Cost of 3rd Trimester

Baby is not here yet, but this is the expense so far. Shouldn't be increasing by much....i hope (fingers crossed).

Finance 101 - Pay by credits; get free credits!

It's true. Credit card can land people into massive debt if they are not paid on time. On the flipside, if you have financial discipline, I would say use your card and never your cash. The cash rebates and benefits offered by some cards can really go a long way in helping your family's finances and giving more for baby. Using diapers as a scenario, if you use 4 packs(say it cost $20/pack) per month for 1 years, a card that gives you 4.5% discount can provide you with a cash rebate of $43.20. That's 2 containers of free pineapple tarts every CNY...yummzzz! Below are some cards I would recommend:

1) OCBC Frank Card: The main attractive of this card is the 6% cash rebate given for all online shopping and Nets Flash Pay top-ups. How do you save? You can use Nets Flash pay at some merchants including supermarkets and Watsons for Diapers, milk powder and daily groceries. Nets Flash pay can also be used as an Ezlink card for MRT/Bus rides. You can get savings on your online purchases, including online bill payments (Telco bills, HDB parking)

Drawbacks? You need to spend $500 a month to enjoy the rebates. Also, the Nets Flash pay is not as widely used, is limited to $50 per top up for this card, and top up facility is limited to MRT/LRT fare, SMRT/SBST Buses fare, ERP and EPS (CEPAS-enabled car parks only.

Rebate is limited to $60 a month. Spending $1000 online or via Nets Flash Pay per month will max out the cash rebate.

2) Bank of China Family Card: Min 4.5% cash rebate if you spend at any supermarkets(Diapers/Milk powders) or Guardian Health and Beauty (Vitamins/Medicines/Hygiene), POPULAR Bookstore (Make Baby smart!), Toys 'R' Us (Make Baby love you!) and Watsons. Total monthly cash rebate is capped at S$100. Spending $2000/mth will max out the cash rebate.

3) Standard Chartered Manhattan Card: You get 3% cash rebate if you spend more than $3000 in a single billing month, capped at $200 cash rebate a quarter. Spending $6666/mth will max out your cash rebate for the quarter. This card is ideal for large purchases i.e. Hospitalization/Delivery fees, Cordlife, re-doing baby's room.

4) Standard Chartered Bonus$aver Card: You get 1.88% p/a interest on your saving account with them, up to $25,000, when you spend $500 monthly on the card (potential interest of approximately $39/mth). On top of that, you get your usual saving account interest rate (pittance at this current point).

Game Plan: So what's the strategy? What I do is to use credit card as a form of payment where possible and use the Bonus$aver first to hit $500. That will give you 7.8% discount ($39/$500). When I finish spending $500, I will use Frank Card if the shop uses Nets Flash Pay and if not, i will still use it to hit $500/mth min spend. Online purchases and bill payments are done using Frank Card. As mentioned above, sometimes i wont have enough $ in my Nets Flash Pay at supermarkets (therefore the transaction cant go through), and that's where the Bank of China Family Card comes into play.

For large purchases, Manhattan Card will be the way to pay(upcoming delivery fees for baby will be via this mean). Any other further purchases will be paid using my other credit cards that usually gives me 1%-2% in cash or points rebate.

So there you have it, my secrets to spending and getting rewarded.

Cost of 2nd Trimester - Gynae

The 20th week scan was a comprehensive one done at the hospital. The scan itself last around 45mins and is meant to check on the baby's overall structure and how the organs have developed. This website gives a good summary of areas being checked http://pregnancy.familyeducation.com/tests-and-appointments/20-week-ultrasound/66168.html?page=2&detoured=1

During this trimester, your Gynae should offer you a pre-natal package that will last the duration of your pregnancy. PM me if you like to know the amount that I pay.

Cost of 2nd Trimester - About TCM

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) was an important part of our journey into parenthood. In our preparation to conceive, we went to Ban Choon Medical to seek TCM aid and hopefully increase our chances to conceive.

This was a recommendation from my wife's good friend, and since she was successful, we decided why not give it a try. I admit I rolled my eyes when we first saw him (I know my swimmer is a sprinter and didn't yet have the marathon stamina, that's why i am here since 7am. I am not expecting you to say he is a gold medalist.). But from hindsight, it seems like he know what he is talking. After his 'it was implanted but didn’t survive long enough' diagnosis and the subsequent 'just drink this medicine and the next one should work', we strike jackpot. His medicine though bitter and takes effort to prepare(you need to brew it. Not capsules), were meant to help increase the level of progesterone for mummy. Drinking chicken essence (from boiling chicken) will aid in that as well and was recommended.

With that, we were religious in going to him to 'an tai' (care for the fetus). The 2nd trimester medicine's primary purpose was to strengthen the mother's constitution and help the infant grow. There were specific herbs to be taken during the first 2 trimesters. No herbs should be consumed in the 3rd trimester. To promote development of baby's bones, certain food were recommended. Fishes such as Salmon and Cod are in the list. Threadfin is a highly recommended source of protein and apparently, the baby will have beautiful skin and strong bones. Bird nest are taken to improve the baby's lungs. However, it should only be taken after the 1st trimester (we took it from week 18 onwards) when the baby's lung is more developed. Taking it before that will cause asthma later in his life. Throughout the pregnancy, herbs like dang gui should also be avoided, along with cooling food like chin chow. We were also told to avoid fruits like mango.

PS: I lost some of the receipts for Ban Choong, but we were there around 6 times; at least 3 times before and 3 times after we conceived. Each visit costed around $150.

Cost of 2nd Trimester - About Babywear

The first advice we get on things to buy for baby is not to buy too many clothes. They outgrow them and that makes alot of sense. Never work in reality, especially with online shopping and mummy with multiple credit cards on hand. One thing that works in daddy's pocket favour - boys clothes are indeed harder to find, less variation then girls one. Phew!

For neccesities, one place that sell cheap stuffs can be found in Bugis street. They are a wholeseller, and sell infant clothes at reasonable price. That is you need a 'Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black' spirit (Ford) - you cant choose the color you want since it is all pre-packed. Is the qty purchased here sufficient? To be updated 2mths later..

Shen Kwong Trading @ Bugis (blk opp Kwan Inn Temple) near the blk toilets Blk 269C Queen St #01-246 Singapore 183269

Cost of 2nd Trimester - About Baby Equipments

Towards the end of the year, Philip conducts an annual sale event that gives customers pretty decent discounts. This year event happened in Nov. Good to buy certain items during this period.

Total discount =$111 or 24.5%

Philips website for reference: http://www.philips.com.sg/c/avent-baby-preparing-for-feeding/25283/cat/

Cost of 2nd Trimester

What we spent on during the 2nd trimester. Commentaries and detailed breakdown to follow...

Cost of 1st trimester

1st trimester is to me like a couple in a courtship. Highly curious, much anticipation and many moments of worry. Every scan we get from the clinic never fails to fill us with amazement...even if it is just the baby going from a small dot to a larger dot! The Gynae is the best place for information and comfort, and that’s where most of the expenses went to.

There were times when mummy experienced stomach pain and the pregnancy was less than stable. This explains some of the treatments that were done. Duphaston can help sustain the necessary levels of hormones required to maintain a healthy pregnancy and is typically given to pregnant woman who experience bleeding or abdominal pain. Prolution Depot, a progesterone drug, was later administered to further stabilize the pregnancy.

During the 12th week of pregnancy, mummy need to undergo a blood test. The combination of tests for PAPP-A, hCG and nuchal translucency that are included in the first trimester screen are used to assess the risk that the fetus a pregnant woman is carrying has a chromosomal abnormality such as Down syndrome (trisomy 21) or Edwards syndrome (trisomy 18).

A rough ride it was, but on the brighter side, there were no morning sickness for mummy and no middle of the night craving. Phew!!

Incorporated

We all know raising a baby in Singapore is expensive. www.theasianparent.com puts it at $340,000 till 21yrs old while www.salary.sg reckon it would take half a million. But how much does it exactly cost? What are the exact breakdown year on year?

We seek to find out as we look to raise our baby in this city from the perspective of an accountant. Yes, through keeping journal records as well as viewing it through the approach of a financial statement framework. Most of the time, the entries may not match, either due to a lack of skill (I am not an accountant) or the lack of sleep (universal excuse for parents. But it's true).

Like how an archeologist can explain history by digging for bones and object, we believe that by digging into our receipts and having a framework to record them, we can understand why we did what we did. We can tell a story of our family's experience.

This would be a life long journey.

Ps: if you know of any place we could have gone to for cheaper stuffs, do give us a shout! Thanks in advance.