I see Jewel as a combination of a garden, a musical fountain, and a large mall that has a cinema. For relativity let's use the examples of Gardens by the bay (the only other big garden in sg), Sentosa's Wings of Time (the cost of this was easier to find than the MBS light show) and Vivocity (Vivo has 1.5mil sq ft of retail space, vs 1.46mil in Jewel, close enough). Gardens by the bay cost 1.03bil, Wings of time 10mil (just to change the original 30mil Songs of the Sea to another theme), Vivo 417mil. Those add up to more than 1.3bil. Do we need replicas of the existing places of attraction? Maybe not, but we keep building shopping centres everywhere else anyway. Is it nice to have all the attractions above (and more) under one roof? Yes. As a Singaporean, am i proud that we have created such a spectacle in such a short time? Yes. Was my mrt journey there from my home at Pioneer worth it? Yes. Does Jewel make me like Changi Airport at least a little better? Yes. Then build lor.

Here's looking at it from the emotional value perspective: What does that apple tree mean to you? Breaking that up into smaller questions: Do you like to eat apples? Does the tree bear the kind of apples you like to eat? Who planted the tree? Is that person an important figure in your life? Do you have good memories of spending time around/under/on the tree? Are you intending to continue making memories with the tree? It could be hard to place a monetary value on the tree, but if your answers to the questions above were mostly positive then the tree would be quite valuable to you.

We get influenced by happy events and sad events. My aunt probably thought what she did made me very happy, but it was probably the saddest I've ever felt. And it gave me a good lesson on personal finance. Some years back we received a call from her. She was packing her stuff because the family was shifting, and she had alot of clothes, shoes and bags to give us. Happy event? We sure thought so. She was in the banking sector, and she dressed and accessorised immaculately. Days later, gigantic canvas bags left her luxurious home and arrived in my humble HDB flat. Yknow, the huge bags that pasar malam stall holders keep their wares in. My mom and i opened the bags and were dazzled by so many brands--LV, Gucci, Armani, Agnes B, YSL, Miu Miu, Coach, Steve Madden, just to name a few. But it quickly turned into a sad event because we realised many of the leather goods have been damaged probably due to improper storage. And most of the clothes were brand new with tag, same design different colour, and...not my aunt's size. These stuff probably came from shopping sprees all over the world. But for commoners like my mom and i, looking at the sad state of some of the expensive stuff broke our hearts. The money could be so much better spent elsewhere. We had to throw away quite alot of the stuff, and only a fraction fit our lifestyle. We were already a frugal family, but this incident reminded me to spend only on what i need. I wouldn't want to make my imaginary niece so sad some day in the future.

I think it helps to have a rough timeline of what both of you want to achieve. E.g. House done by which year, wanna have first kid by which year, wanna have second kid by which year. Then you can see if it makes sense to have a 5rm right away or start w a 4rm first and move some years later.

Yearly public relations practice

You gotta decide which is more impt to you--family or work? I won't be surprised if the CEO tells everybody they have potential.

I’d think it’ll be better for you to focus your non-work time on your dip rather than work more. therefore you should try saving up instead. But what are you actually saving up for? Maybe first up is to save an emergency fund of 3-6months your income? Try this needs-wants method: Needs: Work out how much you must spend each month, e.g. transport expenses, basic food costs, bills etc. Wants: Then decide how much you want to let yourself spend on stuff like new clothes, shoes, gatherings etc. Once you’re adding up the amounts here you’ll likely realise how much money you can actually save if you spend less on things you don’t actually need. Your savings would be the leftover amount when you deduct your needs and wants from your take home pay. Since you said you have no savings, it’s most likely that your wants are too high. Are there some stuff that you can spend less on? Maybe don’t shop so much? Or maybe your needs are too expensive? Are you Grabbing instead of taking public transport? Would a SIM-only phone plan be better for you than a usual conttract plan? If you’re smoking, would you consider quitting smoking?

There’s no model answer to your question. I think you’re the best judge to tell when your daughter is ready to juggle both work and studies. Maybe get her to start doing some simple stuff during school holidays first.

That work environment sounds like every other office. It’s nothing to worry about. Since you’re intending to do a part-time degree, I think the most important aspect of your job is whether the people embrace such an idea. Is your boss ok that you may need some time off to study? Are your co-workers ok to cover your duties when you’re not at work? If yes, then staying is a good option. As for the job prospect, maybe wait till you’re done with the degree then see how again.