Yes and no, though mostly no. This is a question you have to truthfully answer to yourself. Having a car usually have the main benefit of being able to go wherever you want, anytime you want without being at the mercy of someone else, e.g. Bus, Taxi. The cons of having a car is that it adds to your monthly expenses, with all the things such as petrol, insurance, road tax, repairs, inspections, etc. Now, as to whether it is worthwhile depends on what do you do with the car. The most common reason for having a car is “my job needs it.“ This depends on a few things, such as whether your salary is a fixed salary, or variable one, does your client need to see you in a certain perspective, or are you buying the car to lease out (something like ride-sharing)? The first two points mentioned are more intangible, but can still be verified. Compared to you before owning a car, are you making more money, after paying for the car? Is the increased income consistent, sustainable?

Unlikely to lose jobs, but have to adapt to new job landscape. If a job is removed/deleted, then another job wil take its place. It is like the Steam revolution of the past. When steam powered engines were created, people no longer depended on transport tools such as horses, trishaws, etc. So people who do these jobs for a living technically lose thei jobs due to technological advancements. However, from the loss of jobs comes the creation of new ones, such as horse racing, maintenance of said steam engines, etc. What about AI? Well, for one, there needs to be someone who would test-proof the AI to ensure that the script runs properly, the data do not get stolen, defence against ransomeware, etc. I feel that in future, there would be more open source coding for people to play around with, so white hackers could be one area, along with people who can mix the code to customise software for specific niches. Highly personalised services, such as standup comedians, personal shoppers, modeling are less likely to be affected by AI advancement. So jobs in the area of AI process, and highly personalised services are here to stay, where routine jobs such as petty cash claims are in danger of being automated. As for foreign talents, there is not so much of a threat per se. If anything, it goes to show that you are exposed to different people and more culture. What if, for current job, instead of the foreigners coming to steal the jobs, it became that one is seconded to overseas? As long as one have the ability, one should not be afraid of healthy competition.

Investing Go and read up and find out about the different styles of investing. See which one would suit you, and what are the pros and cons. E.g. Index investing VS income investing, rebound trading VS momentum trading, property investing VS REITs investing, etc etc. Bank account I would think DBS Multiplier is quite decent for fresh graduates, as a starting high yield account. Reason being, the salary credited, which is a mandatory criteria for higher interest, is not specified. Also, the credit card spending has no minimum, meaning you would be less likely to spend just to reach the minimum spend. Credit card I would think cashback cards would be better suited, as opposed to miles card. As you are just starting out, you wouldn’t really know what your expenditure is like. Besides, not all things are chargeable to credit cards, e.g. Hawker centre food, parents allowance. Cash back is also given in the following month, while miles have an expiry date. I would say OCBC Cashflow card would be a good card, since it automatically splits payment above $100 into 3 installment, interest free. This feature would save you in case you accidentally over swipe your card. =P

Personally, I feel that it is better to use CPF to pay for HDB monthly installment. Reason being, CPF funds have limited usage, as compared to cash. If you need to pay for your mobile bills, grocery, etc, you can use cash, but not CPF. The downside to this is that you would have a higher loan and accrued interest to repay if you ever decide to upgrade/downgrade your house. If you sell your house at market rate, but this market rate is lower than your purchase price, you do not have to pay back the accrued interest. The drawback of this situation is that you would have lesser CPF to set aside for your Retirement Sums.

Well, happened to be in a similar situation. This is what I said to him. You are not the only agent I know of. If every one of my friends who is an agent asked me to support them, just by taking one small policy, then who support me? Be respectful, be firm. And if you feel that this is a bit too blunt, then modify the sentences, but the idea still remains. I would say this is fair to at least take care of you from your point of view, and not just his point of view, since insurance is suppose to help people in their dire times of needs.

There’s a saying. Don’t keep up with the Joneses. Ironically, the trigger that started me on this journey, is the comparison of my lifestyle to others. My peers were getting married left, right centre and here I am being Mr Lonely. In a way, I feel that they have a better, more blissful life than I do. If my life is not as good as theirs, then at least I should “win” in one aspect of my life. That desire to win is the first few foundation brick of my life. My idea of love is similar to most people. I don’t want my loved ones to suffer and I equate that with having enough resources, aka money.

Short term or permanent? If it is short term, it is a temporary abstinence until the target is reached. As such, it can be everything. Well, most things anyway. Maybe except health because it is irreversible. If it is a permanent one, I guess there’s not much to give up. Maybe giving up a solidarity life of a hermit. You know, the more you give, the more you gain.

I’ll liken this to marrying to a woman and living happily ever after (since I’m a man but it applies to women as well). If I were to paraphrase, it’s like asking, is it a good time to marry when divorce rates are forecasted to be at an all time high in 2021? Notice how there seems to be some correlation but not causation? When you marry someone, you marry the one who is compatible with you, and you aim for happily ever after. Similarly when investing in stocks, you want to invest in excellent companies who can stand the trials of economic recession. Because no one can accurately forecast when the recession will arrive. Having said that, it doesn’t mean you expend all your cash on stocks. Always keep a standby, in case more opportunity comes up at a bargain. Just like you would be prepared to handle some unpleasant incidents, because they do happen, even in the most blissful of marriages ( and not because you expect your marriage to be miserable, right?)

First, find out how much u need for short term and long term goals. Then, work backwards and set a budget and stick to the savings. If this is ur first time budgeting, review it monthly for first 3 months. This is to see if the budget set is challenging, yet achieveable. Once u get the hang of it, u can reduce the frequency of reviews, to say, a quarterly or even yearly basis. For long term goals, u might wanna review if u can achieve consistent returns. For this, u would likely have to do it over at least a decade. When deciding how much to save, short term goals are slightly easier to project, as it is less likely to be affected by things such as inflation, economy, etc as compared to long term goals.

Are your parents there too? Maybe the his parents can tell her parents if they only listen to 同辈. Being generous is okay, but not being taken advantage of. The fact that you would ask means you feel like you are being taken advantage of. Talk to your gf and let her know. See if she wants to come up with a solution with you. (One way is saw people resolve, is for the girl to give money beforehand to the guy, before the guy pays for the meal. )