Continuing on

This is just a bit of an extension of the last post, so bear with me please!lol

About the points adding up, if you can find the right card they really do add up. Like Lulu and her 2000 yen a month. That really is a lot!

As for my cards, well I have a few that are better value than others, so I'll tell you about those ones.

The ゆめカード which can be used at ゆめタウン and a couple of other normal supermarkets is SO easy to rack up points on. Especially if you go on 5 points days. I mentioned this before but you only need to spend 10,500 yen (if you only use it on the 5倍 extra points days) to get 525 yen back. The card isn't just for the supermarket, it's for the whole centre. So groceries, toiletries, the bread shop, clothes shops, 100 yen shop, flower shop, toy shop and most restaurants are included in that.

So just say you bought rice for 3000 yen, grocery run 3000 yen, toilet paper, tissues and nappies 2000yen and 2500 yen at a restaurant there's the 525 yen discount back in one go! Seriously, that 525 yen comes back in my pocket every couple of months or so, and I don't even use the card that often.

I also have a couple of home-centre cards (one is ナフコ) which you don't have to accumulate a lot of points to use. I think the minimum is 100 yen actually. So even if there is only 100 yen or so on the card, if you ask they will deduct it from the total so you never waste your points. I like this system because you don't have to be a real loyal customer to be able to get the discount.

I have another card for a family restaurant (it's privately owned and been around for 30 odd years) which we go to maybe once every couple of months or so, and they give you back 1200yen when you spend 15000 yen. This is pretty good value too because they will give you points for up to 8 people at a time. It's somewhere we go with the inlaws when they come, and I take my parents there too so this also adds up quickly.

Not all cards are good value, and I don't use all the cards I have, but there ARE some out there that are worth using, so just be on the lookout!lol

Getting to the point

When writing the being thrifty post the other day I thought this deserved a post of it's own, so here it is!

Point cards.
I love them.
Enough said.lol

If I'm out shopping and asked if I have, or would I like to make a point card, I can't help myself and always say yes.lol

So that means I have a LOT of point cards in my collection!

But the points build up quite easily, and I can't count the number of discounts I've had because of them. 500 yen here and there really does help, and if it's helping to get my budget down, then I'm all for it!

Some places are better value than others though, so whenever I have to buy rice or something expensive, I usually hang on and go when they're having extra points days.

Just another idea for anyone interested!lol

Things I love Thursday

Things I am loving this week:

• Being able to blog every day


• Trying out new recipes


• Eating white chocolate


• The promise of Spring


• Starting the 101 things challenge

What are you loving this week?

Wordless Wednesday

Title: Watching the world go by.

Place: Our old apartment.

Subject: Ivory, the cat.

大根と鶏肉の中華煮

This is a recipe that I found on the net and used last night to make an apparently? Chinese style dish with daikon and chicken. It was quite yummy and I had enough leftover to use in a 弁当 for S, and finished the rest off with the kids for lunch!

大根と鶏肉の中華煮(４人分)

1 Daikon
2 Chicken thighs (I used breasts cause I didn't have any chicken thighs)
1 Carrot
A little bit of chopped ネギ
Flour for coating

Marinade: 2 tablespoons of sake and 4 teaspoons of soy sauce.
Sauce: 4 tablespoons sake
4 teaspoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons oyster sauce
400ml water

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and marinate.
Leave for 20 minutes or so, then drain any liquid.
Coat with flour.

Mix up the sauce.

Cut the daikon and carrot into bite size pieces.（乱切り）
Cook the chicken on medium until both sides brown up.
Add the daikon, carrot and sauce.
Cook with the lid on for 25-30 minutes on medium heat, stirring every now and then.
Add some chopped up ネギ when you're nearly finished cooking.
Serve and enjoy!

Notes: The original recipe was only for 2 people so everything you see here is the doubled version. The cooking time for 2 people was 15-20 minutes, but basically the dish is ready when the daikon is cooked through. Also, I only used 3 tablespoons of oyster sauce cause I wasn't sure how the kids would go with it, but as it turns out they ate it all with no problems! They actually seemed to enjoy this dish better than daikon dishes that use dashi.

Being thrifty (Part 2)

Here are some other things I do. Nothing particularly special, just more common sense!lol

• Use my credit card when it gives me a discount. I have an OMC card, so if I shop at Daiei on particular days each month, 5% of whatever it comes to is deducted from the total just by paying by credit. Same goes for my Saison card if you use it at Sunny or Seiyu. I still write the cost down as I would for a cash purchase in my 家計簿, and then I make sure I put the money away to be put in my bank account.

I have another variation on this which is buying things on extra points days. Like at ゆめタウン they have ５倍 days, so they give you 5 yen back (instead of 1) for every 105 yen you spend on those days. Which basically means it's 5% off, because when you have 500 points saved they give you 525 yen discount vouchers. If you only bought things on ５倍 days, you only need to spend 10,500 yen (instead of 52,500 yen) to get your 525 yen voucher.

• Don't take my husband with me shopping if I can help it. lol

• Walk to the supermarket. This stops me overbuying cause I have to carry everything home. So if you can picture me walking with A strapped on, one hand holding on to B's, with my bag and shopping on the other, I think you will understand what I mean.lol

• Buy fruit, veges and fish that are in season. Not only do you get more for your money, things also seem to taste better when they are in season.

• Cut out and use coupons. Sometimes I print them out from the net, other times I use coupons I've cut out from local free papers that get delivered.

Sorry, that's all I can think of for now. If I do think of something else I'll do a Part 3!! If anyone has anything else to add, please leave a comment!!

101 things

The challenge has begun....