Money & finances | Hip to be Mom

There’s good reason why I hate going to the bank. This bank in particular. Judging from the last entry in my passbook, the last time I stepped in there was way back in March and I certainly wouldn’t have gone there if I didn’t have a check to deposit.

I’m greeted at the information desk by not 1, not 2 but 3 staff who’ve probably been chit-chatting about acsonix reviews right up till then. I ask if I need to get a number to wait in line. The guy asks what I want to do and when he hears I need to deposit a check, he points me over to the machine.

Now I’ve never trusted any machine that sucks up my money. So I make up this story about having some other stuff to take care of and hope they’ll just give me a number. But no, he now asks me what else I want to do. As if that’s any business of his!

So I mumble something about a time deposit account. The lady behind the desk whips out a form and the guy points me to a free-standing counter to fill it up. By this time, I’m wondering why I even bothered making up that story about the time deposit.

So I march back to the information desk to demand for a number. Are you done filling the form? the guy asks in disbelief. Yup, I lied through my teeth. I don’t think he was convinced. But enough is enough!

The lady behind the desk reluctantly presses a button on her machine to generate a number slip for me. Remember the joke about how many men it takes to change a light bulb? Well, the joke here is how many empty barrels does it take a press a button? And the answer is 3!

Thankfully the wait was short. I hand the bank teller my check. He whips it out of my hand and says OK. I’m like, OK what? That’s it? He stares at me blankly. So where’s my receipt? as if that wasn’t obvious enough to him.

Oh! He slowly awakens and hands me the slip. Okay, so tell me, why am I, the customer, having to tell him what to do? If I know his job better than him, why the heck is he sitting there handling my money? Herein lies an even better reason why I call this the completely idiotic and moronic bank.

For the record, I’ve only been banking with them because they’re located so conveniently near by. When I come back from my vacation, am I going to continue banking with them? Um, I’d say don’t bank on it!

big guy, big responsibility

Posted by Clairity Comments Off

Apr 282010

Looking at Steev, my firstborn, it’s hard to imagine he was a baby in my arms just yesterday and he’s a strapping young man today about to go off to university. We reckon it’s time to give him a credit card. Apparently there are even prepaid credit cards these days. I didn’t know that so that’s an option I have to consider as well. The bottom line though is that if he’s old enough to have a card, he’s old enough to be responsible for managing it. Think I can trust his cheeky grin ?

With global food prices escalating rapidly, it’s the kids that I feel sorry for. Ultimately I think they are the ones who will suffer most especially those in the third world countries.

In the news today is a family giving up their 11-year-old son to the orphanage in the hopes he will have a better life than if he were to remain in the village. Both his parents are still alive but they have a string of other younger children that they can’t afford to feed.

So they figured he’d be better off at the orphanage where he can have proper care and a proper education. It’s heart-breaking to watch the youngster, fighting back tears, preparing to leave the people he loves and a life he’s familiar with.

It must not have been an easy decision for his parents either. But increasingly it seems parents are seeing this as one solution to the high cost of raising kids.

I tend to look at this as part of a bigger problem. Parents who can’t afford to provide for their kids should seriously consider contraceptives. They should be educated about the responsibilities of parenting and be given the information to make choices before they even have those kids.

the chronic bulk shopper strikes again!

Posted by clairity Comments Off

Jun 102008

The last weekend before school reopens is always crazy busy. I took the kids for their haircuts. They were starting to look like heavy-metal rockers. Then there’s always the last-minute stationery supplies which somehow seem to run out right on the day before school starts.

This time, there was the added hassle of trying to buy up some essentials in bulk. I already have 5 bags of rice, two 5kg bottles of cooking oil, toilet rolls, toothpaste. I wasn’t sure if I should stock up on Milo as well since I still have like 10kg from my last bulk run .

I’ll probably grab some more stuff this weekend. But frankly, if fuel prices are going to go up every month, there’s probably only so much you can stock up. I always buy in bulk anyways so I guess it’s a matter of looking around for the best prices without having to drive out of my way to get them.

family insurance

Posted by clairity Comments Off

Nov 152007

When you have kids at home, it’s always a good idea to sign up for some family insurance policies although you can save money on insurance by taking up the one that the schools offer at the beginning of the school year.

Buying insurance is never a problem when you have the money and the time to listen to an agent explain it all to you. I’m sure every one of us likely knows someone who’s selling insurance part-time.

Just give them a call and they’ll be only too happy to go through some of the traditional healthcare options that you can consider.