All about Shopping!

Have you been paying attention to your credit card statement recently? I noticed that in the past few statements that I received, there was some information about some new changes going on with all the banks issuing credit cards.

As credit cards are an important item to remember when going shopping, I thought I’d post up a reminder here.

Effective July 2008, if you pay your credit card bill in full on or before the due date, you will enjoy up to 20 days interest free period i.e. from the date you charged your card to the day your statement is issued for the month.

If it sounds like a familiar system, it is. It is what you have been enjoying ever since you owned that bit of plastic that you take shopping. I like playing with that 20 day period. It gives me time to “roll over” my finances for the period, sometimes up to 2 paychecks.

However, if you choose to pay only the minimum or part payment, you will be charged interest from the date of the transaction. Unless you make a big purchase, the interest won’t usually be bank breaking, but in the long run, it will all add up.

So, this is a good time to think about your finances and your personal spending limits. If you won’t be able to afford to pay off the whole bill at the end of the month then rethink your purchase.

Personally, I won’t be affected by this new ruling because I always make it a point to pay off my credit card bill in full at the end of the month. Its better for me not to own a particular item I can’t afford, than to be in debt for some material satisfaction.

So, note down your credit card payment due date and the total amount and make sure you pay your bill in full so you enjoy that 20 day interest free period! You can read the terms from the HSBC site here (PDF file)

Tags: General by ParisB
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I was down in Singapore last weekend and hit up the Great Singapore Sale 2008. Most stores were on sale which was to be expected. The big departmental stores were also open till late on Saturday (till 11pm) for late night shopping with special offers thrown in for purchases made during that time.

The sale started in late May 2008 but I found that the discounts were not as wonderful as I had thought they might be. Fair enough, the choices and brands available in Singapore far surpass those found in Malaysia but with the not very hefty discounts, I found that most items were about the same price here in Malaysia anyway.

One exception would be the branded stuff - queues were found outside Gucci and Prada but discounts were only a maximum of 30%. That said, selection was good and I found that there were many other designs available there. The stores were actually crowded to the point that crowd control was necessary! You don’t see these sorts of things happening here.

Ended up with a couple of dresses which I haven’t had the time to take photos of and some shower gels from The Body Shop which were only S$9.90 (but free for me because of a $10 voucher I got from spending over $100 on a dress ) so yeah it was a decent shopping trip overall, but is it worth making a trip down just for the sale?

I don’t really think so.

Tags: General, Travel by ParisB
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Ever wanted to shop JCPenney but can’t because you are in Malaysia?

Well, now you can!!

JCPenney (spelt this way not JCPenney) has opened for business in Malaysia but only for online purchases. What this means for us Malaysians is that the local online store will arrange for the products to be shipped over from the USA right to your home.

I personally thought that the shipping rates were quite reasonable, starting from RM33 for 1 pound and rising up thereafter. If you are buying something light, its alright. But if you are thinking of buying something heavy, then forget it - shipping costs will kill you! Just for reference, 1 pound = 2 dresses and a bit. It isn’t very much at all.

Also, there is a local charge (that they don’t tell you about on the website until you try to check out) of RM10 and RM10.20 handling charge. That’s an extra RM20.20 so total shipping for 1 pound of products is RM53.20. Now, that makes it expensive!

The products available are clothes (men, women, children), lingerie, shoes, houseware and a maternity section. I found the prices of products on the high side after conversion to RM from USD. From what I know, JCPenney is a “normal priced” department store in the USA, something along the lines of our local Jusco or Metrojaya. I was looking at their dresses. RM139 isn’t very expensive for a dress, but once you factor in shipping costs it becomes RM192.20 and you don’t even know if its going to fit you! That said, there are some cute stuff I was eyeing:-

If you register as a customer now, you will be entitled to a FURTHER 25% discount off the purchase price until 11 May 2008. This even applies to the already discounted prices that they are having on the site at the moment. So, some stuff can work out quite cheap. Prices quoted on the site are in RM to make it easier to gauge.

The nice thing is that they calculate you the approximate weight of the products you are ordering so you can adjust your purchases accordingly to cater for the weight and freight charges. I had originally placed a few items in my cart but after I calculated the total shipping costs and worked out the individual prices, I realised I might actually be able to get some similar stuff here for about the same price or cheaper during the sales.

So, I’m not likely to place an order on JCPenney Malaysia soon. But who knows if this information helps you?!

Tags: General by ParisB
1 Comment »

OMG! I couldn’t believe this little site got feature too as part of my blogging interview with Ee-Tan which appeared in The Clove pullout of The Star newspaper on 3 October 2007. You can read the whole article for Blog Brigade online.

Thanks for indulging me in my narcissism.

*basks in the fading light of fame*

Tags: General by ParisB
2 Comments »