I’m cooking a lot more which means I’m pretty tired during the week. We’re down to only eating one or two meals out during the weekends if we happen to be out. Our homecooked meals are getting simpler because I’m just too tired to cook up a storm since we eat in much more now. But hey, it saves money and the stress of going to crowded places in light of this flu pandemic thingey.

It’s terrible but this is what happens when some parents insist on sending their sick kids to school even when there’s all these warnings to stay home if they have the flu. Frankly we don’t know what kind of flu they’ve got so it’s kinda scary.

When the kids get back from school, I pretty much disinfected as much of their stuff as I can. Yeah, it’s crazy. And I know some people think I’m crazy for being so OCD about it. But hey, I think it’s better to be safe than sorry.

I was sitting near the reception counter the other day when someone came in to ask about buying gold coins. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but he and the bank officer were talking quite loudly and so I was privy to the information exchanged.

Amazing what you can learn about investing if you sit near the reception counter .

Don’t get me wrong. We love when they visit. It’s just the amount of energy that goes into organizing a fairly large group and getting everyone to have fun doing what they and everyone else wants to do.

And of course, there’s the meals. I didn’t want to cook up a storm and let’s face it, I didn’t want to spend a fortune eating out either, and figuring out something in between isn’t always easy.

Well, that’s over and done with for now. Till the next time. So I’m off to chill!

We’ve been talking about going to Hong Kong Disneyland since it was completed. At one point, I was checking out the cost of a trip for all of us and well, it was a little above our budget at the time.

Last night, someone suggested I check out Accor Hotels City Super Sale. Hey, their hotel rates aren’t bad at all. In fact, they’re way more affordable than the ones I checked out last year.

In fact, it’s not only the rates for Hong Kong hotels but hotels in 27 cities across 10 countries in Asia Pacific which are being reduced by up to 60% in Accor’s new “City Super Sale”.

If I book online between June 23 – 29, 2009 for stays between July 10 and September 30, 2009, I can enjoy rates starting as low as US$25 per night. Together with the record low airfares across the Asia Pacific right now, we could get to see more than just Hong Kong and still have money left over.

I love shopping in Hong Kong. Don’t even get me started. In fact, shopping is fabulous in Asia because there’s so much variety at such bargain prices.

I don’t really care either if people stare at my not-so-clean car. That’s not to say I don’t care about my car. I do. I love it dearly and really want it to look good. But like how some folks need to find the inspiration to write, I need to find the inspiration to wash, you know .

Well, today I found that inspiration. Between the hot dusty mornings and wet rainy afternoons, my car was starting to sport the polka dot look. Great but only if polka dots are back in fashion this season?

In fact, I was so inspired after the wash I decided to give it a shine as well! Yep, I polished the car by hand all by my lonesome . And now that I’ve done it, let me tell you what a fantastic workout that was!

You may have heard or read about housework doubling up as a form of exercise for those who are too busy for the real thing. Mmm, I don’t know. Personally, I have my doubts that sweeping the floor or doing the dishes will do the trick!

But if you’re looking at a good hour’s workout, go wash and polish your car! And if you’re still not beat by then, come on over and give my car a shine! :lol:

At 101 Inks, you can find inkjet cartridges, laser toners, cartridges, toners, fax ribbons at the lowest prices and save up to 85% off regular prices. They also offer free shipping on orders of $55 and above.

Now you can save an additional 10% by using the coupon code “8356620″ when you check out with your order. Seriously go check them out yourself and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

I know for a fact that lots of kids think it’s really cool to be a hacker. I can see the glint in their eyes at the very prospect of it. They hero-worship the real life hackers, yes, even the ones that have been caught and sent to prison.

Well, hacking isn’t all bad though. Many hackers leave jail, turn over a new leaf and later become ‘ethical hackers’, the people employed in IT Security positions where they identify areas of system weaknesses and help catch hackers.

For those interested in pursuing a career in IT security, the EC-Council offers courses in such areas as  security fundamentals, Ethical Hacking, penetration testing, secure programming, disaster recovery and computer forensics.

They have live, online, instructor-led training courses that anyone can do from home. I mean, if someone loves the highs of hacking for fun, they might as well be an ethical hacker and make an honest living out of it, right?

Oh, never mind, I’ll go crawl the mall on my own. Lately I’ve become incredibly conscious of my spending. With the bad economy and all, most of us are affected in one way or another unless you have millions stashed away. Personally I’m getting down to some serious penny-pinching.

Thought I’d share some tips I came up with as I was browsing at the mall (my pupils dilating at every price tag).

1. Compare brands, compare prices. I usually buy a certain brand of rice noodles. Whenever I need to top up my supply, I automatically reach for it. Lately I’ve been looking around and noticed it’s more expensive than some others. I wonder if the other brands would taste as good.

Then I remembered my neighbor had brought over a plate of fried rice noodles for me recently (she knows I love fried noodles, bless her . And she’d mentioned that she uses a house brand of rice noodles. Mmm, I remember that plate of noodles had tasted pretty good.

See, it doesn’t mean that if you’ve always been using one brand, you must stick with it forever. Don’t prejudge other brands, give them a try. You never know, it could turn out to be equal or better quality for less money.

2. Wait for the sale. Unless you’re in dire need for an item, don’t rush to buy. Forget the misconception that sales are for the poor folks. I know for a fact that it’s the rich folks that make a dash for the sales (that’s how they got rich!).

I’ve had my eye on a new pair of shoes. I’ve tried it on and love it, but I’m procrastinating. Why pay more when you can pay less?

3. Do it yourself. Eating out can get costly. For the same amount of money or less, you could cook more meals or feed more people.

I love the roast chicken at this place called Dave’s. I thought they made the yummiest chicken and had many a fulfilling lunch there during work break. The price seemed pretty reasonable at the time.

One night, I took the whole family there and the price multiplied by x family members burned a hole in my pocket. Ouch! Since then, I figured there had to be a better way. And there is. Now I make the best darned roast chicken in town!

Okay, that’s all I have for now. Are you a newly-inspired penny pincher too? Great, let’s pool our resources. Drop your penny-pinching tips into the comments box and let’s work on it together . What do you say?