Top 3 things to get this festive season

Right before the New Year, DollarsAndSense.sg published an article talking about the 13 best ways to spend your money this year. We think it is a good time to revisit the topic once more since the Lunar New Year has arrived. In the midst of your ang bao collection, there are bound to be tons of ideas floating in your head on how you can best spend your easy-gotten-gains. We would like to highlight some key items that we discussed previously, consolidate your thoughts, and provide our recommendations.

1. A smart phone

This is a no-brainer and if you haven’t already gotten one 5 years ago, this is the perfect time. You have a deluge of choices with Samsung models, the iPhone and the newly releasing blackberry 10. A smartphone allows you to keep up at work, incorporates multiple devices into just one, gives you a perfect social setting to keep in contact with everyone in your life, keep you current and updated with the modern times and provide mock arguments over which phone is best. – DollarsAndSense.sg previous article.

As if those reasons mentioned above were not enough, we will give you even more reasons now. A smartphone in Singapore is ridiculously inexpensive to buy as long as you buy it with a plan. For example, an iphone 5 retails at $948. But to purchase it with even the most basic plan you pay only $430 garnering an immediate saving of $518.

The reason for this appearent awesome deal is simple, the mobile carrier (ie: Singtel, M1, Starhub) subsidise the remaining cost of the phone in return for your commitment to contract your network with them for a further 2 years. Obviously there are financial and business reasons why the carrier chooses to provide the subsidy.

However as a consumer this is what you need to know, the iphone you purchase from the mobile carrier shop is subsidised. The ipad you purchase from the Apple shop is not. This makes buying a smartphone a better financial expense and thus it is in our top 13 best things to buy this year.  

2. A Wallet

When you start work, you have to dress the way your job requires you to and may lose your personality that makes you unique. And one of the only little ways your personality can shine through is your wallet.

A wallet is something you use everyday. You take it out to tap your ezlink card, take money out of it to pay for your daily lunch at the canteen, take your credit cards out of it to pay for meals with your date at restaurants.

Whether you realized it or not, your wallet is seen and observed by many everyday. As such it is important to ‘invest’ in one that you are able to proudly show to people.

3. Running shoes.

Whether you’re an avid runner or a couch potato in need of good incentive to work out, you’ll benefit from a pair of good running shoes. It lasts longer, maintains good running posture and will serve as a beacon of light to remind you whenever you’re home and sitting idly on the sofa. It’s an investment in your health for 2013.

A good pair of running shoes, or a generic sports shoe for the matter is never a bad investment. You can use it when you go jogging with your friends, cycling with your buddies or even at your company’s annual sports day. As such there is no need to scrimp on trying to find the cheapest pair available. Get one that is comfortable and looks good. Trust us, you are likely to use it often.

For Singaporean guys, this is another no brainer. It will be accompanying you when you take your IPPT test and if you don’t fare well, it will also be joining you in Remedial Training (RT). As such, we strongly advise you to show some foresight and to get one that is lighter so that you do not have to lug it around after work whenever you go for RT.

We hope you enjoyed our recommendations on how you can spend your angbao money this year. For the complete list, please click on the link provided to access our previous article.

https://dollarsandsense.sg/thirteen-things-for-twenty-thirteen/

Original photo by Goh Kwang Chiang. Used with permission.

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