When you are living in one of the most expensive cities in the world, the idea that you can shop till you drop is associated more with the sheer expense of living rather than the ability to buy whatever you want, and as much as you want, whenever you want. In fact, the latter seems like a distant dream after you have balanced your books and hardly have enough to buy yourself anything beyond your immediate needs.
Well, this does not always have to be the case, even in such an expensive city as Singapore. You can have the finer things in life (read the more expensive things) as long as you know what you are doing. The disclaimer here is that no one is advocating for irresponsible spending so pay your bills and your debts first before you start thinking about the finer things.
That being said, there are ways in which you can live within your means and manage your money responsibly without hurting yourself financially. Here is how:
- Company privileges
You didn’t think that your employer could facilitate your shopping, right? Most companies have partnerships with certain retail and wholesale businesses, which means that you, as the employee of the company, can enjoy certain benefits when shopping among these partner businesses. You could get huge discounts on those finer things so that with a little saving, you could get whatever it is that you want.
- The right places
Where have you been shopping? Malls are not the place to get those big ticket items, neither are the places frequented by tourists. You will need to go to the areas with a large number of independent traders where you can find cheaper items without compromising on the quality. The fact that they are independent traders means that they will be trying to get more customers by making their prices competitive, which is good news for you and your wallet.
- Wait for trade fairs
Trade fairs mean high quality items with massive discounts. The thing about trade fairs is that it is a way for the retailers to test the market for their product so they bring in the best products and sell it at the lowest possible price to make a good impression on their target demographic, which is great for you.
So you see, the ability to shop for whatever you want is more about timing and being smart than having a lot of money. So seek out those opportunities and go all out. Happy shopping!