Monday, March 8, 2010

3 Money Saving Tips In Singapore

Saving Money in Singapore!
(And where/ when to get cheaper movie tickets)

Do you have a habit of compliling your monthly expenses? Each time I tabulate my monthly expenses, the huge proportion of my expenses that goes to food never fail to amaze me. I have to admit a good 30% of my expenses go to food! How do I cut back on my expenditure while enjoying that occassional high teas and nice restaurants? I do want to save, but not live life painfully. This list came about due to my own money saving circumstance.

Let's think creatively of ways to to live decently and learn how to spend wisely! Everyone do chip in! :)

1. Save Money On Food

For a little luxury (try to limit the number of such occassions), scour through the credit card brochures and find 1 for 1 treats! Check out those restaurants and instead of going for the same restaurants, introduce some variety into your chill out spots! You never know when you might find a gem in the making! This gives you the perfect opportunity to try new places.

Another smart move will be to cook at home! The first thing to take into account is where to eat and where to buy your food from in order to save money.  The wet markets and supermarkets are definitely cheaper alternatives! (I will look into introducing easy to cook and economical receipes for busy women in Singapore). One of my greatest desire is to cook for my loved ones! Perhaps you may want to whip up a meal at home and invite your friends over for the weekend.

2. Locate Those Warehouse/ Factory Outlet Sales
Check out the Straits Time for the ads (Especially Saturday's paper) and you will find a lot of warehouse sales in Genting lane, some obscure places in Tampines or Jurong! Get your comfortable footware and rush for the great bargains. They can range anything from furniture, to Scholl shoes and more. Just look for advertisements in the newspapers to find out where and when the next warehouse sale will be. You can expect prices with more than 50% discount. Be prepared that it may be last season, but still good value nonetheless!

Other great places to go, if you are travelling to nearby Malaysia, check out the Factory Outlet Stores (FOS)!They used to have an outlet at Le Meridien in Singapore, but I wonder where has it gone to.

3. Take Public Transport

For a long while, I have been pampered and often tout sticking my right arm and hailing a cab one of my capability. That is until I started collating my taxi receipts and getting another rude shock there. My transportation expenses (or well, taxi expense), was draining my piggy. Piggy needs a new breath of life, and that is where I figured- make use of the public transport.

I do occassionally treat myself to that cab hailing exercise, but that sense of awareness has taught me better to keep my hands to myself and use my legs a little more. Oh well, nice shapely calves after taking that brisk walk can't hurt!

P.S- Having a car in Singapore is one of the most expensive things. Not only are car prices about five times higher than the European car prices but the maintenance costs are huge as well. Do I have to mention ERP? If you really need one for a special occassion, maybe think og renting? If not, buy a weekend car (with it's more user- friendly scheme). Or try car pooling with your friends!

Join our money saving mailing list for more great tips! We will let you know where to get the cheapest movie tickets!

Online exclusive Deal: You can also check out OCBC MSA 123 (which is the monthly Savings Account (As Easy as 1-2-3!) and start saving regularly for your dream goal with very attractive rates! Plus, they're giving away free Shaw movie tickets if you sign up now (Online Exclusive!)

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