We all want to make our money work for us in terms of investments, but we often overlook how crucial it is to optimise the way we utilise our incomes in our daily lives. Investing requires a healthy amount of capital to do, and if we can incorporate these practical ways of stretching our dollars, we would ultimately have greater capital to work with in the long run.
And if you simply find yourself struggling with tight finances, these could be some of the easiest ways to maximise your salary to greater levels:
1/ Shopping and errands
• Notice how your local discount and thrift shops are selling the very same products big brand shops have, but at more affordable prices? This is because they have lower overheads in running business, or cheaper import channels for bringing products in. Make full use of them to meet every need ranging from food to clothing, at far lower prices.
• Make use of coupon codes, cashback credit cards or cashback website services to shave off every bit of cash when you pay for petrol, shipping, utilities and essentially everything else.
• Shop at auction, resale or consumer marketplaces, like eBay or Carousell, for bigger ticket items. Finding lower-than-retail prices for smartphones, computers and other electronics is as easy as just typing in some search terms.
2/ Home and utility bills
• Energy-saving light bulbs can save up to thousands per year. Compact fluorescent light bulbs are highly recommended.
• Turn heating and cooling appliances to more moderate temperatures, to shave away just a little bit of utility spending. You most likely wouldn’t need that chill of a room at all.
• These is a common way of saving electricity but still worth mentioning: switch off all unused electronics during the day, or even unplug them.
• Land-line phones aren’t required in your household? Considering the sufficiency of your mobile phones is your next course of action.
• Small things like cutting dryer sheets in half, or using less toilet paper, or less washing powder, can go a long way in stretching your resources across a longer time period.
3/ Food and cooking
• Just like you would with washing materials or powders, use less ingredients, seasoning, for the same amounts of food and cooking you would normally do.
• Go for cheaper but still just as premium quality products. Dairy and poultry items are especially applicable here.
• Try skipping excessive restaurant visits during the week if you can manage it.
• Make popular “convenience store” drinks like coffee or even lime juice from self-bought ingredients. Guess what, you not only save but you can keep these beverages for a longer time as well.
Other smaller ways to maximise your incomes are pretty much popular among most Singaporeans: taking public transport, avoiding movie theatres in favour of rentals, going for cheaper ways of entertainment like beach parties, all of these are just some of the many easy ways to make your dollars stretch for you.
In conclusion, in a world where being financially smarter is the rule of the day, sometimes the smallest efforts can turn your money woes into cash sufficiency.
Jeremy Cai
Writer for Call Levels, the real-time financial monitoring and notification app – we watch the markets so you don’t have to.
