deadlines

sorry for the total lack of posts lately; i'm afraid i'm caught between several deadlines right now (and a few more last week):

1) i'm writing a summary matrix of the health agenda of the presidential candidates. we really need to finish asap so we can release it in time for people to actually read it and use it to help them decide on the vote on May 10

2) entries to literary contests.  i've given up on the Carlos Palanca one for now.  the deadline is tomorrow and, aside from the fact that i've only written 1 1/2 pages of the short story i planned on submitting, there are also some papers that need to be notarized, sent thru post, etc.  on the bright side, there's still hope for the Philippine Star "My Icon, My Hero" essay contest.  770 words down, 430 more to go.  it's also due tomorrow but, thanks to the internet, i think i can (and should) make it.

wish me luck!!

growing out phase

it's growing out a bit. i'm attending a wedding on may so i'm thinking if i should get it cut again. but the cheapo/ms.frugal in me insists on looking for a styling alternative so i don't have to spend more. haha. we'll see.

this is me the day after the haircut, on our way to Cauayan, Isabela.  the issue with short hair when travelling is that it gets messed up when you sleep.  and you need 30 seconds and a mirror to fix it. but when you do fix it, you kinda look quite poised and elegant when you step out of the car on your way to the nearest restroom. and guys suddenly pop out of nowhere and carry umbrellas to shelter you from the rays of the sun, just like they did to celebrities at the rainy Golden Globes. well, i think these guys were instructed to do that too; they did it to everyone who got off at Mrs. Gaddi's cafe place.

this is me last April 10 (with nanay- my maternal grandma- and my cousin jason). the waves are growing back out a bit but are still manageable with the existing products i have.  bangs are growing a bit long though.

grocery-shopping

never do it with an especially hungry friend! ever!!

and do it regularly, some time before the day you anticipate you'll need whatever it is you're buying.  this way, you can cut down on the number of trips and not end up buying so many last-minute items and cravings.  and, if you buy in blk the things you do need, you'll most likely end up saving a bit too.

oh, and another thing. compare prices!! i usally do my grocery shopping at Robinson's but i'm realizing i need to make an effort to do it elsewhere, like Landmark, Puregold, or Hi-Top, where most of the things i buy are usually cheaper by a couple of pesos here and there.

here are a number of useful articles on grocery shopping:

     Cut Your Grocery Bill: 10 Money Saving Grocery Shopping Tips

     More Grocery-Shopping Money Saving Ideas

have fun at the grocers!!

smart and savvy

sorry for the lack of posts! lately, i've been preoccupied with work.  besides, our internet connection at the office has been terrible the past few weeks.  the links i entered in my previous posts weren't even saved!

before we start, let's have a short quiz! (ok, i just had a vision of my 5 or so readers turning off their monitors at this instant).

anwer this: which piggybank are you?

"broken and trying to patch the situation up with a too-small band-aid" piggybank?

recession piggy-bank?

ICU piggybank?

or would you like to be this one, all shiny and well-fed?

see, i read a great article earlier today about How to be a Savvy Cheapskate. now don't be alarmed by the word "cheapskate"! we'll try to use that less often on this site to disassociate ourselves from the negative connotation. from now on, we are smart and savvy spenders, not cheapskates. repeat after me. "I am a smart and savvy spender." there, that was good! that wasn't so hard, was it?

the article is basically about something i'm also trying to emphasize here on my site: if you want to save more, it's not just about getting more for less and cutting coupons; it's about a lifestyle change. it's asking yourself "Do I really need this?" rather than "Do I want this?", and being happier and more content in the end.

to add to the author's tips, i'd like to suggest that you write down your financial goals and also write down your assets or whatever the term is for what you currently have in you piggybank. this way, you can set realistic goals and also help yourself figure out how much you need to earn, and how much you can afford to spend, towards reaching your goal of becoming independent or supporting your family, or paying for your own education, or whatever.

i gotta tell you, i am so excited about this whole project! ok, so maybe only three people have read my blog so far. that's alright!! we can all help each other become more fulfilled with our lives. and that's enough for me. til next time!! i'll post a sample of my very OC financial plan on this site soon to help the visualization process. toodles!!

spending other people's money

i got into yet another semi-heated debate with my parents last week on our way to the movies (Clash of the Titans). the reason: when to spend and when to save.

i forgot how it started; all i remember was that, all of a sudden, my dad was further corrupting my brother's set of values by saying that he should spend/buy when others are paying, but save/scrimp when he's using his own money.

naturally, i had to give everyone within a kilometer radius my two cents worth.  see, the main difference with me and my brother is the person/s who raised us.  my mother almost single-handedly raised my three older sisters and myself, whereas my dad was more hands-on when he finally had the XY offspring.  now, my dad is a good man, truly one of the best in my life.  but good men have their flaws too, and my father is no exception.  i'm afraid, now that he is nearing retirement and no longer needs to pay for the matriculation of five children (just one left), he has become lax with his spending habits.  yes, he is entitled to the fruits of his labor, God knows he has been working his ass off ever since he was a little pauper in Isabela.  but i fear that his new paradigms on money matters are not something you would want to pass onto a 16-year old. 

see, i was raised by my stingy mother and, early on, i learned the value of money and hard work if i wanted any of the former.  even as a child, i felt ashamed to ask for anything, knowing that asking my mom for that new Barbie doll in Duty Free would earn me a painful pinch in the groin, and i would have to endure the humiliation of crying like a girl AND not getting a toy, while my cousins played with theirs.

i realized that i had to work hard if i wanted anything.  my aunt told me that when i was really really young, i once tried to pass around envelopes in my father's clinic.  the envelopes were marked "Abuloy para kay Kat".  i don't even recall doing that!! i only found that out sometime in October 2008, when I was in Chicago and visited that aunt of mine.  i guess i thought abuloy was another word for donations. haha.  my dad then predicted that i would grow up to be independent.  and i did.

during early elementary, i would spend summers hanging out at my dad's clinic in Isabela, selling snacks i made with my cousins to the waiting patients.  one year, i sold perfume for my aunt and ended up spraying some on my eye when i was supposed to spritz some on my dad's nurse--i ended up with an eyepatch for three days! everybody called me "sharp shooter".  in sixth grade, i was introduced to the art of beading and jewelry making and, from then until my mid-college years, i was making trinkets and selling them, or giving them as gifts instead of buying the more expensive but less pretty ones.  when i grew tired of the beadwork, i capitalized on my knack for English by teaching Koreans to speak it, and teaching them well, if i may brag.

it was hard work, yes, but i am proud to have learned to not depend on others for material things and, even better, to have the means to help out those who aren't as financially independent yet.

well, that was how my mom raised me.  but now my dad comes in and practically tells charlie "spend all our hard-earned money; just don't waste yours!"  it's only another way of saying he had best depend on my parents instead of learning to respect how difficult it is to earn such and thereby using it wisely.  i don't want my brother to become the annoying dude who keeps asking everyone "libre" and who engages in toxic, wasteful spending, just because it isn't his money he's wasting anyway.  we already have enough of them in the government!

my motto is to only spend what's necessary, and be extra careful when spending other people's cash too (what if they're in a financial crisis right now and are just too shy to back out on a promised treat,etc.?).  and as for your own, i wouldn't recommend wasting it all either, just because it's yours and you worked hard for it, but i would say spend on what you believe is right and well-deserved.

what do you think? what's your spending paradigm? i'd love to hear from you.

GOO: Gluttony, Obesity, and the Outback

so, i guess my dad pitied me a bit and we ended up having dinner at Outback in Libis with my Tita Jona and cousin Sheina instead of at Shangri-La.  also, ate Con offered to split the bill, which was good for me! anyway, she needed to make 10 transactions on her HSBC card this month so she can get a free Timex watch. cool huh? and the best part is, there's no minimum! so i advised her to go to the grocery every now and then, and buy something worth a P100. haha.

during dinner, Charlie kept teasing me that he'd get all the expensive dishes to maximize the (rare) treat from yours truly.  good thing he didn't, although we did order a bunch of desserts. yummy!  ate Cla ordered a drink though. take note people: if you want to save on dinner, skip the shakes and other juices.  they're the items in the menu with the highest mark-ups! my dad's Coke Zero in a can cost something like P106, while ate's four seasons shake cost P150.  of course, feel free to splurge every now and then, especially if it's something you've never tried before.  denying yourself all the time is never good, trust me.  i know someone who does so, and now she either regrets it or blames everyone else for her doing so.  or both.  but remember, gluttony is a sin. hahaha. and it makes you fat and unhealthy and then that gives you low self-esteem and a bunch of other problems. moderation is key.  just think of the Spice Girls singing "Too Much" and you'll have a much easier time of keeping your intake in check.

if i have to hear people complain how fat they are one more time, i might go berserk!  i have a confession to make. one of my top pet peeves is gluttony.  i think the obesity crisis that has beset a huge part of the world is due to gluttony and selfishness. and frankly, i am annoyed that there are so many diets or exercise routines or counseling sessions devoted to this.  if people would just know when to stop and give the rest of their food to the needy, they wouldn't be having this problem anymore! they'd be helping other people and themselves in the process.  but the problem is, we live in a world that teaches us to want, want, want and to buy, buy, buy.  so, hear me out when i say "drop that 10th cookie!"

oops, sorry for the ranting.  i don't hate people who are overweight, mind you.  some of the kindest people i know are.  being overweight is not purely a problem of the gluttons too--many people experience it.  people with hormonal problems, people who were just born with those set of genes, the list goes on.  but there are some people, not all, who are overweight because they overeat.  i hope you hear me out.  the next time you're on the verge of getting that shake probably loaded with corn syrup, or the next time you order something because it looks yummy, even though you're already full, think of all the people who are starving in our country and across the globe.  your not eating surely won't do them any good, but maybe you can pool your savings and figure out a way to help them out.

i come across a lot of people everyday who say they don't have enough resources to help the impoverished.  but i believe that that is never true, not even for the lowliest and humblest of us.  we just need to ask ourselves what on earth we are here for.  are we here to have fun, to eat, play, and be merry all the time?  or are we here to lend each other a helping hand, and find happiness in that?  your stomach will only be full for some time.  but your heart and your soul can be full for a lifetime.