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5 Coolest Techie Gift Ideas Under S$30

Searching for the perfect yet inexpensive last minute Valentine’s gift for your techie sweetie? Fear not, here are 5 Coolest Techie Gift Ideas Under S$30…

1. EC TECHNOLOGY® PORTABLE POWER BANK WITH FLASHLIGHT (2600mAh)

US$7.99 or S$10.82. Buy it here.

Image Credits: amazon.com

Available in 5 colors, this mini power bank with flashlight fits easily inside your bag or pocket. Its capacity is a one full cycle charge for your Samsung or iPhone handphones. Its weight is about 3 ounces that only requires 4-5 hours of input charging time.

2. SANDISK CRUZER GLIDE 16GB USB FLASH DRIVE

US$9.50 or S$12.86. Buy it here.

Image Credits: amazon.com

We all have important files we want to protect. But, as soon as the computer crashes, all of it can be gone forever. To prevent this from happening, it is important to back-up your files with this 16 GB SanDisk flash drive. You can store a lot with this small thing.

3. MITAKI-JAPAN PORTABLE LUGGAGE SCALE

US$7.99 or S$10.82. Buy it here.

Since airlines are now charging by the extra pound, knowing how much you are bringing on board is a serious business.

Image Credits: amazon.com

Tackle with weight of your luggage with this portable luggage scale. Its features include LCD back-light and varied unit options (i.e., grams, kilograms, ounces, and pounds). The two AAA batteries it requires are included when you purchase.

4. SECUR MINI COLLAPSIBLE STORM LANTERN

US$19.06 or S$25.81. Buy it here.

Image Credits: amazon.com

This collapsible storm lantern by Secur boasts its ability to act as a light source and as a charging source for your Smartphone incase of a storm or any light shortage emergency. There are two light settings that require different amounts of charging time. This product can also double as either a lantern or a flashlight once you collapse or fold it down.

5. GRIFFIN TECHNOLOGY GC30014 APP CONTROLLED HELICOPTER

US$19.99 or S$27.07. Buy it here.

Image Credits: amazon.com

Embrace your partner’s inner child with this cool Griffin Technology Helicopter controlled by using your IOS or Android App. Yes! You can be a pilot and control the plane’s onboard LED with just a tap of your fingertip. It features twin twin missile launchers and 6 Redeye missiles.

5 Eco-Friendly Home Ideas To Save You Money

One of the simple things we can do to help save the environment is to reduce our energy consumption and plant more trees. Little do you know that these things along with other innovative ideas can not only help the Earth but it can also save you a decent amount of money.

Here are 5 Eco-Friendly Home Ideas To Save You Money…

1. USE BLACKLE.COM

Blackle.com is a search engine that is powered by Google Custom Search and created by Heap Media. It helps users save energy consumption because of its predominantly black and grey display. According to Wikipedia, the Blackle’s black screen can save up to 4 mWh of electrical energy consumption.

2. KEEP THE WATER BOTTLES IN

Did you know that a barely stocked fridge has to work harder to stay cold than a fully stocked one? So, put your water bottles inside the fridge to help maintain its efficiency.

Image Credits: Steven Depolo via Flickr

You may also put a water bottle in the toilet tank to displace the water and help reduce water consumption.

3. THRIVE A GREEN THUMB

Instead of purchasing the S$299 branded air purifier, go natural and grow your own succulents.

Image Credits: teresaphillips1965 via Flickr

Plants are more than just decorations as it can improve the air quality in your home by absorbing dangerous toxins. Go for the inexpensive and easy to maintain plants such as ferns, green spider plants, English Ivy and dracaenas. Furthermore, growing your own food is organic at its finest. If you do not have a backyard or an apartment balcony there are community gardens for you to plant your own seed.

4. CLEAN YOUR DUST WITH NO MUSS

Buying a bunch of paper towels and cleaning spray products can be costly. So, use a microfiber duster instead. It is not only reusable but it is also effective. Home Depot sells Microfiber Duster with Soft Grip Handle for only US$3.98 or S$5.39. Just toss it in the washing machine to clean it.

5. CLEAN YOUR COMPUTER

Most of the germs live in your keyboard so it is tantamount for you to tidy it up. Rather than buying cleaning sprays, special wipes that contain chemicals or even buy a new one…turn your keyboard upside down and shake the dirt out. Then swab a cotton tip with alcohol or a double-sided tape to clean between the keys.

Savvy Pet Care Saving Tips

From pet medications to cleaning supplies and vet visits, these pet care measures add up. Even the pet’s food expenses can add to the pile of cost. This is why it is important to cut down pet care costs without endangering your pet’s health. Spend less with these Savvy Pet Care Saving Tips…

1. SLASH YOUR PET’S FOOD BILL

Some owners overfeed their pets, leading to a condition called obesity. But, feeding a smaller amount can improve your pet’s health and save you money. Consult your vet about the appropriate food amount your pet needs. To save more, you may buy pet food in bulk.

2. DENTAL CARE FOR LESS

Gingivitis can damage your pet’s kidney and your finances since it requires expensive treatment and professional cleaning. To prevent this, do regular dental care at home. Wrap a significant amount of gauze on your finger and swipe your pet’s teeth.

3. CUTTING DRUG COSTS

The best way to cut down drug costs is to prevent diseases. Consult your vet about the vaccination that your pet needs such as one against Feline Panleukopenia virus. Vaccination is truly cheaper than the treatment for your pet’s disease.

If your pet is already ill, ask the professional if a generic brand of medication works as well as the branded one. Generic brands are cheaper than the branded ones but they can also impart the same effect. And if your pet needs a drug that we take such as antibiotics, compare around the several pharmacies to get the best price.

4. PREVENT ACCIDENTS

Image Credits: Gavin St. Ours via Flickr

Keep poisonous, sharp, and dangerous items out of your pet’s reach. For instance, acetaminophen, household cleaners, and liquid potpourri can cause accidents. Yarns can also get stuck inside your kitty’s intestines and cost you more than thousands of dollars for the surgery.

4 Saving Tweaks You Must Do To Boost Positive Financial Changes

1. CHANGE YOUR PERSONAL SAVING PATTERNS

Before anything else, reevaluate your saving objectives. Ask yourself why you want to save and what are your priorities. This is to ensure that you know which path to take to reach your financial goals.

Then, review your income and expenses and create an allocation plan. Move the excess funds you uncover to your bank account (preferably with the highest interest rate) to help facilitate discipline against impulsive spending.

2. SAVE ON YOUR VACATION

Follow the airline’s social media page to get updates of promos, free upgrades, and discounted fares. This will help you save money by getting the best airfare deal. You may also use your frequent flyer miles to save for your next vacation.

Another neat trick is to offer to purchase for others using your frequent flyer miles credit card and reimburse the money right away. For instance, if you are going to Bali with your friends, offer to book their flights too. This way you’ll earn more rewards or rebates than you could on your own, without spending extra money.

Use our hotel search engine that searches thousands of travel sites and aggregators to book the best price guaranteed hotels.

3. SAVE ON GROCERY SHOPPING

Use savvy shopping strategies in the supermarket such as using a coupon.

Image Credits: Chris Potter via Flickr

Also, you must beware of the marketing tricks they use such as “the numbers game” wherein they will put an irrational price of “$3.99 or $3.96” (instead of $4) to make you think that you saved more money by scoring a better deal. Read more in a Money Digest article entitled “Watch Out for these 6 Grocery Store Tricks!”.

4. SAVE CASH AROUND THE HOUSE

Reduce your electric and water bills by conserving water and switching off the lights when not in use. Use money-saving household cleaning hacks that enable you to make your own cleaning products.

Lastly, use the multi-purpose household items instead of specialty products since you can use it in many ways than one. For instance, you may use vinegar to cook and to remove blood stains on your sheets or use a toothpaste to clean your teeth and treat your acne.

3 Simple Tips To Stop Living From Paycheck to Paycheck

Living barely within your income is not a laughing matter. When you are living paycheck to paycheck, you live a life of constant stress, worry, and dread that you might be stuck in an unfortunate debt. It is a struggle to gain control of your money and your commitments. So, here are 3 Simple Tips To Stop Living From Paycheck to Paycheck…

1. CREATE A SYSTEMATIC FINANCIAL OPERATING SYSTEM

In order to cease your worries, a huge turnover can be money flow management. You must give conscious effort to know about where your money flows in and out. Once you have control over your money flow. Then, you will be able to create a systematic financial operating system that consists of: money flow management and budgeting.

Money flow management is accomplished by using a ledger or an app. There are a couple of efficient yet free apps that can help such as: EXPENSIFY, EXPENSE MANAGER, MONEYWISE, POCKET EXPENSE PERSONAL FINANCE, and MINT.

Image Credits: wikihow.com/Do-Envelope-Budgeting

Likewise there are a couple of budgeting such as STATIC or FLEXIBLE budgeting. For personal finances, I highly recommend a simple technique called ENVELOPE budgeting. It starts by storing the cash into separate categories of household expenses that are allocated in separate envelopes.

Budgeting will surely help you gain clarity and control. Start by writing down your monthly income, followed by your monthly expenses, and then subtract the two. Plan and search for a suited technique.

2. PREPARE MONEY FOR YOUR BILLS ACCORDINGLY

Some bills are due frequently while some are semi-annually. Prepare money for your bills accordingly by noting them down. If you have a monthly bill, you may try a trick called half payments. For half payments, you prepare the payment for the bill by subtracting half of the bill’s amount to your bank account per two weeks (bi-weekly).

3. BOOST YOUR EMERGENCY FUND

Prepare for the unforeseen events and financial failures by saving at least 8% of your income per month. You shall call this category your “emergency fund”. It is better to save a certain amount of money than to have nothing save at all.

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