Oh the Great Singapore Sale! Oh Black Friday! Oh 9.9 Rewards Day (is this a Singapore thing?) There simply is so many different types of sales going on and one can get quite into a frenzy to, what shall we say, optimize the savings.
Is it really savings though if you are spending on something you didn’t need to begin with? Is it considered savings if you had to spend to order to save? Depends on the actual intent behind the spend I suppose. Hurray I just saved 50% on this Hush Puppies kicks which is $120! Hmm I had not intended to spend $120 on a new pair of kicks though. I still saved, so that’s just great! Is it really though?
I’ll admit, Mr.C and I have had our fair share of succumbing to sales period. Usually it’s airfare sales. We have, in recent years, toned down the consumerism by a large notch. There was this once, just a few months ago, SIA was having a 50% off miles promotion to a number of locations and we booked a trip to Siem Reap on the spur of the moment. Did we need another holiday? Well, one always can do with a holiday! Hah! However we did just do a week at Koh Samui and to go away 2 months later is excessive by our standards on a ‘save’ year. As life would turn out, we got the trip entirely refunded due to my medical conditions during my 3rd trimester. So yes, we have been there and we will continue to have temptation.
I had this conversation last night with Mr.C about signing up for the LiveUp membership. I currently am on a 2 month free trial which gives me a host of benefits, but the 3 benefits I use and will talk about is:
- Redmart – 5% rebates that you can use on the next order, within 30 days
- Lazada – 5% rebates to use within 30 days and free express shipping
- Netflix – free 2 months trial + free 4 more months upon paying the LiveUp membership
LiveUp is now $28.80 for the first year. We don’t shop at Lazada much at all, this month was just the first in some time and primarily as we needed more stand fans at home. It’s been hot! Netflix – we wouldn’t pay for such subscriptions so this was just a perk. Having had Netflix these 2 months I’ve been on medical leave has been good though, hello Narcos! I do shop at Redmart once every 2 months for the heavy items such as the 5kg sack of rice and the detergents. To realise $28.80 in value from the annual membership, I would have to spend $576 in a year at Redmart, and consistently across the year as the credits expire within 30 days of earning it. That’s doing a monthly shopping of $48. Sounds easy but I don’t do that! I prefer shopping at the local market and Fairprice near my house as it’s cheaper.
So, am I really saving by having a LiveUp membership?
Mr.C was quiet yesterday as I told him I think we’ll make it $28.80 this year in savings as I had the Lazada purchases for the stand fans. So I’ve realised $8 in savings and I think I can do the remaining $20 in savings as I have my family here over the next 6 months so I foresee rice consumption to be on the high (our primarily Redmart spend!). So between October 2017 and October 2018, I can definitely make the remaining $20. That would essentially leave me at a no-loss position, and 6 months free Netflix. If I did do more spend on Redmart, I realise savings – this scenario is most unlikely! Mr.C then so wisely said – these memberships encourage spend. I said – C’mon, we have a good grip on our spend, we won’t get tempted! I heard Mr.C snicker unconvincingly and decided to let it slide.
Let me explore psychologically what has happened in the past 1.5 months since I got LiveUp and been spending on Redmart, Lazada and watching Netflix. Granted, my spend has been all still spend I would have done otherwise. I have been going to Redmart every other day to see IF I need anything. Willpower is strong in this one though, after a good look I can walk away. That, my lovelies, is temptation. The urge to spend to realise more savings. I just want to chalk up my savings on the LiveUp membership to realise the annual membership (that I’ve yet to pay!) to start reaping some real savings.
What if I just walked away at the end of the trial period with the realised savings to-date, which is approximately $8 and 2 months of free Netflix. Heck if I wanted I can get Mr.C signed up on LiveUP and realise another 2 months of Netflix and another 2 months of some savings from Redmart groceries. A bird in-hand kinda scenario? We are talking small money here, I realise. This however is the same approach to bigger decisions, and even the small decisions that add up! Mr.C and I have always gone with a firmly commit only when we know for absolute sure kind of situation, as we do for the minimum required credit card spend.
So should I be risking temptation and spending more than I should or should I walk away with $8 in savings and binge-watch Narcos till the last episode before my trial is up? 🙂
Author: Ms.K
Ms.K is everything that Mr.C is, without the natural interest in investing and company financials! The activity planner for the family, the driver of random ideas and soon to be ‘retiring’ in to full time motherhood – Ms.K has no idea what she’s in for but remains super excited!