The Financial Coconut Podcast

Would you move back to Singapore if your salary doubled?
For some Singaporeans living in Paris, the answer is not as obvious as we think.
Yes, France comes with higher taxes, strikes, smaller apartments, language barriers, and a very different pace of life. But the trade-off is also real: stronger healthcare coverage, more holidays, cheaper schooling, employee benefits, unemployment support, and a lifestyle where money is not always the only scoreboard.
This conversation goes beyond the usual “Paris is romantic” fantasy. It looks at what life actually feels like when you compare salary, stress, family life, medical anxiety, work-life balance, and the cost of simply existing in two very different systems.
Maybe the bigger question is not “Where can I earn more?”
Maybe it is: “Where can I live better?”
Would you trade a higher salary for a better quality of life?
Invest smarter with Webull’s Dynamic Regular Savings Plan (RSP) — the first and only solution of its kind in Singapore.
Designed to automate your investment journey in a smarter way, Dynamic RSP helps you invest more when prices are lower and less when prices are higher, taking the guesswork out of building long-term wealth.
Plus, enjoy zero fee investing for US stocks and ETFs with Webull. No platform fees, no commissions. Open an account now: https://www.webull.com.sg/k/thefinancialcoconut
The sponsored part by Webull Singapore is only from 00:41 - 1:11, 26:17 - 28:15 and 55:31 - 56:00.
Question Timestamps;
00:41 - Pre roll
03:51 - Can you share how your journey began when you first moved here?
09:35 - How does life here compare with life back in Singapore?
16:29 - What should parents know about public and private schools there?
18:48 - What aspects of life in Paris might surprise Singaporeans?
21:55 - Can you explain the subsidies, scholarships, and support available?
26:17 - Mid roll
28:54 - How are living costs, taxes, and finances structured there?
36:06 - What healthcare and welfare support is available there?
43:26 - How do salaries, income taxes, and take-home pay compare there?
52:20 - How different was Paris life from what you expected?
55:31 - Post roll
Disclaimer:
All investments involve risk and may not be suitable for every investor. This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

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🎧 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

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⚠️ 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.
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Help us get to know you better: http://bit.ly/thefinancialcoconut-survey
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We spend a lot of time talking about wealth strategies, career moves, investing, business, and personal growth.
But what if some outcomes are shaped not just by effort, but also by timing, environment, and the patterns we keep repeating?
Dawn, SG BudgetBabe and Anthony sit down with Grandmaster David from Imperial Harvest to explore a different lens on success: Ba Zi, Imperial Feng Shui, luck cycles, AI, decision-making, and whether people can shift their outcomes when they feel stuck.
We discuss why some people seem talented but still face repeated roadblocks, whether AI can replace traditional metaphysics readings, why “wealth stars” may be misunderstood, and how tools like Ba Zi and Qi Men are used by some people to think through career, business, and life decisions.
Whether you are a believer, skeptic, or just curious, this conversation is less about blind belief - and more about asking: how much of success is hard work, how much is timing, and how much can we actually influence?
Would you ever consult a feng shui master before making a major life or money decision?
If this conversation made you think about your own patterns, timing, or “wealth ceiling,” you can explore Imperial Harvest’s work and resources here: https://imperialharvest.com/

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🎧 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 & SUBSCRIBE

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🔗 CONNECT WITH US
Get daily tips, insights, and community:

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Discover 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.

Learn about our events
Help us get to know you better: http://bit.ly/thefinancialcoconut-survey
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three Singaporean software engineers. One target: $30,000 monthly recurring revenue. One end goal: retire in Chiang Mai.
Meet the Jobless Club — Sean, Joseph, and Jonas — a trio of full-time engineers spending their nights and weekends building side businesses that could free them from the corporate grind. Their bet against the lone-wolf indie hacker model? Three founders are more sustainable than one. They've already turned a knife sharpening side hustle into S$16K in revenue, killed off projects that didn't pay (a Be Real-style Telegram bot, an NUS matching tool), and built a quarterly framework that splits real work from real fun.
Reggie sits down with two of the three to break down their playbook: how they pick projects, when they kill them, why they meet weekly, and what "jobless" actually means when you're working harder than ever.
If you've ever fantasised about quitting your day job — this is what disciplined escape looks like.

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🎧 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 & SUBSCRIBE

Spotify
Apple Podcast
YouTube

🔗 CONNECT WITH US
Get daily tips, insights, and community:

Instagram
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📺 MORE FROM OUR NETWORK
Discover 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.
Learn about our events
Help us get to know you better: http://bit.ly/thefinancialcoconut-survey
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Singapore loves the story of social mobility. But behind the headlines, there's a quieter story: poverty is often an entrenched social class, and very few people actually climb out of it.
Syainda Abdul was one of them.
At 17 she was changing diapers. Married into an abusive relationship. Living in rental flats. Surviving on $900/month ComCare aid with $1,200 in expenses, and using $20 of that aid to buy a Canva subscription so she could cold-call companies and hustle freelance design gigs.
Today? She works at a global bank. She's part of the middle class. And she's running another race.
Reggie sits with Syainda to unpack what "exiting poverty" actually looks like, the elusive ladder of government support, the role of charities like Babes, lifestyle creep after the climb, lifelong financial blindspots from growing up poor, and the strange mix of delusion and practicality it takes to believe you can break out when nothing around you suggests it's possible.
This is the real, unfiltered version of social mobility. Listen to the whole thing.
#ExitingPoverty #SocialMobility #Singapore #SingleMum #TheFinancialCoconut
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🎧 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 & SUBSCRIBE

Spotify
Apple Podcast
YouTube

🔗 CONNECT WITH US
Get daily tips, insights, and community:

Instagram
TikTok
Telegram
Whatsapp
Newsletter

📺 MORE FROM OUR NETWORK
Discover 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.
Learn about our events
Help us get to know you better: http://bit.ly/thefinancialcoconut-survey
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Creators, freelancers, and micro-business owners often only think about contracts, IP rights, payment terms, and legal recourse after something goes wrong.
But by then, it may already be messy.
In this live TFC Business Show session, recorded live at Whiskdom Cafe, we unpack what creators need to know to protect their work and get paid properly.
We discuss what happens when a stockist does not pay, why contracts matter, what creators should look out for before signing agreements, how IP ownership works, when trademark registration becomes important, and how AI may affect copyright protection.
Because once your creative work starts making money, you are not “just doing passion” anymore.
You are building a business.
And businesses need protection, paperwork, and proper recourse when things go wrong.
This conversation is for creators, freelancers, designers, performers, IP owners, and anyone building something from scratch.
Featuring:
Reggie Koh - Founder, The Financial Coconut
Chanel Lee - Creator & Founder, Tasty Toastys
Pin-Ping Oh - IP Lawyer, Bird & Bird
Laura Kee - VICPA (Visual, Audio, Creative Content Professionals Association) Singapore
Subscribe for more conversations on business, money, work, and building better lives.
Learn about our events
Help us get to know you better: http://bit.ly/thefinancialcoconut-survey
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.