Many have heard the stories of life hacks for students, tales passed down from one generation to another to generally make life easier. We however, realized that these life hacks were sometimes not applicable to Singapore and catered more for the Western way of life. What this country has is an army of Aunties, ready to make their way through sales and promotions to come out on top. Here are some aunty hacks we figured would be very useful here.
1 | Free water when traveling
So being an aunty, obviously we’re traveling budget. Which means water on board isn’t free, and will cost a ridiculous amount. We’re not allowed to bring in liquids due to regulations. and I suppose you probably could buy in the transit lounge but again, who would pay 4 dollars for water?! Here’s the life hack: Bring an empty water bottle inside. It’s not against any rules or regulations, and you can easily fill up the bottle at a water cooler before you board the plane. Note the word BEFORE, because nobody wants their flight to be held up by an aunty and her water bottle. Please ah.
2 | Use hotel bathrooms instead of shopping malls
I’m sure no one likes public toilets. They smell, there’s disgusting icky stuff everywhere and the queues are ridiculously long which leaves us wondering sometimes what are people really doing in there. One good way to avoid this is to look for the nearest hotel and use the lobby bathroom instead. It’ll be like stepping into a palace compared to the public one outside. But if you really are that urgent, then please don’t walk 5 miles just to look for a hotel and end up wetting your pants in the process. Don’t be siao.
3 | Steal hotel toiletries and bring home
We feel like we’re pretty sure everybody already does this, but let’s throw it in anyway in case some of you haven’t done so. You’ve paid for a hotel room? Great. Now steal ALL the toiletries. No more buying extra toothbrushes in case you have a guest staying over at your house – just open up the drawer stash of hotel goodies and you’re sorted. The real hack is to make friends with housekeeping and charm their socks off to get double the amount. Maybe a flirt here and there?
4 | Free testers for perfume before going out
Finished your perfume but lazy to buy? Smell like a fish? That just won’t do. Here’s where the aunty hack comes in – ALWAYS schedule your outings at locations near departmental stores so that you can sneakily arrive 15 minutes earlier and use free perfume samples. Instead of being confined to one scent, you have a whole selection to choose from. Yes that cute guy/girl winking at you now because of how good you smell? You’re welcome.
5 | Steal condiments from fast-food restaurants
If you tell us that you don’t have a single packet of a sauce or condiment in your house right now, you are most probably lying. We ALL do this. No exception. We grab multiple sugars and salt and sauce packets and hide them in our bags to bring home from fast food restaurants. They are downright handy to have around the house especially when you fry your own nuggets or order in from foodpanda Singapore but the sauce isn’t something to your liking.
6 | Ask for tap water at restaurants
This is a no-brainer, if you order water at a restaurant you’ll most likely get charged a hefty amount for some fancy bottled water. The simple trick is to always ask for tap water. It’ll be about 30 cents a glass or sometimes even free. Take advantage of how clean our tap water is.
By now you’ve read enough and you’re probably thinking how cheap all of this is and you’re in disbelief at how aunty some people can be. But secretly deep down, you’ve done at least one of these things. Don’t be ashamed to admit it, be proud of your aunty-ness. Own it.
Feel the aunty, be the aunty.
