Do you take Uber and Grab often because of its cheap fares?
Here comes SWAT, a new ride-sharing service, that has recently launched and promises to take you anywhere for a flat fee of $5 regardless of the distance.
Too good to be true? Read on.
SWAT aims to provide low cost and convenient transport that is accessible to everyone. To achieve this, they analysed millions of commuters’ data to identify repeated group travel patterns.
The data shows that most of us travel from and to the same destinations more often than we think. SWAT technology adopts a data driven approach to pool commuters real time to achieve highest vehicle utilisation rate at the lowest cost for commuters
SWAT is an intelligent pre-book ride services that provides taxi-like services at bus-like prices.
SWAT currently uses Toyota Hiaces as its Swatmobiles and they can ferry up to 13 passengers at one time. Think carpooling.
The catch, however, is that you need to prebook your ride up to 1 day in advance or up to 30 minutes before your departure. Prebooking your ride creates reliability and reduces the stress of early peak hour commute.
In some occasions, you will also need walk to the pick up location of no more than 300m to wait for the vehicle. These are bus stops, taxi stands, lamp posts, petrol kiosks, and landmarks.
Your travelling time will be slightly longer than if you took a taxi but the difference should be no longer than 10 minutes.
How it works:
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As part of its pilot launch, the services currently operate from 7am – 10am on weekdays excluding public holidays. Routes and servicing hours will be expanded progressively.
Currently, iOS users can download the app from the Apple iTunes store. It will soon be available for download at the Google Play Store.
For more information on their services, check out their website here.
* Pre-booked rides will be free this week till 30 Sep 2016.
Is there anything worse than reaching home after a stressful day only to be kept up late because your brain keeps ruminating over your financial burdens?
If this happens to you constantly, it is a sign that you are either feeling helpless about your current situation or trying to exert too much control over your future. Stop right there! Thinking about all your financial problems before you fall asleep will not solve anything. It may even cause health issues such as headache, chest pain, and muscle tension on the next day.
The obvious move that you must take first is to solve the underlying problem. Set aside a portion of your day to contemplate about the solutions to your situation. Afterwards, work on your sleep hygiene. It involves healthy sleeping habits and maintaining a conducive sleeping environment.
If these two strategies are not enough, try my other suggestions:
a. ACCEPT EVERY CHALLENGE
You must accept the fact that you cannot accurately predict the future. No one can! Hence, it is always a good idea to be prepared for any money woes that life will throw at you. Make calculated strategies to shield yourself against unforeseen events such as unemployment and critical illness. For instance, you may save at least six months’ worth of your salary to cushion unemployment or apply for health insurance to fund your critical illness.
Let go of all the worries once you have planned for the situation. Unfortunate events may test you but, you will be alright.
b. BE ASSERTIVE
If you keep on lending your hard-earned cash to friends and family, financial issues can rise. Your money belongs to you and you are accountable for it. If you do not feel comfortable in lending money to a friend or a family member then, be assertive. Genuinely say that you cannot loan the money at the moment due to your financial responsibilities. Discuss the matter in a mature manner. People who care about you will understand.
c. CREATE A RELATIONSHIP
For your relationship with money to flourish, you must understand that it involves the two of you. Do not let the power of spending govern you! When things go badly, it is partly because of what you brought to the situation and partly because of what the money brought.
d. BE ACTIVE
Redirect your cognitive energy to productive matters such as catching up with your friends or updating your C.V. or resume. If you have more time in your hands because you were recently unemployed, improve your relatively low mood by exercising. You do not have to exhaust your savings to stay health. Be active by following the free online tutorials or by registering at the “Places To Find The Cheapest Gym Memberships In Singapore“.
Image Credits: pixabay.com
No matter how much you dream about achieving an indestructible body like Incredible Hulk’s, it is still impossible. This is why you need quality sleep to combat the daily challenges. Constantly worrying about your finances is not only draining your body but also straining your relationships. Remember to value your well-being as much as you value your bank account.
If you are not knowledgeable about the existence of English idioms, I bet you are wondering about the meaning behind the title.
What is it with me and my adoration for idiomatic expressions? For starters, most writers dance with the words to choreograph deeper stories. My fondness for the underlying meanings attracted me to this type of phrases. Let us go back to the matter at hand.
“You snooze, you lose” pertains to the rationale that waiting too long for an opportunity can result to not gaining what you want or to the success of someone else. Someone else can beat you at opening the doors of great possibilities if you let things slide. I cannot blame you! It is usually difficult to pinpoint if a certain opportunity can bring future rewards.
If you had a fortune-telling ability or a magic crystal ball then, you could envision whether your decision is a clever move or a huge mistake. That sounds undeniably useful when used with precaution. However, it is far from reality! Just take a moment to reflect upon the missed opportunities at the tech industry. I will start with a story that is close to social media addict’s heart.
Facebook giant Mark Zuckerberg once invited five people to participate in his upcoming business venture. About a decade ago, only two people showed up. These two people namely Dustin Moskovitz and Eduardo Saverin are billionaires today. I can only imagine the impact of Facebook’s success to these three close-minded people.
The next story highlights a relevant brand in today’s culture – the Apple. Steve Jobs offered his boss, the Atari Founder Nolan Bushnell, a chance to invest US$50,000 (about S$67,000) to Apple. He let the opportunity pass by. If he accepted the offer, he would have owned a third of the company. Its market value now is about US$535 billion (about S$724 billion).
Turning down an innovative idea may cost you. But, what is worse than taking a conscious effort to say “NO”? Doing nothing!
Indifference toward an opportunity has its consequences and sometimes these consequences exceed that of a bad decision. For instance, Amy hired a financial consultant to help manage her trendy restaurant. The financial consultant exhausted all his resources to search the most profitable location for a new branch. Despite the priceless efforts that the financial consultant gave, Amy opted to do nothing about it. Among her reasons for indecision was lack of time to discuss about the matter. This can potentially cost affect the entire brand.
Aside from close-mindedness and indecisiveness, there are other ways to dodge a shining opportunity. Do yourself a favor and beware of these instances:
a. by beginning with a negative mindset or a wrong goal in mind,
b. by not being persuasive enough to make a recommendation,
c. by not doing sufficient research on the company you are applying for, and
d. by ignoring your online reputation.
Analyze the situation and make a calculated decision when a blossoming chance comes along. The expense of missed opportunity can be exorbitant to your job performance, work relationships, credibility, and wealth. Do not risk these things due to indecisiveness and close-mindedness.
My sister is sweeping the Web for the perfect birthday present that her friend will deeply appreciate. Helping her through this task made me realize that you can find just about anything online. From bacon lip balm to a Nicholas Cage pillowcase, you type it to get it!
On that note, here are the 5 Singapore online stores that are worth your time:
If you are on a hunt for elegant dresses that can be worn for any occasion, search no further than Smooth the Label. It is Sarah Lim’s first leap of faith. Ever since she started the e-commerce business in 2010, she had been carefully choosing the pieces to be manufactured for the brand. Each of the designs are embellished with her own unique touch.
The shop’s widespread prices range from S$9.80 to S$80. Best of all? The shipping in Singapore is always free.
Since its emergence in the past three years, HipVan has been making waves regionally due to its lifestyle design inspirations and great sales. It is founded by Danny Tan, Kevin Vo, Deborah Wee, and Shobhit Datta with a whopping fund of S$500,000. This awesome online store delights you with up to 70% off the retail prices of furniture, accessories, kitchen-wares, and so much more. Check their collections at www.hipvan.com.
As the name suggests, Eco City Hydroponics focuses on the lesser-known subset of hydro-culture called the hydroponics. It is a method of cultivating plants using mineral nutrient solutions instead of soil. This online store provides home delivery of products such as Bunching Onion and Vegetable Soy Bean seeds. If you are critical about this type of urban farming, try out their Hydroponic Hobby Kit first.
Where else can you spot an online pet store that is affordable, convenient, accessible, and offers free samples? Well, nowhere but Kohe Pets!
Kohe Pets regularly dishes out free samples of their products so that the clients can easily find out the most suitable treat to their pet’s taste. It has a huge selection of more than 2,500 reasonably priced products ranging from the popular brands to the special brands that are difficult to find in the country. According to testimonials, their deliver service is swift as customers typically receive their orders on the next day.
One of my favorite hobbies to let the time pass is reading. Searching endlessly through a myriad of brands, I found an indie gem called BooksActually. It is my go-to place for enigmatic titles and creative stationary. It houses beautifully written pieces of literature by local and international authors.
The website is crisp, simple, and neat. Go and see for yourself!
So you’re at the age where you are starting to dabble in beauty products and make-up. You’ve heard the horror stories of rashes, breakouts, wrinkles and worse outcomes that WILL happen if you don’t start taking care of your skin – Mother (amongst many other people) told you so. You start surfing through the internet, asking your parents, siblings, friends for advice.
Bombarded by the amount of choices, you throw your hands up in the air in frustration. And then you decide – you know what? SK-II is a famous brand used by millions of people around the world. Surely it would be a great, reliable way to kick-start your journey into improving or just preserving your skin condition (if you are young and lucky). Now the question is: Where should you buy SK-II products in Singapore from?
SK-II Counters @ Shopping Malls
SK-II Robinsons Orchard Counter
The obvious no-brainer choice. In fact, you probably SHOULD visit these counters at least once. Not only would those lovely, experienced ladies tell you all about their brand’s specialty products, they can also advise you on what to buy based on your skin condition. How do they know your skin condition, you wonder? Why, through this nifty machine of course!
SK-II Magic Ring
This, my dear, will make you the next Ironwoman is the SK-II Magic Ring. Just by scanning your face, it will be able to identify your Skin Age, give you a brief summary on the results in a diagram, and suggest areas of improvement (by means of their products of course). While it is no doubt an exciting venture into the unknown, the experience will likely get old after the next few times. In addition, if one wants to buy SK-II products in Singapore, it cannot possibly get any more genuine than getting it straight from the SK-II counters.
However, as with all the positives, there are some negatives as well. Blasphemy, you cry? Alas, I regret to inform you that it is all true my dear. For one, as the SK-II ladies only sell their own products, it may be difficult to get advice on products from other brands that are not biased.
In addition, as those Lovely Ladies are saleswomen at the end of the day, they will no doubt recommend many, many products to you when all you wanted was to buy SK-II products in Singapore. Your conversation after the SK-II Magic Ring test will no doubt end up being along the lines of “You should definitely get this“, “This is also good for you“, “I also recommend this“, “We are having a promotion where if you get this and this, we will give you this at this price / FOC”. They may mean well of course, but depending on the health of your wallet, you may not be looking to buy so many recommendations… yet. If that happens, well. We have learnt that famous move from the Penguins at Madagascar haven’t we?
TLDR: GREAT IF YOU ARE VISITING FOR THE FIRST FEW TIMES AND NEED ADVICE FROM THE PROFESSIONALS
Sephora
Sephora at Ion Orchard
Bright, clean, beautiful and spacious, Sephora carries TONS of brands. Sephora is no doubt one of THE local hotspots for skincare, cosmetics and makeup. The great thing about this is that you would be able to compare the skincare products from various brands. In addition, it is highly likely that there will be someone who will know something about some brand or another. Sephora’s prices for SK-II products are unlikely to deviate much, if at all, from the retail prices as found in the SK-II counters.
Due to high traffic, it may be difficult for Sephora’s customer service to give their full attention to you, especially during peak hours and weekends. Furthermore, if you are looking to try out their testers, you might find it a tad unhygienic because it has likely been used by many other people over a few weeks…
TLDR: AWESOME VARIETY, BUT YOU MAY NOT GET MUCH ATTENTION DURING PEAK HOURS. ALSO, BECAUSE IT IS SUCH
A HIGH-TRAFFIC PLACE, THOSE TESTERS MAY HAVE SEEN A LOT MORE ACTION THAN YOU WOULD LIKE…
Changi Airport
SK-II Pitera Lounge at Changi Airport
As we all know, our very own Changi Airport is Duty Free! This makes it a promising location to buy SK-II products in Singapore because it is cheaper than those sold at SK-II counters and Sephora, plus we know that it is 100% confirm plus chop genuine.
There is a catch, however. SK-II products at Changi Airport can ONLY be bought inside the departure hall. So unless you have a boarding pass… you can’t buy it.
TLDR: YOU CAN’T BUY SK-II AT CHANGI AIRPORT UNLESS YOU HAVE A BOARDING PASS – PERIOD.
Sasa/Beauty Language
Sasa outlet at Jurong Point
Beauty Language at Northpoint
Sasa and Beauty Language are two of the cheaper alternatives to buy SK-II products in Singapore – that’s what intensive searches on the internet and word of mouth would tell you. Seems like as we go down the list, we’re recommending cheaper places to buy SK-II products in Singapore. These are shops that sell a variety of products at cheaper prices – which are easy on the wallet. Beauty Language even has an Android App on the Google Play Store.
That’s all well and good, but exactly which SK-II products do they sell? Well, you would have to stare at their website, look for a store near you, and finally enter the store to find out. The disadvantage is that you don’t know if what you want to buy is sold in their store until you enter it or ask their salespeople. In fact, if you were just looking at their website, you wouldn’t even know they sold SK-II products!
TLDR: THEY SELL SK-II PRODUCTS A LOT CHEAPER THAN OTHER RETAIL STORES
Online
In this digital age, people are increasingly looking to online platforms for their shopping needs. From clothes and accessories to toiletries and groceries, a large variety of goods are available on the web. Examples of these platforms include marketplaces like Qoo10, Lazada, eBay and Carousell – we’re pretty sure that you must have heard of them.
Skincare products such as SK-II are not exempted from this wave of online shopping too. And why would it be? To buy SK-II products in Singapore online is so much cheaper and more convenient than going down to a physical store. It’s easy to check on online stores if stock is available so it would never be a ‘wasted trip’. Not to mention that time saved could be used for better activities – like watching Korean dramas like Descendants of the Sun or doing your midnight shopping at Mustafa.
Of course, buying products online comes with its own risks. As you can’t try the product beforehand, you might get a fake product when it comes, or you might even get nothing at all. Then there are times where you find a nice retailer but they are gone the next time you need the product again. Then you might find someone selling genuine products – albeit with poor customer service. Oh my! It is really difficult to find a trustworthy retailer amongst the crowd.
TLDR: BUYING SK-II PRODUCTS ONLINE IS CHEAPER, BUT BUY AT YOUR OWN RISK. OR FIND A TRUSTWORTHY
SELLER YOU CAN GET ALONG WITH.
Xiaomei
And then there’s us! If you are looking for someone trustworthy who isn’t looking to just make a quick buck and run away, why not give us a shot? Xiaomei might just turn out to be your favourite avenue to buy SK-II products in Singapore. I’m sure you don’t need to hear it, but it still needs to be said that our products are 100% genuine and we have friendly customer service staff who don’t bite. We even reply enquiries during the weekends!
We are also constantly checking the product prices of our online competitors so our prices see constant revision. In addition, we are also branching out to the various different online platforms. Right now, our products are available in Qoo10,Lazada and Shopee.
Unfortunately, we are bound by the restrictions of e-commerce as well. Thus, your product will still take about 2-3 days to arrive, unless your office building is the same as ours (we do have such orders!). Finally, we may not have a lot of brands under our belt… yet. This is mainly due to the vast amount of makeup, cosmetic and skincare brands out there – we are still deciding what is good to bring in. It is always amusing when the office ladies get excited over the latest shipment of Laneige. We sell perfumes too, so once in a while the office will be filled with different perfume scents.
Ending Note
That’s all folks! Know of any other places to buy SK-II products in Singapore and want to share it with the rest of the Xiaomei community? Simply drop us a message.
(This article is brought to you by Xiaomei, your one-stop beauty paradise.)
