With an aging population and healthcare inflation exceeding CPI increases, the burden of healthcare on Singaporeans is likely to be substantial in future. While our “nanny state” has thoughtfully put in place several tiers of protection – the 3Ms (Medisave, MediShield and Medifund) and 3Es (Eldersave, ElderShield and Medifund Silver), there has been increasingly greater emphasis on personal responsibility, albeit with hand-holding by various healthcare institutions.

Take care – because others care
We see hospitals, polyclinics and GPs setting up various programmes to help individuals manage and control risk factors and chronic illnesses (eg Chronic Disease Management Programme). The Integrated Screening Programme offers low cost basic health screening (including tests for high blood pressure, Pap Smear) to those aged 40-69, through a kindly invitation letter in the mail box.

Take care – because transparency in the market allows you to
We are all encouraged to cost-compare, with private hospitals required to publish hospital bill sizes come 2011. From the case study of Lasik, where costs fell drastically and gaps between Lasik providers narrowed with cost-publishing, we can expect cost savings from prudent and rational decision making. YAY!

Take care – because only you can
Nevertheless, some illnesses still remain a lonely walk down the park. For instance, individuals who (a) are infected with HIV through sexual intercourse or (b) infected with HIV through blood transfusions or occupation and are not insured with a Critical Illness plan stand to incur a 5-year present value cost of $37,000 in HIV medications. Mental illnesses remain exceedingly costly, with those counseling paying up to $160 for a 50-minute session, and the “Sleepless in Singapore” making necessary investments of close to $7,000 for ion-emitting mattresses. For these, my only advice is – take care.

Recommendation
After reaching the halfway mark in a health insurance internship, my advice to you would be:
• Save dutifully: you never know what illness will befall you, and there are many unfortunate predicaments that you need to pay the bill for, unassisted (note that these are usually exceedingly costly)
• Be insured: for those intimidated by insurance and financial planning jargon, begin gently with MediShield. When you are able to afford higher premiums, ease into Hospitalization & Surgical (H&S) scheme readily available by various private insurers. Finally, when age and body functions start to get cranky, embrace Critical Illness plans to hedge yourself against costly long-term treatments.
And mostly importantly, take care. As the dreary yet wise proverb goes, Prevention is better than Cure.

-Stella

Christmas means different things to various people. For Christians, it’s the pure birth of a savior. For merchants, it’s the magical birth of hefty moneybags. For the average Joe, it’s the painful birth of Christmas shopping lists.

Yes, Christmas is a time of giving. Sadly, commercialization and ingenious marketing techniques by businesspeople have set the ground-rules that the more you give, the more you love. This probably means wallet-unfriendly gifts to your closest circle of friends and family, and a cumulatively painful deduction on your bank balance for acquaintances/colleagues/school-mates.

The question here is, how to perform your duty in love, without burning too massive a hole in your wallets?

1. Budgeting

A little careful planning does go a long way! A common grouse in Christmas present shopping is “But he/she already has everything!”. Rather than hitting the shops aimlessly and trying to spot that item your friend shockingly does not own, a few hours of quiet reflection can help you decide what your friend really lacks or needs. In this way, there is possibility of purchasing items of more lasting value for your loved ones. Other than presents, everyone knows that Christmas isn’t complete without a Christmas party, Christmas cards, Christmas décor…and the list goes on. Not keeping track of your spending could very possibly leave you derailed in a trail of credit card bills. There’s a saying that goes ‘It’s the thought that counts’. Well, this is probably the wrong context, but nonetheless so very true.

(Source:http://blogs.smarter.com/babieskids/tag/christmas/)

Here’s a useful budget worksheet!

2. Creativity
Rather than sticking to boring store-bought presents that people might possibly leave in a ‘special corner’ or worse, re-gift, why not DIY? There’s always that added touch of sincerity (not to mention cost-savings) and personal touch that means so much more than plucking random items off a shelf. A photo collage, a mixed tape, home-baked cookies…after all, some argue that time is money and there’s nothing that represents the love than precious time spent on making a gift.

(Holiday Cookie Ornaments, www.bettycrocker.com)

As for parties, there are always sneaky ways to save money on catering. One super-fun and cost-efficient way I’ve found is to have an Iron Chef Party! Not only will it cut out awkward small-talk, but also allow your guests to have a great time in the kitchen cooking up a Christmas storm. What exactly is this mysterious party? Check it out here!

Yes, it is always better to give than to receive. But tightening the purse-strings a little on presents doesn’t make you a scrooge, and don’t forget to show yourself (and your bank account) a little love this festive season!

-stella

The line “just one more, I promise, it will be the last time” together with the scene of a precocious little girl handing her piggy bank over to her problem gambler father delivered much impact to many Singaporeans. This year, the NCPG has followed up with their new campaign: Know the Line, with the tagline “and take control” is featured on MRT stations, billboards and the internet.

“I don’t gamble.”, you may say. But gambling is more than just queuing up at the local NTUC supermarket to shade in those four digits, or throwing chips around at poker games. It is about taking risks. In the book “Why do smart people do stupid things with money”, the author describes gambling as a financial dysfunction characterized by people who take high risks with money, and have little or low inclinations to save.

Even if you do not gamble (as in make bets, or play the stock market – a controversial definition of gambling, by the way), we are taking risks in our every day decisions. Every single dollar spent is a risk we agree to undertake. Even the $1 paid for coffee is a risk – will this $1 be able to give me the caffeine jolt I need to finish my report? Or will it be ineffective and I will need another cup of teh ping(iced milk tea)? Or worse, will it give me food poisoning and incur greater medical treatment costs instead? The point here is that, we all really do need to know the line, and know how much risk is healthy before it is dangerous. And to question Isla Fisher in Confessions of a Shopaholic, will that new scarf REALLY be an investment?

The next part of the campaign is that problem gambling hurts the whole family. This is definitely true! Uneducated, unplanned or simply reckless spending with low savings and high risks is dangerous. For mild cases, this would probably translate into the breadwinner not being able to afford that family holiday to Japan. But in the extreme, medication that cannot be bought, family arguments or even divorces over money issues. It is common knowledge that money is the root of all evil, and problem gambling is really like problem overspending, where your expenditures take control of you, where you continue swiping your credit cards despite knowing the towering stack of bills at home.

So, think about your finances today. Are you a gambler? Or worse, are you a problem gambler?

-stella

I used to believe that the economic and financial world was meant for grown-ups in suits and ties, holding calculators and yelling at screens filled with blue and red digits.

However, this is really not the case. From various occurrences, incidences and phenomenon in the economic sector, I realize that economics is really built on values which even a child can understand, but requires the wisdom and tact of an experienced elder to execute.

Take for example, this article on Asian growth: http://www.livemint.com/2009/10/15165844/Asia8217s-growth-outlook-cl.html?d=1

Help!

It exemplifies the very overused, cliché about the importance of rendering help. Unless each man is completely independent, we would need the help and resources of others in order to attain success or even an acceptable standard of living. The Asian countries have weathered the storm well and enjoy a healthy growth outlook. However, this is not the case for their Western counterparts – and this may dampen the recovery process of the Asian countries. Taking a step back and thinking from a child’s point of view, the innocent yet politically disturbing question would be “Why don’t the Asian countries help the Western ones?” After all, they are dependent on each other.

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Growing up

“So Asia cannot be the sole driver of its own growth and we still rely on external demand,” he (Lee, chief spokesperson for Asian Development Bank on economic forecasts and trends) added at the forum organized by the Peterson Institute for International Economics.  

To a child, this statement would seem only natural. Possibly, the word growth could be interpreted as growing up – a glaring mistake, but not completely irrelevant. Just like a person growing from a child to a man, economic growth shows the progression from a vulnerable marketplace with a low level of output and employment, into a flourishing cash-house jam packed with years of experience, maturity in making purchase, sale and monetary policy decisions, with higher output (given a neutral economic situation). In a sense, it is growing up. Naturally, this process of maturing cannot be executed on a solitary basis – often, hand-holding, advice and much help is needed. The question is, how much?

“The ADB’s Lee warned governments against prematurely winding down their stimulus measures or tightening monetary policies as this could derail the fragile recovery.”

The government is one of these hand-holders. They lead infant industries into the market, they utilize various policies to influence behavior, with the objective of economic growth, amongst others. The point is that help and co-operation is needed. But from that statement above and various historical data that government policies may not always be the best solution, the grower (economy, person) needs to firstly accept the fact that growth cannot be a path travelled in solitude. Secondly, that his companion may not be always right – some level of sieving needs to be done.

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Don’t stop

“My worry, of course, is that the initial bounce back from an extremely sharp downturn in world trade and industrial production will not continue at a 10 to 20% rate quarter-on-quarter for the next three or four years,” Mussa said.

 Mussa’s worry is not unfounded, neither does it need critical analysis. Complacency is often the downfall of many. Even a child would know that. To put it simply, if after acing a test, and an inevitable swollen ego surfaces in the form of decreased effort, it is very likely to see deterioration in the next test results. Bouncing back from a downturn is an impressive feat, given that some economies continue to struggle against the forces of demand and supply, but remaining status quo is definitely not the answer for long term sustainability.

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 Truly, “Kids Say the Darndest Things” 

 -Stella