The Savvy Consumer
By thesavvyconsumer
The Savvy ConsumerAug 26, 2020
The Economics of a Home Gym, Especially in Singapore... Plus Weightlifting with Bags of Rice, How to Create Your Own Public Gym, and a 100-Year-Old School Versus Two High-School Boys
$2.50 per entry for gym access sounds extremely reasonable... until you factor in the travelling time and cost of actually getting to the gym. As past and present gymmers respectively, Jon and I discuss the economics of a home gym in the Singapore context. We also talk novel ways to get stronger (12:33), "sharing" your home gym with others (36:49) and who would win between a historic school and two teenage boys (46:35).
All Things Food - Food in General, Food in Singapore, and Food at Different Price Points... Plus Fast Food and Superheroes, The New (or Old) Way to Travel, and How to Know That You Have Gotten Old
Food is one of Singapore's national unofficial pasttimes - some of us live and breathe food. While this does not apply to all Singaporeans (e.g. Jon), this tends to be the case in this island of ours. We discuss our thoughts on food in general, talk about some of Singapore's "national" foods, and talk about foods that range from cheap to wallet-breaking. We also talk about superheroes created by fast-food chains (2:22), a novel (or not) way to travel once it is feasible for us to do so (26:08), and how to definitively know that we have transitioned from a young person to a not-so-young person (48:50).
Buyer & Seller Etiquette - What To and What Not-To Do... Plus Chocolates as a Metaphor for Humans, How We Learned A Lesson From Our Own Podcast, and The Truth Behind Service in the F&B Industry
Having bought and sold stuff for nearly the past seven years, I share my experience in meeting and dealing with all sorts of people and get Jon to share his instinctive opinion on these experiences. We also talk about chocolates which have extended their stay (2:30), the lessons we have learned in the process of recording this episode (37:52), and how Food & Beverage (F&B) establishments generally view customer service (46:57).
Why You Own Nothing and Rent Everything... Plus How Much Your Opinion is Actually Worth, How Boxes Spark Joy, and How to Have Your Cake and Eat It Too
Jon directs this episode as I take a backseat and go with the flow... not. In this episode, we propose a new way of looking at your possessions, and how to utilize this perspective in everyday life. We also talk about selling your opinions on second-hand platforms (6:36), how you can use boxes to contain all the joy you have sparked (42:57), and how you can create a win-win situation in a traditional win-lose situation (53:36).
Free-to-play, Pay-to-play, or Pay-to-lose? The Dangers of Freemium Games and Lootboxes... Plus Choosing Between Charizard and Marriage, and Why Vocal Warmups are Important
Genshin Impact is a hugely popular free-to-play game that has brought the spotlight back on freemium games and lootboxes. We give our take on games using a similar model and lootboxes as actual players of these games, and discuss how can approach these games with a realistic mindset. We also talk about choosing between Charizard and marriage (4:06), how gameboy taught us the value of money (38:46), and why vocal warmups are important (62:00).
Should Buying and Reselling for a Profit be Considered Unethical? Plus How "Experts" on Online Advertisements are a Hoax, How the Term "Guitar Pedals" Came About, and The 5000IQ Way to Beat Queues
A 16-year old boy in Singapore made the headlines when it was reported that he makes up to S$30,000 in a month buying and reselling branded sneakers. While many applauded his sense of entrepreneurship, others called foul on his behaviour for artificially raising prices. In response, Jon and I discuss how ethics plays into the entire situation. We also give our take on online "experts" (10:33), where guitar pedals got their name (40:25) and the best way to beat the queue for anything, anytime (57:08).
Original Article: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/cnainsider/teen-sneaker-resale-hypemaster-remus-singapore-13190860?cid=telegram_cna_social_28112017_cna
Response Commentary: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/commentary/sneakers-air-jordan-yeezy-nike-limited-edition-resell-sale-trade-13290794?cid=FBcna
When Free Stuff Isn't Really Free... Plus How "Lockdown" is a Dirty Word in Singapore, How We Love Prism-Shaped Chicken Cushions, and Why We Trust Strangers But Not Family and Friends
While free stuff is generally a welcome sight, not all free stuff is always good. In this episode, Jon shares his love for all stuff free while I take on a different approach. We also talk about the "Circuit Breaker" in Singapore (15:10), chicken cushions in the shape of a prism and cuboid (21:00) (60:02) and why we trust strangers but not family and friends (37:20).
Subscriptions and How to Manage Them... Plus Blowouts in the World of Sports, Pirates in the Land of Singapore, and How we are Impressed with Da Vinci and Black Magic
Many companies are moving to a subscription model for their products, because if nothing, subscriptions often make them more money. Knowing this, what should our response be as savvy consumers? Jon and I also explore an alternative career in sports podcasting for all of one minute (12:15), talk about non-sea pirates in Singapore (29:40), and software with really good names (51:10).
How Not to Get Scammed When Shopping Online... Plus How All Salesmen Are or Aren't Dishonest, the Podcast is Well-Named, and Why We Have a Beef With the Word "Premium"
A recent article on the local newspaper The Straits Times surveyed respondents on unfair practices they had encountered while shopping online, with 18-37% indicating they had encountered each of the ten listed practices. In this episode, Jon and I discuss whether these practices should be considered unfair and how we can outwit sellers using these practices via a buyer-seller tic-tac-toe analogy.
Do We Consume Social Media, or Does Social Media Consume Us? Plus Getting Kicked out of Maplestory, Sending Your Children to Bootcamps, and Calling the Police on Your Neighbours
Today's episode is motivated by The Social Dilemma - a netflix documentary that aims to inform the general public of the dangers of social media consumption. We touch on both sides of the social media coin, and share our experiences of healthy relationships with social media and how we can reduce our consumption of it should we choose to. Also, tl;dr "It's your life, do whatever you want. But if it's not good for you, try not to do so much of it." - Jon, 2020
The Savvy Consumer Podcast Trailer Part 1 - Topics, Formats, and Tangents
In this trailer, we elaborate on the purpose of the podcast, recurring themes, podcast formats, and provide some disclaimers.
Why Less is More and More is More - Minimalism and Maximalism Explained... Plus Why We Disagree with Ourselves, and Debunking the Myth that Singaporeans Don't Wear Pants in Their Own Homes
Minimalism, where less is more, is a growing trend these days. There is also an antonym - maximalism, which is lesser known... Does that mean it has less value? In this episode, we discuss the arguments for and against both minimalism and maximalism, what the middle ground looks like, and become official hypocrites when we each disagree with ourselves, although we did preface the disagreements with the argument that our preferences for more or less can be domain-specific. Also, please wear pants in your own homes when other people can see you.
Three Things to Break the Bank for, and Three Things to Cheap Out On... Plus Kitchens That are Always Wet, Pieces of Wood That You Hit, and Why Poor People Look Rich
People usually look at spending as a whole, and may feel indifferent to spending a certain amount of money on various categories of items - however, we make the case that some categories of things are worth spending more on, while others are worth spending less on. We also teach you about Singaporean coffee and tea, despite declaring later on in the episode that we would apparently be fine giving up either of these beverages.
How to Spend Your Lottery Winnings... IF YOU WIN ONE! Plus How Life is a Linear Progression, Ragged-Looking Uncles are actually Rich, and Buying Pokemon Cards is a Vice
Winning the lottery is apparently a Singapore dream because it enables us to afford things and live comfortably, although most people would have thought of it at some point in their lives. Now that I've gotten you to think about it, we explore how you should spend your lottery winnings if (or when, BELIEVE) you ever win one, who you should tell, and discuss how we would change up our lifestyles if money ceased to be a concern.
Three Pros and Cons of Buying Secondhand Stuff Part 1 - How to be Cheap, Sustainable, and Ignore the Haters
Buying secondhand stuff has its pros and cons, although some of them may not be as straightforward as you think... Sometimes the people are the problem rather than the items! In this episode, we provide three pros and cons of buying secondhand stuff to help the listener make a more informed decision on whether to buy secondhand stuff or not.
Why You Should Eat Before Going Out for a Meal and Brush Your Teeth in the Shower... Plus Other Weird Tips to Save Money
There are normal ways to save money, and there are weird ways to save money. In this episode, Jon and I explain why we (or he) drink before going to clubs, give credit cards to our friends and sleep without bolsters.