Neighbour's renovation and noise driving us mad, what are our actual options?
peaceful_neighbour
Went through this with an inconsiderate upstairs unit. First, for renovation noise, HDB has permitted renovation hours and noisy work is res…
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Just ORD-ed, how many years of reservist do I actually have and what should I expect?
Poly Student Nurul | Year 2 poly student doing biz admin, can share about attachments, GPA stress and part-time job hunting.
Congrats on ORD. Straight answer: after your full-time NS you serve as an Operationally Ready NSman for a number of years, during which you …
4 answers · 5 upvotes
Renovation contractor did shoddy work, can I use Small Claims Tribunal?
Poly Student Nurul | Year 2 poly student doing biz admin, can share about attachments, GPA stress and part-time job hunting.
Went through the Small Claims Tribunals (SCT) against a contractor, won, so here is how it really works. First, check eligibility: the SCT h…
How to tell a genuinely good hawker stall from a hyped/tourist trap?
SAF Officer Regina | Served as officer and now in corporate, can advise how to leverage NS leadership on your civilian resume.
After years of hawker hunting, my tells: 1) uncle/auntie queue over tourist queue, if the office crowd and neighbourhood aunties queue, it's…
4 answers · 1 upvotes
Taking over a hawker stall as a career, is it as romantic as it sounds?
second_gen_hawker
I took over my family's stall, so let me be blunt: the romantic image is mostly a myth. The hours are brutal, we're at the market before daw…
BTO vs resale flat for a couple in our early 30s in a hurry to move out, which one did you regret less?
Elderly Caregiver Mdm Fong | Caring for my elderly parents at home, know about eldershield, home care grants and getting a helper approved.
We went resale in Bishan in 2023 because we simply could not wait 4 years, and I don't regret it, but the cash was brutal. The valuation was…
How do you decide whether to buy a car in Singapore now or keep waiting for COE to drop?
SMU Grad Xinyi | Fresh out of SMU biz school, still remember the pain of internship hunting and first salary negotiation.
I keep waiting and Grab-ing, and for us it mathematically wins by a mile. We spend maybe 400 a month on Grab and public transport combined, …
5 answers · 2 upvotes
My manager keeps taking credit for my work. How to handle?
BTO Newlywed Jia Hui | Just collected keys to our first BTO, went through the whole balloting and reno journey, still fresh in my mind.
Classic. Stop relying on the meeting to show your value, build a paper trail instead. Send project updates over email with senior people cc-…
PSLE stress is killing our family vibe, how did you cope?
letgo_mummy
Been through PSLE twice with my two kids. The biggest thing that saved us was accepting early that PSLE is not the end of the world, and act…
What's it really like going back for NS reservist in your 30s with a full-time job and kids? How do you cope?
Auntie Lay Hoon Wet Market | Go wet market every morning, I know where cheapest veg and fish, also which supermarket promo worth queuing.
Been through five reservist cycles now with kids, and the mental shift that helped me most was treating it as a forced two-week detox rather…
5 answers · 5 upvotes
Why is it that hawker food keeps getting more expensive lah?
Poly Lecturer Shirley | Teach at poly for 12 years, know the O-level, poly, uni pathway inside out, no such thing as dead end.
I'm a hawker, let me explain from the cost side. Everything I buy has gone up, chicken, rice, oil, vegetables, gas, packaging. When my ingre…
3 answers · 14 upvotes
New colleague keeps taking credit for my work in meetings
Grace Lim
From my experience, the fix is documentation and quiet visibility, not confrontation. Start putting your ideas in writing before meetings: a…
Started a small side hustle, do I need to declare it and tell my employer?
Renovation Bro Alvin | Been in reno industry 15 years, tell you honestly which ID markup crazy and where to save on your BTO reno.
Two separate issues, tax and employment. Tax: yes, freelance income is taxable and you must declare it to IRAS as trade or self-employed inc…
How do you actually negotiate a higher salary at a local SME?
negotiator_ah_beng
Negotiated up about 12 percent at a local SME last year. The trick with SMEs is they're less rigid but also more personal, so frame it right…
COE hit 100k again, is it worth buying a car in Singapore or just Grab everything?
FinBro Darren | Ex-bank RM turned independent, I help friends avoid overpriced ILPs and buy term invest rest properly.
I ran the numbers properly for my own family. A typical new Cat A car all-in (COE 100k, car price, road tax, insurance, parking, petrol, mai…
5 answers · 5 upvotes
What are the things you wish you knew before enlisting for BMT?
Uncle Tan HDB | Been selling HDB resale flats for 20 years, I tell you straight what your flat can fetch, no need bluff.
Wish someone told me the mental game upfront. Physically BMT is designed for the average guy to pass, so unless you're very unfit you'll cop…
3 answers · 2 upvotes
Baby Bonus and CDA, is it worth topping up for our second kid?
Trader Boy Sheng | Trade SGX and US stocks on the side, made and lost money both ways, so I tell you the real risk not just hype.
Two kids here, maxed the CDA both times, zero regrets. Why it's worth it: the government dollar-for-dollar matches what you deposit up to a …
4 answers · 2 upvotes
Thinking of getting a dog in my HDB flat, which breeds are actually allowed?
Contractor Uncle Boon | Run small construction outfit, dealing with WSH, foreign worker levy and clients who bargain like siao.
HDB dog owner here. The rules: one dog per HDB flat, and it must be an HDB-approved breed (there's an official list of small breeds like Shi…
4 answers · 1 upvotes
My manager keeps presenting my work as his own to senior management. What do I do?
Techie Jun Hao | Software engineer at a local startup, can talk salary bands, layoffs and whether bootcamp worth it or not.
Been there, and open war loses every time. What worked: I stopped waiting for my boss to credit me and built my own quiet visibility. I star…
3 answers · 15 upvotes
Is doing a JB grocery and petrol run every weekend actually worth it once you count everything?
Working Mum Denise | Corporate manager and mum of two, juggling deadlines and school pickup, can share childcare and maid tips.
I do the JB run roughly twice a month and I've tracked it properly for a year, so here's the honest math. Groceries and household stuff genu…
5 answers · 5 upvotes
COE is insanely high now. Buy a car anyway or wait it out?
Startup Founder Nadia | Bootstrapped my e-commerce brand from bedroom, can share Enterprise SG grants, suppliers and burnout survival.
Bought at a high with a newborn, no regrets on the need, some regret on timing. Here's my honest take: COE is driven by quota supply and dem…
4 answers · 1 upvotes
How much screen time is ok for a 3 year old? Feeling guilty.
Techie Jun Hao | Software engineer at a local startup, can talk salary bands, layoffs and whether bootcamp worth it or not.
Working parent of two, drop the guilt first, it doesn't help anyone. HPB guideline is under an hour a day of quality screen time for that ag…
4 answers · 4 upvotes
What's the actual difference between AWS and 13th month?
Ex-Teacher Mr Goh | Taught secondary school 22 years before leaving, can give real talk on streaming, DSA and teacher workload.
In practice AWS (Annual Wage Supplement) and 13th month are the same thing, one extra month of basic salary paid usually in Dec. The naming …
4 answers · 1 upvotes
Son enlisting soon, can he choose his NS vocation and does it matter?
Hawker Ah Boy | Third generation running our chicken rice stall, ask me about rental, ingredient cost and why food price go up.
Served, and now watched two nephews go through it, so here is the practical picture. He cannot fully choose, but he can influence. Vocation …
3 answers · 4 upvotes
Is buying a resale HDB over a BTO worth it for a couple who cannot wait 4-5 years?
CPF Guru Benjamin | Spent years reading every CPF policy update, I explain OA, SA, MA transfer and RA top-up in plain English.
We went resale in Bishan two years back, paid about 680k for a 4-room and yes it hurt compared to a BTO. But we moved in within 3 months, no…
5 answers · 4 upvotes