*Ouch* It sure does bite hard. Reality takes a while sometimes to sink in and accept/adapt to. And even though it’s may be something not that complex to understand, it doesn’t make it any easier to accept.
I’m talking about the rising cost of living in the city. In mid-July, we were informed that there would be increase in bus (from 1 September), taxi (from 1 August; it now cost me 50% more to ride a cab!) and hire car fares. As if it’s not hard enough for the city folks to live (especially city folks dependent on public transportation) what with other rising costs that we have to endure.
Pictures nicked from this site
The costs of books (since three years ago or so), vitamins and supplements, food, clothes, beauty-care products (SK-II products generally cost an extra 20% more than previously) and now, even cable TV packages which have sports in them... they have all gone up. You know what they say about what goes up must come down? Well, they are wrong or at least never considered price increases in that context.
So we thought we’d share some ideas on how to counter the recession/financial crisis/economic downturn.
1. Books
Book lovers, consider joining the local library. Did you know that you can borrow books and more from the Kuala Lumpur City Library? Besides the main building, it also has six other branches around the city. Registration and annual member fees cost RM6 and RM10 respectively. OK, I have yet to visit it myself but will definitely check it out soon (after I’ve finished the two dozens of books I have in stock). Alternatively, you can join a book club (or does this only discuss books?) and exchange/swap books among yourselves. For bargain books, check out flea markets, SPCA bi-annual jumble sale, second-hand bookshops, garage/warehouse and car-boot sales and charity shops. If you must buy brand-new books, look out for ‘3 for 2’ deals or 2-in-1 books. Most bookstores offer discounts to members so becoming a member may be beneficial.
I don’t normally watch Oprah but one night a few weeks ago, I was flicking channels and tuned in. She was interviewing a couple which continued to spend as before even though the wife just got laid off. Then another couple came to help them juggle their spending and the result was the first couple saved more than USD2000 a month! And the ‘saving plan’ (my word, not Oprah’s) included going to the library to borrow books and CDs, instead of buying them. This will also save you storage space.
2. Travelling and travel-related expenses
(i) Ground transportation – car-pool (ha ha, alien concept to us) or use public transportation as much as you can (or walk and exercise your feet. Opps, this is yet another alien concept to Malaysians). If you can master taking the Tube in London, mastering the LRT/monorail network should be a breeze. And apart from the KLIA Express and KLIA Transit trains, did you know there is also KL Sentral-KLIA-KL Sentral coach service?
(ii) Airlines. Besides the national carrier, find out the alternative low-cost airlines that you can fly. Sometimes breaking a trip can save you a lot. And while being an early bird and buying tickets early usually means you get the best bargain, this does not work every time. For instance, my well-in-advance ticket to Milan cost more than what Fifi eventually paid for hers – sometimes airlines would rather sell seats away rather than leaving them empty and you can actually enjoy better deals the later you book. I’ve also suffered similar opportunity cost of late: so it could pay to wait. And remember, always shop around!
When deciding between flying one airline over another in same/different cities on different days, I’d also factor in the cost incurred (lodging) if I actually stay on and fly later. For example, if it costs me Euro20 more for a flight on 4 May compared to 5 May, I’d still consider it unless I can get lodging for 4 May for Euro20 or less (why 4 May? No reason other than it’s Cesc’s birthday). Also I’d consider alternative airports (and consequently alternative cities and sights I can enjoy) to fly out of and fly into (e.g. Cologne-Bonn as opposed to the busy Frankfurt; Luton as opposed to Heathrow; Rome Ciampino and then taking a low-cost airline to England as opposed to flying direct to Heathrow).
(iii) Travel insurance: Hmmm, depends if you’re a risk-taker. I hardly ever purchase travel insurance; anyway I’ve since made a switch to a credit card provider that offers free travel insurance if I use the card to purchase air tickets.
3. Food
I’m very fussy about food (and a lot of other things too, heh), what I eat and don’t. I am happy to say that I have yet to visit any Ramadan Bazaar this year (or, for that matter, last year). Reasons being because I can actually control my eating urge; I don’t really dig some of what is sold; I get put off by the reused cooking oil used to fry food; I don’t see the need for eating more when fasting is to empathise with the less fortunate; and also because once or twice, someone did buy food from the Bazaar only to discover it was already bad by the time we wanted to break fast. I also don’t overdo it on Eid cookies because I know from years of celebrating that they will never get finished, ever. Our visitors are just not that big on eating cookies.
I don’t eat out a lot either because I’m trying to eat healthy and if I eat out, I don’t know how much preservative or colouring or MSG is added to my food (so yes I save on service and government taxes. It doesn’t mean I know or even love cooking but I figure it’s time to place importance on what I consume); I don’t drink canned soda so I hardly ever buy it except for isotonic drink (if it falls within the definition of soda); I don’t visit coffee shops because I don’t drink coffee in the first place; and I’ve cut down on processed food and visiting fast-food outlets.
Of course I don’t starve myself. I eat like a champ still and I enjoy good food. I still indulge in Häagen-Dazs for example and sometimes I do stock too much food in my larder (with the consequence of throwing some away because I fail to realise the expiry date) – I’m still working on this to reduce and eliminate waste.
4. Clothes/shoes/handbag/beauty products
I only shop when there’s a sale or promotion. You don’t normally get discount on beauty products but during sale periods, you can get freebies (usually if you purchase above a certain amount) and/or entitled to vouchers for every RM100 spent – if you are a member of that departmental store - redeemable against future purchases made in the same store. I don’t wear a lot of make-up and I only spend on blusher, lipstick and lip-gloss, and even then I’ve really cut down on my lipstick purchases.
Being a bargain hunter, I also try to go to factory outlets where I can (I’m not just talking about those in Bandung; although admittedly some of the stores there do stock good, quality clothes) and there are a lot of factory outlets in the world! I’m happy to report that I’ve been to the ones in New Jersey, in Italy (near Florence), in Japan (Gotemba), in Switzerland, Australia (Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne), New Zealand (near Auckland) and those small ones in Hong Kong - yes, I love bargains but I won’t just buy for the sake of buying. Storage space is expensive you know.
Check out the warehouse sales but bear in mind that not all warehouse sales are necessarily cheap, and that some don’t sell genuine stuff (I remember going to one only to find personnel of the relevant ministry confiscating the products on sale and only then realised some of them sell counterfeit products).
Also, try shopping in other departments. In the UK, children’s clothes are not subject to VAT so when I was there, I shopped at the children’s department. A few weeks ago, the Nike store at KLCC had a sale and I bought a t-shirt from the children’s line that cost so much less than the adult version and from the price difference, I got to buy a baby tee. I was also lucky enough to find an original Arsenal jersey from the children’s range at a Nike store in KK for a fraction of the price of the adult size.
5. Utilities
What can I say, be more economical and resource-efficient of course. Use energy-efficient light bulbs, timers etc. I’ve decided to counter the rise in cable TV packages by being energy-efficient (so I don’t have to pay electricity bill).
6. Other tips
(i) Consider DIY: You can save a lot of money by doing things on your own (among others, that’s why IKEA can keep prices low) – plumbing work, gardening, cleaning, electricity-related tasks. I changed a light-bulb all by my little (little?) self a fortnight ago and was feeling very chuffed with myself. I’m still hopeless with a lot of things though.
(ii) Cut down on unnecessary stuff (so hard to implement in practice when I feel I deserve something and should reward myself for my efforts). I haven’t had a facial in months already (boo hoo) and have cut down on accessories.
If you have any ideas/tips on how to save money (c’mon you work for your money so be wise about spending it!), do share.
This is another community service brought to you by Cesc and Adek.
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