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Nowadays, personal finance has risen as an essential skill to master.
As we step into 2024, the financial landscape in Singapore is undergoing a seismic shift.
According to the Worldwide Cost of Living (WCOL) 2022 Survey, Singapore shares the title of the most expensive city in the world with New York City.
With recent GST hikes and escalating widespread costs (including the notable rise in the price of kaya toast sets ), coupled with the uncertainty in trade environments, bracing for another year of grappling with Singapore’s cost of living is, understandably, a key concern for most people.
Looking at the long road that lies before us in 2024, the significance of financial resilience can’t be overstated. Beyond the overarching concern of Singapore’s high cost of living, it’s essential to understand some of the key challenges that could have an impact on our finances.
With the surge in prices driving up household essential expenses such as monthly water bills , public transportation fees, and food prices, this could potentially complicate how much you can realistically put into your savings and investments. Additionally, soaring rental prices pose a significant hurdle, as they consume a significant portion of one’s income. For instance, based on a $6,000 monthly income, $3,625 could be spent solely on rental.
Recognising the impact of the high cost of living serves as a valuable jumping-off point, providing an opportunity to find solutions to enhance our financial resilience. While this might seem daunting given our financial landscape, having the right tools at your fingertips makes this journey and empowers you to take proactive steps towards financial growth.
Looking at the current climate, individuals are seeking proactive strategies to fortify their financial resilience. To combat this, you not only need to save more, you need to build your capital efficiently.
To address this, utilising both a personal finance tracker app as well as an investment platform becomes crucial in confidently navigating the challenges of increased expenses.
Let’s dive into this 3-step approach.
Start by conducting a thorough financial assessment to optimise your expenses and gain a deeper understanding of your disposable income. Uncover your monthly cashflow to find how much remains after all your bills are settled. Identify recurring expenses and pinpoint areas for immediate savings. For enhanced clarity on money movements, consider consolidating data across all your accounts and credit cards so you won’t miss a thing.
While manually managing this data can be tedious – some resort to intricate spreadsheets – an app like Dobin could simplify this process for you. Its useful aggregation feature connects your various banks, providing a unified view of your financial landscape. By leveraging Dobin’s Cashflow feature, you can instantly see how much is left each month (your net cashflow) after meeting your financial obligations.
Finding these insights will help pave the way for setting realistic financial goals that align with the escalating costs in Singapore. It will also empower you to make informed decisions about your disposable income.
Once you’ve set your financial goals, it’s time to put your money to work with the power of compounding.
Allocate a portion of your income to a high-yield account or portfolio to ensure your money is not sitting idle somewhere. One such option is Syfe’s Cash Management solutions, which allow for maximum liquidity while delivering returns ranging from 3.75% p.a. to 5.4% p.a. that beat out traditional savings accounts. The best part is how there are literally no hoops to jump through. This means no salary crediting, no monthly spend, and no annoying minimum deposits. What you see is exactly what you get.
To create more excess cash for your investment endeavours, explore pockets of opportunities to cut costs. Try out Dobin’s Financial Insights feature to spot and cancel unnecessary recurring payments, Expense Trends to reduce non-essential expenditures like Food & Dining and Shopping, and make use of Discount Offers to ensure you never pay the full amount when you shop. This approach not only bolsters your net cashflow, it also positions your finances for stable, long-term growth.
The journey towards your goals is always ongoing, so it’s best to keep a close watch at all times. Given the constant outflow of funds each month, it’s important to regularly review insights to pinpoint and cut back on unnecessary expenses, avoidable fees, and underused subscriptions. Dobin goes a step further by giving you access to personalised Discounts, enabling you to redeem high-value deals and offset shopping expenses.
However, just cutting back on your expenses isn’t sufficient to achieve that elusive financial freedom. There’s only so much you can reasonably reduce your expenditure on before it starts affecting your quality of life. The only reliable way to achieve true long-term financial growth is through investment. Whether you’re a beginner investor looking to dip your toes into the intimidating world of investing or a seasoned veteran with a wealth of financial knowledge, Syfe has all the tools you need to grow your wealth.
For those who prefer a hands-off approach and expert-led investments, Syfe offers a variety of Managed Portfolios catered towards different goals and risk tolerance levels. Alternatively, if you would rather retain full control over your investment, you can also leverage Syfe’s Brokerage to build your own portfolio by investing in your favourite companies across US & SG markets.
This comprehensive approach keeps your finances on the right track while ensuring that it’s actively working hard for you, providing a buffer against inflation and maintaining your financial wellbeing.
In this ever-evolving economic landscape, Dobin and Syfe offer a two-pronged solution for those seeking to build financial resilience. Dobin, with its data-driven insights, enables users to truly understand and optimise their finances, across their multiple accounts and credit cards.
By applying these insights to build up savings and parking them into Syfe’s professionally managed, automated portfolios and cash management solutions, users can position themselves for long-term financial stability – come what may.
Ready to amplify your wealth with Syfe’s all-in-one investment platform? Get started with Syfe today!
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