You might not know it by its name, but surely you’ve noticed snaking queues at cash deposit machines on a particular day around Chinese New Year. This date is called Li Chun (立春), and depositing cash has become quite a Singaporean tradition in the past few years.
According to some fengshui master or other, Li Chun is supposedly an auspicious day for you to deposit money in your bank account.
If you’re wondering when, where and why Li Chun 2021 is all about, here’s a dummies’ guide. (Read all the way to the bottom for advice on how you can actually make money with your money for Li Chun!)
Now wait just a minute, what in the blazes is Li Chun (立春)?
For the benefit of anyone who isn’t Chinese, is Chinese but studied in ACS, or is simply a potato, I’ll briefly explain Li Chun (Chinese: 立春) in this section.
Li Chun is a date on the Chinese calendar that signifies the beginning of spring. This date often falls around Chinese New Year, although the date of CNY can actually be before or after Li Chun.
This year, Li Chun falls on Feb 3, 2021. That’s 8 days before Chinese New Year on Feb 12, 2021.
Okay, so now you’re wondering what this date has to do with depositing money at the ATM, right?
I don’t have any answer for you, other than that fengshui works in mysterious ways.
I mean, I can get why Li Chun is celebrated in China, since agriculture was a significant part of the country’s history. But in Singapore, there are no seasons and our agriculture is limited to preschoolers planting bean sprouts in cotton wool.
Guess you could say we celebrate Li Chun by “planting” money in our bank accounts.
By the way, this whole queueing up at the ATM to deposit money is a totally new thing. It’s only been around for a few years. Don’t believe me, go ask your parents if they ever did such a thing when they were younger.
When should you deposit money? Li Chun 2021 date & time slots
It’s not good enough to simply deposit cash at the ATM at any random time on Feb 3, 2021. You need to time your cash deposit endeavour in order to maximise your chances of “good fortune”.
For that reason, every publication in Singapore, whether it’s Lianhe Zaobao or International Fengshui Herald, will publish a cute chart showing you when, exactly, on 3 Feb you should deposit cash, based on your Chinese zodiac sign. Apparently, this year Li Chun starts at 10.58pm on 3 Feb and ends at 10.58pm the next day.
Unfortunately, there’s no consensus on the best timing (probably because the entire thing is totally fabricated?).
Here’s a Li Chun chart grabbed off the totally legit Fengshui Beginner.
Sleep early on Feb 3 so you can rise and shine early on 4 Feb to make your lucky deposit at the nearest ATM.
(Legend: $$ = most auspicious time to deposit cash. $ = good time. X = inauspicious time, avoid.)
Best banking hours on Feb 4, 2021
7am to 8.59am
9am to 10.59am
11am to 12.59pm
1pm to 2.59pm
3pm to 4.59pm
5pm to 6.59pm
70m to 8.59pm
9pm to 10.58pm
Rat 鼠
$$
$
X
X
$
$
$
$$
Ox 牛
$
$
X
X
$
$$
X
$
Tiger 虎
$
X
$$
$
X
$
$$
$
Rabbit 兔
$$
$
$
$
$$
X
$
$
Dragon 龙
X
$$
$
$
$$
$
X
$
Snake 蛇
$$
$
$
$$
X
$
$
X
Horse 马
$
$$
X
$$
$
$
$
X
Sheep 羊
$
$
$
$
$
$$
X
$
Monkey 猴
$
X
$
$
$
$
$$
X
Rooster 鸡
$
$$
$$
$
$$
X
X
$
Dog 狗
X
$
$$
X
$
$
$$
$
Pig 猪
$
X
$
$$
X
$
$$
X
Here’s another chart for Li Chun 2021, this time from Way Fengshui. Notice that the best and worst times for almost everyone is the same.
Li Chun Day 1 — 3 Feb 2021 (10.08pm onwards)
Li Chun Day 2 — 4 Feb 2021 (before 9pm)
9pm to 11pm
11pm to 1am
1am to 3am
3am to 5am
5am to 7am
7am to 9am
9am to 11am
11am to 1pm
1pm to 3pm
3pm to 5pm
5pm to 7pm
7pm to 9pm
Rat 鼠
–
–
X
–
–
$
$
–
–
–
X
–
Ox 牛
–
$
X
–
–
–
$
–
–
–
X
–
Tiger 虎
$
–
X
–
–
–
$$
$
–
–
X
$
Rabbit 兔
$
–
X
–
–
–
$$
–
$
–
X
$
Dragon 龙
–
$
X
–
–
–
$$
–
–
$
X
–
Snake 蛇
–
–
X
–
–
–
$
–
–
$
X
–
Horse 马
–
–
X
$
–
–
$$
–
$
–
X
$
Sheep 羊
$
–
X
–
$
–
$$
$
–
–
X
–
Monkey 猴
–
$
X
–
–
$
$$
–
–
–
X
–
Rooster 鸡
–
–
X
–
–
$
$
–
–
–
X
–
Dog 狗
–
–
X
$
$
–
$$
$
–
–
X
–
Pig 猪
–
–
X
$
$
–
$$
–
$
–
X
–
There seems to be no single best cash deposit time, unless there’s a particular fengshui master you believe in.
Other than deposit money, what else can you do for Li Chun 2021?
If you don’t want to waste time queueing at the ATM with the entire population of Sengkang and Buangkok combined on the auspicious Li Chun days, you can still take part in the symbolic “seed sowing” ritual by putting your money into an investment rather than a savings account.
Some suggestions:
Open a fixed deposit account
Start a regular savings plan
Check out an insurance savings plan
Fund your robo advisor account
Or go crazy and invest the money!
Note that interest rates may change every now and then, so you do need to check what the rates are in February for Li Chun.
In any case, since even fengshui masters aren’t convinced that Li Chun really works, these investments or a high-interest savings account might give you better odds of, you know, actually making money.
This article was first published in MoneySmart.
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