How to review your finances in 30 minutes

You've been meaning to look at your finances for… how long now? If you're like most people, "money review" lives at the bottom of your to-do list, right next to "organise storeroom". 

By December, the deadlines are closing in, the chaos level is up and — oh look — it's already the 28th. 

This isn't just about guilt. Miss the right deadlines and you can wave goodbye to tax reliefs worth thousands. Once Dec 31 is gone, so is your shot at that money. 

But here's the deal: You don't need a weekend, a whiteboard or a caffeine IV. Just 30 minutes, four focus areas and a no-nonsense approach. 

This review targets four areas: time-sensitive tax deadlines closing in two weeks, credit card debt compounding daily at 25 to 28 per cent, missing emergency buffers, and insurance shortfalls leaving your family vulnerable if something goes wrong. 

What you need before you start (three minutes)

Before you start, get these lined up: 

• Singpass login
• Banking apps (DBS/POSB, OCBC, UOB, etc.)  
• Credit card apps or statements
• CPF account login 

Singapore's PLAN with CPF, launched in July 2025, brings together retirement planning, housing and healthcare tools in one dashboard via Singpass. It includes a Financial Fitness Questionnaire based on MAS guidelines. Set it up now — it just takes two minutes.

With your accounts ready, let's get started with the most time-sensitive item: the tax deadline.

Step 1: The 2-week deadline check (three minutes)

Here's the thing about tax relief — the deadlines are absolute. Three major schemes expire on Dec 31, 2025, and contributions must happen within the calendar year to count for Year of Assessment 2026. 

Miss it and you've lost potentially $3,000+ in tax savings for the year. Permanently. 

SRS: Up to $15,300 tax relief

The Supplementary Retirement Scheme gives dollar-for-dollar taxable income reduction. Here's the catch on timing: DBS requires contributions by 7pm on Dec 31, 2025, via DBS Digibank mobile. Don't leave this to New Year's Eve. 

CPF Top-Ups: Up to $16,000 tax relief

CPF voluntary contributions offer $8,000 relief for your own accounts, plus $8,000 for family members. CPF's online services work until 11.59 pm on Dec 31, 2025. 

Charitable donations: 250 per cent tax deduction

Approved charity donations get 2.5 times the amount as a tax deduction. Provide your NRIC for automatic IRAS submission.

Action item: Log into SRS and CPF accounts, check year-to-date contributions and decide if topping up makes sense before the deadline.

Time-sensitive items sorted. Now for the part that's actually costing you — the debt sitting on your credit cards right now.

Step 2: The money bleed check (10 minutes)

Credit card debt is quietly the most expensive money you'll ever touch. Singapore's credit card rollover debt hit $8.3 billion in Q4 2024, and the interest on that? Twenty five to 28 per cent annually, compounding daily. 

Daily compounding isn't just a technical term. It means you pay interest on yesterday's interest, which compounds into tomorrow's interest, on and on until you clear the balance.

Here's what that actually costs. You owe $5,000 at 26 per cent interest. After one month of carrying that balance, you've paid $108 for literally nothing. That's interest alone — you haven't reduced the debt by a single dollar.

Compound this over a year without paying down principal and you're paying $1,460 in interest on a $5,000 debt.

Your credit card reality check

Pull up your credit card apps and check three numbers:

• Outstanding balance shows what you currently owe in total.
• The amount rolled over from the last statement is critical. If this is above zero, you're paying interest. Even if you made a payment, any unpaid balance immediately starts accruing interest.
• Minimum payment vs full balance shows whether you're making progress or treading water. 

Here's the full picture of what happens with that $5,000 debt at 26 per cent interest if you only pay the minimum $100/month:

Eight years. That $5,000 becomes $9,566. This is why "just pay the minimum" is terrible advice — even though the bank makes it sound reasonable. 

The debt thresholds

Singapore caps your unsecured debt at 12 times your monthly income — credit cards, personal loans, renovation loans, overdrafts, the works. Exceed this for three months and your credit facilities will be suspended. 

Example: 

You earn $4,000/month. Your regulatory limit is $48,000 total unsecured debt. Hit $24,000 — half your limit, six times your income — and you're in concerning territory. At $36,000, you're approaching the danger zone.

For property, the Total Debt Servicing Ratio caps monthly debt obligations at 55 per cent of gross income.

Example:

You earn $5,000/month gross:

• Mortgage payment: $1,500
• Car loan: $600
• Credit card minimum: $150
• Personal loan: $200
• Total monthly debt: $2,450

$2,450 ÷ $5,000 = 49 per cent TDSR. You're within the limit but it's tight. If your monthly mortgage payment increases to $1,800, it'll be 58 per cent TDSR and exceed the regulatory threshold.

Action item: Calculate your credit card rollover as a multiple of your monthly income. If it's above 3x monthly income, this becomes your highest-priority problem. Everything else waits.

You know your debt situation. Though knowing you owe money and having cash when things go wrong are two different problems.

Step 3: The safety net check (seven minutes)

This happens more than you'd expect: someone loses their job, the car needs emergency repairs or a medical bill arrives that insurance doesn't fully cover.

Without accessible cash sitting in a bank account, these situations immediately escalate into credit card debt at 25 to 28 per cent interest. The emergency becomes a financial crisis that compounds for months or years.

Your emergency fund is what prevents this cascade. MAS' Basic Financial Planning Guide recommends three to six months' worth of expenses as readily accessible emergency reserves — and they're not wrong. 

The CPF Board guidance echoes this, noting that it could take three to six months to find a new job you actually want, making this buffer essential for financial security. 

Calculating your emergency fund target

Pull up your banking apps and look at the past three months. Total everything you can't easily cut:

• Housing (rent/mortgage payments)
• Utilities (electricity, water, internet)
• Groceries and household essentials
• Transport (MRT, petrol, car payments)
• Insurance premiums
• Loan repayments (minimum payments)
• Phone bills

Skip the dining out, entertainment and shopping — in an emergency, you'd cut these immediately anyway.

Example calculation:

• Housing: $1,800
• Utilities: $150
• Groceries: $500
• Transport: $200
• Insurance: $300
• Loans: $400
• Phone: $50
• Total: $3,400/month

Now convert those monthly expenses into your emergency fund targets:

$3,400 × 3 months = $10,200 minimum

$3,400 × 6 months = $20,400 ideal

Check what you actually have

Add up immediately accessible cash:

Savings accounts

Current accounts

Fixed deposits maturing within 30 days

Don't count CPF (can't withdraw for general emergencies), investments (takes time to sell and you might catch a bad market), property equity (highly illiquid) or insurance cash value (penalties and processing delays).

Here's the key calculation:

Your accessible cash ÷ Monthly expenses = ___ months of coverage

Below three months means you're vulnerable to any genuine financial shock. Below one month means you're essentially paycheque to paycheque.

PLAN with CPF includes a Financial Fitness Questionnaire that evaluates your emergency fund alongside other financial health indicators and provides personalised recommendations. Access it through cpf.gov.sg/member/plan-with-cpf via Singpass.

Action item: Write down your specific emergency fund number and current coverage in months. If you're below three months, this becomes a priority right after clearing high-interest debt. 

Emergency buffer checked. Now let's verify whether you're protected if something serious happens. 

Step 4: The protection gap check (seven minutes)

You're 35, earning $60,000 annually, and supporting a spouse and child. You get diagnosed with stage 3 cancer.

Treatment costs mount, you take six months off work, income stops but expenses continue. Your company insurance covers some bills, but there's a $10,000 deductible, and co-payments add thousands more.

This is where the insurance gaps hurt.

The Life Insurance Association's 2022 Protection Gap Study found Singapore has a 74 per cent critical illness coverage gap — only 26 per cent of needs are met. Average shortfall: $256,826 per person. 

The official benchmarks

Here's what MAS says you should have:

Current average: mortality at 3.6x income (vs 9x needed), CI at 2.1x (vs 4x needed).

Using the $60,000 income example:

• Death coverage needed: $540,000
• Most people have: $216,000
• Gap: $324,000 underinsured
• CI coverage needed: $240,000
• Most people have: $126,000
• Gap: $114,000 underinsured

Your quick check

Calculate your personal gaps:

Life coverage:

• Annual income × 9 = $_____
• Current coverage (excluding CPF) = $_____
• Gap = $_____

Critical illness:

• Annual income × 4 = $_____
• Current CI coverage = $_____
• Gap = $_____

If you're aged 20 to 34, 42 per cent have no coverage whatsoever. Here's what concerns you: insurance premiums increase with age and become unavailable once health conditions develop. 

Corporate insurance (typically 1-4x salary) disappears when you leave your job and falls short of the 9x benchmark for ample coverage anyway.

Action item: Calculate your gaps. If current coverage is less than half recommended (4.5x income for death, 2x for CI), insurance shopping becomes a priority. 

Now that you've checked off the four critical areas, it's time to figure out what needs are time-sensitive and what can wait a little.

What to fix now vs what can wait

Not everything requires immediate action. Here's how you can prioritise:

Red flags: Fix within two weeks

• Dec 31 tax deadline for SRS or CPF top-ups
• Credit card rollover above 3x monthly income
• Zero emergency fund whilst carrying debt
• No insurance whilst supporting dependents

Yellow flags: Address in 1 to 3 months

• Emergency fund below three months
• Credit card rollover below 3x income
• Insurance gaps but no dependents

Green flags: Review annually

• Emergency fund above six months
• Zero credit card rollover
• Insurance meeting benchmarks

Genuinely tight on time? Do these three things and nothing else.

If you do nothing else, do this

Check your Dec 31 deadline items — SRS and CPF voluntary contributions for tax relief. Even partial contributions beat nothing.

Stop credit card rollover — If you're carrying balances, pay more than the minimum. Even an extra $200-500/month reduces the compounding interest dramatically.

Calculate three months of expenses — Write down the specific number. Compare it to your accessible cash balance. You now have a concrete emergency fund target.

Set up PLAN with CPF for consolidated CPF visibility and personalised financial planning guidance. Two minutes to set up via Singpass, ongoing access to retirement planning, housing tools, and healthcare insurance comparisons.

Questions you're probably asking

I missed the Dec 31 deadline. What now?

You've lost the tax relief for YA 2026. Mark Dec 31, 2026 in your calendar for next year. You can still make contributions in January onwards but they'll count towards YA 2027.

Should I use my bonus to pay debt or build an emergency fund?

Here's the priority sequence: high-interest debt (above 20 per cent) first, then emergency fund to at least $3,000 to 5,000, then SRS/CPF for tax relief, then remaining emergency fund target, then lower-interest debt.

My company insurance covers 3x my salary. Do I still need personal insurance?

Almost certainly yes. The MAS benchmark is 9x annual income for death coverage-your corporate insurance covers only one-third of this.

More importantly, corporate insurance disappears immediately when you leave your job through resignation, retrenchment or retirement. If you develop health conditions while employed, you may become uninsurable once the corporate coverage ends.

Get personal term insurance now, whilst you're still insurable.

I'm only paying slightly more than the minimum on my credit cards. Is this okay?

No. Even paying just above minimum keeps you in a debt spiral. On a $5,000 balance at 26 per cent interest, paying $150/month (50 per cent more than minimum) still takes nearly five years and costs $3,400 in interest. 

Aim to pay at least double the minimum or better yet, tackle this with aggressive lump sum payments using your bonus or emergency savings if your emergency fund is already adequate. 

Should I prioritise insurance or emergency funds if I can't afford both?

Build a mini emergency fund of $2,000 to 3,000 first — enough to handle minor emergencies like urgent car repairs or smaller medical bills. Then get basic term insurance if you have dependents.

After that, build your full three to six months emergency fund whilst maintaining the insurance. 

The mini fund prevents you from going into debt for small emergencies, whilst the insurance protects your family from catastrophic scenarios. Trying to do one fully before starting the other leaves you vulnerable on one side. 

Final thoughts

You've done something most Singaporeans put off until March — by which point the tax relief deadline is long gone and credit card interest has compounded for another three months.

If you caught even one red flag in this review, you've already made it worth 30 minutes of your lunch break. The diagnostic work is done — you know your numbers, identify your priorities and understand which problems demand immediate attention versus which can wait. 

[[nid:726471]]

This article was first published in MoneySmart.