4 Innovative Savings Account Strategy NSFs Can Take Advantage Of

National Service (NS) is one of the best times to start your personal finance journey.

If you are looking for a savings account to park your NSF Allowance, you are at the right place!

Here is a good time for me to share which are some of the best bank savings accounts that you can use, more importantly, an optimal 4 account strategy which NSFs can take advantage of.

DBS Multiplier Account

The DBS Multiplier Account is a popular high-yield savings account where NSFs will get the most benefit if they credit their allowance to the account. As a NSF, you are eligible for 2 categories in the Multiplier Account: PayLah! Retail Spend and Income (when you credit your NS monthly allowance). You will need to have a combined total of ≥ $500 to enjoy a 0.4% p.a. on your first $10k in the Multiplier Account. After crediting your NS allowance to the Multiplier Account(with no minimum balance for those below 30y/o) you only need to spend at least $1 using PayLah to enjoy the 0.4% interest. To maximise your Multiplier Account, leave slightly above the amount you expect to spend with PayLah! inside the Multiplier Account. This ensures that your money is better utilised to earn a higher interest rate in the other accounts.

Standard Chartered Jumpstart Account

The Standard Chartered JumpStart Account allows students and NSFs between 18-26 years old, to open the JumpStart account with no deposit required. Their benefits are that there is no minimum balance and no fall below fees with a 0.4% interest rate for your first $20k in the account. They also have a JumpStart debit card with 1% cashback for all eligible Mastercard transactions be it retail or online. For this account, I would recommend you to use the JumpStart Account as your main spending account to take advantage of this 1% cashback.

Singtel Dash PET

Singtel Dash Pet Account which is actually an insurance savings plan does have many characteristics that are similar to a savings account. It offers an extremely attractive return rate of 1.3 % for your first $10k. Its requirements are that there should be a minimum account balance of $50 to enjoy the return rate. Do take note as well that withdrawal to the bank will cost you $0.70 per transaction. In my opinion, this is negligible as long as withdrawals are not frequent through this account. As the 1.3 % return rate offered trumps every other account available to an NSF. I would recommend building up your $10k in here to maximise the return rate.

POSB SAYS Programme

The POSB Save As You Serve (SAYS) Programme is a special savings programme for NSFs, requiring them to credit their NS allowance to receive the bonus interest. The SAYE Account provides them with an attractive interest rate of between 2.05% to 2.25%. You can also use the DBS Multiplier Account as your debiting account. This allows you to enjoy benefits from both the Multiplier Account and the SAYS Programme!

The strategy to maximise your savings would be to split your monthly allowance into 2 main categories: savings and spending. I would recommend doing a 60-40 split. Since you’ll be spending most of your time in camp, you would not need to spend a lot of money.

To maximise all 4 accounts, you will be spending through DBS Multiplier Account and Standard Chartered Jumpstart Account. For emergency funds and savings for short term goals, you will be using the Singtel Dash PET and SAYE Account respectively.

Emergency funds are an important part of every financial plan. Building it up during your NS, will give you a great head start. Usually for most, as you may still have working parents that can provide for you if an emergency happens you may only need 3 months of expenses in your emergency fund. I would recommend parking these savings into the Singtel Dash PET. This maximises the returns you can earn, especially for your first $10k.

Depending on your financial situation, an emergency fund may not be your priority now. As such, you may have other financial goals like saving for a short term goal (education goal).

The POSB SAYS Programme allows you to set a monthly contribution of your NS allowance into your SAYE Account. You can change the monthly contribution amount at any time as your NS allowance increases. This will help you to grow your money even more. The 2.2% (minimum $300 per month) interest rate is slightly higher than the Singtel Dash PET.

For those who have a higher risk tolerance, here are some good articles from Lin Yun Heng (Investing Beanstock) on Crypto Yield Farming or Staking,

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