While there are plenty of discussions about asset classes like equities, bonds, commodities or even cryptocurrency, there is not much ink being spilt on cash which is the asset class almost all of us have. This article attempts to articulate the essential points of managing cash in Singapore.
The most critical point about having cash is that it does not do very much for you.
Placing your money into an ordinary savings account generates an interest rate of only 0.05% a year (DBS savings deposit rates taken on 10th March 2021). Crediting your salaries and linking your credit card to a particular savings scheme such as DBS Multiplier, UOB One, or OCBC360 account can increase the deposit interest rates by up to 3%, but you do so at the expense of your autonomy.
That said, expending too much effort to game this system is not a good idea, given that the inflation rate at the time of writing is about 2.4%....