FOR THOSE of you who made it your New Year’s resolution to spend less and save more, how are you in the compliance department? I know it’s not easy to do so, but really, as simple as it sounds, that’s how you can have more money left at the end of the month or year.
I’ve shared my own peso pinching tips to friends:
1. Look for a beauty salon that charges less. I’ve decided to give up some perks (free iced tea or coffee and a quiet ambiance) and go for a salon that gives the same service (without the perks) at half the cost.
2. Plan trips. Save gas, time, parking fees, transport fare, and energy by scheduling all your trips to one area at one time.
3. Eat more at home. Not only will you hone your cooking skills, you will be healthier physically and financially too.
4. Use up freebies. Those ketchup, sugar and cream sachets you get from fast-food outlets can be put to good use.
5. Try cheaper alternatives. Need your caffeine fix? Avoid the daily trip to the chic coffee shop and settle for the vending machine or bring your own coffee to work.
6. Pay attention to items on sale. Something you really need might just be on sale, so look at the sale items first. Also, check out secondhand bookstores for books that cost a fraction of the cost of new ones.
7. Go local. Help the economy and save your money as well; oftentimes, locally produced goods are cheaper than imported ones.
My friend Migs Cruz, a doctor, shared that he has become more frugal now that he has two kids. Here are some specific steps he has taken to stretch that peso a bit more:
1. Use freebies as gifts. Med reps give tons of gifts to doctors, from pens and notepads to bags, clocks, and so much more. Migs gives these away to his staff and other personnel in his place of work and this saves him the cost of buying new gifts for Christmas.
2. Get a hand-me-down. Migs’ bike was stolen from his garage, so he asked around in the hospital if anyone had a spare mountain bike he could buy. One of the residents did, and sold it to Migs for P1,000 and a secondhand DVD player. He had it repaired for P500 and now it runs like new. A new bike would have cost him P4,000 to P5,000.
3. Recycle old clothes. Those old long pants are cut off just above the knee for P30 and still look great as pambahay.
4. Avoid the casa for car repairs and maintenance. Migs says, “My car aircon compressor got broken and the casa was charging me P40k for replacement to be done in 2-3 days. I went to Banaue Street in Quezon City and got the compressor replaced brand new at P17k. The service took only 6 hours.” Also, a 60-km checkup at the casa would have cost him about P10k, but he had it done at another auto shop at just P2,500 after the mechanic determined no additional repairs were needed.
5. Reuse stuff. Migs’ old Rayban sunglasses were already falling apart although the lenses were still OK. So he just bought a new pair of eyeglass frames and paid only P500 to transfer the old lenses to the new frame. A brand new pair of the same brand would have cost him P5K and up.
Little steps like these count in stretching your pesos. :-) (Karen Galarpe)
Recently in shopping Category
We have known for a long time that consumerism will take its toll on the world’s societies, but death by shopping?
Jdimypai Damour, 34, stood between around 2,000 Walmart shoppers on Long Island and the bargains they stood in line for -- in the cold -- for hours. He paid for it with his life.
Probably looking back now, anyone who was there is now probably in shock and likely considering that day the grimmest moment of his or her entire life. Anybody has to agree that there is no rhyme or reason for one man to die because of what? The rush to lay your hands on a cheap flat-screen television?
David Carr of the New York Times aptly called the urge the “ungovernable mix of thrift and greediness” that has infected America during the course of this financial crisis. International Herald Tribune’s Peter Goodman recalled the bread lines after the Great Depression and the gasoline station lines after the oil shocks of the 1970s.
Consumerism, however, has been decades in the making. America has made the world wealthy because of its penchant for shopping. On the other hand, Asia’s thrifty societies are known for the region’s ability to save more and spend less—except the Philippines, half of which wants to be American. Thus, you see malls continue drawing in crowds despite talks of recession.
Hopefully, there is still in us the distinct Asian values of being polite, waiting in line, giving way to the elderly and taking care of the young. I want to believe that. Hopefully, too, this Christmas season, this crisis will bring us back to our senses and help us shed the “we are what we buy” syndrome, so that we can truly enjoy the real meaning of the Yuletide season.
My husband and I went crazy at the DIY Handyman shop over the weekend to buy stuff for the house, so we had quite a stack of things to pay for at the cashier. I knew we probably overspent, but the bill still surprised me when it reached P9,000 plus.
I paid for the bill and then asked for the tape receipt. Rugs, check. Two different sizes of hooks, check. Car cleaning stuff, check.
“What’s this item that costs P4,200?” I thought my voice sounded really calm.
The cashier and her bagger checked each item and found that it really cost P99 but the scanner somehow made P4,200 appear on-screen. Great.
They voided the charge to my credit card and counted everything all over again, while my son complained of a missed meal and general tiredness at the things that adults worry about. I paid P5,121.23 instead of P9,291.48.
I was lucky it was a big item, that I spotted it and double-checked the tape receipt before I left the store. But what if these automatic scanners have been taking money from us without us knowing it? What if these are in increments of P50, or P100? Would we notice? What if they are already taking over the world?!! (kidding)
I once scoffed at my brother-in-law who checked each item in the tape receipt every time they went to the grocery. He may have a point after all. I just hate having to feel like I can’t trust something as simple as a scanner or barcode.
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! :-)
Where does the line between a business’ responsibilities end and a consumer’s rights begin?
Take the case of faulty packaging. Last Monday, I bought a blouse in Powerplant Mall in Rockwell, along with other stuff. (No, it wasn’t a shopping binge. It was a carefully planned purchase as we are all in crisis mode. Honest!)
Then my daughter and I walked around that delightful little mall and eventually reached the top floor to buy popcorn before we head home to Quezon City. To our surprise, we discovered that the paper bag’s bottom was half-open and the blouse was nowhere to be found. What started as a relaxing evening began to be extremely vexing.
I knew asking at the Lost and Found office and retracing our steps would end in disappointment but we did it anyway. I toyed with the idea of shrugging it off, but I knew a consumer should not pay for the shop’s mistakes. You see, the paper bag was poorly made; apparently glue inflation has reached terrible levels.
So I went back to the shop, and as expected, the staff was sorry but had no plans to replace the item or reimburse me for the loss. I understood her situation; she was not the decision maker.
“Would it be possible to talk to the owner of the store?” I asked the girl at the cashier with a calm voice.
“I will try the manager, ma’am,” she said.
“Well, can you please call her now?” I said.
She then explains the issue to the manager over the phone and then hangs up. She proceeds to explain to me that they are sorry, but they cannot reimburse or replace the item because the loss happened outside store premises, it is not their fault, and there had been no previous incidents regarding that particular supply of paper bags.
“But why did your manager hang up? The least she could have done was talk to me,” I said.
She dials her manager’s number again and passed the phone to me. Del Cortez was courteous, calm, apologetic, and her tone was very professional. Even in my irritation, I appreciated that. But her lines were all wrong.
“Look Del, I know you can’t make a decision right now. What you need to do is to tell me that you will talk this over with the owner of the store and you will come back to me as soon as you can. Will you sacrifice the good name of your business for one blouse? Your company made a mistake in using bad packaging. You didn’t test it. Your supply came only yesterday. Your consumers shouldn’t have to pay for your company’s mistakes,” I told her.
“I understand ma’am. I will talk to the owner and call you immediately,” Del promised.
She took my name and telephone number; I wrote down hers, the owner’s and the owner's telephone number. She asked me if it’s alright that I leave the matter to her; I said yes, that’s fair, but that if she doesn’t call me by her promised deadline the day after, I will call the owner. No, I did not say I was business editor of INQUIRER.net. Not a word.
The next day, I got a call to claim the replacement blouse and an apology for the inconvenience. The owner, Lily Navarro, made the right decision, not because I was the one who benefited from it, but because if she were the one shopping, she would have insisted on the same thing. That's very good business sense and corporate responsibility.
It was inconvenient, but it was also a lesson. Shoppers do have consumer rights, and they include paying for what’s on the price tag, security while in store premises, security while in paid parking lots, delivery of goods for payment given, and packaging that works, among others.
Yes, the law says the paid parking lot operators are liable for carnapping, vandalism or theft that happen inside their parking lots, despite those big-lettered signs that say you can’t blame them for these even if you pay their outrageous parking fees.
So consumers and shoppers, know your rights and fight for them.
Finances On The Edge Photo by DeadAir
For the purposes of analysis and policy-making, there is no escaping the pounding on the table and the endless debates on what caused this crisis, who is to blame, what could have been done to avoid it etc. etc. But at the end of the day, reducing all that talk to doable measures is a process that could end to be as convoluted as the shadow play that caused this crisis in the first place.
Personally, I would rather focus on things that we all can do—now—to deal with what’s happening. After all, crises are part of life, whether financial, emotional, relationship, spiritual. They will happen, again and again. Only the details will change, but the fact that they will railroad our lives and make us shift our priorities will not.
An excellent series in the Philippine Daily Inquirer has been showing readers how different households are dealing with the crisis. Some are moving to condo units near mass transit systems to reduce travel time and stress, some are really cutting down on expenses especially dinners outside the home—even if they are only trips to fast food places.
Shoppers are also going for lower-priced items and dropping non-essential ones from their grocery list and dropping their brand loyalties while others have shifted from using gas for cooking to sawdust, charcoal and rice husk.
The Hotel and Restaurant Cost Controllers Association of the Philippines (HRCCAP) have finished another survey of groceries in Metro Manila and concluded that Cherry Foodarama is still the lowest-priced grocery in the Metro, while South Supermarket and Waltermart (surprisingly) have the highest prices.
Cooking oil and canned goods’ price increases were steepest. Supermarket shoppers can take advantage, however, of vinegar, soap and bathroom tissue freebies, which store owners use as a marketing strategy to attract buyers since they have been reporting less sales recently.
We can talk till we’re blue in the face about investing, but the truth is, increasing earning power and practical habits on reducing spending can affect our personal finances much more significantly.
It’s a good thing that Filipinos are masters of ingenuity, and time and time again, the best of us have adapted to the numerous financial crises we have experienced in our history.
Another way to deal with the crisis is equipping yourself with the knowledge and determination to make it through. Your favorite public speakers Francis Kong (The Right Pursuits In Life) and Chinkee Tan (The Right Perspective On Money) have teamed up with Efren Cruz (Prosperity Begins with an ‘S’) and Randell Tiongson (Managing Personal Risk and Insurance) to help you weather-proof your personal finances.
Details: October 29, 2008, 1-5 pm, Makati Sports Club. Cost P1,800. Early bird rate: P1,500. Please call Rachelle at 634-2204. See you there!
How about you? How are you dealing with the crisis?
The not-so-friendly bundle of grocery receipts have been winking at me for quite some time, so I finally got around to putting all the figures down into an Excel worksheet to make a Grocery Booklet—an exercise that reveal some pretty interesting lessons.
Here are some of those lessons:
From January to August, these items showed the biggest jump in prices:
1. Condensed milk and other dairy products like cheese. If some stores are crazy enough to still have dairy products from China on their shelves and are selling them at bargains, I hope no one buys them just for the savings!
2. Canned goods like sardines, tuna etc.
3. Toothpaste, soap, and shampoo
4. Olive and canola oil
5. Bread
6. Sugar
7. Bacon
8. Ready-made soup mixes
9. Longanisa
Where brand substitution can work:
1. dishwashing liquid
2. bathroom tissue
3. pride detergent (washing machine and all purpose)
Most effective strategies for cutting corners: Avoid snack items, canned goods, use more tomato paste instead of real tomatoes when prices of tomatoes at the market go up, and make your own soup stocks.
Those who want to have a copy of my Grocery Booklet can email me at lightdream (at) gmail (dot) com. In the booklet, you will find comparison prices of everything I have bought from the grocery since January. You can enhance it by inputting your own figures. I promise, it will make you squirm sometimes, but taking the time to jot everything down will be worth it. ☺
(Photo by Din Cordero)
Personal Finance Reminder: avoid busting your budget by shopping early for Christmas.
Early birds get more time to look for bargains, more time to stretch artistic skills to create unique and personal (and less expensive) gifts, and avoid overcharging credit cards and paying hefty fees.
Sometimes, the late birdies do get rewarded, because retailers have been known to cut down prices at the last minute. But would you like to fall prey to an "if?"
What are your plans for a money-smart Christmas? Let me hear those ideas!
Would you pay more for a bag made from rags designed by Rajo Laurel but created by poor mothers in Antipolo, or nicely designed Green Leaf katsa bags made in ac family-friendly factory in Paranaque, or health and beauty products that do not use chemicals harmful to the environment or tested on animals?
That the calculus is not as tough as the thousands of dollars premium Honda Accord Hybrid owners pay for earth-friendly wheels is obvious. But the brains behind these products hope that the result will be the same: consumers get a warm, fuzzy feeling for being socially responsible.
What’s the price tag you can live with for being socially responsible?
Personally, I wouldn’t buy things I don’t need even if they are good for the environment or can help disadvantaged groups. But I would pay more even if the benefits will not be immediate. Organic produce, for example, are much more expensive but long-term benefits far outweigh the costs.
In Echostore, a new one-stop shop in Kape Isla at Serendra for products that are environmentally friendly and made by disadvantaged groups, I found several treasures: Malunggay pesto in a jar, Lyf Saver (a minty, camomile preparation for de-clogging nostrils and removing nausea, no addictive chemicals), Messy Bessy environmental home cleaning products that are made by sexually abused young adults trying to get their lives back, beaded bags (they are really gorgeous!) made by women in a correctional facility, export-quality and organic-certified muscovado sugar and brown rice grown by farmers in Negros province.
Were they more expensive? Some were priced competitively, some more expensive. Yeah, I like the warm fuzzy feeling.
The store is the new advocacy of Pacita Juan (of Figaro Coffee fame), writer-artist-curater Jeannie Javelosa and Reena Francisco—three friends who decided they can’t save the world from cavities—but that they can use their marketing and organizational prowess to help marginalized sectors and make a sustainable business at the same time.
This is the “doing good” part that shows people are not just talking about changing the world. This is the part that can swing the fight in favor of getting the Philippines away from The tipping point of poverty.
“A lot of these great products made by women in their homes for example are out there and we see them in bazaars but we don’t know where to find them after the season ends. Now, you can find them all here in the store,” says Juan.
Juan and her partners make sure the products in the store are sustainable and usable. “If we sell Nito products, we actually find out if they are also planting Nito,” says Javelosa. Apparently, they were turned off by the Zesto bags that were the rage for some time because they discovered that makers were not recycling the materials, but were actually having those Zesto plastics printed!
The products retain their own branding, and when they can eventually make it out there in the consumer world on their own, Echostore will make space on their shelves for newer products that need help.
“That’s the whole point, make these small businesses sustainable. This is a concept that we want piratable,” says Javelosa.
(Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall leaves a blessing at St Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle after her civil wedding Prince Charles 09 April 2005. It's easy to overspend on weddings, especially on rings when couples don't know what to buy. Photo from AFP.)
Raising your eyebrows? You’re saying there are only four Cs?
Cut, color, clarity, carat.
Let me add one more.
Credit card.
Ooops. Those are six Cs.
It’s a slippery slope from diamond rings to expensive dinners to entourage costumes (yes, that’s exactly what I wanted to say) to a million-peso-wedding. If you ask me, Filipinos overspend too much on tying the knot, then wonder too long why the knot doesn’t stay tied for long.
So if you don’t want to overspend, check out this article from MoneySense. Here are Lynda Corpuz’ top tips:
1. Set a budget. Your soon-to-be bride may not be too keen about wearing an expensive ring but as Robin said, from centuries back, a ring (usually a diamond ring) traditionally serves as a betrothal gift to the bride and that traditionally, the price tag is equated to the kind of love he has for his bride.
I ended turning down most prospective rings because they were too pricey even if discounted. There is a rule of thumb that says an ideal budget for a ring is worth two months’ salary. Eventually, though, the guy will eventually determine how much he is willing to shell out.
2. Know the 4 C’s. Know the basics if you’re planning to get a diamond ring: cut, color, clarity and carat. According to Tiffany and Co., the diamond’s cut will determine its defining characteristic – so check for angle and size and the shape; round remains classy, but for variety, you may opt for emerald, heart, oval, marquise, pear, or princess cut).
The most valuable color is white or colorless, and graded “D” by jewelers. To check the clarity, examine the ring through a jeweler’s loupe or magnifying glass, and when the stone is graded SI1 [Slightly Included 1] or better (best and most expensive is IF, or Internally Flawless; worst is I3 or Imperfect 3], then your pick is fine. Finding the right carat for your budget is important so ask for stones than the next carat [example: 0.9 instead of 1], since this almost indiscernible difference can lead to significant savings.
In our case, Robin was on the lookout for a simple yet classy ring. He was first considering a round cut diamond. When I later became pro-active in our search, I leaned more toward a princess cut.
3. Pick the band. According to Suarez Wedding Rings Web site (www.suarezweddingrings.com), white gold is trendier than the traditional yellow gold and not as rare looking as rose gold. It is more affordable than platinum, an extremely white metal that is harder and more expensive than gold or any other metal at that.
White gold is recommended for stone settings other than yellow. You may opt for 24-karat gold, but you can save more by opting for gold of lesser karat. Since gold by nature is soft and malleable, generally losing its shape over time, cleaning and maintaining your engagement and wedding ring might eventually become a real expense. While we had different ideas regarding the stone, Robin and I settled for an 18K white gold band.
4.Shop around. Don’t settle for just the popular jewelry stores. You have to search both mom-and-pop jewelry stores and jewelry chains. The latter, of course, command higher prices because of their name and years in the industry. We found our ring at a less popular store, which has the accreditations required and follows global guidelines (the Philippines follows the International Gemological Institute guide on diamond clarity). Most stores we checked also offered discounts, but the smaller—and more eager—stores will give in to the customer’s (reasonable) demands.
When we got the discounted amount, I asked if they could just waive the excess P2,500 since it’s the only ring of its kind left and we truly came back for it after checking out all the other stores. So they waived it and my fiancé gave me an approving smile for sealing the sale at a more reasonable amount.
5. Don’t buy alone. For men, bring a companion when buying jewelry – someone who knows your ladylove’s preferences. If you decide to go with your fiancée, you may lose the surprise element and the romanticism, but it can be worth it. Looking for a ring together is an exercise in mutual decision-making, involving money at that. Buying the engagement ring gave us an idea how we are going to work together as a couple in the near future.
Enjoy shopping.
