101 Ways To Beat Recession

[erection day]

People are slowly waking up to the unpleasant realisation that, yes, recession is upon us and that 'money no enough' will be a constant source of worry for some of us. So, how best to save money? Where do one go to get the best value for our dollar? Well, this is the thread where you can help to contribute and suggest places where you can go and find the cheapest kopi 'o' or the cheapest toiletries. And in the process, maybe, help us beat the recession in any small way we can.

1. For the cheapest toiletries, do head down to chinatown. Over at People's Park (that building that houses many fabrics shops and downstairs is where the food court is), unit 02-1002, shop and save at Swanston! Believe me, some of their shampoos, cleansers, skincare products, are the cheapest in Spore. (and some say in JB)

[Guest Jobless]

1. Stock up Hokkien dumbling (Ba Zhang) for your meal since they are quite cheap compared to hawker food.

Each Ba Zhang, depending on fillings, cost between 1.50 to 2.20 and can be put in fridge for at least a week.

2. Stock up canned food and cook porridge using gas (no electricity), canned foods are cheap from .50cts to a dollar plus

and can last for couple of days. Keep in container box and put in fridge.

3 Buy eggs and roti and jam and make your own kopi to eat your way out of Yakun for breakfast

4. Explore and create your own style of meal out of instant noodles,

5. Try to buy your ingredients within your town area to avoid taking public transport, this will safe a lot of tpt fares

6. If you crave for tibits, go to 1.99 shops and grab them instead of buying from expensive supermats including NTUC.

7. I heard GIANT supermarts sell quite reasonably priced food products for the above meal preparations

8. Stock up fruits, they are healthy and keep your hunger a bay during supper or snack time.

7. Some frozen buns or Tim Sam can easily be steamed for your breakfast or serve as light meal

If you insist that you must eat out, than fried Bee Hoon, rot-prata or Chee Cheong Fung might be a cheap intake to fill you for many hours before

next meal.

8. Don't eat in Mcdonald and avoid fast food restaurants, they are not cheap.

9. Avoid drinking kopi in kopiTiam if 3-in-1 instant kopi at home is so much cheaper

10. Drink warm plain water and don't indulge in gassy drinks/sweetened beverage or other chemical treated drinks on shelf.

11. Avoid going to gym if you have work-out facilities in the park near home.

12. Control your hobby, I realised people spend at least 10% of their income on playing hobbies. Hobby with no value sometimes make a person

broke: slowly but

surely.

13. Switch off all your lights in other rooms if you spend 90% of your time using only one room (study room).

14. Avoid your crave for movies, buying DVD or VCD, you only need to watch them once and than cast it away until dust gathered. Same apply to music

CD.

15. Try to sell your old unused stuff at home, it clean up the air at home and provide other source of income for a proper treat once in a while.

16. Try listing a groceries you need before going shopping and stay within the shopping vicinity to complete your grocery. Avoid taking public

transport from one areas to another looking for what you need to buy.

17. If you add up your transport fares in a day, it can cost more than your meal in a day.

18. Twice in a month, pamper yourselves with nice food like eating in pasta mania, dome or other place cost less than $10. Avoid drinks as they are not

worth because I came across restaurants who charged diluted lemon tea for $4!!! and coke cost $3 per cupl.

19 If you are bored, go jogging in stadium or swimming for a $1 only that comes with free flow of shower to refresh and who knows, you might

accidentally meet your soul mate instead of inside paid sauana

20. Do houseworks, read books, stretch your bones with Yoga, surf nets pxxns, meditation, sleep...etc. Singapore is too overcrowded, not worth getting

sweat among crowds under hot sun and at worst, spoil your day if you meet someone rude on the street.

21. Wear disposable underwear at home if you are not going out, avoid too much laundry and waste water.

The above should at least save $200/mth on tpt and meal.

What to do, Singaporean have reached swiss standard of living and enjoying golden period now.

[imchaser]

22. Try not to go to Hotel 81. Just do it in the parking lot or some staircase or park.

[erection day]

Wow, great list- jobless! :thumb: Though I am not so sure with suggestion no. 21. Surely throwing away disposable undies will in the end costs more than washing your usual undies in the washing machine (or just hand washing).

Anyway, the best way to counter recession for those who is jobless- IR singapore is hiring people now. Do refer below-

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNew...ory_292591.html

[Guest -manliman-]

23. Dont wear underwear at home and go topless. That way u save more $ on water bills

[Guest empty talk]

Jobless,thanks for the tips.

Please allow me to contribute some.

24.Log off and switch off your computer/notebook.. i know it help to save some penny

Yours,

Penny Pincher.

[terry81]

what is recession to you if u have a rich bf or daddy???!

get urself covered...get a rich bf!

[Guest Boy]

BIMBO.

[Guest Jobless]

25. Bath using a pail of water and not from a showering spray hook. This will control the amount of water you can use.

26. Buy a box of biscuits, those squarish type for sick people. You can dip in milo to enjoy a simple snack

27. Don't indulge in branded apparel, they are just brand and nothing more than cheap materials made in china (because of cheap labour there)

28. For simple cold dessert, stock up a dozen of cheap ice cream and consume them slowly within a month or prepare your own Aga Aga jelly.

29. Learn how needy old folks survive, they have seen more than us and gone through many obstacles with limited means.

Many are living alone and remain happy too, use them as good example and learn their trick to prepare ourselves for such time.

30. Imagine yourselves richer by being poor because of changing lifestyle you provide for yourselves, which is the opposite of those rich people in

silent poverty because of old habbits attachment.

31. If possible, make full use of your PC (multimedia tool) for maximum pleasure instead of relying on TV set and save more electricity and also cut

down on books purchase, CD music purchases, newspaper...etc. Your PC can do more things than you thought and stop you from going out

frequently to spend monies.

32. Keep your home spacious & tidy by storing all data in thumbdrive or external cheap hard disk so that it makes you mobile and not burdened by

heavy stocks to carry once you are broke.

33. Do not overstocked your fridge to overstress its temperature thus maximising the electricity, 1 week food is good enough and must be fresh for

consumption.

34. Watch out for free & pratical gift distributing by promoters at the MRT station or some supermarts, like shampoo, biscuits, drinks....etc or you can

grab a copy of TODAY paper and keep a look out for advertisement like free gift, half priced groceries (to add in your list for future grocery

shoppings...etc) Forget about the wayang news, they are just political propaganda to credit the ruling party without much help to your poverty. And

don't throw away your newspaper, it can be used as broad coaster for your bowl of hot instant noodle or foods on the table.

35. Don't visit reflexologist, you are gifted with a pair of hands to touch your feet and your head. Your left and right arms are borned to caress each

other and not just your dick. Make use of your limps to relax your own body.

36. Spend most of your savings on Food and trasnport (if necessary) alone. Food is the greatest asset (other than air and water) to keep you alive.

37. Never donate generously if you do not have the resources.

38. Cut down on mobile phone usage or Sms-ing...if you have a fixed line at home. Try to use top-up card and stop gossiping on your mobile phone if it

is paid by time usage.

39. Do not flush your toilet after every pee, pour a cup of water to dilute the smell and do a major flush before you go to sleep,.

40. Enjoy and be happy once you touched the bottom, in life, which is the greatest jab of immunity you can get. With strong resistance and resilient

priviledged in this time of the year, you are likely to climb with ease (东山再起) and much faster than those who have not seen the bottom.

41. Age is never an issue to survival, keep fit and healthy but never ever plan how long you should live (uncontrollable factor) but rather dream on what

you can achieve (controllable) to keep you moving forward.

42 Famous quote:- God grant me the serenity to accept the things (reality in life) I cannot change ; The courage (to be poor) to change the things I

can; And the wisdom to know (how to survive) the difference

Indeed swiss standard of living as promised by our SM, vibrant economy as foretold by our PM and golden period claimed by our MM. Singaporean have such good leaders that no one will go hungry indeed.

[Lungker]

Jobless, I get horny reading your recommendations. Why ah?

So you can tell I am a fan. Keep up the good work. :clap:

U really jobless meh, me too. Want to do cheap "quickie" lunch? PM me or

email me at Lungker@gmail.com

[LupCheong]

How to Survive a Recession

The economy always has and always will have its ups and downs. It’s easy to coast through the good times, but how do you come out of the tough times unscathed?

Steps

1. Talk it over. Sit down with every member of your household and go over your finances.

* How you resolve and differences in your approach to money will have a profound effect on your relationship’ s chances of succeeding: Take a Healthy Approach to Finances in Your Relationship

* Now is the perfect time to set an example of your children, and show them how a family can pull together during tough times and everyone can chip in: Teach Your Child About Budgeting and Get Adult Kids to Pay Their Share

2. Set financial goals. Focus on paying off debt and saving an emergency fund. If you don’t already have you an adequate emergency fund set aside, specify a goal for how much money you want to add to it every month, and put an equal amount towards paying off your highest interest debt. Pay yourself first.

* While normally, it’s recommended that a two-income couple keep three months’ worth of expenses in an emergency fund, during a downturn the recommended time is six months instead, especially if you’re in an industry that gets hit hard by a recession (construction, financial services, food) and if you’re a one-income family. If you’re self-employed, you should set aside up to a year’s worth of expenses.

3. Cut costs. There are a number of ways to reduce expenses.

* Cut discretionary spending. Buy nothing. Resist sales pitches. Don’t even think about using that new credit card offer in the mail, even if it does have a low APR and no payments for two years–evaluate it carefully. When you do need to buy things, haggle. But this is a good time, overall, to determine the difference between what you want and what you need, and reconsider your values - is your current standard of living really worth hanging onto?

* Transportation - Carpool as much as you can. Consider commuting by bicycle or even living without a car. But if that’s not practical, look for ways to save money on gas, even if it means hypermiling.

* Housing - Get a roommate or consider relocating to an area with a lower cost of living. Maybe you can move in with family members until the economic downturn blows over. Keeping the peace in a multigenerational household isn’t always easy, but it has its own rewards.

* Food - Stop going out to eat; instead, try to cook at home from scratch more often. Consider the benefits of the slow food movement. If you don’t have enough time to cook, try doing it just once a month. Find good deals at a local farmers’ market.

4. Keep the money flowing in.

* If you have a job, be an amazing employee. Now is not the time to slack. Show up early, stay late, and volunteer for projects. Pick up the slack for other workers; it’s what will happen when people get laid off, anyway, so now is the time to prove yourself. Look for ways to save your employer money, especially if you see your employer doing little things to that effect, like encouraging employees to turn of their computers. Try to quantify your efforts in terms of how you’ve raised profits and cut costs. Start networking so that in case you still get laid off, you have a safety net of contacts who might be able to help.

* If you own a business, develop a risk management plan if you haven’t already. Find ways to reduce expenses, e.g. Virtualize Your Workforce. Improve Service Quality at Your Business so that budget-strapped customers will want to use your products or services through tough times.

* If you don’t have a job, find other ways to make money fast. Focus on cutting your expenses, as described in the previous step, and consider volunteering; if you’ve got the spare time, there are organizations that will need your help, and you could establish good karma in your community.

5. Enjoy life. In order to avoid recession depression, don’t let fear control you; an intense feeling of paranoia can make you an inflexible employee and also strain your relationships. Be thankful for what you have, and make sure to have fun. Instead of not taking a family vacation, for example, take a Staycation or Exchange Your Home for Free Vacation Accommodation instead; invite your family to think of creative ways to save money without skimping on happiness. Accept difficult times as a challenge for your fortitude and adaptability.

[sgtennis]

48. Cut down on expensive holiday vacation.

Edited May 8, 2009 by sgtennis

[erection day]

49. The cheapest kopi 'o' and drinks can be found at Maxwell Road Market at unit 01-90- 金成号 drink stall. It is located facing the road, just opposite the church. I discovered it by accident one day and was shocked that they charged me only 90 cents for my can of ice-lemon tea. And I was even more shocked when the stall owner greeted me with a cheery hello and with a genuine smile. That is what I called gread service. I think their kopi is only 50 cents. Too bad they only operate during the day.

Edited October 26, 2008 by erection day

[Guest Jobless]

50. Arrange your groceries cabinet and provide time schedule on what you should eat and drink. Clean your cabinet regularly and arrange items

according to their expiry date

Keep basic things like: salt, sugar, chilly, soy sauce, rice, oil.

51. Time management your weekly activities instead of running about blindly and spending unnecessarily

52 Try to use cash for all transactions, hide your credit card in the wardrobe away from view

53 Buy soap in pieces and not in pack, and you can use the same bar to wash your feet, your face and probably your hair too.

if you are ugly no amount of lotion or shampoo can shape your look, if you are pretty any soap will work wonder on your body

54. Give yourselves very good reason why you need to step out of your house into madness and than give yourselves another reason why you need

to change from one destination to another destination. If you cannot convince yourself to mingle with crowd, than stay home.

55. Avoid taking outside food, they are prepared in madness to cater crowded customers, always think these are expensive, oily, full of ajinamoto, salt,

added with other "human elements" behind the kitchen. like sneezing, coughing, perspiration as other "ingredients" added by the cook to serve you..

I would rather eat banana, they are healthy and enriching to my body.

56. If you are lazy to meddle with cooking, than make an easy sandwich with bread. cucumber. tomato, cheeze slices and ham. Keep your food in

tupperware for 2nd or third serving immediately the next day.

57. Make sure your fridge are clean and neat and separate raw items from cooked items.

58. In hot weather, boil your own dessert like red bean or green bean soup or sweet potatoes soup, otherwise go to food court and buy them, desserts

are quite cheap and some are quite fillings to tummy like Tau Suan, Orr Zuke, Bobo chaha...etc

59. Exercise, exercise and more excercise...they are free.

60. Read, read and read, write, write and write....they are all free

61. Buy substitude products, if coke is cheaper than sprite, than go for coke and if one type of coke is cheaper than the other type of coke, go for the

cheaper type and if the cheapest coke is still more expensive than Sasi, buy Sasi. Drinks are all the same and if they can serves the fundamental

purpose of quenching you why pay more. Same for other types of groceries.

62. Don't throw away old clothing or pants, cut them up to be used as cleaning cloth.

63 If there is a need to get away from the main island and go somewhere quiet, try having kopi in a quiet corner of a kopitiam at PULAU UBIN, this

cheap "gate-away" could prove rewarding than travelling all the way to thailand or bali and get bombed like a bursting balloon.

64. Try to stay away from news, those full of negative reporting, gloomy news, hopeless future and all scare tactic reports. It has nothing to do with you

because you are the micro of all the macro scheme of things and you can't change the world as it is but to accept it with grace and hope that even if

macro system collapse, the sky is still your blanket and you won't die. Stay calm, cool and sleep well.

65. If you cannot survive without listening to news, than listen to BBC which provide round-the-clock worldwide coverage of objective reportings. Take

note that the less you trouble yourselves with outside matter, the less you are likely to be in trouble. Keep your heart pressure healthy and beating

normal for being less influenced by things outside your control.

66. Never try to stand above the crowd. Fame and popularity is just a transient which take away your freedom, forcing you to put on other people mask

instead of yours. Keep yourself humble, lowering your profile so that you can maintain the secrecy and freedom of your life to be able to sneak in

and out when time changes. Be vigilant always!

67. Use night lights if you are afraid to sleep in total darkness and don't blast your light in full just to brighten up corner while you are asleep. You do

not need to see when your eyes are closed.

68. If wish to get close to the sound of nature, download the nature sound from Youtube and listen at your own time and pleasure: sound of thunder,

rain, sea, waves, whales, birds, wolf....etc, swtich on your fans (no aircon please), open your windows, put on your earplug and close your eyes to

visualise.

69. Keep surrounding dry, no stagnant water, drop few detergent into the gutter. No point getting sick with dengue that cost you a bomb after that.

Medical bill not cheap.

70. Your house is your own palace. If Queen Elizabeth can live and age gracefully inside her own palace without constantly coming out to bother with

other people affairs, so can you!

Indeed swiss standard of living as promised by our SM, vibrant economy as foretold by our PM and golden period claimed by our MM. Singaporean have such good leaders that no one will go hungry indeed.

[hornyme]

This is a period of uncertainties that no one likes. However, for the middle-class, they've to be more prudent and practice belt-tightening to save on expenditure costs.