How to Score Major Savings When Shopping Online

Online retailers are becoming increasingly creative these days with their flash sales and discount vouchers.

Thus, hunting for the best price online can seem like a chore. However, if you are a savvy deal hunter, you can use these clever shopping tips to earn discounts with minimum effort!

#1: CREATE A SHOPPING LIST

Have a clear idea of what you desire before shopping online. Create a list to stay focused and to steer away from unnecessary items. By listing down your potential purchases and prioritizing your needs, you can achieve your financial goal.

Keep in mind that the cheapest option may not always be the best. You need to consider quality and sustainability. For instance, purchase a laptop because of its specifications and not its price tag. There is no harm in shopping around to get the best price!

#2: COMPARE THE PRICES

Speaking of shopping around, you can get great deals by comparing prices online. Check different websites when shopping or use price comparison websites.

There are lots of price comparison websites, which consist of search functions to help you quickly uncover the lowest price. A website you can visit is iprice.sg.

#3: FOLLOW YOUR FAVORITE BRANDS

Similar to reading newsletters, companies often use social media to provide exclusive promotions and deals to their followers. You will be the first to hear about these deals, which is a key factor when deals are available in limited quantities.

You can also join giveaways and contests when you follow your favorite brands on social media. Who knows? You might just get your favorite products for free!

#4: TIME YOUR SHOPPING ACTIVITIES

Do not check out your items on a tempting, lazy Sunday. Most stores roll out their discounts and deals on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Be vigilant these days.

It is a different story for airline tickets. Tickets are most expensive on Mondays and cheapest on Sundays. According to Airlines Reporting Corporation, Sundays offer the cheapest round-trip tickets.

#5: PUT A WAITING PERIOD FOR YOUR ITEMS

To increase awareness about shopping, consider putting an item in your cart and letting it stay there for a day. The waiting period will allow you to contemplate whether you want to purchase the item or not. Moreover, some brands will email you regarding your abandoned cart and provide you with better options or discount coupons.

Not all brands do this. Just be sure to enter your email address to stay updated.

#6: ESTABLISH AN ONLINE SHOPPING BUDGET

If you are building up your savings or having trouble with money now, you need to create a shopping budget. Having a plan in place will help you avoid temptations such as “buy one take one” or “free shipping with no minimum amount spent”.

Image Credits: unsplash.com

Remember that your budget is closely tied to your shopping list. The essential items needed to be bought online should be prioritized. Create categories for your shopping list and prioritize items that are necessary for your household goals. Then, set aside cash for your wants or nice to haves. See how things fit into your overall budget.

Sources: 1, 2, & 3

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Satisfy Your Bubble Tea Cravings in These 5 Stores

Did you know that Southeast Asians spend about US$3.66 billion (i.e., S$5.1 billion) on bubble tea annually?

The Singapore-headquartered venture outfit Momentum Works and digital payments solution firm qlub’s report showed that the average price of bubble tea in Singapore is double that of the other countries in the region. The Lion City has the highest spending power despite its relatively small population.

The study gave valuable insights on the business dynamics behind bubble tea in Southeast Asia. It highlighted its largest market in the region, which is Indonesia. Indonesia had about US$1.6 billion annual turnover. Thailand came in second with US$749 million across more than 31,000 bubble tea stores and other retail channels. Vietnam ranked third with US$362 million. While Singapore came in fourth place at US$342 million. Lastly, the study found that Taiwanese and homegrown brands have “long dominated” the Southeast Asian bubble tea market.

Food trends may come and go, but our craving for sweets remains. There is a good chance that you have tried at least a couple of drinks from bubble tea stalls in Singapore, especially because of its convenience and prominence. Happy hormones sure know how to become more active when they encounter bubble tea.

On that note, here are some of the most delicious bubble tea offerings in town. Apologies in advance if you get addicted to bubble tea.

#1: THE ALLEY

Fans of brown sugar can search no further than The Alley. The Alley offers flavorful drinks with its matcha and cocoa options. If you prefer fruit teas, you can try the Lulu series of strawberry or orange infusions. Alternatively, you may opt to take an IG-worthy shot with its Aurora line of vibrant goodness.

Image Credits: facebook.com/singapore.thealley

The Alley is available in multiple locations including Jewel Changi Airport and Clementi.

#2: HEYTEA

Experience the appeal of sweet and savory mixtures once you taste Heytea’s cheese foam and tea options. Heytea also sells an array of fruit teas and unique ice cream flavors such as salted egg yolk.

Image Credits: facebook.com/HEYTEASG

Heytea is available on multiple locations including Westgate and ION Orchard.

#3: PLAYMADE

Playmade offers contemporary teas and the classics such as green tea lattes and Earl Grey milk teas. Aside from your regular tapioca pearls, Playmade introduces quirky toppings such as pearls in pink cactus, black sesame, burnt caramel and chrysanthemum varieties. As the name suggests, Playmade plays with flavors and creativity to bring twists to the bubble teas.

Image Credits: facebook.com/playmadeonezo

Playmade is available on multiple locations including Chinatown Point and Tiong Bahru.

#4: GONG CHA

When you crave bubble tea and you need instant gratification, Gong Cha is one of your best bets. With its several locations scattered in the country, Gong Cha brings familiarity with taste and consistency. Its bestsellers include Earl Grey milk tea, mango green tea and alisan milk tea, among others.

Image Credits: facebook.com/gongchasg

Gong Cha is available on multiple locations including Funan and Bugis Junction.

#5: LIHO

Homegrown brand Liho offers cheese teas and other varieties of bubble tea. It still draws in a regular crowd and keeps things fresh with its limited-edition drinks and collaborations.

Image Credits: facebook.com/lihosg/photos

Liho is available in multiple locations including Raffles City and Suntec City

Sources: 1 & 2

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6 Extraordinary Life Lessons from Attorney Woo

The smashing courtroom Korean Drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” broke its own ratings record with its final episode, which aired in South Korea on August 18. The 16-part series’ finale had an average nationwide rating of 17.5% – the highest in ENA’s program history.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo is a heartwarming series that gives us a glimpse of what it is like for a person to go through the shifts of life while being on the Autism Spectrum. Structured around the realistic cases she handles, Attorney Woo showed how she was able to navigate through her struggles at work, including a budding romance.

Apart from Attorney Woo, the series’ characters have shown their professional and personal growth with each episode. Here are six life and financial lessons you can get from watching this series on ENA or Netflix.

#1: INVEST IN GOOD EDUCATION

Despite not being born with a silver spoon, Attorney Woo’s father gave up everything because he believed in her brilliance. He worked hard to invest in his daughter’s education. He knew that a good education would help improve her quality of life. It was revealed that she graduated summa cum laude from Seoul National University’s law school.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Can you imagine how different Attorney Woo’s life would be if she never went to school or never completed her university education?

#2: STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE

As a person living with Asperger’s Syndrome, Attorney Woo experiences challenges in comprehending societal norms and circumstances. Even so, her job as an attorney requires her to interact and communicate with diverse types of people.

She chose to overcome her fears and step out of her comfort zone (such as a revolving door) to achieve greater heights and eventually win cases. What is an aspect in your life that you can overcome to achieve your goals?

#3: FIND TRUE FRIENDS

Faithful friends like Dong Geu Rami will stick with you through thick and thin. In this series, we see how Attorney Young Woo and Dong Geu Rami’s friendship grew in time. Gue Rami stood by her side through good and tough times. As a friend, she is honest, understanding, fun-loving, and kind. More importantly, she always wants what is best for Attorney Woo and she pushes her to reveal her most authentic self.

People like Geu Rami are rare. Cherish those people!

#4: ACCEPT THAT NOT EVERYONE WILL BE HAPPY FOR YOU

While Attorney Woo’s colleagues celebrate her success that led to them to win difficult civil and criminal cases, Attorney Kwon Min Woo sees her as a rival. In reality, not everyone will be happy to see you achieve success and accomplish remarkable things. This is okay!

Remember, you cannot please everyone no matter how hard you try. It is not your job to get their approval either. So, focus on your own journey and do your best.

#5: LOVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE

Attorney Woo grew up having only a few people in her life, but these people remained constantly present. They may not have much money, but they helped each other overcome challenges such as family property feuds and life-threatening conditions. They loved each other like family.

In life, people will come and go. If you are fortunate enough, you will be able to love the right people, and this is more than enough. You do not need to have an abundance of material things or thousands of social media followings to make you feel loved. The loyalty and love of just a few people is enough.

#6: SACRIFICE A LOT AS A PARENT

Jeon Bae-Soo plays Attorney Woo’s father Woo Gwang-Ho. Woo Gwang-Ho is her biggest fan and loyal supporter. He always thinks about her well-being and does his best to keep her safe from all the cruelties of the world. Throughout the series, his father gradually opens to the idea that her brilliant mind will let her achieve growth and independence. He lets her pursue her dreams of becoming a lawyer and hopes for the best.

If parents could have their way, they would shield their children from the harsh truths of life if possible. As a parent, you will sacrifice and give up a lot to help your children achieve happiness and success. It helps to be prepared. Be prepared by establishing a childcare plan or an educational fund for the years ahead.

Image Credits: facebook.com/channel.ena

The Extraordinary Attorney Woo K-Drama shows how Attorney Young Woo can be bright, bold, and just as worthy of love as everyone else. Its beautifully written script and inspiring characters led to its popularity in Singapore and other parts of the world. Let us just wait for what Season 2 has to offer!

Sources: 1 & 2

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How to Start Your Fitness Journey at Home

For many Singaporeans, 2022 is the year of health and wellness. It takes a second to decide that you are worthy of change. Start by completing a ten-minute workout and feel the difference after a couple of weeks.

#1: EXAMINE YOUR FITNESS LEVEL

How fit are you? Testing and recording your baseline fitness scores can give you benchmarks to measure your progress. Evaluate your flexibility, body composition, aerobic fitness, and muscular fitness by recording the following:

a. Body Mass Index,
b. Pulse rate before and after walking two kilometers,
c. Time it takes you to walk or run two kilometers,
d. Amount of standard or modified pushups you can do at a time,
e. Waist circumference, and
f. How far you can reach forward while seated on the floor.

#2: KNOW HOW MUCH EXERCISE IS RECOMMENDED

The general weekly exercise recommendation is at least 150 minutes of moderate cardio or 75 minutes of intense cardio and two days of strength training. Increase the health benefits of your exercise routine by increasing the minutes of cardio per week.

#3: RESEARCH ON THE TYPES OF EXERCISE

The common types of exercise include cardio, strength training, flexibility training, and HIIT (high-intensity interval training). Cardio exercises raise your heart rate and make your breathing faster. It refers to activities that are aimed at improving your endurance and stamina such as jogging and swimming.

Strength training refers to any type of activity that uses resistance to build muscular strength. Next, flexibility training refers to exercises that help maintain and improve passive range of motion. Lastly, HIIT consists of intense bursts of exercise followed by rest intervals. Choose a blend of exercises that suits you.

#4: CREATE YOUR OWN FITNESS PROGRAM

You need to have a concrete plan if you wish to exercise daily. Consider your fitness goals when designing your fitness program. Having clear goals can help you measure your progress and stay motivated.

As beginners, you can start cautiously and progress slowly. People who have injuries or medical conditions can consult their doctors or therapists first. These professionals will help design a fitness program that gradually improves their strength, endurance, and range of motion.

#5: ASSEMBLE YOUR EQUIPMENT

Start by choosing athletic shoes that support the activity you have in mind. For instance, running shoes are lighter in weight than cross-training shoes. The lightness of running shoes will help you dash when you run a lap.

If you are planning to invest in exercise equipment, choose items that are practical and user-friendly. You can also download fitness apps to track your distance, track calories burned, and monitor your heart rate.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

What are you waiting for? Get started on your fitness journey now!

Sources: 1 & 2

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Smart ways to save money on makeup

makeup products

Fashion trends come and go, but one thing that remains constant is the cost of makeup.

The good news is that there are plenty of ways to save money on makeup without having to sacrifice quality.

In this post, we will share some tips on how to save money on makeup without compromising your look. So whether you’re a makeup lover or just looking to save a little extra cash, read on for some helpful recommendations.

DIY your makeup

All you need is a few simple ingredients, and you can create a blush, eyeshadow, or lipstick that’s perfect for you. Apart from being a great way to save money, it’s also a fun way to experiment with new colors and textures. Search online for “recipes” and get creative with mixing up your own!

Invest in quality over quantity

Rather than buying a bunch of drugstore brands, you should save up and purchase a few high-quality products. Not only will they last longer, but they will also give you better results. So what are some high-quality makeup brands? We’re glad you asked! Some of the best brands used by ladies worldwide include MAC, NARS, and Bobbi Brown.

Join beauty subscription boxes

 

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A post shared by Kinder Beauty Box (@kinderbeautybox)

If you’re like most women, you love buying new makeup products. The trouble is, those products can get a little expensive, especially if you’re someone who likes to keep up with the latest trends.

But there is a way to save money on makeup without having to sacrifice quality or style: join a beauty subscription box. These boxes are like mini-beauty stores that send you a new selection of makeup products each month. And the best part is, they usually cost far less than buying those products individually and have you risk not liking them.

Use what you have before buying anything new

For example, if you have an eyeshadow palette that you love, try using those colors in new combinations. Or if you have a lipstick that’s your favorite, experiment with different ways to wear it. By using what you have before buying anything new, you will be able to stretch your makeup budget a lot further.

Compare prices online and shop at discount stores

When it comes to buying makeup, one of the smartest things you can do is compare prices online. That way, you can get an idea of what’s a fair price, and then you can head to a discount store to see if they have any deals. Another thing you can do is wait for sales. Most makeup brands have sales at least once a year, so you can stock up on your favorite products then.

You don’t have to forgo your love for new makeup products to save money. There are plenty of ways to cut costs without having to sacrifice your beauty routine. Look out for great deals online, especially during the holiday season. And as a bonus suggestion before we go, why not consider buying in bulk? If you have a preferred lipstick or blush, purchase several at once to get them at a discounted price!

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