If you are fond of late Christmas shopping and New Year parties, curb your Holiday season costs by following these 4 savvy saving tips:
1. CREATE A LIST AND CHECK IT TWICE
With a desired budget in mind, write down a list of all the people you want to buy gifts for. Go through the names on the list and allocate a specific amount that you are willing to spend on each one. If money is still tight, go over the list one more time and reduce either the names or the designated amount.
For larger families, consider giving one present per married couple. Remember that you are not Santa Claus and it is not your duty to give everyone a present!
2. PULL OUT NAMES FROM A BOWL
Instead of spending a hefty amount on all your family and extended family members, consider the “Secret Santa or Exchange Gift” method wherein everyone will pick a name out of a bowl. After which, you will only have to fuel all your resources for that one gift and that one person. Aside from saving money, you just saved yourself countless hours of shopping.
Image Credits: pixabay.com (License: CC0 Public Domain)
3. USE THE MODERN TECHNOLOGY TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
Shopping for a gift is not always about getting the cheapest item but rather about getting the value for every cent you spend. So if you are undecided on which model or brand has prime quality at an affordable rate, get your money’s worth by searching online for credible reviews first.
For example, you can visit Stuff Singapore for reliable reviews on computers, tablets, games, and other gadgets.
4. REMEMBER WHY YOU CELEBRATE
With all the festivities going on, it is easy to lose sight of what is important. Whether you are planning to have a simple dinner as a family or go on an extravagant overseas holiday trip, you must remember that you are celebrating the joyous holiday season because you are blessed enough to be with the people you love most. And you cannot put a price-tag on that!
Best of all? You can use these tips for the next Holiday season! 🙂
Image Credits: pixabay.com (License: CC0 Public Domain)
While banking and finance professionals are still struggling with a decline in demand, Singapore and the Philippines are likely to see some pick-up in 2016.
22nd DECEMBER 2015 – According to the latest Monster Employment Index (MEI), Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines experienced a drop in demand for banking professionals amid the volatile economic conditions in November.
Across the three markets surveyed by the Index, the Philippines reported the least year-over-year decline at -3%, down from October’s 25% year-over-year growth. This is the market’s first negative growth in three months and the steepest month-on-month decline registered among all markets.
The BFSI sector in Malaysia registered the steepest year-over-year decline at -24%, falling six times as much as October’s -4% decline. This is the sector’s third consecutive month of annual decline.
E-recruitment in Singapore’s BFSI sector experienced a slight drop between October and November, at -5% year-over-year. Despite this, the three-month growth rate for November has improved marginally by 3%, compared to 2% in October.
The MEI is a monthly gauge of online job hiring activity, which records the industries and occupations that show the highest and lowest growth in recruitment activity in Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines.
Recruitment trends in the BFSI sectors have also led to the sluggish demands for Finance professionals in the three markets. Despite the overall negative growth, Finance and Account roles are the top growth occupational groups in Malaysia and Philippines.
Malaysia reported the steepest decline between November 2014 and November 2015 at -23% year-over-year, a sharp year-over-year decline from October’s -11%.
Singapore witnessed the least year-over-year decline at -9%. This is a marginal drop from October’s -8% year-over-year. The Philippines reported a -12% year-over-year decline, down from the -3% year-over-year reported in October.
“As the global economy leans towards greater uncertainty, each market will need to take measures to build greater resilience against any vulnerabilities that can potentially deteriorate the country’s economy and affect recruitment,” said Sanjay Modi, Managing Director, Monster.com (India, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong).
“While the demands for Finance professionals in the Singapore and Philippines markets appear to remain on the decline, Singapore’s vigilance to any potential economic risks and the Philippines’ strong economic fundamentals in its domestic systems should help see them through external threats.”
The Monster Employment Index is a monthly gauge of online job posting activity, based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of career websites and online job listings. The Index does not reflect the trend of any one advertiser or source, but is an aggregate measure of the change in job listings across the industry.
See below for countrywide trends in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines for November 2015:
Singapore Highlights:
The Monster Employment Index Singapore declined -8% year-on-year.
No industry sectors or job roles registered positive year-over-year growth.
The Healthcare industry registered the least decline in online hiring at -2% year-on-year, while Healthcare jobs saw the highest demand – although at 0%.
Malaysia Highlights:
Online hiring in Malaysia declined by -31% year-on-year.
Not a single industry sector witnessed positive year-over-year growth in online hiring.
The Production/ Manufacturing, Automotive and Ancillary sector saw the least decline at -10%, while Oil and Gas registered the biggest drop at -40%
Demand for Marketing & Communications professionals takes lead at 0% year-over-year, while Software, Hardware, Telecom roles fared the worst at -60%.
Philippines Highlights:
The Monster Employment Index Philippines registered a -46% year-on-year decline.
The BFSI industry had the least year-over-year decline at -3%, while the Production/Manufacturing, Automotive and Ancillary sector fared worst at -68%.
Customer Service jobs experienced the least decline at -9%, while Hospitality & Travel jobs reported the steepest decline at -64%
– Ends –
About the Monster Employment Index
The Monster Employment Index is a broad and comprehensive monthly analysis of online job posting activity in Singapore, Philippines and Malaysia conducted by Monster India. Based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large, representative selection of online career outlets, including Monster Singapore, Monster Philippines and Monster Malaysia, the Monster Employment Index presents a snapshot of employer online recruitment activity nationwide. Monster has taken due care in compiling and processing the data available from various sources for Monster Employment Index, but does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or action / decision taken or for the results obtained from the use of such information. In the South East Asia region, Monster Employment Index was first launched in Singapore in May 2014 with data collected since January 2011 followed by Philippines and Malaysia in May 2015 with data collected since February 2014.
Did you know? A Singtel Corporate Individual Scheme (CIS) subscriber gets discounts on devices and price plans and free value-added services. You just need to be an employee from a participating company to sign up as a CIS subscriber to enjoy these. What’s more, you can sign up to 3 lines so this means your family and friends will benefit as well.
To check whether your company is enrolled to Singtel CIS and on the mobile rates you can enjoy, please
With the festive season soon arriving, it’s time to start planning ahead on where to dine with your families or loved ones during Christmas or Christmas Eve. Eating out during this period can be expensive as restaurants prepare themselves for greater demands for their celebratory feasts. If you want to snag the best deal or a table in a popular restaurant in Singapore, it’s best to start researching now. Some restaurants even offer you an early bird price if you can confirm and make payment weeks ahead of the celebration.
Here is a roundup of 5 Christmas Eve Dinner Buffets that are S$100++ or less.
1. Brizo Restaurant & Bar
We start off with Brizo Restaurant & Bar on our list because it offers one of the most affordable buffet on Christmas Eve. That doesn’t mean a less sumptuous spread though. At $72++ per person, you are getting your money worth when they are offering premium seafood items such as fresh Maine lobsters, oysters and snow crab legs on their Ice Crustacean Bar. Wait, hold your horses, look out for other highlights of the yuletide spread such as the Roasted Whole Suckling Pig, Angus Striploin with Red Wine & Foie Gras and Seafood Paella with Chorizo Sausage.
Highlights: Oysters and Snow Crab Legs, Angus Striploin with Red Wine & Foie Gras
2. Makan@Jen
Nested in the new Hotel Jen at Orchard Gateway, Makan@Jen is a relatively new restaurant that has slowly picked up fans since 2014 — with 79% up votes on Singapore’s no.1 food site Hungrygowhere. Makan@Jen is located at level 10 of the hotel lobby which promises a decent view of the the city, in its spacious and cosy environment. This Christmas Eve, look forward to an abundant spread of international and local favourites. In their festive menu, they also offer the Maine lobsters (Canadian), snow crabs and freshly shucked oysters. In their roast section, there are items such as Roast Australian Lamb with Tandoori Spices and Roast Prime US Ribeye with Rosemary and Herbs. Priced at $88++ per person.
Highlights: Maine lobsters, Oysters, Roasted Australian Lamb, Roast Prime US Rib
Enjoy Early Bird Specials of 15% off when you make your reservations before 22 Dec 2015.
3. Indulge at Park
Have a Citrus Christmas at Indulge at Park! Well, don’t worry you will not be served oranges, lemon and grapefruits. Instead you’ll be in for an unique experience as they prepare to delight you with dishes infused with citrus flavours. Look out for dishes such as Calamansi Scented Salmon Tartar in Martini Glass, Dried Orange Peel Smoked Turkey Carpaccio, 8-hours Slow Roasted Citrus Brine Marinate Christmas Turkey, Tangerine Cheesecake and more. Their seafood section includes items such as Half Shell Scallop and Mussels, King Crab Legs, Boston Lobster, Live Oysters and White Clam. For only $80++ per person, it’s value for your money.
Highlights: Citrus-inspired menu, good spread of seafood on ice, wide selection of international cheese, live carving station and Christmas Dessert House(For the full menu, click here.)
4. Café Swiss
If ambience and settings are important to you, check out Café Swiss. Sitting in the atrium of Swissotel The Stamford, the 210-seater restaurant boasts modern European architecture that sets itself apart from the rest. Its festive menu is priced at $90++ per person and it has a large variety of food including a Japanese counter that serves salmon sashimi, sushi and soba and a Live Station for your Roasted Turkey and Honey Glazed Ham. Price includes free flow soft drink and a glass of Moët & Chandon Impérial
Highlights: Freshly Shucked Oysters (opened live), Japanese Half Shell Scallop, Slipper Lobster, Pan Seared Scallop, Cheese Selection, Festive Desserts such as Chocolate Brandy Log Cake & more. (Download full menu: here)
5. Carousel
Carousel has won the AsiaOne People’s Choice Awards for the Best Buffet Restaurant in Singapore for the sixth consecutive year. Reviews on Hungrygowhere are hugely positive and many praise the good service by the staffs there. Besides commendable services, they boasts a huge (really huge) spread of food. They have a wide selection of sashimi from your standard salmon to Tuna, Tai and Hokkigai (Surf Clam) and more. If you are a fan of oysters, they have the Live Canadian Oysters and the famous French Fine de Claires Oysters. In addition, they also have a live Teppanyaki station, Steamed Boat with Thai Tom Yam Stock, Indian Cuisine and a Dessert Station.
Highlights: 6 selections of fresh sashimi, Teppanyaki Live Station, Fine de Claires Oysters, Halal Cheese, Mediterranean selection, Chocolate Fountain & More.(View full menu: here)
Priced at $92++ per person. Enjoy 10% off when you make your payment with UOB, DBS/POSB, Citibank, OCBC, UnionPay or AMEX credit cards.
I caught up with Valerie, who came back from her 3-day prewedding adventure in Bali. She booked a 4-hour prewedding photoshoot package via OneThreeOneFour.com. I invited her to share with us the tips and tricks and the details of her photoshoot. I’m sure soon-to-marry couples planning for an overseas wedding photoshoot would find her story below very useful.
— As told to Scott:
We chose to do the photoshoot on our 2nd day in Bali. We started with the makeup at about 12 noon and Maxtu Photography came to pick us up later.
Bonus Location: Sanur Beach
Although our US$700 photoshoot package only includes 2 locations within 4 hours, Maxtu’s team brought us to a beautiful tree near their villa for some shots too! What a pleasant surprise! It’s so apparent that they love what they do. Instead of cutting corners, they really went out of the way to think of what would be the best for us.
Location 1: Mangrove Forest
For this location, I wanted to do a vintage casual shoot with a little picnic styling. I started planning this in the weeks leading up to the shoot. My Pinterest board quickly got filled up with picnic ideas and casual vintage styles.
Casual + Vintage Outfits
I mixed a white lace top from H&M with a vintage midi skirt that I got from Haji Lane (S$45). And in my mad rush to the airport I had forgotten to bring my shoes from home so I had to buy a shoe on my 1st day in Bali (S$10.50). The flower headband that I got from Factorie costs only S$1; – S$2 after discount plus a 1 for 1 for sales item. I got 6 headbands in total, for my bridesmaid for my wedding day!
For John, he wore a vintage vest (S$20) over a white shirt. He paired it with his red bermudas and a cute checkered socks from Uniqlo.
Total Estimated: US$58.00
Styling
On top of that, I also added a little more flavour to the styling with some props! I got my Mason Jars from qoo10 (S$10 each), picnic mat from Spotlight (S$20), straw hat from Bali (S$5). The flowers, mini basket and buntings are all from Daiso for S$2 bucks each.
Total Estimated: US$35.00
Location 2: Canggu Beach
We met a traffic jam on our way to Canggu and I was worried that we would not be able to catch the sunset. The sky looked really dark like it was going to rain! I was praying like mad in the car trying to abate my anxiety. We managed to catch the sunset and thank GOD there was still some light when we arrived and we even had a pink sunset!
I had tried to find rental of horses on my own that are affordable and good but not to much success. I eventually approached Maxtu Photography to see if they had any suggestions and they did! The price was so much more affordable than anything I could find – the great thing about having local photographers! Gotta tip our hats to Maxtu for helping us to book the two horses at Canggu beach. We paid US$30 separately for one hour rental of the horses.
Formal Outfit
I got my own gown-looking dress from ASOS, for only S$80 after a 50% discount! I used the same pair of shoe from the casual vintage look! Hehe. As for the head accessories, I wished I had more time to plan for this because I bought it for S$20 from Lovisa.
As for John, we wore an existing suit which he tailored for when he was a groomsmen at a friend’s wedding. He bought his bow tie S$10 in Malacca, together with the vintage vest. It was not too bad at all! We did go to Benjamin Barker and bow ties costs like around S$30.
Total Estimated: US$77.00
I’m sooo happy with how these have turned out!
Even though I missed out to glam up myself, I didn’t give myself enough time to prepare for my OWN styling, instead cared more about the picnic and John, many people still complimented the look, saying that it looks more natural this way. I’m sooo happy with how these have turned out!
After the photoshoot, we got back to our villa at around 8pm. I felt really bad that Maxtu had to send us back to our Villa and drive up 2 hours to head back to Ubud area. Even though our photoshoot was only 4 hours, the travelling certainly took up more time and they were not calculative about it. So thankful to have met such kind and gracious photographers! We had interesting conversations in the car as well, it was like making new Balinese friends.
After Thoughts
All in all, I’m so stoked to have heard about OneThreeOneFour.com before going to Bali and when they asked for my feedback, I was naturally willing to give an enthusiastic thumbs-up! I praised them for breaking into this unique niche in the market and I think that this is going to revolutionize wedding photoshoot market.
Couples in Singapore who wants to go for overseas wedding photoshoots but are always intimidated by the idea of it being expensive, can simply browse through the price lists and portfolios, all available at one place! There’s no need to go to each photographer to ask for the rates and portfolios. This was a mega point for me because I could do all the comparison to my heart’s content and I LOVE IT! I’m honestly not sponsored or asked to write this by them, but this service has really benefited us so much!
Bali Wedding Photographer
And as for Maxtu Photography, they really over-delivered for our photoshoot in sooo many ways, looking out for us and made us look gorgeous. :’) These photos will stay with us until we are old and with grandchildren and we would be able to relive the good times we spent in Bali together for this experience.
Within 1.5 weeks, the edited photos came in and now we just have to find a good deal to print out the photos for display on our big wedding day / for our future home!!
Our Accommodation in Bali
We booked our awesome villa via Airbnb. It’s called Little Tree House and it costs only S$66 per night! A quiet hideaway in Sanur and 5 mins away from the beach! We also enjoyed the outdoor adjoining toilet in our room and the pool very much!
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If you want to know more about the rest of Valerie’s Bali trip, head on over to her blog at valziekay.wordpress.com
About the Author: Scott is a writer from OneThreeOneFour.com, a wedding photography marketplace that connects couples with photographers based in different cities around the world. Follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more updates.
