The Cashmere Newsletter https://www.cashmere.money/ 2026-10-06T00:30:00.000Z Cashmere https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/emergency-fund-singapore/ 2026-10-06T00:30:00.000Z 2026-10-06T00:30:00.000Z

MoneySense suggests three to six months of expenses as an emergency fund. Sized from essential spending, that is $9,000 to $18,000 for a household spending $3,000 a month, and retrenchment benefit and jobseeker support change how long it lasts.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/absd-second-property-singapore/ 2026-09-30T00:36:00.000Z 2026-09-30T00:36:00.000Z

Singapore Citizens pay 20% ABSD on a second residential property and 30% on a third. The duties on a $1.2 million second property total $272,600, and in a worked example they move an early retirement date by about three years.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/hdb-flat-fire-date-singapore/ 2026-09-30T00:34:00.000Z 2026-09-30T00:34:00.000Z

A 35-year-old earning $6,800 a month could stop work at 55 without a flat. A 3-room resale flat in Jurong West moves that to 58, a 4-room flat there to 60 and a 5-room flat in Choa Chu Kang to 64.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/subscription-tracker-singapore/ 2026-09-30T00:30:00.000Z 2026-09-30T00:30:00.000Z

Recurring payments are found by reading twelve months of statements for merchants that charge on a regular date. In a worked example, $200 a month of subscriptions and $2,049 of annual renewals add up to $4,449 a year.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/how-to-budget-singapore/ 2026-09-30T00:28:00.000Z 2026-09-30T00:28:00.000Z

A household budget in Singapore starts from three months of bank and card statements. Card bill payments, transfers between the household's own accounts and investments come out first, or the same spending is counted twice.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/miles-vs-cashback-singapore/ 2026-09-30T00:26:00.000Z 2026-09-30T00:26:00.000Z

Miles and cashback compare only once a mile has a price in cents. At 1.2 miles per dollar, a miles card matches 1.5% cashback when each mile is worth 1.25 cents, and a cardholder who redeems at 1.8 cents earns the equivalent of 2.16%.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/credit-card-combination-singapore/ 2026-09-30T00:24:00.000Z 2026-09-30T00:24:00.000Z

A two-card wallet in Singapore pays more only when the extra reward beats the second annual fee and the first card still clears its minimum spend. A worked example shows a gain of $50 a year against a $196.20 fee.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/best-credit-card-singapore/ 2026-09-30T00:22:00.000Z 2026-09-30T00:22:00.000Z

The card that pays a household the most depends on how its spending moves from month to month, because caps and minimum-spend gates reset every month. A worked example shows an averaged estimate of $382 against $227 actually earned.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/do-you-need-an-ilp-singapore/ 2026-09-30T00:20:00.000Z 2026-09-30T00:20:00.000Z

A household only needs a policy for the risk its own savings cannot absorb. Life cover need falls to zero once savings can pay for the household, MediShield Life covers every citizen, and cash absorbs a short illness.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/critical-illness-cover-how-much/ 2026-09-30T00:18:00.000Z 2026-09-30T00:18:00.000Z

The critical illness gap is lost income over the recovery period, plus treatment costs above MediSave, less cash on hand. For a worker earning $96,000 a year with $60,000 in cash, it runs from $46,000 for one year off work to $430,000 for five.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/integrated-shield-plans-by-ward-class/ 2026-09-30T00:16:00.000Z 2026-09-30T00:16:00.000Z

Singapore's 38 Integrated Shield plans sort into five ward classes. According to MOH's June 2026 comparison, lifetime premiums run from $41,100 to $72,300 for Standard plans and from $255,700 to $392,000 for private hospital plans.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/term-vs-whole-life-singapore/ 2026-09-30T00:14:00.000Z 2026-09-30T00:14:00.000Z

On compareFIRST premiums quoted in September 2026, $400,000 of term cover for a 35-year-old male non-smoker costs $8,025 to $62,900 over 25 years. Whole life plans paid over the same period cost $131,000 to $280,000.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/how-much-life-insurance-singapore/ 2026-09-30T00:12:00.000Z 2026-09-30T00:12:00.000Z

A household's life cover need is its spending until its savings can pay for it, plus its debts, less what it already holds. For a 35-year-old family spending the Singapore average, the need starts at about $1.57 million and reaches zero at 50.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/singapore-reits-yield/ 2026-09-30T00:10:00.000Z 2026-09-30T00:10:00.000Z

A REIT's distribution yield is its distribution per unit divided by its price. It says nothing about how much the REIT has borrowed, what its debt will cost to refinance or how many new units it will issue.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/first-etf-portfolio-singapore/ 2026-09-30T00:08:00.000Z 2026-09-30T00:08:00.000Z

An STI ETF holds 30 Singapore companies and pays Singapore dividends without tax. A world ETF holds thousands of companies in many markets but loses part of its US dividends to withholding tax. Many first portfolios use both.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/srs-investment-options/ 2026-09-30T00:06:00.000Z 2026-09-30T00:06:00.000Z

SRS money can buy T-bills, Savings Bonds, fixed deposits, shares, ETFs, unit trusts and some insurance, but not property. Left as cash, $15,300 a year for 20 years grows to little more than the $306,000 put in.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/t-bills-with-cpf-oa/ 2026-09-30T00:04:00.000Z 2026-09-30T00:04:00.000Z

CPF members can buy T-bills with Ordinary Account savings above $20,000. Because of how CPF interest is counted, a 6-month bill gives up seven or eight months of the 2.5% OA rate, so it needs a cut-off yield of about 2.9% to 3.3% to come out ahead.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/ssb-vs-t-bills-vs-fixed-deposits/ 2026-09-30T00:02:00.000Z 2026-09-30T00:02:00.000Z

A T-bill locks in one auction yield for six months or a year. A Savings Bond steps up over ten years and can be redeemed in any month. A fixed deposit is insured by SDIC up to $100,000 per bank.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/how-to-buy-t-bills-singapore/ 2026-09-30T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-30T00:00:00.000Z

Singapore Treasury bills are sold at MAS auctions from $1,000, with cash, SRS or CPF Ordinary Account savings. A non-competitive bid receives the cut-off yield, paid as a discount on the face value.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/4-percent-rule-singapore/ 2026-09-28T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-28T00:00:00.000Z

The 4% rule comes from studies of American retirements lasting 30 years. For a longer retirement the safe rate falls, to about 3.5% for 50 years and 3.4% for 60, and a household spending $60,000 a year needs about $265,000 more.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/coast-fire-singapore/ 2026-09-28T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-28T00:00:00.000Z

Coast FIRE means investing enough early to stop saving and let returns do the rest. For a Singapore employee, CPF contributions continue while coasting, which in a worked example cuts the coast figure for a stop at 60 by more than half.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/fire-number-singapore/ 2026-09-28T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-28T00:00:00.000Z

The FIRE number is annual spending divided by a safe withdrawal rate. The rate depends on how long the money has to last, so a 10-year retirement needs 12.5 times spending and a 60-year one about 29.4 times.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/how-much-to-retire-singapore/ 2026-09-28T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-28T00:00:00.000Z

A 35-year-old earning $7,500 a month and spending $48,000 a year reaches the usual FIRE target at 57. A month-by-month walk that counts CPF and assumes weaker returns finds the money lasts from 54.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/savings-rate-fire-singapore/ 2026-09-28T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-28T00:00:00.000Z

A higher savings rate adds to the invested sum and lowers the spending it has to pay. In a worked example with 2026 CPF rates, saving 50% of take-home pay moves the stopping age from 64 to 48.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/types-of-fire-singapore/ 2026-09-28T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-28T00:00:00.000Z

Each FIRE style is a spending level. Priced on SingStat's 2023 household spending figures, the four styles need between about $1.18 million and $2.67 million for a 30-year retirement, and more for a longer one.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/tax-on-investments-singapore/ 2026-09-22T07:10:00.000Z 2026-09-27T00:00:00.000Z

Individual investors in Singapore pay no tax on capital gains, Singapore dividends or bank interest. Rent is taxed, and the largest tax cost for many investors is foreign withholding tax.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/srs-withdrawal-tax/ 2026-09-22T07:05:00.000Z 2026-09-27T00:00:00.000Z

Only 50% of an SRS withdrawal made at or after the statutory retirement age is taxable. A retiree with no other income can withdraw up to $400,000 over ten years without paying tax.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/two-earners-two-tax-bills/ 2026-09-22T07:00:00.000Z 2026-09-27T00:00:00.000Z

Singapore has no joint filing for married couples. Each spouse pays tax on their own chargeable income, and child and parent reliefs can be split between them.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/the-31-december-tax-deadline/ 2026-09-22T06:55:00.000Z 2026-09-27T00:00:00.000Z

SRS contributions and CPF cash top-ups count for a year only if they are made by 31 December. A $15,300 SRS contribution saves between $456 and $3,060 in tax, depending on chargeable income.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/srs-or-cpf-top-up/ 2026-09-22T06:50:00.000Z 2026-09-27T00:00:00.000Z

SRS contributions and CPF cash top-ups both cut chargeable income dollar for dollar if made by 31 December. When they save the same tax, SRS is the one taxpayers can withdraw early, at a cost.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/singapore-tax-reliefs-and-the-cap/ 2026-09-22T06:45:00.000Z 2026-09-27T00:00:00.000Z

Singapore tax residents can claim reliefs for their family, their CPF and SRS contributions and their National Service. Each relief has its own cap, and all reliefs together are capped at $80,000 a year.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/singapore-income-tax-rates/ 2026-09-22T06:40:00.000Z 2026-09-27T00:00:00.000Z

Singapore tax residents pay income tax on a progressive scale from 0% to 24%. A resident with $100,000 of chargeable income pays $5,650, an average rate of 5.65%.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/cpf-and-your-fire-date/ 2026-09-22T06:00:00.000Z 2026-09-27T00:00:00.000Z

A household with most of its savings in CPF can hold enough money in total and still run out of cash before 55. A case study of a couple stopping at 48, with 2026 CPF figures.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/cpfis-investing-cpf-savings/ 2026-09-22T05:00:00.000Z 2026-09-27T00:00:00.000Z

CPFIS lets members invest Ordinary Account savings above $20,000 and Special Account savings above $40,000. After fees, an investment has to return more than the 2.5% the Ordinary Account pays.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/cpf-in-your-net-worth/ 2026-09-22T04:00:00.000Z 2026-09-27T00:00:00.000Z

CPF savings belong in a household's net worth, but most of the balance cannot pay for spending before 55. How to split a CPF balance into four kinds of money, with 2026 figures.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/cpf-cash-top-up-worth-it/ 2026-09-22T03:00:00.000Z 2026-09-27T00:00:00.000Z

An $8,000 cash top-up to a CPF member's own account saves between $280 and $1,600 in tax, depending on income, and earns at least 4% a year until 2027. The money stays in CPF for retirement payouts.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/cpf-life-payouts/ 2026-09-22T02:00:00.000Z 2026-09-27T00:00:00.000Z

CPF LIFE pays members a monthly income from 65 for as long as they live. A member turning 55 in 2026 with the Full Retirement Sum can expect about $1,780 a month on the Standard Plan.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/cpf-withdrawal-at-55/ 2026-09-22T01:00:00.000Z 2026-09-27T00:00:00.000Z

From 55, CPF members can withdraw at least $5,000. Members who have set aside the 2026 Full Retirement Sum of $220,400 can also withdraw the rest of their Ordinary Account savings.

https://www.cashmere.money/newsletter/cpf-accounts-explained/ 2026-09-22T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-27T00:00:00.000Z

CPF savings sit in up to four accounts, and each has its own interest rate and its own rules on spending. A guide to the OA, SA, MediSave and RA, with the 2026 rates.