Dr Cafe at The Curve

Armchairs, Mocha Frappe....Just me making myself feel at home while working in a little cosy little nook in Dr Cafe at The Curve. 

FYI Dr Cafe at The Curve is currently running a promo. My Grande Mocha Frappe cost me only RM6.

The Game of Willpower

I've been eyeing on some stuff on this online store. At first, they were giving 20% discount for first time customers and I thought, "I can wait." Then they had a 30% one day only sale which I also passed up on. Later they were giving $20 discount for orders of a minimum of $50 which technically looked like a 40% discount provided that your order total came up to $50 on the dot. My order total order, however, was over $50 and when I worked the $20 discount back into it, the discount came up to about 35%. I decided to forget it. Then yesterday, they announced a flash sale from 6 pm to 12 midnight on the whole store with no minimum purchase limits. I caved in when I saw that many of the items that were previously available were sold out.

I only bought two items and the total purchase cost me half of what I had initially planned to buy. So I consider that a compromise. Besides, I figured that a small order would give me a chance to sample the online store's service. More importantly, I saved some money but not jumping in at the first sign of a discount. It pays to be patient. With the 35% discount, the prices are lower than what the European customers are paying for the products on the brand's website in Europe. I also saved money by planning and researching the items and purchasing only the items that I don't already have (seriously, I'm not buying look-a-likes of things that I already own) and oh, by the way, I got free shipping too :)

Now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my order arrives quickly and without drama.

A Patch for My Beloved Keds

Not one to throw things out unnecessarily, I found it hard to part with my beloved Keds when there was a slight tear in the big toe area of my right shoe. Purchased in Bangkok, this pair of Keds and I have been to many places together. This is my second pair of Keds in this design, yes, I loved it enough to buy a second pair.

 I can wear my fav Keds again!

There's a cute little blue elephant on my shoe!

I stopped wearing it when the tear was beginning to look visible but at the same time, I was reluctant to put into the donation box. I recently had this idea of concealing the tear with an iron on patch (don't know why it took me so long to think of this!) and guess what --- it works and I can now wear my beloved Keds again! I'm a happy bunny!

Getting to the Product at the Bottom of a Tube

There is normally about a week's worth of product at the bottom of a tube which you can't get to unless you cut the tube open (this is especially true for me when it comes to body lotion and moisturisers). I used to cut the tube at the very top end of the packaging but discovered that this wasn't the best solution as the product left in the packaging would be exposed to air and then cake up.

So, in order to overcome that problem, I now cut away the middle portion of the packaging and then use the top half as the cover for the lower half. In this way, it stops from the product still left in the bottom half of the tube from being exposed to air and caking up.

Research the Product Before Making the Purchase

I'm always looking for ways to not only save money but also to cut down on the number of stuff that I purchase and thus reducing clutter. I want to make sure that everything that I purchase is something that I would definitely use. I just hate to see things go to waste.

There are just so many beauty products out there and I just love trying out the product testers at the drugstores and Sephora. If I find a product that interests me, I don't make a purchase right there and then. I normally would make a mental note of it and do some online research by reading reviews on it when I get home. I find that it helps me make better decisions on which products to purchase and which to pass.

I think I have enough stuff in my makeup box for the time being. I have made a wish list of stuff that I'd like to purchase once I run out of the products that I'm currently using. It's sort of an idea list that I can go to when the time comes for me to replace the products that I run out of. Products are only added to the wish list after they have been researched online. In that manner, my purchases have been thought of and are planned and not made on impulse. 

Pump Bottles for Beauty Products and Toiletries

The lotion cleanser and facial cleanser that I use come in a bottle and tube. I find it annoying when the original containers that the products come in dispense more product than what I really need.

So, here's the solution: I transfer the product from the original tube or bottle to another bottle that has a pump dispenser. In that way, one pump always dispenses the same amount of product and does away with the problem of having excess product being dispensed from the original container that the product came in. The products lasts longer (as you use less of it) and it's also more hygienic as your hand doesn't touch any of the unused product.

Paying Me

This is what I do nowadays: for everything that I save when I shop or when I get a service done which I would otherwise have to pay someone else to do (i.e. manicure, pedicure, hair color, etc), I put the amount that I saved away into my savings account. In that way, I'll not only be buying things on discounts but I'll also be building up my savings at the same time.  

Tuesday is Spa Day!!!

I'm declaring Tuesdays as Spa Day where I treat myself to some home spa pampering. Today, I'm giving myself a Tropical Peel Off mask treatment.

I bought this tube of mask during my last trip to Dubai. It costs around AED 18 which is about RM14.50 and one tube promises 10 applications. This mask is made up of a mixture of red grape and mango.

For less than RM1.50 a use, I'm not only saving loads of money (compared to going to the saloons out there), I'll also get to give myself a treat and have super soft skin at the same time! :)

Make your Credit Card Work for YOU!

Credit cards are not bad things if you use them wisely. I pay mine in full each month as I see no reason why I should let them charge me interest for my purchases. I make sure that I have the money to pay for whatever I buy each month which means that every purchase needs to be thought of in advanced, in short, planned.

Let me tell you this: I didn't start out this way. I have had my fair share of credit card debt in the past which I worked very hard to pay down and off. I put a running tally of my credit card balance on my fridge. It gave me a constant reminder of why I should control my spending and at the end of each month, I would happily extract the amount that I paid and watch the outstanding balance reduce. For me, that was motivating.

Well, all that, I am proud to say, is in the past. Now, I make my credit cards work for me. I'm currently using my Maybank Amex a lot as each ringgit that I charge earns 5 treats points. I also pay my bills using my Maybank Amex whenever possible such as my Streamyx, phone and DBKL bills. In addition, I make sure that I pay my bills and make purchases over the weekends so that I get to enjoy the 5% cash back rewards. The cash back is capped up to RM50 a month and that adds up to a savings of RM600 a year!

The 5 treats points given for every ringgit spent adds up pretty quickly too and with 2000 treat points, you can redeem a RM10 voucher from one of the retailers participating in the treats points program. So yeah, if you're like me, you'll be saving a huge amount of money if you make your credit cards work for you instead of what most people out there do, work hard to pay off their credit cards.

In case you belong to the latter group, you might want to think about going on a shopping diet and concentrating on paying off your credit card debt instead. You'll be surprised to see how paying twice the minimum payment is going to cut down not only on the length of time that it'll take you to finish paying your debt but also how much less interest you'd be paying the credit card company. There are many calculators out there to help you figure out how long it'll take you to pay off your debt. Click here for one such credit card calculator.

Another way you can save on paying interest on your credit cards is if you use the zero% balance transfer programmes that banks offer from time to time. You've got to be very disciplined though. No going out on ANOTHER shopping spree just because credit card A's balance is zero now. Remember, if you use your credit cards, make sure that you have the means to pay them off NOW. Don't think about paying for purchases that you make now with future income because what that's going to mean is that you'd have even less to spend when the future comes because you have to pay for a purchase that you made months ago. Wouldn't that be such a drag?

Use your credit cards wisely. Make them work for you. Don't work for them!