What is currently the best financial instrument for saving up an emergency fund? Maybe a total fund of 36k, probably 12 months worth of salary?

I agree it's always good to keep some emergency funds aside and I've been using Hugo Money Pots which helps me save stringently even on rainy days and even if I am spending only on bare necessities. You can take a look at this hack by Hugo on how saving money in Money Pots can help you track your progress and motivate you to save even on rainy days: https://www.tiktok.com/@hugosavesg/video/702364...

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With this ongoing pandemic, it does seem to me that the returns provided by the banks are extremely conservative and does not really make your money work as hard as you would want it to. You may want to consider a financial partner that would give you the convenience of a one-in-all platform, offer multiple functionalities and gives you the flexibility on how much to invest without too many penalties or charges. As mentioned above, I personally have been using Hugo Save. It helps make saving a habit and not a chore. In addition to Money Pots, I also love Roundups as it helps me save daily and invest my savings into gold automatically.

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Here's an article on how to get started if you are interested: https://bit.ly/MSxHugo

You can consider those high yielding saving account, some comes with terms and conditions like UOB One (salary credit and $500 spending), Maybank iSavvy (fresh fund for every cycle), Singapore saving bonds (no T&C), DBS multiplier (multiple hoops to jump).