How do i save as a stay home mum? My hub give me an allowance of $500.

Is this before the household expenses? And this money is purely for you to spend or burn?

You could look at ways to save up as much as you can.

Others will provide you on ways to spend money but thought I’ll give you more.

Either way, it sounds like your husband cannot don’t stop working/providing you with this so maybe seek to get insurance that covers in the event he is out of a job, be it retrenchment/critical illness or even premature death.

Also, make sure his will is written, otherwise if you have no kids, you will be sharing his half his estate with his parents. Not saying it’s not good but that may not be your husband’s intention.

Remember to contribute to Medisave first, then also see if you want to set up something that can give you a guaranteed income stream for life. This can either be CPF life (which you must self contribute) or you can set up a private annuity (can start before age 65 compared to CPF life) to do so.

If that’s the case, you may want to speak to an Independent Financial Advisor like myself if you want to see how to best optimize the financial resources at hand.

And also, try to find pleasures in life and do not just coop yourself at home all day.

What do you mean, allowance?

If you're a stay-home mom, you literally have no other way of earning income. To make this arrangement fair, what your husband earns should be yours to manage as well. You should both make financial decisions and both share an account.

As someone who has gone through a divorce, I realized it is super important for anyone, especially stay-home moms, to have your own income and savings. If you are to sacrifice your career and income to be a stay-home mom, then his income should be shared with you.

Perhaps as the children grow you can find time to work part-time or build a side hustle. Either way, marriage is a team effort, and it's not fair for the husband to withhold all his income and give you a measly allowance of $500.

Firstly, what is the purpose of the allowance? Is it purely for your own discretionary use or as funds to maintain the household and kids, if any?

If purely discretionary, then theoretically you can save entire amount. Spend only for occasional entertainment or for hobbies and save the rest. By right any living expenses should be covered by your hubby.

If it's for running the household, you can keep an eye out for sale or promotion and buy in bulk. Monitor electricity and water usage. In this scenario, I would hope your hubby still gives you a separate discretionary allowance for personal spending.

Any savings you can put either in RSP for STI ETF or in high interest accounts like CIMB fastsaver.

You need to do value spending. Spend with an eye for details. Some examples below. (you can even shop online for savings, need to do comparison).

(1) E.g Nissin Cup noodles cost $1.50 normally. A sale can drop it to 2 for $2.65 (effectively save 35 cents).

(2) Softess 3ply $12.95 for 30 rolls. (normal price $13.95).

(3) Buy refills instead of new bottles if possible. (liquid detergent like MaMa Lemon etc).

Also, you need the help of the family to reduce expenses and usage on these items.

Or just go and find a part time job which you can do?