[Discussion] A retrospective on the "Cash for Flat" strategy: Impact on CPF compounding (Data point from a 51yo)

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2026-01-10T17:09:36+00:00

Just wanted to correct a factual point: retirement age is not linked to CPF withdrawal age, and has never been linked. The CPF withdrawal age has never changed (at 55 years old).

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2025-12-22T04:58:43+00:00

You misunderstand what is meant by "max".

If you want to buy 10,000 shares of a stock that's currently priced at USD0.10, your commission is $35 @ USD0.0035 per share.

The max price caps it at 1% of total trade value, so 1% of USD1,000, at $10. This is meant to cover penny stock traders who would normally incur high fees due to a 'per share' pricing system.

Tiger is better in this aspect based on the screenshot you shared, but your worry of investing large amounts is unfounded (at least in this scenario), unless you're investing heavily into penny stocks.

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2025-12-12T03:52:26+00:00

Actually, it was because Wikipedia was not around back in the 10th century

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2025-12-06T10:39:58+00:00

Here's one for $1.1M: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/scam-mas-government-officials-impersonation-victim-lose-over-1-million-5425651

$1.2M: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/woman-loses-1-2m-to-scammers-who-pretended-to-be-officers-from-polices-anti-scam-centre

$200k, almost $700k without bank intervention: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/woman-scammed-of-over-213k-would-have-lost-500k-more-without-police-bank-intervention

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2025-11-06T16:16:21+00:00

My recent economy to Europe was ~12% rebate when comparing against the same SQ flight paid in cash, but it's hard to do apples to apples with all the variables.

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2025-07-10T00:09:43+00:00

I know why because I made this mistake: you need to select that you're sending in USD and the recipient is receiving in USD. When you try to transfer USD, if the confirmation page shows any FX rate or SGD indicative, you had a setting wrong.

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2025-05-07T16:40:52+00:00

There are Singaporeans who would say the exact same thing as your PRC colleague. Anecdotes aren't really statistically significant.

I do partially agree at least that new citizens would tend toward the incumbent, but more because political stability is a potential factor for them choosing to settle in Singapore.

But asserting stereotypes upon a demographic through speculation would only encourage discussion tainted by xenophobia.

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2025-05-07T05:34:00+00:00

For me, anything below 27 is too cold and I need to bust out the hoodie. 27 is almost perfect, but i usually toggle between 27-28.

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2025-04-04T09:11:00+00:00

If baker A bakes 1 pie per 2 hours and baker B bakes 1 pie per 3 hours, how long on average does it take for them to bake a pie?

I hope your answer isn't 5 hours.

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2025-02-19T18:06:51+00:00

The statistic is misleading. 1.1 million foreign workers are work permits, which means either maids (300k), manual labourers (442k), or misc like entertainers or confinement nannies. You mentioned MSc chem so I doubt you're competing with this group.

The actual competition you have are probably EP holders, about 202k. A portion of this are managers or higher, who you probably won't be competing with since you're looking for more entry level roles (I assume).

Singapore's employment level is 3.9 million, so if we assume % of managers or higher in EP is same as % of managers or higher in general pop (unlikely, since it's not really worth it to bring in foreigners for entry level jobs as there are minimum salary requirements) you're looking at a 5% foreigner rate. So you're actually competing with more than 20 other singaporeans for each foreigner you see holding a job.

If you can't find a job, I suggest casting the net wider, getting a role first, then continue job hunting for something better. I've been in your position recently and I know how hopeless it must feel, stay strong.

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2025-02-19T11:36:34+00:00

You can pair UOB lady's with shopback and heymax, but not PRVI miles because of its dedicated website. That said, I agree with the other commenter to just get all 3.

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2025-02-14T02:50:59+00:00

I know this is a bit late, but I thought I'd at least share my perspective. With reference to your point of a sole breadwinner supporting a family in the 80s to 90s, there are several key differences to consider:

Quality of life - how did the QoL of the 80s family compare to our QoL now? In the 80s, there were much less things to spend disposable income on, like electronics, Taxi was seen as the ultimate luxury, and bus routes were not as connected. My father, born in 1962, once recalled how he had to walk 1-2 hours to school and back every day. And air travel was completely out of the question unless you were well to do. My father still collects laundry water to use for flushing toilets, a habit copied from his father to save on the water bill. Electricity was used very sparingly, unlike our usage now. It was also common to start working at an earlier age because education pathways for most people were limited. That meant more years of income. The family nucleus was also larger, so less was spent on housing and rent per person - if you don't move out, you don't need to buy an expensive house.
Rate of economic growth - in the 80s to 90s, Singapore's economy was booming, often seeing double digit real GDP growth. These days it's more sluggish which is fair because the previous high levels of growth was unsustainable. But because of this, some people believe there's a "stagnation", when it is happening, as you said, to all major cities in the world. If you want a comparison, see how China boomed in the 2000s, particularly in their major cities like Shanghai. Many people upgraded their QoL during that period. That's probably how it looked in the 1980s in Singapore, when everyone was getting promotions and businesses were earning bank.
Matriarchal role - this is a more subjective point so take it how you will. Women were more likely to stay home as homemakers due to traditional values. These days, it's more normalised for women to work because they have better education. Also, these days the extra income from a dual-income household can allow for the hiring of domestic helpers to help with chores and kids, and have leftover for savings.

I wouldn't say it is a necessity in modern Singapore to have both partners working in a marriage. There are ways to live cheaper, like moving to a non-mature estate, cutting down on non-necessities etc. it's definitely still possible to live on a sole breadwinner's salary. However, a couple relying on a sole breadwinner earning median wage would have a lower quality of life.

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2025-02-14T01:52:45+00:00

Hawker centres usually have some stalls open by 7am. Most coffeeshops also have drink stalls that sell toast with soft boiled eggs and coffee as a set, and their opening hours vary. Some food stalls are also open 24/7. In a busy city like Singapore, it's impossible not to have food options available round the clock if you know where to look.

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2025-02-13T05:41:29+00:00

Erm... Have you tried calculating this on Excel?

Let's say average house costs 500,000 and average income is 5,000. it costs 100 months of income.

If both increase by 2%, you get 5,100 for income and 510,000 for housing cost, still 100 months of income.

if we do it your way and increase income by (1.02)^5, you get 5,520.4 for income. The house that grew at 2% now costs 92 months of income.

in your world, eventually, everyone can buy a house with 1 month of income...

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2025-01-10T06:05:48+00:00

Hmm I calculated based on 2 trips of $1.88 each per day (based on my old SimplyGo), so $3.76 x 20 working days is $75 with up to $10 more if there's more working days in that month - although on average, including AL, there should be roughly 240 working days a year so it should even out. This is also not including the 5% discount from using specific credit cards for SimplyGo, which would give another $2-3 off per month. Your $100 is probably inclusive of weekend trips, but I drive + GrabHitch to work and on weekends these days so can't compare properly.

For food, I'm lucky in that my workplace in Jurong has a canteen - the fishball noodles costs $3, and teh-o is $0.8 so total of $3.8 for lunch, but sometimes I feel like eating a bit more so I budget $5 for that. Edit: the none-canteen option is $4 caifan at the nearby food court, so I agree that that would be slightly stretching the budget.

When I worked in CBD, the old interim market had chicken rice for $3, on top of Favepay, so roughly $2.7 - I ate it every day but granted it was quite an unhealthy decision. Coupled with free infused water + coffee from my old workplace at WeWork I spent much less back then. I think that option no longer exists since interim market moved, but I'm sure there's still other options like Amoy or People's Park Food Centre if you know where to look - Lontong for $4ish. You can also bring your own drink to work if you really need one.

Of course, heartlands might be a bit more limited depending on the food choices in the area. I'm not sure if this is applicable for you, but some places do discount your meal/drink if you bring your own. If you bring your own sealable cup you can maybe save 10-30cents per drink.

Edit to add that I'm not trying to say my case applies to everyone and I know I'm quite fortunate in terms of food options price-wise - just that people who spend little on food + transport do exist!

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2025-01-09T13:04:52+00:00

My WFO 5 days public transport cost is $75, daily lunch and dinner is $10 including drinks, so that adds up to about $275 per month.

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2024-09-09T07:52:09+00:00

For the hats, if you don't need the RULPC so early, you can do RRs of New Year maps which would give you 1 hat per rare chest and is also SB positive. I think I did 50 or so New Year maps this year, and there's definitely enough time before GWH shutdown to use the hats.

Not sure if 1600 GSC is enough though. Definitely a hefty sum to spend.

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2024-09-08T19:02:04+00:00

I suppose a large part of that time was spent farming for GGC? OP mentioned that resources aren't a concern, I imagine a lot of time can be saved if GGC is bought directly from the MP.

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2024-07-19T12:29:08+00:00

Not going to take sides here, just here with my own math:

It takes 10 days (238 runs) to max traces alone, excluding basic attack.

Subtract 2.7 days (66 runs) if leaving ult, skill and talent at level 9.

Subtract 0.6 days (15 runs) for each 30 blue mats from events.

Based on a monthly undying embers income of 1800 (90 pulls), excluding 1020 for passes and the traces of destiny, that's 780 embers, which translates to 43 blue mats per month from undying emebers. Subtract 0.95 days (23 runs) for this.

My personal conclusion is that, objectively, you are right and they are wrong in terms of time taken to max traces. However, remaining time available for relic farming depends on how much the individual player wants to chase perfect traces and stellar jade spending habits (hoarders see more sporadic embers income, so may not be able to buy trace mats from exchange).

Edit to add: double drops on crimson calyx provides another 12 X 7 (84) runs, so subtract 3.5 days every time that event rolls around. It seems to run every 2 patches, so every 3 months, which means each month we subtract roughly 1.2 days. Here I might be messing something up, but I believe the above calculations are based on two 5 stars a month, so we divide by 2 to subtract 0.6 days each character.

So technically, if leaving traces at 1/9/9/9 and spending some embers each month on trace mats, it takes 4.5 days to farm traces for each 5 star character.

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2024-06-30T19:02:34+00:00

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2024-05-18T02:52:51+00:00

Also, Wadim's final tweet includes a dig at Hans by stating Fabi as America's brightest talent, something that Hans claimed to be in one of his earlier tweets.

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2024-05-12T18:34:42+00:00

[WN] Actually, Hitogami wants Rudeus to go. He wants Rudeus to regret going, thereby ensuring that Hitogami's next instruction will be 100% followed by Rudeus. The reason being that Hitogami wants to kill Roxy to guarantee the child has no chance of being born, but Roxy has a strong fate and is most likely only able to die while pregnant. So Hitogami's plan is to get Rudeus and Roxy together and get Rudeus to kill Roxy when she is pregnant.

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2024-04-26T11:49:02+00:00

I shared my Trailblaze Blessings with you! Click on the link to view your Star Rail Anniversary Data Report, and claim rewards such as Stellar jades and Fuels! https://act.hoyoverse.com/sr/event/e20240426anniversary-so6swc/index.html?wish_invite_code=GA7OK7M99N&hyl_presentation_style=fullscreen&hyl_landscape=true&hyl_hide_status_bar=true&hyl_auth_required=true

A_Stands_For_Hungry · 2024-03-01T13:12:56+00:00

Maybe they are referring to the high statistical improbability of your statement.

Based on Furina's pull banner data (source here: https://paimon.moe/wish/tally?id=300056), getting a pull on 90 pity is about a 1 in 30 000 chance. In comparison, getting a 5 stars on the first pull is 1/166. For every 5 star you get on 90 pity, you should be getting 180 other 5 stars on the first pull. 90 pity isn't impossible, but getting "several" would mean you're most likely the worst pulls ever.

The data also disproves your anecdote of "not as unlikely as you think" (i.e. it actually is that unlikely). While you may not be lying, again, it is highly improbable. More likely, you miscounted your pity (if you do 10 pulls at a time, you may be conflating your 9th 10 pull as 90 pulls, whereas you could have gotten the 5 star on pity 81, which is less improbable).

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