Product Feature

Glico Tomato Pretz

Glico are famous for their Pocky & Pretz "sticks". This is one of the many flavours offered here. I tend to buy new flavours whenever I see them especially the "odd" ones.

These tasted like a good tomato soup - thats what they reminded me of. You can definitely taste the tomato flavour & the taste lingers in your mouth even after some time. They aren't too "sour" but still retain the tang of tasty tomatoes. The Japanese are great "inventors of taste". They can "engineer" something so odd in flavour, they'll even come out with flavours that you might think can't be replicated in snacks & such. I've even had tiramisu flavoured "sticks". I am keen to try as many different flavours as I can but of course it has to be enticing & the price must also be right.

The "exotic" flavoured ones - not the common variety, are usually priced a tad higher than the norm. If you guys like "plain sticks" (not the chocolate coated, etc. variety), than you can consider trying these. My 2 year old son does not fancy these .. haha! He likes those that are coated ... why am I not surprised??

They come is small packs of four for easy storage & for travel (they think of everything!)

Product Feature

Marigold Non Fat Yogurt - Peach & Mango

I have tried many many brands of yogurt & I find this one of the best - in taste & price.

A very delicious yogurt that contains chunks of REAL fruits (peach & mango)! Its rather sweet but still have the usual delightful tang of yogurt. My boy just loves this. I tend to only buy this when its discounted (usually at NTUC) for $5.50 (usual price is ...). They tend to mark them down when the due dates are bout 3 to 4 weeks, more than enough time to "demolish" the whole tub. I also purchase the big tub as its more economical. I will purchase the smaller tubs if its for travel purpose or I just need a small one-time serving for consumption.

I have also tried the Natural flavour - no fruits added. Its less sweeter (which some might like) & you can add your own selection of fresh fruits like kiwis, mangoes, grapes, etc. Unfortunately, my son doesn't fancy it, so I stick to what he likes best. I am gonna try the other flavours next but will buy the small tubs first - just in case my boy doesn't take a fancy to it. Wish me luck!

Product Feature

Betty Crocker Buttermilk Complete Pancake Mix

I wanted to feature the brand of pancakes that my son loves. I have tried a few other brands but I found these the closest in taste to the ones offered at McDonald's (which I find very delicious!). As breakfast at Mc's is not always possible & rather expensive, this is the next best thing. My baby also loves it served as a light snack/lunch. I tend to make "baby" pancakes for him rather than big ones, just seem cuter, thats all. The mix does not require any eggs either, which is good for small batches. So far I have only seen & purchased these at Shin Shiong (will update the price when I buy them next time). Whenever I run out, I buy 2 or three packs at one go (they are that delicious!). I have also made my version of McDonald's breakfast for my family using this mix plus (frozen) hash brown, scrambled eggs, hotdogs & homemade coffee. Saves me a bundle!

Coz these pancakes are home made, I also tend to "sprinkle" some flaxseed powder in the batter before I make them. Flaxseed powder can be purchased from health or organic stores (some supermarkets carry them too) & cost a few dollers only. They are the vegetarian version of Omega 3 & 6 (which is good for the brains, amongst other things, I think) & can be added to virtually everything that you cook or serve for your family. You can also purchase them as flaxseeds (normal or golden) and grind them using a electric home blender/grinder as its way cheaper than purchasing the grounded ones (which I did). As its good for the whole family, I tend to add the flaxseed powder (some people call them flaxseed meal) to almost everything - scrambled eggs, instant noodles with soup, mash potatoes, etc.

I spread some butter lightly on the pancakes & cut them into pieces, for easier eating.

Savings Tip - Buy Refills!

Something that I have been doing for a long time is to buy refills for the things that we use. It saves a lot of money, its less packaging (helps save the environment), its definitely less of a hassle to carry home (the refills are lighter than most original packaging, that comes in BIG bottles). I try to buy the biggest bottle & packaging that is offered & just buy refills after that ... it makes sense right?!

Stuff that we buy as refills are shower foams (Shokutbutsu), dishwashing liquid (UIC), for kitchen & toilet (Kao Magiclean, Mr Muscle), fabric softener (Downy), baby shower foam (Kodomo), even instant coffee (Nescafe ... can't seem to find any these days, I wonder why?), etc. A lot of products offer refills & I think its a wonderful idea - it saves in so many ways. Sometimes I purposely look out for items that offer refills coz its just cheaper to buy the refills than to purchase a brand new item. In fact because an item offer refills, it "tempts" me even more to try it .. well it works for me!

So there! Buy refills if you can, it saves you a lot of money in the long run & you help to save the enviroment too ... so do a good deed without having to do much!

Books, Books, Books!

Lately, we went to a few one-off sales on books and such. We bought several books (mainly for my boy) but I did manage to get some cook books for myself too. As the sales are not frequent - they were through the newspapers ads & catalogues, etc. I guess not everyone knew about it. Of course the sales are over now but I still think its worth talking about it as I found the sales very worthwhile & offered a good variety of books, at very good discounted prices.

The warehouse sales were :

1. Conducted by Times Bookstore (I think)

Its at a warehouse area (Ang Mokio Industrial Park), not convenient if you dont' drive. Tonnes of books strewn around but a lot of shelves were neatly arranged with a good range offered. Some of the kids books didn't seem so "brand new" but if you are a keen book lover like me & have compared prices of same books outside, you can tell that its a real bargain. Maybe the books are excess stocks or returned books ... I don't know but it doesn't really bother me. A bit of crease or "dent" here & there but the books are as good as new & totally CHEAP. I got a few good books for Ryan. He loves the one with the touchy-feely one - it has duck "feathers", dog & cat "fur" etc.

P.S : The ad on the right is from Page One Bookstore (a different company), offering 3 children's books for the price of 2.

2. Popular Sale at Singapore Expo

I heard from my brother that the Expo Sale conducted by Popular was pretty good last year before the school reopened for 2009. So when I saw it in the papers that they were having another one soon, I pestered hubby to bring me there to take look. Again it was a good stop. We went in the morning as I told hubby - "there won't be so many people in the morning" ... duh! was I wrong! We were there by 10.30am or so & there was already a huge crowd at the Expo. Most people seem to be there for the Adidas & Robinson's Sale. The Popular Sale didn't start out as crowded but it became so ... as the morning turned afternoon.

We bought several books for my baby boy & even managed to get some stationery too. The books were marked down & they even had mounts of books at 50 cents or a dollar or two. As I wan't interested in any of the titles, I decided to concentrate on books that will add value to Ryan's creativity & increase his knowledge. Overall it was a good trip. I will definitely try to go to their next Expo sale, if I get the chance.

Eventhough these sales are well over, I wanted to highlight them because they were worth the effort & time. If you are a book lover like me, you will definitely love going through the tonnes of books, hoping to find a treasure or two. Maybe you can look out for them in the future ... I surely will!

Savings Tip - Buy During Sales!

Ok ... an obviously simple tip that I'm gonna share here ...

* Only buy things on SALE!

We usually buy stuff (especially big ticket items or once-a-while-buy like clothes) if only its on SALE (or at least discounted). That way we get what we want but we pay lesser for it. Of course if its something that we need, I don't wait for these offers. Or if the item is damn cheap or unique & we can spare the $, I do buy it anyway (but not often these days).

Haha! I know its common sense right ... to buy only when its cheap (or when its necessary) but I used to NOT be that obvious, ie. if I want it, I just get it. Not anymore! We just dun have the luxury of doing that. I used to be VERY guilty of careless buys & unnecessary splurges ... so its taken me a while to get here. I am still tempted at times to buy, buy, buy ... but now its just see, see, see & walk away.

Well, its an uphill battle that I still struggle wif but I'm getting there ...

BOOKS & STATIONERY

A good place to stock up on books, especially for the kids is Big Bookshop. Whenever I wanna stock up on books for Ryan, we make a trip down there. For $ 20 or so, you can get a couple of good books for the kids. I have bought countless of books there that I lost count - cookbooks, medical books, reference books, children's books, etc. The books are very cheap or extremely well-priced, they are real bargains! I have seen similar books selling elsewhere (usually offered at a higher price). Do take your time to browse the place. If you are a book lover like me, you will not leave this place without buying something (hehe! ... just like me).

At the Clementi branch (which I think is the largest), they also have a rather extensive range of stationery & even a small section for toys & such.

Their address :

Big Bookshop Pte Ltd
- Blk 451, Clementi Avenue 3, #03-307 S (120451) : biggest outlet
- Blk 823 Tampines Street 81 #02-00 S (520823)
- 1 Maritime Square, Harbourfront Centre #03-17/18 S (099253) : smaller outlet

A pic of the latest book I bought for my little boy (Ryan's into transportation & stuff).

Ok here are some ideas for sections, I thought of including :

1. Savings Tips
2. Thrifty Ideas
3. Good Place To Shop
4. Too Frugal To Be True
5. Baby Stuff
6. Promotions, Sales & Specials
7. Good Place To Eat
8. Cheap & Good
9. New Product

Ha! Ha! Too many to handle right? ... I'm being too ambitious.!

KITCHENWARE

Recently we went to a place in the heart of Chinatown, that sells tonnes of unique & hard 2 find stuff - mainly cookware, kitchenware, etc. As their logo chimes, its "A One-Stop Centre for all your kitchen & catering needs", & they're not kidding, I tell you. Its chockful of goodies that would make any kitchen loving person "faint". Some of their stuff are more for food establishments or businesses but there's lots for the home-cook-chef or kitchen-gadget-loving enthusiast too.

I have bought several items there but I can't remember the prices of these stuff (just a couple of dollars). The most recent item I bought is a big metal strainer I've always wanted to buy but was too pricey elsewhere. It cost me less than $7 & that is quite a steal, for I've seen other places selling something similar for at least $20 or more. In fact it looks rather expensive & yet its not. A good buy, if I may say so myself.

Two views of the metal strainer.

Some tongs & ladle I bought earlier.

Their address is at :
Sia Huat Private Limited
7, 9 & 11 Temple Street
Singapore 058559

If I am not wrong, they have short operating hours, & they don't open on Sundays (what a waste!), so we usually go on Saturdays.

Ok! ... I realise if I was gonna put up recommendations of new products, I need pictures for it to be effective, so as far as I can I will try to put up the pics. If I can't, I might just write it up & try 2 get the pics when or if, I next buy the product.

A lot of things I buy are centered around my family, especially my son. I tend to buy things that I think my son would like or things that I wish he'll eat, drink or use. So sometimes these stuff tend to be kid or family oriented, not usually for personal use coz other than eating & reading, I dun really buy things for myself. Nonetheless, it doesn't mean that I don't buy anything for myself ... just that it pales in comparison to what I buy for my son's well-being.

OK enough talk, more substance huh! Well in the next entry, I will get something concrete in here ... & with pics too, I promise!

BABY CLOTHES

We have been lucky in that Ryan receives tonnes of good stuff (clothes, toys, books, CDs & DVDs, etc) which are handed down from his Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents & friends of Mummy & Daddy. Though we had a lot of help in that department, we still had to buy stuff for Ryan.

A place that sells very reasonably priced baby clothes that I found was - FOX BABY. As we have limited resources, I only tend to buy stuff when things are on SALE! Fox have their seasonal sales every quarter-year or so (following the 4 seasons). The discounts can be as good as 50%. The earlier part of the sales, they usually offer smaller discounts (20% to 30%, I think) but if you are patient, they will go up to 40% to 50% on past seasons' clothes. The only glitch is that if you wait very long for the discounts to grow, you might not get the style of clothes that you were "aiming" for nor the right size (I learnt this the hard way!). So go early if you are pretty sure of what you want & dun want to miss out on that special buy.

SPICES & SUCH

A good place to buy spices & such like paprika, coarse black pepper, chillie flakes, garlic powder, dried herbs, saffron, bottled minced ginger, etc. is the ever popular & gigantic Mustafa Centre in Serangoon Road. This 24-hour haven of cheap stuff is chockful of things that you can't find anywhere else. Besides prices are very reasonable & you don't need sales or promotions to get stuff here coz things are already prized extremely cheap.

The only thing I cant' stand is the narrow aisles, that always seemed 2 get "chocked" up by the inconsiderate people, who frequent there. The spices section is fantastic especially if you are looking for Indian spices or exotic blends that you dun know where else to look for.

* Do look out for the extensive range of muruku (Indian snacks) - they are delicious!

HOW IT ALL STARTED .....

Since we found out that I was expecting in 2006, we realised then & there ... that we HAD 2 change our lifestyle ... we had 2 be extra thrifty, cut costs, etc. Thus our austerity drive started, albeit unofficially. There were times when we fall off the bandwagon & allow ourselves small "treats" but we always manage 2 shake off the "evil-spendthrift-ways", & continue 2 be prudent again.

I won't say its been easy ... we are definitely guilty of not keeping track of our expenses & we dun have a proper budget, but I dare say that we are trying our darnest. Its hard sometimes when you know that you NEED to buy something but you just dun have the funds to purchase it. I keep reminding myself that we have to strike a balance between a NEED & a WANT, now thats doubly hard!.

I still struggle wif it everyday, especially when it comes 2 stuff that Ryan wants - be it a toy, a book or things I wanna buy for him - clothes, supplements, enrichment stuff, etc. Its hard when you want 2 give your child more than you had ... but finances are so lacking. As a stay-at-home-mum (SAHM), its even harder when we have 2 struggle & make do, wif 1 income. Though there's only the 3 of us in this household (used 2 be 4 of us, wif our cat, Baby), its still very tough ... every month, its a struggle 2 stretch what little we have after paying the tonnes of bills that await us. There's no room for extravagances like birthday gifts for each other, nice dinners for the 2 of us, year-end holidays overseas, heck! even a movie is a luxury these days.

We are guilty of eating out though ... coz sometimes its just more practical 2 eat out or I'm just soo damn tired by the end of the day, that the last thing I want 2 do is slave over a stove, & make dinner for us. I dunno how some mums do it ... I wish I had their energy & drive. I do wanna do more ... I think I need 2 push & motivate myself. All I know is that, I want 2 provide for my family, delicious home-cooked meals but I know I am NOT a fantastic cook (wif a limited repertoire), I just know HOW 2 cook. No one has "died" from my "talentless" cooking but I do wish I could be a better chef. Well, I try ...

Well, during our austerity drive, I realised that I started 2 change my ways - in my thoughts, in my shopping, in my cooking, in my purchases, in my gift-giving, etc. Everything boiled down 2 how I can cut down on frivolous spending & unnecessary purchases. I am STILL guilty of that ... its still a struggle, but I keep on trying.

So I decided to start off a section of sorts, to note down things I have learnt thoughout the years - ways 2 save money & cut costs, where 2 find the cheapest stuff that we consume (esp. daily), cheap & new products that I have tried, on-going promotions that saves money, etc.

Comments & opinions on these products & services are mine alone & they are by no means a free "advertisement" for the items or company. Its just my way of helping everyone save. What little money we can save in the little things, can be well used for other important things in our lives. Its just my little humble way of giving back. I do hope it helps ...

I am lucky that hubby is a keen supporter of my "little-savings-drive" - he drives me to these sometimes "out-of-the-way-places", dutifully carries the loads of groceries, & entertains Ryan when I need to do the family shopping (read labels, compare prices, etc).

OK, lets start off with the obvious :

Check the Straits Times every Thursday for the weekly specials from NTUC Fairprice, Shop N Save, Guardian Pharmacy & Giant Supermarket. Their specials & promotions are well worth the effort, especially if you are able 2 buy in bulk (when finances & spaces permits). We have bought tonnes of stuff from these promotions, that change weekly, things like chicken nuggets, wet wipes (for baby), infant formula, baby diapers, Magnum Premium Ice Cream, etc.

The Purchase-with-purchase (PWP) at NTUC are also quite worth it, esp. if you tend to spend more than a certain amount ($30?). The also have a buy-2-but-pay-lesser specials, which are good deals. Whenever they have a special on frozen chicken wings (that we eat very often), I buy a few packs, they really do work our cheaper in the long run.

Another tip : If I am keen to try a certain or new product, I wait for it to go on sale. That way, I get to "taste" the product at a lower price.

The promotions also last till the following Wednesday, whereas on Thursday they will reveal a new set of specials.