Personal Wealth

About a year ago on 26 October 2022, my day was marked with many realisations, each with varying intensities of pause and self-reflection. The first one came when it dawned on me that I had [...]

The total cost of university education can range from $100,000 to $1 million in SGD today, depending on many factors such as country, university, academic field, degree level, inflation, and [...]

Property prices in Singapore have been rising for the past few years, particularly for landed projects, despite higher mortgage interest rates and government cooling measures. It is no surprise [...]

*Due to unforeseen circumstances, we will be postponing the episode on Investment-linked policies to a later date. Do keep a look out for it in the coming months and meanwhile, we hope you will [...]

Have you ever been to the doctor and not followed their advice? Perhaps they told you to quit smoking, avoid certain foods, or take up a new exercise regimen. Perhaps you tried to follow their [...]

Did you know that back in 2013, a panel set up to review the financial advisory industry has rejected an outright ban on commission for financial advisers in Singapore? In this episode, Chris [...]

20 years ago, I wrote an article in this same column about the different ways financial institutions are compensated and their implications for consumers. Suffice to say, the industry, which is [...]

In Part 1 of this article, we established a baseline financial goal for your children’s tertiary education. We now turn our attention to wealth planning for achieving this goal. Inflation of [...]

“There have been many bad money decisions because I know how to buy (stocks) but I don’t know how to sell!” In many industries like healthcare and legal, it is a norm for people [...]

For many Singaporean parents, sending their children to university is an important life goal. A good tertiary education gives their children a head start on their future career. As education [...]

Are you making the most of your CPF account? In this episode, Isaac discusses the strategies for optimising your CPF accounts and integrating them into your personal wealth plan with Tan Chin Yu, [...]

When we think about our lives, we all want to make it a good one for ourselves and the people we care about. For some, they have a clear vision of what they want, while others are still exploring [...]

Bonds are not typically the best asset class if there is unexpected inflation, but one type of bond which investors use to keep pace with the inflation rate is the Treasury Inflation-Protected [...]

On a recent episode of Providend’s Money Wisdom Podcast, I was asked a bonus question about retirement strategies that plan for a drawdown of one’s capital versus perpetuities. I shared that for [...]

We all know Kyith as the brain behind Investment Moats, Singapore’s most well read financial blog, but how much do we know about his motivations and money values that led him to where he is [...]

In celebration of his 25 years in the financial industry, our CEO, Christopher Tan shared an epiphany he experienced 2 years after the Global Financial Crisis in a recent article he wrote for the [...]

In the recent 3 years, we have witnessed a rise in the number of people coming to us for end-of-life, legacy, and estate planning. Perhaps they were reminded that death can happen suddenly, [...]

Living a Good Life: Courage, Style, and Entrepreneurship After 60 In this episode, we are delighted to be joined by the lovely Ms Ong Bee Yan, who shares how she blossomed from a shy young woman [...]

4 years ago in 2019, The Woke Salaryman was set up with the intention of helping Singaporeans make better financial and life choices through education. In this episode, our CEO, Christopher Tan, [...]

This month marks the 25th anniversary of my career in wealth advisory. Time really flies. I had a good career, not that it was worry-free. Instead, it was all the crises that I have gone through [...]

Living a Good Life: Steering Life’s Transitions with Purpose “At some point in time, we see the higher purpose of why we are doing certain things.” This reflection sets the tone for [...]

On 14 February 2023, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong gave his Budget Speech “Moving Forward in a New Era” amidst a background of fighting COVID-19 for more than three [...]

Whether you are accumulating towards retirement or spending in your retirement years, having your investments reach their planned returns is crucial in ensuring you achieve your goals. When it [...]

“Hi Claire’s mummy, what are you working as?” “Oh, I’m a stay-at-home mum.” It is not uncommon for my wife to have such conversations outside our daughter’s school or at the [...]

(This article follows an earlier one titled I hate my job but don’t know what to do next) In my previous article, I shared how I arrived at the difficult decision of quitting my job without [...]

“Focusing on the correct side of your money equation will help you not only be financially successful, but also help you finish well in life.” In this episode, I will elaborate both sides of the [...]

Recently, someone on my Facebook asked me to use 1-3 words to describe how the start of 2023 has been for me so far. I posted “Ctrl-Alt-Del” (Control, Alternate and Delete). What do I mean? To [...]

For the record, I love my current job. But I’ve certainly hit bottom with some of my previous ones. Hence, the title. So, if you dislike or hate your current role, or are looking to transit into [...]

Within the ongoing time commitments of work and family, I enjoy spending some of my personal free time to do readings on various topics. Apart from just learning and getting new insights, I found [...]

“Transition” is the word that describes 2022 for me. For the financial markets, we transited from low inflation to a higher inflation environment, from low interest rates to rising interest rates [...]