Coping with the raising cost of living

Do you feel that Singapore is becoming more and more expensive to live in?

In fact, on an article that appeared on 'Dollars & Sense' recently, it was predicted that by 2050, one plate of chicken rice will cost about $9.16, which amounts to be approximately 2.6 times the cost today.

While ​2050 may be more than 30 years away, the reality of the raising costs of living in Singapore has already set in.

Look no further than the recent Singapore's Budget, which Finance Minister Mr. Heng Swee Keat announced that water prices is set to go up by 30% by July 2018. Is there even a possibility that income increment will be 30% to counter this raise? The answer is pretty obvious don't you think?

It will therefore be wise to start looking into ways to make money work smarter by investing for potentially higher returns, and at the same time explore the possibility of cost reduction.

Some of the considerations that can help are:
- Potential savings through refinancing or repricing housing loan;
- Possibility of reducing insurance premiums while maintaining or better current existing coverage;
- Possibility of investing funds that were set aside for medium to long term objectives, rather than placing them in a savings account.