Saving with CVS

As I mentioned before that I recently took up Coupon Clipping, it has been a good experience so far. And this week I have taken one step further by trying out CVS phenom. I have heard (or read) so much about how you can save a bundle with CVS coupon and ECB system. Since I already have CVS card and a CVS store nearby I figured I will give it a try.

First of, I headed to CVS store to pick up this week ad. I didn't get it from Sunday newspaper and because I like to look at newspaper or insert instead of view it online. Then I started to scan it through my coupons to see if I can match anything up and also look for special deals especially one with ECB.

Here are some of the deals I got.

- Toothpaste - $2.99 - $2 ECB - $0.50 Coupon = $0.49

- Huggie - $8.99 - $2 Coupon = $6.99

- Hershey's - $2.99 - $2 off = $0.99

The bottom line is I paid about $23 for products worth $51. So not bad for a first timer. Pad myself in the back for that!! :)

Check out other saving tips here.

13 Destinations for my Vacation

Sometimes vacation is all about our imagination. It will be nice to get to go on a real destination on your dream vacation.

As I have so much time on my hand (apart from working, cooking, taking care of our home, cleaning, etc..), I have come up with 13 destinations that I would like to go on my vacations. These are not the finite list as I refuse to limit my own dream. I want to go places.. different places, different cultures.. Only time will tell.

For now, enjoy my Thursday Thirteen.

1) Hawaii - This is my top destination. It's just something about the beach that always attract me.


2) Italy - I want to go back there and be able to take my time and get to travel the whole country especially Venice, Rome and Florence


3) Greece - Again something about the ocean.. It's that blue sky with the crisp clear ocean. Plus Greek food is one of my favorite.


4) Australia - This might happen sooner if I can manage the budget. When we go back to Thailand next trip, I want to try to have a side-trip to Australia. After all, it will cut the flight time by half.



5) Ireland - This one is for Mr. Rojo. He thinks he has an Irish blood.

6) Switzerland - I don't know how to ski but I would love to go ski there. Does that make me sound a bit insane?


7) Japan - Technically, I have been there countless times except I only set foot on their airport. I don't think that count.

8) China - Especially Shanghai, it's the Western city of China.



9) Mexico - It won't be right not to visit and get to your our neighbor, heh?



10) California - I have been there 10 years ago. But I think my one trip doesn't do justice to that State. I would love to go back to San Diego, San Francisco and LA (this one mainly for Thai food)

11) Las Vegas/Grand Canyon - Whatever happen in Vegas, stay in Vegas. :)


12) Fiji - We can always dream, right?

13) Brazil - I would love to visit the Amazon and take in the vibrant culture.


That's it folks. My list. So where are your dream destination?

Now, this is my kind of vacation

Picture from 9beaches.com

I love to read about travel or destination articles especially beach or island destinations. One of the places that I have always dreamt about going is the On-The-Water hotel. But we all know how ridiculously expensive these type of hotels are. I mean they aren't meant for typical working mom like me but for celebrity or millionaires who can shell out $2K a night just like we buy 1 penny item in Publix.

Till now, meet 9 Beaches Bermuda Resort. Recent article (or maybe not so recent. It just happened that I just found it) on MSN Travel section gives the detail on this resort. I didn't even care to read the whole review. Just the idea of something a little bit more within reach and closer appeals to me to have to put it on my to-travel list.

There are different cabana types that you can choose from in this resort. The most expensive ones are the one that sit directly on the water. They called 'Paradise Pier Over the Water'. Appropriately named if I may. It looks like a real paradise.. The rate as of 2008 is ranged from $370-$470 per night. Ok.. It might not be that cheap but when you compare to what you will be paying in let's say Bora Bora, this seems like a good bargain to me. And the most importantly it's within reach. I just have to wait for maybe 2 years. :)

It's a wonderful morning!

Nothing beats waking up and checking your bank and found money from Uncle Sam. Well, technically it's my money all along. I just loaned it to them during the period of one year for my tax. I know that it's not a really practical or logical way to get a large refund back from IRS. But hey, I tried and I still overpaid my tax every year!

But today, I'm not gonna beat myself up about how much I overpaid my tax. But rather, I want to brag in the fact that using Turbo Tax has been a way for me to file my tax in the record time this year. E-file is a way to go for anyone. Plus choosing to do direct deposit will help speed thing up a bit as well. Now, I just have to wait for my Tax Stimulus rebate from Mr. President!

What work best for me is the fact that using Turbo Tax allows you to do your tax without paying them first. So you can put all your information and see right away whether you will owe any tax or will get any refund. And for a shopper, it will also help if you want to check whether you can do better than your overprice accountant. After all, most of them might also use the same application like Turbo Tax if you don't have any complicate situations.

Check out other tips from here.

Blast from the past - China

Today I saw an article on MSN about Planning a Trip to China. This article reminds me of our trip to China about 8 years ago. It was a trip sponsored by my company that I worked with back then. Yup, it was a business trip but my boss was very generous in helping arranging side trip during the weekend for us. It also helped that she was from China so I think in the sense she was proud to show us her country.

We were there for over a month but most weekend we had to work. After all, they flew us around the Globe to work not to take a vacation. We stayed in an industrial town called 'TianJin'.

One long weekend, we got a chance to take a train to visit Beijing. We had to take a train from TianJin to Beijing. Too bad I didn't take any digital pictures back then. So I didn't think of taking the pictures of the bathroom at the train station. However, my sense of smell still vividly remembers this strong smell. Let's just say I held my breath the whole time I walked in there and I couldn't even do my business. I just couldn't. The door was only half tall so when you squat down, you would be seeing the next door neighbor. Ok.. I know.. Too much information. Let's move on.

We took a bus to the Great Wall. I think this might be the only time I will get to visit China. But you never know. I still want to go back to see Shiang Hai and other parts of this interesting country. We took the cable car up to the Great Wall and walked along the wall. I'm glad we did this when I was 8 years younger. Not sure if I can climb it now.

Next day, we got a chance to see Tianmin Square and the Forbidden City. Growing with a lot of Chinese movies in my household, it was amazing to get to see the Forbidden City. I am still amazed now thinking about how people 1,000 years ago was able to accomplish such a large scale of contruction with details and beauty.

The fun memory I had is not only about places but people. It was fun shopping in China. Bargaining is a given. The price they gave you will be about 200% more than you will end up paying. But that's how it works. We also surprised at how Americanized the teens could be in Beijing and this was 8 years ago. I'm sure you can see even more Western influence there nowaday. We went to Hard Rock Cafe in Beijing and it was one of the fun night in my life. Being young and no worried.. Oh! how I long for those days again.

And just to prove the point that we can get Starbucks anywhere. We got this picture from that trip. China is not just another exotic country anymore. I will go back in a heart beat if my budget allows!

Recycle my old cell phone

If you are anything like myself, your old cell phone will be in one of your junk drawer. Ok.. you might not be like myself and I think it still will be in one of your junk drawer.

This morning on the way to work, I listened to a radio and heard about a good organization called 'Help Them Call Home' that help recycled old cell phone to prepaid minutes for our troop.

I'm sure some of you would rather sell it on ebay to make some money. But I am not good at selling my stuff on eBay and by the time I want to do so my cell phone is too old to sell it anyway. So it ended up in my junk drawer.

This way, I can accomplish several things at once. One is being greener by recycle. Two is to be able to show my appreciation to our troop by helping them to be able to call home with the prepaid minutes. Three is to get rid of my junk. Like they said.. one person junk is another treasure.

So this is what I tackled this Tuesday.