ADVISORY: Catch me live today on ANC’s Shoptalk with Pia Hontiveros-Pagkalinawan at 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. to talk about the psychology of spending (one of my uber-favorite topic) and how to hammer down your Christmas budget.
We all know the urge to splurge bites everyone strongest during the Christmas holidays or as the colder months come near. But we also get little scratches and bites all year round! Just look at all the stuff (most of which are useless after a month) that we accumulate through the years! The best thing would be to control the urge, of course. The next best thing would be to shop in the right places.
Lately, I have discovered new frugal shopping secrets in Metro Manila, but to my delight, somebody else has been thinking about the exact same thing. Blogger Paetechie/Tutubi, who owns the blog Budget Travel Philippines (among other blogs), practically read my mind when he emailed me yesterday about his blog post “Manila Shopping Guide and Tips: Divisoria, Malls, Markets and the Art of Haggling”.
Drool, drool, drool! You’ll know where to find me most weekends from November 2008 to November 2009! :-D
So here are some of the frugal shopping “secrets” I have discovered lately (thanks to my friend and shopping maven Kharoll Tobias), in addition to Tutubi’s list:
Native, wooden, ceramic, porcelain gift items for Christmas, and even sushi platters – Dapitan St. in Manila. You won’t be able to find little gift items good enough for whole departments or a whole clan for P20 per piece in the malls and still be proud to give them away! But you’ll find them in this little stretch of street near the Dapitan market. There’s also a new “mall-type” enclave that you should also check out for items with better quality (but just a little bit pricier). Plus, if you like simple and cheap sushi platters to serve your guests, walk over to the Dapitan wet market. The rice used is not yummy Japanese rice, but for P60 per small pack and round P350 for a big platter, you can already impress your guest with your sushi creations.
Quality wood furniture—Silang, Cavite on the way to Tagaytay. I have been asking around where to buy good quality furniture for my new home and found a series of little workshops on Silang, Cavite where you can buy solid Kamagong consoles, Acacia or Mahogany beds (and you can be sure the bottom will not break even if kids jump on the mattress), tables, chairs, quaint garden swings, you name it, for around ¼ of the price in malls. No reconstructed wood here, buddy! Pure furniture heaven.
Beef—Tagaytay’s famous beef can be found at the Tagaytay wet market. At one point, my friend said they bought meat so fresh the flesh was still moving. Grab some pineapples while you are there because you will really find them cheap for P25 per piece, (these sell in Metro Manila for P35 to P40 per piece).
Baby rompers, booties, flannel pieces for wrapping etc.—Tutuban mall. Prices here are surprisingly lower than 168 mall or Ylaya St. in Divisoria. There are more options, too, in terms of design and quality. Good quality rompers for P40 apiece beat Zara infant rompers that sell for P1,000+ per, and will be worn by the baby for only one or two months. (I admit, I was very tempted, but he, money-smarts has to be money-smarts!).
Related blog posts:
If you have more frugal shopping secret destinations, even in other cities, why don’t you let other money-smart readers know! :-)
Frugal shopping money-smart destinations
ADVISORY: Catch me live today on ANC’s Shoptalk with Pia Hontiveros-Pagkalinawan at 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. to talk about the psychology of spending (one of my uber-favorite topic) and how to hammer down your Christmas budget.
We all know the urge to splurge bites everyone strongest during the Christmas holidays or as the colder months come near. But we also get little scratches and bites all year round! Just look at all the stuff (most of which are useless after a month) that we accumulate through the years! The best thing would be to control the urge, of course. The next best thing would be to shop in the right places.
Lately, I have discovered new frugal shopping secrets in Metro Manila, but to my delight, somebody else has been thinking about the exact same thing. Blogger Paetechie/Tutubi, who owns the blog Budget Travel Philippines (among other blogs), practically read my mind when he emailed me yesterday about his blog post “Manila Shopping Guide and Tips: Divisoria, Malls, Markets and the Art of Haggling”.
Drool, drool, drool! You’ll know where to find me most weekends from November 2008 to November 2009! :-D
So here are some of the frugal shopping “secrets” I have discovered lately (thanks to my friend and shopping maven Kharoll Tobias), in addition to Tutubi’s list:
Native, wooden, ceramic, porcelain gift items for Christmas, and even sushi platters – Dapitan St. in Manila. You won’t be able to find little gift items good enough for whole departments or a whole clan for P20 per piece in the malls and still be proud to give them away! But you’ll find them in this little stretch of street near the Dapitan market. There’s also a new “mall-type” enclave that you should also check out for items with better quality (but just a little bit pricier). Plus, if you like simple and cheap sushi platters to serve your guests, walk over to the Dapitan wet market. The rice used is not yummy Japanese rice, but for P60 per small pack and round P350 for a big platter, you can already impress your guest with your sushi creations.
Quality wood furniture—Silang, Cavite on the way to Tagaytay. I have been asking around where to buy good quality furniture for my new home and found a series of little workshops on Silang, Cavite where you can buy solid Kamagong consoles, Acacia or Mahogany beds (and you can be sure the bottom will not break even if kids jump on the mattress), tables, chairs, quaint garden swings, you name it, for around ¼ of the price in malls. No reconstructed wood here, buddy! Pure furniture heaven.
Beef—Tagaytay’s famous beef can be found at the Tagaytay wet market. At one point, my friend said they bought meat so fresh the flesh was still moving. Grab some pineapples while you are there because you will really find them cheap for P25 per piece, (these sell in Metro Manila for P35 to P40 per piece).
Baby rompers, booties, flannel pieces for wrapping etc.—Tutuban mall. Prices here are surprisingly lower than 168 mall or Ylaya St. in Divisoria. There are more options, too, in terms of design and quality. Good quality rompers for P40 apiece beat Zara infant rompers that sell for P1,000+ per, and will be worn by the baby for only one or two months. (I admit, I was very tempted, but he, money-smarts has to be money-smarts!).
Related blog posts:
If you have more frugal shopping secret destinations, even in other cities, why don’t you let other money-smart readers know! :-)
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