Public Forum and Launch of the SPP Financial Literacy Awareness Programme

MEDIA RELEASE

The Singapore People’s Party (SPP) will launch its Financial Literacy Awareness Programme at a public forum on 21 April 2012, Saturday, 3pm, at its party headquarters (1 Siang Kuang Road, Singapore 347919 [Sennett Estate]).

Mr Chiam See Tong, Secretary-General of the SPP, will deliver the opening address. He will then sit on a panel with Mrs Lina Chiam, Non-Constituency Member of Parliament and Chairman of the SPP, and Mr Leong Sze Hian, Past President, Society of Financial Service Professionals (SFSP), who will be the lead trainer for the programme.

The panel will discuss financial issues facing Singaporeans today, explain more about the upcoming programme, and will field questions from the audience. Topics to be discussed will include:

• Money issues that matter to Singaporeans
• CPF: What every Singaporean must know about our CPF system; why change to only two CPF Life Plans now?
• HDB: How to maximize your right to an HDB flat? What may be some pitfalls in buying an HDB flat?
• Healthcare: the 3Ms (MediShield, Medisave and Medifund)

The media and the public are all welcome.

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About the Programme

The programme aims to inculcate financial literacy skills to Singaporeans so that they can be savvier in making important life decisions from a financial perspective.

Our volunteers have been providing financial counseling at Potong Pasir for about a year. From our experience, many cases of financial stress could have been easily avoided, if only they had not made some important financial decisions that were wrong. 

The first intake of the programme is on 12 May 2012 (please see below for details). There are plans for subsequent sessions to also be conducted in Mandarin.

Objectives:

Financial literacy is one of the fundamental criteria for success and “less stress” in life. Strong financial literacy can mitigate the financial problems that many Singaporeans may encounter. In our programme, we help participants understand the implications of their financial decisions and help you to make informed decisions.

Lead Trainer:

Mr Leong Sze Hian, Past President, Society of Financial Service Professionals (SFSP)

Topics in our programme:

Managing Finances 101

• Living beyond, within and below your means – Re-learn everything you thought you knew about earnings and expenditure. Relook your personal cash flow.
• Savings and budgeting – Get practical help in creating a savings plan and learn how to create budgets for things in life in a sustainable way.

Investing, Fraud and Borrowing 101

• Baby steps to Investing – Investing is both an art and a science. Let us teach you how to appreciate investing and apply the rules of creating a prudent investment plan.
• Risk and speculation – Risk of FX and Stocks
• Credit and Debt – Learn about controlled use of credit cards and loans. HDB vs. bank loan.
• Fraudulent Financial Products – How to avoid them?

CPF, Healthcare and HDB 101

Your healthcare and CPF – Taking care of your healthcare costs and retirement funds are important steps in financial planning. What every Singaporean must know about our CPF system? Why change to only 2 CPF Life Plans now? How to maximize you right to a HDB flat?

Fee:              Free – register online

Date:            12 May 2012, Saturday, 3 – 6 pm (first intake of programme)

Venue:          SPP Headquarters, 1 Siang Kuang Road, Singapore 347919 (Sennett Estate)

For further enquries, please email [email protected]

This community programme is organised by the Singapore People's Party

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