I love how colourful Hokkien slang can be, especially in Singapore. And I’m not referring to the many swear words I learnt in NS. Take “pao toh”, for example which...

Work-life balance is so scarce in Singapore that many young parents have given up on it altogether. Instead, they just concentrate on trying to get enough sleep and make it...

It’s a little ironic that Singapore markets itself as a shopping and lifestyle destination when many of its inhabitants can’t even afford to partake in the bulk of the increasingly...

The government might think they were on to something when they deduced that couples needed more money to start producing more kids. But giving married couples monetary incentives to have...

If you’re planning to retire in Singapore, unless you’re the sort of person who finds Kevin Kwan’s novel Crazy Rich Asians totally relatable, forget about sipping piña coladas by the...

When Singaporean parents lament that it’s crazy expensive to bring up kids here these days, most of the time they’re not talking about mundane things like keeping the bubs fed...

Some genius inventions are so deceptively simple that you keep kicking yourself and wondering why you didn’t think of it first. Like the alarm clock that runs away from you...

One thing that drives me crazy about life in Singapore is the fact that young, unmarried Singaporeans often can’t afford to move out of the parental home. The rule that...

I have some friends who are unabashed about the fact that they hate reading. At school, they loaded up on math and science subjects while religiously avoiding the humanities. If...

Everyone has one of those friends who never wants to try or learn anything new because he doesn’t want to spend money. What is fundamentally wrong with these people is...

I once worked in a company where incompetent employees who came to work on time were preferred to those who were better at their work but came in 5 minutes...

Nobody shows up at work dressed like the characters on Mad Men anymore. While some companies maintain a strict dress code of boring and uncomfortable G2000-style officewear, others encourage their...

I tend to avoid taking cabs these past few weeks. Not only because I can’t afford the taxi fare, but also because taxi drivers are rather fond of engaging you...

Having kids in Singapore can feel like playing the Sims. You have to invest in them by making sure the house is nice and offers enough light (and bathrooms) at...

Of all the regrets you’ve accumulated in your life, we’re willing to bet buying that many of them involve money. Whether it was betting all your money on Black at the...

When you stick your ATM card into the machine at the end of the month, only to be greeted with an onscreen message disdainfully informing you that you do not...

When I was a kid, I would sometimes go without lunch for days. No, it’s not because my parents were poor or cruel. It’s because I bought video games, and...

In many fields, having a nice, prestigious paper qualification is enough to help you get your foot in the door. Sure, you’ll have to prove your worth on the job,...

Welcome to Singapore. A country where there’s always someone complaining about how much a car costs here, thanks to COE. The automatic response to this is, “Yeah, but who asked...

While it’s only natural that parents want the best for their kids, one look at exhausted Singaporean kids wearing bottle-thick glasses, trudging home from late night tuition sessions, their smartphones...

Perhaps you can’t really blame Singaporeans for not being more proactive in investing. Just reading through a list of investment products is enough to make anyone’s head spin. This could,...

Car COE prices have been creeping downwards, and wannabe car owners all over Singapore are waiting with bated breath for them to fall even lower. Every so often, the newspapers...

Some guys firmly believe that the way into a woman’s heart is through their big wallets, and spare no expense in trying to impress the ladies with flashy cars and...

If you’re a regular reader of the MoneySmart blog, you’ve probably come across the term “compound interest” more than once. We’re a huge fan of compound interest and often talk...

“Wow, this place is magical,” said my friend. “It looks like we’re not in Singapore.” When Singaporeans think of life-changing, profound, surreal experiences, it goes without saying that these magical...