Some of the things I’ve done to save money
have included cutting my own hair using YouTube tutorials as a
guide, carrying beer cans around in my bag and buying school
uniform shirts for $10 on Amazon to wear to corporate jobs.
But there are some things nobody should ever
do, not even in the name of saving money, such as the
following.
In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t
really matter if the décor of your room looks about as attractive
as a kidnapper’s basement, or hasn’t changed since you were
twelve.
But the one thing you should spend money on is
a good mattress. You don’t need to spend thousands on the best
mattress that money can buy. But when your existing one gets old
and threadbare, not changing it could wreck your sleep completely,
give you chronic aches and pains and indirectly lead to more
stress—and that’s one thing we don’t need more of.
Mattresses should be replaced at least every
10 years. There are probably a lot of Singaporeans sleeping on old
mattresses, since locals generally don’t rent, preferring to remain
in the same house for 20+-30++ years until marriage, after which
they purchase a home they’re likely to live in for decades. That
doesn’t offer a lot of impetus to buy a new mattress very often,
unless you’re cognisant of the need to do so.
You know how there are some people who will
starve themselves so they can buy designer handbags?
Well, paying through your nose for a vehicle
and then trying to scrimp and save by not getting it serviced and
maintained is pretty much the same thing.
Not maintaining your vehicle puts you at risk
of accidents. Old tyres skid more easily, especially during monsoon
season when it’s constantly raining. And we don’t even need to talk
about why your brakes need to be changed from time to time.
What’s more, not going for regular oil changes
and getting your engine serviced every now and then can result in
your wrecking your engine entirely—which will end up costing you
more money in the long run.
Parents of young kids no doubt already know
how hard it is to have two seconds to yourself.
This doesn’t just apply to dual income
households in which both parents have full-time jobs and rely on
in-laws or childcare centres to take care of their kids.
Stay-at-home mothers and fathers also have a
tough time. As they’re not working and their kids are unlikely to
be in childcare, they can end up having to watch the children 24/7
while trying to get housework done at the same time. These people
often don’t get a single day off from their childrearing duties if
they don’t have a maid.
But taking a day or two off every now and
then—even if it means paying an ad-hoc babysitter or hiring a
nanny—is necessary for your mental health. Catch up with friends,
exercise, go to the cinema, go on a date with your spouse or
whatever. The R&R will make you a less stressed out and more
patient parent.
If your maid is the one who’s doing most of
the child-minding on your behalf, have a heart and let her take her
days off. It’s compulsory
to give live-in maids at least one day off a week, but beyond
that it’s also humane to give her an extra break now and then.
In an ideal world, we’d all be making
delicious, nutritious meals in our kitchens every day, whistling
while we worked.
In reality, Singaporeans
eat out an awful lot because nobody has the time to (learn
to) cook because, work.
For those who have the cash to wine and dine
at nice restaurants every day, good for you. But for the rest of
us, this often translates to eating hawker food every damn
day—which might have something to do with the fact that
the diabetes
rate is soaring.
If you’re eating hawker food every single day,
don’t think you’re in good health just because you always order the
fish soup or yong tau foo—the soups are often laden with salt.
Learn to cook or spend a bit more to replace
some of your meals with salads or something more nutritious. The
former will actually save you money in the long run.
The post 4 Things You Shouldn’t Do,
Even if it Saves You Money appeared first on
the MoneySmart blog.