10 tips to boost financial health

Most of us are all too eager to bid farewell to 2022 and welcome the new year.

- Lorna Tan

Apart from the pandemic, we have witnessed elevated inflation, a rapid pace of interest rate hikes, supply chain disruptions and volatile markets.

As the new year arrives, and as we brace ourselves for a choppy ride, it is an opportune time to spring-clean our finances for a more secure future.

Here are 10 things you can do.

1. HAVE A COMPLETE VIEW OF YOUR FINANCES

Review your financial health and objectives by having a comprehensive view of your finances. It will enable you to make informed decisions and manage your finances more efficiently.

The Singapore Financial Data Exchange (SGFinDex) lets consumers easily consolidate financial information from their different bank accounts, as well as from the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board, Housing Board, Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, Central Depository and insurance companies.

DBS NAV Planner - a digital financial and retirement advisory tool enables you to connect to SGFinDex, so your financial information will be pulled onto the NAV Planner platform.

The planner will then offer comprehensive insights into your finances and help you identify and close insurance and investment gaps, as well as map your money in the future.

It also shows how your savings can grow with investments, while factoring in the higher inflation rates we are now encountering.

Around 2.8 million customers have used DBS NAV Planner.

2. CONSOLIDATE YOUR BANKING ACCOUNTS

Some people have savings accounts at one bank, a brokerage account with another, and insurance plans and investments with yet another. Consider consolidating your accounts into one relationship to gain a clearer understanding of your financial assets, ease of management, and potentially enjoy bonus interest in the case of higher-yielding savings accounts.

3. MONITOR INCOME AND EXPENSES