Planning your finances doesn't have to be overwhelming. On The Financial Coconut's Biggest TFC Budget Royale, founder Walter de Oude of Chocolate Finance, alongside familee.sg's Alex Lee, and Happiness Scientist Sha-En Yeo, shared practical financial planning strategies that every high-earning Singaporean professional should consider.
What emerged from their conversation wasn't just another generic financial advice session, it's knowing how to structure your approach for maximum efficiency.
Walter de Oude, who previously founded and successfully exited SingLife before launching Chocolate Finance, introduced what he calls the three-bucket money strategy. This deceptively simple framework transforms how you think about your finances.
"I think that everybody has got three buckets of money," Walter explains in the podcast. "You've got, number one is your cash or your core, right? You've got cash… Where does it go? It goes into the best possible returns and where you can get it anytime, right?"
| Bucket | Purpose | Time Horizon | Risk Level | Typical Allocation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core (Cash) | Immediate liquidity + optimised returns | 0-2 years | Very Low | 20-40% |
| Store (Long-term) | Wealth building without daily management | 10+ years | Low-Medium | 55-70% |
| Explore (Play) | Calculated risk-taking and learning | Variable | High | 5-15% |
Let's break down each bucket:
Purpose: Immediate liquidity with optimised returns
Your Core bucket is your financial foundation, your spare or idle cash, the money you need accessible immediately or in the near term. This isn't just an emergency fund sitting in your bank account earning maybe 0.05% p.a. Base interest. It's cash working intelligently for you.
Where to optimise: The key is finding platforms that offer both liquidity and meaningful returns. Traditional banks often fail on the returns front, requiring complex hoops to jump through for marginal improvements.
This is where Chocolate Finance has carved out its niche. Walter's platform offers:
Whilst Chocolate Finance is an investment product and not a bank, you could look at alternative places for your cash:
For busy professionals earning S$150,000-500,000 annually, the opportunity cost of managing multiple banking relationships can often be frustrating. Chocolate Finance also includes the Chocolate Top-Up Programme; if the portfolio underperforms during the Qualifying Period, they'll top up the difference. This provides downside protection on your Core bucket whilst maintaining full liquidity through withdrawal processing typically takes 3 business days, but can take longer in some circumstances.
The Core bucket principle: Never sacrifice accessibility for marginal returns, and never accept zero returns when better options exist.
Purpose: Growth without daily management
"The second place is your second bucket of money, your long-term. Earn some more, you know? But I don't really want to manage it every day," Walter explains. "Like CPF, but a little bit more your insurance… but money where you don't mind what it's invested in. You just want to have better return. You don't mind. It goes up and down a bit because you don't need it now. You need it later."
CPF optimisation within your Store bucket: CPF provides government-guaranteed returns:
Voluntary CPF top-ups offer:
SRS contributions provide: According to IRAS:
Walter's investment philosophy: "I'm not an Explorer; I'm not a gambler. I don't think you can time the markets. I think people that try generally lose out. There's so many people in the world whose job is to invest. How can we as just ordinary guys do a better job than those guys?"
This bucket embraces:
Purpose: Calculated risk-taking and learning
"And then the final bucket of money is the play money, like your gamble money, your… ‘let me buy Bitcoin, Tesla, Apple, gold,’ whatever's the flavour of the month is," Walter describes.
Why this bucket matters: Psychologically, humans need some element of excitement and urgency in their financial lives. Rather than suppressing this completely (which often leads to secret gambling or overexposure), the Explore bucket provides a controlled outlet.
"So, I think what people should do is actually plan for how much money they want to put in each of these buckets," Walter emphasised. "That's the simplicity of it, because how many people say, ‘Ah, the markets have gone up so much, I must put more in the market.’ And you haven't actually thought about this. What's my core, what's my store? And what's my explore?"
Walter's perspective on market timing:
"I don't think you can time the markets. I think people that try generally lose out... There's so many people in the world whose job it is to invest. How can we as just ordinary guys do a better job than those guys? And remember, if some guy's making money, someone else is not necessarily making the same. There's a, there's two sides to every trade, right?"
This philosophy aligns with decades of SPIVA research showing that:
Practical application: Rather than asking "Should I invest now or wait for a correction?", ask "How much should be in each bucket?" Then systematically contribute to each bucket regardless of market conditions.
What distinguished this TFC Budget Royale conversation from typical financial advice was the emphasis on life balance alongside financial strategy.
Sha-En Yeo, known as the Happiness Scientist, contributed crucial context: "When I came back I was like, Ooh. And that has affected the way that I look at concepts like happiness and what does success actually mean."
Her recommendation for professionals feeling burnt out: "It comes down to the micro practices that you do because obviously the environment does make a difference. And I will say that they need to draw a line that tells them, like, oh, at this point, when the line is crossed, I will leave. But if I haven't reached that threshold, then what can I do that's within my own control or influence to make my day just that little bit better?"
She advocates for small, compounding improvements: "Little practices over time that boost your wellbeing and energy actually have that compounding effect. Like atomic habits, 1% everyday leads to exponential growth, right?"
Alex Lee, father of familee.sg, added his perspective on priorities: "I think our family is the most important to me. Family share cliche. Yeah. But because the thing is like, uh, my, my elder son is going to his teenage year soon, already next year... So I want to spend a lot more time with him."
The time-money trade-off: High-earning professionals often optimise for money at the expense of time. But time, unlike money, cannot be recovered. Your financial plan should explicitly account for:
Take inventory of all your assets:
Categorise each into Core, Store, or Explore.
Let's get specific about why Chocolate Finance makes compelling sense for your Core bucket, especially compared to other places you could put your spare cash
As Walter notes in the podcast, "So chocolate now has done a really great job on the cash piece. Currently supporting 2% p.a. returns in Singaporean dollars and 4.1% p.a. US dollars. And that works. We've proven it, you know, rates have come down in the market. We've maintained a spread above wherever the market rates are."
Raiding your Core bucket for "opportunities"
The moment you compromise liquidity for speculative gains, you've violated the Core bucket principle. Keep it sacred.
Over-allocating to Explore
Greed tells us we should have more in high-risk assets when markets surge. Discipline says stick to your allocation.
Neglecting rebalancing
Markets move. Your Explore bucket might balloon to 25% of your portfolio during a bull run. Rebalance annually.
Chasing yields without considering liquidity
A 6% fixed deposit with a 5-year lock-in isn't a Core bucket asset—it's Store bucket money.
Comparing your Explore returns to others'
Someone bragging about crypto gains likely isn't mentioning their losses. Focus on your overall portfolio performance.
Forgetting that time is finite
Financial planning serves life, not the reverse. Walter's emphasis on exercise, family time, and personal goals reflects this wisdom.
What makes the three-bucket framework powerful isn't its sophistication—it's its simplicity. You don't need a finance degree or constant market monitoring. You need clarity on three questions:
Answer these honestly, execute consistently, and rebalance periodically. As Walter emphasises: "Planning is not just about money, it's planning for yourself, uh, as well. And so setting goals for is family and the things that you like. It is as important as the work and the money."
Your financial plan should enable your life, not consume it. The three-bucket strategy, paired with platforms like Chocolate Finance that respect your time whilst optimising your returns, provides the framework for both wealth and well-being.
Ready to hear more practical financial strategies? Listen to the full TFC Budget Royale episode on The Financial Coconut where Walter de Oude, Alex Lee, and Sha-En Yeo dive deeper into financial planning, travel hacks, and life balance strategies for Singaporean professionals.
Your money should work as hard as you do. But unlike you, it doesn't need rest. Put it in the right buckets, and let it compound whilst you focus on what truly matters.
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Disclaimer: Chocolate Finance is a brand of Chocfin Pte Ltd (UEN 202347190R). Chocfin Pte Ltd is licensed and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (CMS101452) to perform fund management activities. Chocolate’s returns are subject to change based on market conditions, with Chocolate top-up support offered as an incentive during the Qualifying Period, and it does not constitute a guarantee of return or capital. Returns are calculated on a compounded basis. The returns illustrated above are rounded for presentation purposes. Actual returns may differ depending on the number of days in each month. All investments involve risk, including the risk of losing all of the invested amount. Such activities may not be suitable for everyone. Terms and conditions apply. Before applying, you should consider carefully whether the product/service is suitable for you. This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.