As much as you love and adore your pets, long-term care adds up. From pet medications to cleaning supplies and vet visits, it is essential to reduce your expenses without endangering your pet’s health. Fortunately, there are many simple saving tips that can employ to keep the costs to a minimum.
CULTIVATE A SAFE SPACE
Responsible care starts with creating a safe environment for your pets. Prevent hefty and harmful accidents from occurring by storing poisonous, sharp, and dangerous items out of your pet’s reach. For instance, bleach and other household cleaners may cause serious accidents for your pets. Yarns can also get stuck inside your kitty’s intestines and cost you more than thousands of dollars for the surgery.
CONSIDER PET ADOPTION
The age-old advice encourages us to adopt and not to shop. Instead of making an impulse purchase at a pet shop, you can rescue lovely animals from animal rescue centers and other animal organizations. You can provide an adopted animal a wonder new life for a lower purchase price compared to investing on a purebred animal. Purebred animals such as Golden Retrievers can cost up to S$5,000, especially if they come with a pedigree certificate.
This tip is beyond saving money. It brings the fulfillment of knowing that you have saved a life too. Just ensure that you are adopting from a reputable animal welfare organization or a rescue center. One example is the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Singapore, houses a variety of animals since its existence in the 1800s.
REDUCE THE VET TRIPS
The best way to eliminate medication costs is to prevent diseases. Vaccination is truly cheaper than the treatment for your pet’s disease. Consult your vet about the vaccination that your pet needs such the vaccination against Feline Panleukopenia virus. This virus is a highly contagious, severe infection that causes gastrointestinal, nervous system, and immune system diseases.
If your pet is already sick, ask the professional if a generic brand of medication works as well as the branded one. Generic brands are cheaper than the branded ones but they can also give the same effect.
MAKE YOUR OWN PET TOYS
Resist the temptation of purchasing several pet toys from pet stores. Often times, cheap plastic toys are poorly made and can easily get broken. Handmade toys work just as well. Moreover, you will be able to make sure that your pet’s preferences are met, using safe materials.
Most cats are fond of cardboard boxes and laser pointers. While, most dogs are fond of tug-o-war toys or empty plastic water bottles tied-up in a sock. Search thru the web for more ideas!
SLASH YOUR PET’S DENTAL EXPENSES
Gingivitis can damage your pet’s kidney and your finances since it requires expensive treatment and professional cleaning. To avoid this, do regular dental care at home. Wrap a significant amount of gauze on your finger and swipe your pet’s teeth. Brush your pet’s teeth using pet-friendly toothpaste, which may come in savory flavors such as chicken or malt. Toothpastes usually cost about S$10 per tube.
GROOM YOUR PET AT HOME
It is not only safer to groom your pet at home during this time, but it is also cheaper. It is possible to groom your long-haired furbaby at home. All you have to do is to equip yourself with an ear solution, pet shampoo, brush, and nail clippers.
Opt for a pet shampoo that can ward off parasites and fleas such as the ones available in Carousell, Lazada, and Kohepets. Having this special formulation is helpful due to Singapore’s hot weather.
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Which of these pet care saving tips are you already using? Feel free to share us some of your coveted tips!
After getting over the excitement of purchasing your build-to-order (BTO) flat, it’s time to think about renovations. If you know not where to start, take it from the interior designers themselves as they share with you tips on budgeting, styles to go for, and more.
Set a budget
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As with most things, setting a budget will get you started on the right track. According to a spokesman for Qanvast, the data collected shows that homeowners of new apartments spend between S$30,000 and S$60,000 on renovations while renovation costs for resale units start at S$65,000.
However, he advises homeowners to budget for an excess of 10 to 20 per cent more. “It’s common for homeowners to spend more than their budget – upgrading to better tiles, adding carpentry work, or dealing with unexpected hiccups.”
Also, while you might be attracted to some low-cost packages, it’s good to do a background check before signing any contract. Mr Morris Teo, managing director of HomeRenoGuru, a renovation website, says: “Homeowners should be mindful when signing packages that appear very affordable. Reputable interior designers would usually include the entire renovation works in the initial contract.”
Also, make sure you are getting good quality materials for the price paid. As Ms Amy Picanco, a director at Aym Design and a council member of the Interior Design Confederation Singapore, rightly points out: “While it can be difficult, try to think long term – do you want a renovation that lasts for five or 10 years? This will affect the quality of the materials you use and may push prices up. However, it could save you a lot of time and money in the long run as it will be a lasting investment.”
The styles to go for
Image Credits: Houzz
Interior designer and founder of Wee Studio, Mr Yeo See Wee, comments, “If you have 10,000 pictures of every style, that makes it very difficult for you and your interior designer to decide what style to go with.” A lookbook with a few images representing the concept you like will do.
Architecturally trained interior designer Vanessa Ong suggests homeowners limit the colour and texture tones to up to five options. “Take time to observe spaces, objects, textures that inspire you or places you’ve visited. Your home should tell a story of who you are,” she adds.
Seek approval before hacking
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“Homeowners should think about how long they’ll be staying in the flat and what their plans for the future are so that the flat can provide for their future needs. Erecting a wall in the future will be an unnecessary, time-consuming, and costly endeavour,” said the spokesman for Qanvast.
However, if you’re sure about knocking down walls to create an open-concept living space, be sure to seek approval from the Housing and Development Board (HDB) first. You can read all about demolition and erection of walls here.
Maximizing the space you have
Image Credits: Qanvast
HomeRenoGuru’s Mr Teo says that new homeowners often misjudge the storage space they need. Planning with the future in mind is important. With that said, Ms Gwen Tan of Formwerkz Architects recommends homeowners to plan for more storage for future possessions.
Interior designers propose having built-in storage. For example, floor-to-ceiling shelves will help to maximize wall space and beds with storage beneath them will allow you extra space to store your stuff.
Are you an entrepreneur, business owner, or individual planning to launch your own brand in the near future? Are these questions on your radar:
How healthy is our cash flow?
Are we taking on too much debt?
How long can we cover our expenses if business slows down?
Do we have enough capital to invest in growth?
If you find it tough to understand how money flows in and out or are currently stuck trying to stay afloat instead of increasing revenue, you will probably need to start making a few changes. For example, change your mindset and start taking control of managing your money the right way.
What thoughts do you have when it comes to money? Which of these ideas or feelings are holding you back? Can you reconsider and change them?
Those who identify money with fear may find themselves paying attention to getting out of debt or in a more extreme case – avoid looking at the company’s finances altogether. If that is you, see if you can change that mindset. Instead of fear, embrace your finances with an open attitude and you may probably find more opportunities for learning, wealth building, and growth.
Mr Boolkah believes that our business will grow to meet our level of desire and need. If you’re constantly in a rat race trying to get by, your business is going to reflect that mindset. While thinking about your business and personal goals, you should be able to answer these questions clearly:
Why do you want to succeed?
What kind of life do you want to create?
What greater purpose motivates you?
It’s also essential to dream big and surround yourself with people who share the same mindset. If you can’t find them in your immediate network, search for other entrepreneurs you admire and learn from them. If it helps, invite them to connect on LinkedIn.
#2: Make a plan
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Many business owners do not detail budgets and monitor the financial health of their businesses. To know how much money you have now and make accurate predictions about the future, you will need a plan and be disciplined with your money.
Some questions to ponder over:
Does your business have a budget? If so, how closely do you stick to it?
What are your short-term and long-term priorities and goals?
Where should you be spending? Where should you be saving?
When you get off track or circumstances change, where should you take corrective action?
If you’re not so savvy when it comes to financial planning, consider hiring the right person to aid you in this segment. Bringing in an accountant can help your company in creating a budget, managing expenses, and making well-informed financial decisions.
#3: Add more value
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If there’s one thing you need to take away from this section, it’s to make your business indispensable to your customers. Instead of demanding more money from your customers for the same amount of work, give some thought about how you can add more value to them.
Questions to think about include:
How can you increase your skills or services to deliver better results?
How can you solve a problem and make their lives easier?
When your service becomes absolutely necessary, that’s when you can charge what you deserve.
