Savvy money saving tips you might NOT know about 💸💸
Many say that it’s better to make money rather than count your pennies and cents. But it’s not so easy making big bucks in competitive Hong Kong, where the trade war is looming. Here are some tried-and-tested money saving tips:
1. Assess your financial health
Take a financial health test and look your expenses in the eye. Be honest with yourself and don’t do this in front of your spouse or your banker. A quick test can be found on The Chin Family website: https://www.thechinfamily.hk/tools/fhc/en/main/index.jsp
2. Cut down on rent or mortgage
Make a habit of checking the rental trends in your estate or nearby buildings when it comes time to re-negotiate the rent with your landlord. You can check by looking at the rental advertisements on estate agency window fronts or online via Centadata or similar websites.
Photo by Tierra Mallorca on Unsplash
To cut down on your mortgage, first off when buying a place, make mortgage comparisons. Get quotes from a few banks of various sizes and compare the overall package, like interest rate, cash reward upfront, mortgage length, whether you need to get the extra loan from Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation. If you have a high interest rate, then you can switch banks by paying off your current mortgage with a new mortgage from another bank. But make sure you aren’t paying a premium for early repayment.
3. Buy Local
Get groceries from the local wet market and shop at the local pharmacies for daily necessities like diapers, toilet paper etc. Get shoes and handbags repaired and cleaned in a good repair shop.
4. Shoe Repair Shops:
Andersen Shoes, Handbags Repair
Address: Shop B, 2/F, Shun Tak Centre
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10 am-7:30 pm, Sat 10 am-6pm, Sun closed
Luxury Repair Centre
Address: 32 Graham Street, Central
Opening hours: Mon-Thurs 11 am-7 pm, Fri & Sat 9 am-7 pm, Sun 12 noon-6 p
Salad veggies on sale in Graham Street wet market.
5. Save on Transport
Living on the island, we are spoilt for choice in the public transport department. If you take the mtr, you can use the MTR Fare Saver located at Welland Plaza
(full list here: http://www.mtr.com.hk/en/customer/tickets/fare_saver.html).
Apply for the student octopus card for school-age kids: http://www.mtr.com.hk/en/customer/tickets/student_travel_scheme.html
Plan ahead the day before heading to your date or meeting and check out the different public transport options. Rule of thumb—walk more, save more and lead a healthier lifestyle.
6. Save on your ride to the Airport:
When you are going on a business trip dishing out $110 for a singly trip or even $205 for a round trip does'nt bother us so much.
However when it comes to going on holidays, starting with a costly experience with the Airport Express trip can make us feel the pinch.
Why not switching to the bus then? Many city buses will bring you safely and timely to the airport at a much lower cost (40HKD/one way). Not bad to save 65hkd one way isn't it we thinks!!
For more information, look at: http://www.nwstbus.com.hk/routes/airport-bus/route/index.aspx?intLangID=1
7. Too Lazy to Cook Days
Have breakfast at the cooked food market or cha chaan tengs (HK style fast food restaurant ).
Breakfast only served before 11 am and order anything other than instant coffee. Some good ones in the neighborhood include:
Hoi On Café
Address: 17 Connaught Road West, Sheung Wan
Opening Hours: Mon-Thurs 7:30 am-4:30 pm, Fri 7:30 am-3pm, Sat 7:30 am-4:30 pm, Sun closed
Tip: Try the freshly baked bread
Wing Wah Southeast Asian Café
Address: Tai Ping Shan Street, Sheung Wan
Opening Hours: Mon-Thurs 8 am-5 pm, Fri 8 am-9 pm, Sat-Sun 8 am-9 pm
8. Receive a subsidy on your public transport fare
MTR Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme: This is a new scheme implemented by the HK Government from January 2019. Under this scheme, commuters with monthly public transport expenses exceeding $400 are eligible for a transport fare subsidy. You can even include your Airport Express ticket as part of your monthly public transport expenses!
http://www.mtr.com.hk/en/customer/main/public-transport-fare-subsidy-scheme.html
Questions? See the FAQ here: http://www.mtr.com.hk/en/customer/main/public-transport-fare-subsidy-scheme-faq.html
9. HSBC Reward point scheme
With your HSBC credit cards you receive basic RewardCash through spending on your credit card. There are many ways in which you can use these points, but they expire! Use them while you have them. Depending on the type of HSBC credit card, you get X number of points per HK$ spent.
Instant RewardCash redemption: An easy, hassle free way to redeem the reward points earned is by asking the merchant to check your HSBC card for reward points before you pay for your purchase. Participating merchants can check your points on site and allow you to use the points immediately to offset your spending.
Wing On, Fortress and Mannings are just a few of the merchants which participate in this scheme. See the complete list of participating merchants here:
https://www.hsbc.com.hk/credit-cards/rewards/rewardcash-redemption/
Want to complete the list with a 10th tip ? Write to us : info@locahood.org