Santi's

Passed by Santi's to buy some yogurt and look what I found :)  We usually buy this brand because it has less sugar than others.  Blueberry is the preferred flavor at home because it's the "King of Fruits." This batch expires on November 9.

Saturday’s Supermarket Sale

Today, Yaya knocked on my door to say that my baby is down to his last bottle of milk.  So I had to make an unscheduled trip to the supermarket.  These are what I found today:

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S&R

Tide Powder 10kg bag with pail is selling at PhP743.95.  I always hoard on this whenever it’s on sale because I buy for a huge household.   I simply shouldn’t miss out on savings like this.  For the record, I normally buy this 10kg bag (without pail) at Landmark for a little over PhP800.

Hubby and I love the fresh scent of Coast and Irish Spring.  Hooray, it’s marked down!  At 229.95 for a 6-pack, each bar costs PhP38.23.  Not bad for a bar of soap that’s made in the USA.

Rustans

It was quite a surprise to find a number of good deals here.  Normally, I only buy here out of emergency / scarcity.  Based on my observation, prices here are usually around 5% higher than the rest. But don’t dismiss this store when they’re on sale.  Savings can also be found here.  Check out their publication.  Oh dear, it’s dated Oct 16 – 25, 2015.  Pronto, pronto, rush to your nearest branch.  I encircled the deals which were more relevant for our household and the prices are honest-to-goodness lower than Landmark and S & R.

Thanks for dropping by.  ‘Til the next shopping trip.

Savvy Shopper

I confess, I love grocery shopping.  Ever since I was young, my grandma would always take me with her to the grocery.  And yes, I get rewarded with lots of goodies after the trip.  So now decades after, the supermarket still gives me happy vibes. 

As a mom and wife, it’s my duty to make sure that the house is running like a well-oiled machine.  That means the ref is full, clothes are washed, the house is spic and span.  Now there are costs associated with all these, so here I am sharing some good deals I encounter at the grocery.  You might want to avail of them and maximize your budget without compromising quality.

This week these are my best buys for Oct 15, 2016:

Paul’s Milk – Buy One, Get One (BOGO)

It’s made in Australia and won’t expire until Dec 3, 2015.  So that comes out at PhP38.48 per liter.  I buy for a big family, so the savings amount to quite a sum for me.  Found this in Landmark.

Baby Wipes – Buy One, Get One (BOGO)

If you have a baby/ toddler, you’ll definitely need this.  This is such a steal at PhP64.98, found it at S&R.  These wipes are much thicker and smell better than Nursy (cheapest brand I've found to date).  Actually I've already availed of this deal since last month.  Hope they don’t run out of stock any time soon.

Next shopping trip will be in about 10 – 14 days.   Follow me and stay tuned on the next deal.  

Waste Market Recyclable Fair

Young as she is at 6 years old, my daughter is already very business minded.  She’s always thinking of ways how to earn an extra buck or two.  This is a trait of hers that I want to nurture, because she can’t live off Daddy & Mommy forever.  She’ll need to spread her own wings some day and I want her to be ready. 

My family and I are very fortunate to be living in a village.  So we regularly get memos/announcements/invitations to village projects, events and activities.  Last March, I came across a flyer about the Waste Market Recyclable Fair.  It was a chance for us to dispose our junk and get paid.  They accepted almost anything and paid for it by the kilo.  My daughter was very excited when I told her about it.  We had a couple of weeks to prepare. So we went around the house and started looking for things we could dispose.  We found old magazines, newspaper, some busted electronics (i.e. lamps, laptop, cordless phone, analog mobile phones, etc.)  plastic bottles, and so on.  Since it was our first time, we had no inkling how it would go and just brought all our junk to the designated venue and had it weighed.  Trash that was not sorted was classified as assorted trash and sold at a measly P1/kg.  Personally, we didn’t “earn” much for 2 carloads of trash.  Anyhow, I just charged that to experience.  Besides, my daughter was very happy to be bringing home a couple of hundred pesos.

To my pleasant surprise, this Waste Fair was actually a quarterly event in the village.  So we were ready for it this time around (June 2015).   As soon as the announcement came, my daughter immediately reminded the maids to start saving trash that could be recycled.  Before long we had empty boxes, tissue paper cores, newspaper, bottles, etc. all sorted out and ready for disposal.  So on our second try, we raised the same amount for half a carload of trash. 

This Waste Market Fair is really something I look forward to. More than just letting my daughter experience how to “earn” real money, it’s also a way for us to recycle.  It’s our little way of giving the earth a chance to breathe.  Yes, I’m still hoping that my children will enjoy a healthy, green earth decades from now and not a dump.  Let’s live sustainably.

Best Summer Ever!

Summer of 2015 was truly epic for our family.  Hubby and I brought the kids to Japan and USA.  Since the trip was somewhat heavy on the wallet, Hubby and I were determined to stretch our peso/dollar/yen to the fullest.  Here are a few tips which might prove to be helpful for you as you plan your own adventure.

- Discounted tickets from the travel fair. 

Although we didn’t get the cheapest deal possible, I’m still quite pleased that we were able to slash at least 10% off our air fare with a free stopover in Japan to boot.  We flew JAL all the way.  Our itinerary was Manila – Narita, Narita – LA, LA – Narita and Narita – Manila and this is what makes it so worth it.  Normally, the Narita – LA/ LA – Narita route is code shared and is flown by an American airline.  Honestly, I prefer the service of flight stewards in Asian carriers.  Moreover, the aircrafts are also way more comfortable compared to their Western counterparts. 

Other airlines to consider for your US trip would be EVA Air and PAL.  Singapore Airlines also get top ratings from me, but tickets tend to be pricey. 

- Go WIFI. 

Should you need to stay in touch with people at home, in the office, etc.  You don’t need to spend a ton on Global Roaming.  You can rent pocket WIFI.  It will make overseas communication much more affordable.

- Do your research. 

Thank goodness Hubby checked the Sanrio Puroland website.  By doing so, we were able to save 10% off on our entrance fee.  10% may not sound like much, but a penny saved is a penny earned.  We also compared rates of Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Anaheim.  Tokyo Disney came at around P3k per person, whereas Disney Anaheim was priced at almost P5k per head.  Given that the kids won’t be able to walk the entire park in one day, we chose the less expensive one.  Although Tokyo Disney was cheaper, in no way was it inferior to Anaheim.

- Use your credit card WISELY.

Your credit card might allow you free access to the airport lounge.  Do you have a dual currency card?  If your card can bill you in USD and PHP, make sure you charge your purchases in the US.

This way you can earn points and spread out your expenses a little bit.  Those points can amount to free GC’s/ other rewards, and waiver of the annual fee.  Plus, you also get a fair forex rate for your purchase. Do remember though to spend only within your means.  Please do not get carried away.  Credit card interest rates are probably the highest.  If your credit card is not dual currency, know when to use them. Some stores can already convert and bill you in peso at the time of purchase.  These are usually excellent deals.  You get almost market to market rates.  Stay up to date with the forex, so you can compare.

- Know your options. 

The carrier was quite strict with the luggage weight.  Two out of three luggage went beyond the 23 kilo allowance.  Although we were allowed 7 pieces of luggage, they were quite strict with the weight of each, so we either pay a P6000 penalty, or buy a new luggage to accommodate the extra load.  It’s good the ground personnel was kind enough to point us to a store that sold empty boxes.  So we just assembled our little balikbayan box on the spot at the Narita airport.  That saved us thousands of pesos.

How was your summer vacay this year?  Do share with us your pointers as well.  I’d love to learn about your ideas too.