How much red packet money to give for baby shower?

It is common for new parents to hold a baby shower celebration to commemorate the first month of their newborn. In my opinion, the full month celebration for the infant is not just an occasion for parents to share their fruit of their labour, after arduous months of carrying and delivering the baby, but it is also a good reason for friends and family to get together and be part of the new little life.

I was recently invited for a baby shower of a colleague. It is a blessing to be part of his baby shower celebration and it was enjoyable to see and play with the cute 1st-month baby! However, this question came to my mind like all my previous other red packet questions –

How much angpao money should I give to my baby/infant full month?

There are elements of similarity with red packets for weddings in this question, and I would say it would depend on:

• The type of event ( Can range from house visit to lavish hotel setting)
• Relationship with the couple

Typically baby showers are held at the couple’s house or a function room of a condo.

$50 seemed like a rate that I would give an ok friend. A simple $50 note is polite, but I personally find that you can go an extra mile to show that you care. For example, you can augment your red packet amount with auspicious numbers like $68, $88.

For close friends and relatives, I would go with $168. It bodes well as it sounds similar to 一路發, which means earning big money throughout the baby’s life journey.

If you feel like giving more, by all means! More is always better than less, especially for the couple as it can help defray some of the exorbitant expenses needed to raise the baby.

Hope this was useful for you

EUFASS

SGD to JPY: Credit or Cash and tips on how much to change for 1 week in Japan

Ramen, generous beef serving, onsen egg, tasty seaweed for 800 yen

In my most recent solo trip to Japan last month, a few things have changed with regards to currency exchange.

1) Singapore dollar to Yen is now at a bargain compared to 2 years ago.

2 years ago, I changed at 1 to 65. Last month, I changed at 1 to 90. Now imagine the happiness of a tourist in Japan as everything is basically at 30% discount!
Why? Abenomics, they call it, which is their Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's solution to their declining economy. He has introduced a round of quantitative easing since his political victory causing Japanese currency to drop and hence increase exports.

2) More outlets are accepting credit cards

2 years ago, cash is king as many outlets do not accept cards. Now, it seems that paying by cards is increasingly common as most eateries accept cards. This will greatly impact the amount you have to change, since you need not carry huge amounts of cash anymore.

If you are planning to go to Japan and thinking on how much cash to change, here is the right place.
If you need ideas on where best to change SGD to JPY, refer to my previous recommendation here.

The two key questions are -

How much minimum cash would I need for 1 week?

Lets break down the expenses that can be paid via cash / credit
Accommodation - credit
Better Restaurants - credit
Shopping - credit
Roadside shopping - cash
Other food/convenience store - cash
Transport - top up by cash

Lets say you spend 1000 yen (~$11) on food per day, another 1000 yen on miscellaneous at the convenience store, 800 yen (2 x two-way trip from shibuya to akihabara), you will need 2800 yen a day. For 1 week, having about 21000 minimally with you would be OK. 

The rest, I will recommend to pay by credit card (Remember to activate overseas usage!). 

The next question I investigated was:

Does it make economic sense to pay by cards? How much would bringing all cash save me?

My credit expenses for this trip were as follows:
I spent, per my credit card bill, $583.19 in restaurants and shopping.
If I had paid by cash, with the currency exchange rate I got at Singapore, I would be spending $578.86. Which means that for $583 of spending,  I paid about $4 for the convenience of not holding large amounts of cash.

Pretty worth it (<1% of spending), I would say. So bringing all cash might not save you alot after all!

In conclusion, Japan's ease of credit card use has improved these 2 years. If you are going to Japan,
1) have minimally about 3000 yen per day, carry more cash if you want to
2) pay everything in credit and enjoy the convenience of not holding cash at a small price


Hope this was useful for you
EUFASS

SGD to KRW (Korean Won) : Best place to change from my recent experience

Went on a trip to Korea last week. In terms of payment, Korean shops are generally well equipped with credit facilities and large sums of cash is not required.

For my trip, I carried SGD$300 for 4 days and it was sufficient to cover my food and shopping. I did a comparison with my friends exchange rates who changed their Won at various locations:

Comparison of exchange rates
Me ( I changed at The Arcade at Raffles Place) : 815 -817 Won / SGD.
Chinatown : 816 Won / SGD.
Neighbourhood: 815 Won / SGD.
Airport: 737 Won / SGD. ( Not sure if my friend made a mistake, but in any case as previously mentioned from my post on currency exchange tips, try not to change at the airport!)

I also swiped my card to buy my train pass. The bank charged me at a rate of 805.3 Won / SGD.

For where is the best place to change money in Singapore, read here

Tip: The price of convenience

In other words, if you have chosen credit payment, You will take a loss of ~1% due to the bank's inferior exchange rate to the money changers. Which means if you are expecting to spend about $1000 (Korean shopping is a fantastic experience, especially the facial masks, but that's another story!), that will translate to a loss of about $10. For the convenience of not lugging too much cash in the wallet, $10 might be a reasonable price to pay.

Travelling somewhere? Remember to check out my post for travel tips for the young adult! Hope this was useful for you!