We have collected some of the best tips after browsing several of the best property websites in Singapore. Below are a few money-saving tips on apartment living:
- Your phone. Buy your own phone – don’t rent one. Also, reduce the expense of using the phone by getting a good long-distance plan and by avoiding such services as call waiting. Unless you’re in a place with several other people and your friends haven’t been able to get through in weeks, you don’t need it. It costs. Cut it out.
- Your MTV. Cable is expensive – and rarely worthwhile. Anything you can see on cable you can see on regular TV – or rent from your local video store. Sure, there’s some exception. But if you are an avid fan, you can go down to the local bar and pay the four dollars for fight night.
- Your video rentals. Renting videos is a great way to save the expense of going out to the movies, but it can also become an expensive addiction. If you are planning on renting a lot of vides (or if your mates are), chances are the video store offers discount coupons or other specials. Ask about them.
- Your food. If you really work at it, you may be able to cut the cost of your food bill by as much as 40 percent by purchasing your comestibles through a co-op that buys in bulk. Chances are you can realistically expect to reduce your grocery bill by 15 to 20 percent – so it’s still worth considering.
- Your electricity. Shut off the lights, close windows at night (if you’re paying for the heat or air-conditioning). You will save money and sleep tight.
- Your subscriptions. There’s no need to subscribe to Time and Newsweek, any more than there is to subscribe to Rolling Stone and Spin. Cut your cost by (a) being sure that you will read what you subscribe to and (b) being selective about what you subscribe to. Also, rather than fill out a card from the inside of the magazine, look on the inside page that lists the editors and publisher (typically after the contents page). There you will find a toll-free number for potential subscribers. Call and ask them about discount subscription rates. Then compare what they tell you with the advertised discount on the card. There’s often a difference. Select the one that’s in your favor.
The same holds true for newspapers. You will always save money by not buying them at the newsstand, but you may be able to negotiate a better deal for yourself by calling the paper’s subscription office and asking for a deal.
- Install energy-efficient light bulbs and shower heads. If you have to pay for electricity and water, you will save money. Even if you don’t, you will help save the environment.
- Share your costs. You can cut your costs by sharing them with your mates. Agreement is essential – and also a great way to participate in cooperative learning.
