One Utama Shopping Centre e-Duit Raya Promotion

I was in One Utama Shopping Centre and saw a sign saying that for every RM20 of e-Duit Raya purchased online through their online store OneShop, they would match it and give another RM20. This promotion was, however, only for the first 200 online transactions.

I decided to try my luck and purchased RM20 e-duit raya and guess what --- a few minutes after I received my e-Duit Raya gift card in my email, I received another email telling me that I was given a RM20 e-Duit Raya rebate also via an online gift card!

It basically means that I got my RM20 e-Duit Raya gift card purchase matched with another RM20 e-Duit Raya! Woohooo!!! I'm a happy bunny as that means more shopping money for me!

The e-Duit Raya, when redeemed, will be transferred into my existing OneCard account which can be used as a debit card when shopping in any of the participating shops (and there are many) in One Utama Shopping Centre.

Takeaway of the day: It pays to read the signages, sometimes :)

Using Up Every Bit of Toothpaste in the Tube

This is how I get to all the product in the toothpaste tube.

There's a good four to five days' worth of toothpaste in the tube when cut open. I keep the cut opened tube in a recycled Tesco Cotton Pad resealable plastic bag to keep the toothpaste from drying.  

Making My Own Eye Makeup Remover

I've been thinking of making my own eye makeup remover for quite some time since I want something that is mild and at the same time does not leave an oily feeling on my lids. I've tried removing my eye makeup with olive oil --- that was waayyyy too oily for my liking.

My online research online revealed that eye makeup removers should contain oil to break down and remove the eye makeup. Then I noticed lately that my Moo Goo Shampoo was getting oily. A thought occurred to me: Moo Goo Shampoo contains coconut oil and that should work in my eye makeup remover! So, I put one and a half pumps of Moo Goo Shampoo into a small bottle with 30 ml water, gave it a good shake and viola, I had my own d.i.y. eye makeup remover!

It's gentle, organic (Moo Goo Shampoo is an organic product), quick to make, doesn't sting my eye, and best of all, it cost me nothing to make it.

To use it, I just put some on a cotton pad, put the cotton pad over my eye for about 10 seconds and then wipe the eye makeup off my lids.

And I discovered a bonus --- it works great for removing my facial makeup too!

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.

Popular Book Vouchers

This is how I fund my reading habit: First, I earn reward points each time I use my Maybankard 2 credit cards  which is pretty easy to do as I pay for most of my shopping by credit card (which I make sure that I pay off in full at the end of the month). When I have accumulated enough reward points, I redeem them for Popular Book vouchers!!! :)

You can read more about Maybank 2 credit cards in my earlier post  here.

To stretch out my buying power even more, I normally wait for Popular to go on sale  (when I get to enjoy a 20% discount on books) before I use my vouchers to pay for my purchases.

It always feels like a treat when I go shopping for books without having to pay for them in cash :)

Starbucks Malaysia Half Price Frappuccino Promo

I just had a grande Mocha Frappuccino down in the local Starbucks at half price :)  I intend to explore the other frappuccino flavours during this promo period.

The promo is from 5-7 pm on Wednesdays for  Starbucks Card holders and Fridays (same time) for everyone. The promo runs from today till June 8, 2012. Enjoy! :)

Season Parking Deposit

I finally got my deposit back for the season parking card last Saturday :) It's been almost a year now since I left that place and should have claimed my deposit back a lllooonnggg time ago but never got around to doing it until earlier this year. I've got cash!!! 

O'Briens Irish Sandwich Cafe Classic Tripledecker Sandwich

I treat vouchers from deal sites such as Groupon as an opportunity to test out food outlets that I have never been to before and so, when a deal came up on Groupon for an O'Briens Irish Sandwich Cafe Classic Tripledecker Sandwich last month, I bought it. I redeemed my Groupon voucher today :)

I went to the O'Briens outlet at the Curve and had my sandwich to go as I was in a hurry. I like it that my sandwich was packed in a paper bag instead of a plastic.

The Tripledecker sandwich 

The verdict: 
I must say that of all the food outlet vouchers that I have redeemed so far, this sandwich is the best! The sandwich is simply mmmmm....yummylicious!!! I particularly like the chicken crisp in the sandwich :) I'm sold!!! This is certainly a must-go-back-for-more sandwich. Thumbs up!

Eating out at a fraction of the price

I went to Nando's for lunch yesterday and had a meal and bottomless soft drink for RM5.30.

I used one of the RM20 Nando's vouchers which I redeemed from Bonuslink something like two months ago! In fact, I redeemed my Bonuslink points for two RM20 Nando's vouchers which means that I've still got another one  :) It's a meal for a fraction of the price and I'm not complaining!

The Big Bad Wolf Sale

The much awaited for sale is finally around the corner. I'm looking forward to making my annual book purchase. This time around I'm on the lookout for personal finance books as well as novels.

For those who are contemplating on whether or not to go, listen, it is worth your time going there. The books are dirt cheap (paperback novels at RM8!) and they are new.

This time around, Big Bad Wolf promises an even bigger sale with 1.5 million books! I've been going to the BBW sale ever since it started and during each sale period, I've made two to three visits. One visit is never enough!

The books that I purchased have given me many hours of reading pleasure. If you're like me and you absolutely cannot imagine life without books and you want to stretch your budget, this is the book sale that you MUST go to to stock up on books.

Yes, I've heard some people moan and groan that it's in Serdang, but you know what, Serdang is not out there in the sticks as some of you may want to believe. It's only 20 minutes from KL if you take the PLUS highway. Have a sense of adventure and venture out to this new location. You just might find yourself pleasantly surprised.

Will I see you there???

Ways I Save Money

Here's a list of some of the things that I do to save money:

CREDIT CARDS
1. Kiss Annual Credit Card Fees Goodbye
I was paying RM180 per year for my annual credit card fee. I have recently migrated to another credit card and saved RM180 a year in credit card fees! The banks are already making so much money from charging you interest, why pay them more in the form of annual fees?

2. Pay It in Full
If you can, pay your credit card bills in full each month. You wouldn't give the guy on the street RM20, would you? So why are you willingly giving it to the bank???

3. Transfer It!
I have used zero transfer programs in the past and it has saved me quite a bit of money in interest. The trick is to pay off in full at the end of each month and I know this is hard, to not use the now free on your credit card to buy more useless stuff that got you into the credit hole in the very first place!

4. Check It!

I check my credit card statements for the following:

a. to make sure that there isn't any mistakes made on them. I normally keep all my credit card receipts and check them against the bill when it arrives.

b. to make sure that all the rewards points have been credited into my account (they add up substantially)

c. to ensure that any cash back rewards have been credited into my account

BANKING
5.  Save with an Online Bank

When I say "online bank", I don't mean online banking. I mean "online bank" as in there is no brick and mortar bank for you to go to. The only Online Bank that I know of at the moment is Maybank's m2u Savers account. Online Banks have less overheads and can therefore pay you more in interest. You can read more about the  Maybank's m2u Savers and how to go about opening an m2u Savers account here.

Do you know how much you are making in your savings account? I did --- apparently not much, in fact the way it was going, I was doing the bank a favour by putting my money in the bank and not getting much back for the service that I provide them. I just recently opened a Maybank m2uSavers account. It gives me more interest per annum compared to other savings accounts.

ELECTRICALS
6. Cable TV? Who needs it anyway???
With Astro planning to increase their charges, who needs it anyway??? I disconnected my cable tv service a few months ago before the price increase charges talk began and saved RM 49 per month, RM588 per year. Besides, Astro is going to increase their charges soon and while many people are complaining, I have no worries as I disconnected my Astro service a long time ago.

7. Switch It Off!

This is something I learned from home: Switch off all lights and electrical appliances that you're not using.

8.  It's Cool to Use the Fan

Honestly, I don't know about some other people but for me, the fan is just fine. If it gets too hot, take a cold shower!

9. Let There Be Light!
I use compact fluorescent light bulbs. They are brighter and energy efficient.

10. Hot Water Heater --- Really???
The hot water heater is really not necessary when living in a hot country like Malaysia. Okay, there are a few cold days when it rains non-stop but for most days, it's pretty hot and you don't need to use the hot water heater. You'll find, as I did, that if you stop using the hot water heater, your electricity bill is reduced quite drastically --- a plus for your wallet.


READING
11. Read More
Reading takes up more time and is much cheaper than watching a movie. Besides, reading is more fun as it allows you to "see" the story as it unfolds for yourself instead of seeing it through the eyes of some movie producer/ director.

12. Shop at Discount Book Stores

Why shop at full price when you can get them at discounted prices? Book Xcess... need I say more?

13. Don't pay full prices for books

If you're like me and you just love reading, you might want to be a member of Popular. For a small upfront fee, you are entitled to 10% off all of your book purchases on normal non-sale days and 20% off all of your book purchases during sales period. In addition, they often have member's discounts each month which you can purchase at 20% off the normal price.

14. Shop at Warehouse Sales

I normally wait for the Big Bad Wold Warehouse Sale organized by the same people at Book Xcess to load up on novels. At RM8 to RM10 a book, you get the books at a fraction (approx 25%) of the normal prices. 

15. Bookcrossing

I'm a bookcrosser. Free books are my favorite. Bookcrossing is a community of people who believe in making the world one big library. It's about educating the world and keeping the world literate. It's like a treat every time I find a book on my wish list at the Bookcross Zone in 1-Utama. MPH is one of the prominent bookcrossers and I have been lucky to have been able to stumble upon quite a number of spanking new books put up by MPH in the bookcrossing zone. Bookcrossing lets me explore reading books by authors that I wouldn't normally read and many times, I have been pleasantly surprised to find authors whose writing I enjoy. Remember though, bookcrossing books are for reading only and have to be released to the wild once you've done reading them. 

MOVIES

16. Pick Your Movie Days

At GSC cinemas, the lowest priced tickets are on Wednesdays and before 12 Noon on weekdays excluding public holidays.

ICE CREAM
17. Pink Wednesday
Whenever I feel like having an ice cream fix, I go to Baskin Robbins on Wednesday. All you have to do is show them something pink and they'll give you two scopes of ice cream for the price of one.

18. Baskin Robbins 31% Off
A not to be missed event if you're a Baskin Robbins Ice Cream fan. They offer 31% discount on all of their ice cream on the months that have the 31st. I'm lucky that there's a Baskin Robbins just a stone's throw away from where I live. I normally go there early in the day to avoid the crowds.

SHOPPING

19. Group Shopping Sites
This seems to be pretty hot now. The number of group shopping sites seem to have sprung up out of nowhere. Some to mention are Groupon, We Buy, Milk a Deal, Everyday, My Deal, Deal Mates and the latest kid on the block, Jigo City. They offer daily deals from restaurants, spas, holidays, hotels, fun experiences, name cards, photo books, photography sessions, etc. at substantial discounts.

I personally like the restaurant deals as it lets me sample restaurants that I wouldn't normally go to for a fraction of the normal price for a meal. One word of caution though, purchase only what you need. I read somewhere recently that statistics show that 20% of all coupons purchases online go to waste. Don't let yours go to waste. Buy the coupons only if it's around the area that you normally go to (ie on your way to work or to somewhere that you normally go to, you get the idea).

20. Say NO to Clothes/ Shoes/ Bags Shopping
Okay, this one wasn't so easy for me as I have this tendency to pick up something every time I go out to the stores. I recently had a look at what I've purchased and realized that I have loads of stuff which I just recently purchase and have not yet worn (some even still had the price tags on!). So every time I feel like buying something, I think about all the stuff that I already have at home. I find that if I spend time to visit what I have and style them, it's as good as going shopping for new stuff.

21. Cooling It Off!

See something you like in the store? Don't purchase it yet. You may find that you would have forgotten all about it by the time you get home.

22. Don't Pay Full Price

I used to work with a retailer. I know what their markups are on the merchandise which are mostly fabricated in China and there is no way that I'd want to pay for those markups. See something you like in the store? Wait for the sale, hey, there seems to be a never ending stream of sales in Malaysia. Missed the last one? No worries, the next one is just round the corner!

FOOD

23. Put on the Apron!
You know what, if I can do this one, so can you. Yes, I don't like to cook but since trying to cut back on my spending, I've been cooking. If you're like me, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised how cooking your own food might not only taste better (as I was!), it's also probably healthier as you have control over what goes into your food. There are lots of recipes online that you can google up. I recently found this fantastically yummy burger recipe online (click here to get it).

24. Leftovers

If you have any leftovers, transfer them into food savers and put them in the fridge. Hey, that's at least one less meal that you have to prepare later! Some food actually taste much better the day after too.

25. Pack lunch for work
Preparing lunch for work saves a tonne of $$$. It doesn't take a lot of time to prepare, just some planning. I normally make sandwiches for work.

CAR
26. Car Wash
Okay, this one, I have to admit, I have yet to do but I'm happy to announce that I have just bought a pack of car wash and wax last Monday. I normally pay RM10 per car wash and instead, picked up the car wash and wax liquid for RM15 and it's going to last me a very looonngggg time!

27. Fuel Up Over the Weekend
I fuel up my wheels over the weekend and make sure that I pay with my Maybankard 2 Amex card  since I get 5% cash back subjected to a maximum cap of RM50 per month.

28. Hold Back on Buying New Wheels

I've been holding back from purchasing new wheels for a number of years now. The thought of having to pay for something that I know will depreciate in value while I'm still paying the bank back is difficult for me to accept. I'd rather put the money away into a retirement fund.

29. Drive Less, Walk More

I'm lucky that I'm living in an area where the supermarket and banks are within walking distance to me. I save on fuel and parking fees, contribute less to global warming and get more exercise. Win, win, win.

GROCERY SHOPPING
30. Check Your Pantry/ Fridge First
Before you go shopping, make sure to check your pantry and fridge first to see what you're running out of to ensure that you only buy things that you've run out of/ are running low on.

31. Grocery Shop with a List
Going to the supermarket with a shopping list ensures that I stay with the plan (and not picking up just about anything and everything along the way) and don't forget what I went there to buy in the very first place.

32. Time Your Shopping
I shop during the weekends because my Maybank2 Amex card gives me 5% cash back on all of my weekend purchases (it's capped at RM50 per month though).

33.  Avoid Buying Bulk 

Yup, I know, I know, I can hear you say, "but buying bulk saves me money!". Yes, that's true BUT only if you use every last bit of it. No point buying in bulk if you only need a bit and then let the rest go to waste. I personally just buy on a need basis.

34. Load Up on stuff you know you will use
Check the flyers and load up on dry goods that have a long shelf life that you know you'll definitely use.

35. Buy Supermarket Brand Names

I don't know about you, but some of the supermarket brand name products are pretty good. I personally like the First Choice Multigrain Bread sold only in Giant and Cold Storage (they both belong to the same mother company --- Dairy Farm) I've also bought Giant's brand name spices. Some of the Tesco stuff are pretty good too (I've tried some of their cookies, olive oil, jam, cereal, chocolate, sardines, chicken curry, wet wipes, aluminium foil and cling wrap in the past).

36. Check Your Receipts

You might find that the cashier made a mistake when ringing in your purchases or maybe the scanned price doesn't match the shelf price or the price on the flier.

37. Don't Shop on an Empty Stomach

This is sooo true. I recently went shopping on an empty stomach and  found myself buying a lot of stuff! Make sure you have food before you shop. 

38. Shop at Places that have Free Parking

I normally go to Tesco because I get free parking when I shop there.

39. Avoid Trolleys

If you're shopping for one, avoid the trolley and instead reach for the basket as trolleys are a marketing ploy to get you to buy more than you intended to. When the basket gets heavy, you know it's time to head for the cash register.

BILLS

40. Pay Bills during the Weekends
I get 5% cash back by using my Maybank2 Amex card (subject to a maximum of RM50 cash back per month though).

41. Pay Bills Online
The beauty of online banking is that you can pay your do future payments for your bills. No more queuing up, paying your bills late, having to pay for checks or paying for stamps to send your payments.

42. Check Your Bills

Astro was still billing me even when I had terminated their services! Make sure you check your bills to make sure that something like this doesn't happen and if it does, get on the phone with their customer service rep to rectify the problem.

COFFEE/ DRINKS
43. Starbucks
Don't pay full price. Use your Maybank Amex to buy any Starbucks drink and you get another one of the same or lesser value for free (this promotion is good till 31st October, 2011). Click here to see the promotion.


TOILETRIES
43. Cut the Tubes
When you get to the end of your to toothpaste tube, don't throw it out without first cutting open the tube. You'll find that you probably have another 4 to 5 uses still. The same goes for anything else that comes in a tube (ie conditioners, cleansers, body lotion, hand cream, etc).

44. Upside down Bottles
I turn the body lotion bottles upside down when they are near the end to get to most of the product in a bottle.

45. Add a Little Water
For things like shampoo and conditioner, I normally would add a little bit of water to the bottle, close it and then shake it in order to get every last bit out!


NEWSPAPERS
46. Don't buy newspapers
You can always read the news online. I only recommend buying the Saturday newspapers for the appointment pages if you're job hunting as there might be ads advertised in there which are not available online.

47. Read Free Newspapers
Free copies of The Sun are delivered to my condo every week day.


KITCHEN
48. Don't buy garbage bags
I reuse the plastic bags that I get from grocery stores instead of garbage bags.

49. Use half of what you normally use
I pour some of the dish washing liquid into an empty pump bottle and mix it with equal amount of water. Let's face it, we sometimes use way to much detergent when doing the dishes.

50. Reuse Kitchen Towels
I sometimes use kitchen towels to dry my pans when I have just washed them and want to use them to cook immediately. I don't throw the kitchen towels out. I save them to wipe the spills off the stove surface after I'm done with my cooking.


REWARD PROGRAMMES
51. Credit Card Reward Programmes
My Maybankard2 cards come with reward programmes (every RM1 spent = 1x Treat points for my Mastercard and every RM1 spent = 5x Treat points for my Amex) so I make sure that I utilise my Amex card as  much as I can in order to earn more points which basically translates to more rewards.

52. Reward Yourself
Rewards programmes are great if you frequently shop at certain places. I'm a member of Bonuslink, One Card and Tesco Club Card. I also have a card for a juice bar that lets me collect points when I make a purchase. I have used rewards points from Bonuslink as well as my credit card to get stuff and vouchers for the stores that I frequent. I've just traded some of my Bonuslink points for a RM40 voucher from Nandos. Prior to that, I traded some of my credit card points for vouchears from Popular, Carrefour and Ayamas.

You've got to check if there is an expiry date on your rewards points (Bonuslink points are good for only three years) so you've got to make sure that you reward yourself before the points expire. My Tesco Club points as well as my One Card points don't have expiry dates --- they're the best since you'll always have them there when you need to use them and not have to worry about them expiring.

53. Sign up for Rewards Programmes
I'm a member of Bonuslink and Tesco Club Card and I make sure that I collect points when I shop at any of their stores/ affiliates.

54. Time your shopping

Shop on days when you can earn more points on your card. For instance, Parkson, an affiliate of Bonuslink, gives 5X points on Bonuslink members pre-sale days.

WORKING OUT

55. Forget the Gym
Why pay expensive gym membership when I can use the gym in my apartment complex for free? What I normally do nowadays though is I workout at home with a gym ball, a yoga mat and an elastic band. There are loads of great workout clips on YouTube that can give you ideas on how to structure your workout.

56. Walk More
I normally listen to my phone when I go out to do errands on foot. It lets me kill two birds with one stone --- I get my errand done and I get to work out without feeling like I'm really working out!


LIFESTYLE HABITS
57. No Spend Day
Try observing a No Spend Day at least once a week. You'll be surprised how much you'll save by just not spending in one day.

58. Journal It
I journal everything that I spend on a spread sheet on Excel. It's amazing how seeing it on a spread sheet controls your urge to spend unnecessarily.

59. Give yourself a daily budget
Set a daily budget and see how much you can save at the end of the day/ month.

60. Bring your own water

I used to buy water when I got thirsty. With a little planning, I fill up my own reuseable bottle with water at home and take it with me when I go out.


RECYCLE

61. I take aluminium, tin, plastic, paper and cardboard down to the recycling center in exchange for cash.

62. Paper

I use both sides of printed paper when I'm printing.

63. Paper Again

I also use the other side of printed paper as a note pad.

REPURPOSE
64. I use what I already have around the house before I go out to buy more. I reuse takeout food containers as trays in the refrigerator to keep things like sauces from spilling.

65. Before you throw something out, take a good look at it and think about how you can repurpose it.
You know that bottle of conditioner that didn't feel so great on your hair? Well, I use mine to shave my legs instead and it's lots cheaper than having to go out and buy shaving cream. You can do the same with the expired body lotion/ cream.

Shampoo that you get from the hotels can be used as a body wash (that is if you find it too nasty to use on your hair) when you go to the swimming pool/ waterpark or when you go travelling.

The body wash that looked better while you were in the shop rather than when you were in the shower can be poured into pump dispenser bottle and diluted with some water and viola! you have hand wash!

The hand cream that you don't really like can be used as body lotion or foot cream. Slather it on before you go to bed.

The face moisturiser that you no longer fancy using on your face because you found a better moisturiser for you face can be used as a hand cream instead.

Got nail polish you no longer use? You can use them to paint your keys so that it would make finding the right keys quicker (particularly if the keys are all about the same size and you've got a bunch of them!).

BEAUTY
66. Foot Spa
I do my own foot spa treatments for a fraction of the cost. There are lots of videos on YouTube.

67. Oil Blotters
I buy my oil blotters from Daiso (yeah, the everything is RM5 shop). The last time I bought oil blotters, I got 300 pieces of oil blotters for just RM5!

68. Cleanser
I happened to try a Rice Bran cleanser which I purchased from Daiso (at only RM5) and was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked it!


HAIR
69. I no longer use hair dyes as I normally colour my hair dark brown or black anyway. Instead, I have swapped my hair dye for henna which is not only ammonia peroxide free, but also costs only a fraction of the hair dye color!


CLOTHES
70. I mend my clothes to get more miles out of them.


GEEK
71. Save the Trees

I try as much as possible not to print on paper if I can. Instead, I try to save as much info as I can in soft copy on my external hard drive.

72. Learning
Is there anything that you wish you knew how to do? Before you pull out your wallet, consider learning it off the web first. I learned to use Adobe Ilustrator, Photoshop and refreshed my 10 years of unused AutoCad knowledge from YouTube. You can find some pretty amazing instructional videos there.

73. Free Software
There are many free softwares available on the web for FREE. So before you go out and purchase any programme, make sure to search online to see if you can get the software or compatible programme for free.

74. Share
I download free chic litt books (in PDF) online and that saves me a tonne of $$$.

PHONE CALLS
75. International Calls
I use Skype for international phone calls. Why pay telco prices when I can do it over the net for nothing more than the price of the broadband service which I'm already paying for anyway.

76. Mobile Phone
I subscribe to a prepaid plan that allows me to purchase air time as I need.

77. Mobile Phone Reward Points
Don't forget to take advantage of your mobile phone service provider's reward points. I use the reward points that I have accumulated to trade for free air time or sms.

78. Time Your Top Ups
Top Up when there is a promotion. A few days ago, I got a message from my telco saying that they would give me RM10 free if I topped up RM60. One word of caution though: only act on this deal if you need the credit. Otherwise, give it a miss. I have taken up on this deal in the past when I needed the credit but I'm giving it a pass this time around as I still have quite a bit of credit left on my account.
  

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! :)

Online Savings Account

Maybank's m2u Savers account is an online savings account that allows you to earn higher interest rates (2.1% - 2.3% per annum) compared to the conventional savings account (0.15% - 1.4% per annum).

It's easy to open an m2u Savers account if you're already a maybank2u user. You open the m2u Savers account through your existing maybank2u.com account. It took me no more than 3 minutes to set up my account (honest!) and you will see your new account in your next log in on the maybank2u.com website which is great! (Yes, I actually logged out and back in again to check that (1) the new m2u Savers account had been created and (2) that the amount that I transferred from my existing savings account is registered on my new m2u Savers account).

The new m2u Savers account that you set up is linked to your other existing savings/ current/ credit cards maybank accounts. It is also linked to your existing ATM card. 

The minimum deposit amount to open a m2u Savers account is RM250. RM250 is also the minimum amount of money that you must have in your account to keep it going.

In order to earn high interest rates, you need to have at least RM2000 in your m2u Savers account. The interest rates that you will earn is as follows:

RM2000 - RM 50000     2.1% per annum

Above RM50000            2.3% per annum

The interest is calculated on a daily basis and is credited into your account on a monthly basis. I'll be looking out for my first interest credit at the end of the month.

Keep in mind that Maybank is offering this high interest rate as this is an online banking account which means that you are not supposed to utilise the bank's over the counter services as all of your banking will be conducted via their ATM/ Check Deposit/ Cash Deposit machines. 

Maybank will impose a RM5.00  fee for the following over the counter services:

Withdrawals of less that RM5000

GIRO transactions of less than RM5000

Fund transfers of less than RM5000

In short, any transaction shy of RM5000 DON'T do it over the counter at the bank! Go use the machines!

The RM5 fee, however, will be waived if the transaction that you need to conduct amounts to RM5000 or more.

Should you not be impressed with the m2u Savers account after you have opened the account, keep in mind that a RM20.00 charge will be imposed should you want to close the account within 3 months of opening it.

No more clothes and shoes shopping!!!

I've discovered many new things in my wardrobe that I haven't worn, some even have price tags on them still. So this is what I plan to do --- I'm going to put a hold on clothes and shoes shopping for awhile until I have exhausted my current supply or until I feel like giving some of my present stuff away to charity. There is no point in having an abundance of clothes and shoes and not using them. I figured that I could save a lot of money by just chilling and not going shopping as I had normally done in the past.

I am also, at the same time, weeding through my clothes and putting away the clothes that I no longer use away to be donated to charity.

Tea Republic

Remember the WeBuy voucher I bought for Tea Republic in BSC (Click here if you missed it earlier)? Anyway,  I went there to redeem it today.

The Tea Republic is nicely tucked away somewhere in the back corner on the second floor of BSC's new wing  making it a nice and quiet spot. When I arrived (it was around 3:30 PM), there was only one other customer there.  I sat outside on the balcony as it was raining and the air condition inside was pretty chilly.

The quiet balcony

I had the Starfruit Tropicalitea Blend and two chicken mushroom pies for tea.

A Starfruit Tropicalitea and two Chicken Mushroom Pies for tea!

They were supposed to give me a RM5 voucher for my next visit but I think they ran out of it. The waiter suggested that I take something away worth RM5 and I chose to try the cupcake. The cupcake was not too highly exciting (not after having discovered Kitsch in Dubai!) though it did look pretty. The cupcake was packed in an eco-friendly cardboard  box for me to takeaway.

The cupcake was packed in an eco-friendly cardboard box

The takeaway cupcake

Like I said in my earlier post when I purchased the voucher, it is a good way to experience new places without having to fork out too much money. Would I go back there again? Sure! I like it because it's quiet and the Starfruit Tropicalitea concoction is great!

The best part of the deal today? I didn't even have to part with a cent. Everything was already paid for and I even found a space outside BSC to park (yup, couldn't believe my good luck coz that area is always pretty busy and the carpark in BSC was quite busy at that time as well) and so, I didn't even part with a cent today! :)

Have you really SAVED anything lately???

Here's an interesting thought --- a savings in not a savings until you actually SAVE it!!!

You know how most people say they saved X dollars when they purchased something during a sale? Well, here's an interesting thought --- it isn't a savings until you actually put the money that you "saved" away into a savings/ investment/ retirement account.

Otherwise, you didn't save anything. You only paid less for the item!

With that thought in mind, I'm putting the RM180 that I would have otherwise paid towards my annual fee credit card into my investment account (for those of you who are unaware read this post).

So... have you really saved anything lately???

Free Annual Fee Credit Cards

Remember my earlier post about the Maybankard 2 credit cards (click on the link if you haven't read it --- What do you mean you haven't read it yet??? Just kidding!) which are free from annual fees and which, at the moment, are offering the lowest APR (annual percentage rate --- fancy term for what is otherwise known as yearly interest rate)? Well, I just received a phone call yesterday afternoon informing me that my credit cards are ready for collection.

Now I'm going to cancel my annual fee card credit card and that saves me RM180 a year (yes, that's the insane amount of money I have been paying my bank for generating business for them by using my credit card!!!).

What have you done to reduce your expenses?

Tracking my daily expenses

I've recently downloaded a free personal budget template from Google docs and have been tracking my spending habits since the beginning of April.

I'm curious to see what I have been spending my money on and I'd like to see if there are areas that I can cut back on (I'm sure there are!!!). Many times we think that we spent x when in reality, we spent x+30. It's easy to fool ourselves when we don't really know what our outgoings are.

I've set myself a daily budget and try to stick to it as best as I can (I'm not always successful I must admit!).

So far, since I began tracking my expenses, there have been two occasions that I have impulse shopped --- something that I am guilty of time and time again. I just can't resist the four-letter-word --- SALE!!!

I don't know why I buy more of the same things that I KNOW I already have... While there are days that I cave in the minute I see something I want on sale, most other days I am pretty good and am able to walk away from a sale, telling myself that if I really want it, can't get it out of my head 3 days down the road, I'll go back to the store and make the purchase. I'm happy to say that on most occasions, I'd have forgotten about the "must have" item by the time I get home :) 

a great bargain site

i love bargain hunting and am always looking out for a good deal.

WeBUY is great group buying website that lets you enjoy services and experiences without having to spend too much money. In fact the prices offered on the site are 50% - 90% off the normal retail prices.

The bargains include restaurants, fashion, hotels, spas, travel packages, go karting lessons, entertainment, etc.

There is a time limit for each bargain offered (there is a clock on the page below the bargain which will tell you how much time is left for you to act to buy the bargain). When you see something you like, just click on the "buy" button. The bargain will only be activated if the minimum numbers of buyers is reached.

Buyers will only be charged if the deal is activated. You will not be charged for deals that aren't activated due to insufficient responses from other buyers.

I just purchased a full set of high tea with pastry lunch which comes with a further RM5 voucher for the next visit at The Tea Republic for only RM11 (yup, hard to believe considering that it is located in the Bangsar Shopping Centre).

I've never been to The Tea Republic and I figured that RM11 is a small price to pay to sample the food, atmosphere and services offered there.

WeBuy is currently running The RM203,000 WeBUY Community Giveaway Project  where every person matters as they are offering cash giveaways to be credited into your cash wallets if the number people who buy the deal (which is on 100% discount --- yes, it costs you ABSOLUTELY NOTHING --- it's FREE!!!). This system is based on breaking a number of tiers in order to activate the cash giveaways as more and more people "buy" the deal.

At the present moment as I'm writing, 1572 people have bought the deal which means that the RM5 tier has already been unlocked. As more and more people buy the deal, more money monetary tiers will be unlocked resulting in more money in our respective cash wallets. The number of people targetted to sign up for the deal is 10, 000 which will unlock the maximum tier which will get us all RM20 credited in our cash wallets. There are still 57 days 16 hours 29 minutes and 13 seconds to go as I write this post.

Do yourself a favour and sign up today!