Year’s Resolutions Every Singaporean Should Make For 2016
So, did you manage to keep any of the New Year’s resolutions you made at the end of last year? If your year went anything like ours did, your resolution...
18 December 2015
Festive Season Shopping Strategy – How to Maximise Your Time and Money in Singapore
Shopping
Festive Season Shopping Strategy – How to Maximise Your Time and Money in Singapore
If you haven’t bought your Christmas gifts yet, be afraid, be very afraid. You’re at risk of spending your final week before the holidays being elbowed in the face by...
17 December 2015
3 Expensive Ways Singaporeans Spend Time Hanging Out and Their Cheaper Alternatives
Entertainment
3 Expensive Ways Singaporeans Spend Time Hanging Out and Their Cheaper Alternatives
Having fun in Singapore can be hard sometimes, not just because this country is full of boring sticks-in-the-mud (just kidding), but because it’s so darned expensive. A single drink at...
16 December 2015
2 Key Advantages Singaporeans Have When Looking For Jobs Overseas
Career
2 Key Advantages Singaporeans Have When Looking For Jobs Overseas
The Singaporean employee sits quietly in his office cubicle, hoping his boss will leave early today so he can escape the office at a decent hour. He dreams of looking...
16 December 2015
Thinking of Buying and Renting Out a Second Property? You’d Better be Prepared to Do These Things
Property
Thinking of Buying and Renting Out a Second Property? You’d Better be Prepared to Do These Things
Screw the white picket fence and the golden retriever. The Singaporean dream features a walk-in wardrobe and a second investment property to rent out.
15 December 2015
5 Awesome and Affordable Overseas Destinations to Go for New Year’s Countdown 2015
Travel
5 Awesome and Affordable Overseas Destinations to Go for New Year’s Countdown 2015
Let’s be honest—if you want to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Singapore anywhere but your bedroom, you’ll have to brave such ridiculous crowds you’ll wish you’d stayed home. So it’s...
15 December 2015
How Singaporeans Should Be Planning For Their Holidays in 2016
Travel
How Singaporeans Should Be Planning For Their Holidays in 2016
No matter how much you love the thousands of shopping malls in Singapore, you’ve got to admit that this tiny island gets claustrophobic at times.
15 December 2015
Look Out For These 3 Financial Red Flags Before Getting Married
Opinion
Look Out For These 3 Financial Red Flags Before Getting Married
Singaporean women have a reputation for being money-sucking gold diggers, or at least that’s what the regulars over at the EDMW forums would have you believe. Whether this rather unbecoming...
14 December 2015
Most People in Other Developed Countries Can’t Enjoy These 4 Things Singaporeans Take For Granted
Opinion
Most People in Other Developed Countries Can’t Enjoy These 4 Things Singaporeans Take For Granted
As Singaporeans, we spend so much of our time complaining about how expensive things are that anyone outside of the country would think we were all living in card board...
14 December 2015
3 Ways Young Singaporeans Can Help To Save Money When Living With Their Parents
Family
3 Ways Young Singaporeans Can Help To Save Money When Living With Their Parents
If the government wants to know why young Singaporeans aren’t coupling up and having babies as often or as quickly for their liking, they might want to consider that living...
11 December 2015
christmas gifts singapore
Shopping
The Most Awesome Christmas Gifts to Buy Under $30 / $50 / $300
If you still have money leftover after paying last month’s credit card bills and making your housing loan repayments, then congratulations, you get to spend more of it on Christmas...
10 December 2015
sbs smrt alternatives singapore
Transportation
4 Ways to Make Taking Public Transport in Singapore More Bearable and Productive
Recently, after five years of avoiding the overcrowded buses and MRT, I sold my motorcycle. What followed was one month of extreme frustration. From waiting 20 minutes for buses while...
10 December 2015
best credit cards students singapore
Opinion
3 Things Singaporean Students Should Learn at School That Can Impact Their Finances as Adults
I’ll be the first person to tell you that you can’t expect MOE teachers to teach kids everything. Asking why your kid can’t tie his shoelaces or isn’t a stock...
10 December 2015
3 Things You Should Leave Out From Your Resume
Career
3 Things You Should Leave Out From Your Resume
I’ve got several friends who are either business owners or recruitment agents, and as a result I’ve had the opportunity to have a look at many of the resumes sent...
9 December 2015
5 Retirement Expenses Singaporeans Will Definitely Regret Not Planning For
Budgeting
5 Retirement Expenses Singaporeans Will Definitely Regret Not Planning For
If you intend to rely entirely on your CPF savings when you retire, you’d better prepare to spend the final years of your life eating plain bread and spending all...
8 December 2015
3 Mindset Changes That Can Have a Huge Impact on Singaporeans’ Financial Lives
Opinion
3 Mindset Changes That Can Have a Huge Impact on Singaporeans’ Financial Lives
To be brutally honest, the pursuit of the Singaporean dream is going to end in bankruptcy for a lot of people. When are Singaporeans going to come to terms with...
8 December 2015
4 Ways Singaporeans Can Get More Time Off From Work
Career
4 Ways Singaporeans Can Get More Time Off From Work
Once upon a time, whenever I met random people overseas and told them I was from Singapore, those who knew we weren’t part of China used to snigger and comment...
8 December 2015
2 Big Questions Students Must Ask Themselves Before Picking a University Course
Education
2 Big Questions Students Must Ask Themselves Before Picking a University Course
The school holidays are upon us, and hordes of 17 to 20-year-olds graduating from secondary schools, JCs and polytechnics all over Singapore have a tough decision ahead of them—deciding what...
3 December 2015
4 Important Finance Tips That Millennials Should Definitely Pay Attention To
Opinion
4 Important Finance Tips That Millennials Should Definitely Pay Attention To
Most personal finance stuff on the Internet sounds like it’s targeted at fifty year old towkays with piles of cash in the bank just waiting to be invested, and a...
2 December 2015
6 Unexpected Costs of Owning a Pet in Singapore
Budgeting
6 Unexpected Costs of Owning a Pet in Singapore
Christmas is coming, and just about every parent in Singapore is going to have to think of yet another excuse for not buying their kids the dog or cat they’ve...
2 December 2015
3 Important Basics Singaporeans Must Know When It Comes To Your Home Downpayment
Property
3 Important Basics Singaporeans Must Know When It Comes To Your Home Downpayment
The biggest hurdle to most Singaporeans hoping to purchase property isn’t the hefty loan repayments each month, but the gigantic downpayment, a sum that exceeds the lifetime earnings of the...
2 December 2015
5 Awful Christmas Gifts We Hope You Won’t Be Giving This Year
Entertainment
5 Awful Christmas Gifts We Hope You Won’t Be Giving This Year
I’ve never received a vacuum cleaner for Christmas, but I imagine it would be somewhere near the top of the list of the worst Christmas gift of all time.
1 December 2015
Spend More Than You Earn? Do These 4 Things Before It’s Too Late
Budgeting
Spend More Than You Earn? Do These 4 Things Before It’s Too Late
As a kid, if you wanted to buy that minidisc player or JNCO jeans, you had two options—either beg your parents for the money to buy it, or go without—even...
1 December 2015
3 Affordable Ways to Get People to Work For You Without Hiring Full-time Staff
Career
3 Affordable Ways to Get People to Work For You Without Hiring Full-time Staff
So you’ve decided to take the plunge and become your own boss. The only problem is, you don’t have the skills to pull this off your on your own, but...
27 November 2015