Changing large amount of SGD to JPY in Singapore

So far, especially taking into consideration my numerous trips to Japan, my conclusion is transferring at a local money exchanger hotspot into cash is still the best choice.

My best friend is going back to Japan and is closing his SG account. Now there are 2 ways to transfer his money back to japan.

1. Directly through interbank transfer

2. Transfer to cash and bring it back

Telegraphic transfer

We went to UOB to enquire about telegraphic transfer.

I must give some kudos to UOB service, great service and we did not had to wait long despite having 20 people in front of us.

The charges were as such:

############ 

The indicative rate is 1.245 (which means 100 yen/ for SG$1.245)

Cable fee: $20

Commission: 0.125% (min $10 charge)

############

Assume for every SG$10000, he would get 800600 yen.

The Cash Way

Now to transfer the cash, you can change at the bank / airport, or change at the money changer.

Having previously written about where best to change SGD to foreign currency, I brought him to the arcade where I am familiar enough to help him get the best rate.

We got a better rate of 0.1230 after negotiating with the owner. 

At this rate, assume for every SG$10000, he would get 813000 yen

It was a savings of 12400 yen, which translate to about 1.5% savings for an amount of 10k.

Other Tips:

• Check your local limit of cash that you can bring through customs.
• Give your cash a good count before leaving the money exchanger
• Go for convenience if it’s a small amount

In our case, I guess the time spent justifies the savings we’ve achieved from this trip to the money exchanger!

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What to do if you picked up a small bird

I picked up a cute little bird the other day. It was limping on the road side and fortunately, the road has little traffic passing through.

I had the immediate intention of nursing it back to health, but realise I did not know what to do. Thanks to google, I got some answers. Interestingly, the first responses were do not try to keep it.

Not wanting to endanger this cute little fledgling's life, I went back to the spot where I found it. True enough, on a nearby tree I could spot a nest and a bird nearby chirping ( I think it's the mom, as the fledgling chirped along as well.

It was a challenge trying to climb the tree, but as I climbed the little bird chirped more actively. The mother bird watched from a safe distance, but clearly she was keeping a watchful eye as I placed carefully the little bird back to the nest.
It was a heartwarming scene as I walked away and saw the fledgling reunited with the mother bird.

If it happens to you, this are the tips I gathered. Should you encounter a similar situation, hope that it will be useful for you.

Do

• Try to find its nest and put it back
• It will chirp and its parents should be able to hear and find it back.

Do not

• try to keep it
• feed it with food or water

You never know when you might need this.

This was a totally random and pleasant experience for me...

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Fresh graduate: 4 tips to kickstart your career

There comes a time when we say goodbye to school, graduate, and don our business suits in pursuit of a achievement-studded career. The following tips was conveyed to me by a CEO of a listed company during a informal talk, and I hope it will benefit you.

Be a Busybody:

In a big company, your role is often very specialized and the things you do will naturally be of a narrow scope. Achieving mastery in what you do is desirable, but it is also important to know a bit of what is happening around you, on a macro scale. This is to say that it is good to be a busybody, in a smart way, and talk to people from other departments. From your conversations, understand the different processes in different areas as well as their perspectives.

The advantage of being a busybody is not only some knowledge of the various operations of the company, but unwittingly you gain visibility in the organization. Senior management will come to take note of your curious antics and when the opportunity arise for a project which often needs cross-department knowledge, you will have a high chance of being considered for the role.

Balance.. Life is a marathon

.... and so is your career. Remember, your working life can span up to 40 years... or more. In the current generation, I believe many hold the dream of retiring at 40 or even earlier. Mr CEO has seen many people burnout after working day and night for the first few years of their career. In the long run, the winner goes to the one still running the race.

It is thus important to have a work-life balance. Mr CEO takes joy in spending time with his family, especially his wife whom he holds dearly.

Take care of your people

Your success depends a lot on how you treat your people.
For your staff, if they clear their KPI (key performance indicator), make sure they get their well-justified reward.

A question comes up from the audience on how does he monitor so many people. The answer to that is that he has sub-managers to monitor their respective groups. This answer is obvious in my opinion, but to really do that well is a challenge which requires both leadership and charisma

Lastly, your people also include your customers. Make sure that they are happy using your products.

Get a Mentor

Lastly, having a mentor can add to your value. It is important to get a good mentor. Good mentors hear you before saying its a stupid idea.

I personally echo this advice too. There is so much a person can understand by his own ability. Having the right mentor will speed up your development by multiple folds!


Do you have any career tips to share with our young, graduating readers?

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