What are some ‘cheap’ habits that you guys use to save a little here and there?

Was thinking to put this in a blog someday, but my own saving tips over the last 12 years (and some are also shared in personal finance books like the 2% rule).

Tips in my annual cost reduction programme (CRP)
1) look at your utilities like cable and mobile services. There would be some fees / services you may not use, or able to renew packages for lower cost / better quality at lower cost. I might have made annual savings of > 500 targetting this section every other year.

2) look at your insurance premiums. Usually there are monthly, quarterly and annual payments. Its possible to reduce the premium by 10% or more just by switching from monthly to annual one time payment. The interest you earn from the timing difference is immaterial compared to the savings. I might have made annual savings > 600 through this section.

3) unlike insurance premiums, iras does not reduce your tax payments if you pay lump sum. Split to monthly and earn additional interest. This is probably not a lot.

4) leave enough balance and not pay $10 charges for failed giro deductions and fees.

5) pay credit card balances on time and in full. Avoid late fees, extra charges and the worst, 26.8% annual interest on unpaid balances.
This is enormous.

6) Cut your credit limit if you want to control spending. My credit limit is only 3000 and usually enough to cover for two months expenses.

7) on clothing, shoes and various, use replacement basis - ie you can only buy a new one if one is spoilt or donated. Keeps inventory low and challenges of you really really really need that new shirt.

8) I sometimes find good 2nd hand wear on carousell. I have a benjamin barker shirt bought for $5 because the seller outgrew it.

9) keep your purchasing with one year in advance basis, giving yourself one year time to buy new clothes etc while waiting for the best close store deal.

10) for items more than 100, dont buy it immediately. Tell yourself to rethink / revisit a week later. You would have figured if it was a must have or want to have by then.

11) accrue for your needs. I accrue 500 per mth in a saving goal called rewards which was meant for travel, or toys / mobiles / cpf top ups or whatever. My whims and fancies are dictated by the balance in this saving goal. Eg if I dont have 3k in there, I dont choose japan as a travel destination.

12) I am starting to test mark and spencers clothing. For some reason, I keep throw them in the washing machine and hope they will get "damaged faster through routine washing", but after three years of weekly wearing and washing, they still look as good as 3 years ago. I think I need to extend their useful lives from 3 yrs to 10 yrs.

1. Buy things that last & be strategic when you buy. I buy M&S clothes once a year; during the offer period. Their pants & shirts are not only thoughtfully designed but made with good quality cloths and stitchings. I can easily last a year with 2 pant & 2 shirts if I want to lol. I also have a 7 YO laptop; 10 YO backpack which looked pristine new on the outside... until the inside crumbles before I changed it. XD and oh yes, I target bread stores/cake shops after 8pm because they want to clear their stocks and I'm happy to be of help~
2. Don't follow what 'others' do. In my industry, people spends alot on luxuries. I simply do not follow even though there are some who constantly nagged... If I do not have a need for it; I don't pay for it with my money - period. I have better use of my money thanks~
3. Helping others. As a platinium grab member I get drivers pretty quickly. I also have many promotional codes etc. So I'd help my colleagues to book rides and they could save some for the rides + I get to earn points which I can exchange for something else later on. Win win situation.
4. Plan ahead. Buy vouchers + coupons ahead for things you actually purchase full-price. For example I buy breadtalk + toast box vouchers so I save $0.50 for every teh I dabao (BYO & get $0.10 off even) and when I utilize breadtalk vouchers.. I make sure I grab all the breads that's $2 and above to maximize value (any bread $2.10 you pay the differences.
5. MLXG hack. I find places with standard price across for vegs/meats/seafood. Then dabao meat + seafood with broth/sauce home.. add add my own blanched vegetables and share it with my family (you'll be amazed how much you are actually forcing yourself to eat to finish off the food). This saved me sooooo much.
6. Switch your electricity provider. Yes, SP Powers is just not cost effective.
7. Use direct cashback cards. Mile cards works if you're frequent traveller etc. But most of the time they lie inside the a/c. Direct cashback may be limited; but deposit those savings elsewhere and you can watch the interest grow them well.
8. Share subscriptions. For netflix + spotify if you still don't know it.. and or search for free alternatives. For me, on some months I deactivate subscriptions knowing I'm not going to use it and reinstate it next month when I wanna use it. They are pretty standard priced every month anyway so only difference made is to your bank a/c.
9. Be environmentally friendly. Some shops reward BYO (bring your own) while some unwittedly rewards you for doing so. I bring my own cup to the kopitiam for teh-peng and a huge cup usually costs $0.90 more vs small ones. Because I brought a cup ... the person almost always filled it to the brim with no extra costs and my cup's volume is equivalent to the huge cup version.. lol so I saved $20++/month.
10. Buy things in bulk if you can utilize it; and buy things in customized volume if you can't. Unpackt, Scoop stores are great but sometimes wet markets are even better because you save time & costs not travelling in the first place.
11. Get credits only when you get something out of them. Topup grab pay because using grabpay earns you more points and you actually uses it. Get credit cards/loans and pay them in full.
12. Be nice. My chye peng vendor charges me $3 for something he charges my mother $5 for & $4.50 to my sis-in-law who is much more attractive vs me. Nuff said~
13. Be calculative. I used to buy stuffs for colleagues because I want to share the goodies with them; but not everyone is appreciative. So now I limit to the few who actually do reciprocate and not on frequent basis. I also keep track who owe me what and settle by end of the week before I forget. Used to just let it be and it costs me more than what I budgeted for. Sometimes people genuinely forget; sometimes they just conveniently forget.
14. _E-pay only if you get something out of it. _For me, I get the convenience. I also save alot from using shopbackgo/fave/chope/eatigo etc. But don't go back to the shops just to utilize the savings. It's not a saving if you have to spend it to use it. This is something it took me a long time to consciously notice everytime I purchase something... but yes, we all know it from every money hacking website ever. Sometimes, lacking cash and epayment modes actually makes you think if it's even necessary in the first place.

1) For online promos - Wait, don't get tempted to make the purchase.. Wait for events where there is a good coupon discount and consolidate your purchase.

Alot of times, if you waited, you might overcome the urge to buy and realize that you don't need to make the purchase at all. It was just a spur of the moment emotion that we can control if we wait.

2) Look out for promos as mentioned by some. Every cent counts.

3) Relook your bank accounts and configure them for high yield savings and optimize it. Those interests can help accumulate into bigger savings

4) Just discipline and control - Learn from Marie Kondo. Don't make impulsive buys.
5) Its still ok to indulge a bit once in a while.. We save to be able to spend for our enjoyment sometimes.

Buy house brands from NTUC or Giant. Cheaper and you really won't notice the different with branded ones.

Always wait for sales and promo to buy anything. Literally, put stuff in your online shopping cart and wait.