Why $ should matter to women

Many Singapore women grapple with financial literacy and are afraid of issues like investing, but this could harm their retirement years and give them fewer choices

- Stephanie Yeo

When Ms Sheryl Koh divorced her husband in 2019 and moved out of her parents-in-law's home, the financial impact of her decision hit hard.

She had to find a rental home quickly for her and her toddler. "Even though I had emergency savings, it wasn't enough to cover more than a few months' rent," recalls Ms Koh, 36, whose daughter was about one year old at the time. She was then working in marketing for insurance company Manulife Singapore.

"It was a wake-up call. For years, I had relied on someone else to handle the finances and hadn't thought much about saving more. Suddenly, I had to take full responsibility."

Growing up, the business marketing graduate from RMIT University via SIM University was taught that money would come from studying hard and getting good grades.

"We were taught to save for emergencies, though we never really knew how much was 'enough'. Beyond that, money was rarely talked about. It was almost taboo," says Ms Koh, who has two younger siblings in their 30s.

Her father, who is in his 70s, ran a business in the plastics engineering trade, and her mother, in her 60s, is a homemaker.

The $600 to $800 a month she earned from various part-time jobs after secondary school went into her allowance and to help with her family's expenses.

"I often felt like money was never enough. Whatever I earned, I spent. There were deep fears of not having enough, of debt and of being judged. I wanted to do better, but didn't know how," recalls Ms Koh.

As she had parted on amicable terms with her former husband, he helped her cover the rent for her two-bedroom condominium unit during the transition for a few months.

She started cost-cutting, cancelling gym memberships and other non-essential subscriptions, as well as forgoing luxury shopping and fancy meals.