Not A Shopaholic

Our family went to buy a few grocery supplies last night and I was so surprised to see the prices of a lot of commodities have gone sky high. The chicken which used to be only 60-70 Baht per kilo a few months back are now from 98-125 Baht per kilo!A very small slice of beef is at 68 Baht. And the eggs, the cheapest is at 58 Baht. Oh my!

When we were lining up to pay for our groceries, I was already brainstorming and thinking of ways for our family to save up money. No wonder eating out has been more expensive now. We have been eating out less now since we noticed that our bill for meals are getting higher. So, this is really the time for me to be more creative with my meals.

I wonder what other people are doing to save money. Will they be giving up their Medicare plans? Will they stop using their aircon to save the electric bill? It’ll be nice to know some practical ways and tips to save money in this ‘expensive world’ of ours.

One of the weekend markets here in Hat Yai was on fire last week, damaging several stalls and shops. The Asian Trade Night Market is a famous weekend market in the city, a destination for locals and tourists alike. They sell a wide range of items like shoes, bags, clothes  (new and second-hand clothes), household items, decors, pets and etc. I’m not sure when this place will be up and back to business but I think they will only be closed for awhile. I remember during the time when Hat Yai was flooded and it only took less than a month for all the shops and business to get back to business. I actually accompanied my friends to the place where they sell wholesale apparel, wholesale handbags, wholesale watches and etc. And everything was back to normal as if nothing had happened. When I asked the owner whether their shop was affected by the flood, he showed me the level of the flood water in the area and it was like 2 meters high. Then, he explained to me that all the items on his shop now are all  new stocks since nothing has been saved from the flood. That was so sad, but I’m glad that they’re back into business.

As I’ve mentioned in one of my older post, it has been announced that Big C has taken over Carrefour. This was around November-December last year. There wasn’t much changes until 2 weeks ago, when they took out all the big Carrefour signages and changed it to Big C Extra. Almost everything immediately became green from the signage, plastic bags to the cashiers’ uniforms. The store’s floor plan and arrangements still look the same except from some of the products have been changed to Big C’s inhouse brand. I do hope they keep their arrangement the same as I’ve already memorized where everything is. Yes, I can shop with my eyes closed and even without my grocery list since I know where everything is.

It’s kinda sad that Carrefour has gone and Big C has taken over. We’ve been going to this mall for many years since it’s just near our house. And up until now, I’m still not used to refer to this place as Big C Extra, I still want to call it Carrefour. LOL!