How a shopaholic mom indulges herself

Motherhood could snatch away a lot of things close to my heart- peaceful, undisturbed sleep, freedom to pack my bags and hitting the road to anywhere and anyhow I wished, to name a few. Shopping, though, be it grocery/veggie shopping or for books and gadgets -  is a different story. Living in that part of Pune which is dominated by gunda-raj at the grassroot level, I found out my own means to indulge myself without giving in to the extortion by the local merchants. Here is my list of a few daily hacks. The list is mainly for Pune, but if you are in some other part of the world, chances are there might be a similar service there as well (if not, it might be a brilliant idea for a new venture!)

è eSabjiwala.com : Online veggie/fruit shopping. Cash in Delivery, flexibility of delivery time, and rates are comparable to the mandi (far lesser than the sabjiwalas in my area). 

è Autowale.com (8446001234) : Auto on call service. They charge (meter reading)+Rs. 15 extra. Saves me a lot of money and haggling time, if the autos don’t comply with meter. They’ll pick you up from anywhere in Pune, but you just have to call them an hour in advance.

è Flipkart.com : Online store for a lot of things, I use it for books and gadgets. Their service amazes me everytime. And, they almost always have a discount of minimum 30% on books. Also, whenever I need to buy any electronis item, I first check out the ratings, specs and cost here, even if I have to buy it from a local market. Oh yes, and they have free shipping for orders above 300!

è Babyoye.com / firstcry.com : baby and new-mom shopping, esp. in those few months when I was on house-arrest immediately after the delivery. And I visit this store not just for discounts they offer, but also to check out what’s new in the market. They also have international brands listed in a few categories.

è Zomato.com : The best foodie-site. I go there for restaurant reviews, location, menu, and also when I want to order-in. out of all the food-related websites, I found this one most up-to-date, and the reviews most honest.

 

è Snapdeal.com / timesdeal.com :  As they say in their ads, never pay full! There are huge discounts out there, from spa services to restaurant deals. Have a look at it before you head out for a dinner date, and you may end up saving for another one! There are some awesome deals like 50% off on branded outlets like CCD, Barista, Pizza hut, Marriott etc. But beware, all that glitters is not gold, so check out the reviews of a restaurant before buying a deal, if its your first visit.

Do I sound like a promoter of some e-commerce venture? Well, I also had a few glitches initially. Sites like futurebazaar.com (Please, someone blacklist it out for the worst services) made me more careful with online shopping.