Home Renovation Hacks That Will Save You Money

by  in Marriage & Family
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As I enter the complex process of spearheading a school’s renovation, I am embroiled in a tedious task of finding the most cost-efficient options. I have been saving those picturesque renovations and design ides on my Pinterest mood board. However, a renovation design only works when you add the element of realistic budget.

When it comes to build-to-order HDB, the average spending on renovations is between S$30,000 to S$50,000. A resale flat can cost you around 50% more! Imagine that. The huge amount of money highlights the importance of preparation. You need to prepare for the upcoming costs! Moreover, you must find ways to save some money.

LESS IS MORE

When it comes to home renovation or alteration, many people turn to Pinterest for inspiration. A home with a minimalist interior is likely to be more affordable to renovate than a home with an opulent interior. Your renovation’s theme can dictate its costs and your savings. Having said that, you must go back to basics. You do not need to compromise style to save money! After all, simplicity is beauty.

WALLETS ARE TIGHTENED

Upon the completion of your desired theme, do your research on the items that you need to purchase. List down the prices of each essential purchase. As much as possible, compare the prices from online and physical retailers. Stick to this planned budget!

Image Credits: pixabay.com

There may be unforeseen circumstances whereby you need to address costs that exceed your planned budget. To tackle this issue, you must give yourself an allowance of about 20%. Who knows? You might end up with an unfinished kitchen.

RECYCLING AND REVAMPING

There are two types of home or flat owners, second-hand or first-hand owners. It is very tempting to customize every inch of your new flat. However, you must keep in mind that you will not be able to bring these customization to the next home that you will purchase. The same idea can be applied to second-hand owners.

For people moving in to a “new” home, consider the things that can be kept. Revamp furniture or structural elements that are still in relatively good condition.

PLANNING PURCHASES AHEAD

Much like the two types of owners, there are two types of purchases. There are often urgent items or an items that can wait. Nonetheless, you must look out for warehouse sales to enjoy bargain prices. Go to various fairs such as Home Planner Furniture and Renovation Fair, which attracts a range of merchants selling products you might need. Compare prices online and often you can find the best deals out there including tables, chairs and smart mirrors.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

You may also consider scheduling your purchases during special holidays such as the Great Singapore Sale, National Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or Yuletide Season. These are the periods wherein retailers exhaust their efforts to provide attractive discounts. Planning ahead can save you a lot of money!

Sources:1 &2

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Why Is Bird’s Nest So Expensive?

by  in Lifestyle & Hobbies
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There are interesting reasons why the Bird’s Nest delicacy is known as the “Caviar of the East”. For starters, it costs about S$40 to S$135 to get a single bowl of Bird’s Nest Soup. While, edible Bird’s Nest costs about S$5,600 per pound. You can finish polytechnic studies with that amount of money!

Do not get me started with the price of the highest grade of Bird’s Nest. The highest grade are the most expensive because it is the purest. It is 90% edible upon harvesting and requires little amount of processing.

Image Credits: baligraph via flickr.com

How do you store an expensive delicacy as such? Do not worry about consuming everything in one sitting as you can refrigerate it for about two weeks.

The high cost of the Bird’s Nest comes from its dangerous retrieval process, its painstaking cleaning process, and its expansive health benefits (according to Traditional Chinese Medicine).

The Bird’s Nest comes from the saliva of the Swiflets. Swiftlets live in limestone caves around South East Asia, Indian Ocean, North Australia, and Pacific Islands. These birds build their nests three times a year – in spring, summer, and autumn. Each nest takes about 30 to 35 days to build. Interestingly, males primarily build the nests by attaching them to the vertical walls of the limestone caves. Removing these nests can be dangerous! Retrievers will start by climbing the outside of the cave to attach the ropes. Then, they will drop down the ropes to the cave floor. These ropes will be tied to handmade ladders and poles to ease the collection process.

Image Credits: Francesco Veronesi via flickr.com

The tedious retrieval of the Bird’s Nest does not stop there! In fact, researchers observed that it can take a person approximately eight hours to clean 10 nests. Commercial cleaners often use bleaching agents to speed up the cleaning process. All these hours seem to pay off as consumers are hooked by it! Many of the demand comes from the traditional belief of its health benefits.

Bird’s Nest can be consumed alone or as an additive in dishes, beverages, and cosmetics. It is rich in protein, which contains essential amino acids. Moreover, it contains six hormones including testosterone and estradiol.

Previous research has indicated that the nests contain substances that can stimulate cell division and growth and enhance tissue growth. This is why many use it for their skincare or beauty regimen.

Now, you know why the soft and jellylike delicacy comes with a hefty price-tag!

Sources: 1 & 2

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The Power Of Marketing: Oscars Edition

by  in Lifestyle & Hobbies
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The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, consist of a set of awards given annually to recognize the creative and technical talents in the film industry. The show is spearheaded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). The AMPAS is the organization that assesses one’s cinematic achievements through the votes of its members.

Interestingly, movies who won at the Oscars get an increase of about 38% more in sales. This translates to about US$35 million in box office dollars. This significant jump happened to the award-winning 2010 film entitled King’s Speech.

Now, let us focus on the actors. Do they get paid if they win at the Oscars? The award itself costs US$0. However, the effect of the Oscars in an actor’s portfolio and talent fee is positive. It can be boosted by 60% on average! Furthermore, winners get a gift bag worth hundreds of dollars.

The marketing potential of the Oscars is the reason why filmmakers, actors, and movie-making companies aggressively vie for these votes.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

CAMPAIGNS ARE MORE EXPENSIVE

To create an Oscar buzz, members of the film industry shelled out millions of dollars! Now more than ever, campaigns have been reaching an all time high. The mere campaigns for “A Star is Born,” “Green Book”, and “Black Panther” ran from about US$20 to US$30 million per film.

Netflix is in the buzz too! Promotional budget reach about US$25 million when Netflix campaigned for “Roma”. This was an uphill battle as some members of the Academy do not want a digital platform to win the Oscars. Nonetheless, its marketing strategies paid off as Netflix won multiple awards such as winning for the foreign language film category and directing/cinematography. It does not stop there! “Period. End of Sentence” also won in the documentary short category.

ADS ARE STILL SELLING

In spite of the social media widespread, advertisers are still dishing out to get ads on shows such as the Oscars. Despite the Academy Awards’ steady decline in ratings, ABC Network sold million-dollar ads as live shows are attractive to advertisers.

CNN media critic Brian Lowry told Business Insider: “If you’re a sponsor and you’re trying to reach any kind of mass appeal, you sort of grab at the platforms that can still do that. The Oscars is in the same way that sports have an advantage, if you are really into the Oscars, you don’t want to DVR it and watch the next day. ”

Image Credits: pixabay.com

It goes to show that having audience stream live shows plays an impact in marketing and advertising!

Sources: 1 ,2, & 3

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Earn Healthpoints and Get Rewarded with HPB

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It’s the beginning of the year and health and fitness goals are likely to be the top of your New Year resolutions! We all know the importance of keeping fit and eating well and that is why we take up gym memberships and choose healthier food. The good news is that with Health Promotion Board’s (‘HPB’) Healthpoints Loyalty Programme, you can now earn Healthpoints that can be exchanged for eVouchers to be used for dining, shopping and more!

What is HPB’s Healthpoints Loyalty Programme?

The HPB’s Healthpoints Loyalty Programme is an integrated rewards programme that is common across various HPB activities such as the “Eat, Drink, Shop Healthy Challenge”, “National Steps Challenge™” and HealthHub. Complete various activities by joining these programmes to earn Healthpoints. Accumulate these Healthpoints and use them to redeem eVouchers from a variety of lifestyle retailers, F&B outlets and supermarkets.

How To Earn Healthpoints?

To turn your healthy actions into exciting rewards with Healthpoints, you need to first download the Healthy 365 or the HealthHub mobile app. These are available on both the Apple and Google Play store.

After you have downloaded the mobile app, remember to register your profile and sign up for the HPB programmes.

A)   National Steps ChallengeTM Season 4 

If you have an active lifestyle and take plenty of steps daily, you may find the National Steps Challenge™ Season 4 a simple platform to earn Healthpoints. Sign up for the National Steps ChallengeTM, pair your fitness tracker with the Healthy 365 app and you are all set to go!

With your paired fitness tracker, you can now sync the number of steps onto the mobile app. For example, every 10,000 steps you take in a day earns you 40 Healthpoints!

Once you have unlocked Tier 2 of the Steps category and also completed a Health Declaration form, you will be able to earn daily Healthpoints from Moderate to Vigorous Intensity Physical Activities (MVPA) as well. This will double your efforts to earn Healthpoints to redeem HPB and merchant eVouchers.

B)   Eat, Drink, Shop Healthy Challenge

Besides walking 10,000 steps a day, why not go the extra mile and opt for low-sugar drinks and food products with the Healthier Choice Symbols under the Eat, Drink, Shop Healthy Challenge? Here is how your Healthpoints can potentially tally up:

Opt for groceries with the Healthier Choice Symbol at participating supermarkets such as FairPrice, Sheng Siong and Cold Storage. At participating merchants such as Kopitiam or Foodfare, ask for zero or less sugar on your drink/dessert. You can also choose healthier dishes that have less calories. As long as you purchase qualifying meals or drinks, you will be issued a receipt with a QR code. Simply scan the QR codes on these receipts with the Healthy 365 app to unlock Healthpoints!

C) HealthHub

Download the HealthHub mobile app and sign up as a member to start earning Healthpoints! Level up your knowledge by completing health quizzes on the app under “Quiz Time” and earn Healthpoints while you learn more about health.

Redeem Healthpoints!

Patiently accumulate your Healthpoints* and redeem them for your desired reward. For instance, simply use 750 Healthpoints to redeem a $5 HPB eVoucher that can be used at more than 1,500 participating outlets, including KOI, FairPrice and many more!

You can also opt to auto-redeem your Healthpoints for TransitLink eVouchers or TapForMore points so you will not lose them when they expire!

Start Earning Healthpoints Today!

With Healthpoints, you now have an extra reason to make your health a priority in 2019. There are so many activities that you can do or already do in your daily lives to easily earn Healthpoints and exchange them for exciting rewards. Wait no more and download these mobile apps so that you can be rewarded for your healthy living actions with HPB.

Find out more about Healthpoints here and start earning today!

 

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Best Budget Bluetooth Speakers In Singapore

by  in Lifestyle & Hobbies
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I work in a private preschool environment where singing and dancing is my bread and butter. Carrying essential tunes was made easier by wireless Bluetooth speakers. The future is cordless, that is something I am certain about. Just take a look at the Air Pods and the smart home speakers that can help you around the house!

Some experts may perceive Bluetooth speakers as of lesser quality than its counterparts, but this list will round up the decent ones. Bring your favorite music around Singapore with portable Bluetooth speakers that will not break the bank. Continue reading to find out more!

JBL CLIP II PORTABLE BLUETOOTH SPEAKER
Price: About S$68 at Harvey Norman Singapore

JBL is a brand that needs no introduction in the speaker-making industry! It has been dominating the scene not only because of its quality, but also due to its innovation. Among its latest innovation is JBL Clip II Portable Bluetooth Speaker.

With a size encompassing your entire palm, it is a small waterproof speaker that packs a punch! It offers a crisp mid and high sounds as well as a significant bass for its size. You can expect it to last for eight hours when you play songs at 50% volume. It comes in 8 different designs too.

What’s more? You do not have to worry about dropping your speaker into the pool. This waterproof Bluetooth speaker will float!

UE WONDERBOOM
Price: About S$99 at Lazada Singapore

Coming from the realm of floating waterproof Bluetooth speakers is UE WONDERBOOM. In a nutshell, it is a miniature version of the UE BOOM 2. It boasts with a good sound quality, a robust design, and a waterproof feature. The WONDERBOOM is a perfect companion for both indoor and outdoor workouts due to its small size.

If you are the type of person who hates headphones yet enjoys hearing your favorite tunes then, the WONDERBOOM is an ideal workout companion. Due to its lightweight nature, you will have no qualms to bring it outside for a quick jog.

If you are the type of person who frequents the gym, you will not be afraid to drop it in your sweaty hands. It can withstand sweat! It is easy to carry around too.

ANKER SOUNDCORE FLARE
Price: About S$99 at Lazada Singapore

As a brand, Anker has a history of making great budget wireless speakers. While some experts are not entirely impressed with the Anker SoundCore 2, the succeeding Anker Soundcore Flare seems promising. Some people have declare it as the best budget Bluetooth speaker. Why is this so?

Firstly, it has a weight of 18.7 ounces and a battery life of 12 hours. You can easily bring your speaker in the workplace or in your car.

If you stretch your money further a hundred, you will get this amazing Soundcore Flare that can compete with the sound quality of the UE WONDERBOOM speaker.

TRIBIT XSOUND GO
Price: About S$49 at Lazada Singapore

It seems too good to be true, but this forty-nine dollar speaker will impress you with its balanced sound and attractive design. Let me start with the sound quality. At high volumes, it is near distortion-free. However, it has problems with complicated tracks and highlighting the bass.

Secondly, its attractive design focuses on its portability and waterproof feature. It claims to have an IPX7 water resistant rating. You may also keep it playing at a medium volume for more than 20 hours.

If you are someone who loves hanging out at the beach or by the pool while listening to countless tunes then, you could not go wrong with the Tribit XSound Go!

Image Credits: facebook.com/scopetechtt

With a myriad of Bluetooth speakers available in the Singaporean market, will you be able to filter out the good ones from the bad ones? Well, start with the budget Bluetooth speakers that are under S$100 and move forward from there.

Sources: 1 & 2

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