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!

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).

Money from your shopping mall - CapitaStar points

 Save! - About $50/yr if you spend about $200/week at malls 

Update! You can now scan using your phone! So easy and hassle free so you have absolutely no excuse not to do this.

The long and the short of it

Sign up for CapitaStar and use it to accumulate points. 

Local tips!

Sign up for the CapitaStar programme, always spend above $20 (Get extra toilet paper or chocolate if you need to top-up or plan your mall runs) and scan your receipts, scan your receipts, scan your receipts.

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CapitaMalls really wants your money and is working hard to increasing the footfall in their malls. Their CapitaStar program essentially throws money (Loose change is also money ok) at you for buying stuff in their malls.

You can scan at their booths to earn points for every $20 spent in each receipt and you can redeem $5 Capitaland voucher for every 5,000 points earned. Each $1 nets you 5 points so that's basically an extra savings of 0.5% on top of whatever discounts and offers you get.

Yes yes. 0.5% isn't much to crow about but hey this 0.5% is FREEEEEEE. You can be buying important daily essentials like toilet paper may even be on discount! Think of all the discounts you can stack!

For gamers out there, it's like having a +2 enchanted sword that stacks with a +5% attack speed buff.

If you're still not convinced, here's an example of how much you can save.

If you spend $50 a week, you will save $12 annually.

If you spend $100 a week, you will save $24 annually.

If you spend $200 a week, you will save $48 annually.

It's not hard to hit $200 in groceries a week for a family of 4. Even more so if you eat out once a week. Every cent counts!

Yes, you will spend some time queuing for the machines to scan your receipt but hey, freeeeee money! Is my 5min worth the few cents savings? Yes it is. Unless you're earning boatloads of cash per month and have no time for meals. And since I'm not loaded. Yet. I shall slowly working my way up by saving and so should you. And I don't know you, but I would go as far as to pick up someone else's discarded receipt from the trash to scan. You don't have to do that by-the-way.

P.S. There's even some lame mini-games during promotional periods which means you get a chance to save even more if you're lucky enough to win anything. I've personally won $10 from these games. It's lame but hey, I won't argue with free money!