A Practical New Year Financial Plan for Singaporeans
A structured 5-step framework to understand your income, CPF, debts, and savings — and build achievable financial goals for the year ahead.
Introduction: Why a Money Audit Matters in Singapore
The start of a new year is one of the most psychologically powerful moments to recalibrate your finances. You have just come through Chinese New Year spending, perhaps some year-end holiday travel, and the usual December splurges — and tax season under the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) is already approaching.
But Singapore’s financial landscape is unlike most countries. CPF contributions mean your take-home pay is already structurally reduced. HDB loans, COE premiums, and integrated shield plan premiums are obligations that do not appear in most Western personal finance guides. MAS’s Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) framework caps how much you can borrow, but staying well below that ceiling is a personal responsibility.
A money audit solves one simple problem: it replaces assumptions with actual numbers. When you know exactly what came in, what went out, what you owe, and what you have saved, every financial decision becomes clearer. This guide walks you through a five-step process tailored specifically to the Singapore context, with practical tools, local benchmarks, and a monthly action calendar to keep you on track through 2026.
What This Guide Covers
Step 1: Review your income and expenses, including CPF flows. Step 2: Assess your debts and credit using Singapore-specific obligations. Step 3: Revisit and rewrite your financial goals using the SMART framework. Step 4: Identify gaps and adjust your budget. Step 5: Build a month-by-month action plan for 2026.
Step 1: Review Your Income and Expenses
Understanding Your Real Take-Home Pay
The first thing to get right is what you actually earn versus what you actually receive. Singapore’s CPF system creates a mandatory wedge between gross salary and take-home pay that many people underestimate, especially younger workers who have not yet internalised the impact.
If you are under 55, your employee CPF contribution rate is 20% of your ordinary wages (up to the Ordinary Wage ceiling of $6,800/month as of 2024). Your employer contributes an additional 17%. This means your gross salary of $5,000 per month yields a CPF contribution of $1,000 from you, giving you a take-home of roughly $4,000 before income tax considerations — not $5,000.
Item Amount
Monthly Gross Salary $5,000
Employee CPF (20%) −$1,000
Effective Take-Home $4,000
Employer CPF (17%) +$850 (to your CPF, not cash)
Total CPF Contributions $1,850/month
When setting a budget or savings rate, always work from your take-home cash amount, not your gross salary. A savings target of 20% of take-home is meaningful; 20% of gross overstates your actual saving if CPF is counted separately.
Gathering Your Spending Data
Download the last 90 days of bank and credit card statements, or a full year if you want a more complete picture. Most major Singapore banks — DBS, OCBC, UOB, POSB — offer transaction exports via their mobile apps or internet banking portals. You can also use local budgeting tools like Seedly, which aggregates across banks, or Syfe’s spending tracker.
Once you have your data, group transactions into the following categories, which reflect the typical Singapore household spending structure:
Category Common Singapore Line Items
Housing HDB loan / mortgage, conservancy charges, utilities (SP Group), SP PowerGas
Transport EZ-Link top-ups, MRT/bus season passes, ride-hailing (Grab), car loan, ERP and petrol
Food Hawker centres, groceries (FairPrice, Cold Storage), food delivery (GrabFood, Foodpanda)
Children & Education School fees, tuition, enrichment classes, childcare (ECDA subsidies may offset)
Insurance Integrated Shield Plan premiums, whole life or term riders, H&S top-ups
Subscriptions Netflix, Spotify, gym memberships, telco plans
Discretionary Dining out, shopping, entertainment, personal care
Annual Obligations Road tax, insurance renewals, property tax, season parking
Look for patterns rather than individual transactions. Consistent overspend in food delivery, for instance, is a budget gap you can directly address. Seasonal spikes around Chinese New Year (ang baos, new clothes, reunion dinners) or Deepavali and Hari Raya are normal but should be planned for rather than absorbed as shocks each year.
Practical Tip: Check for Silent Drains
Review your credit card statements for recurring charges: forgotten streaming subscriptions, annual club memberships that auto-renewed, or insurance riders added years ago that you no longer need. Singaporeans often accumulate these incrementally until they total $200–$400/month without realising it.
Step 2: Assess Your Debts and Credit
Building Your Debt Inventory
Create a full list of every debt you carry. For each, note the outstanding balance, monthly minimum payment or instalment, and interest rate. Singapore-specific debts to capture include:
HDB concessionary loan (currently 2.6% p.a., pegged at 0.1% above CPF OA rate) or bank housing loan
Car loan — note that with COE premiums at elevated levels, car loans are among the largest liabilities many Singapore households carry
Renovation loan (typically 3.5–5% p.a. from banks or finance companies, repayable over 5 years)
MOE Tuition Fee Loan or CPF Education Scheme loan if you or a dependent has outstanding study loans
Credit card balances — Singapore credit card interest rates run at 25–29% p.a., among the most expensive forms of debt available
Personal loans or BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) balances from platforms like Atome or hoolah
Your Debt-to-Income Ratio
The debt-to-income (DTI) ratio compares your total monthly debt repayments to your gross monthly income. MAS’s TDSR framework limits borrowing for property at 55% of gross income, but financial prudence suggests targeting well below that. A DTI of 35% or less of gross income is a commonly recommended ceiling for total obligations.
Item Example
Monthly Gross Income $6,000
HDB Loan Instalment $1,200
Car Loan $800
Credit Card Minimum $200
Total Monthly Debt $2,200
DTI Ratio 36.7% — slightly elevated; consider prioritising credit card payoff
If your DTI exceeds 35%, debt reduction should become a primary goal for 2026. Focus first on the highest-interest obligations — credit card balances and personal loans — before accelerating housing loan repayments.
Reviewing Your Credit Report
You can obtain your credit report from Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS) for $6.42 via SingPass at MyCreditInfo.com.sg. This report shows your repayment history, outstanding facilities, and your CBS credit score (ranging from 1,000 to 2,000, with higher being better). Check for any incorrect late payments, duplicate accounts, or unfamiliar credit applications that may indicate identity fraud.
A strong CBS score (above 1,900, classified as “AA”) gives you access to better loan rates when refinancing your housing loan or applying for new facilities.
Warning: Credit Card Interest in Singapore
At 25–29% p.a., credit card interest in Singapore is exceptionally high. A $5,000 outstanding balance with minimum payments only can take over 10 years to clear and cost more than the original sum in interest. If you carry a balance, this is your most urgent financial problem — before investments, before top-ups, before anything else.
Opportunities to Lower Interest Costs
Consider balance transfers between cards — many Singapore banks offer 0% balance transfer promotions for 6–12 months with a one-time fee of 1–3%. Used carefully, this buys time to aggressively clear the balance before the promotional period ends. Alternatively, a debt consolidation plan (DCP) through banks such as DBS, OCBC, or Standard Chartered consolidates unsecured debts at a fixed rate, usually around 7–11% p.a., far lower than revolving credit card rates.
Step 3: Revisit and Rewrite Your Financial Goals
Moving from Vague Intentions to SMART Goals
Most Singaporeans start the year with broad intentions: “save more”, “pay off debt”, “invest properly”. These fail not because of weak willpower but because of weak structure. The SMART framework transforms vague intentions into workable commitments: goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
Use the spending data you gathered in Step 1 to ground these goals in reality. If your actual monthly food delivery spend is $400, a goal of “I will spend under $150 on food delivery per month” will fail. A goal of “I will reduce food delivery from $400 to $250 per month, saving $150/month, and redirect this to my emergency fund” is honest, actionable, and trackable.
Singapore-Specific Goal Categories
Emergency Fund
The standard benchmark is three to six months of essential expenses in a liquid account. Given Singapore’s relatively strong employment protections and social safety nets, three months is often sufficient, though six months provides more resilience for freelancers, commission-based earners, or those with dependants. Park this in a high-yield savings account — UOB One, OCBC 360, or the DBS Multiplier all offer bonus interest rates of 3–5% p.a. when you meet transaction criteria, significantly better than a standard savings account.
CPF Special Account or Retirement Account Top-Up
Cash top-ups to your own CPF Special Account (SA) or Retirement Account (RA) — or to a parent’s RA — qualify for income tax relief of up to $8,000 per year (own account) and another $8,000 for top-ups to a family member’s account, for a total relief of up to $16,000. At the current SA/RA interest rate of 4% p.a. (with the first $60,000 of CPF balances earning an additional 1% extra interest), this is a compelling risk-free return on a tax-advantaged basis.
A SMART goal here: “I will top up $4,000 to my CPF SA by GIRO in equal monthly instalments of $333 from January 2026, reducing my YA2026 chargeable income by $4,000 and earning 4% p.a. in guaranteed interest.”
Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS)
SRS contributions are fully tax-deductible up to $15,300 for Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents, and $35,700 for Employment Pass holders. Contributions are invested through your SRS account (at DBS, OCBC, or UOB) in instruments of your choice — unit trusts, ETFs, Singapore Savings Bonds, or stocks. Withdrawals after statutory retirement age are taxed at 50% of the prevailing rate, making SRS a powerful tax deferral vehicle for middle-to-high income earners.
BTO or Property Planning
If you are planning a BTO application in 2026 or 2027, your money audit should identify how your current savings trajectory maps to the required downpayment. For a BTO flat in a standard estate, the 5% option fee and subsequent 15% downpayment (when using an HDB concessionary loan) or higher deposit (for bank loans) represents a meaningful capital commitment that needs to be planned for 2–3 years in advance, given BTO construction timelines.
Goal Category Singapore-Specific Vehicle / Note
Emergency Fund (3–6 months) UOB One / OCBC 360 / DBS Multiplier
CPF SA/RA Top-Up Up to $8,000 own / $8,000 family — tax relief
SRS Contribution Up to $15,300 (SC/PR) — fully tax-deductible
Credit Card Payoff 25–29% p.a. guaranteed return on clearance
BTO Downpayment Savings Plan for 5–20% of flat value, 2–3 years out
Investment (Regular Savings Plan) POSB Invest-Saver, FSMOne RSP, or Syfe portfolios
Step 4: Identify Gaps and Adjust Your Budget
The Most Common Spending Gaps for Singaporeans
After reviewing thousands of Singapore household budgets, certain categories consistently overshoot. Recognising your own patterns allows you to address them structurally rather than relying on willpower.
Food delivery: GrabFood and Foodpanda are extraordinarily convenient but expensive. A household spending $80/week on delivery may redirect $200–$300/month by cooking twice more per week.
Ride-hailing alongside an MRT card: Keeping Grab for genuine convenience while reinstating a bus/MRT habit for commutes can save $150–$300/month in dense urban areas.
Unused gym or fitness memberships: With fitness studio closures and post-pandemic habit changes, many Singaporeans carry memberships they use fewer than twice a month. Review and cancel.
Telco upgrades: Singapore’s telco market is highly competitive. Most people on legacy SIM-only plans or older contracts can reduce monthly bills by $10–$30 by switching to a MVNO (Circles.Life, MyRepublic, Giga) or renegotiating with their current provider.
Insurance over-coverage: Younger Singaporeans may carry whole life policies from parents or older financial advisors that are expensive relative to term equivalents. A fee-only financial advisor review can identify mismatches.
The One-Category Rule
Do not attempt to reform your entire budget at once. Pick the single category with the largest gap between your actual spending and your desired spending. Address that one category for 60 days before touching another. Small, sustained changes compound more reliably than comprehensive overhauls that get abandoned after three weeks.
Credit Card Optimisation
Singapore’s credit card market offers some of the most generous rewards programmes in the world, but only if your card is matched to your actual spending. Mismatches are costly in opportunity terms:
Dominant Spend Category Recommended Card Type
Primarily grocery spend OCBC NTUC Plus! Visa, Citi Cash Back
Primarily dining and food delivery UOB YOLO, Citi Rewards Mastercard
Primarily online shopping Citi Rewards, DBS Live Fresh
Primarily petrol and transport Caltex-DBS, Shell-Citibank, UOB One
Travel and miles accumulation DBS Altitude, Citi PremierMiles, AMEX KrisFlyer
General cashback (no category focus) UOB One (with salary credit + 3 GIRO), OCBC 360
Note on Annual Fees
Always evaluate whether a card’s annual fee is justified by the actual rewards you earn. Many Singaporeans hold premium cards for status that deliver negative net value after fee deductions. If your rewards do not exceed the annual fee, downgrade or cancel.
Step 5: Your Month-by-Month Action Plan for 2026
A money audit without implementation is just a spreadsheet exercise. The following calendar gives you concrete, sequenced actions aligned to Singapore’s financial calendar — from IRAS deadlines to CPF contribution windows to BTO ballot cycles.
Month Key Financial Actions
Jan–Feb Complete your money audit. Set up GIRO for CPF SA top-up and SRS contribution. Review all insurance policies and cancel unused subscriptions. Begin budgeting for Chinese New Year ang baos and festive expenses if not already done.
Mar File your IRAS income tax return by 18 March (e-filing deadline). Verify all reliefs claimed: CPF top-up relief, SRS relief, NSman relief, course fees relief, parent/grandparent caregiver relief. Errors here cost real money.
Apr Review quarterly spending. Is your one target budget category improving? If so, identify the next category to address. Check whether your emergency fund is on track.
May–Jun Mid-year financial review. Compare actual spending against your January goals. Adjust SRS or CPF top-up GIRO amounts if income has changed (bonus season, increment). Check if CPF Annual Limit ($37,740 in OA+SA+MA contributions) has headroom for voluntary top-ups.
Jul CBS credit report annual check. Request your report and verify for errors. Review home loan: if you are 2–3 years into a bank loan lock-in, begin comparing refinancing options for when the lock-in expires.
Aug–Sep Children’s school registration cycles and tuition review. Assess whether tuition spend aligns with outcomes and budget. Evaluate insurance premium renewals — many IP premiums renew in Q3 or Q4.
Oct Year-end SRS contribution top-up if you have not maxed out your $15,300 relief. Any SRS contributions made by 31 December count for YA2026 tax relief. Also assess whether any lump-sum CPF SA top-up before year-end makes sense given your remaining tax headroom.
Nov–Dec Holiday spending plan: set a fixed budget for Christmas, year-end travel, and gifts before the season begins. Review investment portfolio performance. Set goals for 2027 based on lessons from 2026 audit.
Monthly Log into your bank’s spending dashboard or Seedly. Verify no unexpected recurring charges. Check that GIRO deductions (CPF top-up, SRS, savings auto-transfer) processed correctly. A 15-minute monthly review prevents 6-month surprises.
Singapore’s Financial Architecture: A Reference Guide
CPF at a Glance
CPF is both a constraint and an asset. Understanding which account holds what — and what each account can be used for — is essential before making any top-up decisions.
CPF Account Purpose and Interest Rate
Ordinary Account (OA) Housing, education, investment (CPFIS), insurance. Interest: 2.5% p.a. (first $20k earns extra 1%).
Special Account (SA) Retirement savings. Interest: 4% p.a. (first $40k earns extra 1%). Cannot be used for housing after Full Retirement Sum is reached.
MediSave Account (MA) Healthcare, MediShield Life premiums, approved treatments. Interest: 4% p.a.
Retirement Account (RA) Formed at age 55 from OA and SA. Funds monthly CPF LIFE payouts from age 65.
The CPF Annual Limit is $37,740 (FY2024 figure — verify current year). Mandatory contributions from employment count toward this limit. Voluntary contributions (to top up your MA, for example) cannot exceed the difference between $37,740 and your mandatory contributions for the year.
Tax-Advantaged Reliefs: What to Claim
Singapore’s income tax system offers numerous reliefs that directly reduce chargeable income. Many Singaporeans leave money on the table by failing to claim all applicable reliefs at the time of e-filing.
Relief Type Amount / Notes
CPF Cash Top-Up Relief Up to $8,000 (own SA/RA) + $8,000 (family member’s RA)
SRS Relief Up to $15,300 (SC/PR) or $35,700 (EP holders)
Course Fees Relief Up to $5,500 for qualifying courses related to current or future employment
NSman Relief Active NSmen: $3,000; In-camp: $1,500 additional. No activity: $1,500. Wife/parent of NSman: $750 each
Parent/Grandparent Caregiver Up to $9,000 if caring for dependant parent aged 55+ or with disability
Earned Income Relief Standard: $1,000. If handicapped: up to $4,000. Age 55–59: $6,000.
Spouse/Handicapped Spouse Relief $2,000 (standard) / $5,500 (handicapped spouse)
IRAS myTax Portal
Log in via SingPass at mytax.iras.gov.sg before 18 March. Many reliefs such as CPF top-up relief and SRS relief are auto-populated if transactions were made with your NRIC-linked accounts, but always verify that the amounts are correct. Reliefs for parents or dependants may require manual entry.
Putting It All Together: A Sample 2026 Financial Profile
The following profile illustrates how the five steps apply in practice for a composite Singapore household.
Profile: Wei and Siti, ages 32 and 31
Combined gross income: $12,000/month | One child, age 2 | 4-room BTO flat (HDB loan, 8 years remaining on 25-year tenure)
Combined take-home: approximately $9,600/month after CPF deductions
Step 1 Findings:
Food delivery and dining: $1,200/month (12.5% of take-home — high). Emergency fund: 2 months only (insufficient). Subscriptions: 4 streaming services, gym for Wei that has not been used since March.
Step 2 Findings:
HDB loan: $850/month. No car loan (they use public transport). Credit card balance: $3,200 at 26% p.a. (from renovation overspend last year). DTI: approximately 34% — within range but the credit card balance is urgent.
2026 SMART Goals:
- Clear $3,200 credit card balance by August 2026 by redirecting $550/month (from food delivery reduction + cancelled subscriptions). 2. Build emergency fund to 4 months ($28,000) by December 2026 via $700/month auto-transfer to OCBC 360. 3. Begin $200/month CPF SA top-up (Wei) for $2,400/year in tax relief.
Conclusion: Clarity Before Action
A money audit is not about perfection. It is about replacing guesswork with data, and intentions with a plan. The five steps in this guide — reviewing income and expenses, assessing debts, setting SMART goals, adjusting the budget, and building a monthly action calendar — are designed to be completed in a single focused afternoon, then revisited monthly for 15 minutes.
Singapore’s financial infrastructure is, in many respects, extremely favourable: CPF provides forced savings, HDB makes homeownership accessible, and the tax relief system rewards deliberate financial behaviour. But these structures only compound in your favour if you engage with them actively. The Singaporeans who build genuine financial resilience are not necessarily those who earn the most — they are those who understand their numbers, match their tools to their goals, and review their progress with consistency.
Begin this year with the audit. The clarity it provides will make every subsequent financial decision easier.
Disclaimer
This guide is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Tax figures, CPF rates, and interest rates referenced are indicative and subject to change. Always verify current figures with CPF Board, IRAS, and your financial institution. Consult a MAS-licensed financial advisor for personalised advice.