This is my third year as a stay at home mum and thank God we are still coping and surviving. It wasn't easy then and it still isn't now. It takes work and effort to survive on one income here in Singapore. I could easily go back to teaching but truth be told, whatever I earn will be spent on childcare centre fees. So my role for now, stay at home mum it is.
I get asked this kind of question a lot. How do I manage? I have a house yet I can still afford to stay home? Do we even have money to eat daily? How are we able to save, pay the bills and insurance at the end of the day?
I'm not an expert and I sometimes spend more than I should. I'm still learning and bless you if you have any additional tips for me but for now, here are the things that worked for us.
1) STAY AT HOME
Literally stay at home. If you go out, you are sure to spend. You go to a shopping mall, you will see shops and pretty things. I've read of certain methods you can use to avoid buying things you don't need. For instance, you see a mug that you like. You can snap a picture of it and walk away. If you don't revisit the picture or forget about it, that means you don't need it. That method does not work for me at all! If i see something I like, regardless of whether I need it or not, I will not stop thinking about it until I get it. So staying at home is the best option for me. I don't see it, I don't think about it, I don't spend.
Here in Singapore, a cheap meal can easily cost you $5 per person. With that $5, you can get fresh chicken from the supermarket and cook for the whole family. Of course I do believe that as a SAHM, we do need our time outside. Maybe once a week? Spend your weekend out with the family. That leads me to my next point.
2) FREE ACTIVITIES
Call us cheapskate but we got to do what we got to do. Even if we do go out as a family, we would find places that are family friendly and most importantly, free. For example, Adam loves playing at the beach. We would prepare simple food, bring all of his sand toys and spend our time at the beach. Or we would head over to Changi Airport where they have playground and areas for children. Usually we will treat ourselves with drinks from Coffee Bean or something like that to help congratulate ourselves for making it through the week. If all else fails, head to the library. Its clean, nice and relaxing.
3) USED ITEMS
Buy preloved or embrace hand-me-downs. Be it for things or clothes. We rarely buy clothes for Adam as they are usually gifts or hand me downs. We shift our furnitures around the house where we see fit. For example, our once bedside table is now in the storage area holding all our documents as we don't really need a bedside table anymore. Or our Kallax clothes storage is now being used in the kitchen as a juice bar(where we make our juice everyday). As much as you are receiving, don't every forget to give back to the society. Clothes or things that you don't use or need anymore can always find a better home elsewhere.
4) VOUCHERS AND REBATES
Who doesn't love vouchers? Everyone does. We keep vouchers very very properly and make plans around them. We especially enjoy movie vouchers. For rebates, there are some credit card companies that gives you back a percentage of money according to how much you spend at the end of the year. We have several for us so we do our grocery shopping with those cards and we receive money for it at the end of the year. How awesome is that?
5) DON'T WASTE FOOD
This is something Wan despises. He can eat any leftover straight from the fridge just because he doesn't like food wastage. So if I were to cook, I would make sure I would cook just enough for that day unless I'm meal prepping for the week. This really saves us a lot as we don't overbuy our veggies and produce. If we receive dishes from either our parents, we would freeze them if we know we can't finish it in the next day or two. That way, we can take them out and reheat as and when needed.
6) CREDIT CARDS
This is really a scary topic. I have seen people first hand suffering from credit card debts and it was horrible. Unless we are sure that we can pay the full amount when the bills come, we don't use credit cards. We have a day of the month where we sit and pay off all our bills. We have an excel sheet where we document our monthly bills and expenses. That way, we are able to track and make plans to reduce or cut off what we don't need in the upcoming months.
7) UNSUBSCRIBE
This was really painful for me in the beginning. I used to just buy what I want online without much thought. The feeling of parcels on my doorstep excite me. Since I'm a SAHM, I unsubscribed to mailing lists and Youtube channels that encourages me to buy stuff I don't need. So far, this has worked wonders for me although I'm only human and at times I would succumb to those temptations. Told you I'm still learning and need help. Help me.
8) MAKE A LIST
Since I'm at home most of the time, the list usually comes from me. Every week, I would make a list of the things we need for the upcoming week. Be it groceries, for us or something for the house. Wan would scan through the list and we would discuss if we really need those things or can we hold it off for now. This helped us a lot in decision making as it won't be on an impulse and we will only end up getting what we really need. Shopping lists are important too. That way, your trip would be focused and you won't buy things unnecessarily. Then again, I avoid going to the supermarket and get Wan to do it instead. I usually will see things I think I might need or something to satisfy my sweet and at times salty tooth. Wan does a great job at just grabbing things from the list. So, bottomline, Wan does the marketing for our household.
9) BUY IN BULK
For certain things, they are cheaper in bulk. Get them. Sometimes, tissue rolls sells cheaper in packs of threes. Same goes for Adam's diapers. Things that don't perish or expire, we do take advantage of their prices in bulk. My mother in law buys almost everything (I'm talking about shampoos, hand soaps, sanitary pads, tissue boxes and the list goes on) in bulk and saves alot!
10) HAVE INSURANCE
I cannot stress the importance of this point. I've been in and out of the hospital and let me tell you, the money we put aside monthly for insurance has helped us loads. It helped us pay thousands of dollars on hospital bills. Thousands. So do check out which insurance is important for you do put aside money for them. Another matter that comes to mind is CDA. Child Development Account. Here in Singapore, every child is given 1:1 (you put in $500 and the government will match it with another $500) when they deposit their money capped at a few thousand dollars. Please make use of it. When I was still teaching, some parents don't even use it for their school fees which is such a waste. The card can be used for school fees and also medical for children aged six and below. We deposited money in to match the cap and we are currently using it for Adam's school fees and medical expenses. I feel it is another form of insurance although not directly but it did help us for those expensive pediatrician sessions for Adam.
With all these pointers in place, you can easily save hundreds each month. I hope that my post will help you better manage your finances. It is important to be thrifty but don't forget to reward yourself every once in a while because you deserve it.
Love,
Ja
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