Saving Tips – Saving Deposit

How many of you guys have this question in your mind? Where should I place my money? Investment fund? Equity Market? Forex? For some people those instruments are just too risky for their likings. So how about placing your saving in fixed deposit/saving account? So we go to the 3 major bank in Singapore asking about the interest rate, then you will say “oh my god”, how come the interest rate is so low now? Presently, the 3 major banks in Singapore (UOB/DBS/OCBC) is paying an interest rate of 0.05% for ordinary saving account and less than 1% for 1 year fixed deposit. Those rates are just too low when you start thinking of the high inflation rate recently. At 0.05%, a 10k saving deposit will yield just $5 a year. That is enough for a plate of vegetable rice and a can of drinks at the coffee shop.


So what should we do with our money then? If saving into the bank is your only option, maybe you can start looking at other banks other than the 3 major banks in Singapore for higher interest rate. But one thing to take note is to ensure that your saving is protected by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Scheme. Banks such as Maybank, SBI, Standard Chartered, NTUC Plus account give better interested rates. So maybe before depositing your money, it will be good to visit the website of different bank for the best rates before deciding where to place your cash….

Saving Tips – Alternative way of getting to Shanghai from Singapore

With the new budget airlines in our region, travelling around have become more affordable. Consumers now have more choice on which airlines to take. I will like to share my experience in traveling from Singapore to Shanghai through Jetstar and the massive train system of china

It is quite expensive to fly from Singapore to Shanghai through the main airliner with ticket price ranging from S$600 to S$1000+. Below is the method that I have used to travel to Shanghai

1) Singapore to Shanghai

a. Take Jetstar flight from Singapore to Ningbo which takes off from Singapore at 1120hrs and land on Ningbo airport at around 1700hrs. (Around 4.5 hours) (Normally around S$)150
b. Take a taxi from Ningbo Airport to Ningbo East train station (Around 1 hours) (Less than 100 RMB)

c. Take a D* train to Shanghai Hongqiao Station (Around 3 to 4 hours). You should be able to reach Shanghai at around 8pm to 9pm (Less than 100 RMB)

Please click here to see the train schedule

The whole journey will take around 9 hours to 10 hours. The total cost of the journey will be around S$180

2) Shanghai to Singapore

a. Take a train from Shanghai Hongqiao Station to Hanghzhou Station (1 hours) (Around RMB 80)

Please click here to see the train schedule
http://www.chinatrainguide.com/ningbo-railway-station/stntostn.php

b. Take a taxi from Hangzhou Train Station to Hangzhou Airport (1 hours) (Around RMB100)

c. Take Jetstar flight from Hangzhou to Singapore which takes off from Hangzhou at 0035hrs (5hrs) (Around RMB950

The whole journey will take around 8 to 9 hours including waiting time at Hangzhou airport. The total cost will be around S$230

The total cost of the round trip will be around S$400 which is at least 30% to 70% cheaper than regular airliners discounted ticket price which will only be able to get if we book the ticket early.

If you have other cheap way of travelling around, please feel free to comment below..

Saving Tips - Airport Lounge Part 2

Just want to share with you guys in Singapore.  For all ANZ Platinum Card holder, you will be able to access the SATS Airport Lounge at Changi Airport for free.  Just another saving tips....

General - Watching TV Series Online

The price of Starhub TV and Singtel's Mio is quite expensive. Normally we will need to pay $20+ to $50 per month for their service.  A good way to save on  this expenses is to watch TV series online.. They are a couple of online website which we could watch TV series for free... For example 奇艺 is a new website that I have recently found that offer a wide range of latest TV series from Hong Kong, China, etc... They even have iphone/ipad application for iphone/ipad so that we can watch TV online on the move..  But of course they are other website and application which allow us to watch TV free online... Maybe readers can suggest some to other readers. By placing a comment on this post....

Saving Tips - Airport Lounge

I was at Hong Kong Airport recently and was waiting for my flight to Shanghai Pudong.  I was introduced to the airport lounge to rest as I still have to work for 6 hours for the flight.  For normal passenger, you have to pay around HK400 for a 2 hours rest in this lounge.  But if you have Amecian Express Credit Card, BOC Credit Card, etc, you will be allow to access the lounge Free of Charge.  I do have a BOC Credit Card but I never bring it this time with me thus I have not choice but to pay HK400 for my stay in the lounge.

I have been travelling frequently and noticed that owning some credit card will entitled you to access certain airport lounge free-of-charge.  So I will like to gather all this information and post it in this post so that we can share this information.  Please feel free to comments on this post if you have any information.

Saving Tips - Taking Budget Airlines

I will like to share my experience of taking budget airlines (Tiger Airlines).  I have recently took a round flight from Singapore to Hong Kong on Tiger Airlines, Singapore's Budget Airlines.  The seat are ok just that the gap between each rows of seat is really quite small.  For most people, you will not have enough space to move your legs.  But the width of the seats is quite good and is similar to the seats that you will be getting on normal airlines.  The food and drinks sold onboard the plane is really quite expensive.  It cost me $10/- for a small packet of nasi lemak and $3.5/- for a can of coke.  In additional, the food is really not very good.  But if you are really taking budget airline, I have the following suggestion;-

1) Book early - Budget airlines ticket are cheap if you make your booking like 1 to 2 months before the departure date.  If you are booking the ticket near to the departure date, the ticket maybe really quite expensive.  So it maybe better to book the air ticket on a normal airlines if the difference is not too big.

2) Seat selection - When you check-in, you will be ask where you wish to sit.  My suggestion is to request a seat just one row in front of  the last row.  Normally the ticketing counter will pack the passenger to the front of the plane and leaving the rear of the plane normally empty.  Do not take the last row as it is too near to the back wall of the cabin and you may not be able to adjust your seat backwards.

Saving Tips - CITREP by IDA

I have recently come across this training incentive programme from IDA which is quite useful for people who want to upgrade theirselves with new skills.  Under this programme, you will be able to get up to 80% of the nett payable course and examination fees capped at S$3,000 per trainee. 

For more information, please visit the following URL

http://www.ida.gov.sg/Programmes/20060419151233.aspx?getPagetype=35

For enquiries, please contact:

CITREP Administrator

Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
8 Temasek Boulevard
#14-00 Suntec Tower Three
Singapore 038988
Tel: +65 6324 8737 (63-CITREP)
Fax: +65 6211 2207
Email: ida_citrep@ida.gov.sg

Saving Tips - Free Shuttle Bus

Below is the list of free shuttles services that travels to and from some of the shopping centres in Singapore.  I will continue to update this list so if you have know any free shuttle service going to shopping centres that is not in this list, please feel free to leave a comment to this post.

Anchorpoint
Free Shuttle Service to and from Queenstown MRT
12pm to 8pm (15 minutes interval)
Sat, Sun and Public Holidays
http://www.fraserscentrepointmalls.com/cp_promo/
AP_weekend_shuttle/index.html

Free Shuttle Service to and from PSA Building bus-stop/Alexandra Point bus-stop
12pm  to 2pm (10 minutes interval)
Mondays to Fridays (except public holidays)
http://www.fraserscentrepointmalls.com/cp_promo/shuttle-bus/index.htm

IMM
Free Shuttle Service to and from International Business Park
11:45am to 1:45pm (15 minutes intervals)
Mondays to Fridays

Free Shuttle Service to and from Jurong East MRT
10:30am to 10:30pm (10 minutes intervals)
Daily
http://www.imm.sg/find.htm

Suntec City
Free Shuttle Service to and from Hotels (For detail listing please refer to the link below
11:00am to 9:00pm (Hourly intervals)
Daily
Information Website

West Coast Plaza
Free Shuttle Service to and from Clementi MRT
10:00am to 10:00pm (30 minutes intervals)
Daily
http://www.westcoastplaza.com.sg/home/index.aspx?key=shuttlebus

Free Shuttles Service to and from Science Park II
11:30am to 2pm (30 minutes intervals)
Mondays to Fridays (except public holidays)
http://www.westcoastplaza.com.sg/home/index.aspx?key=shuttlebus-science

Free Shuttles Service  to and from Kent Ridges (NUS) Routes
-2:30pm to 10:00pm (14 trips/day)
Mondays to Fridays (except public holidays)
-11:30am to 10:00pm (21 trips/day)
Sat, Sun and PH
http://www.westcoastplaza.com.sg/home/index.aspx?key=shuttlebus-nus

Great World City
-Free Shuttle Services to and from Marriott Hotel
20-30 minutes interval.
-Free Shuttle Services to and from Chinatown MRT (Upper Cross Street)
40-60 minutes interval.
-Free Shuttle Services to and from City Hall MRT (Next to Aldephi Building)
40-60 minutes interval.
http://www.allgreen.com.sg/project_details.cfm?project_uin=34

Saving Tips - Travelling to Bugdet Terminal

If you are going to Changi Airport, you will be able to take the MRT or buses.  But if you are going to Budget terminal, you will have a little bit of trouble due to the fact the MRT/Buses does not go to Budget terminal.  So normally, you will have to take a taxi from your home to the budget terminal to take a flight out which will be quite expensive. 

A cheaper way to go to the budget terminal will be taking a bus or MRT to Changi Airport Terminal 2, then take the free shuttle bus service that travel between Changi Airport T2 to the Budget terminal.  This bus service operates 24 hours everyday.  And also the interval between buses is only 10 minutes (30 minutes interval during the midnight).

Saving Tips - Going around Singapore

I have been going around Singapore this few days, and have visited a few places of interests such as the underwater world, etc.......... I have noticed by paying with credit card, you will have a good discount to the entrance fees... Also do get the “Singapore Attraction Guide” by the Association of Singapore Attractions; in this booklet you will have 3 pages of discount coupons that let you a wide range of discounts in those places of interest. The following is the list of discounts that I have found and hopefully those can help you to save a bit when visiting those place of interest....

Singapore Flyer
20% Discount for HSBC Card Holders (Adult: $29.50 Child $20.65 (3-12 yrs)
15% Discount coupons can be found in the Singapore Attraction Guide

Underwater World
10% Discount for UOB Card Holders

Chinatown Heritage Centre
20% Discount coupons can be found in the Singapore Attraction Guide

Saving Tips - Petrol

I personally don't own a car because I normally spend around 3 to 6 months overseas every year due to my job nature. And also it is much cheaper for me to take public transportation then to own a car.

One of the major cost of driving a car is the cost of the fuel - Petrolum. I know they are a lot different discount package around using membership cards and credit cards. I recently come across the SAFRA Card. Using this cards, you will be able to enjoy 7% off petrol at Caltex. Together with the current site discount of 5%, it means that by using the SAFRA card you will be able to enjoy 12% off. For example, if your monthly spending on petrol is around $300/- before any discount, it will make that you will have a saving of $36 per month.

Please visit the following website for more details
http://www.safra.sg/page.aspx?pageid=41

You can also get 12% discount by using HSBC credit at Caltex Petrol Station.  The discount comprises of the 5% prevailing site discount, the 5% HSBC card discount plus the 2% off discount voucher which can be used in the next visit purchase.

Please visit the following website for more details
http://www.hsbc.com.sg/1/2/personal/cards/petrol-benefits-at-caltex

For SPC, you can get a discount of 12.70% to 15.61% by using the POSB everyday Card and SPC&U Card.

Please visit the following websie for more details
http://www.dbs.com/posb/cards/everyday/promotions/spc/default.aspx



Hope that the above information helps. Also maybe you guys can share the discount rates that you are using when topping up the petrol.

Saving Tips - Calling back from Overseas

I travel overseas very often and I know it is quite expensive to call back to Singapore from overseas using a Singapore mobile line. I normally will get a local pre-paid line and then call back to Singapore using the local line. It is much cheaper this way. For example in Thailand, TrueMove(one of the mobile phone service provider) have a special inter sim which you can call back to Singapore at 1 baht/min (Around 4 cents per minute). Even if you are in countries like Vietnam or China, the local pre-paid line normally give very good rates when coming overseas. So keep a look out for them, if you are going overseas for a certain period of time.

Saving Tips - Market Place in this blog

I have started a new section in the blog called Market Place.  In this new section, I will be placing used item that I wish to sell as I no longer need them.  I believe a lot of you have the same problem as me, especially during  the new year period when you are doing spring cleaning.  You will a lot of things that are in good condition but you no longer need.  Instead of throwing it aways or selling it away to second hand shop at a very low price, you may as well post it on the internet to sell it at a much better price.  If any reader wish  to sell anything, you can email to me at saveforbetterlife@yahoo.com.sg and I will placed the item that you wish to sell in the market place for 1 week.  Please email me the following detail to me if you want to place your item for sales

Description of Item :
Selling Price :
Way of Communication :

Hope this new feature of this blog can help you guys........

Saving Tips - Choosing the right air-conditioner

Recently, the air-conditioner at my house has just broken down. It has served our family well for nearly eight years. So now I have to go and scout for another air-conditioner unit. There are several things that we have to consider when buying an air-conditioner such as
1) The cost of the air-conditioner

2) The operating cost of the air-conditioner

3) Warranty Cost of the air-conditioner
The cost and the operating cost will depend on the type of air-conditioner that you are buying (non-inverter or inverter). For non-inverter, the cost of the air-conditioner is much lower than that of the inverter type. But for non-inverter, the operating cost of the air-conditioner will be much higher. Before you decide whether to buy the inverter or non-inverter type, you must first understand your needs. Do you switch on the air-conditioner on everyday? How long a day does the air-conditioner run. If you switch on the air-conditioner on a daily basis, it will must cheaper to buy the inverter type as the operating cost will be lower and in long run, you will save more. Especially with the raising electricity tariff, it will be a much better bet to buy a more energy saving air-conditioner.
I think everybody will be quite confused regarding the extended warranty and servicing package being offer by the merchant when you purchase the air-conditioner. For most air-conditioner, the warranty of the unit comes with two parts
1) Compressor Unit

2) Others Misc. Parts
Normally the manufacturer gives a 5 year warranty for the Compressor Unit and a year warranty for the other parts. You can take up the extended warranty package (4 year for the other parts) from the agent. If you take up the extended warranty package, you will have 5 year warranty for the whole air-conditioner unit. But whether to take up the extended warranty will greatly depend on individual.
As for the servicing package, each servicing will cost around $75 to $120 depending on the agent that you purchase from. How often you want to service your air-conditioner will also depend on individual. But do take note that regular servicing will improve the efficiency of the air-conditioner thus saving on the energy consumptions.

Saving Tips - Currency Exchange

If you are going to overseas for holiday or work, one of the things that you cannot avoid doing is to go the money changer to change to the currency of the country that you are going.

For most of the case, you will most likely to go to the local money exchange in your country to do the exchanging before you go overseas. But what I found out is that for most cases, the local money exchange in the country that you are entering normally offer a better rate of exchange. It will be a good idea to seach in the internet the offical rate of exchange that is being offer by the local bank of the country that you are entering and compare the exchange rate. You will be surprised of the better exchange that you will get in there.

(P.S : I am only refering to the authorised money exchanger rate)

Saving Tips – Monthly Budget

I think it is very important to come out with a budget plan for the spending and saving of your monthly salary. With this plan, you will be able to control your spending to achieve the desire saving level that you initially wanted.

To work out the monthly budget plan, you must firstly understand your spending. I will suggest that you record your spending on a small notebook. By doing this, you will have a more realistic view of your spending habit. The major problem that most people will have is that the monthly budget plan is too idealistic and it cannot be achieve in the real life. Thus by recording down your daily spending, you will know how much are you actually spending and what are you actually spending on. Review the records and then come out with a realistic monthly budget plan and stick to it as much as possible.

Saving Tips – Overseas Holiday

Although I am on a saving campaign, but I still go for overseas holidays around twice a year. You guys may think it will be expensive to get overseas for holidays but actually it is not really expensive. The cost of the holidays can be broken down to several parts

1) Transportation - Air Ticket
For booking of air ticket, you can go to the website like Asia travel and Zuji to search for offers.

2) Hotel Cost
For booking of the hotel, you can go to search for the hotel online. Go for the big budget hotels as their pricing are normally better and the rooms are also quite good.

3) Meal

The first thing that you have to consider when going on overseas holiday is the month that you wish to go. This is the most important consideration. Generally the air-ticket and hotel fees are more expensive during peak period (public holiday/school holiday). By going for holiday during the off peak period, you can easily save up to 50% of the total cost. Generally, we like to go holiday during the holiday period as we will need to apply fewer days of annual leave to go. But by doing so, we are actually incurring more cost for the holiday.

The next thing that you have to consider is the place that you wish to go. Normally certain airline will have special offer for a limited period of time to go to certain place. Those air tickets are normally much cheaper than the air-ticket offer by other airline.

The next time is to choose between budget airline and normal airline. As you know, now there is a lot of budget airline in Singapore (Tiger Airway, Air Asia, etc). The price of the air ticket is normally very cheaper when compared with the normal airline. But for me, I prefer to travel on the big airlines as the seat is normally more spacious (Especially flights that takes several hours). But if the price is around 30% to 50% cheaper and the flight time is less than 2 hours, I will choose budget airline.

My only advice on overseas holiday is to do enough research on the internet. You will be able to get a lot of information online. For have fun going on holidays

Saving Tips - Tax

As you know the personal income tax of Singapore is rather low as compared to other countries. The first $20,000 chargeable income is tax free.

Chargeable Income Rate (%)
First $20,000 0
Next $10,000 3.5
Next $10,000 5.5
Next $40,000 8.5

But although the personal income tax is low, we have a lot of other tax to pay, for example GST, COE/ERP/Road Tax (if you own a car), etc…

So you can see that in order to lower the tax that you are paying, one of the ways is to reduce spending.

Take GST for example, if you are spending S$1000 per month, which means that you will be tax $70/- per month and $840/- per year. So from this you can see if you can reduce spending, you can also reduce the tax being paid every year.

Saving Tips - Introduction

Spending habit – Credit Card

I have seen a lot of saving method, such as only withdrawing only a fixed amount for spending or place a portion of your salary to one saving account. But I feel those method don’t really work for me. I always have the problem of overspending and drawing money from the bank every week. On top of that, I still used credit card to pay for bills and spending. Thus every month a big part of my salary is being used to repay the credit card bills. So the first step to my saving campaign is to reduce the usage of the credit card. Now I only used credit card to pay for my bills, such as mobile phone bills, internet bills, etc…… I have locked up all my credit card except for one credit card which I will used to pay the bills.

Spending habit – Transportation

I have the habit of taking taxi when going to work and during weekend. And you will know that taxi fares are quite expensive when compared with other public transportation such as Bus/MRT. For example, to take taxi from my home to my working place it cost me around S$25. I normally take 2 to 3 times taxi to work every week, thus I will spend almost around S$200 to S$300 minimum every month on taxi. This easily worked out to be S$2.4k to S3.6k a year. That is almost a month’s salary spend on taxi which can be totally avoided. I have not been taking taxi for the past few months (unless can be reimburse by the company) and it is really not a difficult thing to achieve. You just have to wake up on time and take note of the approx. arrival time of the Buses/MRT that you are taking. You can use the IRIS service to check the approx. arrival time of the next bus in the bus stop that you are in. I believe this will help as normally you will get impatient when you don’t see your bus coming and when a taxi comes, you will more likely to take that taxi.

Spending habit – Food

The price of food in Singapore is still reasonable. If you can get a meal outside in the coffee shop for around $2 to $5 depending on what you eat. I used to like to eat in restaurant. For a normal restaurant in Singapore, it will cost around $20/- for a meal for each person. Take for example if you go to eat in restaurant twice a week with your family (assuming one person). A meal will cost around S$50 including tax. That will work out to be S$400 a month. For a year, it will cost you around S$4.8k.

As you can see, by simply changing the way I spend on transportation and food, I will be able to save almost S$7k to S$8k a year. Imagine what you can do with that money.

Also by spending less means that we are actually paying less tax to the government as we will spend less in GST which is currently 7%.