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For the longest time, I’ve been trying to convince my sister to make her hard-earned monies work harder for her. These have just been idling in her current saving methods which are not yielding much interest. And mind you — it’s really a #basic savings account with a fractional interest rate.
She was what you might call a “lazy saver”. While she is dedicated to saving her moolah by living frugally and saving most of her earnings, she doesn’t step out to explore avenues that can offer better interest rates.
She’s a walking oxymoron really, because at the same time, she also has grand dreams of retiring by age 40. Yet she puts away the money in places which are not helping her to reach her dream.
However, somehow, a breakthrough happened, and after her first foray into growing her money, it’s as though the floodgates have opened and she’s awakened her financial instinct. A month on, she keeps researching more avenues to increase her cash stash.
Well, this breakthrough was in the form of Dash PET by Etiqa Insurance (nope, it’s not a pet insurance for your furry friends; that’s short for Protect, Earn, Transact), an insurance savings plan. It was the perfect way to ease her into the world of higher returns without needing to do too much research.
If you’re also helplessly watching a family member’s savings sit stagnant because they’re afraid to take that first step, here are some reasons I used to convince my sister to kick start her journey via Dash PET (and unleash a domino effect of seriously taking charge of her personal finance).
1. Your savings on Dash PET are capital guaranteed
When you put your money into Dash PET, you enjoy capital guaranteed returns — this means that the full amount you put in will be returned, no matter the market fluctuations.
This really helps allay the fears of risk-averse people, who are so used to keeping a tight grip on their money in one or two places.
They won’t need to keep monitoring their Dash PET and experience a rollercoaster of emotions, or fear that the amount — due to market volatility — will keep going up and down by the minute. All they’ll see in their Dash PET plan growing: interests are calculated on a daily basis and earned at the start of each month. No red numbers!
2. Dash PET offers high returns of up to 1.5%* p.a.
In addition to preserving your money, Dash PET offers high returns of up to 1.5%* p.a.
That’s very decent for an insurance savings plan. The idea of getting 1.5%* p.a. without putting in much effort (you just need to park funds inside and wait, no need to complete additional steps) is a very good deal, if you ask me. It is also the best rate of returns^ in the Singapore market right now.
By the way, you earn this 1.5%* p.a. on the first $10,000 in your Dash PET plan, so no pressure to put in your whole life savings to hit a minimum deposit amount (the minimum is just $50 for Dash PET).
1.5%* p.a. on $10,000 is $150 (without withdrawing during the one year period) — which can buy a few months’ worth of groceries, an omakase meal, a months’ worth of cai png meals, a pair of sports shoes…
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Do note that you start off with 1.3% p.a. on your first $10,000 savings, and 0.3% p.a. for amounts after that. If you sign up for Singtel Dash’s complimentary insurance protection (why not? It’s freeeee coverage for a year on Death & Total and Permanent Disability# worth up to S$50,000#), you’ll get the extra 0.2% p.a. on your first $10,000, which brings it to 1.5% p.a. |
Anyway, long story short, although my sister had her own insurance, she signed up for the free coverage in order to get the extra 0.2%* p.a. for her Dash PET savings at no extra cost (that’s a helpful $20 additional interest earned after a year without withdrawals — it can even buy 4 basic tees from Uniqlo or even up to 20 soft serve cones from MickeyDs!).
If you want to get additional protection, you can even sign up for Singtel Dash’s other insurance plans to up your earn rate even more (up to 0.75%** p.a.). These include Dash PET’s add-on protection plans (such as riders) Major Cancer, Death & Total and Permanent Disability, and Accidental Death.
3. No lock-in, easy way to grow money
Having gone through a few family emergencies together and pulling through some financial difficulties, my sister and I know the importance of having liquid cash. Thus, it’s one of her biggest worries that kept her from placing her money in products that need a long commitment even though we’re now better off financially.
Thus, it really encouraged her that Dash PET has no lock-in (it’s really up to you if you want to reap the maximum returns). It was the ideal introduction to ease her into growing her money elsewhere besides her usual ways.
One minor drawback is the 70 cents admin charge when withdrawing your funds to PayNow, so one way to get around that is to withdraw your funds to your Dash wallet instead at no charge. Although to me, I see it as 70 cents of $150 is barely 0.5% of my gains, so I’m okay to pay the admin fee for PayNow lumpsum withdrawal.
4. Singtel Dash is also really easy to use
Another perception she had was that growing her money would be a tedious, complicated process, with charts to look at, paperwork to fill, and so on.
So it really helps that the user interface of Singtel Dash is really intuitive and friendly, with cute graphics. Getting from Singtel Dash to Dash PET is also simple, as you only need to click on the “Grow Money” icon.
Dash PET is a breath of fresh air — unlike other cheem (complicated) financial apps or brokerage platforms that show a wall of numbers packed with jargon that newbies to the personal finance journey may not immediately understand (and might scare them off). Plus, who can beat the cuteness of the purple Dash PET mascot when it transforms from an egg and “grows up” into a creature that can evolve as you grow your money?
5. Up the FOMO feels with a sign-up promo
Lastly, I revealed my trump card when trying to convince her to grow her money through Dash PET. Knowing that she’s never able to pass up a good deal, I dialled up her FOMO feels by telling her about Dash PET’s current promos that run till 31 March 2022 (they just extended!), so it’s go go go, mai tu liao (don’t wait already)!
Here are the cashback amounts you get when you save on Dash PET:
- S$1 in Dash credits – save S$1,000 to S$2,999
- S$5 in Dash credits – save S$3,000 to S$4,999
- S$10 in Dash credits – save S$5,000 or more and opt in for free protection (for additional 0.2% p.a. too!)
If you’re FOMO too – check out dash.com.sg/dashpet for the latest promos.
By this point, she literally downloaded the app in front of me and asked me to walk her through the signup process. She was surprised that she never noticed this good find that her friends (who had started investing before her) were not aware of.
“Sis, what’s your referral code ah?”
Ah yes! You, too, can get up to S$10 cashback when you get someone to sign up for Dash and Dash PET.
Find out more about and sign up for Dash PET to start growing your money like us.
Disclaimers:
^Based on comparison with similar digital insurance savings plans available for subscription. Information accurate as at 9 September 2021. This comparison does not include information on all similar products. Etiqa Insurance does not guarantee that all aspects of the products have been illustrated. You may wish to conduct your own comparison for products that are listed in www.comparefirst.sg.
*For the first policy year, 1.30% p.a. up to S$10,000 and 0.30% p.a. for subsequent amount in Account Value. Crediting rates are non-guaranteed. Additional 0.2% p.a. to the existing 1.3% p.a. returns for your first S$10,000 Dash PET savings during the first policy year while the complimentary protection is active.
#Complimentary protection sum assured is based on up to 5X of the first S$10,000 of your Dash PET Account Value. Complimentary Accidental Death coverage will be offered for the same sum duration if you are not eligible for the Death & Total and Permanent Disability add-on protection. Sum assured will be based on your age and occupation.
**Additional interests of up to 0.25% p.a. from each activated payable add-on protection applies to the first S$10,000 account value of the active Dash PET policy.
Dash PET is not a bank account or a fixed deposit. It is an insurance savings plan that earns a crediting interest rate. This policy is underwritten by Etiqa Insurance Pte. Ltd. (Company Reg. No. 201331905K). This content is for reference only and is not a contract of insurance. Full details of the policy terms and conditions can be found in the policy contract. Protected up to specified limits by SDIC. As buying a life insurance policy is a long-term commitment, an early termination of the policy usually involves high costs and the surrender value, if any, that is payable to you may be zero or less than the total premiums paid. You should seek advice from a financial adviser before deciding to purchase the policy. If you choose not to seek advice, you should consider if the policy is suitable for you. This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Information is accurate as at 7 Jan 2022.