MoneySense launches campaign to teach Singaporeans financial prudence amid Covid-19 pandemic

SINGAPORE — National financial education programme MoneySense has rolled out three initiatives as part of a 12-week-long campaign to help Singaporeans better manage their finances amid the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The campaign, which started on Friday (Aug 14), will focus on coping with tighter cash flows, minimising debt and avoiding scams.

The campaign was unveiled in a press release on Friday by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which co-chairs the MoneySense Council alongside the Ministry of Manpower. The council also comprises representatives from various other ministries and statutory boards.

The central bank said MoneySense will help Singaporeans strengthen their financial resilience in three ways.

The first is an expense manager that allows users to review their financial situation so that they can plan their resources to “tide over periods of financial challenges”.

The second is a new section on MoneySense’s website that will serve as a guide to help individuals facing financial challenges take steps to improve their financial situation.

The MAS said the guide provides “curated information pertinent for the current period”, such as coping with reduced income and meeting recurring financial obligations such as mortgage repayments or insurance premiums.

Individuals looking for information on the Government’s Covid-19 relief schemes will also be able to find it in this section.

Finally, aside from providing these two online tools, MoneySense will also hold virtual seminars that will be conducted by experienced financial trainers.

MAS said that this series of talks, which have limited slots, will be jointly held with the Institute for Financial Literacy — a collaboration between MoneySense and Singapore Polytechnic Enterprise that provides free financial education programmes to the public without promoting commercial financial products.

The seminars, said MAS, will cover a range of financial topics, including issues that have come to the fore during the pandemic.