There used to be a time when grocery shopping meant zipping through supermarket aisles and picking up items from a shopping list. No, sometimes items not on the list also made it to the shopping cart....ooh! those croissants look so inviting...hey, this is a good offer; just buy it now in case...sounds familiar? Well, with tough times upon us, I am now more careful when I shop. Because I now have all the time, I read labels, compare prices, and scan supermarket ads for items on offer. I also make sure that I do not shop on an empty stomach - to resist the temptation to buy more food than I need. When shopping for cleaning agents, I now go for in-house brands like Carrefour, Giant or Tesco rather than brand names like Unilever as the products are just as good - so why pay more for packaging and advertisement costs?
I am a shopoholic by nature - whose mantra used to be "when the going gets tough, the tough goes shopping". I used to look forward to ISETAN's pre-sale offers for iCard members, never mind that the items on offer are the same ones each time. During pre-sale period, iCard members can get discounts of up to 40%. Like most women I know, I have a weakness for shoes. I used to rush around during lunch breaks to buy that pair of shoes on offer...wait a minute, now that I have the shoes, I need to have a handbag to match....and that dress would go nicely with this combination...the list is endless! Now that I am retired, I no longer need to dress up everyday so I am no longer interested in such sales.
My other "sin" is shopping for golf apparel ("bior tak leh main asekan begaye" - kate orh-ang Pe-rhak). I buy most of my apparel online from golf stores in the USA, as they have a wide range of sizes and choices, and have them shipped to Kuala Lumpur, which can get pretty expensive. Sometimes, when there are friends travelling to USA, I have orders shipped to a stateside address for them to bring back to KL. I now have enough golf wear to last for the next 5 years so I have stopped adding to my collection of shoes, skorts and shirts. My shoe cabinet is running out of space to accommodate any more golf shoes as I now have 17 pairs of different colors and designs...and my poor maid has to air out those shoes every 2 weeks so that they don't go musty!
My friends have also joined me in cutting costs - when we play golf at other than our home course, we would go on a weekday, when green fees are cheaper. We carpool and if we travel out of town, we would split the fuel/toll costs. Even on our home course, we have stopped using buggies; instead we walk with our trolleys - which is not only good exercise but also for toning those calf muscles! As for entertainment, we buy DVDs for home viewing and exchange these amongst ourselves. Occasionally, we would go to the movies at TGV KLCC on Wednesdays when tickets are discounted (RM8 vs RM10). The number of coffee chats at outlets in KLCC have also been reduced and we now lepak at Audie's home not only for coffee but also the occasional round of gin rummy! Birthday celebrations for friends are now potluck affairs instead of going out to eat; and if we eat out, we go Dutch.
At home, I am still trying to educate everyone about the importance of switching off the air-conditioner, lights and fans when no one is in the room, running the washing machine on full loads and switching off the TV when no one's watching - sometimes, it seems that the TV is on just for the noise.
I used to enjoy weekly body massages but now, it is down to once a month - at other times, especially after a golf game, I would use the massage chair that had been gathering dust due to under-utilization. I have also reduced the number of visits to the salon for facials, pedicure, manicure, hair washes and body pampering treatments as I now do these at home.
As Main Street continues to feel the pain resulting from the crash on Wall Street, it is only prudent for consumers to cut costs in any small way they can for we may be in this for the long haul.
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