WhatisWhat

What’s with all the bank runs and bank failures hitting the news these days? Why are all these banks in trouble? Are we by extension in trouble too? How should I protect my money? I've decided to join the bandwagon. More importantly, relate this to our situation in Singapore. Banking logic When we place deposits with banks, they “reward” us with interest. With our deposits, Banks are allowed to loan out a significant % of the deposit for profit. This % can range from 80-90%. This has always generally been fine as it's extremely unlikely for us to withdraw all our money at once. To provide some form of confidence, the deposits are insured up to a certain amount. The liquidity situation in the US With the painful effect of inflation, people are literally seeing their savings eroding away. FED has tried to battle this by raising interest rates, which makes it costlier to borrow and incentivises saving. Clients would compare their options and gravitate towards better rates. Eventua...

[UPDATE] OCBC has updated their rates in March it's no longer attractive. In Short, T bills are more attractive now but no one knows if that will stay the same as all the demand will shift over here. To learn how to apply for Tbills using CPF OA online, refer to this link -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So OCBC has launched a  promotion fixed deposit of 3.88% p.a. over 8 months  for CPF OA. Many bloggers have covered this, should I still cover this? Absolutely…. That said, I’ll be kinda screwed if the promotion ends 28 th  February  Please don’t do this to me….. XD The 3 options I'll compare are:  CPF OA’s 2.5% MAS Treasury bills (T bills)  OCBC’s Fixed deposit of 3.88% p.a. Given that US interest rates are still rising, I’m of the view that the situation in 2 nd  half of 2023 might change and I’m biased towards higher rates. At the same time, I don’t want t...

  Missed part 1? < Click here > Ok, I’ve consolidated my savings and have more than 100k.  What's next? What's next?  Well….. it depends? Let’s go through each scenario: I can’t split my salary. The only other low-risk options are Tbills or Fixed Deposits But if I can split my salary :D Lucky you, you've crossed the main hurdle I can credit another $1,800: OCBC With OCBC , the other considerations are : Can I spend another $500? Do I have 100K to spare?  If I have less than $75,000, Salary + Save = Effective interest rate of 3.25% p.a. Salary + Save + Spend = Effective interest rate of 3.85% p.a. If I have S$100,000, I can fulfil the following: Salary + Save = Effective interest rate of 4.05% p.a. Salary + Save + Spend = Effective interest rate of 4.65% p.a. I can credit another $3,000: Standard Charted Bank In SCB’s case, there’s no tiering of balances. Spending 1.30% + salary credit 2.5% + 3 x Bill payment 0.33% = 4.13% ...