Souvenirs from the Phillipines

These are the gifts that SO brought back from the Philippines from his plant sourcing trip.

I think SO is a very bad souvenir shopper. If not for the Eternity perfume and the 8Gb memory stick, which he got from the duty shops, I would not have gotten any nice presents from the trip.

Hey, gifts need not be expensive. They just need to be of value and long lasting.

Frankly, if some one were to give me such gifts, I would rather give them to some one else. Sorry, I dun appreciate funny leather pouches or fridge magnets or common key chains.

Oh yeah, he bought 2 pairs of underwear for himself and some Filipino news papers.


One animal pouch and 2 fridge magnets.


Some awful tasting nutty sweets. They are wrapped in these poor quality inferior paper wrapper, which are not edible. (yeah, I tried to eat the paper cos they are so thin) I took one bite and spat it out.


Dried mangoes. Very common in our own local supermarkets too. Not that unique.






2 postcards and a label pin. On specific request from a colleague.

Yuck! What awful souvenirs! Give me I also dun want!

Shopping at Airport Duty Free

I asked SO to check the prices at the airport duty free shops.

And this is what he came out with

Sandisk memory stick *8Gb
$106

Eternity (Homme) 100ml
$81

Pleasures Delight 100ml with Body Lotion 75ml
$103

SK2 Facial treatment essence
125ml $125 ??
215ml $155 ??

In the end, he bought the memory stick 8Gb, before flying off to Manila, cos he was afraid that the 4Gb in the Sony camera he was bringing over, did not have enough memory spaces.

And out of the 1000 available photos in the 4Gb memory stick, he only took 411 photos! And he never used the 8Gb memory stick. What a waste! Maybe I could use it for my PSP.

I wanted the SK2 products but I was hesitant cos it was quite expensive but definitely cheaper elsewhere. So we both decided to get the Eternity 100ml for $81 instead.

And that's my main spoils of souvenirs from his trip to the Philippines!

Shopper, saver or gambler?

Let's see. I am not a Big Spender. I feel pain on spending on branded and luxury items, so I dun get them as I am really see the value in them.

I am definitely not an Experiencer. I think good food and travel are a waste. After all, whatever one eats, comes out the same. And travel holidays are not lasting nor materialistic.

I am definitely a Value-Seeker! I buy stuff during sales, when there is discounts, in bulk etc. I use discount coupons and look out for discount and savings opportunities.

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The New Paper
20 Aug 2008

Big spender, small smile

Shopper, saver or gambler? Check out these findings

YOU walk into an Orchard Road Mall and buy yourself a $2,000 YSL Easy bag. But somehow, you still aren't happy.

Now research by a New York psychologist has shed some light on why people who spend big time are not happy shoppers.

It turns out the happiest shoppers aren't those who bag the biggest bargains, or those who spend whatever it takes to get the best items out there, or people whose wallets are gathering dust while they pinch their pennies.

The happiest shoppers are people who aren't hung up on money or things. They'd rather spend on experiences, like dining out or travelling.

Those people are 'experiencers,' as Dr Miriam Tatzel of Empire State College in New York calls them, reports AP.

Dr Tatzel asked 329 college students to complete surveys about their shopping habits and happiness. Those surveys showed four shopping personalities.

Big spenders: Buy everything full price and buy only the best.
Value seekers: Seek bargains on nice things.
Non-spenders: Don't spend much and don't want to.
Experiencers: Spend freely on experiences, such as good food or travel, but are not materialistic.

Conclusion: Experiencers are the happiest while big spenders are the least happy and have the most credit card debt, said Dr Tatzel.

Dr Tatzel then gathered information about well-being to gauge which types of spenders are happiest. The least happy are Big Spenders, who often have credit-card debt. The happiest are the Experiencers, she said.

She presented her findings in Boston at the American Psychological Association annual conference recently.

The discovery that Experiencers are happiest doesn't surprise Dr Tatzel.

She was quoted as saying in the US News and World Report: '... money spent on experiences tends to leave a stronger feeling of being happy than money spent on objects. Spending on travel, workshops or education, for instance, gives a happier feeling than spending on a car for these people'.

Impulse buying

You walk past a shop and see that really nice Ipod. You yield to impulse and the next thing you know you are a few hundred dollars poorer.

A study presented at the conference looked at negative emotions resulting from an impulse buy and how impulse buyers cope differently with each emotion. It found that people who felt guilty were better equipped to deal with what they had done while those who felt shame were not.

Researcher Sunghwan Yi, professor at the University of Guelph in Ontario, asked 222 college students how they felt after buying something on impulse and what coping strategies they used to handle the situation.

Said Prof Yi: 'Participants who felt guilty about the impulse buying used proactive coping strategies, such as adjusting budgets and planning to reduce impulse buying in the future. 'On the other hand, shameful buyers used more 'avoidant' emotion-focused strategies, such as denial and reframing the incident to be less injurious to the self.'

Savings: Closer the better

You try to save and each time you end up spending instead of saving.

Dr Leona Tam of Old Dominion University and Dr Utpal Dholakia, of Rice University conducted five experiments with 678 adults to find out why people have trouble saving. Those who plan to save a certain amount by the end of the year are less likely to save compared to those who plan to save a certain amount by the end of the month.

Said Dr Tam: 'This type of time frame helps people see steady progress along the way while not feeling too much pressure. 'This is similar to some of the dieting regimens that are not too close so you don't see progress but not too far away either so you don't get discouraged.'

Real quick delivery

I was dead to the world, sleeping like a log when my hand phone rang this morning at 11 am.

Frankly, I was too tired and I just pressed the reject button on the phone. Moments later, SO called to say that Changi Pharmacy delivery is coming in 15 mins time!

I had shopped online yesterday 23 Jul at about 12:30am. And according to the site, delivery is 2 working days. So I was only expecting the delivery on Friday.

I jumped out of bed, brushed my teeth to get rid of my morning breath and changed into a better T shirt. I then lured Bell into the kitchen and unlocked the gate.

Within the 20 mins, the delivery guy was there! I opened the door just as he was about to knock, giving him a shock.

I pried opened the box and checked the contents are as I ordered and signed the acknowledgment slip.

As simple as that!

Wonder if I should buy more before the end of the month. 25% is really a good discount.

Acid to exfoliate

One of my favorite face products is acid to exfoliate the skin on my face. Actually, it is AHA acid otherwise known as Alpha Hydroxy Acid or fruit acid which helps to exfoliate the external layer of skin.

For skin to really improve, exfoliation is really essential. Otherwise, it is just plying on face cream on dead skin.

TDF, one of the brands a skin doctor recommended to me some time back is having a 25% sale. The sale is on for only once or twice a year and is available at polyclinics, hospitals pharmacies and online pharmacies.

I have purchased TDF products twice from https://www.mypharmacy.com.sg/ which is part of Changi Hospital. Frankly, I am not really a fan of online purchases. I just dun like to wait at home for them to deliver the goods. I am the type of person who likes to touch, hold and examine the products at close range.

I have missed too many opportunities to get the products from hospitals when I went for medical appointments and SO is also too busy these days to accompany to the polyclinics, so I have no choice but to purchase online. I know the deadline for the discounts ends on 30 July, whereas the polyclinics offers ended on 30 June.

Frankly, I still have some brand new products which I bought in Dec 2007.

No.	Product Name	Special Price	List Price	Quantity	Total Price
1	TDF AHA Facial Wash 237ml	$30.19	$40.25	1	$30.19
2	TDF C-Scape Serum 50ML	$84.13	$112.17	1	$84.13
3	TDF High Potency Lightening Cream LHM 20g	$25.42	$25.42	2	$50.84
4	TDF AHA Revitalising Gel 15% 3.5Oz 100ml	$44.07	$58.76	1	$44.07
5	TDF AHA Revitalising Lotion 10% 100ML	$24.04	$32.05	1	$24.04

Total price $233.27

So this time, I decided to be more thrifty and spend less. This time, I bought

No.	Product Name	Special Price	List Price	Quantity	Total Price
1	TDF AHA Facial Wash 237ml	$33.75	$45.00	1	$33.75
2	TDF AHA Revitalizing Cream 8% 50g	$38.72	$38.72	2	$77.44

Total price $111.19. Less $10 discount so the cost is only $101.19.

Well, the prices for the products have risen. For the 237ml face wash, the sale price is now $33.75 as compared to $30.19. And if not for the fact, they are having a sale, I have to pay $45 just for the face wash.

Delivery is 2 working days, so I have to stay at home on friday, dress decently and wait for the delivery guy to send my products.