MONEY MONDAY : Week 7 of the 52-week money challenge

Can you really save on group buying sites?
Let me share with you my love-hate relationship with group buying sites. 

I think it was in 2011 when I started to get interested in Group buying sites, the fact that I do not have a credit card (yes I do not have a credit card) has not discouraged me from purchasing stuff online. I can always  deposit my payment and more recently I have discovered that I can pay for my group buying site purchases at any 7-11 branch. 

I have purchased quite a few vouchers that I did not use :

• a voucher for unlimited wart removal. 
• 5 vouchers for discounted frozen yoghurt. 
• 2 vouchers for spa treatment
• voucher for a  baby back rib meal
• 10 vouchers for underarm IPL treatment

Safe to say I should spend less time online right? But wait, I did get to grab some nice deals:

• vouchers for lipocavitation treatments. Used 4 out of the 5 vouchers.
• tickets to a soleslam event. was able to go to the event and even won a shirt but was too lazy to claim it.
• Elorde Gym vouchers
• Gold's Gym vouchers

I have learned my lesson the hard way. I still Group buying site-hop but before you click that buy now button, let me share some tips:

1. Read the fine print! Some items are only available for pick-up. Some needs additional delivery charges. If it sounds too good to be true, then maybe it is. Travel offers normally say airfare is already included, but see if it also includes taxes and other surcharges that you need to pay to the airline. 
2. Try to look around for similar products. Most often than not, I see the same product at sulit.com for a cheaper price. 
3. Don't be pressured to buying by the "time remaining before the offer expires" if it is just something "nice to have" and not a necessity. Based on experience, they extend offers.
4. For food/ restaurant vouchers, try to do a little research. Read blog reviews, read the ones that was written by someone who had to pay for the meal and not by someone the establishment has invited.  Same goes with travel offers with accommodations. Ever reliable google can surely be of help. 
5. Try to contact the merchant for clarification or more reliable information.  I bought vouchers for 4 boxing sessions at Elorde gym. The first time I used my voucher, I asked the receptionist if they have plans to offer the discount again some time soon because I was interested to buy more.  I was told by the receptionist that they have an ongoing offer at another group buying site. Got me 15 more vouchers.
6. Location location location. A spa package in QC for just 450 pesos seems very tempting. But I am sure I will be stressed all over again with my commute back to Cavite after the my massage. 
7. and lastly keep track of the vouchers' expiry date. Before I purchased vouchers for 15 boxing sessions, I made a mental note on how many times my schedule will permit me to go to the gym before the vouchers expire. 

It's a Monday, I hope you all had time to put your 7th installment in the jar last Friday! My jar now has 700 pesos after I placed my 7th installment. Lucky 7. :)

FOODIE FRIDAY : Daddy's toasted siopao

I know it is a Saturday. But I just want to share this new siopao place not just to rave about their siopao but to also share an annoying little story. I am a huge siopao fan, I prefer the asado type over the bola-bola type. But what I love most about siopao is the slightly sweet and very soft bread that covers the meat. One night on my way home from work, I got curious when I saw this sign along Talaba :

photo grabbed from their facebook page

What got me more interested to try it was the J. Co-ish line outside the store. I asked a nephew to buy me a dozen. It was still hot when my nephew arrived home, he said it was freshly baked. 

that purple ribbon bothers me.

freshly baked.

what's inside (grabbed from their FB page)

I was expecting that the bread was mantou (Chinese steamed bun) as most siopaos I know are made of, but was not. It was not made of pandesal, it was something more similar to what we call putok. The bun was soft and it was generously stuffed with pork asado and a little piece of salted egg. I liked how the asado tasted, not too sweet and a bit salty.  At 8 pesos a piece I think it is priced just right. However, that plain box with sticker and bothersome purple ribbon will cost an additional 15 pesos. So if I were you, I will ask them do away with the box and just have it placed in a brown bag. Sayang din yung 15 pesos, piso na lang 2 pieces of siopao na yun. 

My tito liked the siopao, so we (me, my nephew chi and tito ding) again went to the siopao place the following night. When we arrived there at 10:30 pm, I saw around 3 people waiting to be served and was told that I will have to wait for 15 minutes. I advised the lady that I was willing to wait and placed my order for 2 dozens which costs 222 pesos. And since we are to wait, the girl who took my order asked for my name so I said Ann, then she wrote "Kath - 2 dozen" on a piece of paper. 

 I was asked to hand over my payment to the guy who I presumed to be the cashier. Mr. Cashier looked irritated when I handed him a 500-peso bill. He then asked me if I had something smaller and seeing his not so enthusiastic look about my payment, I did not make any effort to go back to the car and ask my tito for smaller bills. So I said, "wala" and then he asked if I had 2 pesos. I dug into my pocket to check my coins and saw that I have 20 pesos in 5 and 10-peso denominations. I said "5 pesos lang e" to which Mr. Cashier sneeringly replied "2 pesos nga lang e". With matching lip pout!

GRRRRR! Even the 2 girls who were waiting to place their orders got turned off with how he replied. The other girl said "ang panget talaga sa negosyo ng may nakabusangot!" 1st, it is already past 10pm, I would presume they have been trading all day, wala pa ring panukli? and besides even if they just opened and I am their first customer, it is their responsibility to have panukli. 2nd, I don't care if you had a rough day, a customer is a customer... and even if I am buying just 1 or 1000 pieces I do not deserve to be treated shabbily. and lastly, before you treat people like you are so much more superior than them, you might want to.... oh never mind, I might say something so mean I would regret it later. 

I had to wait standing, there were chairs but it was not enough for all of us waiting for our orders. While waiting, you can see the bakers in action... 

no hair net, wearing slippers pa!  at home si Kuya baker!

and this is the grumpiest cashier I have ever encountered: 

Their siopao is probably not something that can win them an award for the tastiest siopao in town but it is nice enough to share with your officemates for a quick merienda. But I will bet my chubby little fingers, this Daddy's Toasted Siopao branch can easily walk away with the Grumpiest Cashier Award any given day. 

MONEY MONDAY : Week 6 of the 52 - week money challenge

HEALTH IS WEALTH!!!

It is the time of the year when I feel very grateful that I am not sickly. I just received my sick leave commutation! Out of the 15 days that I was entitled to last year, I only filed for 1 sick leave, so that means I will have extra money equivalent to 14 days!!! $$$

I can spend this money freely, no budgets, I can splurge, treat myself to a day in the spa or buy me a new pair of Jordans. But it seems like I am getting used to this saving habit. So after I have spent half it and kept some for my gym expenses,  I decided to save the rest too.

I bought me a new pair of shoes, a dress, a blouse and one of those collapsible storage wardrobes. I have saved a portion of it too for gym membership, something I did not initially include in my forecast of expenses for this year. But lately all this gym/boxing sessions has been giving me feel-good endorphins so I might as well include gym expenses. Besides who wouldn't want to spend a little more time sweating in the gym when...

and for those of you who do not know him,here's a glimpse at who this Daniel Matsunaga is...

www.showbiz-portal.com

Check your company's perks and benefits too, there might be some way to get extra cash. Take my company for example:

1. PERFECT ATTENDANCE -to ensure that our operations people are well motivated to go to work, we have a perfect attendance program. Every quarter, A PHP 250,000.00 cash prize is equally divided to all those who qualifies for the perfect attendance incentive. No sick leave, no unplanned leaves and no tardiness. Those who can maintain this for a whole year will share among them a PHP 400,000.00 cash prize! That is quite a lot I tell you.

2. SICK LEAVE COMMUTATION - Those like me whose middle name is "TARDY" might not be able to be a candidate for the perfect attendance incentive. I love going to work, it is just that there are times I am too lazy to get up early. But even if I am a bit under the weather and even if I sneeze my nose out, I would still report for work. Every year we are given a total of 15 days paid sick leave. All unused sick leave credits for the year are carried over to the following year. Anything in excess of 25 days will be paid in cash!

3. FRAUDULENT DOCUMENT DETECTION - I had my share of "NBI AGENT" moments back when I was still a check-in agent. This incentive program was put in place to avoid documentation related fines and charges. There is a PHP 1,000.00 incentive for every falsified, tampered or invalid document that an agent detects and has prevented from leaving the country.

4. TRAINING HONORARIUM -  Be a line trainer and get to be paid whenever you hold a class. I used to teach Dangerous Good Awareness Course, Departure Control System Course and Basic Ground Handling Courses. It may not be much but anything extra is welcome.

What incentive programs does your company offer?

Have a good week ahead... by the way, my jar now has PHP 525.00. How about yours?