SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 24 March 2020 - In the last decade, Singaporeans, individuals and families alike, often contend with financial pressures, resulting from the rising cost of living and changes in lifestyle. Especially for young couples, purchasing their first property is often a financial burden they struggle with once the marital bliss of the 'honeymoon' period fades. And with recent events, both in Singapore and abroad, financial stress has heightened.

Building a solid financial foundation is therefore more essential than ever to meet our needs at different stages of life and secure a financially stable future. Launched by FinTech start-up BetterTradeOff (BTO) to help individuals make informed financial decisions, 'Up' (upplan.sg) simplifies the financial planning process by providing people with a do-it-yourself tool for exploring and understanding different financial choices and outcomes.

Along with a myriad of features such as retirement planning, education planning and insurance planning for users to choose from and build their own financial plan, 'Up' eases the financial stress and anxiety of purchasing a home, with a mortgage comparison tool for refinancing.

First-time home-owners

Up lets first time home owners run real-time home purchase simulations-- property type, purchase value and year of purchase (or projected year of purchase) -- making it easy to build a home purchase plan. The platform even shows the projected purchase value, which takes into consideration a 5% real estate appreciation rate per annum.

Users can also plan how to finance the property by deciding on the down payment; type of loan (HDB or bank); how much CPF savings they can use to pay for their home loan; and how CPF monthly repayments are split between them and their partner. The platform makes it easy to explore the best repayment method for their needs.

Based on the input provided, Up helps users determine the property they can afford and how to make it happen.