emlMoney-Saving Tips I have used since College.
When I first started college a few years back, money was tight every month. Worst of all, even money was tight, yet I still find money to shop and buy nonsense things. In the end, everything I buy during my college life became clutters that now I want to get rid of.
Back then, my monthly allowance was only RM500. The allowance included my hostel rental, hostel utilities, meals (during weekdays, weekends I will be back at home) and other expenses.
I was lucky. My friends got to rent the whole unit. By sharing the rental, we able to lower the cost of renting. My rental and utilities were around RM200, which left RM300 for meals and random expenses.
Three years in college, I learnt and found all sort of money-saving tips in order to get me through the monthly allowance of RM500. Up till now, I still stick with most of the tips. However, there is a huge difference. Previously I save to spend. Now, I save to save or even better, I save to invest.
Money-Saving Tips:
1. Downgrade Mobile Plan
I downgraded my mobile plan from RM40 plus to RM30 something.
Now, I am so cheap, which I took advantage of the free 1GB data daily and temporarily cut my mobile plan to RM21. I will go back to RM30 something once the 1GB free data is not available anymore. The freedom that Yoodo gave, woohoo. (Check my Yoodo review if you are interested.)
2. Use E-Wallet
There are so many e-wallets out there. Find one or two that suits your spending habits the most to maximize the rewards or rebates. It’s even better if you can stash the rewards by using credit cards to top up the e-wallet.
3. Buy Multipurpose Products
Always search for products with multipurpose products, such as air fryer. Air fryers able to air fry your nuggets, but they can also use for baking cakes too.
4. Buy Only What You Truly Love
Are you buying it because you like it and you finally found something to buy? Do you buy it because everyone has it and you think you need it too? Or you buy more because “Shop RM500 get rebate RM50” promotion?
Pause for a moment and cool down yourself before you checkout your cart or bring it to the payment counter. Like the advice everyone saying, let it be in your cart and come back later if you still wanting it so badly after days or weeks. 7 out of 10 times, I would find myself doesn’t want to get the items anymore.
If you buy what you truly love, you will feel the joy of having them even after years. For example, my Sudio earphone I bought two years ago or my flowy beach pant I bought four years ago.
5. Follow the “Buyerarchy”
Follow the hierarchy carefully and do some calculation to make sure it is cost-effective.
For instance, making something in small quantity could be more expensive than buying one. You may look to thrift one or swap one first. Buying a brand new one from stores would be your last resort.
6. Quality > Quantity
This is one of the money-saving tips that saved me the most. When buying something, you should take into account the quality of the services or products. Most of the time, higher quality is better than a higher quantity.
For example, buying AA batteries, Brand A is a pack of 6 batteries for RM9, while Brand B with the same price but only have 4 batteries in a pack. However, Brand B batteries could last the whole year for the Bluetooth keyboard, yet, 6 batteries of Brand A only lasted 10 months.
7. Basic and Classic
When buying a product, I always go with the basic and classic. This is referring to getting them in the basic functions and classic colours or patterns. This is to prevent you from selecting the wrong items and spend more in the end.
Take subscriptions as an example. We always thought we need the most expensive premium plan which came with the best functions. Still, it turns out the basic plan can work just as fine.
Similarly, creative furniture and colourful decorations might look awesome on magazines, shows or social media. Yet, not everyone is an interior designer. It would be better to stick with the classic patterns and colours that will keep your house warm and clean.
8. Repair First, Then Replace
If your belongings broke, you could try to check whether you could fix them before you get a new replacement. Sometimes, it just needs a small fix or mends.
A good example, I fixed my Nintendo Switch Console which saved me RM300 to replace a new one.
9. DIY (YouTube Tutorial Is Your Best Friend)
You don’t always need to pay someone to do something for you. It’s pretty interesting to do it yourself sometimes. Especially when you need a little fix on something but you don’t know how to, YouTube tutorials will be your best friend.
The tutorials help me to fix my console, change the zip myself and make different recipes to try.
10. Leave It To The Professional
This tip will be the opposite of the previous one. I do recommend to make some small little fix if you are able to do so. But, if it’s something that you are not capable to do so, please leave it to the professional.
Of course, this is not only applicable to fixing something but also for other aspects as well.
If you have trouble managing your finance, always find a professional financial advisor instead of getting a random “Guru” online. If you worry about your health, go for check-ups, not checking symptoms online.
11. Free Is Not Always The Best
Free things are not always free. Free things that have zero use to you are just cluttered. Clutters your space, clutters your mind.
Free cables that came as free gift when you buy cases, they normally don’t last very long. I would prefer to get a good quality cable that last longer than my device, which save me time. I wouldn’t need to keep on replacing the cables.
Same for courses as well. Free courses are great, but sometimes it would save you more time if you paid for an excellent course. The course writer did all the works for you and provides you with all information you needed.
12. Take Time Cost Into Account
Time is gold. We can’t reverse the time, so this is why it is so important for you to take time cost into account when you made a decision.
For instance, the decision not getting a car and travel by public transports might save you a huge amount of money. Yet, do you take time cost into account? Time is the most precious resources we have.
It’s time to start considering the time cost when you are making decisions.
13. “Sayang” Your Belongings
“Sayang” here referring to love your belongings and taking good care of them. So, they could take good care of you too.
I clean and polished my office shoes every week. Now, it still looks brand new even after more than a year.
I got my phone a fully protective case and a good screen protector. Its condition is awesome even after many times of dropping on the floor or even from the staircase.
When you start to appreciate and taking care of your belongings, it will reduce the frequency of replacing them. In the long term, you are not only spending less money but also have greater satisfaction.
14. Put Your Health First
Same as time, health is as important too. A healthy body and soul is the key asset that enables you to achieve more in life.
Things you probably already know, get your checkups regularly, have a good lifestyle, have enough sleep, seek help when you need it, listen to your body and so on. Prevention is better (and cheaper) than cure.
Money spent on checkups and health maintenance is worth it as your health is the investment of your future. Without your health, there is not much of a future. So, start taking care of it now.
15. YOLO Might Not For You
YOLO is “You only live once.”
YOLO here we are referring to the mindset of taking action, live fearlessly and do it anyway even it might be a reckless decision.
Some examples such as take a personal loan to travel the worlds, buy a mansion that currently is out of your league, spend more than you earn to experience everything you want no matter what the cost is.
We can’t deny that the above examples might bring a better future. However, are you ready for the consequences that these decisions might brings?
We don’t want to stay in the dream mansion but end up in the black hole of debts or experience wonderful skydiving and having to eat cup noodles for the rest of the month. It is important to find a balance between what you want and what you can.
16. Entertainment Can Be Free
We believe entertainment is one of the important parts of our lives. We also believe entertainment can be free (or cheap).
Here are the free (or cheap) entertainment ideas we would recommend:
– Watch videos online
– Listen to music live online
– Play board games with friends or family (it could be board games online)
– Picnic at the beach or the park (or on your balcony for now)
– Shop your own wardrobe (you might surprise what hidden in your closet)
– Create a new playlist on Spotify (or any similar apps)
– Go for a walk (or adventure) in your neighbourhood
– Experiment with the ingredients you already have
There is so much more entertainment ideas. You just need to be creative.
17. Solve The Root Cause Of Problems
We face a lot of problems every single day. And, it is important to identify and solve the root cause of our problems. As this is the best way to ensure we say Goodbye to the problems permanently and we would not have to keep spending to fix it temporary every time.
It is true. No all issues we having have a permanent cure to it, but we could try our very best to solve the ones that’s possible.
I used to have a housemate, which have a few behaviour issues. She will consume other housemates toothpaste, detergent, bread and so on without their consent.
We started to lock our belongings inside the room (temporary solution). This does prevent use without consent by the housemate. Yet, we constantly felt uneasy and uncomfortable. The trust issue of the housemate (root cause) still remains unchanged.
In the end, we made our decision that we had to replace the housemate (permanent solution) to get back the peace of our hostel. This is a great lesson. It is always better if we could get rid of the root cause.
18. Google What To Eat
If you are not familiar with a restaurant, I would recommend doing a search beforehand so you could have an idea of what to expect on the menu. (Also, what you should avoid ordering)
This works for me well. Now, I always got what I want to order in mind beforehand. It really helps to prevent me from ordering the food I hate by accident. Other than that, I don’t feel the pressure of wasting the time of others any more. (I used to spend more time than others to decide what to eat)
Still, be in mind that everyone has a different taste. Do not take every comment or review too serious. The purpose is to prevent you from getting lost in the menu.
19. Read The Reviews
Rule number 1 of online shopping: always read the reviews before you decide which to buy.
This simple money-saving tip saves me at least RM1,000 per year. If I didn’t read the reviews and comments, my online shopping experience would be a nightmare. I managed to avoid the unauthentic skincare products, faulty electronics and clothes that might not suitable for me, just by reading the reviews.
Big thanks to those who spend their precious time to write informative reviews.
20. Call The Customer Service
If you face any issues, don’t hesitate to call the customer service. Remember, they exist to assist you.
No matter how small the issue is, we as the consumer have the right to receive the services or products we paid for. Don’t absorb the money lost if it is not your issue.
Recently, I managed to trace back my missing parcel with the help of customer service. The delivery man signed on my behalf without my consent and did not inform me of anything regarding the delivery. He did not leave the parcel at my place either. I received an email about the delivery and only then I realised someone received the parcel. No names, no Identity Card number and no phone number is recorded. Luckily, in the end, I able to get back the parcel.
More coming up in the next update.
Feature Image by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
