MANILA, Philippines?TV host Lyn Ching insists she?s not a shopaholic and that she can be a tad thrifty, verging on the miserly.

?I?m such a cheapskate,? she says. ?I?m a practical shopper and proud of it.?

If not for the gifts of family, friends, and her husband Jose Augusto ?Jappy? Pascual, she?d never own a single designer item.

Prudent she may be, but she?ll gladly welcome presents from loved ones.

?I love being loved,? she quips.

The closet space, located in the couple?s bathroom, is quite organized.

?The closets are divided between us,? she explains. Needless to say, she occupies more sections than Jappy.

The crawl space above the bathroom was also turned into a secret closet especially for Lyn.

Gowns

In the secret closet, she keeps a treasured item, her wedding gown, by Rajo Laurel, that she wore in 2003.

?This is one gown I?ll never throw away even if it has turned yellow with age,? she says.

Hopefully her daughter Gaby will wear the strapless princess dress someday. ?I hope so, especially if she inherits my big bones,? she jests. ?It?s pretty heavy ? it?s fully beaded.?

The other outfits in the closet are all labeled. ?I?m obsessive compulsive,? she admits.

The clothes are also arranged according to color, she says.

Dresses

?If you [often] come out on TV, you need plenty of clothes,? she notes.

But since she works daily and needs to be ready before the crack of dawn, her closet needs to be orderly.

?The formal outfits are all on one side; the casuals on the other,? she says.

Long and flowy dresses are on top of her favorites list, then T-shirts and loose pants. Also, yoga and string pants paired with white tees and tank tops ?when I?m slim.?

She prefers happy colors like yellow and white.

?When it comes to fashion, I?m also practical,? she says. ?I prefer clothes that are versatile, those I can wear from day to evening. I opt for comfort over style.?

Shoes

She?s partial to shoes that work just as hard as she does.

?I love black pumps because I can wear them from work to parties. They go well with jeans and dresses. The brown ones are flexible, too.?

A size 7, she has accumulated a cabinet full of footwear. ?But I don?t buy shoes, because sponsors give them for free, just like my clothes. That?s one of the perks of being on TV.?

Among the brands in her closet are Gibi and Janilyn, but she also adores Nine West, Steve Madden, Aldo, Wade, Zara and Guess.

?Zara sandals are not only comfortable; they?re perfect for any occasion. The Guess strapee goes with any outfit as well,? she says.

Bags

She?s not obsessed with bags, even though fellow ?Unang Hirit? hosts Suzi Entrata-Abrera, Rhea Santos and Atty. Gaby Concepcion have introduced her to the joys of owning designer labels.

?They call me kuripot (stingy),? she admits.

She adheres to a simple rule: ?If it costs over $1,000 I won?t buy it.?

Some of the luxury bags she owns were on sale, she proudly points out. ?I got the Gucci online, 50 percent off. The Ferragamo, 70 percent off.?

The red Coach was also on sale in the US, ?but I had to think about it for an hour before buying it.?

The Missoni is a gift from her mother-in-law. ?We were in Vietnam then. It was her Christmas gift. If not for her, I wouldn?t be able to own a Missoni. My mother-in-law loves gifting me with bags because she knows I?d never buy one for myself.?

The Louis Vuittons are presents from her husband.

The most expensive bag in her collection is the Chanel. ?I thought about it for three days? she recalls. ?My husband and I even talked about it extensively. I tell myself it?s a good investment, something I can pass on to my daughter.?

Instead of fashion items, this reluctant shopaholic declares she?d rather spend on more books to fill her home library.

Books

Appointed as a spokesperson by the National Book Development Board, Lyn is an avowed voracious reader, as the library in the Pascual home reveals.

She has amassed all sorts of books, from biographies to self-help, from trivia to historical tomes. But the most cherished are the Sweet Dreams novels of her teen years.

?Out of 231 titles, only nine are missing from my collection,? she says.

Now she shares the library with daughter Gaby and son Matty.

?I hope to buy more ?Choose Your Own Adventure? books for Matty when he grows up,? she says.

Husband?s territory

If Lyn is into books, Jappy is crazy about sports and film memorabilia?all stored in the basement.

?That?s the male part of the house. His territory. He buys his stuff on eBay,? she relates.

The cinema souvenirs, she says, are from movies that matter to them as a couple. ??Star Wars,? ?Superman Returns,? ?Transformers,? ?The Incredibles? and ?Cars? are for our kids, too.?

Jappy also collects car models, lovingly displayed in glass cabinets. ?He painstakingly crafts all these. It?s his passion.?

Among the prized items in his collection are a 1968 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Coupe, a Luke Skywalker light saber and autographed basketball jerseys from Magic Johnson.

He also collects stickers and car plates from every country they visit.

Displayed in the garage are plates and stickers from France, Great Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Finland, Russia and Estonia.

?We each have our own obsessions,? she says.

Scents

She prefers ?citrusy, grapefruity? fragrances: ?Nothing floral for me. I usually don?t wear perfume.?

In fact, she has bought only one bottle in 15 years.

?I got a Carthusia Mediterraneo Eau de Toilette, when we were in Capri, Italy, last year,? she confesses.

One bottle in a decade and a half?

Now, that?s practical.

E-mail: bayanisandiego@hotmail.com