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Debunking The Myths On Frugality

Do you seek to attain financial independence? Well, you may consider taking “frugality” at heart. Frugality is the quality of being thrifty, prudent, or economical in the consumption of consumable resources (e.g., food). This quality is embodies while avoiding waste and extravagance.

For people who are mystified by this term, keep reading along.

MYTH #1: FRUGAL PEOPLE HAVE NO CHOICE

For a fortunate number of people, frugality is a choice. They see frugality as a method to create a strong link between time, labor, and money. Every purchase represents the time and effort they have spent working. It is a conscious decision to plan ahead for their short-term and long-term financial goals.

MYTH #2: FRUGAL PEOPLE ARE CHEAP

On the surface, people may assume that frugality and cheapness are one and the same. Similarities may be present, but these two are entirely different characteristics. A frugal person sees the best value for his or her money. While, a cheap person focuses on the lowest price.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Say that you are grocery shopping for the entire family. A frugal person will use accumulated coupons and purchase items that are only on his or her shopping list. On the other hand, a cheap person will highly decline to spend more than S$50 on a week’s groceries.

MYTH #3: FRUGAL PEOPLE NEVER SPLURGE

Even frugal Millennials splurge from time to time! When you are able to skip on things that are not essential to your lifestyle, you will be able to free up more money for the things that are important to you. It’s a no brainer! For instance, I spend most of my money on quality food and cosmetics.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Frugality is not all about self-sacrifice. If you are skilled in long-term savings, you may choose to spend the excess on something that you deem to be priceless. Personally, catching a sunset in Santorini sounds like a great idea to me!

How to recoup from the 11.11 sales shopping disaster

Lelong lelong!

What’s better than a Great Singapore Sale? The 11.11 crazy Singles’ Day sales.

If you’re an avid fan of online shopping, you wouldn’t have been spared from the numerous “virtual” billboard signs plastered on your favourite e-commerce shopping platforms, screaming descriptions claiming to offer the biggest and largest deals of the year.

Even if you’re not, you’re not spared either. Virtually every social media platform would have had advertisers interrupt your viewing pleasure with attention-seeking colours to tempt you to shop, shop, shop.

I hate to admit it, but even I have fallen prey to such sales tactics.

Have you accumulated too much credit card charges during the 11.11 sale? Here’s how you can make yourself feel better – choose to repay your credit card outstanding amount with a credit card balance transfer card that has a short-term loan tenure at 0% interest with $0 processing fees.

What is a balance transfer?

Simple logic – the lower the interest rate, the less you have to repay your credit card charges. Balance transfers involve a transfer of funds from a high-interest credit card to a lower-interest card.

This is where the Standard Chartered Credit Card Funds Transfer card comes in.

Some of the Standard Chartered Credit Card Funds transfer card features include:

Loan tenure of 6-12 months
0% interest rate during tenure
Exclusive 0.9% processing fee, which can be offset by $220 cash back, for new Standard Chartered cardmembers
Flexible repayment amounts
Comes together with a Standard Chartered Unlimited card

Instead of having to suffer from high interest charges for loan amounts that can be fully repaid in a short period, i.e. 6-12 months, you can now pay them off without these incurring these interest fees and putting an even greater dent on your shopping expenses.

Find out more about the Standard Chartered Credit Card Funds Transfer card on the SingSaver website.

How To Shield Yourself From Grab’s Surge Pricing

As a country whose location is near the Equator, Singapore experiences “dry and wet days” throughout the years. Generally speaking, the dry months last from March to August. While, the wet months typically span from September to February. Its tropical climate makes the weather unpredictable.

The most convenient way to travel while it is raining is through a personal or a public car. There is no denying that hailing a cab becomes difficult when it is raining! What’s more? You may experience surge pricing when hailing a cab or booking a Grab car. Surge pricing is the adjustment of ride prices to match driver supply and rider demand. During periods of excessive demand where there are not enough drivers on the road (i.e., rainy weather), Grab increases its normal fares.

To combat this issue, insurance cooperative NTUC Income launched the product Droplet last October. Droplet is a pioneer when it comes to protecting the commuters against unpredictable surge pricing on ride-hailing platforms. Further down the road, it aims to cover other platforms aside from Grab. Just wait for their announcements by the end of the year.

HOW DOES IT WORK

Reap the benefits of Droplet by purchasing the rainsurance at least a day ahead of your rides. The premium will be no more than S$9.60 for the day. You can submit as many ride receipts for claim and receive a maximum of S$50 in a day. Commuters who buy the Droplet coverage closer to the forecast of rain are likely to pay a higher premium that those who purchase the premium cover in advance.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

To buy the insurance, you must select a date range that you would like to receive coverage. Then, you must send your claims by forwarding your E-Receipt through email (to [email protected]).

As of now, Droplet only covers rides booked on the Grab app. It will pay up to 60% of your trip fare or the cancellation fee should it be raining at the point of pickup.

THE BOTTOM-LINE

This post shall end with a statement from NTUC Income.

“Droplet is a blue-sky response to consumers’ pain point – surge pricing due to rain – when they book a ride on ride-hailing platforms. In Singapore, where an average of 167 days of rainfall can be expected a year, consumers can now meaningfully address this pain point with insurance cover by Droplet.”

It is exciting to see how insurance products sync with the modern times. Hopefully, other insurers will be as innovative as this one for the commuters to enjoy the benefits of having options.

Sources: 1 & 2

Axi Trader Review: Pros Vs Cons

Typically, dealing with forex trading can be a bit disturbing. Without proper information at hand, making a sound financial decision about it can also be difficult. Thus, if you’re planning to invest in a forex exchange business like AxiTrader, you can get some ideas about it from an online review before you get started. Remember, knowing all the information and insights beforehand can prevent you from committing any financial mistake. So, read on this article to learn more about the pros and cons of an AxiTrader Review.

Pros:

Provides a feeling of security – If you consider buying a financial product from AxiTrader, taking advantage of a product or service review can be a great idea. It gives the customers like you a feeling of security before making any buying decision. With a review provided by a specific information service provider, you’ll know whether the product or service of AxiTrader is appropriate for your financial circumstances.
Offers free advertising and content – An AxiTrader review provides free advertising and content for its products or services. The advertisement and information created by a review partner can encourage prospects to invest in any of these products.
Improves trust and confidence in the business – Making use of a product or service review for forex trading online can be beneficial. The information it provides can also establish trust and confidence among the prospects. After all, customers will more likely choose a financial product/service they fully trust and know.
Offer insights about the product or service – An AxiTrader review online allows you to get valuable insights about the products or services they’re offering. Not only that but you’ll also have a general idea of whether AxiTrader is the right forex broker for your situation.
Enhances customer credibility – The reviews about AxiTrader can help improve its overall credibility by allowing contrary opinions to be posted. By reading the online reviews, you’ll know that AxiTrader is a trustworthy investment service provider company based in Australia.
Reduces complaints – With an AxiTrader review in place, there’ll be a reduction in complaints as customers can see any negative points about the product or service if there’s any before purchasing. Thus, taking a look at the reviews can make a huge difference in your financial decisions.
Provides additional resources to customers – As a customer, you always want to have a better product or service experience. That being said, it’s essential that you read an AxiTrader review and gain additional resources that can help improve your customer experience.

Cons:

Gives customers a skewed impression of the product or service – If the review or rating isn’t positive, customers will more likely have a skewed perception. Consequently, you’ll be discouraged to purchase the product or service involved.
Allows customers to publish vindictive information – In many times, reviews are done independently. With that in mind, any person or customer may post vindictive or damaging information about a particular product or service according to what they’ve experienced. As a result, people looking for the same product or service may start having hesitations in considering it as one of their choices.
Increases customer’s wariness about the product or service – A negative online review about AxiTrader can increase suspicion among the customers, thereby affecting their decision to make a purchase.
Needs to be current and up-to-date – If you want to get the most out of product or service reviews, they need to be current and updated or else they’ll become out of date and irrelevant. As a result, customers will no longer rely on the information presented in the reviews.

Conclusion

When it comes to forex trading online, one must know the pros and cons of using online reviews. While the pros can be helpful, taking the cons for granted can potentially give you an adverse outcome that you set out to achieve. It’s important to note that if you consider using reviews when choosing a forex broker like AxiTrader, don’t forget to think about the pros and cons mentioned in this post. If you’re looking to employ the services of AxiTrader for forex trading, take time to check this interesting article to help you make an informed decision.

4 Things You Shouldn’t Put In Your Wallet

Whether you are keeping your loose cash or EZ-link card, there are certain items that you want or need to carry in your wallet on a daily basis. This article will not dwell on that. Instead, it is focusing on the significant items that you need to leave out.

#1: RECEIPTS

Do not deny it! I am sure that you are guilty of keeping some receipts inside your wallet. Keeping receipts is valid as long as you are planning to exchange a product, authenticate its warranty, or reimburse it for work. Unless you have a valid reason to keep the long strips of paper, you have to throw it all away! Reduce your clutter by digitally organizing your receipts using apps like Shoeboxed.

#2: SENSITIVE PASSWORDS

As hacking becomes rampant nowadays, I can only stress how important it is to keep your passwords safe. It may seem like a functional idea to keep all your precious belongings (e.g., money, credit cards, or passwords) in one place, but it can make you vulnerable to fraud or identity theft. It is best to find a notebook or an app that will keep your passwords protected.

#3: HUGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY

Carrying huge amounts of money around town can be dangerous. It may seem obvious to most of us, but there are some people who are opposed to having bank accounts or safety deposits. Once your wallet is stolen or misplaced, it may be hard to recover the lost money. For this reason, I encourage you to reconsider opening a bank account or purchasing a safety deposit.

#4: CHOP CARDS

A chop or stamp card is a simple marketing tool used to spread the buzz about a particular establishment. When a customer visits the store and makes a purchase, he or she will be rewarded through the card. If you frequently visit an establishment then, picking up their chop card is a good idea. Moreover, you will be able to support the local businesses.

Image Credits: luvmilo.com

If the chances of using the chop card or visiting the store are slim then, you must stop kidding yourself! Throw it away and create a valuable space in your wallet.

Sources: 1 & 2

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