ST Headstart: Finance home renovation without breaking the bank

Stay savvy when renovating your home

Welcome to the latest edition of ST Headstart, bringing you the best of The Straits Times’ career, personal finance and lifestyle coverage every Tuesday noon. Sign up here to get weekly tips right into your inbox.


As a first-time homeowner, I expected reno to be expensive – but the hidden costs blindsided my budget. Expenses like the cost of flooring and windows caught me off-guard. Senior correspondent Chor Khieng Yuit explores how you can keep the financial damage to a minimum, starting by resolving any issues early in the reno process so you won’t need to pay a premium to make costly fixes at the end.

Despite talk of the AI bubble bursting, young investors still want to get in on the tech wave and buy into a sector that has great growth potential. Find out the savvy way to add tech to your portfolio in this week’s Headstart On Record podcast.

Read on for other stories on how to stay presentable at work and whether using AI for job interview assignments is a good idea. Have a good week!

Will the AI bubble burst?

Tech still holds long-term promise but choose companies carefully based on their fundamentals, say experts.

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askST Jobs: Can I use AI for take-home interview assignments?

Employers increasingly accept AI use but expect candidates to understand and defend their work.

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What if remote working, not AI, is to blame for weak junior hiring

The rise of remote work has worsened the trade-off for hiring entry-level workers, says the writer.

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Is the office making you ugly?

According to a TikTok trend known as “office air theory”, the drab premises eat away at beauty.

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Finding unexpected joy in low-cost exercises

The benefits from simpler, inexpensive options are not always less than that from fitness memberships.

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Lego artist builds her wealth brick by brick

This S’porean brick artist specialises in custom Lego commissions, installations and kits.

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