In Singapore, we are living in a time of rising costs. It seems that from year to year, or even month to month, everyday things are getting more expensive.
There are either two ways we can deal with this; earn more money or reduce expenses money via deals. Thankfully, in Singapore there are various under-the-radar deals that can save us more money. We just have to be willing to look deeper and take advantage of freebies on offer.
With that, here are 10 ways for you to earn free money in Singapore so that you can mitigate the impact of the rising cost of living.
#1 Apply For Credit Cards That You’ll Use
These days, you can always find credit cards being offered to us with special promotions or deals. The important thing to consider when filtering out what’s worth applying to is whether the credit card suits your type of spending.
Certain cards are more suitable for those who spend more online or those who spend more on dining, for example. Whatever type of spending you engage in every month should determine which credit card you’ll use.
If you apply for a debit card instead, you don’t typically enjoy any deals in return. Of course, it goes without saying, when you use credit cards, you need to stick within only what you can afford. You should also be paying off your monthly credit card bills in full and on time.
#2 Buy Everything On A Cashback Credit Card
While there are many air miles credit cards out there, they typically rely on you redeeming those points by travelling (and spending more money). You can get “free” money by putting all of your credit card spend on a cashback card.
By buying everything you spend on a monthly basis – such as groceries, dining out and entertainment – on a cashback card, you can receive a certain percentage of that spend (in cash) back on to your credit card statement.
While the cashback rates for the basic cards range from 1.7% to 2% cashback (without any minimum spends or hoops to jump through), you can also enjoy up to 8% to 10% cashback with certain types of spending on certain cards. This will require you to do some research on the best cashback card for your spending type as well.
However, for these, you generally need to meet minimum spending requirements on both a monthly and quarterly basis.
#3 Use A High-Interest Rate Savings Account
Optimising your savings accounts could also be one way of getting “free” money. One way is to open a high-interest savings account.
Many of the big banks offer competitive interest rates if you credit your salary, spend on one of their credit cards, pay for insurance premiums and invest all within their ecosystem.
There are incremental interest bonuses depending on what you do with your bank so only stick to what you would normally have done anyway. By doing this, you can earn anywhere from 4% to 6% per annum (p.a.) in interest via these high-interest savings accounts.
Read Also: [2024 Edition] Best Savings Accounts for Working Adults in Singapore
#4 Also Have A No-Frills Savings Account
Having multiple savings accounts can help you ringfence certain savings goals you have. It can also allow you to earn interest on things such as your emergency fund or excess cash savings that you have beyond the limits that a high-interest savings account will pay bonus interest rate on.
By having a no-frills savings account, that you don’t need to worry about in terms of minimum balances or salary crediting, you can allocate specific savings goals to this while still earning some interest.
Many of the newer, digital banks in Singapore are offering “no obligation” type of accounts that give you interest rates ranging from 1.25% to 2.7% p.a. – perfect for putting your excess cash savings into.
Read Also: Best Savings Accounts In Singapore – If You Don’t Want To Keep Jumping Through Hoops
#5 Switch to an OEM supplier
With the rising cost of electricity, it’s worth considering different suppliers when deciding where to purchase your power from.
The Open Electricity Market (OEM) allows us to do this in Singapore and we no longer have to buy our power from SP Group.
While electricity has certainly been pricier in the past few years, shopping around at the nine approved electricity retailers means that even switching between providers (on a better rate) can save us money on our monthly electricity bills.
Read Also: [2024 Edition] Complete Guide To Choosing The Best Open Electricity Market (OEM) Plan For Your Home
#6 Optimise Internet + Mobile Data Connection
We consume a lot of data nowadays. On our smartphones, via our SIM contracts, and also in our home via our broadband connections. With the likes of Netflix, YouTube and TikTok, it’s easy to eat our way through a sizeable amount of data.
Previously, mobile providers like Singtel and StarHub were the only options for our SIM contracts but now there are plenty of SIM-only plans – from various mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) – that can be more than half the price of traditional plans from the legacy providers.
Likewise with our broadband connections at home. We can also research buying broadband + mobile data packages with the same provider as that can potentially work out cheaper than buying the plans with two separate providers.
Read Also: What Are The Best SIM-Only Plans In Singapore (2024 Edition)
#7 Refer Your Friends To Products You Love
If you’re a regular user of an app or a product, then one way to get free money (to use on it later) is by referring your friends to it.
Common examples could be bike sharing apps (like HelloRide), cashback apps (like ShopBack), mobile wallet apps (like Singapore Airlines’ Kris+), and even your brokerage accounts (like Tiger Brokers or Moomoo).
By racking up referrals on your favourite products, you don’t only rack up referral freebies, but also share products and services that you already use and believe in with your friends and family.
#8 Optimise Your Tax Returns
Realising where you can save more significant amounts of money is important. And one of the best ways to save larger amounts is by streamlining your tax and avoiding paying unnecessary tax. In Singapore, we have many tax rebates and tax relief programmes which we might not even be aware of.
Many of us will be eligible for a lot of these, though, and avoiding have to give more of our money than needed to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) should always be a welcome prospect.
We can research what tax reliefs we are eligible for by visiting the IRAS website and inputting our particulars.
Read Also: 8 Ways You Can (Legally) Reduce Your Income Tax For YA 2024
#9 Just Walk Using Healthy 365
Healthy 365 is an app created by HealthHub to encourage Singaporeans to lead a more active lifestyle. The National Steps Challenge (NSC) on the app allows Singaporeans to earn points for walking over 5,000 steps a day.
As of 1 October 2024, that has changed to setting and tracking personal goals for steps and sleep. These points awarded can then be converted into rewards so by staying active and healthy, you can also save money in the process.
Read Also: How Much Can An Elderly Earn And Save On Healthy365 While Staying Fit
#10 Sign Up For yuu Rewards Club
Finally, you can also sign up rewards memberships, like the yuu Rewards Club. This is a loyalty programme that gives you rewards points amounting to 0.5% cashback every time you spend at one of the yuu merchants, such as Cold Storage, Guardian, Giant, FoodPanda, and GoJek.
If you also pair it with the DBS yuu credit card, you can get an extra 4.5% cashback (giving you a total of 5% cashback) when spending at these merchants, with no minimum spend requirement or monthly cap on cashback earned.
Read Also: yuu Rewards Club: Guide To Boosting Your Savings And Rewards With Your Everyday Spending
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