During his Budget 2024 speech, DPM Lawrence Wong admitted that the outlook for 2024 is mixed – with looming geopolitical risks. In lieu of this, he rolled out a slew of new support measures for both individuals and businesses. These measures covered a wide range of policies and schemes such as SkillsFuture and CPF.

In this episode of the DollarsAndSense Podcast, we discuss 4 of the biggest and most surprising announcements, and how they will affect Singaporeans financially.

Read more about the topic here: https://dollarsandsense.sg/singapore-budget-2024-things-will-impact-singaporeans-financially/

#TheGreatResignation has turned into #TheGreatRetrenchment in the past 12 months, with tech workers being one of the groups that have been most affected. 

In this conversation about retrenchment, popular content creator and tech worker, Jeraldine Phneah, shares her recent retrenchment experience. Jeraldine also explained why companies sometimes lay off good performers and how workers can recover from this setback. 

3:10: Why do some companies retrench workers who are performing well, or have just received a promotion or a good bonus? And why do they sometimes rehire so quickly after a layoff exercise? 

14:00: Coping as a survivor of a retrenchment exercise isn’t easy. Besides an increase in workload, remaining employees may experience a lack of job security. Should they also start looking for new jobs? 

19:15: Is loyalty to a company still applicable today? 

22:15: Are you working harder for yourself or your boss? 

27:00: Why workers today should think about retrenchment as part of their career journey

29:30: Can a worker who has been laid off still ask for a higher salary in their next job? Or should they be realistic and accept lower pay? 

33:00: Is it true that HR recruiters will only want to talk to you if you have an existing job? Do you become less desirable as a worker once you have been retrenched?

CPF contributions was a prominent part of Budget 2023. The CPF Annual Salary Ceiling will be raised from $6,000 to $8,000 by 2026. CPF contributions will also increase for senior workers above 54 to 70, while Platform Workers will start receiving CPF contributions from the tail-end of 2024.

Employers will also have to focus on employee productivity. DPM Lawrence Wong mentioned that guidelines will be put in place for flexible work arrangements. Working fathers can now enjoy up to 4 weeks of Paternity Leave (with the additional 2 weeks on a voluntary basis for now).

At the same time, schemes will also be rolled out to enable SMEs to invest in increasing employee productivity, building new capacities and expanding.

The price of gold has held up well over the long-term. This makes it a good investment to combat inflation and geopolitical uncertainties – which are creating volatility in the markets currently. In the podcast we look at how gold has held up during near-term uncertainties as well, such as recent wars and recessions. 

We also need to go about buying gold. We can invest in gold ETFs, similar to how we buy and sell stocks on the exchange. However, gold does not produce income, while there is a cost to storing and managing the gold ETF. This is the same for gold accounts or other precious metals accounts we can open with banks.

The other question we also explore the topic of buying gold for investment VS buying gold to wear. Furthermore, if we can enjoy wearing our jewellery (which is an investment on its own) while also seeing its value rise, that could be a win-win outcome too.

Read More: https://dollarsandsense.sg/can-gold-really-safe-haven-times-crisis-take-look-gold-prices-periods-uncertainties-find-co-relation/

Follow DollarsAndSense
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DollarsAndSenseSG
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DNSSingapore
Telegram: https://t.me/dollarsandsense
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dollarsandsense

Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) has become an increasingly relevant topic around the world. While it’s not hard to guess what it refers to – buying something today and paying for it at some point in the future – we look at what really makes it different to credit cards.

Beyond just that comparison, another layer to the discussion is how ethical is it for BNPL companies, which are typically not regulated, to encouraged their customers to take on debt. This is especially since their users can be more vulnerable groups, students who have never managed debt or even income, and lower-income individuals who do not earn enough or have poor credit ratings to qualify for credit cards.

Read more: https://dollarsandsense.sg/simple-truth-behind-buy-now-pay-later-bnpl/

With a squeeze on homes in Singapore, resale HDB prices have been climbing since COVID-19 hit in early 2020. We discuss whether buying a resale HDB flat is really an ideal starter home in Singapore. Going even further, we talk about the merits of buying a resale HDB flat without using any government grants. Doing this, we retain our "first-time buyers" status with HDB - giving us the option to go back into the BTO market when we become eligible and/or have a home to wait out the 4 to 5 years building period.

Read the original article that sparked this discussion: https://dollarsandsense.sg/purchasing-hdb-resale-flat-without-grants-can-good-starter-home-option-singapore/

The $1,400 local qualifying salary is one highlight from Prime Minister Lee’s National Day Rally 2021 speech that caught public attention. Many netizens jumped on board to laud this change as a new minimum wage for Singapore workers. From a relatively obscure technical term that was used by Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and HR departments, the Local Qualifying Salary is now in mainstream attention after PM Lee’s mention.

We discuss a quasi-minimum wage structure in Singapore based on enhancements to Local Qualifying Salaries (LQS) and Progressive Wages. 

Read more: https://dollarsandsense.sg/local-qualifying-salary-5-things-need-know-lqs/ 

We discuss the reasons it doesn’t make financial sense to cancel our BTO, and also why HDB can consider more leniency for those who do cancel their applications.

Read more: https://dollarsandsense.sg/doesnt-make-financial-sense-give-hdb-bto-flat-due-construction-delays/

In this episode, the DollarsAndSense team discusses whether self-employed persons (and possibly even freelancers) are being given less government support just because they didn't incorporate a private limited company.