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Spend less with apps and start saving

It’s hard to be an investor if you don’t have enough money. One way to get some money to invest is to use mobile applications that offer discounts or deals so you can save on your shopping. If you spend less and save the difference, you’ll have extra money to invest.

It’s hard to be an investor if you don’t have enough money. One way to get some money to invest is to use mobile applications that offer discounts or deals so you can save on your shopping. If you spend less and save the difference, you’ll have extra money to invest.

There are many types of apps that can save you money.

Most people, though, only use a few apps no matter how many they have downloaded.

Even though a survey last year by consulting firm EY showed that people here spend more than three hours a day on their smartphones, for example, global research by analytics firm App Annie also showed that people use less than a third of the apps they have downloaded and fewer than 10 apps per day. It’s important, then, to select apps that are useful and that you’ll really use.

There are also some apps that do little more than promote certain brands and offer little more than what you would find on a store’s website.

Others, however, do offer great deals and those are the ones you want.

And you’ll need to check out the apps regularly. Apps such as 11th Hour or Sugar that offered good deals in the past have closed down or shifted their focus.

SHOPPING DEALS AND COUPONS

If you want to save money on a wide range of purchases, websites that give cash back are a great way to start. ShopBack, for instance, gives cash back when you click through its app to sites such as Zalora or Taobao.

While you can occasionally get up to 12 per cent back, about 5 per cent is more common. You can get 5 per cent back at Sephora, for instance, or up to 2 per cent at Qoo10.

ShopBack does this by getting a commission for every referral it makes and giving part of it back to consumers.

Another way to save is through daily deals at sites such as Fave (myfave.com/singapore), which used to be Groupon. You can find discounts on everything from food or fitness to car repairs and cleaning services. You’ll need to browse the site, buy a coupon for a service, and redeem it at the place you chose. 

Cuponation similarly has a great variety of discounts through deals and coupons for companies including HP, Lenovo and Zalora. Recent deals included a coupon for S$10 off when you shop online at Redmart and 25 per cent off at Crocs.

Picodi also aggregates coupons or promotions from a variety of e-commerce sites such as Lazada or Grab and puts them all in one place.

And Klook gives you savings on tourist attractions such as Universal Studios or Gardens by the Bay.

You should be aware, though, that some of the deals are similar to what you would find online even at the store’s website. 

PAYING LESS FOR FOOD  

If you’re a foodie, you’re also in luck. There are plenty of sites for discounts on food.

One of the more popular one is Eatigo, which offers discounts at restaurants that go up to 50 per cent.

Most of the offers are for discounts during off-peak hours, which helps the restaurant by bringing in diners during their slower times. If you’re looking to save, it could be beneficial to have lunch at 11.30am or at 1.30pm.

Offpeak.sg similarly offers discounts at restaurants, with better deals during off-peak hours. The app shows you restaurants nearby with discounts, and you can book a reservation. 

MONTHLY OR YEARLY PACKAGES 

Along with free apps such as these, there are other apps that charge a fee. The Entertainer, for instance, provides buy-one-get-one-free offers for restaurants as well as services ranging from hotels to haircuts, at a cost of S$75 a year.

Burpple similarly offers one-for-one deals at more than 100 restaurants and bars for S$9.90 a month or S$69 a year.

While the discounts are attractive, they are only worthwhile if you will use the shops regularly.

These sites and a whole lot more offer great deals, and many of them give a discount without you paying anything.

The key is downloading ones that you will use regularly, rather than just adding more apps to a collection that you hardly ever touch.

THEY ALL ADD UP

And while it might seem like saving S$5 at lunch or getting S$6 after shopping at Sephora isn’t much, those savings can add up quickly.

The key thing is what you do with the money.

If you simply spend the savings, you’ll be back to where you started.

If you can put the money in a separate savings account and invest it once a month instead, you’ll be well on your way to a better financial future.

Automate your investing with a service such as Smartly, which has no minimum investment once you’ve put in S$50 to start. You could end up with more than S$21,000 by the time you retire if you save just S$6 a week and earn a 5 per cent return on your investments.

Taking a few seconds to use an app to get a discount and investing your savings can start you on the path to a far better financial future.

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