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You Don’t Want To Miss These Online Shopping Hacks

THE INCOGNITO MODE

If you keep clicking on a particular item, a website is likely to offer it at a higher price. Furthermore, it may bombard you with advertisements of that item. The incognito window will help you save money through private browsing. It blocks third-party cookies and disables search history. This way, websites such as Hotels.com and Expedia cannot practice price discrimination.

CHECK ITEM AVAILABILITY

The Editor’s Market is one of my favorite stores due to its emphasis on modern street-wear. However, their items sell out fast! Fortunately for me, consumers can check out the item availability and reserve it via the online shop. Simply become a member by answering this form: theeditorsmarket.com/membership.

GET FREE SAMPLES

Free beauty samples are usually given at checkout. It gives you the opportunity to test out products without having to waste your money on a full-sized bottle. Sephora, a mecca for makeup addicts, offers free samples in its online store. Go to sephora.sg/pages/free-samples and follow the basic rules.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

a. Add a sample to your bag at checkout.
b. Only one sample may be added to each order.
c. Samples are available while supplies last.
d. If a sample goes out of stock, Sephora will provide a substitute.
e. Samples are not available during sale periods.

ENJOY FREE RETURNS

Whether you admit it or not, you do not always like what you purchase online. That is alright! International brands such as ASOS and MANGO allow you to process free returns. For ASOS, returning an item is a hassle-free task. Start by filling out the return form and printing out the shipping label. Then, drop it off at your local SingPost branch.

For MANGO, the prices on its website is the same as the prices in its physical stores in Singapore. You can return an item at any of its multiple outlets. It saves you the effort of heading down to the post office.

THE 24-HOUR WAIT

Last but not the least, you can subscribe to delayed gratification. Leaving your items in the shopping cart for at least 24 hours can help you decide whether you really want or need to purchase it. Some companies such as ZALORA Singapore will lure you with a special discount code to encourage you to checkout your cart. Apply this savvy shopping tip then.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Sources: 1 & 2

Finally, there is a credit card that gives you unlimited cash rebates with no minimum spend required – the Maybank FC Barcelona Visa Signature Card.

Compared to other credit cards that offer varying cash rebates depending on the type of spending (shopping, dining, entertainment, travel, etc) or with selected merchants only, the Maybank FC Barcelona Visa Signature Card offers 1.6% UNLIMITED cashback for ALL local transactions.

Instead of remembering which credit card to use for different situations, you can simply use this one card for all your expenditure. So you can shop with ease-of-mind, knowing that you can get 1.6% cash rebate for everything and anything you spend. This makes it an ideal one-stop card for spending on big-ticket items like luxury items, personal insurance, home furnishings and appliances, car maintenances, or even the hefty cost of planning a wedding.

On top of that, there is NO CAP on how much you spend, nor is there a MINIMUM amount you have to spend in order to qualify for the cash rebate. For example, if you are charging S$20,000 for a luxury leather bag, what you will be getting back is S$320! How’s that for being the ONE card for ALL your shopping?

Even with foreign transactions, you get 2X TREATS Points with every dollar spent on foreign currency transactions with the Maybank FC Barcelona Visa Signature Card.

Football fans, here’s your deal-maker: As a Maybank FC Barcelona Visa Signature Card user, you can stand a chance to win a trip for 2 to watch FC Barcelona LIVE at Nou Camp every football season*!

As long as you meet the minimum annual income of S$30,000, applying for the Maybank FC Barcelona Visa Signature Card is as easy as visiting their website.

Kindly refer to maybank.sg/barca for full details.

*Terms and Conditions apply.

How Balance Transfer Can Help You Save On Interest?

Do you know that Balance Transfer is a great financial tool to help manage your finances better? Balance Transfer is a lending product for short term needs which does not charge any interest* for up to 12 months. On top of this, it also allows for flexible repayment arrangements; either $50 per month or 3% of the principal, whichever is higher. Existing DBS / POSB Credit Card and Cashline customers stand to benefit the most as they can get instant approval when applying for Balance Transfer. Upon approval, the cash is disbursed into their accounts instantly. With such amazing benefits, it is little wonder that Balance Transfer has gradually gained popularity.

*One-time processing fee is applicable

Balance Transfer Helps You Save On Interest

The greatest advantage of Balance Transfer is that it helps you to save on interest payments. For example, a need for a sizeable amount of cash may cropped up in a time when you’re cash strapped. It is possible to tap onto Balance Transfer’s interest-free feature to save on interest for up to 12 months with a nominal one-time processing fee.

Balance Transfer can also be used to refinance your existing Credit Cards outstanding balances. So instead of incurring the interest on them, it is possible to enjoy interest savings of up to 81% with Balance Transfer. Here is a comparison to illustrate how you can save on your interest payments with DBS / POSB Balance Transfer.

Either way, the interest savings that you obtain with Balance Transfer will put you in a better financial position. With Balance Transfer, you can receive short-term cash instantly for any purpose by only paying a one-time processing fee.

How To Apply For Balance Transfer

Here is how you can take immediate action to manage your finances better. Simply follow these instructions to apply for Balance Transfer

Log in with your ibanking/mbanking/ATM or credit/debit card
Choose your desired amount and the tenure
Submit your application online (no documents will be required for existing DBS/POSB customers)
The amount will be drawn from any credit balances available in your selected DBS/POSB credit card or Cashline account if your Balance Transfer application is successful
The amount drawn will be credited into your selected DBS / POSB Current or Savings accounts

Check out latest promotion for DBS / POSB Balance Transfer here.

Is Becoming A Gamer A Viable Career In Singapore?

Drop your mouse and read your books! How many times have you heard that gaming has no future? I have to admit! A career in gaming was once viewed as an impossible feat in Asia. Once seen as a way to pass time or to socialize with friends, gaming has exploded into a legitimate sport nowadays. Times have changed.

eSports prevalence has been massive! Dota 2, a wildly popular game in eSports, has a price pool of over US$20 million (or S$27 million). Furthermore, the 2022 Asian Games included eSports in its categories. Lastly, the global eSports market is predicted to hit US$1.5 billion (or S$2 billion) in a few years time. The demand for gaming professionals encouraged some Singaporeans to launch an educational programme dedicated to this platform.

DIPLOMA IN GAMING

Informatics Academy in collaboration with Cybersports and Online Gaming Association, has recently launched a diploma programme suited for aspiring professional gamer. This programme aims to equip students with skills in eSports knowledge, live-streaming of tournaments, game design theories, programming, team management, and game development. The modules will last up to 8 months for full-timers and 12 months for part-timers.

Requirements include a minimum of two A levels, an International Baccalaureate diploma or other equivalent pre-university qualifications, and being at least 18 years of age. School fees are about S$6,480 for local students.

AVERAGE SALARIES

Much like any other sports, salaries in eSports vary per organization and per player. The significant lack of transparency in this platform makes it challenging to determine what constitutes as fair compensation.

According to Riot, a professional eSports organization, each player must be paid a minimum of US$12,500 (about S$17,000) for the 28-match season. Many players are compensated at a higher rate than this! A five-person team’s winnings could range from S$2,700 to S$13,600 per player in the playoffs alone. Carlos “Ocelote” Rodriguez, a League of Legends team captain, makes close to a million a year! Can you see the financial variety?

Image Credits: pixabay.com

RISKS OF GAMING

With impressively attractive tournament prizes, it is possible to craft a misconception that one can easily become rich by playing video games. Reality check! No game can last forever. Furthermore, live-streaming is a utterly competitive scene. Only a few of the best shall prevail.

Yes! A professional career in eSports is viable given that you are one of the best at a particular game in a global scope. You may consider committing to a game part-time first, while managing your other priorities (e.g., day job or family time). Best of luck!

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5

Forex Vs. Commodity Market

Forex market is such a fascinating market in the world that everyone wants to invest and make the profit. The main reason behind this fascination is the quicker and bigger profit that you can make if you play smartly. Lots of patience and experience is required to make your every trade end in something positive. Quicker and timely decision can be handy in this game.

Observing the charts is not enough most of the times. Most of the online guides and tips tell you a lot about candlestick forecasting and predictions, but this is not just enough. We have the examples where all the calculations, mathematics and predictions failed about candlesticks and charts, and well-experienced predictor had to bear some significant loss. Why this just happened to them?

As I mentioned earlier that you have to be extra smart. You have to keep in mind everything that can change the value of the currency you are dealing with. It can be some news, some government policy, some accident, some event or even a war. You will have to keep an eye on such things which can affect the decision of the people about buying or selling of the currency pair you are dealing in.

There are individual websites which make your job more comfortable if you are trading with them. They can give you specific advice about buying or selling. They may show you the live charts, graphs, prediction theories and calculations and news bytes as well which may have any impact on the forex market. But again, you have to be extra smart so don’t rely on the news and information of a single website. Double verify everything before taking any decision in Forex Market.

Some people don’t want to deal in Forex Market rather they prefer to trade in commodities. Forex market is much volatile, and you can lose your investment in just a blink of an eye. It is not that case when you are dealing in commodities. Normally there are not such sharp jumps in the prices of commodities how much ever big the news is.

So, to trade safely, most of the people prefer to buy or sell commodities like Gold, Silver, Oil, and Copper. These are widely traded commodities worldwide. Oil and Gold are most traded commodities. The reason behind this preference is that Oil and Gold act more like currency pairs. You can see some sharp increase or decrease in the price of Oil and Gold.

If you want to trade in Oil or Gold, then you must keep an eye on news and charts for Oil and Gold Forecast. If you are confused, don’t invest rather wait or consult some expert. Doubts in your decisions can lead you towards loss. If you are new, follow some expert traders. Following option can be found on most of Fore Trading websites. Following some expert will let you learn and earn at the same time. But don’t follow blindly instead consider every action in trade and try to find out the reason behind every decision and soon people will be following you.

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