Money Saving Techniques

[panzergrenadier]

Hot air rises and cool air sinks. Which mode is better really depends on the size and layout of your room. As the room temperature sensor is in the blower unit, the whole idea is to cool the room as fast as possible through conduction and convection in order to have the thermostat cut-out and save electricity.

Nowadays the weather quite variable. One day very hot with some breeze, another day humid with rain. So end up I just use my fan or open window. No aircon for last 2 months liao... heat tolerance building up.

 

[widman01]

- avoid any singaporepools product. it's money sucker #1.
- watch movie on weekdays.

 

[panzergrenadier]

#Money Savers

1) Switch to low cost banking accounts e.g. Fairprice plus / Maybank iSavvy / Stanchart eSaver that have no mthly fees

2) Drink more H2O

3) Exercise to keep healthy

4) Sleep early and wake up early

 

[Jeffy]

Happiness is like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, the harder you try to grab it, the further it runs from you. Happy are those who seek not happiness for themselves but for those around them. Happiness then will come naturally to them through those whom they have brought happiness to. Such is the irony of life.

You, my friend, have understood life. Congrats.

 

[win_man]

Mine:

1) Take non air con buses if there are air con buses traveling the same route as well.
2) Drink more plain/bottled water rather than canned or soft drinks.
3) Eat at hawker centers rather than food court and fast food (Once a while, pamper yourself)
4) No need buy newspapers, read from library or office.
5) Dun watch movie at cinemas, wait for DVD release and rent it.
6) Buy only when needed, esp when there is a sale going on.
7) When going grocery shopping, look out for discounts.
8) Use your SAF credits to buy the formal shoes, if a COL wearing is it to work, don't see why can't you.
9) If want to transfer buses/trains, do it quickly within an hour.
10) If wan to park for more than 30mins, use coupon parking rather an EPS

 

[quekky]

If you often go to cinema together with your partner on weekends, and you don't wish to wait to rent DVDs, then buy movie voucher from Cathay, $80 for 10 pieces. Go on Sunday, use 1 voucher for the 1st tix, 2nd tix show your M1 phone/sim and pay in addition $4.75.

Total = $6.375 each tix for a sunday movie! Save $62.50 for 20 tix



(further more you got 1 more complimentary tix which can be use for No Free List movie Sun-Thu (buy 2nd set when your 1st set finish to watch with your partner loh))

Else if you prefer GV then safra + HSBC = $7.00 (max 4 tix per transaction)

 

[panzergrenadier]

Great tips for movies.

I didn't know that Cathay have vouchers. I remember GV had vouchers where one book went for $70 for 10, i.e. $7.00 per movie including Sundays and public holidays but think that promotion is over already.

 

[tglim7]

If you often go to cinema together with your partner on weekends, and you don't wish to wait to rent DVDs, then buy movie voucher from Cathay, $80 for 10 pieces. Go on Sunday, use 1 voucher for the 1st tix, 2nd tix show your M1 phone/sim and pay in addition $4.75.

Total = $6.375 each tix for a sunday movie! Save $62.50 for 20 tix



(further more you got 1 more complimentary tix which can be use for No Free List movie Sun-Thu (buy 2nd set when your 1st set finish to watch with your partner loh))

Else if you prefer GV then safra + HSBC = $7.00 (max 4 tix per transaction)

thanks...great info...

 

[quekky]

Great tips for movies.

I didn't know that Cathay have vouchers. I remember GV had vouchers where one book went for $70 for 10, i.e. $7.00 per movie including Sundays and public holidays but think that promotion is over already.

GV vouchers now $8 each, i think in blocks of 100

 

[nyquist2000]

1) Visit 2 dollar shop for more choice of selection such as Daiso.
2) Stay at home more often
3) Do not get tempted by high tech stuff so that you will not tend to spend money
4) Engage your time in doing exercise such as swimming, running. (They are the cheapest form of exercise)
5) Spend your time clearing up the room and tidy to pass time
6) Eat simple and healthy food
7) Force saving thru monthly deduction by bank (such as SAYE...but I think OCBC offer better interest rate)

 

[chuaseewee]

save your 5 cents coin

 

[sirnoucamp]

save your 5 cents coin

i personally think it is a pathetic way of saving.
relax ur life a little bit, then you will have more motivations to make money
saving must come along with investment, otherwise it will be damn slow

 

[kopicow]

save your 5 cents coin

how to use them? if u deposit in bank they charge u service also right ?

 

[panzergrenadier]

I think the idea is not to actually save $0.05 coins as that becomes a hassle, but in a broader perspective to save five cents ten cents here and there to make all large savings overall.

My fundamental principles have been:

1) Live within your means i.e. spend less than your monthly income
2) Pay off debt first (starting from highest interest to lowest interest)
3) Save and invest
4) Repeat step 1 and eventually you will skip step 2 once your housing loan etc are all cleared way before age 55

Be well and prosper.

 

[auroraborealis]

My small $ saving tip:

Taking free shuttle bus to move around, esp in the city hall area.

Suntec, Marina Sq, Millenia Walk, Great World City, and Liang Court has shuttles to/from City Hall mrt.
Parkway Parade has shuttles to Bedok and Sengkang.
Dhoby Ghaut MRT has free shuttles to Chinatown and Little India.

IKEA, Giant and Courts at Tampines has shuttle service to Bedok and Tampines MRT.
IKEA Queenstown has some shuttle from other HDB towns too, not sure where though.

Anyone knows any more?

 

[tahoch]

How abt : not spending money unnecessarily on things which have just-as-good alternatives... eg. paying banks on subscription for credit cards when there are many free ones available.

Maybe I'm weird, but I honestly feel that there really isnt any prestige in having gold/platinum cards. I hold both of them and I dont pay for them because they happen to be on company-bank schemes. They dont gain me any additional benefits at all. If I do happen to leave my company, I'd just cancel them n get a free card from somewhere,e g. POSB or whatever. Dont think I'd pay any cash just to get hold of a gold card.

 

[Frege]

Hi,

Thought to share some of the great tips I've found from a site called "zenhabits" and "I Will Teach You To Be Rich"

Very informative, and very useful.

- http://zenhabits.net/2007/09/put-your-spending-into-reverse-gear/
- http://zenhabits.net/2007/08/the-cheapskate-guide-50-tips-for-frugal-living/
- http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/

 

[japman]

yes!

A book in hand, is worth more than many PSP UMD disc in bag.

haha, yes! and not to mention, the book can be borrowed for FREE in National Libraries!

 

[philosophical_maniac]

Long time since last post, and I thought I'd post one of my favourite tip here:

• Track ALL outgoing expenses and incoming income

How I do this, is by using an Excel spreadsheet (you can easily customize one for yourself), and having different columns like Food, Transport, Entertainment, Giving, Bills, Misc., etc.

Then, each time you spend $ on something, record it down somewhere. Yes, I know it is extremely tedious. I personally do it in my handphone, and it takes mere seconds. Each time I spend more, I add it up, along with a quick description of what it is. (eg: Food $73.50, Movie $18, Petrol $85.50 etc..)

And I compile it weekly in my spreadsheet: Along with checking my bank account balance and also writing it in there. I will have a few columns: Bank balance and Cash on Hand, Expenses (split up into categories), Input/Output and Cashflow. And since i'm very kiasu, I even have a small coin bank where I include how much coins I put in, and how much my mini-coin bank has so far. Hahaa...

Yeah, thats my 2 cents. Been doing this religiously for over 2yrs now, and I can say this has helped me to be extremely accountable to myself.

Cheers to anyone brave enough to do this! Lol.

 

[Core2max]

Very good info guys!


Here are another tips:

1. Try to remember prices for goods that you often buy. Compare the price from different stores. (eg. product A in ntuc is cheaper than shopnsave, vice verca). Buy from the cheaper store.

2. For goods that you always use, when there is a promotion, try to buy more than one (but dont buy to many also)

3. Buy what you NEED, not what you want.

4. Switch off the lamps/appliances when not in used.

5. Use your 5 cents to buy postages from SAM.