The home computer at the beagle household has given us 5 years of faithful service, and it is time to look out for a bargain for a replacement computer. The current computer, a Dell Inspiron 5100 is showing signs of dying.

I read an article from Cash Money Life about 9 ways to save money when purchasing a computer. Among some of the helpful pointers are understanding your needs and not buying more than you need.

What I need is:

• A computer for browsing the web and storing photos.
• It should be powerful enough to run several applications at once.
• Quality and durability. I don’t want to spend money on repairs, at all.

What would be nice to have is:

• Hardware advanced enough to last five years, and I’m not the sort of person who will do minor upgrades for my computers
• Able to serve as a home media centre
• Able to play the latest games
• Something portable
• Minimal space footprint, to reduce clutter in my home

Based on this article and my previous experience, I have several options in mind.

1. A budget desktop

Medium range desktops come under RM2000 nowadays. By choosing this option I can get a computer to fit my immediate needs, and there is always the option for upgrading later.

The disadvantages I see are cheap desktops may need to be replaced after a couple of years and it’s going to take up more space.

2. A budget laptop

Budget range laptops can cost less than RM3000, and they are portable and take up minimum space.

However, the lack of upgrading options means that the budget laptop will soon feel obsolete and left behind. Getting a laptop with decent performance will cost much more.

3. A Mac Mini

The Mac Mini is a surprisingly cheap computer. It comes with excellent referrals in terms of usability and quality. Macs are said to be lower maintenance, last longer, and easier to use.

It takes up minimum space and costs below RM3000 minus a monitor. It costs more, but the total cost of ownership in the long run should be cheaper.

Conclusion

I have not come to a conclusion yet. Option 1 is the most probable choice, but I’m flirting with the Mac Mini option.

In any case, I will try to stick with my current computer for as long as I can.

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If you shop at wet markets, you can ask them to cut a chicken for you at no cost.

In supermarkets, you will find that pre-cut chickens cost more than a whole chicken, plus you don’t get to keep the bones for making stock or soup. Plus, you don’t know how clean it is.

This video shows you an easy way to cut a chicken into six pieces: two drumsticks, two wings, and two chicken breasts.

Technorati Tags: Cut Chicken

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Hello frugal beagles,

Today I want to highlight another blog I found (or found me) called My Smart Money Tips.

The blog is authored by Ms Money Penny, who writes about ways to spend and invest wisely in times of rising costs.

I like this blog because the focus and direction of the blog is very much in tune with the Frugal Beagle philosophy, to live a frugal lifestyle.

I found many useful tips like giving your wardrobe a makeover, and saving money shopping at hypermarkets.

I’ve added the blog to my list of Frugal Links in my sidebar for your future reference.

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This week’s Frugal Friday tip will show you how to make your own cotton balls from a roll of cotton. Frugal Friday tips are short and easy frugal tips you can pick up as a weekend project.

If you have a baby, you will need to use a lot of cotton balls. Cotton balls come ready-made in stores, but it costs about two times less if you make them yourself.

Making Your Own Cotton Balls:

1. You will need a roll of cotton.

2. Pinch off a small portion of cotton, about the size of your thumb.

3. Roll the cotton into a ball by wrapping it around your finger.

4. Keep cotton balls in a container. You can do this as you’re watching TV or just sitting around.

Conclusion

Now you have plenty of cotton balls to use. The best part is knowing you saved money by making your own cotton balls.

Thanks Mrs Beagle for the demo!

Technorati Tags: DIY, Cotton Balls, Frugal Tips

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The 1 sen rounding mechanism has been implemented in Malaysia without any major issues. However, being a frugal beagle I can’t help but to highlight some problems that I have come across.

I know that a few sen is not worth much, but frugal beagles never let a cent go to waste.

Recently, fellow blogger Paris B fell victim to a petrol station in Jalan Ipoh, where the station allowed a faulty petrol pump to stay in operation, allegedly short changing each customer by1 sen.

But that’s not what I want to highlight today. I noticed problems that occur due to a misunderstanding of the new policy.

1. One Sen Coins Not Accepted

I was shopping at Giant hypermarket a few months back, and I wanted to use up my 1 sen coins. The cashier did not want to accept my coins.

Actually they cannot refuse, because 1 sen coins are still legal tender, according to Bank Negara guidelines. The Central Bank of Malaysia Act 1958 (1994) refers.

The purpose of the rounding mechanism was not to eliminate the 1 sen coin altogether, but to reduce demand so that Bank Negara won’t have to mint new coins anymore.

2. Bills Rounded For All Payment Methods

In my TNB bill, I noticed that the 1 sen coin rounding mechanism is applied, even though I pay via online banking.

Again this is not right, because the Internal Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) guidelines say that the rounding mechanism applies to over the counter cash payments only.

Conclusion

I know that there’s no point arguing over 1 sen. However, it’s sad to see how policies can cause disadvantage to some parties without clear guidelines and follow-up enforcement.

You should read my post 1 Sen Coin Myths and Facts You Must Know to familiarize yourself with this policy. 

Technorati Tags: Malaysia, 1 Sen, Coin

Photo: Dan Shirley

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If you’re bored of Solitaire or Minesweeper, I have found another way to find full version computer games.

I have written before about downloading free games.

Wikipedia actually has a list of commercial computer games released as freeware. If you take a look at the list, you will find a list of computer games released in the 90s.

I found downloads for games like Railroad Tycoon, Simcity, The Elder Scrolls: Arena, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory and Star Control II.

To download the games, look for the download or developer website link under the External Links header in the individual game’s wiki entry.

The Frugal Beagle loves Wikipedia!

Photo: Jordi Soro

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In today’s Frugal Friday tip, I have a simple frugal project for this weekend.

I found this video that shows you how to make your own tofu from scratch. I know we can get tofu pretty easily here in Malaysia. I think we can use this to make our own specialty tofus, the kind we can only find at restaurants.

Restaurants sometimes make their own tofu, sometimes infused with meat, spices or vegetables.

This video shows you how to make a basic soft tofu. The ingredient calcium sulfate sounds like it could be a problem. I will have to find out what brands of tofu coagulant we have in Malaysia.

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