Get a massive cash rebate with POSB Everyday Credit Card

Save! Earn! - $160

The long and the short of it:

- Apply for the POSB Everyday Credit Card
- Spend $1,000 of retail transactions within the 1st month of card approval
- Promo period ends on 31st Dec 2015

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This Santa Claus happens to like the colour blue.

It's Xmas and the banks are out for your money!!! 

Well potential money anyway. It's the time of credit card promos.

POSB is out to give you $160 if you apply for their POSB Everyday card online AND make a total retail spend of $1,000 within the 1st month of card approval. It's that simple.

The card is also easy to apply especially if you already have an internet banking account with POSB / DBS. 

Just click a bit here and there and you will be done with the online sign up in no time. I only spent like 3min to breeze through my application for me and my partner. That's some sweet $320 moolah in da bank.

As for the $1,000 retail spend (don't try online), it's the Xmas period so... spending $1,000 within the 1st month shouldn't be too difficult for the majority of Singaporeans.
BUT!
Hey hey hey, this is the Frugal Living SG blog so I'd be mightily disappointed if my readers go on some crazy spending spree just to get that $160 rebate. There is a better way.

There is a more pro-level of hacking this promo to stretch that dollar but you'll have to Like my Facebook here then PM on FB me to find out my secret. 
Why sharing via PM only? Cos good stuff must share but if over share, it might just be taken away!



DO NOTE!!!!
The usual T&Cs apply.
Promotion is valid from 1 August to 31 December 2015. 

Get $80 cash rebate if you spend $500 or $160 cash rebate if you spend $1,000 within one month of card approval.

P.S. Additional Pro-level hacks!
1) Combine this promo with... this
2) Try your luck redeeming mall promo items too. Such as the Mr Men Carrier Box & Gift Wrapper promotion now at Tampines Mall They might reject it or they might not.
(I got lucky heh and managed to snag one set. :D)

Introducing POSB Cash-Point

Save! Earn! - $10

The long and the short of it:

- Go buy some daily essentials from the listed shops
- Withdraw a total of $200 using POSB or DBS cards (ATM or Debit card)
- For first 10,000 customers only
- Promo period ends on 31st Dec 2015

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POSB is marketing its new service, POSB Cash-Point which allows you to withdraw cash at certain shops and to help spread the word, they're once again giving away free money.

Promo details are as follows:
You will basically need to make a small purchase, any amount will do, and then make a total withdrawal of $200 using your POSB or DBS ATM or Debit card to be eligible for a $10 rebate to your POSB or DBS account.

POSB Cash-Point is available at the following shops below.

List of shops:
- 7-Eleven, Guardian, Sheng Siong (withdrawal limit $100 so basically you gotta do it twice to utilize the promo.)
- Giant, Cold Storage, Market Place, Jasons (withdrawal limit $200)
- Singpost (withdrawal limit $5000)


DO NOTE!!!!
There are T&Cs.
Promotion is for the 1st 10,000 customers who withdraw a total of $200 and it valid from 1 November to 31 December 2015. 

I would advise doing it fast as it's for the 1st 10,000 customers only, though it's not clear whether it's 10,000 for each month or 10,000 for the whole promo period. So.... fast hand fast leg hor.

You can only be eligible for this promo once.
i.e. If you qualified in November, you don't be eligible for it in December. Basically the maximum amount you can squeeze from this is $10. BUT hey! This is better than nothing!

Free Uber rides again!

Save! - $10-50 on taxi fares

The long and the short of it:

Uber is giving 2 free Uber Taxi rides again on THURSDAY 23rd Oct!

Additional or local tips!
Mai Tu Liao!!!

The 2 Free rides are only for Thursday (which is 23rd Oct)! Up till Midnight!

Oh boy, Uber is really fighting for its share of the pie. It's giving another free rides day!
See? When there's market competition, we, the consumers really win.

I've tried it in their recent free rides day and am pleased to say they really honor their word. My two rides were free. They did have some technical difficulties, charging me for the 2nd ride, but they came through in the end and reversed the charges.

This time around they are issuing some new T&C.
So... IMPORTANT Things to note:

- The free rides cover up to $35 per ride. Anything above will be charged. This is quite reasonable

- Cancellation fee of $2 applies if a ride is confirmed and then you go cancel it. Reasonable too!

- Demand will be high so expect it to be hard to get an Uber taxi! They experienced over the top demand for the first free rides day so they are putting out a disclaimer that you might need to try a few times before you can get a taxi so take note!


Chiong arh!!! Again. :D



Note: Their previous promo.

Buying Hope on a shoe string budget

Save! - NA

The long and the short of it:

Gamble on the odd ToTo or Big Sweep to tempt fate into giving you a windfall. BUT don't overdo it or get hooked!

Additional or local tips!
$1 for ToTo quick pick gets you 1 set of lucky numbers and if there's no queue, you'll be out of the shop in less time than you can say "I want to Huat big ah!"

$3 for the big sweep ticket so you will end up spending $4 a month if you gamble like me. Hehehe I buy my hope on a shoestring budget. :p

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This is just a fun post. I don't gamble much. Honestly!
Though that's probably what hardcore gambler's say... Hehehehe


I know that in the long run, the statistics are against me but there's always hope that I may just buy that one winning ticket!

Photo credit - sgyounginvestment blog

I do enjoy buying the odd lottery ticket about once a month just to tempt lady luck into making me a millionaire.
(There's this Chinese saying... Buying a hope. My Chinese sucks so I can't write it in Chinese characters. Any readers out there that can helpz? lol)


But in the end, I know that I am buying the lottery just for the fun of saying I buy lottery tickets. I'm not ever serious about winning anything and sometimes forget to check my lottery ticket for weeks and months until I find it in the midst of some receipt stacks. 



You should too. Gamble responsibly and never bet more than you can afford to lose!!!




This is just a fun post about the changes in the Singaporean lottery's (ToTo) winning odds. Dollars and Sense website has just done up a calculation of the odds here. (Disclaimer here - I'm not a statistician so I can't confirm the numbers!)

Please don't anyhow gamble!

Cheap Toiletries

Save!  -Depends.

The long and the short of it:

Don't overpay for toiletries!
NTUC, Watsons and Guardian stores sell them at much higher prices than at some smaller neighborhood stores!

Additional or local tips!
Do a super cheap ass combo by using shopping mall vouchers! (Read earlier post here)
And remember to buy above $20 so you can scan the receipts to get shopping mall rewards points if you're shopping in Capitaland Malls.

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I used to buy all my toiletries from Watsons or NTUC thinking they were the cheapest.
Oh little did I know how wrong I was... I have since discovered Swanston at Chinatown and one that's closer to home, Venus Beauty at Tampines Mall.


Their shampoo, soap and other hair and facial products are wayyyyyyyy cheaper. You can expect to save between $2-6 per item. *Jaws drop* right...


They may be parallel imports but hey, they work just as well for me so why pay more for the same stuff?

Yahoo Finance has just highlighted this too!

Free Uber rides today only!

TODAY ONLY!!!

Save! - $10-50 on taxi fares

The long and the short of it:

Uber is giving 2 free Uber Taxi and Uber X rides today! And today only!

Additional or local tips!
Mai Tu Liao!!!

The 2 Free rides are only for today (which is 8 Oct)! Up till Midnight!

Who doesn't love pleasant surprises in the mail?

In the heat of the taxi apps competition, Uber is upping its game by offering free rides for its Uber Taxi and UberX rides!

We, the consumers, win when there's competition! Don't you just love a really free market?

Here's the proof of the free ride :D

What are you waiting for!
Chiong ah!!!

This is even better than their previous promo.

Cooking saving hack Part 2 - Breakfast at half the time and water!

Save! Depends. You'll probably save more time than money.

The long and the short of it

Boil your eggs and steam your buns at the same time! (Ok that sounded just a little rude :p)

Added tips!

Bring your eggs to room temperature first. Cos one of my eggs burst open during boiling. Not much mess just that the boiled egg isn't going to be a looker.

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Behold! The lazy man, save cooking time and save water all-in-one pot breakfast!

All my eggs and buns in one basket.

I know I know... it's all a little bit underwhelming. But Hey! You save water, time and gas.
It's still money saved no?

Any worries about the water not being safe and cleaning up to be more of a hassle... well those aren't true.

I've thought about it (all of a grand 30 seconds) and came up with the following Q&A to allay thine fears:

Q: You disgusting person you!    What if the egg breaks during cooking and it coats your pot with egg bits! Won't it be hard to clean?!

A: Using another pot will result in the same mess what...

Q: You unhygienic animal!    Won't it be unhygienic what with the metal steamer insert?!
A) It's boiling water... People use that to sterilize canning jars... It's safe. Period.

Q: Liar!    Won't it take longer to steam with more mass in the pot?
A) Yes it will but erm not noticeably. Anyway you don't watch the water to wait for it to boil so I guess you ain't gonna catch and save on that 0.5 millisecond extra gas used in the cooking of those 2 eggs.

Q: You heathen!    It's against Nature to eat eggs with buns! The pairing of the two are against my religion!
A: Fine. Steam the eggs and boil some sausages instead... Or steam the buns and boil sausages instead... Go think up your own combination / combo...

Q: You're a destroyer of worlds!   Cooking eggs other than by itself in pure unadulterated water is against the laws of the galaxy and will cause a cosmic imbalance that risks turning the world onto itself, causing a massive super nova to erupt! Thus destroying the world!
A: Go jump in the lake you mad F***...

So much water and so little to use

Save!  -Depends.

The long and the short of it:

We have a tremendous amount of rain fall in Singapore and all that water is just getting flushed down into the sea. Collect em and use em!
Beware dengue though!

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Singapore receives like, a crazy amount of rain in a year. When it rains, it just pours (well mostly). A large amount of that stuff flows into our reservoirs and even more of it just flows back into the sea. It's just a huge resource waiting to be exploited!

So... If you live near the ground floor or at the ground floor, grab some buckets and collect some free water. You can use that clear, kinda clean, sky juice to mop your floors and flush your loo. It'd be cleaner and less gray than using water from other washings.


I can't do that cos I live higher up on a HDB and until someone invents a safe way to harness rainwater from the 17th storey, I'll refrain from sticking out a pole to hang a bucket. Least someone gets killed by killer litter.

Oh don't shower or brush your teeth with rainwater though. You'll probably get sick.

UOB's giving moolah to make you use their estatements

Save! Earn! - $20

The long and the short of it:

- Go play the game
- get a score of 7 and above
- subscribe to estatement
- make 2 transactions. Just transfer your funds (min $10) to-and-fro your own accounts with other banks.

-------------------------

UOB's trying to get people to migrate to estatements and they're dangling carrots.
You just need to:
1) Head over to their game site - http://uob.com.sg/toss-win/

2) Play a game
3) Score above 7
4) Subscribe for estatement
5) Make 2 transactions. Just transfer your funds (min $10) to-and-fro your own accounts with other banks.

DO NOTE!!!!
There are T&Cs.
The most important is being the 1st 50 customers who perform the online transactions during each week. I would suggest trying at midnight for the next opening week which is on 25th August 2014

Doncha say I neber tell you hor.

http://uob.com.sg/toss-win/

A $20 carrot is not too bad!

BTW so... the moral of the story is... Don't do anything like subscribe to estatements unless they dangle some goodies!

I know... Super evil right...

Short size at Starbucks

Save! - $0.50 per cup! Or $26 per year if you hangout there at least once a week.

The long and the short of it:

There's a smaller size for Starbucks coffee than what's listed on the menu. Get it to save some moolah when you just wanna hang out at!

-------------------------

So... here's a hack that I just tried courtesy of HWZ forum's lifehacks thread.

47) don't know if applicable for singapore... in starbucks, besides the "Tall" (350ml) and "Grande" (470ml), there is actually a "Short" (240ml).
You just have to tell the staff you want a "short". This size is not advertise on their menu. of course, there's the smallest, "Demi" (89ml) but is for espresso shots. might be a wols tip, oh well. - trashtalker

Well me trashtalker, it works! Thank you!

I can now get my usual house brew for $3.20! - as compared to the usual $3.70.
Sadly I can no longer BYO mug due to logistical reasons otherwise I could potentially get a decent cuppa and a nice cooling, wifi-ed, air-conditioned, hipster-ish hangout space with friends for just for $2.70!

An added tip, you can ask for hot milk to go with the daily brew. You don't have to drink black tar.

Don't scoff at that $0.50! With that BYO mug thing, that's a savings of $1 every trip now!
This is definitely a keeper.


See previous:
Using the Starbucks Card
BYO Cup @ Starbucks

Free Moolah from Standard Chartered Dash!

Save! Earn! - $10

The long and the short of it:

Download Standard Chartered Dash App and get the connected Savings account

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It's raining money!

Quick on the heels of the DBS mobile banking giveaway, here's Standard Chartered's offer - Dash

Presenting the Dash App!

Links here for:
iTunes
Android Google Play

It's a much more complex offering than DBS and it's giving more too!

It's giving $10 btw and none of that first-come-first-serve thing either! I like...

Now to save up that $10, you'll need to do a little bit more work. Namely you will have to open up their mobile savings account. Then wait a little bit for the account to be setup. Then transfer it to your bank as per normal.

Do note the $10 will only remain in the app for 30 days. So transfer the cash out as soon as you get your mobile savings account setup. :)

P.S. Their travel insurance offer via the app is actually pretty attractive too! Damn cheap and with ACE insurance which is reputable but aye not tested ah.

Free Moolah from DBS!

Save! Earn! - $5

The long and the short of it:

Download DBS PayLah! at midnight, register and get $5

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Looks like Maybank isn't the only one giving out free money. (Really free money from Maybank and Earn even more money from Maybank.)

DBS is getting into the game as well! Unlike the efforts by the DBS Salary Credit scheme (article here), this new initiative gives you the $ effortlessly.

Presenting the DBS PayLah! App!
Links here for:
iTunes
Android Google Play

Competition = Free $$$

This is just simple. Wait till it's midnight then download the app and register! You'll soon be pocketing $5 from thin air.
Then remember to transfer the money out to your savings account. You do have one right? Heh.

Waste not any chicken

Save!  -Depends.

The long and the short of it:

Remember those Cold storage / Jasons half priced roasted chickens? Save the bones to make some damn delicious soup!

Additional or local tips!

No need for any salt or seasoning when cooking. Cos the birds are already seasoned for you! Use bones from 2 birds for a solid soup.

Use a pressure cooker to speed things up!

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Who doesn't love a good chicken soup?

Photo from Simple Bites

Being a person who abhors waste, I will save the bones from previously roasted chickens to make into soup! I've like 4 chicken carcasses in my freezer now waiting to be cooked. Hmmm yum yum.

Basically just follow any typical chicken soup recipe (here's one recipe that I reference). My chicken soup is also a lot simpler. I just add some thyme and bay leaves, potatoes and onions plus some chicken pea to have that option into making it a full meal.

There you go. Good healthy non-canned chicken soup that's rich and full bodies with a nice roasted edge. And yes, the soup will look brown because it's made from flavourful roasted chicken bones!

But do you save anything?
If you cook with chicken stock cubes then you probably save nothing.
If you cook your own chicken soups then this will probably save you $5-6 per soup since you still have to buy chicken bones or a whole chicken to make the soup base.

Half priced chicken!!!!!

Save!  - $6 per bird!

The long and the short of it:

Cold storage / Jasons has half priced roasted meats just before closing time! Usually at 9.30pm.

Additional or local tips!
Sometimes they will put up the sign at 9.30pm sometimes they will sneakily not put up anything! And sometimes they won't have it at all. So it's a game of chance and chicken.

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I swear Cold Storage does one of the best roast chickens in town for its price and convenience. Their other roast meats aren't too bad either. Their smoked duck steak is another to die for.

Now these roasted items are normally ok priced. They aren't expensive. I mean one whole uncooked bird already cost $4-6 and you still have to use electricity to cook it with herbs and spices and what nots. So $14 for a whole family sized roasted bird is pretty decently priced.

Smoke duck breast. TO DIE for.

Meat overload. Can get a bit jerlat

It looks ugly but tastes damn delicious. Smaller birds yield much a more tender meat while the larger birds have tougher breast meats.

So then, what makes this a frugallivingsg article you say?

Wait for it... (literally)... at 9.30pm, sometimes... sometimes... something magical happens.
The roast meat counter will have a fire sale and everything cooked for that day will be going for 50% off!!!!    *Goes wild!*

A whole roasted chicken is so versatile that I can make 14 meals out of that one single 50% off bird! Frozen and consumed over 2 weeks. And they were all delish. My saliva is flowing just thinking about those 14 plates of pasta.

My 14 meals of pasta from one bird!

Groceries on fire sale that are not for the faint of heart - Expired foods

Save!  - Depends on how much you spend on groceries and how often you get a chance to pick up quick sale items from the supermarket

The long and the short of it:

Expired foods are ok. If they aren't turning green or white with mould and other weird fungi, it's fine to eat them.
Additional or local tips!
Check out the supermarket about 30min before closing time to pick up Quick Sale items which needs to be sold by the end of the day otherwise they will get chucked. These items will normally be at 50% off.

Alternatively, come in early in the morning. These should be the two timings when items get labelled for Quick Sale.

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Now I'm a big proponent of this.

Expired or expiring foods are OK. 
If they aren't turning green or white with mould and other weird fungi, it's fine to eat them.

One big big example is... sliced bread. My parents always makes sure there is a loaf of clean white Gardenia sliced bread lying in the kitchen. It's the daily breakfast food, a versatile staple. They go through a loaf about once every 4 days but if not... they toss out the remaining slices, sometimes even whole loaves even if it is perfectly edible.

Why? Because of this...

They throw out perfectly edible food. And YET they lecture me on starving children in Africa when I was younger!

Hell, they've even gone one step further and toss out the bread on the day of expiration! It's not even about expired food anymore, they are tossing out expiring food because they can.
It's just too wasteful! It's like Singaporeans are too rich or something...


So what's a kid gotta do to convince the parents? Hahaha I started horrifying them by buying close to expired groceries before proceeding to cook and eat them. I've survived for about 3 yrs now having eaten some food items that are long past their expiry dates so there, it's fine.

Now there are obviously certain things that you should not eat in this manner. Namely, eggs, diary products, oils and canned foods which are bloated or have turned black when they should not. But honestly, even if these items have not gone past their expiration date, I wouldn't eat them if they have obviously turned bad. So just use your common sense. But in case you need some help to start off. Below are some examples:

• White bread that's white. No wispy fungal spores or mould is safe to eat.
• Vacuum packed preserved meats such as sausages, smoked meats and bacon. Best if frozen. Frozen goods last indefinitely.
• Canned foods such as beans. No tomatoes cos the acidity might eat through can. I've had that happen to me so don't chance it.
• Dried goods. Beans. herbs, mushrooms... Dried goods if kept properly dried will last indefinitely.

If you need more convincing, here's an article from TIME magazine that supports this. It's aptly named - Only Suckers Abide by Food Expiration Dates.

Oh and on top of saving food, you'll save money cos near expired items in the supermarkets have to be cleared asap and will often be sold at deep discounts.

Getting more money from your salary with DBS!

Save! Earn! - $60! 

The long and the short of it:

Get your HR payroll to deposit your salary into a DBS / POSB account and that's it! Insta extra $60!
Sadly this applies only to new salary credit arrangements. So basically if you are already sending money to a DBS / POSB account then no fish.

Additional or local tips!
No hafz.
But you can take revenge by assigning another your salary to be credited into another bank. Not only will you get the sweet taste of moving future funds away, you might get a higher interest rate from the other bank. BUT, scarly that other bank starts a similar promo like DBS...

So no revenge transfers better ya.

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The title is misleading. Max is $60... But better than nothing!

Easy peasy one. Just get your HR payrolls officer to credit your salary to a DBS / POSB account. DBS will then give you a 5% cash reward based on your monthly salary up to a maximum of $60 awarded. So basically anyone earning up to $1,200 should just do this.

The sad news is... If you're already sending your pay-checks to DBS, then well tough luck. They won't give you the cash reward.

Register here and you talk to your HR. 
Fine print here but I think it should apply to most salaried minions like you and me.

Offer ends on 31 May 2014 so do it quick!!!

*This post is all thanks to a tip off from Misty who gave me the heads up! Thanks Misty! 
For all the rest out there, I would love to hear from you too if this blog has helped and to share other money saving tips :)

Free train rides + Breakfast!

Save! - $300-$390 a year on transport fees and a free breakfast!

The long and the short of it:

If you work in the city or near one of the 18 eligible MRT stations, wake your ass up early and take the MRT to your destination before 7.45am.

Additional or local tips!

Missed the timing just by a few minutes? Nebermind.
You still get $0.50 discount so still not bad. As the Hokkien saying goes: "No fish prawn also good."

Also!

Get a free Ya Kun Breakfast voucher (while stocks last) on 23rd May 2014, Friday, when you tap out before 7.45am at Raffles Place, Somerset or Lavender MRT.
I would say go for the free breakfast voucher thingy only if it's on your way. 
While stocks last means there's a high chance the vouchers will run out. Retirees sure to leap on this and organize breakfast keng kai sessions based on these voucher giveaways one. I know cos I will definitely do this sort of thing when I turn old!!!

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Who doesn't love a good cup of Ya Kun in the morning?

Basically, LTA will subsidize free MRT rides for morning trips that end at 18 designated stations in the city area.

This scheme has been around for awhile now, having started in April 2013 to encourage people to ride to work at earlier hours to spread the human traffic flowing into the city.
It must have worked out well for both the LTA, SMRT and commuters since they are extending this to June 2015 (woohoo!)

You can read more about its history and the scheme itself here.

What's more they are giving away Ya Kun breakfast vouchers on 3 separate days!
Friday 16 May 2014 at Tanjong Pagar, Orchard and Bugis (oops! Blogged about it too late.)

Friday 23 May 2014 at Raffles Place, Somerset and Lavender
Friday 30 May 2014 at City Hall, Dhoby Ghaut and Chinatown

The Most Important Details in Brief!

• You need to tap out of one of the designated stations by 7.45am to get the free ride. If you tap out later by a few minutes, you still get $0.50 off.
• Your ride cannot originate from one of the 18 stations.
• The 18 stations are:

Bayfront
Bras Basah
Bugis
Chinatown
City Hall
Clarke Quay
Dhoby Ghaut
Downtown
Esplanade
Lavender
Marina Bay
Orchard
Outram Park
Promenade
Raffles Place
Somerset
Tanjong Pagar
Telok Ayer

• Free breakfast on 23 May (Raffles Place, Somerset and Lavender) and 30 May (City Hall, Dhoby Ghaut and Chinatown)

Earn even more money from Maybank

Save! Earn! - Depends. Between $10-100

The long and the short of it:

Use Maybank's Giro bill payments to get up to $100 rebate.

Additional or local tips!

Since you've to open a Maybank account you might as well chain the combo with their online credit card bill payment offer

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In a previous post, I wrote about pre-paying bills with your credit card. 

What about those that you can't pay with a credit card? 

Giro them!

For e.g. Giro your tax payments. Or home loan payments.

Maybank is giving out more serious money! Here's the offer

Maybank lately has been like a mini-god of fortune. Keeps on giving!

*This post is all thanks to a tip off from Misty who gave me the heads up! Thanks Misty! 
For all the rest out there, I would love to hear from you too if this blog has helped and to share other money saving tips :)

Pre-pay your bills to get the maximum rebates

Save! - Depends. You could save between $20-100

The long and the short of it:

Pre-pay your mobile phone bills and utilities to hit the minimum spending per month for higher rebates for credit cards such as UOB One card or Standard Chartered Manhattan card or BOC Shop card or Frank card.

Additional or local tips!

Shop around for the best card that fits your budget and usage! I'm alternating between Standard Chartered Manhattan card for bigger ticket items and UOB One card for recurring smaller bills. Haven't tried out BOC Shop card or Frank card yet though.

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We all have to pay our mobile phone / internet / cable TV bills and our utilities bills. So why not channel those payments towards your monthly credit card spending? You'll need to spend that money anyway, so why not get some rebates from them?

What if the amount is too little to reach the minimum spending to get better rebates? Well just pre-pay your bills. I have pre-paid my Singtel bills up to 6 months in advance before and likewise for SP Power bills. 

You can pay for Singtel bills via mybill site here.
You can pay for Starhub bills via here.

You can pay for SP Power bills at their customer service counters at Woodlands, Toa Payoh and Somerset. Branch info here.

Note:
- SP Power lets you pre-pay up to 2 months in advance based on your existing bill. So plan accordingly.

Going to the market with NTUC Vouchers

Save! - About $130/yr if you spend about $50/week at NTUC.

The long and the short of it:

Buy NTUC vouchers at a discount and use said vouchers to shop at NTUC. Remember to use your card to get LinkPoints.

Only applicable if you are not spending over $500/month using the OCBC NTUC Visa Plus! card which is only available to NTUC Union members. Cos that combo gets you can even better rate.

Local tips!

Check out Gumtree, Carousell, HWZ and the usual forums for people trying to cash in their vouchers. Just be careful of deals that sound too good to be true. Don't get scammed.

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Now that you've whet your appetite doing some frugal groceries shopping, here's a more advance level challenge. Using vouchers at NTUC.

Not many people know this yet or don't bother with it, but you can still receive NTUC LinkPoints when you shop using NTUC vouchers. (I've checked with them on email and have tested this out so it works as of 4 April 2014)

So where's the extra savings? Well, there are usually people on forums such as Gumtree, HWZ and Carousell looking to cash in their vouchers. NTUC vouchers should go for at least a 5% discount on those forums. Sometimes, the vouchers may even go for 10% off. Just make sure collection is not out of the way otherwise your 5% savings will end up enriching SMRT or SBS!

A word of caution - Don't get scammed!

If the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

An example would be a super good voucher offered at 40% discount but requires you to do payment via internet banking or Western Union and they will mail the vouchers over afterwards. There is a risk that the seller will run off with your money.

Cash On Delivery (COD) is the safest or paypal (Should be able to claw back payments).