Bucket of Gold

ABBEY: Wilma and I agreed to put one-dollar coin from our pockets and wallets to our Malteser-bucket-turned-into-piggy-bank. Day by day until up to two years we saved 518 $1-sgd-coins. We rolled them in sheets of paper (20 SGD per roll). 

Oh my, they're heavy. Putting them in a bank costs fees. 0.075 SGD per piece. So the 500-dollar savings became almost 475 only. Lesson learned but we enjoyed saving extra money that now became a habit for us.

WILL: "Oh my, Singapore's piso($1) is so cute!" As I exclaimed with delight Abbey got an idea to make a piggy bank and put only $1 inside. When we will open it?, we don't know. It started two years ago, its getting heavier and heavier every time I lifted it when I am doing a general cleaning of the room.

      We received a great news that Nuffnang will cash-out the earnings from our blogs and from there, we made that the Nuffnang cheque as a sign that we need to open the bucket once we received it from our sole advertiser.

      That day came, we received the 2 year earnings from our blogs then hurriedly open the Maltsers's bucket. Total of $518 coins was invested. Delighted?, yes too much. I don't expect this huge amount of money. On the next day Abbey went to Citibank to deposit those, there it will stay together with the Nuffnang's cheque until we made a decision where we will invest that sum.

      Happy but quite disappointed since the bank charged us $40+ coin counting fee. Huhu.. We learned our lessons in saving coins and that deduction will never happen again since our next project is to save for $2.00. I hope we can go for thousand plus.

Thanks visitors... friends... and NUFFNANG!

ABBEY: Time really flies fast. Now its time to celebrate our second blog anniversary. After two years, the unique visitors is at 85,000. 

Compared to other featured blogs, we still have a lot of work to do but for us its a milestone reached. We never imagined that we will make this far. We enjoyed what we do and we are happy that others are continuing to support us. I managed to read older posts once in a while and surprised that I can write that much. As a gift we deposited our earnings in Nuffnang. 

We hope that we can continue to help others by our reviews.

WILL: This is our couple's blog 2nd bday. This is a hobby that binds me and my hubby. We enjoy every inch, every time, and everything about this blogging. We enjoy every questions by our jargons and friends where, when and how we felt when we go to a certain place, when we ate or cooked that food or when we do some of those activities. 

     This is a hobby that grew with little fame, with a large advantage to some events and unexpected amounts, vouchers and freebies from different companies/people...one of those is Nuffnang, our exclusive ads supplier. 

     After some debate two years ago, Abbey agreed to have an advertisement to our blogs and that we chose Nuffnang. :) Just this past month, we received the cheque amounting S$ 59.25. For some this maybe small, but for me and my husband, this is a huge cash, huge cash for doing nothing for them. Haha. 

     Dear Nuffnang, we banked it in together with our $1 coins in our mini bank and we will invest it. Thanks readers, friends and blogwalkers. Thank you Nuffnang, for the free movies, free tours, free products and this cheque. Viva Nuffnang! 

Shines Outdoor Pte Ltd

ABBEY: I've never thought this day would come after my nerve-racking parajump at Sentosa. Groupon offered a 25sgd-voucher for a 2-hour session of wall climbing and height-related-pee-on-your-pants activities. The place is at Shines Outdoors in 1208 Upper Boon Keng Road. Upon arrival we were told to put harness and helmet. Starting the session our host, Ryan, told us to make a high five and saying our name to our group mates. There were 11 of us. This lightened the mood and made our session a friendlier one. He also advised us to stay hydrated. He keeps on telling us that all challenges are by choice. No pressure even you're the only one who did not make it. 

First stop is wall climbing. We were thought of manners for the activity. Always ask if belay is ready and you're about to climb. This is very important as the climber's life literally depends on you. As you belay focus on the climber as well as the rope and your hands. As I watched the first batch of climbers the task seems to be easy. But its not. As I climb, I found it very hard to step on the pieces as some are small. My feet don't have enough room to set in. I also tried to pull my body but its a no-no. The technique is to let your legs do the push and a little pull with your arm. JC and Ryan always checks us if we're ok after every climb.

The next one is what I called a tightrope walk. You must cross with the help of loose ropes suspended above. This is hard as well but I managed to finish it. Don't let your knees shake else you'll fall. The height is about 3-4 storeys.

The last challenge is the leap of faith. In a full-body harness you'll climb a 5-storey post, stand at the top and reach for the trapeze by jumping into it. Yes, just like what the Dark Knight did on that prison. I told Wilma I'll not do it. She told me to do it just like the other guys in the group. And then like in Sentosa, since that's the purpose of being there I took the leap. Climbing the post is not that hard. But as you go up it starts to shake. On top of it you must find a way to stand-up. When I stood up, all I can heard is the countdown of our mentor. 5,4,3,2,1 and then I jumped. I lost my grip in the trapeze though as my hands became slippery. 

The session ended by a group picture and by our mentor saying to eat to replenish our energy. We ate an extra large Domino's Pizza and a bottle of Coke.

WILL: When Abbey and I started this relationship, he confessed that he is a boring person and asked me if I want to do, eat or go somewhere just let him know, but I think he do not expect that I really love extremities of this life. Even his older sister was thankful then because I somewhat thought their lovable brother to go out from his world and taking big giant change from his life.
     I love heights and speed, and wall climbing is one of my dreams to do. Thanks Groupon you offer this kind of activity for less. Instead of $50+ we got this 3 hour session for only $25. We booked and our class was confirmed by Daniel, yesterday 12th of Aug 2012. To protect ourselves from any scratches, they told us to wear pants and shirts, we put our spf 130 sunblock for 1 to 3pm activity. Indeed, the sun's heat is scorching hot. Our group was consisted of 11 participants... 11 cool and positive people plus our host Rayyan Affan, credits to him, there is no dull moment. 
     Okay, first stop wall climbing. When I saw their wall, ha!, easy peasy. But when the guys and Abbey starts to climb and half way they told to their belay that they will go down, gosh, my faith with myself lessened and I asked myself if I really can touch the metal goal or not. Darn, its my turn, I climbed, easy at first few, but when the climbing holds started to be smaller and the humps were on my way, my body told me to stop but the ever supportive team watching and pushing me to go and reached the goal. Even the inner voice told me so, then I am one of the three who got it. 
     Next stop, well this will be the hard one for me, the balancing act. Tsk, I think my cerebellum really don't do its work when I was a child, even at this age, I am easily toppled down. This tight rope is a huge challenge for me. My hands got wet and the rope starts to shake, but Abbey succeeded on this, I cannot let him tie-up the score. After a minutes, score is 2-1. Ha!
     The pole! I am exhausted and dehydrated and some of memberof the team backed-out on this activity, some just go up on the pole but do not have the courage to balance themselves to be on top of this huge log. As usual, Abbey went first, and as I saw the trapeze from pole is quite have a great distance, I second thought about the idea but I am here to embrace all this. So I stood up and climbed the endless pole. When I reached the top, there is a small space for me to put in my feet, and I have a difficulty to step on that piece of wood. As I muster myself, I concentrated then I leaped off to trapeze. Oh my, that jumped seems forever. Haha.
     Thanks Abbey for doing this activity with me, one of my dream was fulfilled by you. Thanks to Shines Outdoor, you can contact them through mail or call them at 68417030. This is a nice activity for team building, located at Upper Boon Keng Road. 

Groupon Singapore

ABBEY: I did online shopping back in Philippines thru Ebay. But now, lots of online promos are just to extort money. You never know which are true and legal. 

We tried Groupon Singapore. For me as long as they didn't ask for any password for any of my accounts, its ok. We did also a review of the company and got a couple of good comments. What we got is our Indonesia trip and  my surprise manicure and pedicure set for her. 

We were saddened and worries by the news that the company is about to close as it can't support its operation due ti lack of funds. I hope they can recover and give more discount coupons to their customers.

WILL: From manicure spa set, massage, travel to yoga sessions they all have it all discounted just for us. As the news widely spread that Groupon all around the world is falling hard to its prime, Groupon Singapore is still hits the city.
      When we purchased a travel deal, we saw that almost 400 bought that deal. And when we booked for it, all staff of the Anita Travels were smiling back to us and accommodate us very friendly, unlike the stories in America.
      We do hope that they will prosper and keep the deals on! ;) 

Fred Perry Pop-Up Sale Shop

ABBEY: Honestly, I don't know this brand. Maybe I saw it a couple of times but I wasn't aware of it. We went to Iluma mall at Bugis for their sale. I tried a pair of shoes and it fits me well. Wilma grabbed herself a jacket and a polo shirt for me. Our discount is whopping 70 percent. From my observation, Fred Perry will not wear and tear easily. I hope I'm right :)

WILL: I was eyeing for this shop ever since, I want my Abbey to have this kind of polo shirt, but I can't find a chance. Lagi ko kasi sya kasama.
      But when I saw their sale and it is more than 50% off, I really need to go here even this will be not a surprise. Ha! 
      We went to Iluma, Bugis and luckily bought three items.. 1 pair of shoes for Abbey and a polo shirt and a jacket for me. 
      We bought it for 70% off. Thanks to POSB & DBS. Love Sales!

Borders - Final Days

ABBEY: I'm happy and somehow sad when I learned that Border's will be closing down. Happy for the book discounts; sad because the bookstore will meet its end. I got two reference books for 5sgd each when I first went to their drive. On its last days, my wife got one part of her fave novel but I had none. Almost all the reference books are gone. Its nice to be part of the last sale but I also must live to the fact that life must go on Border-less.

WILL: There is no easy way to say goodbye. Bye Borders. :( this company been great in serving the public by giving us the varieties of books the world can offer. 
      By letting them know that we support them until the end, we went at their clearance sale. And surprise, surprise my long last book was found and purchased for 70% off
     Thank you borders for the years of service and feeding our mind through good books.  

The Body Shop Sale

ABBEY: It's the 2nd time we went for this sale. This time its for our gifts for our loved ones back in PH. Body wash, lotions, butter, creams, fragrances and accessories are all over the place. You can get 2 of a kind for 12 or 16sgd. Its good they having this kind of sale. Lesson? Come in pair; one is to queue for cashier and the other to shop. That's how the customers patronize this wellness shop.

WILL: As I said, I am member of this very lovely shop. So, I constantly receives mails and sms from them. When I read their text message, idea ran so fast in my head. Since my sister and in-laws will be going here for 3-day vacation this is a good idea for pasalubongs. Hehe. 

Every ladies go gaga! Every Body Shop marked down the prices. Oh, this is not my first time with this. Hehe. Love Body Shop products and advocacies! Very worthy to support them. 

Sheng Siong Supermarket

ABBEY:
I'm happy when I learned that there's a supermarket near our place. In here we buy the ingredients for our weekly menu. I also buy here the chips for Wilma whenever she craves for one. The grocery sells common goods like fruits, veggies, canned goods, eggs, light bulbs, bathroom needs, etc. The price is cheaper compared to other supermarket. Bonus is they always have special prices for selected items. Beside Sheng Siong is a hawker.

WILL: This is the nearest grocery in our town, a 5 minute walk. Here u can definitely find the everyday needs for yourself and your home. 
      The part I love to their place is the aisle for laundry soaps, why? If u are lucky enough, you can see a discount or 1-1 deal. Every weekend we go here to buy our food supply for seven days. 

iRemit

ABBEY:
Chat and Kuya Rico referred iRemit for my remittance. Aside for sending money, you can also pay your housing and social security contributions here at 4SGD per transaction. They also give away items during Christmas season such as bags and pens.

WILL: This is located at Lucky Plaza in Orchard. We usually do our remittance every Sunday, as always, jam packed. In just one day your love one can receive the money and the fee is only $4 for every remittance not exceeding 0.5M Php.

Daiso - Everthing SGD2.00

ABBEY:
This is the 99 store counterpart. But compare to 99 store, Daiso offers almost 6k of different products at 2SGD a piece. From kitchen utensils to office supplies, you name it, they have it. We got here our screen protectors, hamper, super glue, origami etc. We use to go in their branch at Vivo City.

WILL: In search of a nice, durable and cost friendly hamper, we finally found it at Daiso. Everything for SGD2.00. We are always here to find some stuffs. Even our kite was from here. So good to have this kind of shops, para sa mga nagtitipid at kuripot :) 

Valu$ - Sengkang Mall

Abbey: We strolled Compass Point and we found this shop, Valu$. Out of curiosity, we entered it. As we were walking through their aisle of goods, I heard someone talked in Tagalog, then came the reply in the same dialect. I scanned the faces of every staff. Most of them are Filipino :) Wow. We also see goods that I thought were only sold in Lucky Plaza. Yahoo! I can now buy Pinoy chips here at a fraction of the fare. The prices are slightly cheaper than Fair Price or Sheng Shong. Here we bought our over-the-door hook rack for about SGD1.90. I'm looking for this thing since we can't drill to any part of our flat.

WILL: Nothing to do and nowhere to go, that's the main reason why we stumble upon this store. I thought it is just an ordinary store that caters imported food, yun pala most of the staffs were pinoy. You can just imagine how we feel when we meet Filipinos here in Singapore.

      

Valu$ makes the Lucky Plaza nearer to Punggol. Hehe. Kasi we buy chichi pa to Lucky when we miss our mighty junkies. 

      

You can visit this store at Compass Point in Sengkang, fourth floor. Oh, i forget, some of there items is way cheaper than Daiso :)

Bank of Philippine Island & Banco de Oro Internet Banking

ABBEY: 
Internet banking? Baguhan palang ako dito sa BPI. Ok na nagkaroon ng ganitong option you can easily transfer fund, pay bills, check accounts, all in clicks from your pc. May mga fears din na baka ma-hack ang account, or identity theft. I hope they can give more security sa internet banking to ensure their clients that they are secured and protected.

WILL: I am using BDO since 2006 and I was introduced to internet banking two years ago. Since then, I transact most of the time using that facility. 
      I pay bills, through that technology. No long lines. Just me and my laptop and internet connection. No weekends, a 24/7 service. 
      What I don't want with this feature? None. I really like it when the system constant reminding me to change my password. Its a added security for their clients.
      I highly recommend to use this specially to those person who is so busy doing other task. 
      Kelan kaya pwede mag cash deposit through Internet din? hehehe.. sobrang katamaran na noh and parang impossible.. hehe..