Money lessons learned not through cash but through apps

This article was recently posted on TODAYonline (article) writing about how parents have embraced giving cash and allowances to their children through online and apps. They also use these apps to teach their children about about the value of money.




Singapore has a similar system which is the POSB buddy smart system (source 1, source 2). Kids these days really learn everything so differently and adults have to adjust their teaching styles.

Though I find it a great initiative, one sad thing is that parents will be able to track all of their expenses. I remember when I was in primary school, my mum was really strict about having snacks and sweets.




We didn't have snacks and sweets at home however, I absolutely loveeeee potato chips at that time. So when I got off school at about 2pm, I would buy a packet of chips and munch on it on the way home. I mean, it was the little things like these that got me through the day. HAHA.

Of course, one main point of this is that topping up of money can be easily done as no cash needs to be taken out. The thing is that I have never really experienced life without cash until I was in my final year of polytechnic.




The POSB buddy watch acts as a fitness tracker as well and has so many uses in one. With all these new gadgets being introduced, I would need to keep myself updated with all these releases.And children right now and in the future have so many gadgets that they need to use.

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Finished School, What's Next?

I have just ended my final exams of my university life today. I mean I have been looking forward to this day since the time I started university. HAHA, sounds crazy but I think it's only after you have lost something, do you miss it and wish it didn't end. I came across this really interesting barchart the other day.

Before I started university, everyone was telling me a degree is essentially in today's world to advance onto greater things so I did see myself as wanting to get a degree. After enrolling, I enjoyed my time in school and I came across many other things which made me who I am today.



Like I took up investing and also started this blog, gave part-time tuition to 2 students for 2 years, I mean I have never imagined myself being able to do all these when I was in polytechnic. However, now that it has all ended, a new chapter awaits for me which is to look for a job.

I have been contacted for a few interviews so far and to be honest, I don't think I did or will do very well. One of my friends mentioned today that when she gets home, she will feel so aimless like there is nowhere for her to go to.




I guess we always had something waiting for us when we end something and that gives us a sense of assurance. For now, I hope to be able to get a job soon:)

Can PSLE change your life?

Taken from schoolbag.sg

I currently give tuition to two primary 6 students and I have got to say that the amount of stress on a kid who takes PSLE is pretty overwhelming especially if the parents expects good results from them. One of my tutee performs pretty well for her mathematics, averaging an A most of the time and to me, she faces quite a lot of pressure from her parents to perform well. She also expects much from herself and hence places a lot of emphasis on scoring well for PSLE. She has also broken down a few times during lessons due to not performing well enough.




My other tutee although not performing as well as the others but he definitely doesnt face as much stress as his parents doesn't really emphasize so much on results but only that he needs to get into express in secondary school. He is definitely a happy go lucky guy every time I see him for lessons but he does panic at times and ask me if I think he is able to get into express. I have heard of many stories nowadays of how parents prepare their kids for PSLE.

From taking leave of up to a year for the children or even quitting to be a stay home parent, we can see the impacts of PSLE and all other major examinations in families with children taking the examinations. I do admit that PSLE to a certain extent can determine how your future pans out but it really also depends on the individual. For me, I am someone who is easily influenced especially when I was at age 13 so when it came to my school choices, my mum helped me out and made the choices that she felt fit me best.




I remembered that we both had conflicting choices for my first choice, I wanted to go to a school that was near our place which was a mixed school but she wanted me to go to a girl school that was affiliated with my primary school which was also a girl school. In the end, I lost out to my mum and went to the affiliated school. After a few years, I am grateful and glad to my mum for helping me in my choices. Not because I would have turned out worse if I went to the the other school but because I went to an affiliated school, most my classmates remained the same and I was a really shy girl so being in a environment I was comfortable in helped especially at such a young age.

Primary to secondary school can be a huge hurdle for some esecially if you require a lot of time adjusting to new environment. Secondary school is also when puberty happens and emotions can fluctuate. Overall, it's important to evaluate what the individuals really wants and can he/she handle the stress if they were to go to the 'elite' schools where tuition and good grades are a must. I believe a happy childhood is also essential in the process of growing up. 




Here's a short video that I found online that is pretty interesting for me.



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Graduating from a Polytechnic

In Singapore, when you reach 12 years old, you do PSLE to determine your next place of study and at 16, you take O levels to continue on. O levels is a little more interesting than PSLE as the options get more diverse where you can either choose a junior college route or polytechnic as your next level of study.

For me, I chose polytechnic after O levels as my results restricted only to a few JCs which I felt wasn’t the right choice for me. What also made me chose to go to a polytechnic was that since young, I am a more hands-on person and not really book smart. So when I was making my choice, my mum assisted me in choosing and deciding on what I can consider.

I chose a science course in polytechnic as I was originally interested to working in the hospital as a testing laboratory staff. I chose Biotechnology as my first choice and got into it. I can still vividly recall year 1 of my studies which was the most difficult time in my 3 years because I didn’t take any chemistry in secondary school and the first year modules were mostly chemistry. I struggled really badly and even cried in front of my care teacher. She explained to me how it was and what decisions I could make. In the end, my friends helped me with the basics and I continue improving. After the first year, everything seemed better as it went more into

                                                                                   biology which was what I looked forward to.

In year 3, we all went through a 6 months internship and I think that was what made me think much more about my future and what I wanted to do. The 6 months of being in a laboratory and handling the research project brought me to think that maybe a laboratory job wasn’t what I wanted after all.

Even though I didn’t want to continue doing a laboratory job, my supervisor told me that there are much more different jobs that I could try after graduating. I think the final year was a time when most poly students start thinking about their future and planning their journey. I wasn’t sure if I would like a degree in science so that’s why I took a gap year to work and experience it. I have to say that polytechnic was a time of growing for me. I wasn't taught all the skills in school that I could applied in my first job but it definitely helped me in having the basics and expectations in place.

Being from poly have definitely given me the chance to mature much more and to give a better thought to my future. I believe that if I had gone to JC, I wouldn’t have gotten involved in financial preparation in terms of investing and also wouldn’t think so much about my future. Even though I do not know if I would have maybe turned out better or worse in JC, I benefited from my time in polytechnic and if i was given a choice to choose again, I definitely would choose the same.