Monday, September 29th, 2008
Love to shop? Then subscribe to my RSS feed to be the first to find out what's hip and happenin' in the world of shopping. Thanks for visiting!
Shopping and eating out, you can’t do one without the other. At least not for us. Let’s face it, shopping is tiring on the feet even if you wear really practical shoes 
.
So there’s our excuse right there to go park ourselves somewhere and pig out. But if you’ve noticed, eating out can be expensive these days especially for a mom like me with 3 teens with ravenous appetites.
So I’m constantly looking for ways to save when we eat out. We do different things, sometimes to save money, other times, I just say, to heck with it, let’s pig out.
But where there’s a cheaper alternative, I will always try to take that route. Take sushi, for instance.
If we sit at a sushi bar with that fancy conveyor belt, sure it’s fun for a while, but each piece of sushi easily costs 2-3 times more than if I were to grab them off the takeaway sushi section at the supermarket.
So why not? For the same price, we can each eat double the amount it would’ve cost us in a restaurant. The sushi tastes equally good. Same quality at half the price. I like 
!!
Posted in food & beverages, save money | No Comments »
Sunday, September 7th, 2008
Like everyone else, we used to go to the movies on the weekend. But did you know that movie tickets are most expensive on the weekend?
In these times of belt-tightening, you can actually save quite a bit of money if go to the movies on a weekday instead, that is if weekdays are not an issue with your existing schedule.
If you check your favorite movie theater’s website before going, you’re likely to learn a thing or two about the specials they run on weekdays.
At GSC and TGV, I think Tuesday is Ladies’ Day so if you’re a woman, you get a special rate on your ticket. Wednesday is the day when tickets are at their cheapest. On Thursdays, students enjoy a special price on tickets simply by flashing their student ID cards.
I’m not sure about Mondays and Fridays. Don’t hold me to this information though as they’re probably subject to change, like everything else. Check your movie theater’s website to see what promotional rates apply to which day of the week.
Posted in entertainment, save money | No Comments »
Monday, August 25th, 2008
Well, this is the last Wednesday of free parking at 1 Utama in case you haven’t noticed. I know it’s only one buck but still the idea of getting to park for an unlimited time for free is just too much to resist.
At least for me . Yep, always looking for ways to save. As if the cost of living isn’t high enough so every cent counts.
As you know, you can’t park on the road outside even for one minute to run in and buy something quick. That 2-lane road outside is practically unused on weekdays and yet they won’t let you park.
There’s a break in the kerb right in front of the basement parking and they close that road and make you drive all the way down into the jam to make a U-turn!! Can’t see the point in that either.
So if you need to make that one-minute dash in and out, this is your last chance not to have to pay a buck for a minute’s worth of parking.
Posted in save money, shopping places | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008
Okay, so even the Shopperista is stumped. The fuel price hike is going to cause a huge dent to the shopping budget now, thank you very much.
I’ve been grocery-shopping like crazy over the weekend. Crazy, not as in running amok but as in a little over the top. Just being a little proactive in stocking up on stuff that’s going to cost a heckuva more in the weeks ahead.
Now that we’ve decided to eat in more, I have to stock up my two fridges to bursting point. I have three growing teens who are constantly on the ‘food prowl’ so I have to keep my kitchen well stocked up.
I’m the chronic bulk shopper so I’m used to it. Sometimes I buy so much I fill up the car trunk and the whole floor of my vehicle from front to back.
So far, I’ve stashed away roughly 25kg of rice, 10kg of cooking oil, 10kg of Milo, 100 rolls of toilet paper, 20 boxes of tissues, 12 boxes of toothpaste. No worries, there’s only a couple more things I need to buy this weekend .
Posted in home & around, sales & discounts, save money | No Comments »
Sunday, July 6th, 2008
Come to think of it, there are many ways to cut cost around the house. It’s not nearly as drastic as a lifestyle change because all it requires is some simple behavioral modifications.
Here are some things we’re doing/you can do at home to reduce waste:
Last person out of the room switches off everything that’s not in use – lights, fans, air-conditioning, chargers, etc. This has always been our house rule even before gas prices went up.
I park my car outside if I’m going out again soon. It saves on using the electric gate. Yes, the price of electricity has gone up too, so what else is new?
We’re cooking at home more as it’s much cheaper and healthier. For the price of one restaurant meal, we can have several healthy, homecooked meals.
My neighbor buys her garbage bags. I’ve never bought any before. I reuse old plastic bags for trash.
I only do a laundry run when I have enough clothes for one load. After all, we have plenty of clean clothes so we really are in no rush to get our laundry done.
Many people go line up at the car wash first thing Sunday morning and pay to sit there and watch their car being washed. Why when you can DIY, get a great workout and save money at the same time? Hey, sitting too much is not good for you, okay? I wash my own car or better yet, I let the rain do it for me .
The bottom line is to reduce waste and there are countless ways to do that. How are you doing it? Care to share?
Posted in eco-friendly, save money, tips & ideas | 5 Comments »
Monday, June 23rd, 2008
Lately I’ve been shopping like a maniac. It’s not what you think. I’ve been hanging out at the grocery store instead of the Coach store, heheh. Reason being that we’ve decided to eat out less seeing as how prices are creeping up.
We are making good progress. I’m cooking school lunches every day and the kids are (surprise!) lovin’ it. It’s possible that I’m a darned good cook but didn’t know it .
At any rate, I’ve discarded all loyalties to any grocery store. I’m looking to save money so the lowest bidder gets the sale, so to speak. I’m doing my homework online, comparing prices first before going out.
I shop wherever I happen to be at. No more making trips specially to my favorite stores. We’re all creatures of habit. If we like to shop there, we keep going back. No more! Now it’s whoever offers the best price wins.
Posted in food & beverages, save money, shopping places, tips & ideas | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
Still on the topic of cars, you know, we’ve just gotten so used to driving that it’s hard to go anywhere without a car. Even when you travel to far-off places on holidays, you still need a car to get around, like it or not.
My girl friend has gone home to Scotland to see her folks. Even though she’s a native there, she hires a car from Car Hire Edinburgh Airport so she’ll have a car to use while she’s home.
CarRentals searches through a huge database of suppliers to find you the lowest rates for car hire. You can save by using this service not just to hire cars in the UK but also anywhere in the world.
Posted in , save money, travel & vacations | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
It’s true what some people are saying. It’s not just the high price of petrol but the domino effect of high fuel prices on the overall cost of living. But still learning how to save petrol is a worthwhile initial step. Since it’s within our control, I don’t see why we shouldn’t do it.
So here are a few more tips in addition to the ones I already listed here:
(5) Avoid sudden accelerations and decelerations so as not to incur higher petrol consumption. In other words, take it easy and drive smoothly.
(6) Plan your travel logistics. Map our your errands mentally before you go. Instead of running out to do one errand at a time, group them together and get them done all at once.
(7) Carpool or walk, whichever suits your purpose.
(8) Switch off your car engine when idling.
Not hard to do at all. I think it’s good practice because by saving petrol, we’re not only saving our pockets but also the environment.
Posted in save money, tips & ideas, travel & vacations | No Comments »
Thursday, June 5th, 2008
Face to face with yet another hefty fuel price hike, I’m sure the question on everyone’s mind right now is how to improve your petrol consumption and save money on petrol. The way I see it, the price of petrol can only increase, given that it is a limited natural resource. So we might as well figure out how to save money on petrol right here and now.
Here are a few things I’ve been doing since the last fuel price hike to improve on my petrol consumption and minimize my petrol bill:
(1) Pump petrol in the mornings or evenings when temperatures are cooler. The volume of petrol contracts in cooler temperatures which means you’re getting more per litre.
(2) Ensure that your car tyres are well-inflated. Tyre pressures differ for different cars so check your car’s recommended tyre pressure in either your owner’s manual or on the sticker that’s usually on the side of the driver’s seat. Under-inflated tyres will cause your car to consume more petrol. I normally get mine checked once a week or two.
(3) It’s time to lose weight. No, not you, silly, your car! Throw out all that unwanted stuff you’re carrying around in your car like those boxes of books you’ve been meaning to give away or that golf bag that’s there even when you’re not playing golf that day. The heavier your car, the more petrol it consumes. So clean it out.
(4) Don’t speed. Stick to driving below 100 kmph and you’ll be saving petrol. See, there’s good reason for your mom’s advice not to speed. Okay, if you must know, there’s this thing your car does that’s called ‘drag’ which drinks more petrol if you go above a certain speed. That’s all I can tell you in a nutshell because that’s all I know about ‘drag’ .
These are just a few tips to start you off with. I have a few more tricks under my sleeve on how to improve your car’s petrol consumption and help you save money on petrol in the process. So stick around.
Posted in save money, tips & ideas, travel & vacations | 2 Comments »
