The best money-saving tips and book winners

Lydia gave me three autographed copies of Stretching Your Dollar$ and $ense to giveaway to you. The only requirement to take part is to share your opinion about saving money. At the announcement post, I received more than 80 comments from readers who shared their tricks and tips. I believe that it will benefit you to read through all the sharing.

Here, I short listed some outstanding points to help you save money. All these information is provided by this blog readers’ community.

If you are curious about who will get the book, browse to the end of this post.

Use a High Rebate Credit Card

– by Raj

There are many ways one can save money as some of the others have put it so succinctly (while others fluff about rather than be SPECIFIC) BUT here is ONE tangible specific way anyone (provided they have an income good credit rating) can benefit given its recent introduction into the market.
Open a Standard Chartered Just One Current Account and get the SBC Just One Mastercard too (this is of course subject to card approval)
What’s so good about it?

– You earn 5% cash rebate on ALL card spending on Fridays (so any planned purchases can be done on Fridays)

– You earn 2% cash rebate on ALL card spending on all other days

– On top of the above cash rebate, you still earn 1 Reward Pt for every RM2 spent

– You can earn up to 2.38% interest on your Just One Current account if your balance exceeds RM100k (which is HIGHER than FD rates in banks except for the 12mth term period) Even if your balance is as little as RM2k, you still earn at least 1.38% which is way better than some savings accounts out there!

– You can also earn MORE Reward Pts by earning 1 Reward Pt for every RM10 saved (based on your average monthly credit bank balance)

The added sweetener – until July31, when you open the above a/c, you will also get a 1st yr annual fee waiver AND guaranteed 5 000 Reward Points!!!
Hence, aside from the other standard credit card benefits like not having to carry physical cash, minimum 21 days interest free period, special tie-ups with merchants, discounts, zero installment plans, balance transfer plans, etc, you can also enjoy the above

TANGIBLE benefits of the Just One Current a/c and Credit Card.
Enough said! So when should i expect my FREE autographed copy??? Hahaha!

PS – FYI, I am not a SCB staff BUT i have to take my hat off to them as i now use my newly received SCB Just One card for all my card purchases BUT do note that the maximum rebate claimable is RM600 per year.

Switch Off Electrical Products at the Main When Away

by Cheryl Teh

Heres my Top 3 tips

1) Switch off ALL electrical products switches at the mains when I’m away for more than 2 days – not only does it save (as you know, there’s electricity leakages when the mains are on even if the equipment isn’t) but less risk of electrical short circuit too!

2) Instead of cooking everyday, I cook up a big batch of most of my dishes and freeze them in little serving portions. This saves time and electricity / gas and also healthier as it’s just as quick to pop containers of home cooked rice and dishes into the microwave compared to eating out.

3) Go to the park or stay home and watch DVDs instead of going to shopping malls and cinemas. This way, I’m less tempted to buy and also save on the movie ticket.

Cheryl The, who is a Business Consultant & Professional Organizer was interviewed on BFM about how to furnish your home for less. You can listen to her interview here:

[HTML1] (Part 1)

[HTML2] (Part 2)

Don’t just save money, save the Earth too!

by Alan Kong

1) Consolidate all your household expenses and use the high cash rebate credit card for instance StanChart JustOne Credit Card, where any spending on Friday, you are given 5% cash rebate, along with choice points (reward points) given = Double reward!
or to use TravelMoney RHB Credit Card on every 1st weekend for 5% petrol rebate.

2) Never spend time on money-saving more than your time to think of creative idea to be of the service (add value to peoples lives) for others to make more money.

3) Follow straight to budget every month, etc 10% saving, 5% gift (donation) and 10% (education, self-development), minimum 10% for investment of building multiple source of income.

4) Save the earth, for instance, re-use paper, draft, write digitally, car pool, plan properly only drive and do all things at a go so to save the traveling cost (efficiency), get into habit of electric saving (use air-con only when the weather is unbearable, air-con timer to stop few hours before wake up time everyday, energy saving tool, etc)

5) NO WINDOWS SHOPPING. SHOP only during SALES TIME (don’t shop simply because its CHEAP), Shop only within list with budget set priory, while shopping, 1st rule, is it a MUST (URGENT) as against a NEED (IMPORTANT)? Does it help in generating more income? Bulk buying with friends and always ask for discount wherever possible.

6) delay gratification always, such as, to delay for the first buying urge at the 1st encounter even though it seems DIRT CHEAP, believe that there’s always cheaper and better out there. Always compare at least with 3-4 of the same merchant for same products.

Saving Account without ATM card

by Sean Yap

$$$ SAVE BEFORE USE $$$
The method I use and strongly recommended to every one.
When you get your salary, put a fix amount (5 to10%) into a separate saving account.

Use ATM machine to transfer the money or ask the bank to do a standing Instruction. When you do not see the money you will not feel it.

This saving account should not have an ATM card. The money in this account is use for investment or emergency purpose.
If you are married, then make that saving account a joint account and without ATM card too.
By doing this, it avoid you to withdraw money from it because you and your wife need to go to the bank together to withdraw money.

Then you will see the amount of money keep increasing.
You will be motivated to do it every month… ask your partner did he/she bank in money on each month this will become a reminder to both of you.
Happy saving.

Don’t be lazy, working moms. Cook!

by Shirley

TIP 1
As a working mum, I take the hard work of waking up early and prepare breakfast lunch for my kids and hubby. Not only it’s healthier (As I control their food intake – the amount of vegetables, fruits, meat the way it’s cooked – preferably steamed, bake), but it really does save us a lot of $$$. For example, a breakfast at kopitiam will normally costs RM4.50 (for kon lau mee) RM1.70 (Ice Milo) = RM6.20 for breakfast; RM6 (lunch) + RM1.70 (cold drinks) = RM7.70; total meal allowance per day would be RM13.90 X 20 working days X 2 (Me hubby) = GRAND TOTAL of RM556.00 per month. This excluded the expensive lunch we might have sometimes (E.g. eat out @ coffee bean, secret recipe etc). Take that calculation X 12 months would be: RM6672.00. (Note: My food prices are based on Kota Kinabalu Kopitiam, it may be more expensive or cheaper in your location). For home made food, your grocery bills would be much lesser than the above!
To the other mums, working is not an excuse to not making home-cooked food, as I always find recipes that take less than 30 minutes to prepare! The amount we save allowed us to put as part of our down payment for our property investment! So picture this, saving 2 year of eat-out = approx. RM10000: used as down payment for an apartment RM100000 – 150000 for rental purpose! Isn’t it amazing! The more calculation you did, trust me, you will be willing to wake up much early to prepare! As for me, I plan our food chart for the whole week!

TIP 2
On weekdays, I would drive a company vehicle which has a smaller CC compared to my own vehicle. Driving a smaller CC car (HONDA CITY), for a full tank of fuel, I can drive up to 400km distance. And the maintenance is cheaper compared to my own vehicle.

TIP 3
I only shop once a month in supermarket with a shopping lists (E.g. milk powder, pampers etc). This is to avoid unnecessary trips to the mall which you might end up buying other stuff unneeded from other shops.

TIP 4
During our supermarket visit, I will make sure to make a stop at Toys R Us so the kids can have some fun time. They can spend an hour there without realizing it. And they can try out all new toys. Normally kids get bored after playing with it for a while, so there is no point buying back! As it will end up in one corner of their room unnoticed!

TIP 5
Since my hubby love investing in properties, instead of buying under personal name, we bought it under Sdn. Bhd. This allows us to deduct certain expenses and claim for certain allowance. Not only we pay less tax, but we also owned a company with a profitable return! We have our mission objectives targets to how many property we need to acquire per year!
Since the rest about credit cards etc has been mentioned, I don’t think I will say it again! Cheers!

Living in a big family

by Beng Hooi

Stay together in big family instead of having separate mini families. One can enjoy some savings from sharing which is a virtue…

1. sharing electrical appliances (TV, fridge, washing machine, computer)

2. car pooling (saving in term of petrol and maybe number of cars purchased)

3. sharing furniture (may need more sofa, tables etc if staying together in one big family, but in overall, it is still less compared to the sum of the total furniture required living separately)

4. electricity (eg. consume same electricity whether watch TV alone or by one big family)

5. meal (makes home-cooking feasible, cheaper compared to dining out)

6. sharing domestic maid

7. buying household items in bigger package that usually come at cheaper unit rate (eg 5 litre detergent vs 2 litre detergent. Small families usually purchase smaller package to avoid wastage due to expiry of the products, particularly food)

8. newspapers, magazines etc

9. Indah water bill, assessment fee, quit rent (bigger total amount if staying in separate houses)

10. gardening (every member can have bigger garden compound with less gardening efforts)

11. Convenience (can ‘tumpang’ other family members in running errand, thus save time, petrol, parking fee etc.)

Economies of scale applies here. The amount of saving whether from one tiem purchase or recurring expenses could be substantial.

Most importantly, the big family can enjoy the merriment of being together is invaluable…

Share, Share, Share

by Daniel

Hello, KC,
My favourite (hopefully green) approach is to Share, Share Share where possible: e.g.
– share an order of food or drink when its too big for one person (dont order two of the same and waste food that people elsewhere in the world are in need of);
– car pool, especially kids going to the same school (save fuel and reduce harmful emissions);
– while at home, everyone in the family doing your individual activities together in the same room/space to share lights and air-cond, e.g. eating, playing, studying, sleeping (save on electricity and the resources to generate it);
– share clothes with your older kids of same build (e.g. t-shirts);
– share a pool of recycled paper for printing drafts or documents for strictly internal office circulation.

Bottomline: Avoid duplicity, triplicity, quadricity, . . . multicity, any-plicity where theres absolutely no need for it.
.
Look forward to receiving more tips from you.

Thanks very much with best regards,
Lil Olde Me, Daniel

Bank Standing Instruction

by Anis

Hi, would love to win this book. Am an avid saver!!

Anyway, here goes my savings tip :

1. Get an SI to deduct your monthly salary directly into your savings account/FD. Do this as soon as you get your monthly salary.

2. Budgeting is important and staying within your budget is even more crucial.

3. For groceries, Scour the friday papers for coupons, discounts. Or buy at farmers market where its fresher and cheaper. Buy in bulks whenever you can. If you shop frequently and a certain hypermarket, get their members card. You can earn points!!.

4. I got a credit card where the points collected can be used to redeem petrol voucher and ! use them wisely. They can be your best friend or your worst enemy. I use them for most of my transactions solely for the purpose of collecting points and getting discounts at certain outlets. I never spend more than what I have. Never be late in paying and get the ones with no annual fees.

5. I buy items that I know I use a lot in bulk. I save from 20-30% from doing so. Especially milk formula for babies and toddlers. I buy in bulk directly from their supplier agents.

6. Besides the savings that I set aside every month, any amount left in my bank at the end of the month will go either to my savings or investment or splurging myself.

7. Being a saver doesnt mean I dont reward myself. I set aside a certain amount monthly and when it reaches a certain figure, I will reward myself with the cummulated amount.

8. When going for a holiday, we book way ahead to get the best deals.

Keep little money in your pocket

by Subashini Sugumaran

I want the book…

My main method of reducing my expensed is:
– I will not keep much money with me. Will only have RM 10 in my pocket for per day expended.

– Will go for shopping alone rather that bring my family members.

– will only top up once a month – RM 30… credit will be for 30 days

– sometimes have to be stingy rather that emotionally spend a lot..

– i have stop hanging around with my friends and attend to most of the function.. can meet them over there as well

– every month I freeze a portion of my salary. So my budget will be based on the rest of my salary… ( therefore my savings are accumulating and will spend less)

– will only use prepaid credit card rather than using normal credit card.

– will never encourage discount vouchers – as it encourages to spend a lot rather that save. I will only use it when it is necessary else give to my friends who are interested. – eg:I may have a voucher for RM 10, but the minimum price of product will be more that RM 100. This only encourages us to spend.

and The BOOK WINNERS are ……

Subashini Sugumaran, Daniel and Beng Hooi.
(Please contact me and provide your mailing address)

I didn’t tell you that there are in fact three books to be given away. But I really appreciate your active participation although you thought that it is only one book available.
I hope that you will comment more on this blog in the future articles. It is the active members of a community that will make this blog a better place to hang around.

For more money-saving tricks, get Lydia’s book!