I called up my school today to enquire about the status of my bursary application. I am pleased to know that I will be awarded the full quantum of $3,700. The bursary will be disbursed in 2 stages in late October 2012 and January 2013 respectively.
Also, the result of my private bursary application will be known in early November 2012. If this private bursary application is successful as well, I will be awarded an additional $1,800. Investible net worth is estimated to cross the $60k mark by February 2013, leaving me 10 months to accumulate $10,000 in order to achieve my first goal - $70,000 by age 25 (Dec 2013). This target should be easily achievable as I should be starting work full time in mid 2013 after graduation if nothing goes wrong.
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Senin, 24 September 2012
Senin, 20 Agustus 2012
Loopholes In Bursary Application Process
A portion of my investible networth is accumulated through government and private bursaries. A bursary is a monetary award that is granted to students on the basis of financial need. However, there are loopholes in the application process which made it unfair for the truly underprivileged students. Let's take for example the eligibility of CDCC Bursary. To be eligible for this bursary, one needs to be a Singapore citizen with monthly gross household per capita(average) income of no more than $850.
For students whose parents are salaried employees, they will have to submit their parents' latest gross monthly payslip. This is fair as there isn't any way to manipulate the figures on the payslip issued by the company.
Things become slightly more manipulable for the unemployed and self-employed. The required supporting document for the Unemployed/Retrenched/Retired/Housewife is the CPF contribution history for the last 12 months. For the self employed, a tax assessment notification by local tax authority or the latest annual tax returns submitted to a local tax authority will be required.
Here are the loopholes: Since the majority of self-employed persons declare lower income to pay lesser taxes(from what I know), the reported income on their tax statements might not be a true reflection of their financial situation. In addition, the bursary applicant could declare their self-employed parents as unemployed since the only document they need to produce is the CPF contribution history and self-employed do not contribute to CPF. I personally know some of my friends who did that and were subsequently awarded the bursary. Also, retired parents could be financially free, having multiple streams of passive income or even sitting on a pile of cash. However, the only supporting document required for the retired/unemployed is the CPF contribution history. The evidence of having zero CPF contribution for a retiree/unemployed is grossly insufficient to determine a person's financial ability.
For my situation, my monthly gross household income per capita is indeed lower than $850. Having an investible net worth of more than $50,000 and still receiving bursaries might seem to be pushing the boundaries of ethics. However, I met all the requirements for the bursaries and it is no more than doing the uncommon within rules.
For students whose parents are salaried employees, they will have to submit their parents' latest gross monthly payslip. This is fair as there isn't any way to manipulate the figures on the payslip issued by the company.
Things become slightly more manipulable for the unemployed and self-employed. The required supporting document for the Unemployed/Retrenched/Retired/Housewife is the CPF contribution history for the last 12 months. For the self employed, a tax assessment notification by local tax authority or the latest annual tax returns submitted to a local tax authority will be required.
Here are the loopholes: Since the majority of self-employed persons declare lower income to pay lesser taxes(from what I know), the reported income on their tax statements might not be a true reflection of their financial situation. In addition, the bursary applicant could declare their self-employed parents as unemployed since the only document they need to produce is the CPF contribution history and self-employed do not contribute to CPF. I personally know some of my friends who did that and were subsequently awarded the bursary. Also, retired parents could be financially free, having multiple streams of passive income or even sitting on a pile of cash. However, the only supporting document required for the retired/unemployed is the CPF contribution history. The evidence of having zero CPF contribution for a retiree/unemployed is grossly insufficient to determine a person's financial ability.
For my situation, my monthly gross household income per capita is indeed lower than $850. Having an investible net worth of more than $50,000 and still receiving bursaries might seem to be pushing the boundaries of ethics. However, I met all the requirements for the bursaries and it is no more than doing the uncommon within rules.
Rabu, 19 Oktober 2011
$50,000 by end of June 2012
A few days ago, I applied for another bursary valued at $2900. If I am awarded this bursary, my net worth will be at least $50,000 by the end of June 2012. This is also partly due to my internship starting on Jan 2012 which pays $1100 per month. I previously mentioned that my parents will still be giving me my $500 allowance when internship starts and I will be able to save around $1000 cash each month. However, I overlooked the CPF ordinary account, which is part of my net worth. To calculate how much money will be credited into my CPF OA, we have to first look at the CPF contribution and allocation rates.
Currently, for an employee at age 35 and below, the employer contribution is 16% and employee contribution is at 20% of wage. Therefore, the total contribution will be 36% of wage. Out of the 36% contributed to CPF, 23% of it will be credited into CPF OA, 6% into special account and 7% into medisave account.
My monthly remuneration for my 6 months internship is $1,100. Total wages earned is $6,600. Contribution to CPF OA during this period will be: $6600 x 0.23 = $1,518
Total amount earned during internship = $1518 + 6($1000) = $7,518
Given that the $2900 bursary I just applied is awarded to me,
Guaranteed net worth by end of June 2012 will be :
$35000(current net worth) +$3000(bursary awarded this month) + $2900(bursary that I just applied) + $7518(cash and CPF OA earned during internship next year) + $1215(9 mths of RSP into ILP) + $1080(girlfriend contribution into savings account 3) + $840(tuition until internship starts) + $400(Ang Pow for 2012) = $51953(assuming no investments returns)
Currently, for an employee at age 35 and below, the employer contribution is 16% and employee contribution is at 20% of wage. Therefore, the total contribution will be 36% of wage. Out of the 36% contributed to CPF, 23% of it will be credited into CPF OA, 6% into special account and 7% into medisave account.
My monthly remuneration for my 6 months internship is $1,100. Total wages earned is $6,600. Contribution to CPF OA during this period will be: $6600 x 0.23 = $1,518
Total amount earned during internship = $1518 + 6($1000) = $7,518
Given that the $2900 bursary I just applied is awarded to me,
Guaranteed net worth by end of June 2012 will be :
$35000(current net worth) +$3000(bursary awarded this month) + $2900(bursary that I just applied) + $7518(cash and CPF OA earned during internship next year) + $1215(9 mths of RSP into ILP) + $1080(girlfriend contribution into savings account 3) + $840(tuition until internship starts) + $400(Ang Pow for 2012) = $51953(assuming no investments returns)
Rabu, 28 September 2011
Awarded Bursary
My school notified me today that I will be awarded a bursary valued at $3,000. So far, the total value of the bursaries I received is about $9000 and I did not spend a single cent of it. The bursary presentation ceremony will be held next month and they will be presenting me a cheque. There will be a huge jump in my net worth in October due to this bursary. Estimated net worth by year end should be at least $40,000.
I will also be applying for another bursary valued at $2900. However, I have to declare that I am in receipt of this $3k bursary and my application will be considered on a case by case basis. Therefore, I will have to apply with an appeal letter to unveil my family's dire financial situation. In the best case scenario, my net worth will hit $50k by mid of 2012.
Minggu, 17 Juli 2011
Record breaking expenses
Total expenses for the past 17days is just $70.30. If I maintain my expenses at $10/day, my total expenses for the month will be a mere $210, allowing me to save the remaining $290 of my allowance. On top of that, I will be able to save 100% of my internship pay.
The application window for the government bursaries is now open. The maximum quantum of the bursary that I will be applying is $2900. This will be a substantial boost to my net worth if the application is successful. My target net worth by end 2013 is $70,000. If everything goes well, this target will be easily achieved.
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