Hello all, I need some help. I just got my first full time salary, not sure which savings plan I should get?

Hi anon,

I'd advise you to examine your expenditure first. I work with a 40-30-20-10 rule. That is to say,

40% of my income on expenses, maximum30% of my income on loans (such as mortgage), maximum20% of my income on savings/investment, minimum10% of my income on insurance, maximum

I'll presume your coverage and emergency savings are adequately settled, if not, settle that first.

Once that is done, you can examine what sort of savings plan you would prefer. There are many factors to consider, but start with a budget first. Although you can allocate 20% of your take home for a savings plan, which is about $320/mth, in reality you will probably want to allocate a little slightly less in case you need more money from time to time, and also as a buffer in the event you lose your job and have to fall back on your savings.

You can then consider savings plans based on several factors, such as

• Duration - this could be a fixed duration plan, or a lifetime plan. Premiums are usually paid over a shorter duration of time such as 5 or 10 years.

• Payout - it could be a lump sum payout, or a plan with periodic coupons

• Yield - You'll want a good guaranteed yield since that cannot be taken away from you

You can speak with an independent financial advisor if you want to know about the majority of options on the market available to you. Do have an in-depth discussion so that you know all possible options and can settle on the one most suitable to your needs.

Good to consult a financial advisor which carries an array of products from an independent financial advisory firm.

Agents from independent financial advisory can compare across all their carried products, to provide you the one that best suits your needs. Of course, there may still be some bias, as they could possibly sell you the one that gets them the highest commission so that they can hit target.

However, if they're fee-based even if they're with an independent financial advisory firm, i.e., they charge a fee on their advice, then this bias may be lesser.

For example, Wilfred Ling is a well-known fee-based advisor. However, his fees do not come cheap.

Alternatively, you can try MoneyOwl. It previously had a promotion - free comprehensive financial planning service, but I think it's no longer free now.

https://investmentmoats.com/wealth-building-2/r...

https://www.moneyowl.com.sg/comprehensive/

I'm not from MoneyOwl and I don't use their service. I just like their business model of "Non commission-based Advisers", which would be more objective and probably be more aligned with their clients' interests than conventional advisors from insurance companies.

MoneyOwl is a joint venture between NTUC and Providend.

Hope this helps.