an end and a beginning

so the year is about to end and i figured we had better give it a proper tribute on this site as well. hmm, i'm not sure if this will be a worthy end-of-the-year post but here goes!

i did my financial accounting voodoo yesterday. mind you, i never took an accounting subject so i kept it pretty simple and just added and subtracted a few digits.  the verdict?

i went overbudget!!! by around 3k. considering all my expenses and my income (sidelines included), i saved just a little little less than half of my salary.  oh well, i'm still learning, you know? and some people might say that i was unnecessarily generous at several occasions, which isn't entirely a terrible thing, right? i'll just need to compensate for that.

this coming year, my contract will end at my current place of employment.  i have 2 months of (somewhat) predictably stable income before i have to get a new job, a better one!  and having decided that the compensation does not solely determine what constitutes as a great job, i am facing the possibility of earning even less (read: minimum wage), especially should i choose to work for an NGO or the like.  and what does this mean, exactly? new New Year financial resolutions!

now, i'm not doing this to try to compensate for some guilt of overspending.  i admit that i did overspend a bit during the past year but, guess what, it was worth it in one way or another.  i either helped someone or learned a lesson as a result.  money well-spent, if you ask me.  but for this year, it's time to apply what i've learned and what i believe in.  i believe it is possible to live contentedly, even with very little.  and i also believe that you are never too poor to help someone out. 

this year, after having analyzed my every expense, i'm resolving to:

1. buy less clothes and shoes.  and if i do buy, they have to be practical needs.

2. reuse and recycle even more.  that means more DIYs too, and more garage sales.

3. lessen my dependency on material objects.  even more garage sales then! and i'll be giving away "presents" to friends who want them, i guess :)

4. make my money work for me.  i'll be spending (both time and money), albeit still wisely, on three things: fostering relationships and helping those in need, further learning, pursuing my dream/mission

i'm really excited for the new year!!!! the possibilities will be even more exiting than they were in 2010, i just know it :D

btw, i made my first New Year/Bday/Dream purchase (yes, this will be placed in the 2011 report :P ) i sure hope to make the most out of this one.

Merry Christmas and a Happy Happy New Year to you all!

Pampanga roadtrip part 2: the cursed necklace

i cracked.  after 119 days straight of zero fashion retail therapy, i succumbed to the sweet beckoning of this candy-colored floral necklace at Accessorize (on sale for 70% off).  i'm so so so sorry! i let you down, and i let myself down.  and, what's worse, i am already itching to find an excuse to purchase this pair of gold and coral Ipanema flip flops. damn you, consumerism!  mind you, all my flip flops have been worn to the ground and i really have no choice but to wear other types of footwear when going on even the simplest errands. poor me  (how's that for an excuse??? *googly eyes*)

anyway, i'll leave it up to you to decide on an appropriate punishment. but before you make your final judgment, let me first defend my case.  i've been really like-you-wouldn't-believe stressed at work the past few weeks and have been so busy that i couldn't even get a back massage for the thickening shoulder muscles.  also, the components of the necklace are quite difficult to find in the country so i'm sure i wouldn't have had an acceptable DIY option.  third, it's so cute, i can get ideas for future pieces from it hence, helping me actually earn in the long run.  last, it looks great on me!  so, now you've had the chance to see what's going on in the mind of an almost-reformed shopaholic, you may announce your verdict.

i must say that, even though i cracked with the necklace, there were tons of opportunities yesterday alone that took most of my willpower NOT to take out my wallet.  i'm in no way telling you to buy buy buy and acquire acquire acquire but, in case you were in the market for the following items anyway or are just planning your next purchases (mine will be on Christmas, then Summer 2011), here are a few options you might want to consider:

Primadonna bags

it was my first time to enter their shop (i believe the brand is also available in Megamall, among others), and i was immediately drawn to the bags.  usually, the ones we have here, even the higher-end local brands, are too overdesigned.  too many trendy details but not enough attention is given to the things that really matter.  and, more often than not, these are so trendy that it would be passe to keep using them after the season.

here's one of my favorites, which costs less than P900:

here's the design on the other side.  it's 2 bags in 1! (available in 3 different sets of colors)

now, i can't speak for the durability of these Primadonna items yet, seeing as i don't have one piece from the line, but if i were to buy based on looks and price alone, i'd get one or two pieces from their current selection of shoulder bags. very classic and fashionable at the same time.  in case you haven't heard the memo, ladylike bags are all the rage this season.  and guess what, they were never out anyway! maybe they haven't been as much in the spotlight in the last few seasons as they are now but i tell you, these bags are quite similar to the ones i've seen my mom carryin in her old photos.  in fact, i just inherited my first designer bag from mother superior and it does look eerily like the ones on the runway, albeit the latter has less scratches.

here are other options from the brand:

Follie shoes

now i wouldn't say that all the pieces were great, but i did find a really cute and affordable one that was also quite comfy too.  these three charactersitics can rarely be found in the same item and i really was tempted to start counting my bills (i left my card at home to help keep myself from spending).  but i figured, there'll be other opportunities.  for now, i'll just have to locate a Metro department store that's not in Pampanga.

hey, if i can't buy them, at least i can write about them, right?

oh yeah, here's a photo of me wearing the culprit necklace.  i fished it out of my bag on the same day i bought it, right after my hwa rang do session. then i wore it again to work the next day.

also shown is TJ's incredibly hot hot hot Fossil watch, which he got for P4k (nka-sale na un sa lagay na un ha).  i borrowed it for an hour :D isn't it pretty? i have an affinity for male watches, as long as they don't overwhelm my tiny wrist, which is always the case with my dad's watches, unfortunately :(

to all my readers (if indeed there are any. magparamdam naman kasi kayo!) contemplating going on Project 365, i really hope that i didn't disappoint you too much.  i'm still planning to continue this mission, regardless of my small slip.  hey, we all make mistakes right? but the important thing is picking up the pieces and really striving to correct our wrongs and to live the best way we can, regardless of our dark past. amen?

Project 365

i cracked. this long weekend, i bought training shoes and a blazer for work at the Megamall sale.  then, i finally succumbed to the perfume debate (more on that in a different post) and bought eau de toilette for the first time ever. i also bought a dvd and 1 1/4 yds of cotton voile for fun.  in short, i almost burned half a month's salary in 3 days, and had to readjust my budget so that it won't look like i'm exceeding what was originally allocated. hahaha. so this is what politicians do to cover up their luxury binges.  there is one exception though: this is my money where as they are using the people's money.

anyway, i figured every now and then, we all have the need to spend money.  we all need to pamper ourselves sometimes.  however, that doesn't mean we have to go bankrupt! maybe we make a few slip-ups once or twice in a blue moon, we crack under the sheer force and weight of commercialism and extremely clever advertising.  no worries! whenever you take a fall, you can always choose to rise and continue walking towards your destination.  and that is exactly what i'm trying to do.

if you know me at all, you'll also know that the biggest portion of my paycheck (next to the savings) goes to the apparel department. albeit, my annual expenses in this category can't even buy a decent piece of anything in Greenbelt 4, it still constitutes 7% of my entire annual income.  note that the Republic of the Philippines only spends 1-2% of its money on health.  that translates to me giving more importance to what i wear than the RP government does to health care. that's huge!

hence, i am embarking on a new project (another one?) to keep me from buying any clothes, shoes, or accessories for 365 consecutive days, beginning today.  i will have to make do with whatever is in my possession (or that of my family) for an entire year, and am only allowed to make a purchase during the Christmas season, should my dad decide to sponsor our holiday clothes (as has been tradition).  i will still be allowed to purchase the necessary grooming products, but no make-up and no more perfume either.  the only other things i may spend on with my own money during this 365-day period are alterations/repairs, and the following: 1 pair of black tights, a striped shirt, and a sports bra.  that's it!  this will be a challenge in styling as well as penny-pinching. hope it works!

  

happy birthday dad!!

it is my dad's birthday today :)

i have decided to treat the family to dinner (dad's choice of resto) as a gift to him.  after all, there isn't much that i can give my dad--he's way richer than me and can afford to buy what he likes anyway.  but he does enjoy eating and, although he can and usually does pick up the tab, i figured it would make him feel special if someone else offered to do so, just for a change.

so, when i greeted him a while ago and told him dinner would be my treat, he immediately said he wanted to eat in Shangri-La (the hotel, not the mall). Yikes!! I'm sure dinner will cost me at least half my monthly salary. huhuhu.  but hey, it's worth it!!  if i think it's an investment to buy a P4k pair of black pumps from Naturalizer, then i'm sure as hell that spending double that for my family is a wise choice.

boy, i sure am glad that i'm quite prudent when it comes to my lifestyle--i know i can actually afford to treat my family to seafood buffet at Heat or somewhere without getting buried in credit card debt.  stick with me to help find a balance between fabulosity and frugality.  'til next time!