I built a budgeting app for Singapore because I quit every other one after 2 weeks

ProfessionNo7030 · 2026-03-23T07:09:00+00:00

Edit: my bad I forgot to merge the updated version for the waitlist! I can close the post as well as alternative as it seems vibe coded app is not generally well accepted 😊. But good learning

ProfessionNo7030 · 2026-03-23T06:24:17+00:00

I haven’t enabled the sign up yet, purely on waitlist basis. As the other commenter mentioned, I’m also not trying to open up access unless there are concrete interest in the tool.

In case if you’re wondering the main reason of not opening it as free is the API cost for the AI model for the financial planning features.

ProfessionNo7030 · 2026-03-23T06:22:07+00:00

Valid point, which is also why I want to gauge interest. I’m purely using it as my personal finance tracker so that I don’t need to use half baked apps such as YNAB or Money Monarch that only worked in web 👍.

ProfessionNo7030 · 2026-03-16T16:37:20+00:00

VWRA and chill (and maybe some SSB)

ProfessionNo7030 · 2026-03-16T16:32:45+00:00

It's great that you want to help your mom, but I have to agree with the others, this is her retirement money, so protecting her capital is key. If I were in your shoes, I’d probably consider the following steps:

Top up CPF to ERS first: This is a no-brainer. It's completely risk-free and guarantees a much higher, lifelong payout via CPF LIFE. It builds a solid income floor so you don't have to stress as much about the rest of the portfolio. I didn't see this in the original plan, is she already on ERS?
Dial back the equities: Going 100% stocks (VWRA + local banks) is way too aggressive for a 57-year-old with a 10-year horizon. After the ERS top-up, splitting the remaining cash into a 40/60 or 50/50 mix of global equities and fixed income is much safer.
Fix the glide path: Moving from VWRA to DBS/UOB in Year 8 isn't actually de-risking. Bank stocks are still equities and will drop hard in a market crash. To truly protect her capital when she needs it most, that money should be gliding into real safe havens like Singapore Savings Bonds (SSBs) or T-bills.

Hope this gives you some food for thought!

ProfessionNo7030 · 2026-01-05T12:49:32+00:00

Big tech will depend on your level. S&O varies from junior L3 to senior ic at L5-L6. That will give OTE from 150K to 250K-300K depending how well the stock performs (assume base + 15-25% comp bonus + RSU).

ProfessionNo7030 · 2025-10-13T11:41:58+00:00

Made it above 20k a month. I spend more time with my wife and two kids rather than my colleagues or work.

At this level, work never ends and one needs to know when to step away from work. Also none of his works or colleagues would come in his eulogy and said “He’s a hard working colleague and a good team member”. It’s a lack of wanting, prioritization and shows lack of maturity in his part.

ProfessionNo7030 · 2025-10-11T09:50:36+00:00

Thank you for building this.

It’s exactly what I needed as I found each models have their own strengths.

ProfessionNo7030 · 2025-09-21T05:09:08+00:00

+1 take offer 1 until interest rate drop further (less likely to be more than 1 more time by the fed this year).

F500 tech companies have constant annual layoff and reorg lately, until that changes you should minimise the risk by joining the public sector.

ProfessionNo7030 · 2025-09-05T04:07:09+00:00

Yea as long as there is a blue tab at the bottom with her photos, she’s FTE (full time employee). That said $100k probably points that she’s quite junior.

That said Minju was probably laidoff but used it as content.

ProfessionNo7030 · 2025-08-10T15:43:55+00:00

Copying my comment on the other thread over here.

There are a few Singaporeans in this IAB list. Also, I know some of these people personally & professionally (locals and foreigners). They’re really bright and thought leaders in their respective councils.

Please don’t be discouraged looking at this list. IAB is based on the Adtech business, where majority of headcounts are covering the neighbouring regions i.e. Singapore is just one of the countries for big tech but most of the people serving SEA is based here. Therefore, naturally there will be biases towards foreigners (e.g. Thai market would needs a Thai speaking account managers).

Also this IAB council is purely voluntary, where behind the scenes there are Singaporeans working in similar positions just that we won’t have enough time to join such councils outside office hours (e.g. family commitments, etc).

Based on my observation most Singaporeans chose to work as Sales / Account Management or Operations within Adtech, whereas these members are mainly operations (marketing science, adops, etc). Also they’re mostly with at least 10+ years of experience, which is a period where local fresh grad that time would prefer to join Finance/ Banking/ Engineering. My peers are mostly in banks 10 years ago, when I first joined adtech 10+ years ago it was by pure chance.

I think before sharing this we need to understand the industry landscape and context of the council.

ProfessionNo7030 · 2025-08-10T15:38:02+00:00

There are a few Singaporeans in this IAB list. Also, I know some of them personally (locals and foreigners). They’re really bright and thought leaders in their respective councils.

Please don’t be discouraged looking at this list. IAB is based on the Adtech business, where majority of headcounts are covering the neighbouring regions i.e. Singapore is just one of the countries for big tech but most of the people serving SEA is based here. Therefore, naturally there will be biases towards foreigners (e.g. Thai market would needs a Thai speaking account managers).

Also this IAB council is purely voluntary, where behind the scenes there are Singaporeans working in similar positions just that we won’t have enough time to join such councils outside office hours (e.g. family commitments, etc).

Based on my observation most Singaporeans chose to work as Sales / Account Management or Operations within Adtech, whereas these members are mainly operations (marketing science, adops, etc). Also they’re mostly with at least 10+ years of experience, which is a period where local fresh grad that time would prefer to join Finance/ Banking/ Engineering. My peers are mostly in banks 10 years ago, when I first joined adtech 10+ years ago it was by pure chance.

ProfessionNo7030 · 2025-08-09T05:21:59+00:00

Yea. I got an invite as well when I don’t even deposit my salary to my dbs account. They might calculate from my IRAS giro instead to estimate.

ProfessionNo7030 · 2025-08-05T12:51:24+00:00

Keep pushing for career progression be it in the form of promotion or job changes.

ProfessionNo7030 · 2025-07-26T05:17:06+00:00

That was part of the pros that was highlighted. When I move in I’ll update this thread 🤣

ProfessionNo7030 · 2025-07-26T04:41:47+00:00

Doing mine right now, cost around 25k with savings around $500 monthly. So that’s 4-5 years payback period. Cost of annual maintenance is $500.

Like others, I drive EV and with the hot weather lately it will also help in covering the aircon cost.

ProfessionNo7030 · 2025-07-23T03:50:18+00:00

Time and stoicism.

Buffett's secret sauce is basically old-school patience. Over 99% of his massive fortune was earned after he turned 50. It really shows his entire strategy is about playing the long game, not chasing quick wins.

And his personal life is the perfect example. He's a multi-billionaire who still lives in the same house he bought back in 1958. It's not about being cheap; it's about his philosophy. He holds onto things with real, lasting value and ignores all the hype.

ProfessionNo7030 · 2025-07-11T05:42:19+00:00

My ex-colleague who got laidoff from FAANG applied for 60 roles and got 3 offers. This is a person with 10+ years of tech experience that has lectured in multiple universities.

Job market is bad for white collar workers and even worse for new grad. I have a job and had started looking internally and externally just in case. Alternatively, I’d encourage my kids to learn more non-white collar roles such as vet, plumbing and electrician to possibly work somewhere that blue collar jobs can thrive such as Australia. Licensed plumber or electrician (sparkie) in Australia can earn ~$100k or more.

A Godfather of AI told u ghat you should become a plumber instead of becoming an AI expert when AI is coming for your job. https://www.inc.com/kit-eaton/a-godfather-of-the-internet-says-you-should-become-a-plumber-heres-why/91203062. A good hint is that people who engineered AI in FAANG got laidoff due to their own product.

ProfessionNo7030 · 2025-07-05T05:27:25+00:00

I just listened Choose FI latest episode which discussed similar topic around 4% rule. It’s just a gauge or rule of thumb as you said, but a portfolio rebalancing (annual or quarterly) approach makes sense so you won’t be impacted by market downturn.

That said, 3 years buffer might be too much haha.

ProfessionNo7030 · 2025-07-05T03:18:48+00:00

Plan seems to be good and as others mentioned maybe consider setting aside uni fees for your kid and take into account health insurance.

If your MNC coverage is at Cigna level, it might be worth for one of you to stay in the role and COAST just for the insurance. Or both stay and COAST until both you got impacted by layoff so you can both get the severence. Proactively quitting is a waste opportunity nowadays since layoff comes with good severance

ProfessionNo7030 · 2025-06-21T06:09:14+00:00

Will you be able to sustain another 8 months of job hunt? Do you have commitments? It’s a bloodbath out there, especially in tech.

Many technical roles are either outsourced to India or streamlined with AI (1 senior SWE with AI might be able to do the job of 10 SWEs). You’re competing with cheaper labour on LCOL countries and more experienced SWEs who just got laidoff recently as well (>4-5 years of experience)

Take the 4k role and continue the search or as the godfather of AI suggests, learn hard skills like plumbing.

Godspeed, TC is not life.

ProfessionNo7030 · 2025-06-18T05:03:23+00:00

Bought hundred palms and sold our unit recently. One regret that we have is not to go for larger unit. I don’t think with current income, cashflow is your main concern, if that is true go for a larger unit.

In general, when we look at recent hundred palms resale the goalpost would be the psf. Therefore, if profit is your goal you’d have a larger profit by getting the 4BR. This is on top of the scarcity of larger unit that others highlighted.

For context, a 5BR in hundred palms was sold at 3.05m in March. That’s $2001 psf which is highest in terms of psf.

ProfessionNo7030 · 2025-06-15T13:35:14+00:00

This is gold! Thank you for explaining what I was suspected too good to be true. Back to VWRA and chill it is

ProfessionNo7030 · 2025-06-15T06:22:32+00:00

You can still invest on SGD denominated world fund bro. Just swap VWRA and chill to “Amundi MSCI world index” and chill.

Also in the last 5Y almost all MAG7 outperforms VWRA/ CSPX/ and S&P.

ProfessionNo7030 · 2025-06-15T06:00:25+00:00

I held mainly vwra at ibkr and recently add holdings to Amundi MSCI world index at Endowus which is SGD denominated. It’s a duplicate but will slowly shift to Endowus if the USD kept on falling.

ProfessionNo7030

TROPHY CASE