S’porean, 28, realises she’s been overindulged by parents after moving out, forced to learn to grow up

Here’s a bit of a funny story: when I first moved out, I didn’t know about Service and Conservancy (S&CC) charges.

As a born-and-bred digital native, I didn’t bother to check my letterbox for the first couple of months.

In a similar vein, before I got my own home, paying for utilities didn’t even cross my mind. I had a vague idea that I had to pay for electricity, but the “how” just never came up.

It was only when our contractor informed us mid-renovation that the electricity had been turned off — apparently, the previous owners had closed their account, and we had to set up our own — that I realised that I was now apparently responsible for…a whole lot of things.

Needless to say, I was horrified when I finally checked my letterbox, only to discover a stack of unpaid bills and warning letters from the Town Council.

(Apparently, you get bills in the mail. Who knew?)

Overindulged

The thing is, my parents actually taught me quite a bit about personal responsibility.

I got my first job as a teenager, and worked through every school holiday. I did my share of the chores, paid my way through university, handled my own expenses.

But it was still a shock to learn exactly how much more I had to do upon becoming a homeowner.

It wasn’t just the bills and chores. Food needed to be restocked, meals prepared, toilets scrubbed, appliances maintained and serviced.

When my air-conditioning started running warm, I called my dad. “Can you help me ask the air-con guy?”

I didn’t even know where to start.

And I hadn’t even gone into the ordeal of budgeting, cost-cutting, and expense-tracking.

Apparently, as much as I’d boasted of my independence, I still knew nothing about being an adult.

Learning to adult

So, it’s been three years since I moved out.

I’ve set up Giro arrangements for most of my recurring bills, bought a bunch of nifty cleaning gadgets, and discovered the miracle of air-frying — IMO, the best piece of technology to come out of the 21st century.

But I’ve also been humbled.

Being an adult homeowner is hard, and there’ll always be more things to consider, more decisions to make, and more responsibilities to take on.

A big part of this is making sure you get the best bang for your buck — whether it’s learning to stretch your CDC vouchers, tracking sales for the biggest discounts, or getting the best value of everything.

It’s not just obvious things like groceries and home appliances either.

Like I said, I didn’t even know how to pay for electricity; it didn’t cross my mind that I could choose from different electricity retailers with different rates.

But as it turns out, you can.

Affordable electricity with Geneco

Switching to a leading residential electricity retailer in Singapore, Geneco, which guarantees the lowest electricity rate in town, is one thing I can consider to keep my electricity bills manageable.

As part of their ongoing Stack & Save promo, new customers who sign up for their Get It Fixed 24 plan, at $27.68¢/kWh (vs SP’s electricity tariff of $30.03¢/kWh), can get bill rebates and vouchers of up to S$270.

The S$270 comprises:

• A S$160 bill rebate + S$20 eCapitaVoucher with promo code STACK180
• Up to S$35 bill rebates with credit card offers
• A S$35 bill rebate for Mothership readers who use the referral code MS35
• An added bonus of S$20 eCapitaVoucher when you opt in to Power Eco Add-On, Singapore’s first and only customisable green add-on for your electricity plan. With this add-on, you can support the abatement or removal of your carbon emissions from just S$1 more per month.

The plan also comes with a Price Match Guarantee, so you can be sure that you are enjoying the most competitive rate.

You can find out more about their promotions and sign up to their electricity plans here.

Play and stand to win $100 eCapitaVoucher

You can also win extra $$$ with Geneco’s Stack & Win Challenge.

As part of the limited-time challenge, the five players each week who stack the highest number of blocks in their Stack & Save game will win a S$100 eCapitaVoucher.

Ready to take on the challenge? The challenge ends on Oct. 31, so act fast.

You can join Geneco’s Stack & Win Challenge here.

Writing this Geneco-branded article reminded this writer that she needs to get her air-con serviced.