Are you looking for easy ways to cut your spending without feel the pinch? Small cost-cutting can actually accumulate to give you great results. Here, we list 5 ways to help you save at least $100 per month by making small changes so that you stay sane without feeling unnecessarily restricted.
Cut The Gourmet Coffee
In our busy modern life, caffeine stands as one of the most addicted forms of substance. Many of us can’t start our day without a cup of Joe, others require several cups to get them through the work day. However, that cup of coffee can quickly add up to your daily living cost, especially if you are going for the “gourmet variety”. Start by switching out your Starbucks or Dimbulah coffee to the local variety, and then cut back on the number of cups you have a day. Replace with a simple tea bag to cut cost and stay on the healthier track without added shots of caramel, milk or cream.
Daily Savings: $5 to $10
Eat Local
Depending on where your office is, look for local food at hawker centres or food courts to cut the amount you spend on meals. If you frequent a particular place, check if they have any membership cards that gives you discounts. For instance, the Kopitiam card gives you a 10% discount each time; and while it may not look like a huge saving, every bit adds up and having 2 meals there a day could save you a dollar or more.
If you dine out at restaurants at least a few times a week, make use of an app such as Eatigo that gives you access to discounts when you dine at off peak times.
Daily savings: $5 to $10
Use Public Transport
Many of us may already be using the cheapest public transport for our daily commute – buses and MRT. But some of us who work late, might succumb to the convenience of booking a cab to get our tired bodies home. Try to reduce this if possible, since each ride can increase your transport cost by about $10, or if you really prefer to travel by car, consider using a service such as GrabHitch or UberPool where you can share the cost of your ride with fellow commuters going the same way. It’s more eco-friendly and you get to meet new people as well!
Daily savings: $8- $15
Use The Right Credit Cards For Grocery
While you can definitely work on curbing your shopping impulses, we can’t really escape from buying daily groceries. In fact, if you have the time and energy to cook at home, it can be even cheaper compared to eating out! However, you can improve your supermarket experience by using the right credit card to earn you rebates and savings. One of the best cards for grocery shopping is the UOB Delight credit card which offers an 8% discount on groceries at Cold Storage.
Monthly savings: $8 to $15
Buy House Brand Products
If you shop regularly at supermarkets and places like Guardian and Watson’s, you’ll realise that some of these places offer house brand products. For instance, if you regularly buy Gardenia bread loafs because your parents used to buy them when you were young, you probably never tried the NTUC Fairprice brand of bread. Most of the time, the quality difference is slight and you actually get quite a huge amount of savings. On top of that, if you are using the UOB Delight card, you get an additional 10% discount on house brand items at Cold Storage, Giant and Guardian!
Monthly savings: $2 to $4
How does all these savings add up on a monthly basis? According to our conservative estimate, you can save at least $242 per month just by following these 5 tips!
