Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch?

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong dropped quite a few numbers at his maiden National Day Rally 2024. And a lot of them translate into dollars that you could help you with your #lifegoals! 

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Go back to school with up to S$72,000

That’s the maximum amount of allowance that Singaporeans above the age of 40 can potentially get under the new SkillsFuture Level-Up programme over a period of two years. Broken down into 24 months, that’s S$3,000 per month. There is also financial support planned for part-time training, so keep an eye out for more details at the SkillsFuture site.

Meanwhile, if you’re looking for ways to stretch your savings during this period, consider putting it in a high-yield savings account, such as the GXS Savings Account #ProductPlacement. You can also check out this piece for tips to make your money work harder than you.

Earlier this year, 1 in 2 of you told us that education is the top perceived driver for financial progress. So how are you going to make full use of this opportunity? PSA: This is in addition to the S$4,000 SkillsFuture Credit top-up which was given to Singaporeans aged 40 and above which was given out in May for those looking for a smaller boost. 

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Bounce back with S$6,000 

For those who’ve lost their jobs, the government is offering up to a maximum of S$6,000 over a period of six months through the new SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Scheme. Losing your job can be one of the most stressful events in a person’s life but it’s also potentially an opportunity to reset and take a fresh look at your career options.

Might you be better served going back to school and picking up a new set of skills? Is this an opportunity for you to try out that business idea you’ve been thinking about? Or is this a good time to think about fractional work? (We’ve just launched a series of articles on fractional jobs. Kick off your journey here)

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More time with their newborns: Additional 10 weeks!

New parents can spend more time with their newborns! Here are some key dates those family-planning should look out for: 1 April 2025 and 1 April 2026. Parents of babies born from April 2025 can look forward to six additional weeks of shared leave; parents of babies born from April 2026 can look forward to an additional 10 weeks of shared leave. 

Fathers-to-be will also see their two weeks mandatory and two weeks voluntary government-paid paternity leave converted to four weeks mandatory government-paid paternity leave come April 2025.

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Build your dream home with an upsized CPF housing grant 

If you’re in the market for a home, these upcoming measures will no doubt be welcome news. The biggest one is that the enhanced CPF housing grant will be enhanced from the existing S$80,000 to $xx,xxx (numbers to come - all eyes are no doubt on MND).  There was also welcome news for singles who will, as of the middle of next year, also be given priority access if they buy a new flat with their parents. 

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While we’re waiting for updates, here’s some inspiration for your upcoming home reno, sorted according to cost from $10k.

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Psst! Here's something else you should know:

Link(s) in this article may bring you to a third party website(s), owned and operated by an independent party over which GXS Bank has no control ("3rd Party Website"). Any link you make to or from a 3rd Party Website will be at your own risk. Any use of a 3rd Party Website will be subject to and any information you provide will be governed by the terms of the 3rd Party Website, including those relating to confidentiality, data privacy and security.

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