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Much has been said about the sustained high inflation rate, which has impacted the overall cost of living in Singapore. While we may hope for inflation to eventually taper off as consumers, we can take some active steps on our part to manage the increase in costs.
While it’s easy to say we should cut down on unnecessary expenses and embrace delayed gratification, it may be challenging to do so. Instead, here are some practical (and simple) ways that can effortlessly save you money without having to make any sacrifices.
#1 Food Expenses
In general, an average Singaporean household spends about 20% of its monthly income on food-related expenses. Instead of cutting back on our favourite foods, here are some ways to spend less while still enjoying them.
Use Price Kaki App To Compare Food Prices
Have you ever bought something at one store only to find it cheaper at another? You don’t have to wonder if you’re getting a good deal anymore with Price Kaki, a mobile app by the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) that acts as a price comparison app.
The Price Kaki app lets you search and compare over 10,000 products sold by major supermarkets and over 39,000 cooked food items in food courts, coffee shops, and hawker centres. The app lists the current discounts offered on the different products and lets you filter your search results by location.
The app also states the unit cost price of each product, allowing you to make a more informed choice by identifying the best deals. With the Price Kaki app, available on the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Huawei AppGallery, you can stretch your dollar while still buying the same products.
Choose Housebrand Products
Major supermarket retail chains like NTUC Fairprice, Giant, and Sheng Siong offer a wide range of products beyond just the essential household items under their own housebrands. These products might be of similar quality, but they provide considerable savings compared to known brands.
For instance, comparing 2 litres of premium cooking oil, the branded names cost between $8.50 and $10.91, while the housebrands range between $7.25 and $7.60, which is a savings of between $0.90 and $3.66, or up to 30% off.
Stretch Your Food Spend By Using Food Discount Apps
These days, you might need to think twice when deciding to eat out given the higher food costs. Going out on dinner dates or restaurant meals with your family and friends can easily burn a hole in your pocket.
One way that you can save on such outings is to use food discount apps like Chope or Eatigo. These food reservation apps usually offer “1-for-1” deals or up to 50% discounts when you dine in at certain times of the day at partner restaurants. By taking advantage of the promotions in these apps, you can lower the cost of your meals while still being able to enjoy dining out at good restaurants with family and friends.
Read Also: 10 Food Discount Apps Every Singaporean Foodie Should Be Using To Save Money
#2 Home Expenses
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, our homes have become an important environment for work and study in addition to being a living space. As we spend more time at home, we naturally rack up more expenses as well. Here are some ways to cut back on your home utility expenses.
Review Your Broadband And Handphone Plans
One of our common fixed monthly expenses is our home broadband and handphone subscription plans. Most of the time, we might be on a higher-tier plan that overserves our needs, causing us to pay more.
For example, we could mistake having better internet connectivity in our homes for needing a faster broadband speed plan. Instead, we could probably enjoy the same level of internet connectivity on a lower-tier speed plan by simply upgrading to a mesh WiFi 6 router. Depending on the household’s usage needs and the number of users in your household, a lower-tier broadband plan could yield the same surfing experience at a lower monthly cost. The savings could be about $10 to $30 each month, depending on the internet service provider.
Reduce Electricity Consumption By Switching To Energy Saving Appliances
Most households would have seen an increase in their electricity bills compared to pre-pandemic times for the same energy consumption. Energy costs have been rising globally due to global tensions and supply chain disruptions.
One way to save on a higher electricity cost is to compare electricity price plans offered by Open Electricity Market (OEM) retailers and choose a suitable plan. Typically, these plans—fixed price plans or discounts off the regulated tariff rates—offer slightly lower rates than the regulated Singapore Power (SP) tariff rate and also allow households to lock in the rate for a period of between 6 and 24 months.
A second way is to upgrade to more energy-efficient appliances. Look out for the Energy Label by the National Environment Agency (NEA), which rates the energy efficiency rating of the product and provides an estimated annual energy cost and energy consumption rate. The more ticks the appliance has, the better its energy efficiency.
Source: NEA
Alternatively, you could also switch your home’s lighting to LED lights that draw less energy than conventional lighting. These changes not only lower your energy consumption but also help to keep your electricity costs down.
Read Also: My OEM Plan Is Expiring: Should I Switch Back To SP Group?
#3 Shopping Expenses
Among our daily expenses, shopping expenses would probably rank among the least essential of them. However, we may still need to shop for new clothes or buy gifts for others from time to time. When possible, we could use the following ways to save a little more on our luxury spending.
Time Your Purchases On Major Shopping Events
Buying items during a sale is hardly a ground-breaking tip. Most online and offline stores run in-store promotions or clearance sales from time to time. While we can keep an eye out for such deals, the problem is that they typically happen randomly.
Instead, we can time our purchases with major shopping events that run special promotions. Major online e-commerce platforms, run monthly sales campaigns in which they offer special time offers and discount coupons that reduce your purchase price.
There are also other annual sales campaigns like the Great Singapore Sale (GSS), which usually runs from September to October, and the Black Friday Sales, which take place on the last Friday of November.
By timing your purchases with these shopping events, not only would you be less inclined to spend randomly, but you would also be focused on your shopping list and get the best deals.
Earn Cashback On Your Spending
You can stretch your spending dollars further by earning cashback when using selected payment methods.
Certain cashless payment methods like debit/credit cards and mobile wallets, offer attractive cashback on each qualifying transaction. For example, if you normally use a credit card to pay, you could opt for one that offers a high cashback value, which could be as high as 5 to 8% on selected spending like dining or online shopping.
Similarly, if you prefer using payment apps, you may receive cashback offers or native tokens that can be redeemed for rewards on their platforms. These small savings can add up to a meaningful amount over the course of the year, depending on your total spending.
Read Also: Why You Should Never Prepay For Big-Ticket Items (Even If You Get Big Discounts)
#4 Fitness & Entertainment Expenses
One of the most common suggestions for lowering your monthly expenses is to cut back on your luxury expenses, such as fitness and entertainment. But using these tips, you can still enjoy them while saving money at the same time.
Opt For Classpass for your Fitness/Gym Routines
Losing weight or getting a more toned body could be one of our New Year’s resolutions. Instead of signing up for gym or fitness membership packages, you can opt for ClassPass. It works as a health club aggregator, providing you access to more than 1,000 fitness and wellness places in Singapore for a monthly fee.
Unlike fitness or gym packages that tie you to a long-term plan, ClassPass allows you to choose a plan with the least time commitment required, stop your subscription anytime, or purchase more credits if you wish to work out more often.
The flexibility of ClassPass might be useful for those who aren’t able to commit to a fixed workout schedule and would have less buyer’s remorse than signing for long-term fitness packages. It also reduces the risk of losing your money to prepayments in the event of the sudden closure of any one gym.
Read Also: Complete Guide To Maximising Your Fitness & Gym Activities Using ClassPass
Use NLB Membership To Get Free SPH News Publications
Instead of buying books, you can borrow them from the National Library Board (NLB). What you may not know is that you can also read local news articles for free, provided you have a Library membership!
Your library membership gives you online access to all six SPH Media Newspapers, such as The Straits Times, The Business Times, and Lianhe Zaobao, that cost between $1.10 and $1.30 each. Additionally, you can also access the Udemy Business and take up any of the thousands of online courses for free, which typically cost $25.98 each. Learning doesn’t have to cost you anymore.
Save Money By Making The Right Choices
These small money-saving tips may not require us to change our lifestyles or spending habits greatly. However, by incorporating some, if not all, of the above tips, we will not only make incremental savings each month but also inculcate a better savings habit and be more conscious of our spending, which will help us cope with the rising cost of living.
Read Also: Struggling To Cope With Inflation: 5 Things To Be Avoiding, And What We Should Do Instead
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