Chills with TFC

Kevin thought he had found someone he could trust.They met through a property-investing community. The other man spoke about family, long-term relationships and business. The first payments arrived without Kevin even needing to chase. Over time, that trust grew into multiple deals… and eventually into borrowed money.Then the rhythm changed.Payments needed reminders. A few days became longer delays. Excuses piled up. Kevin says the stress started showing at work and even clients could tell something was weighing on him. By then, this was no longer only an investment problem.His turning point was deciding to stop waiting quietly. Kevin documented what had happened, spoke publicly and engaged debt collectors. He recovered S$100,000, but the episode is less about getting money back than understanding how trust can blur risk.Today, he is sharing the mistakes publicly through Quest with Kev so other people can examine opportunities with less emotion than he did.Watch the full conversation now.#TheFinancialCoconut #ChillsWithTFC #MoneyMistakes #FinancialLiteracy #Singapore---🎧 The Financial Coconut: Your weekly source for empowering financial knowledge and unlocking possibilities. We explore personal finance, investing, and entrepreneurship to help you build a richer life. Join us as we explore personal finance, investing and more.Get ready to take control of your financial future and live your best life, financially wise: https://linkin.bio/thefinancialcoconut📍 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBESpotifyApple PodcastYouTube🔗 CONNECT WITH USGet daily tips, insights, and community:InstagramTikTokTelegramWhatsappNewsletter📺 MORE FROM OUR NETWORKDiscover our other shows and deep dives on YouTube⚠️ Disclaimer:The content discussed in this episode is intended for educational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. The information provided is based on our understanding at the time of recording and may not reflect the current regulations or market conditions. The opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily represent those of The Financial Coconut. Please do your due diligence before making any investment or financial decisions.

Jeremy Ko’s first gym died after about a year.No triumphant founder montage. He was fresh out of NS, knew fitness, but did not yet know how to run the business. That failure gave him the thing he could not buy from a franchise deck: context.More than a decade later, he says his group has 25+ gyms, alongside fitness equipment, sports supply and climbing businesses.The part worth stealing is not “work harder”. Jeremy’s model got stricter. He starts with demand and catchment, works backwards into rent and costs, and asks whether the concept can scale without the founder becoming the permanent receptionist, troubleshooter and cleaner.His sharpest line for anyone romanticising entrepreneurship: if you only create one outlet that needs you every day, you may have bought yourself a job.For TFC’s working-professional crowd, that is the real tension. Leaving a salary can create freedom… or swap one boss for rent, payroll and leaking roofs.---🎧 The Financial Coconut: Your weekly source for empowering financial knowledge and unlocking possibilities. We explore personal finance, investing, and entrepreneurship to help you build a richer life. Join us as we explore personal finance, investing and more.Get ready to take control of your financial future and live your best life, financially wise: https://linkin.bio/thefinancialcoconut📍 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBESpotifyApple PodcastYouTube🔗 CONNECT WITH USGet daily tips, insights, and community:InstagramTikTokTelegramWhatsappNewsletter📺 MORE FROM OUR NETWORKDiscover our other shows and deep dives on YouTube⚠️ Disclaimer:The content discussed in this episode is intended for educational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. The information provided is based on our understanding at the time of recording and may not reflect the current regulations or market conditions. The opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily represent those of The Financial Coconut. Please do your due diligence before making any investment or financial decisions.

Would you buy an ETF just because it is cheaper, more tax-efficient and easier to access from Singapore?With new UCITS ETFs coming to SGX, that choice is about to become much more relevant for local investors.But convenience is only one part of the equation.In this episode of Chills with TFC, Reggie, Dawn, Chuin Ting Weber and Kang Wei Chin unpack what investors should actually look at before choosing an ETF: the index underneath it, withholding tax, brokerage costs, bid-ask spreads, liquidity and whether “passive” really means passive.They also get into a surprisingly important question: when an ETF says “World”, how much of the world are investors actually getting?The ETF wrapper may look simple. What sits inside it can be very different.So if two ETFs track similar markets, what matters most to you: lower fees, tax efficiency, easier access or broader diversification?Watch the full conversation on YouTube.#ChillsWithTFC #TheFinancialCoconut #SingaporeInvesting---🎧 The Financial Coconut: Your weekly source for empowering financial knowledge and unlocking possibilities. We explore personal finance, investing, and entrepreneurship to help you build a richer life. Join us as we explore personal finance, investing and more.Get ready to take control of your financial future and live your best life, financially wise: https://linkin.bio/thefinancialcoconut📍 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBESpotifyApple PodcastYouTube🔗 CONNECT WITH USGet daily tips, insights, and community:InstagramTikTokTelegramWhatsappNewsletter📺 MORE FROM OUR NETWORKDiscover our other shows and deep dives on YouTube⚠️ Disclaimer:The content discussed in this episode is intended for educational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. The information provided is based on our understanding at the time of recording and may not reflect the current regulations or market conditions. The opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily represent those of The Financial Coconut. Please do your due diligence before making any investment or financial decisions.

Most of us plan for the hospital bill.But what happens if you cannot work for months… or even a year?Daniel was chasing FIRE. Then cancer forced him to stop working… but not in the way he had planned.At 34, Daniel found a lump after a 5km run. Nine days later, he was diagnosed with stage 2B Hodgkin lymphoma.Six months of chemotherapy followed: 12 sessions, 13kg lost and a treatment bill of over $300,000.His hospitalisation plan covered the treatment. His employer continued paying him for six months, while an early Critical Illness payout provided additional support.The bigger lesson? Preparing for illness is not only about paying the hospital. It is also about buying yourself enough time to recover.Prudential Singapore’s Health Gap Years poll found that 67% of respondents expected severe-stage critical illness recovery to take more than a year. Yet only 29% believed they had enough savings to get through it.Daniel and medical oncologist Dr Hsieh Wen-Son join us to discuss the money, treatment and the difficult reality of life after a cancer diagnosis.If you had to stop working tomorrow, how long could your finances last?Brought to you in partnership with Prudential Singapore.Disclaimer: This content is for general information only and is not medical or financial advice. Costs, recovery experiences and insurance coverage differ by person and policy. Speak to qualified healthcare and financial professionals before making any decisions.#TheFinancialCoconut #ChillsWithTFC #Prudential #PrudentialSingapore #HealInYourHealthGapYears #CriticalIllness---🎧 The Financial Coconut: Your weekly source for empowering financial knowledge and unlocking possibilities. We explore personal finance, investing, and entrepreneurship to help you build a richer life. Join us as we explore personal finance, investing and more.Get ready to take control of your financial future and live your best life, financially wise: https://linkin.bio/thefinancialcoconut📍 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBESpotifyApple PodcastYouTube🔗 CONNECT WITH USGet daily tips, insights, and community:InstagramTikTokTelegramWhatsappNewsletter📺 MORE FROM OUR NETWORKDiscover our other shows and deep dives on YouTube⚠️ Disclaimer:The content discussed in this episode is intended for educational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. The information provided is based on our understanding at the time of recording and may not reflect the current regulations or market conditions. The opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily represent those of The Financial Coconut. Please do your due diligence before making any investment or financial decisions.

For years, the credit card debate had two camps: Team Miles or Team Cashback.Now, Trust Bank is adding a third contender, which is Stockback.This week on Chills with TFC, Reggie sits down with Dawn from SG Budget Babe, personal finance YouTuber Demi Zhuang and Johnathan Chua from The Daily Ketchup Podcast to compare how they reward their spending.Dawn reveals why becoming a mum pushed her from cashback to miles. Demi shares the surprisingly elaborate card strategy she uses while furnishing her new home. Johnathan knows firsthand how even a small oversight, like a forgotten S$17 Uber charge, can affect a credit score. Now he's gotten way past that and on track to shaping his financial health and freedom.Then comes the big question: could everyday spending help more Singaporeans take their first step into investing?With the Trust Freedom Card, you can now turn everyday spending into investing. Earn 3% Stockback on eligible purchases, and once your Stockback reaches S$10, it will be automatically invested into your chosen stock or ETF.Would you choose cashback, miles or stocks?Watch the full conversation on YouTube.Sponsored by Trust Bank. This content including any mention of stocks or ETFs is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any investment product. Investments involve risk and may lose value. This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.3% Stockback in US Stocks and ETFs promo is valid until 31 Dec 2026. This will change to 2% Stockback on Local Eligible Spend and 0.5% Stockback on Foreign Eligible Spend from 1 Jan 2027.T&Cs apply. Visit trustbank.sg for more info.#TheFinancialCoconut #ChillsWithTFC #TrustBank #Stockback #CreditCardsSG #SingaporeFinance---🎧 The Financial Coconut: Your weekly source for empowering financial knowledge and unlocking possibilities. We explore personal finance, investing, and entrepreneurship to help you build a richer life. Join us as we explore personal finance, investing and more.Get ready to take control of your financial future and live your best life, financially wise: https://linkin.bio/thefinancialcoconut📍 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBESpotifyApple PodcastYouTube🔗 CONNECT WITH USGet daily tips, insights, and community:InstagramTikTokTelegramWhatsappNewsletter📺 MORE FROM OUR NETWORKDiscover our other shows and deep dives on YouTube⚠️ Disclaimer:The content discussed in this episode is intended for educational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. The information provided is based on our understanding at the time of recording and may not reflect the current regulations or market conditions. The opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily represent those of The Financial Coconut. Please do your due diligence before making any investment or financial decisions.

His first salary in Jakarta was S$150 a month. He saved 40% of it. Eleven years on in Singapore, he sits seven or eight years out from a S$2.5 million FIRE number, with two kids and a helper.Meet Deka, the Indonesian professional who built 630,000 subscribers in eighteen months teaching the thing his banker friends in Jakarta had never heard of: index investing. No gurus, no hot tips, no McLaren on the feed. Just a fixed split of every payday, half of every bonus into IBKR the day it lands, and a household that runs on one salary.Deka breaks down how he outsaves his childless Singaporean friends, why he moved his largest position out of CSPX and into VWRA, and what S$2.5 million looks like once you take CPF out of it.If you assumed FIRE in Singapore belongs to couples without kids, this is the counter-example.---🎧 The Financial Coconut: Your weekly source for empowering financial knowledge and unlocking possibilities. We explore personal finance, investing, and entrepreneurship to help you build a richer life. Join us as we explore personal finance, investing and more.Get ready to take control of your financial future and live your best life, financially wise: https://linkin.bio/thefinancialcoconut📍 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBESpotifyApple PodcastYouTube🔗 CONNECT WITH USGet daily tips, insights, and community:InstagramTikTokTelegramWhatsappNewsletter📺 MORE FROM OUR NETWORKDiscover our other shows and deep dives on YouTube⚠️ Disclaimer:The content discussed in this episode is intended for educational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. The information provided is based on our understanding at the time of recording and may not reflect the current regulations or market conditions. The opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily represent those of The Financial Coconut. Please do your due diligence before making any investment or financial decisions.