I’m a practical person and a non-conformist. So if it’s a pair of Hudson jeans I buy myself for CNY and not something red and flashy, that’s it, no one can convince me otherwise. It’s no big deal what colors you wear so long as you have a good time.

I think in my time, we valued watches more and would often look forward to receiving a watch as a gift. Of course, they weren’t Hamilton watches or anything, just cheap watches that ran out of steam pretty quick.

My kids are not big on watches and only wear them to school. These days, they’d rather receive iPods and cell phones to watches. Buy them a watch and it’s like they’re stuck with some boring piece of junk. Kids!

We normally get books really cheap at warehouse sales but these were only about 30% off retail price, so we didn’t buy as many as we wanted.

Yeah, the girls were disappointed. They go through books like vacuum cleaners and they’ll be done reading these in no time.

But yesterday, I had no choice. Worse still, I had DH and Steev with me. They’re not the most patient shoppers so the girls and I were really under pressure on how to spend that rm50.

I wanted a handbag and they’ve got lots at Metrojaya, just that they weren’t actually my taste. So after browsing the handbag section and finding nothing I liked, we went to the ladies’ section. Nothing there either. Then the shoes section. Nothing there either.

The clock was ticking and we knew my phone was going to ring anytime once the guys got bored reading magazines at MPH. So I decided I’d just buy the handbag we’d seen earlier which I don’t really like, but what the heck, it’s free, right?

It’s a Beverly Hills Polo bag at 50% off. But when I asked the promoter to write it up for me, she said it’s 80% off. Woot! I was so happy. But the guys weren’t. That whole episode took 2 hours and they were saying, how can buying a handbag take so long, it’s not like you were looking for compatible tape drives that can only run on an obsolete machine! Duh!

I’ve got a few little black dresses that I haven’t worn in a while, in a lo-ong while. I tried on one or two the other day and they didn’t fit. They’re too BIG!!

I guess I should be laughing that they aren’t too small! In fact, most of the clothes in my closet are too big now. So I’ve created a back section for those I can’t wear any more and can’t bear to give away.

Since I work out very regularly now, I’m much trimmer and slimmer than I’ve ever been. Hey, I ain’t complainin’. I worked hard for this and I’m so happy I get to go shopping!! Yay!

I had a shopping list to fulfill after lunch. So we stopped by GNC for our vitamin supply. VIP card members get 20-25% off certain items. I’m not a card member but my credit card entitles me to a 20% discount.

The girl was about to drop my vitamins into a plastic bag when I told her, stop, I brought my own eco-tote bag. For the record, that’s my first refusal of a plastic bag! Yes, I’m helping to save the environment and my grandchildren will be so proud of me. Yay!!

I like the comfort of knowing I have stock on hand instead of having to rush out like a desperado to buy something just before the last drop or after we totally run out. I always have half of a dozen of everything stocked up in my kitchen and utility cupboard.

When something is on sale, I don’t just buy one, I buy maybe 4 or 6 at once. I have two fridges so there’s plenty of room for storage. When the 2kg Milo was on sale, I bought 6 bags of it. That’s enough to start a small coffee shop. Same with coffee and Jacob’s crackers (got 3 tins of those sitting around).

A quick peek in my toiletries store. I have at least 120 rolls of toilet paper, 20 boxes of Kleenex, 6 tubes of toothpaste, dozens of toothbrushes. Call me nuts but that’s me.

I really take advantage of sales and promos to save money. Well, it’s not only money, it’s also peace of mind .

Well, I’ve got quite a collection now from different places. Initially I thought they were the ugliest things ever, especially with their names or brands printed on.

I still don’t like to be caught doing free advertising for the businesses that give out these free bags. But I’m learning to ignore the printed names and just saying ‘if the bag works, who cares what it says?’.

I’ve started finding them pretty useful for packing school lunches for my kids. They’re definitely better than paper bags which tend to tear if wet. But these tote bags are pretty tough and can be slung over the shoulder which makes it less clumsy for kids.

I like browsing their products because the girls don’t bug me much. I hate the counters/shops where the promoter follows me around and keeps trying to explain things to me and asking me what I’m looking for.

The Elianto girls just stand there quietly and let me do my browsing. So that’s why I like going there with my girls. And of course, I’m often convinced to buy something (gotta love their nail polish) because everything’s kinda cute and come in small sizes that we can finish quite quickly.

But I wish they’d make better quality containers though. Having the thing fall to pieces or left without its cover is very irritating.