The benefits of taking 16 weeks of maternity leave consecutively

Mothers of Singaporean children, who are legally married, and have worked continuously for a company for at least three months, will get 16 weeks of maternity leave in Singapore. There are some flexibility in this leave, which you can find out more here. You need to take the first 8 weeks consecutively, and the subsequent 8 weeks can be taken over the next 12 months. However, some companies may have different requirements over such flexibility.

I know of many who take the first 12 weeks consecutively, and then take the other four weeks (i.e. 20 days for a five- day work week job) as and when they need.

This is my second time taking maternity leave, and like previously, my choice is to take the 16 weeks consecutively, and I would advocate this if things are generally well, based on my experience.

There are many advantages, namely:

(1) You can spend 16 weeks of time with your newborn, focusing attention just on the baby -- (almost) no work.

Most company generally make arrangements for the long stretch of maternity leave. Or at least, that's the case for the company I am working for. During this period, there are very few (almost no) phone calls, and the requirement for you to check and reply email is very low (close to nil for my company). The work obligation required during this continuous stretch of maternity leave is very different from that required from you when you are on a few days leave. Why not just spend this 16 weeks in one go, and focus on your new born, (almost) free from work?

True, after your maternity leave, you may need to take time off for your child's vaccination, some clinic trips, and so on which demand leave. But, don't forget, you also have 6 days of childcare leave (for mothers of Singaporean children) and annual leave for that same year in addition to maternity leave.


(2) You can literally save on a month's worth of childcare. 

If you are getting external help for childcare, you will need to pay for the entire month, even if you skip childcare for a few days. By going back to work later, your kid can also start childcare later.


(3) Less disruption to your employer

The first time I took 16 weeks of maternity leave was because that's the preferred choice of my employer. For them, it is easier for them to plan their resource, and work if we take 16 weeks consecutively. I guess, while it's different for different employers, a continuous leave of 16 weeks brings more certainty to them.

Making a four- room HDB functional for less than $8,000

I just moved into our 4- room resale HDB flat, and we made it functional in less than $8,000!

Notice, I didn't use the word renovate as we didn't hire people for renovation works. As such, let's use the term functional here.

Initial Condition of the Home

Before we moved in, the home came with the following:

• In- tact flooring tiles
• Adequate power points
• Available fibre optic point and television point
• Lighting switch is still working (though many bulbs were blown)
• Home came with concealed ceiling (which is bad for modification - so a decision not to rewire or change anything about the lighting except for the bulbs)
• Kitchen cabinet is still usable
• Kitchen Stove is still usable
• Paint still looks okay
• Windows and window grilles are in- tact
• Curtain rails are available
• Functional Sink/ taps/ drains
• Working Air- Conditioner
• Functional interior doors and exterior door/ gate

Project Goals

My partner and I made a decision not to engage interior designers and renovation firms to do up our home as we want to move in ASAP, and also, because of the cost.

As such, we gave ourselves a budget of $8000 and a time frame of 2 weeks to move in after getting out keys.

Our Strategy

My partner and I are minimalist people, and as such, we like to have as little stuff as possible.

We also have (some) time on our side. We took two weeks off after getting our flat, so we are able to do most of the DIY stuff ourselves. And to maximize time, we bought most of our stuff online. The internet is the best place to visit so many shops, within a day, and all of them come with delivery (though at a cost for most). That's apart from some electronic stuff, smaller items and IKEA products (which doesn't have an online shop here in Singapore. Why!).

DIY furniture are mainly from IKEA and GIANT. These come with good instructions, and as such, made our life easier. For the plumbing works, thanks to Youtube, we were given on- the- job training. Here and here are some nice training videos that we watched for the plumbing training. Surprise, surprise, surprise, there are some many screws for the toilet bowls (at least I only realize it now).

Functional Home Project Cost

The following are the stuff that we bought to make our home functional for within $8,000. Of course, there are some stuff that we already had beforehand, and this saves some cost.

I have listed them in details, so that next time, when I want to refer to , I have a copy. Also, I want to show you that you can make yourself comfortable without spending too much of money. Note that these may not be the lowest cost available for similar products, and this post is not meant as an enticement for you to buy any of the items (see disclaimer at bottom of blog).

Living Room (Subtotal = $882.50)

• TV bench (to put the modem, telephone) ($19.90 - see here)
• Extension Plug ($15.90 - see here)
• Sofa (to be exact, we went for sofa bed - $160 including shipping and installation - see here)
• Shoe Rack ($49.90 from here)
• Kids Table to double up as coffee table ($16.90 - see here)
• Book shelf ($59.90 - see here)
• 40 inch television with wall mounting brackets ($560 including delivery and installation - ok, we went to a physical shop for this.)

Master Bedroom (Subtotal = $944.70)

• Queen Bed plus mattress ($582 - see here)
• Queen size Mattress protector ($19.90 - see here)
• 2 x Bed sheet set for Queen ($9.90 x 2 = $19.80 - see here)
• 2 x Bolsters ($9.90 x 2 = $19.80 - see here)
• 2 x Pillows ($6.90 x 2 = $13.80 - see here)
• 2 x Bolster cover ($4.50 x 2 = $9 - see here)
• 2 x Blankets ($14.90 x 2 - see here)
• 2 Study tables ($50 - see here)
• 2 chairs ($12.90 x 2 = $25.80 - see here)
• 2 x 4 tier plastic drawers ($48 - see here) 
• Wardrobe alternative ($61 - see here - highly recommend, after shopping online, I find this idea of having poles for clothes not only economical, but cool!)
• Extension Plug ($15.90 - see here)
• Hangers ($20 - yes we bought many)
• Mini Iron board ($7.90 from here)
• Iron ($22 from here)

Kids Bedroom (Subtotal = $160.90)

• Single bed Mattress ($45 - see here)
• Wardrobe ($99 - see here)
• Bed sheet ($16.90 - see here)

Another bedroom - vacant for now

Kitchen (Subtotal = $3182.15)

• Refrigerator ($1000 from a physical shop)
• Washer cum dryer ($1300 from a physical shop)
• 2 x Dining Table ($98 from here)
• 8 x Chairs ($48 from here)
• Oven ($250 from a physical shop)
• 8 Plates ($9.60 fro here)
• 8 Bowls ($7.20 from here)
• 8 Rice Bowls ($16 from a physical shop)
• 4 Serving Plates/ 4 serving soup bowls ($80 from a physical shop)
• 8 Coffee cups ($7.20 from here)
• 12 glass cups  ($7.80 from here)
• 2 Pitchers ($15.80 from here)
• 1 Thermal Flask ($50 from a physical shop)
• 1 Rice Cooker ($30 from a physical shop)
• 1 Kettle ($25.90 from here)
• 1 Rice Storage ($17.40 from here)
• 10 pairs of chopsticks ($16 from here)
• Cutlery sets x 2 ($30 from here)
• 12 soup spoons ($7.80 from here)
• knife set with potato peeler ($5 from here)
• chopping board ($1.90 from here)
• Other utensils set ($5.90 from here)
• Cookware ($49.90 from here)
• Baking Pan ($6.90 from here)
• Kitchen towels ($3.50 from physical shop)
• Towel hanger ($5 from physical shop)
• 2 x Pails ($3.80 from here)
• Quick dry mop ($19.75 from here)
• Vacuum cleaner ($41 from here)
• Robotic cleaner ($96 from here)
• Utensils organizer ($5)
• Can opener ($9.90 from here)
• Bottle opener ($1.50 from here)
• Food containers ($4.50 from here)
• Dish drainer ($3.90 from here)

Washrooms (Subtotal =  $125)

• 2 toilet flushes ($80)
• 2 toilet seat covers ($30)
• Holders ($15)

Storeroom (Subtotal = $130.09)

• 2 x Shelves ($39.40 from here)
• Tool set ($43.89 from here )
• Battery operated drill ($46.80 from here)

Others (Subtotal = $1188.50)

• Replacement of blown bulbs ($75)
• 2 x Standing lamps ($39,80 from here)
• Bulbs for standing lamps ($9.90 from here)
• 2 x Standing fan ($65)
• Curtains ($150)
• Air- con servicing ($120)
• Cleaning supply prior to moving in ($30) 
• Taxi fare for self delivery ($55)
• Electric drill ($36.80 from here)
• Putty (to repair some wall cracks, and openings) - ($7)
• Change of lock for main door/ gate / letter box ($320)
• Rubbish Chute Replacement ($280)

Total : $6629.74

My home is not shabby. I have to emphasis it, as that's what many of my friends asked me when I told them about my function home project. And I have all the furniture, gadgets and equipment that I need, making my home comfortable for my family and I. In fact, visitors who came find it neat, tidy, and comfortable.

The end of this functional project doesn't mean that I will stop buying stuff for my home. With time, we may need some items, and of course we will buy it. The amount of things in a home will only get more with time, anyway, with our needs and wants.

Cheers!

Buying A Resale HDB Flat WITHOUT Property Agent

The Straits Times has been running articles about the increase in HDB resale transaction that did without a property agent. Hey, I am one of them! I recently got the keys for my resale 4- room flat, and did it without an agent.

My Experience
We bought the flat without an agent. Honestly, the HDB process was simple. Follow all the procedure from HDB website, and you are done. Here is a link to the procedures.

For my case, the hardest was to deal with the other side's (property agent or seller).

In fact, as long as you do your homework (meaning read HDB's website), look at past transaction prices (at HDB website, and you notice within the same period, the prices do not vary a lot for similar floors in similar areas, plus minus a bit for renovations), and are willing to negotiate (just tell them the price you are willing to buy, and ask them to call you if they can match that price), you should be ok.

Some property agents tell you that they can help you with the housing loan. Honestly, you don't need. There are just 3 major banks in Singapore (UOB, OCBC and POSB/DBS) that most people look for for housing loan. You just need to call to request for housing loan, and they can email you the packages offered. Whether you  have a housing agent or not, ultimately, you still need to make your own decision on which loan to take, the tenure, and so  on. You will need a conveyancing lawyer, and in my experience, banks will introduce you one (which are quite reasonable priced), and they will settle the rest for you. Another option is HDB loan. I didn't go for this route, due to the higher interest rate, for now.

Take note of some of the tricks from the property agent from the sellers' side, which I experienced first hand:
- Asking for option fee without asking the seller to sign the OTP. In my experience, the seller's agent asked us to pay the option fee of $1000 without finalizing on the price, and without the seller signing the option to purchase (OTP), to show our sincerity in buying the flat. We refused, of course. Giving a $1000 cheque without a signed OTP is as good as giving $1000 away. Seller can bank in the cheque, and say that there is no agreement (since nothing is signed). You have nothing against them.

- Seller's agent trying to tell you how hard the procedure is, and introduce you another agent to act on your behalf (and collect fees from you).

Next, very important, agree on the date to move into the home and other details before even signing the option to purchase (or when exercising the OTP). Put in down in a signed document. If there are other items agreed upon, e.g. furniture, etc, put it in the document too. In my experience, we did not do so when we exercise the OTP, and the seller pushed back the date we get our keys multiple times! To end the trouble, we engaged a lawyer to write an agreement - black and white. If we had done so at the start, this would have been easier.

My Thoughts
A buyer doesn't need an agent when doing a HDB purchase. Also, once the deal is done, the agent can't do anything. So is it really worth it to hire an agent?

Rather than getting an agent, I would rather engage a lawyer from the point when you sign the OTP to write down all the agreement, and let both sides sign. At least, after the deal is done, you still have a legal document to protect yourself.

For your information, the price to pay for a lawyer for such services (getting a legal document), is likely to be cheaper as compared to the agent fee (unless your home is super cheap), and you get a legal document to protect you (and not an administrative assistant).

HDB allows such private arrangements (go to their FAQ and you will see that many things are the private agreement between seller and buyer).