Money-Saving Ideas for the Holidays
Buddha’s Tooth Relic Temple - Chinatown - Singapore
If you’re planning a vacation to Singapore, you’re probably already wondering how much you’ll need to save for the trip and how you can cut costs so you can spend your holiday without worrying about money. If you plan your trip and open an online savings account at the beginning of the year, you can watch the pennies and use a specific holiday savings calculator, you’ll be cashed up and prepared for a vacation that’s stress-free and lots of fun. Here are some easy ways to avoid the temptation to spend when you could be squirrelling away that money in your holiday savings account. You can also plan ahead by setting up an automatic debit so that some of your pay goes into your holiday account. You won’t notice it after a while, but your savings will grow slowly but surely
Plan Way Ahead For Lots of Fun
If you’re going to spend the Chinese New Year in Singapore, you should be aware that resistance to shopping is futile, so you need to be cashed up and ready. You won’t be able to say no to the wide variety of festive goodies on display at this time of the year. The spicy shrimp rolls and barbequed meat ('bak kwa' ), the melt-in-the-mouth coconut cookies ('kueh bangkit' ), buttery pineapple tarts, rich prune layered cake ('lapis') and crisp rolled egg biscuits (love letters) are a few of the taste sensations offered. Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, starts weeks before the New Year date with seasonal markets, parades, lion dances and the streets lit by beautifully-designed lanterns. Revel in the bright colours and sheer exuberance of the Chinese New Year which is one Singapore festival that demands all of your energy and attention.
Cut Out Some Treats
So with that in mind, in the year or months before you leave for Singapore, you’ll no doubt have heard the cliché about the ‘latte savings habit’, but it works! The theory goes that if you stop spending your hard-earned cash on lattes and lunches, that money could go into your holiday savings account. You think it’s peanuts? Think again. Cutting out a $3.90 latte every workday (drink them on the weekend) means there’s $1,017 in savings per year. AND if you skip that $15 or $20 lunch and pack your own, you can save about $5,000. Even if you skip the bought lunch a couple of days a week, you can save money.
Get Cashed Up
It’s so easy to flip out a card to pay for whatever you want these days, rather than carry cash in your pocket, and a spending spree on the card can be hard to avoid, but it can put a huge dent in your holiday savings. Just think about that wonderful time you’ll have in Singapore if you are cashed up! So the way to prevent spending your coveted holiday savings before you leave on your trip it is to track your spending, use an app to budget and use cash rather than the card. An app can round up your change and add it to your holiday savings account, and we all know how the cents soon add up and turn into dollars over time. Train yourself to withdraw only enough cash to cover what you have budgeted for and nothing more. Once that money has been spent, don’t be tempted to use the card or spend more, just stop and watch your holiday savings grow.
Write a Shopping List
Here’s where you can really save money. Make a list of what you need, avoid the middle aisle in Aldi, and know where everything is in your local supermarket, so you don’t check everything in the shop. This way, you won’t be tempted to buy what you don’t need. Another strategy is never go shopping when you’re hungry, especially if you've left your list at home. You’ll likely end up with a trolley full of sugary stuff that’s bad for your health and bad for your holiday savings account.
Other Uses For Apps
An app can also remind you of crucial stuff you need to do before you go, like travel insurance, vaccinations, renewing your passport, visas, or taking a first-aid kit. Having these things in order can save you both time and money while on vacation so you can enjoy yourself without worrying about breaking the bank, falling foul of some disease, or forgetting your passport.
If you’re wondering where to travel, especially if you love shopping, Singapore is a must. At Hello! Singapore, a small team of local residents work as professional tour guides with a huge passion for sharing their in-depth knowledge about the country and its culture, customs and history. The feedback on their tours is amazing, so check out the website and FAQ, and fill in an online form to contact Hello! Singapore for details of what’s on offer.
Author’s Bio
Kym Wallis, the founding director of Higher Ranking has over 15 years of advertising sales, digital strategy, and business development experience. He is currently working as Digital Adviser
for TravelVax.