How much must we have saved before we can say we are financially free? A new survey by financial company Singlife puts the figure at around half a million Singapore dollars. This means putting aside S$1,700 a month over 27 years. But is that doable for most people in Singapore? CNA asks Chief Customer Officer at Singlife, Guillermo Arbeiza.
The U.S. is entering a new economic era. It began with an interest rate tightening cycle coming out of the Federal Reserve, with decisions that have reshaped personal finance in America. Some savings accounts can now return meaningful interest for the first time in years. It has also led to a Wall Street reshuffling, and a wave of corporate bankruptcies as some bad bets turn sour. With these free money years coming to a close, we examine how the Fed's decision-making has affected the economy.
Millennials in Taiwan are facing a new reality — high cost of living, stagnating wages and tougher competition for well-paying jobs. Despite getting university degrees, many are not better off financially than their parents’ generation. Some are just surviving, with no savings at the end of each month.
Unlike their parents, who entered the workforce in the 1980s during the golden era of wage growth in post-war Taiwan, youths today face single-digit economic growth and slow wage increases, amid overall inflation and the rising cost of housing.
CNA Insider follows the lives of a few ‘trapped’ youths to see what they’re doing to cope - including working up to 4 jobs, or going overseas to work in F&B jobs.
We’ve all felt the pinch of inflation over the past months. But there’s a new worry in the world’s second biggest economy. And it’s got to do with prices falling, rather than going up.
Singaporean William Leong, a former insurance manager, was inspired to become a farmer after visiting a mushroom fruiting chamber in 2017. Today, his mushroom farm in Thailand produces more than 40 tons of oyster mushrooms per year, for local consumption. How did he learn to grow mushrooms? What does it take to become a successful farmer there? William shares his secret with Host Ming Tan.
They do not shop, they do not buy, they have no use for money. But their pantries are full and they want for nothing. In fact, they sometimes have so much, they have to give things away. This is the life of a freegan and there is a community of them living right here in Singapore.
Rozz is inducted into the community and learns how to live for free for a week. First is a dumpster diving session in which she discovers, to her surprise, that no dumpsters (or diving) is actually involved. Then Rozz gets invited to a series of members-only food rescues and learns that ugly does not mean inedible. They even teach her how to cook creatively with rescued food and feast for free. The week culminates in Giving Day, a one-stop bazaar where people take what they want, no money needed.