Notes on financial planning.
Written around the questions that come up in actual client conversations — the self-employed CPF gap, building a family balance sheet outside the business, the first year as a new Singapore PR, paying for UK university from Singapore, and the cross-border medical gap for parents back home. 中文版 →
EP and work-pass holders in Singapore: the financial setup most people leave on the table
If you're on an EP or S-Pass in Singapore — settled in for the long run but undecided about PR — you're actually in one of the best positions to plan. You have time, age, and one of the more competitive insurance markets in Asia on your side. This piece walks through the protection layer, the investment opportunity, and what to set up now so the move (whichever direction it goes) doesn't undo years of compounding.
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Financial blindspots for Chinese SME owners in Singapore: F&B, education, and services
If you're running an F&B chain, a music school, or a service business in Singapore, three to five years in, your household finances are almost certainly breathing in sync with the company. This piece walks through the blindspots I keep running into when I sit down with Chinese-speaking owners — staff coverage versus your own, the cross-border family, education-sector cash flow, and the leverage hiding underneath F&B.
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The self-employed CPF gap in Singapore: why Medisave alone isn't enough
Singapore's self-employed only have to contribute to Medisave. The Special and Ordinary Accounts barely accumulate, and there is no employer match — leaving a retirement-income gap most owners never see. This piece lays out the gap and the three common ways to close it.
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When your business is your net worth: building a family balance sheet that outlasts the company
For many SME owners in Singapore, the family's assets sit entirely inside the company. One illness, one lawsuit, or one supplier shock and the household has no buffer. This piece is about building a family balance sheet that runs independently of the business.
Continue reading →New PR's first year in Singapore: the financial moves that matter most
The first twelve months as a new Singapore PR are the window for establishing a financial foundation. CPF, insurance, banking, SRS, cross-border obligations, and the first proper financial plan — this piece walks through them in priority order.
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Paying for UK university from Singapore: the planning windows that actually matter
Funding your child's UK university degree from Singapore means dealing with the SGD/GBP exchange rate, a ten-year-plus horizon, and the right mix of tools. This piece sets out the key planning windows and the common instruments.
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When your child falls ill in Singapore: the cross-border emergency families don't see coming
Most families I see in this cross-border shape — kid studying or working in Singapore, parents back home in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, or Myanmar — only realise the size of the gap when the kid is suddenly hospitalised here. Singapore medical bills, parents flying over, hotel and transport in SGD: it all hits at once. This piece walks through what the shock actually looks like and how to prepare so it isn't a panic-wire from home.
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