Shopping Missy

I am a self confessed shopper but I feel really bad if I hit my shopping quota for the month. That is because as much as I am a shopper, I am also a saver. I buy things I can actually afford to pay at that very moment I purchased the item. Hitting my shopping quota would mean I have less money to save. What do I do so I will be less guilty? I plan to save more the following month - maybe less coffee, less mall visits, etc. So here are some of the adjustments I make. Maybe you'll find some to be applicable to you. (Sorry, this is a long post) Phone/Mobile phone:  I am on Globe pre-paid for the longest time. Phone companies changes their promos every few months so that gives me variety of choices which can match my changing needs. I save more by loading P1000 which gives me 250 free text compared to P500 with 85 free text or 300 with 35 free text. As most of my family members and friends have either smartphones or tablets, I communicate with them using iMessage, Viber, Face...

We have a couple of sample boxes here in the Philippines - Glamourbox , BDJbox , Saladbox . These companies aim to provide the best way for consumers to try new products by sending a box of sample-sized beauty products monthly. A subscription may be from 1 to 12 months depending on your choice. November of last year, I was at my year's peak of online shopping. Being new to these sample boxes, I opted to subscribe to different companies for 1-3 months - with an expected 6 boxes until April 2014. On my 3rd box, I realized that this sample boxes are not for me. More than half of the products I have received are unusable with my lifestyle - a kitchen deodoriser, green nail polish, lip tint, eye brow grooming certificate or facial treatment. Except for hair care and soaps, I ended up giving away everything else. Yesterday, I surprisingly received my last box. I actually forgot about still having a subscription so I already have 20% happiness just by opening the package :) And I was ...

I mentioned in my previous entries that I have lived overseas for some time which is why I didn't have a Philippine issued credit card. It wasn't really a big deal until I needed one to pay a local service company. So my quest began... In order to apply for a credit card, one has to prove financial capacity. Meaning a source of income LOCALLY - a licensed business or an employment. If you are an expat here, you have to have a working visa plus an employment certificate from the company. I would like to stress the word LOCAL meaning the business or office should be located and properly documented here in the Philippines.  With these in mind, I know I am not qualified for the normal credit card. This is when I discovered the SECURED CREDIT CARD. What is a Secured Credit Card? This is a credit card with a collateral. Meaning you have to have a Time Deposit in the bank and then you'll be given around 80% credit limit. Example, with a P20,000 Time Deposit, you will get a cre...

Last December, I was trying to stay away from driving to the mall because I knew the traffic would be terrible. With much free time at home coupled with my unused shopping energy, I ended up shopping online.  I am not new to online shopping as I have lived overseas where it's convenient. Back to my story -  I tried having personal items delivered here (in Makati) from strawberrynet.com . Ordered mid of December, tracking stated it arrived here in the Philippines January 2 but I received a notification from the Makati Post Office January 20. The notification was stating that I should personally claim my parcel (no doorstep delivery for parcels via the post office). Upon claiming, I was surprised with how much I needed to pay as "custom taxes." I had expected duty taxes around 12% as that's our VAT rate here in the Philippines but I was charged P1,223 for a P3,257 worth of items. That is 37.5% TAX!! Here is how it was computed: Item cost (2 small perfum...