2016 Week 26 Recap: Work and Travel

June 20-26, 2016

Week 26 recap ko na ‘to, so meaning to say, tapos na tapos na talaga ang first half of the year. OMG lang.

Work

If we implement a big project, there is what we call a go/no go meeting wherein the executives give their “blessing” for project implementation, IF they are satisfied with the overall project status and the risks that go with it. Finally after a long long long (as in years) time, we are almost at the end of this project and got the go signal for implementation from our local leaders. There will be another meeting with the executives from the head office on the first week of July before everything is a go. I am crossing my fingers that it will also be affirmative. Well, we all are, at nang maka-move on na with other projects.

While waiting for the head office decision, we are slowly closing all pending items and preparing for the detailed implementation checklist. It is a little challenging because this involves different departments, different vendors and different components whill will all go live all at the same time. But we can do this!

Travel

My friend received our Japan visas early last week, yey! Single entry only but approved pa rin so keri na hehe. However, she was having second thoughts because of budget. Actually, ako rin because of the timing of our project implementation. However, she still wanted to push through with it so, go go go! Blessing in disguise that the meeting with the head office leaders was moved to July, instead of this week. Meaning to say kasi, we cannot proceed with implementation unless we have their final go signal. So good timing that I’m out on the first week of July, where July 4 is a US holiday, and hopefully, 1 of those days will also be a holiday in the PH because of Ramadan. Sayang din yung isang leave na matitipid ko kasi hehe.

So last weekend, I started planning for clothes to pack. Planning pa lang. Packing will be this weekend. I also went to Shang to buy Yen. Ang mahal na! The cheapest that I got was at Php 0.46. BDO was selling it for Php 0.47 and another money changer’s rate was Php 0.4603 (or 0.463). Buy na kesa maubusan pa next weekend. Hopefully, the amount I bought is already enough for the entire trip. Super tipid trip ito, lalo na sa food pero di bale na. At least makakapunta kami ng Japan hehehe.

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Ok, I hope you all are having a great week.

Financial Goals for 2016: Mid-Year Review

And just like that, the first half of the year is almost over! So here's my reality check.

Statuses:

• Completed! - as in done/finished
• On track - met based on budget file
• Not yet started - not yet started based on target start date on budget file
• Quite - met but budget not followed (either there was a decrease/increase)
• Not met - target not met based on budget file

1. Religiously pay SK-LU. 5 months to go! Excited to mark this as completed!
   • Mid: Completed! - Last payment made this month! Ahhhhh, so happy happy!
2. Save 50k for processing of papers for SK-LU. After completing the payment in June, I'll have the same budget reallocated to this.
   • Mid: Not yet started
3. Religiously pay SK-Silang. 2 years to go.
   • Mid: On track - many more months to go :p
4. Save 50k for lot processing of SK-Bgo. 
   • Mid: Quite - too many reallocations
5. Save 35k for CR of SK-Bgo
   • Mid: Quite - too many reallocations
6. Increase EIP allocation to 3k/month
   • Mid: On track - started March 2016
7. Increase MF to 20k (carry over from previous years)
   • Mid: Quite - still catching up with the savings but haven't made any deposits to FAMI yet
8. Add 20k-30k to COL 
   • Mid: On track
9. Save 80k for Project BD (new in my budget file)
   • Mid: On track
10. Religiously save 3k/month for niece's tuition
    • Mid: On track - I can't wait for her to graduate hahaha!
11. Set aside a Tulong fund
    • Mid: Quite - too many reallocations
12. Continue saving for an international travel
    • Mid: On track
13. Set aside 10k for December 2016
• Mid: Quite - too many reallocations

Let's see what the year end update will look like.

2016 Week 25 Recap: Staying Home

June 13-19, 2016

Short update.

I was still not feeling well early last week so I opted to go on sick leave on Monday. I also requested to work from home on Tuesday and Wednesday since I was dreading the commute to work, especially that most students were already back in school starting June 13. Yun lang, I missed my teammates' (s', kasi several of them) birthday treat hehe. Keri na. Health first before anything else. Meron pa kasing konting trembling and feeling of weakness nung Wednesday. By Thursday, I was already bored staying at home so I went back to the office. Thanks, Uber hehe. 

On Saturday, one friend wanted to go out and do something, anything so I suggested that we meet on Saturday night for dinner and movies. Saturday night since she works on night shift so day time talaga ang rest day nya. Also, it was Father's Day on Sunday, so there might be too many people.

I attended an anticipated mass before we met, in case I will get lazy to go out on Sunday. 

We had dinner at Lombardi's (again) at Shang. Gusto ko uli kasi matikman yung cherry walnut cheesecake nila hehe. Plus all the other restos were full that time. Dinner time na kasi. We watched the last full show of Me Before You, after. Nakakaiyak huhu. But realistic naman. Pero nakakaiyak pa rin. I was planning to read the book pero after watching the movie, huwag na lang. Nakakaiyak talaga kasi hehehe.

That's it, pancit. And now, more than halfway of this week has gone by again.

2016 Week 24 Recap: The Yearly Visit of the Dreaded Flu

June 6 - 12, 2016

Every year, the flu visits me. And more often than not, it visits me in the middle of the year. And it's not just the "hey, I'm here, ktnxbye" type of thing.  It stays with me for several days and it makes me feel like a withered vegetable. This year, it happened last weekend. I felt the symptoms on Thursday. At first, I thought it was just because of staying late the previous night and waking up early in time for a meeting. But it got worst on Friday, which prompted me to cancel my weekend plans just to stay at home and sleep, chug liters and liters of water, double dose on vitamin C, and be a couch potato for the most part.

We were supposed to watch some of the movies in the French Film Festival at Greenbelt 3. But was not able due to my yearly visitor.

While I was on imposed house arrest, I tried and successfully finished reading How to Build a Happy Family, a book by Bo Sanchez. It was an easy read and has less than 200 pages that's why it was not a torture to my brain cells. The book discusses 7 steps to renew, bless and heal our most important relationships. 

And so I have nothing more interesting to write hehehe....

Oh, another kiddie birthday party to go to next month. Venue is walking distance from my apartment. Buti na lang hehehehe.

And yet another (meron pa pala hehe)...I'm done paying the lot I bought 3 years ago!!!! I made my last payment last Friday! Ahhhhh, freedom from payments! 1 down, 1 more to go. Next up is to save up for the title processing, which I hope won't cost that much. No updated estimates yet from the lot owners.

Anyway, hope you all had a great week. Hoping for a better week!

Personal Finance: My Credit Card Story

Usapang utang.

I got my very first credit card in 2004, 4 years into the work force. I tried my luck and applied for the Sunlife-Standard Chartered bank card. When you apply for this type of card, your insurance premiums will be charged to the card and I'm guessing I was approved because of my insurance premiums with Sunlife. My first credit limit back then was at Php50,000.00. 

I wish I could say I was a responsible credit card owner, but unfortunately, no. I charged more than what I can pay in full for a month. I did not max out, but the mere fact that my income then did not allow full payment at the end of the month was already a disaster. I can't remember the exact amount but it may be between 10-20k. The items I charged? I think mountaineering gears (bag and shoes). And maybe a few others. So since I can't pay in full, I was paying a monthly interest of not lower than Php500.00. Kaloka.

What was my wake up call? One time I tried to compute how long it would take me to pay my remaining debts if I pay just the minimum amount every month, and if I stopped charging to my card while I was paying for my remaining balance. The result was a shocking 20+ years! And to say that I was shocked was an understatement. I fast forwarded my life to 20 years and I wanted to cry then because I don't want to be paying credit for that long! I also thought I cannot have my own family, or at the very least won't have a boyfriend until I paid for my dues! 

And so from then, I vowed to eliminate my debts as fast as I can. It took me less than a year. All excess amount was geared towards paying the debt. Most of my bonuses and leave conversions in 2005 were used to pay for my debts. I promised myself that my January 2006 bill should have no charges. And I was able to do that, hooray! And I never looked back. And I never put myself in that situation again. Or will I ever do it again. Never.

These days, I still charge everything that I can in my credit card. But I make sure that I already have a budget for these charges, and that I can pay for all charges in full every month. I still charge because of the points and it's more convenient for me since I can pay my bills online. And because I'm no longer a delinquent payer, all my requests for waiving of annual fees are granted.

Since my first credit card, the same bank also issued me the Gold version of their card, so currently I have 2 with the same bank. BDO also issued me a credit card without me applying for it. Maybe because my Payroll account is with them. While I am able to manage 3 cards, I'm now thinking of discontinuing the use of the other card because my insurance premium charges also ended. I don't need as many as 3 cards. Two would be enough so that there's still a backup. We'll see.

My credit card frustration: I really want to have a Citibank credit card. I applied 5 or 6 years ago but was denied. I applied 2 months ago and was also denied. I learned from an HR friend that Citibank does not approve applications of BPO employees. Another friend mentioned that Citibank also don't grant credit cards to lawyers. So, maybe that explains it. But it is still frustrating hehehe.

What's your credit card story?

2016 Week 23 Recap: Happy Birthday, Kiddos!

May 30 - June 5, 2016

Work

All of us are really just trying complete everything before the big launch. Aside from the final stages of testing, we still have the reports to finalize. Deployment planning meetings are more frequent nowadays too. I just can't wait for this to be completed. Maiiyak siguro ako pag natapos na ito hahaha!

Travel

I received a call from Discovery Tour last Monday, informing me that my NSO-issued birth certificate is not readable enough so they were requesting me to submit even a certified true copy from my local registry. Good thing that I still have extra copies of the one my father requested for me more than a decade ago (as in January 2001). I asked if that was ok and they said yes so I sent it over last Wednesday. I did not receive any other calls so I'm assuming that the copy I sent would work. Still crossing my fingers that our visas will be approved.

Up next, my friend and I would need to finalize our itinerary so that we can start searching for the most economical train tickets to buy. My boss mentioned before about JR pass and that might work for us depending on our itinerary. Research, research, research! Am I excited? Mixed emotions, to be honest hehehe. But I'm sure I'll enjoy this trip no matter what.

Weekend

Our former colleague's kids turns 1 and 3 this June and so they had a combined birthday party, which a friend and I attended on Saturday, just so we have something to do on a weekend hahaha! Plus, the event was near our apartments so dyahe namang mag-no pa di ba? My friend and I met first at Shang to buy gifts. Thanks to an ongoing sale at Osh Kosh, we were able to buy cute dresses for 50% off and 30% off. We decided on "group gift" so we just split the total amount. Hay buti na lang. Medyo nakatipid ako don, pero yung naitipid ko, ipinanood namin ng sine after the children's party hehehe.

Realizations during the party:

• We also need to be bibo as parents because we need to help our children during games hahaha
• Hats off to the dads who were game to participate in one of the games. Pinasayaw pa sila nung host at wala lang, parang normal na lang sa kanila hehehe. Aliw.
• Parang gusto ko na rin ng anak. Nuninuninuninu! :p

And speaking of children's party, may isa pa akong pupuntahan sa July naman hehehe.

We went back to Shang at around 6:30 PM to watch The Nice Guys. It's a comedy film and it did not fail to make us laugh. Also, I have a lot of "anong katangahan yan?!!!" moments hehehe. We went home after the movies. 

I'm trying to spend as much time as I can with this friend because by God's grace, she may be leaving for the US later this year. I'm praying that her and her fiance's plans and application be granted. She deserves it. But before that, I hope we can also go back to Caramoan. We went there in 2012 and it was just so beautiful and untouched that we greatly enjoyed everything about the place despite being scammed by the promo we got from one of the groupon sites. Can't remember anymore which site was that. Sana matuloy.

I went to mass on Sunday and spent some time at the mall looking for doll shoes. My problem however is that, I can't wear super flat shoes because it triggers my plantar fasciitis, something that I don't want to have again because, ouch ouch ouch! It was an unfruitful search so I just treated myself to beef stew and pecan pie for lunch at Almond Marina. I dropped by Watson's later for some toiletries. Oh, I also was able to buy Treseme conditioner for a 30% discount! From Php 399 to Php 289! Pwede naman palang ganon kababa, bakit ba nila tinaasan presyo nito. Ang ganda pa naman sana. I'm thinking of buying more hehehe. Anyway, went home after that and spent the rest of the day watching TV while checking things online.

Another story...while on our way to Shang, we passed by a couple on the road. The girl was foreigner, the guy looks Pinoy. It looks like they were about to part ways and the guy was being sweet but looks like the girl was not happy as she was searching for something in her bag. I don't know why but I have a bad feeling that the guy may just be using the girl. I seriously hope I am wrong though. 

Anyway, I hope you all had a great week. Cheers to another great week ahead.

That One Time I Played Cupid (or tried to) and It Backfired on Me :)

Puma-pag-ibig sa umaga hahaha! Na-late lang ako ng gising para sa 8:45 AM mass at masyadong maaga para sa 10AM mass so tambay muna dito saglit. Naalala at narealize ko lang kasi ito kahapon lang, after so many years hahaha.

When I had my kubo blessed in 2013, I was surprised (and thankful) of the presence of the Divine Mercy community. I have known some of the people there since elementary years. One particular person is my sister's batch mate in elementary, who was single at that time. We were catching up with each other's lives after the mass, together with the catechist, who I just met that day. So syempre bilang catching up ito, tanungan kung may asawa/pamilya na. At pareho kaming wala. At nalaman ko rin na pati si catechist, single so tinanong ko directly kung bakit hindi nila i-try since pareho silang single hahaha! Anong klase akong host?! Hahaha! Pero sabi ni sister's batch mate, sa isa daw sya niloloko, who happens to be my older brother's batch mate naman hehehehe. Small world, no?!

Fast forward to quarter 2 in 2015, at a time when I was trying to map out what's next for me after losing our father making us children ulilang lubos, biglang nagtext tong si catechist. Nagpakilala bilang kuya hahaha. Alam na! Hahaha! Ayun, after 2 months din bumigay na ako kaya ako nagka-BF ayyiiiiiii hahaha! 

Ang kulit lang ni Lord kung makapagbiro, no? Hahaha. But His timing is always perfect. Always.

May interesting kwento rin about kuya during our father's wake. Pero next time na uli at kailangan ko na tumakbo sa simbahan hehehe.

On Personal Finance and Blog List

What?! June already?! That fast? Why why why? Anyway...

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Personal finance is something that I’m very passionate about for the simple reason that I need to closely watch my spending to avoid screwing up my life hahaha. You see, I’m single and I depend on myself alone to support me until my golden years. All my siblings have their own lives and families to deal with. I sometimes need to help some siblings too. I’m not born to rich parents. No inheritance from them. Well, only a small parcel of land just enough for a small house, but which has claims issues since the beginning of time (exaggerated but my first recall of the issue is since elementary days pa at anong petsa na ngayon), so I shouldn’t really depend on that. 

I still have a lot of things to learn, or more aptly, learning should never stop. I fail many times, again and again, but I just try to correct it right away. Sometimes, I get frustrated because I find my progress too slow or when I commit the same mistakes over and over again because it looks like I never learn. I also can’t help but compare myself with my peers but I always need to remember that we have our own timelines and priorities. So push lang ng push.

My list of blogs to read is mostly about personal finance. I love reading about others’ personal finance journey, all encompassing – successes and failures. Also preferably, blogs of ordinary people who are not really in the finance field because I find them more inspiring. I am also in constant search of these types of bloggers. My other set of blog list is US personal finance and frugality bloggers.

I am amazed at how these bloggers openly share their actual finances. I wish I could do that too but I’m not really comfortable for my finances to go public, hence I only limit my personal finance stuff to seminars and the lessons I picked or noted during the sessions. This is easier because it’s just like sharing your notes to everyone in “class” a.k.a. in public. The most revealing I've shared to date would be my yearly financial goals, which started in 2014. But let’s see. Change is the only thing constant. 

By the way, I use feedly mobile app to track/”follow” the blogs I read. Very simple and easy to use.

Dear Mama and Daddy #2

Dear Mama and Daddy,

I miss you both more these days. I don’t know why. Maybe because I have a lot of questions about some major decisions that I’ve been contemplating on lately. Maybe, I need your guidance about life. You always did that when you were still here. If I remember correctly, I consulted you with all the major decisions I made before. Yeah, maybe that’s why I miss you more lately as compared to other days. It’s tough being an adult. I don’t know how you managed it during your time, with all the challenges in raising 6 kids. But don’t worry. This is just me rambling incoherently amidst all the uncertainties and “noise” going through in my thought bubble right now. I know that eventually, I’ll get to clearly see God’s plans that will unfold before me in, His perfect time. I’ve proven this so many times in the past.