Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Surmounting the hikes … …

Singtel’s residential subscription prices are heading north; electricity and water tariffs are moving in the same direction and transport fares are also on the hike.

In this time of rising prices, let us look at some options we could exercise to combat the increase in prices.

The number of handphone subscriptions in our island outnumbers our population. Residential phones are becoming less commonly used though they are still common fixtures in many homes. In this era, one can do away with residential phones, just use handphones (I am sure almost every Singaporean own one) or alternatively sign up for the free internet phone services provided by Skype, etc. These options will free the Singaporean from the ‘clutch’ of increased phone subscription prices, provided one is also disciplined enough to spend just a moderate amount of time talking on the phone lest he pays beyond his monthly subscription price or spend more on the electricity to run the computer hosting the free internet phone services… bearing in mind electricity prices are climbing up in tandem as well.

Use the fans instead of the air-conditioners. Turn off the lights and TV and go to sleep earlier. With an earlier sleep, your health and electricity bills will stand to gain. With less electricity consumption, the earth stands to gain from fewer pollution.

With the hike in water tariffs, it is time to reduce our water consumption. I heard of an incredible suggestion to do one’s ‘big business’ in public toilets so that he can reduce the water for flushing at home.

The gist to avoid the hikes in utilities is to reduce consumption of these utilities in all fronts; it is good for Mother Earth too.

The inevident question then is “ What come next?” My surmise: Food prices?

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