Many financial bloggers have blogged about the Singapore Savings Bonds (SSB) since it was first announced. On last count I have over 60+ articles talking about SSB either directly or indirectly. It would seem that the mainstream media was quite surprised by the low take up rate but I am not surprised because articles on SSB have the same number of readers as stocks and other finance articles. I looked at the stats of my hot topics and CPF has the most readers followed by Sembcorp and Keppel Corp. SSB came in last. When the first tranche of SSB was announced, there was no spike in traffic either. Compare this to a hot IPO or rights issue when there will be a sudden spike in traffic. I think some financial bloggers who blogged about IPO/rights can attest to it. I had a spike in traffic in September though, but this was due to the global sell off. People were more interested to know what stocks to buy or sell and where the market is heading. Finally, the conversation with my mom may offer other reasons on the poor response of SSB. Asahai Girl Photo Credit: An Eternal Thought in the Mind of Godzilla I think my mom in her youth is as pretty if not prettier than her, and no I wasn't drinking when I was talking to my mom. LoL

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Me: Ma, the government is launching the Singapore Savings Bonds. Mom: What is that? I never hear about it before. *My mom gets all her financial news from her friends. If she is not aware, it usually means her group of friends have not either. Me: It is a bond issued by the government. Mom: Wait. Government? Me: Yup. By Singapore Government. Very safe one. Mom: Cheng Hu (hokkien) safe? Look what happen to CPF. Me: But this is different. This is your own money and you can withdraw ... Mom: Boy, don't be so 天真. They also say we can withdraw our CPF by age 55 but you see what happened. Banks are safer. After convincing my mom that Singapore Savings Bonds are safe. Mom: So how does it work? I tried my best to explain in layman terms. Mom: Sounds complicated. Just tell me what is the interest rate in a year? Me: About 2-3% over 10 years or about 0.9% a year. Mom: How come 2-3% over 10 years and  then 0.9% a year.Not fix meh? What happen if 0%? In my Fix Deposit, the bank will indicate the interest rate clearly and I will know how much I will get. Me: Won't la. Government says 2-3% over 10 years and it will be that number. Mom: Ok, so how do I buy? Me: You will need a CDP account and apply through POSB/DBS/OCBC/UOB ATM. Mom: Hurh? Why cannot go the bank counter like what I did for my FD? I forgot my ATM pin liao. Why need CDP? I want to buy for your dad and he don't have CDP how? Me: Err.... Mom: Nvm too complicated. We talk about it another time.

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I added a bit more spice into the conversation but it correctly reflects my mom's views towards SSB. Did you also have a hard time convincing someone to apply for SSB? And in case you are wondering, I did not apply for it too.