Li Chun 2023 (Feb 4): When is the best date and timing to deposit money?

You might not know it by name, but perhaps you've noticed snaking queues at cash deposit machines on a particular day during the Chinese New Year (CNY) period. That date is called Li Chun.

Signifying the start of spring, Li Chun is supposedly an auspicious day for you to deposit money. Fengshui masters even determine specific hours during Li Chun when it's most auspicious to deposit cash for different zodiac signs.

How did Li Chun come about? And if it's really so auspicious, when's the best time for you to deposit cash based on your zodiac sign? Here's our guide on the why, when and where to deposit your cash on Li Chun 2023.

What is Li Chun, and why should I deposit cash on it?

Li Chun is a day that signifies the beginning of spring in Chinese culture. Depositing money on Li Chun is said to symbolise the steady flow of money for the year ahead. 

Most years, Li Chun falls on Feb 4, give or take a day or two. The exact date depends on when the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 315 degrees. This year, Li Chun falls on Feb 4.

While feng shui masters now ply us with heaps of advice on depositing money on Li Chun, the origins of this practice don't lie in traditional beliefs. It reportedly got popular from banks' marketing gimmicks in the 2000s (perhaps why some feng shui masters don't believe in depositing money on Li Chun).

Not only is depositing money on Li Chun fairly new, but it's also a practice that's pretty localised to Singapore. In other countries such as China, Li Chun traditions include eating spring rolls and balancing eggs upright on flat surfaces – not so much rushing to banks to deposit money.

When should I deposit money on Li Chun 2023?

It's not good enough to simply deposit cash at the ATM on Feb 4. You need to time your cash deposit perfectly in order to maximise your chances of "good fortune".

The timings differ based on your Chinese zodiac sign. 

Feng shui masters don't always agree with each other, and everyone has different feng shui masters they trust more. But based on the charts published on several sites, most publications believe Way Fengshui has it right this year.

They even recommend certain auspicious colours you can don on Li Chun to maximise your luck for your zodiac sign:

Must I deposit cash in person, or can I do online banking?

Don't want to waste time on Li Chun queueing at cash deposit machines with throngs of fellow Singaporeans clutching their own feng shui charts? Yes, you can skip the queue!

According to Way Fengshui Group, it's also acceptable to deposit your money via online banking instead. That makes sense to us too-since depositing money on Li Chun is a fairly new practice that arose in recent years, the means to deposit the cash should be pretty modern as well. It's time to embrace E-Chun!

Of course, feel free to physically go down on Li Chun if you want to keep things more traditional. We get it, some of us feel better dealing with paper notes instead of pixels on a screen.

Plus, with more people pivoting to depositing money online in recent years, the queues may not even be horrendously bad this Li Chun 2023.

"Huat" are the best savings accounts to open for Li Chun 2023?

Since you're doing a bit of banking, you might as well review your present savings account to see if there are any better and/or more suitable ones to keep your cash.

That means making sure you're seeing good returns by depositing your money in one of the highest interest savings accounts in Singapore.

Here are a few account recommendations: 

• UOB One Account
• OCBC 360 Account
• DBS Multiplier Account
• Standard Chartered Bonus$aver Account
• Maybank SaveUp Programme

How else can I grow my money on Li Chun 2023?

Skeptical that simply depositing money on a designated day will somehow make you richer?

There are surer ways to grow your money on Li Chun. Take part in the symbolic "seed sowing" ritual by putting your money into an investment account 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, even some fengshui masters aren't convinced that Li Chun really works. So these investments or a high-interest savings account might give you better odds of, you know, actually making money.

ALSO READ: 8 common feng shui property problems even for people who don't believe in it

This article was first published in MoneySmart.