No, I couldn't really actually remember the exact day I got hooked to online shopping. What was clear to me was that I don't want anything to do with buying stuff online. There are several reasons that back up that behavior. For one, I am a very gullible person. I easily believe something someone says. It is for that reason that I am thankful for my husband who consistently gives me sensible advice when I catch myself acting all gullible. Then there's my technophobia. I used to have a mini heart attack when an error message pops up on my monitor. Blame it on the old computers back in the '90s that have that really loud alert whenever there's something wrong with what you're doing on the computer. Again, my husband is my knight in shining armor in cases like this. And while I am very gullible, I am very careful with where I put my money. It is also thanks to my being a technophobe that I used to dislike online transactions. It's just too risky for me.
That was before. I am still gullible, still a technophobe, and am still extra careful with my online finances. When I experienced the convenience of online transactions, oh what a bliss! I can still remember the first online transaction I made by myself. I purchased my first set of crochet hooks from Gantsilyo Guru. They have a physical store just a few minutes to an hour away from our house but since I was very pregnant at that time, and was just a few weeks away from giving birth with no one available to accompany me, I went ahead and placed my order online. I remember going back and forth with the owner through email asking even the silliest question I could ever think of. I was given permission to work from home at that time and I got a lot of time on my hands. I ordered a whole set of colorful crochet hooks and a few balls of yarn. In my mind, I just bought it online because I couldn't go out because of my pregnancy. I thought once I gave birth, I can go to the physical store. Little did I realize that I was just fooling myself.
When I became a mom, everything needed to be done as quickly as possible because I never could catch up with time. I was still working a full-time job at night, was taking care of the family in the morning, and grab whatever time I have left to sleep and rest.
I rarely have any idle time. I don't have time to physically go to a store, look for things I need, wait in line at the cashier, and wait for the ride to arrive. Online transactions saved the day.
The Possibilities are Endless
Madonna said we're living in a material world. I say we are living in an online world. Nowadays, a lot of things can be done online. Time is of the essence. Everything that used to be done in hours now can be done instantly. This is why online purchases and transactions are a hit nowadays. Add the pandemic to the equation, and now, we're living online.
Almost everything and anything you may ever need can be found online. The possibilities are endless. The choices are limitless. Before, if you want to buy a nice pair of shoes, you'll need to go to the mall, hop from one stall to another until you find the one. Now, all these can be done with just the tip of your fingers.
There are tons of options on how you would opt to do your online transactions. This leads me to one of my best online transactions ever.
Online bills payment
So far, I've used several options on paying my bills online. Needless to say, I am never going back to the old-school way of paying bills. It has been a while since I last waited in line to settle my bill payment.
Right now, I am enjoying the perks that Shopee is offering for online bills payment. The first time I tried it, I earned a whole lot of coins which can be redeemed on my other purchases on Shopee. After that, I have been receiving discounts on my bills. My husband and I have come to an agreement that we do need to allocate funds from our budget for our online shopping. And with the discounts and coins we earn, paying our bills online through Shopee is the best option for us.
If you haven't tried it, it's really simple. Simply click on Loads and Bills on your Shopee mobile app and then select the type of bill you want to pay. From there, it's pretty much straightforward. Just enter the account number/service ID and then select what vouchers you want to apply for that transaction. Then pay for the bill on the next page. Check if the payment went through on your account and that's it. You paid your bill, you received your reward. Everybody is happy.
Almost everyone I know already has a Shopee account but if you don't have one yet, might as well use my referral link.
Online Grocery
This is one of the best online purchases I've ever done. As a part of my tricks to saving money, I buy things in bulk. This means that everytime I go to the grocery, I take home heavy bags and boxes of grocery items. Now, I can just have my husband do the grocery for me since he has the muscle to carry things easily, but I simply can't deal with the stress of having missing items from the list and finding things that are not on the list. I just cannot.
Thanks to a grocery store here in our city that has a downloadable app, I was able to do my grocery shopping online. I just click on the things I need, enter my shipping info, etc, and wait for the delivery. Now, I can buy an even bigger bulk of the things that we need from the grocery. What's more is that there, too, are discounts. If you reach a certain amount, the delivery fee is waived. Now my pantry and toiletries are fully stocked, my budget is a lot easier to manage, and I get a lot of discounts and waived fees.
The Best Online Purchase of Them All
While I am very much delighted and satisfied with all of my adulting online transactions, I make it a point that the family gets an item they want, not just what they need. (If what they want is also what they need, then good.) It so happened that the best online purchase I've ever had is something I have always wanted and incidentally something I also needed.
Last week, I celebrated my nth birthday. I don't usually buy expensive things mostly because at the back of my head, there's a nagging feeling that I might need that money for something more important. For this year, I decided on gifting myself with something that has been hanging on my wishlist for a long time.
I was really excited about this purchase because this is the first time I bought something online that is way above my usual spending. As such, I was really anxious about it. Before I went ahead and clicked on the "Place Order" button, I had my husband, a friend, another friend, yet another friend, and another friend check on the seller, store, and item to see if everything looks legit. Even after that, I triple-checked the ratings, scrutinized even the nitty-gritty of every feedback ever left for the seller. When I had already placed the order, that was the start of non-stop checking of shipping updates. I remember checking the status of my purchase at least 3 times a day until the day I got the item.
Why it's my very first own laptop. I have always wanted to have one of my own. I used to have a company-issued laptop before but that was surrendered as soon as I resigned from the company. I was excited because this is a gift to me from me. And what makes it even more exciting is that the money I used to buy this is my Hive earnings. Imagine that! I have been blogging in the blockchain for more than 3 years and this year is the first time I was able to buy things from my earnings. This is one of those things that makes me happy, grateful, and feel blessed that I am here in this wonderful community.
I've had worse purchases online before but with all the good things that I get from online transactions, it's enough for me to overcome all the fears and doubts I had about online purchases. It has been a part of my budgeting plan, and will most probably be a huge part in the foreseeable future.
Thank you so much for reaching up to here. And since you read on, I'd like to leave a few pro tips I have learned on my online transactions.
- Tip your rider. They can be considered heroes nowadays. Without them faithfully, honestly, and consistently riding for our goodies, staying still at home during the pandemic will be impossible.
- Communicate. Contact the seller right away if you have questions before clicking that "Place Order" button. If the item you received is not as you expected, give the seller a benefit of the doubt and calmly describe what's wrong. I went through a return/refund process once and it went smoothly because both the seller and I were very professional about the matter.
- This is just for fun. Place orders before your birthday. Estimate the shipping time and try to buy stuff in a way that the delivery time will fall on your birthday. It will be like you are opening tons of gifts. Try it. It's fun. LOL
This is what my cart looked like on my birthday
@romeskie is a full-time stay-at-home mom to a homeschooling toddler. Loves crocheting as a hobby. Maintains a mini food forest, aiming to grow more to achieve that farm-to-table homesteading. Learned how to cook after leaving the corporate world to take care of her family and is now starting to acquire basic baking skills. Learn more about her adventures and misadventures in the world of motherhood.
Connect with her through her Facebook Page: The Leftie Crocheter and on Instagram. Feel free to subscribe to her Youtube Channel: The Leftie Crocheter
I started doing a lot more online shopping during COVID, it's so addictive isn't it? I even do online grocery shopping now, something that I've always resisted on the past as I like to choose my own fresh produce. However,it's great when I buy heavy or bulky stuff and I don't have to lug it around anymore.
Congratulations on getting your new laptop, I know the feeling. I got myself a new mobile phone recently from my earnings
It's these moments that makes so much difference to life. 💜
So true! I think my younger self might have warned me that I might get hooked into adding items to my online cart. And it did happen. LOL!
Yay for online grocery shopping! This might as well be the only way I'd like to do my groceries.
Congrats on your new phone. And thank you so much Hive!
I had my moments addicted to Shoppee, I even got my mom's addicted to it as well 🤣 but since stores are re-opening, I am back to normal grocery shopping. Grab in Indonesia has a feature of fresh produce and regular groceries, I use them a lot as well. But now that I am going out of my hermit phase, I am trying my best to skip them. Congrats on your new laptop! Looks like we're getting the same brand :)
Shops, groceries, and some restaurants have reopened here but I guess since I've enjoyed the convenience of online shopping, I have a feeling this might be the new normal for us. LOL. Or maybe I've just become too lazy to go out. HAHA.
I am enjoying using my new laptop. I used to use my mobile phone on almost all my Hive activities. It's so much easier now. :)
Shopping online is cool, it's Only when you make a transaction and it pending, I for one get restless on till it goes through.
True that! When I get a pending message, I constantly worry that I might have done something wrong or maybe I'm missing a step or something. LOL
So true
Shopping online can be interesting especially when the payment process is smooth. I hope, most online platforms accept crypto as payment so I can make payments with my decentralised multi-coin wallet application from https://atomicwallet.io/.
That would be the dream. It would be really nice to just use our coin wallets for our transactions instead of going through the process of conversion.
Greetings @romeskie. You and my wife are similar when it comes to shopping. I noticed that online shopping makes her happy. So, whenever I have extra cash I immediately give it to her and then I will say "Oh honey koy, pang-shopee mo" which she is always thankful.
That is so nice and sweet of you. Tama yan, dapat may pang self love allowance din siya. hehe
Thank you very much (^_^)
Yan nga din ang iniisip ko, kakatapos nga lang ng birtday nya this month, pero before ang birthday nya inabutan ko din sya ng pang-birthday nya (^_^)
Dito sa amin wala pang grocery online eh, sana magkaroon nga.para dina pipila ng 30mins-1hour s grocery store..
Anyway, ganda nung laptop. Nakakainspire aside sa lagi ka nag iinspire sa akin. Hehe. You really deserve that.
Sana nga. Sayang ang time sa pagpila at paghahanap ng mga bagay bagay. Nakakapagod pati.
Haha. Thank you! Wag ka mag-alala. Sipag at tiyaga lang, makakaahon din tayo sa laylayan. hahaha
Sobrang tagal talaga ng pila lalo na pag my occasion like Christmas. Sakit sa paa, Minsan nakakahilo din. Hehe. Tama, sipag at tiyaga lang talaga plus prayers.