I will just state the obvious: Option A - high-level of discipline + medium to high-level of financial knowledge, go for Term Option B - Any others, go for WL. A lousy plan is still a good plan than no plan (Monies just fly to somewhere, a blackhole which you never get to see)

No straight answer to this, I am sorry. But I can share that personally I am 60-70% TA and the rest FA. Because by trending, it is largely a clearer direction where it will heads to, and FA will typically help me to verify my thoughts.

Before we hit Sep this year, they can still collect NRIC "freely"

I throw my friends these ballpark numbers for reference, no basis, just numbers. Level 1 - 20% of take home $ Level 2 - 30% of take home $ Level 3 - 40% of take home $ Level 4 - 50% of take home $ Level 5 - 51% or more. Out of the % you saved from the take home $, you are free to allocate freely. 1) Giving allowance to parents are classified as expenses rather than savings, unless you belong to the group where parents will "give you back" when you get married group 2) Buying WL insurance doesn't includes in saving in my definition/context, but buying Endowment plan do account for savings. 3) Consistency is the key, if you can do it for 1 month, 3 months 6 months 1 year, always always increase , never decrease, once you decrease it means that either something "big" happened or it is due to your poor planning.

There are 18 Easter egg....

Topic: Surrounded by woman, inspired by woman Background: I grew up in an environment of 3 sisters (1 elder, 2 younger) and despite working in IT field of work, I am surrounded by woman (again), 5 powerful woman. The person whom inspired me the most is my current team lead (TL), 1 year my senior, mother of 2, mighty woman at work. To earned my respect and to get me inspired is never easy, I often play the card of “morale authority” where I been there done it (perhaps better than you), I can never get inspired by someone whom is below my standard from my tainted glasses. Getting inspired: My TL is well respected within the department and cross functional departments. Apart from work, she manages her home finances, from holidays, to groceries, to investments. In short, she’s the CFO at home, which might be a rising trend in woman power. As an “absolutist”, I believe in results oriented and often disappointed when I get poor returns / results. My TL led by example by sharing her stories as well as asking me to focus what I can consider focusing on which is sustainable, which is strategies. You may get poor finance results from your planning now, but if you constantly refine your strategies, results will follow. For someone whom you respect at work’s context, you know you can trust her for personal finance context to a high level of trust too. We briefly discussed on the strategies and action plan, just like work. A regular review should be scheduled quarterly and revised according to your situation. Ultimate respect and inspiration: To be honest, the discussion and advice on financial planning could come from anyone. However to come from your TL whom you respect a lot and led by example, it ignite the passion of F.I.R.E within you. Someone whom manages their finances well at home, have a happy family, super awesome at work, still need to spare time to pump milk for baby at work, and plan for family bonding activities. Feeling inspired and confident that I can do the same. What is the outcome?: Apart from being (very) result oriented, I adopted to look at personal finance from a strategic level. This is often misunderstood that you need to have a lot of monies that’s why you are doing this, however it is exactly the opposite. Because you have limited funds and you want to fully maximize your spending power without compromising the enjoyment, the nice food, the nice holiday that you can have. What I learn the most from my TL is also the power of family, she might not have the same power if she didn’t get good support from her family. I do believe the smile from her kids when she reach home, her husband warmth hug and great colleagues to keep her going, thus keeping her charged up to face many difficult and challenging situations. Conclusion I am inspired and I will continue to inspire people around me on personal finance management. I met many strong woman in my life and I hope to have a strong woman by my side in time to come. Happy International Women's Day! Cheers Bang

Why no bring girlfriend/boyfriend ? (What? Because I don't have?!)

I don't have a physical piggy bank those days, but I do "invest" or lets say buy things that people at my age values. During those days, I started buying FIFA cards (From Pcakets) , Dragon Ball cards (From 20 cents card-machine). Slightly older, I am into Tamiya cars , WWF gaming cards. In contrats, today I still don't have a physical piggy bank, haha! I started buying Physical Silver coins and Gold coins for investment and leisure. Moved on to Unit Trust, Indexes, Forex, Options and finally Stocks. I don't really believe in saving monies in the past but during volunteer work at a regular old folks home and cancer foundation, many people shared with me their life regrets. Most common regrets are financial management and spending time with their loves one. I am fortunate to have value investing mindset and act on it. However that is not enough, to share knowledge to family, relative and friends is equally important. To encourage proper financial management for them to save into their own version of piggy bank is important, that would likely eliminate more than half of potential issues arising with monies disputes. There is no "right" time to start a piggy bank saving, the best time is now.

There are 14 Christmas trees sighted... Ho ho ho, merry Xmas and a happy new year people!