Does being retired means cancelling all your credit card and stop spending money and live as a house hermit? Well that's not how I plan to do it. And even if you are not retired yet, you can still find ways to stretch your money so that you have more to go towards your retirement fund. So today's post is about stretching and getting free money that is available our there,
Above photo shows most of the the loyalty card and credit card that I hold. We often hear that you should be careful about credit cards as it makes you spend more money than you intended, or that loyalty is a scam that makes you part with more of your hard earn money. Well, I think we need to strike a balance here. If you are going to spend the money anyway, and there is a way to get some money back in return, why on earth would you want to pass up free money? Of course, all the above are not a necessity if you don't need them by all means! But I still like a little luxury in my life even after I retire.
Take for example my spending today - Sunday (Total Free Money SGD$25.60)
- I went for morning walk with a friend today from Bedok to Marine Parade. On the way back, if it didn't rain, we could have taken the free shuttle bus back. Total transport cost SGD$1.23, although if I had it may way, that could have been zero. (Savings SGD1.04 on bus to Marine Parade)
- I decided to treat her breakfast, so we went to Cedele. I am a member of theirs, but my membership have lapsed. I renewed by membership at SGD$40, and got SGD$60 credit back (SGD$20 free money). Our breakfast cost SGD$25, I treated my friend to a nice breakfast for SGD$5 for two person. I still have SGD$35 in credit to use on another special occasion.
- Since I have a 1-4-1 drink offer in my Starbuck card, we decided to go there for drinks after that. I had a ice blended and she had a later. I paid SGD$7.60 for my ice blended, and her latte was free. (SGD$5.60 free money).
- I went to the National Library to collect a book I wanted to read. By doing that, I was already saving money instead of buying it. The fact that I choice not to reserve it also save me an additional SGD$1.55 because I have checked the book's availability the night before. (Savings SGD1.55)
So yeah, lesson learn: don't be lazy. walk more. And if there is a deal to get, do fully utilise it. So although none of the below paid me any money at this point to write about their benefits, I thought I share how I benefit from them:.
- Credit cards and reward system. While working, I do go for business trip and I paid all my hotel bills by credit card. This give me enough point which I usually exchange for free money of SGD$20 Jack's Place voucher cause I love the steaks there.
- Kris flyer reward system. Since I fly quite frequently, I signed up for it for FREE and after 1.5 years, I've earned enough for a free return ticket to Taiwan worth free money of SGD$800? So even if I quit today, I know that at least I can still have one good trip in the future already paid for.
- Starbuck Card. I got my first card worth SGD$10 for free from my ex-company on a Staff Suggestion Scheme. Signing it up gives me free cake on my birthday month (free money of SGD$7) plus from time to time 1-4-1 drink offer. Once, I topped up SGD$100 just to get a free organiser which was just awesome!
- Golden Village Membership is also free. On your birthday month, you also get 1-4-1 movie tickets, so that's free SGD$13. Plus I think you save on booking fees if you book online.
- Popular Membership. The Popular card is free when I signed up for 3 years cause they gave me back my money in voucher. I haven't really benefited much from it except stuffing my drawers with beautiful notebooks, but I've always wanted a Popular card and it was a good deal the time I sign up cost it usually cost SGD$10 per annum. Popular card can also be used in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.
- Kinokuniya card belongs to my husband, but I use it cause sometimes, you just have to buy books :)
- Tang Membership. I got this card for free when I was buying some clothes there. I love their kitchenware, so I kept it hoping to use it in near future. Well I recently did, getting myself a snack maker that had an original offer price of SGD$69 but was on sale for SGD$59! After paying, I got around SGD$6 credit to my membership for future use. On your birthday month, you also get more discount. And from time to time, they also give free sample cosmetic.
- Hotel.com offers discounted price and free hotel stay after collecting 10 nights stay. Since I travel so much, it was a no brainer to sign up for it. I have benefited quite a bit from this loyalty problem, most recently earning around SGD$70 of free hotel stay. Previously it was also known as Hotelclub.com.
I've shared all the info of all loyalty programs mentioned here below in the reference section. Of course there are tonnes of other loyalty programs that are totally worth your time to look up on . If you have any good deals to share, do add on in the comments so that we all can save more money and retire early without compromising our quality of life.
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