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When it comes to health, most of us know the basics: exercise regularly, eat well, and get enough rest. Yet even the fittest people on your Instagram feed may not be the best role models. That glamorous profile may be hiding the fact that they have poor stamina, delayed medical checkups, or indulge in other unhealthy habits. Personal finance works the same way. You might feel “financially fit” because you’re earning well or investing actively, but beneath the surface, there may be gaps that leave you less prepared than you think.
That is why InsureXpo by CIMB has chosen the theme “Money Gym” for their event this year. Discover a new way of learning about financial protection and long-term planning by treating it like a workout. InsureXpo by CIMB 2026 will be held on 23 May 2026 at Suntec Convention Centre. It is a complete one-day experience designed to help you train smarter, build financial stamina, and stay future-ready.
#1 Neglecting Financial Fundamentals
Every gym‑goer knows the joke: don’t skip leg day. Strong legs are the foundation of overall fitness. In finance, the fundamentals, like working within a budget with disciplined spending and saving, are the legs that support everything else.
Without a proper budget for allocating your income, many spending and investment decisions become arbitrary. Without disciplined saving and insurance, common aspirations such as property ownership and early retirement remain dreams. Without these financial fundamentals, a single unexpected illness or accident can throw your life into disarray.
Even simple acts like voluntary CPF top‑ups provide a significant boost to retirement adequacy. These basics may not be glamorous, but they’re what keep your financial body upright. Neglect them, and everything else wobbles.
These are also the cornerstones of 1M65 Movement founder, Mr. Loo Cheng Chuan’s 11.30am Main Hall session, titled ”10M65: the CPF ‘Kungfu’ to Strengthen your Financial Future”.
#2 An Insufficient Emergency Fund
In fitness, skipping warm‑ups increases the risk of injury. In finance, skipping on building an emergency fund leaves you exposed to sudden shocks. A medical bill, retrenchment, or even a broken laptop can throw your budget off balance if you don’t have savings in liquid cash.
In Singapore, our CPF savings are designed for retirement and housing, not short‑term emergencies. A proper emergency fund is typically three to six months of living expenses. Maintaining it is just like a warm‑up routine. It may feel tedious or pointless to set aside cash that “just does nothing,” but when life throws a curveball, you’ll be glad you stretched first.
At this year’s InsureXpo by CIMB, Ms. Helen Shen, Group Head of Products at Singlife, will share on the topic Are You Really Covered? What Most People Only Discover During a Crisis, at 11.00am at the Main Hall.
#3 Only One Income Stream
Cardio builds stamina, but a balanced fitness plan includes strength training and flexibility workouts. Financially, relying solely on your salary is like running endlessly on a treadmill without building muscle or improving mobility. If your job market shifts or your industry slows, you’re left vulnerable.
Here in Singapore, we have access to an extensive gig economy and multiple investment opportunities. These are just some of the ways we can diversify our income streams. Dividend‑paying stocks or even rental income from a second property can act as your financial “strength training”, while getting involved in one or more side hustles will improve your financial “mobility and flexibility”. Any combination of these will build your resilience beyond your monthly paycheck. Just as a fit body needs multiple forms of exercise, having multiple sources of income ensures a balanced fitness routine.
For more investment insights, hear from Ms. Diana Teo, Team Lead, Equities, CIMB Chief Investment Office at her Main Hall session at 1.20pm. The session is called Navigating Today’s Markets: Staying Focused in Uncertain Times and Ms. Teo will break down the key risks and opportunities to watch, and how to separate real signals from noise.
#4 Imbalanced Insurance Coverage
Skipping health check‑ups may not hurt immediately, but problems build silently. The same goes for insurance. Many Singaporeans buy coverage only when a friend or family member becomes a financial advisor and asks to meet them out of the blue. During that session, they’ll choose one or two insurance plans, maybe a term life policy and a hospitalisation policy, and assume they’re set for life. But circumstances change. Life’s journey will take you through marriage, children, property purchases, and ageing parents. Each of these stages will cause a shift in your protection needs.
Reviewing your insurance policies annually is the financial equivalent of a health screening. It ensures your policies still match your lifestyle and liabilities. Without it, you may discover too late that you’re over-insured, and that you could’ve channelled some of that money from premiums into an investment opportunity or topped up your CPF account.
Worse, you may discover you’re under‑insured, which is like discovering a hidden health issue that only surfaces too late when symptoms become serious.
A Main Hall panel titled Health Shocks and Money Matters: Are You Prepared? at 4.30pm will explore how we can better prepare for healthcare costs and caregiving needs. Hear from Dr. Priyanka Rajendram, Head of Cancer Prevention & Control from the Singapore Cancer Society, and Ms. Felicia Yeo from MoneyOwl. The panel will be moderated by our own Ms. Deanna Lim.
#5 Subconsciously Chasing Lifestyle Inflation
At the gym, chasing someone else’s routine often leads to burnout. In finance, chasing someone else’s lifestyle may lead to lifestyle inflation. Symptoms of lifestyle inflation include upgrading to a bigger condo, buying luxury cars, or splurging on holidays just because your peers are doing the same.
It’s easy to justify these upgrades as rewards you’ve earned, but they can derail long‑term goals like retirement adequacy or children’s education funds. Financial fitness means resisting the urge to compete with others and focusing on your own progress.
Nothing encapsulates this point further than the Main Hall panel session at 2.25pm titled Training For Life Stages: How To Future-Ready Your Protection. Mr. Chan Wai Kit, executive director of the Life Insurance Association and Mr. Gerald Wong, founder of Beansprout, will discuss topics including wealth continuity and retirement planning. The panel will be moderated by our very own co-founder, Mr. Timothy Ho.
Fitness Is More Than Just A Clever Analogy For Finance
The fitness analogy works because both health and finance are about consistency. You don’t get fit from one workout, and you don’t get financially secure from one investment. Progress comes from discipline and habits repeated over time.
In Singapore’s vibrant city state, where financial products are plentiful, it’s easy to mistake activity for preparedness. Running faster on the treadmill doesn’t mean you’re stronger; buying more financial products doesn’t mean you’re protected. True financial fitness is about balance and discipline.
Tickets are S$20 each, but the DollarsAndSense community can enjoy 100%* off with promo code DS100. Attend InsureXpo by CIMB and be money strong in 2026 and beyond!
*T&Cs apply. While stocks last.
DollarsAndSense is an official knowledge partner of InsureXpo by CIMB 2026.
