What's there to talk about in personal finance?

These days when I tell people that I'm a financial advisor, the first response is "orh you sell insurance one isit?" I usually smile meekly and nod my head and let things be. It's much easier that way.

Fact is, I'm not just an insurance agent. I'm a financial advisor. There are differences. Only when you understand that there are many aspects to your finances other than insurance will you be able to tell the two apart.

So what does personal finance consist of?

1. Cash management
Cash is king. Everybody knows that. But the wise king doesn't hold onto all his assets in terms of cash. How much cash should a person hold for his emergency fund? Where can a person keep his cash? What should a person do with the rest of the money?

2. Budgeting
All companies have a profit and loss statement. They earn and spend money, and they need to keep track of what they earn or spend. We earn and spend money as well, so shouldn't we have a list of our earnings and spendings? You can derive a lot of information from your own budget.

3. Risk management
In life we will all face certain risks. Risk of falling ill, risk of dying before the ripe old age of 65 (sorry but you don't get to even see your CPF money that way), risk of meeting an accident, risk of getting sacked from your job. Can you stomach these risks? Will life be okay if these happen? If not, chances are you need insurance. Insurance can be cheap if you let it be.

4. Goal setting + financial planning
We all have goals we want to achieve in life. We want to buy a car to escape the squeezy MRTs. We want to travel the world. We want our children to have money to study in top notch universities. We want to retire in comfort. These goals are important. Same goes for the money that funds it.

5.  Tax planning
Tax planning isn't as complicated here in Singapore, but oftentimes people miss out on a few reliefs here and there, and ways you can reduce on your tax payable.

6. Investment
It's the talk of the town. Everybody rambles on on how you need to invest to grow your wealth and to be rich. How do you go about investing? What's your risk tolerance? Can you stomach such a risk level, or do you crave more?

7. Retirement planning
You're approaching retirement age and you can feel it coming soon. Are you ready for retirement? Will the money in your CPF be enough for you to sustain your retirement lifestyle? How much is enough before you can say you can retire comfortably?

8. Estate planning
The time has come, and you need to split your assets to those that survive you. What would be a good way to go about it? Will a will be sufficient, or are there efficient ways to go about it?


It seems a lot to juggle, but it can be easy if you know how these systems work. Start doing a little thinking today and live an easy life later.