OPENING ADDRESS BY MRS LIM HWEE HUA
DEPUTY SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT AND
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR MARINE PARADE GRC AT
THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF MONEYSENSE @ SOUTH EAST ON
SUNDAY, 23 MAY 2004, 2.30PM AT
SERANGOON GARDENS SECONDARY SCHOOL

Introduction

1  Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen.

2  I am pleased to be here today to inaugurate "MoneySENSE @ South East", a financial education project organised by the South East Community Development Council under the national MONEYSENSE programme, which was launched by Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in October last year.

Consumer Education

3  Financial education is an issue close to my heart. The recent economic downturn has taught us that we cannot take for granted that the road ahead of us would be smooth sailing. Jobs and incomes would no longer be as secure as before. Nevertheless, we should not lose heart. We must discipline ourselves to exercise control over our own financial matters.

4  Financial planning is not something that we do or think about when we are close to retirement. That would be too late. We need to be mindful that financial planning is an ongoing process and financial security cannot be achieved overnight. All of us should start planning our finances early and practice good money management habits on a daily basis. This involves prioritizing our daily expenses, putting aside savings for a rainy day and building up our retirement nest egg to supplement our CPF savings. It is important that all of us learn to be self reliant and take responsibility for our own financial well-being by learning more about cash flow, budgeting and use of credit.

5  Throughout our life, all of us have to make financial decisions. Some of these may involve huge amounts of financing, such as buying a flat, renovating our homes, or paying for our children to go to school or get married. As we meet our day to day financial obligations such as paying our utility bills or serving our housing loans, we sometimes fail to think about our longer term financial needs.

6  We sometimes land in financial difficulties as a result of poor planning of our finances. Many of these problems stem from overspending on credit cards and overdrafts, buying of big-ticket items through hire purchase or instalment plans, and other forms of indiscriminate spending. For instance, many families fall prey to the debt trap - they pay the minimum sum each month, rollover the outstanding balance and continue to live the high life. Over time, as the outstanding balance grows and interest accumulates, they find themselves weighed downed by a mountain of debt which they have difficulty servicing. The situation is worsened when a family member falls ill, leading to huge medical bills, or if the sole breadwinners in the family lose their jobs.

7  I am pleased to note that there are working adults and homemakers among our audience today. All of you play an important role in managing the household finances. For the working adults, you belong to the group who would be contributing most to your family. It is critical that you plan your financial commitments wisely. For the homemakers or mostly our non-working women in our audience, you should not marginalise your role in good financial planning as a family unit. You would be the persons most aware of the daily spending of your family. A better understanding of basic money management skills would help you in better managing your household financial status.

8  In view of your role in ensuring a healthy financial future for the family as a unit, the South East CDC has tailor made its financial education programme to cater to your specific needs. Through today's programme, you would be taught how to plan your finances in a systematic and disciplined way so that your financial goals are achieved and be ever prepared for any difficulties during a rainy day.

Conclusion

9  Financial planning is a critical skill for every Singaporean. It is something we have to embark on today, if we want to avoid hardship and live comfortably. I hope that you would have an enjoyable session today and that you would be able to bring back the lessons you have learnt to your family and friends. Do encourage them to attend the other three seminars coming up so that they too would understand the importance of planning ahead for the secure financial future.

    Thank you