If you’re a booklover and a voracious reader, chances are that you spend way too much money on books, with an average paperback book going for about $15 in the local big bookstores. It can be difficult to read as much as you would like with the costs involved, so here are some ways to save money while reading books!
1) Online retailers
Often, you can save a good deal of money simply by buying the books online, where prices can be up to 50% cheaper than the retail price in Singapore bookstores.
Some popular options are: Bookdepository.com, an international site that offers free shipping to your doorstep, and carries a very wide range of all books;
local online retailer, OpenTrolley, which allows local pickup at a retail location, or shipping for a fee.
Other common options are eBay and Amazon, however, beware of shipping costs for these options.
When buying books online, be sure to also check out oo.sg, which searches all these online retailers and more, including Kinokuniya and Popular online, for your specific book and allows you to comparison shop for the cheapest price.
Generally, my go-to book retailer is BookDepository as they usually offer the most competitive prices with a large range of options.
Be sure also to check out the different editions of the book, as the softcover is usually cheaper than the hardcover.
2) Book Sales
The popular bookstore chains in Singapore, such as Times and MPH, regularly have warehouse sales a few times a year, either at the Singapore Expo or other locations. Be sure to keep updated on when the next sale will be so as to be able to grab books for really low prices, like $5 each new, or even lower!
3) Secondhand books online
There are a few options I would recommend for buying secondhand books online. Sites like secondhandbooks.com.sg or bookfishing.com.sg are frequently updated and have a good number of books listed by sellers.
Recently, the Carousell application has also seen quite a lot of use for buying and selling books, which is another option you may want to consider.
4) Secondhand bookstores
There are a few secondhand bookstores currently operating in Singapore, although they are a dying breed, and a few have closed their shutters. Bras Basah Complex is one place where you may go to find secondhand books and textbooks.
5) Book exchanges
If you’re looking to clear some of the unwanted books lying around your house, why not try to swap them?
For instance, the NLB has an annual book exchange where we can exchange our unwanted books for other donated books. You may also have some luck trying to swap books online.
6) Ebooks
Buying an eBook may not necessarily require you to purchase an expensive eReader! There are many eBook readers available for free to download on your smartphone or your computer. Ebooks are also significantly cheaper than physical books, and usually cost you a couple of dollars at most. Just be sure to convert your eBook into the desired file format for your downloaded eReader (ePub is generally able to be read by most eReaders).
Reading doesn’t have to burn a hole in your pocket, but with these tips, books may start to take up way more space than availabe in your house!
When you are caught in a beauty dilemma, you need a quick solution! In order for fast action to happen, health care products that are already available can be used.
Here are 5 Affordable Beauty Hacks that can make your life easier…
1. FOR YOUR SHINY FACE
To deal with your shiny face, you may use hand sanitizer or Sticky Notes (e.g. Post-it). Hand sanitizer has “dimethicone” that smoothens the skin like a primer and provides a protective coat locking in moisture. You may use this along the hairline, forehead, T-zone or cleavage.
Post-it or sticky notes remove the excessive oil on your face without ruining your make up. Just peel off a Post-it sticky part then dab it along your T-zone.
2. MULTI-PURPOSE PRODUCTS
Many of the health care products have multiple uses so stretch its capabilities to save more money. Here is a list of 4 multi-purpose products:
a. Toothpaste can double as pimple remover
b. Baby oil can double as a make-up remover
c. Nail polish cannot only personalize your jeans but it can also stop a run in your stockings.
d. Greek yogurt to reduce pimple inflammation and redness
3. FOR YOUR HAIR IRON BURNS
If you accidentally burn yourself with your hair iron or curling stick, use raw honey to alleviate the pain and provide antibacterial protection. Honey also keeps your skin hydrated and smooth.
Image Credits: Maegan Tintari via Flickr
4. FOR YOUR DRY FEET
Debra Jaliman, a dermatologist and author of “Skin Rules”, suggests adding two tablespoons of brown sugar to 1/2 cup of coconut oil to exfoliate dry feet. She says that it helps to get rid of the unwanted dead skin.
5. FOR YOUR UNRULY HAIR
Your hair may either be dry or dull. When this happens, gather the ingredients you have in your kitchen and try these hair masks.
a. Hydrating Mask
Heat up 4 tablespoons of olive oil for 20 seconds then mix it with 2 tablespoons of honey. Apply it in your hair and put a shower cap on for 20 minutes. Then, rinse it.
b. Mask for Shiny Hair
Mash one piece of avocado until the texture is smooth. Then, add 1/2 cup of coconut milk and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Heat the mixture up for 20 seconds. Apply it in your hair and put a shower cap on for 30 minutes. Then, rinse it.
In Singapore, where costs are ever running high, you may find that your current wage is direly insufficient to help you save up for that big-ticket new car or house that you have been hankering after. As such, it is unsurprising that many Singaporeans are seeking to take up side gigs outside of their day job, where they are able to earn a quick buck or two in their leisure time.
That being said, perhaps you cannot expect to earn thousands from such additional sources of income – after all, you are hardly committing to them full time. However, the benefit of such side gigs is that they do not interfere with your usual day job, and instead allows you to capitalise on your free time as well as your unique hobbies, to reap some additional side income from which you can better achieve your newest 2015 financial resolutions!
If you are an avid Internet-surfer who is out to find ways to take up a side gig of your own, here are 6 easy ways for you to earn a side income online. These 6 methods of earning additional income online are so easy that almost anyone will be capable of taking them up – no matter if you are 14, or 40! All you need is some free time to spare, a computer, and the ability to read and write English, and you are good to go!
Are you a music enthusiast? If so, you might want to consider leveraging on your passion to write some music reviews on Slicethepie in your spare time.
On Slicethepie, you are paid for every music review that you write. Slicethepie is an online music community, where new bands upload their newest singles or demos, and reviewers can provide these bands with constructive criticism based on the soundtrack’s beats, melodies, vocals or production.
Although Slicethepie may not pay out a significant amount (reviewers start off with a base rate of 2 cents per song – a little paltry, but detailed reviews tend to get awarded more), it is a good way for music lovers to spend their time constructively to help out fellow musicians and earn some spare cash in the process. Plus, you get to listen in on exclusive tracks that have yet been released into the mainstream – what’s not to love?
If you find that your household is becoming rather cluttered with things that you no longer need, or items that have not quite come into use despite having been purchased five years ago – well, it is certainly time to let go of these preloved goods to better owners who will give them their due use instead of hoarding them in over-packed storerooms. And how should you go about finding these very ‘new owners’? The answer is simple – Carousell.
Carousell is becoming quite the household hit in Singapore, despite its recent inception in 2012. In fact, it is so popular that it seems to have garnered a permanent stay-hold on the App Store’s Top Charts. Through Carousell, buyers and sellers are brought together in an online marketplace.
If you have the time to spare, why not lay out all your unwanted items, snap a few pictures of them, and upload them onto Carousell, where potential buyers are abound? Surely, with the sheer extent of its reach – given that almost everyone has a Carousell account these days, it would be easy for you to find buyers who are willing to take over ownership of your preloved goods.
Certainly, clearing off your unwanted belongings through Carousell will allow you to earn some quick cash, and clear out your rooms for the new year!
Are you an Instagram addict? Or perhaps you might think of yourself as an up-and-coming blogger? Do you have relentless witty quips to share on Twitter? Or do you have a remarkable presence on Youtube?
Well, if you have a deep love for social media, and for sharing your adventures and exploits with the rest of the world, consider making use of your social media accounts to earn a quick buck. Companies are constantly looking for new faces and personalities to promote their products, and publicise their brand name. If you find that you have a sizeable number of followers on these social media platforms, you may be able to approach companies and successfully gain sponsors and paid advertisements, with which you can easily earn up to a hundred bucks or more per assignment.
Singapore has certainly made a fine art of social media influencing – just look at our top bloggers who are able to land even car sponsorship deals effortlessly! Anything and everything can be promoted on social media these days; why not hop on the bandwagon while it’s hot?
Another way of spinning some quick cash would be to fill out surveys online in your spare time. Corporations are constantly looking out for consumer feedback, and searching for new ways to identify the newest consumer trends. As such, giving your opinion in the form of paid online surveys can be deeply valuable to such firms, and you will receive due payment in the form of cash or shopping vouchers – a worthy transaction indeed!
Some of such paid online survey sites would include Opinisurveys, Toluna, and Mysurvey. But these are certainly not the only available survey sites. There are numerous online survey sites out there on the net, and all you need is to draw up a quick Google search, and you’ll be well on your way!
That being said, several paid online survey ads found on the Internet may turn out to be scams, so it is duly necessary to be discerning of any survey sites that promise rewards that seem too good to be true. Also, check up on the credibility of any new online surveying sites on the Internet.
If you’ve done your sufficient homework, then certainly carrying out online surveys is a remarkably easy and lucrative way of earning some extra moolah in your free time.
Do you have a flair for the written word? Do you have an undying passion for writing? Do you dream of getting published? If so, consider writing and publishing your own e-book! Given the rise in popularity of the e-book reader, e-books are gaining an ever larger audience, and surely you will be able to find a suitable audience for your very own book.
To publish an e-book, you can consider self-publication, or publication by legitimate publishing firms.
If you opt to self-publish, do bear in mind that you will have to cover all the costs of publication, and you might even potentially make a loss if your e-book fails to sell well. However, a major perk is that each sale of your e-book goes fully to you, and you have total ownership of your e-book.
On the other hand, if you seek to be published, it may prove an extended period of rejection until your manuscript lands into the hands of the right publisher who sees the potential in your work. However, it will eventually prove fruitful when your book is published, as such publishing firms often carry a more reputable brand name in the market which will help you to attain more sales for your book, and you will then be able to reap royalties from the sale of your e-book.
While the competition may be tough in the e-book industry, if you happen to land a hit, this may prove to be your fortune maker indeed!
In an age of industrialisation, where clothing and accessories are mostly mass produced or manufactured in factories, there has certainly been a surge in demand for hand crafted items in recent years. Goods that are produced in mass are often perceived to be common and mundane, and it is little wonder that several would rather shell out more money for unique hand crafted products. If you have a ‘crafty’ side (forgive the pun), why not put your skills to good use and create some handmade baubles for sale?
Etsy is an international online marketplace which curates an eclectic mix of independent stores which specialise in the crafting of handmade items, as well as the sourcing of vintage. As such, if you would like to peddle your home made wares online, Etsy is certainly the perfect place to host your online store as shoppers on Etsy are out to specifically find exclusive and uncommon handmade crafts and you will certainly be able to land a customer or two!
Not to mention, given that Etsy is popular internationally, you will be able to reach a wider range of customers than simply homely Singapore.
However, it is worthy to note that Etsy charges a fee of $0.20 USD for each listing. If you are unwilling to pay such fees, perhaps you can turn to Carousell or Instagram – both of which are entirely free platforms, to promote and sell your goods instead.
Some items are cheaper at certain times. Hence, with planning and knowledge, you will be able to save more money when purchasing throughout the year.
Here are the 11 cheapest things to buy from January to March 2015:
IN JANUARY
1. HOLIDAY ITEMS
Holiday items such as surplus or unused gift cards, Christmas decorations, and wrapping papers are now selling with discount in stores and in the Internet (e.g., eBay or Carousell). Buy now, as their condition and use will remain ’till next year.
2. LINENS AND BEDDINGS
Retailers offer huge discounts on sheets, towels, and blankets in January. But, keep an eye on it all year round, since retailers will put last season’s stuff on sale when new products come out.
3. VIDEO GAMES
Numerous video games go on sale after the holidays are over. Check out Steam and other gaming retailers for discounted prices.
4. COMPUTERS
Image Credits: Stefan Ledwina via Flickr
Like video games, companies offer discounts on older computer models to prepare for the upcoming release of new components and systems.
IN FEBRUARY
1. MOBILE PHONES
Some stores offer hand phone sales or even a buy-one-take-one scheme during Valentine’s Day. It may seem strange but it’s true.
2. WASHER, DRYER AND AIR CONDITIONER
During cold weather months, many appliance stores offer air conditioners at cheap prices. Also, old models of washer and dryers are being sold with good deals.
IN MARCH
1. WEDDINGS
Image Credits: Katsu Nojiri via Flickr
Tying the knot in this month means taking full advantage of the discounted prices on reception venues, catering, and photography. You must always be cautious of the venue’s weather.
2. CHOCOLATES
The surpluses from last month’s chocolates are sold for lower prices.
Image Credits: John Loo via Flickr
3. LUGGAGE
Retailers offer discount on luggage before vacation seasons of spring and summer arrives.
4. GOLF CLUBS
New models are coming out for the summer, so your local golf shops are pushing the old ones out. What’s more? Last year’s gold club models are much cheaper.
4. DIGITAL CAMERAS
Consumer reports and marketing analysis prefers grabbing digital camera in March and April, as sales are the best.
With multiple sources of influence, such as that new Dior perfume advertisement on the television, or your friend’s #humblebrag about her newest bag on Instagram, it is certainly exceedingly easy to fall into the trap of compulsive shopping.
Or perhaps, you may find yourself overspending due to your tendency to hoard stuff that you take a fancy to.‘See that dress over there? Well, it’s the last in stock, so you’d better get it if you like it, or it’ll be gone when you actually do come back for it.’ And as this train of thought follows you into every boutique store that you enter – well, it is hardly surprising that you find your arms laden with shopping bags a mere three hours later.
Another reason why you might be finding your wallet losing it’s weight way faster than it ought to be, would be your tendencies to engage in retail therapy. Indeed, shopping may be a rather effective way of dissipating any negative thoughts, as the joy of purchasing items that you have been hankering for may be sufficient to negate these unpleasant feelings that have been building up inside of you. However, as you pull item after item off their rack in pursuit of such short term gratification, you might find yourself chalking up a debt on your credit card that would merely return to haunt you in the long run.
Our penchant to spend uncontrollably is further compounded by the fact that online shopping is bigger and better than ever, and it’s ability to influence consumers like you and I, has expanded to an unprecedented scale. With such frequent ‘Black Friday free shipping promotions’, ‘New Year’s sale’ or ‘20% off flash sales’ notifications constantly being sent to our very inboxes, it may certainly be difficult to resist the lure of online shopping. Before you know it, you have just carted out yet another 3 items. Uh-oh.
Soon, you’ll be finding yourself with a bank account that has been run dry, with a closet that is bursting at the seams yet comprises largely of unnecessary buys, and a despondent heart that aches for the credit card debts you’ve accumulated – an absolute financial nightmare realised to its full potential in the remarkable span of only a few months.
Fear not, all is not lost! Just because you have found yourself ensnared in the ways of compulsive shopping, does not necessarily mean that it is impossible to extract yourself from this painful situation of cyclical impulse and regret.
Here are 5 ways to reign in that shopping addiction of yours!
See, we all have two types of friends – the supportive friend and the enabler.
If you’re genuinely out to save money and cut costs, shopping with an enabler is just about one of the worst decisions you can make – you’ll most likely end up splurging again, if not more! The enabling friend will probably encourage any compulsive shopping behaviour, instead of dissuading you from buying into unnecessary wants. Certainly, this is not to say that enablers aren’t good friends in general. They’re most likely avid shoppers themselves, who may be addicted to shopping just like you are, and the both of you will merely suffice to mutually enable if you shop together.
Instead, shop with a supportive friend – a friend who doesn’t gush quite as much about clothes as you do, or perhaps a friend who is always practical and grounded. While a supportive friend may not be the most engaging shopping buddy (they probably won’t rave about the newest fall trends or the latest designer shoes along with you), you can always count on him or her to ground you when you’re getting over your head (and your budget) while shopping. The supportive friend knows that you have a hard time controlling your spending urges, and forces you to think about whether you really need that item, or whether it is within your range of affordability. Certainly, by shopping with a supportive friend who is genuinely concerned and bothered by your spending habits, you’ll find that you will be able to cut down significantly on your monthly shopping expenditure. In other words, there’s nothing quite like a killjoy friend to cut your shopping frenzy short, and pressure you into making wiser spending decisions.
On a sidenote, if you’re simply too stubborn to be talked out of a spending decision, have your friend hold on to your wallet for the rest of the day. A little desperate in measure, but I’d figure this would work best when it comes down to the crunch.
2. Unsubscribe from newsletters and email notifications
For massive online shoppers like myself, you’ll find that unsubscribing yourself from the frequent newsletters and notifications that flood your inbox on a weekly basis does wonders in helping you to spend less. With the rapid pace of the online shopping industry, in which new collections and fresh arrivals are churned out relentlessly each week – or even every three days, it is exceedingly easy to fall into their marketing trap and spend beyond your limits. While you may not feel the pinch of taking your pick of just one item from each new collection, just buying 1 item each week from a single webstore would equate to 4 new wardrobe additions each month. Imagine the full extent of such an online shopping obsession if you purchase 1-2 pickings from a spread of several webstores each week! An online shopping addiction can be a scary reality indeed.
To cut down on online shopping, start by unfollowing your favourite stores on Instagram, unliking their Facebook page, and removing yourself from any mailing lists or email subscriptions. By cutting yourself off from these sources of marketing and promotions, you are effectively cutting yourself off from the irrational impulse to buy, buy, buy as well! After all, the urge to splurge certainly will not surface, if you do not even know about that latest flash sale in the first place!
It may be a painful process to remove yourself from these channels, as this inevitably leads to an unpleasant foreboding that you will be missing out on a lot – but trust me, if you are genuine in restricting your spending, this method will prove duly effective (or so I have indeed learnt from personal experience).
If you have a tendency to overspend, perhaps it may be timely to use debit cards in place of your usual credit cards. Given that every purchase made using a credit card is first paid for by your bank, it is terrifyingly easy to lose track of your spending and splurge over your limits. The consequences of such overspending will only come back to haunt you after each month, as your credit card bills arrive, and your bank demands for repayment. Failure to repay any credit card bills in full could lead to an accumulation of credit card debt at an astounding interest rate, and could soon snowball into a massive debt if not managed properly.
To avoid such an unpleasant situation, switch to debit cards instead, where your spending is directly linked to a bank account and expenditure is much easier to track. Witnessing your depleting bank balance when you overspend could also serve as a wake up call for you to cut down on your shopping immediately, in comparison to credit cards where you may be more tempted to spend beyond your thresholds given that your shopping is paid on loan which makes it tough for you to visualise the toll that your spending is taking on your hard earned savings.
If you are aware of your compulsion to shop, and that you have poor financial responsibility, making the decision to switch to a debit card would certainly be wise in the long run. Sure, you may not be able to enjoy as much rewards and additional perks or discounts when using a debit card, as compared to a credit card, but hey on the brighter side, at least you can be pretty sure that you won’t find yourself debt-ridden anytime soon.
Your shopping addiction may have arisen due to the emotional dependence that you place on it. Perhaps you used to turn to retail therapy as a way to assuage your fears, worries or troubles, but you grew reliant on shopping as a way to relieve all your emotional woes over time. This eventually culminated in an obsession to impulse buy whenever your psyche takes a turn for the worse – a costly habit indeed.
Instead, opt for a more financially savvy method of lifting yourself from an emotional low. After all, shopping is just one of many other ways that can provide emotional healing. Why not spend some time exploring alternative hobbies that can provide you with the same sense of escapism and momentary uplift that shopping does for you? For instance, running, watching television, knitting or reading are all viable alternatives that you can employ to substitute your compulsive shopping therapy habits, as they provide a source of distraction, and they each have a calming effect on the mind as well.
Find your own alternative past-times – surely you’ll be able to find a leisure hobby that is more productive and less expensive than shopping, yet able to provide you with the same amount of therapeutic help.
5. Pay for all your shopping using cash – and only cash!
It may indeed be tempting to seek the convenient way out and simply use a credit or a debit card to pay for all your purchases, as the swift checking out process of merely a swipe and go of your card makes shopping all the more breezier. While this is appealing in concept, the reality is that it is so much easier to overspend and get ahead of yourself while shopping this way, as there is no visible form of monetary exchange, and it takes a longer time for the painful truth to set in that you have entirely blown the roof off your budget – yet again.
Instead, opt for payment by cash for all necessary transactions. Watching the cash deplete from your wallet is more likely to ground you, and force you to face the truth that you ought to slow down on your spending. Furthermore, by choosing to pay for your purchases strictly using cash, it makes it so much easier for you to budget, as you can decide on the exact amount that you’d like to spend on shopping and food for the day.
A little rudimentary, yes. But the feeling of accomplishment that you will get when you finally realise that you have managed to curb your shopping addiction, and that you’re finally able to chalk up a decent set of unspent savings for the first time in several months, will certainly be well worth this slight effort.
