You are currently browsing the monthly archive for January, 2009.
Call it boredom or something. But my own finances are becoming unexciting that I volunteered to help a friend pick up hers and kill her debts. This was after she admitted she is in trouble and can’t get a good night’s sleep.
This friend (let’s call her AP) is bogged down by more than P100K in credit card debts (4 active cards, all overdue), and an unknown-to-me amount in salary and company loans. The first thing I did was to whip up a spreadsheet for her budget, setup the line items and made her fill in the blanks: expenses, estimated bi-weekly salary, and debts.
Later today our payslip were distributed and salary credited. AP was disappointed and a bit depressed. Who wouldn’t be? The amount that she will have to stretch for 2 weeks totaled P3,245.00. I felt bad. Thing is, when I asked her if she’s willing to downgrade to a lower model of phone, she declined. I asked if she’s filing the overtime she regularly renders, answer was no. I had to stop myself from grabbing her and shaking her up.
Before we parted, I asked her to track all her expenses for the next two weeks so we can see where she’s failing. I also brought up the possibility of her transferring to a different division where the head is not as strict with salary as our current boss, or to find another company altogether. She said she’ll think about it.
Hopefully with what little financial knowledge I have (thanks to your blog!), I’ll be able to help a friend get out of debt and live a worry-free financial life.
IT department blocked all sites classified as blogs. Now, I can’t read your posts, or create post to my own blog. They are such a *^^%%.
Unlike social networking sites, anything Blog is blocked all throughout the day. Friendster, Multiply can be accessed during lunch hours. Friendster is big here in the Philippines.
I understand the company probably wants to save on electricity and manhours. But come on, blocking blogs while allowing a window for social networking sites?
But while the IT team is basking in the glory of their cleverness, I already have my Google reader account ready. Now all I have to do is to input all the blogs in my blogroll and continue enjoying your posts from the comfort of my chair. I read blogs before the official office hours (when I get in early and there’s no rush work waiting for me) and during lunchbreak.
Now, do not be surprised if it seems like no longer read your posts. It’s maybe because I accessed it through my reader.
(TWC sticks her tongue out to the IT team).
Our house is something like 30 – 45 minutes away from where I work with light traffic and decent waiting time for the FX taxi. Before December, government started constructing the second phase of elevated U-turn smacked on the corner of C-5 road and Kalayaan. Now guess how long is my travel time?
Two hours.
This has been going on since they started constructing. I have to get up by 5:30 AM (5 if I want to have a and out the door before 6:30 or else, the line at the FX terminal will be 5 meters long plus 20 minutes in between each FX.
The same thing is true going home. I have to be out of the office by 5:30PM so I can reach home by 7 – 7:30.
I’m thinking of bringing a book to read while stuck in traffic like I sometimes do. Or I can go back to taking my MP3 player and listen to real music, not the mush the FX drivers are so fond of. But then, are the damage to my eyes from reading and the return of my ear infection worth the entertainment I’ll get? I had ear infections before, especially when I go for a dip. I wear glasses, though most of the time they sit on top of my head acting like hairband.
I need to think of something productive/creative to do during travel hours before I lose my mind.
May I be honest with you?
I said in my post right below that I will no longer sign up for a gym membership. Yesterday, I up and did it. The post here by FrugalDad made me feel better about it.
Yes, dear friends, I am now a member of a respectable gym. For P1,250 monthly, I’ll get an unlimited use of their facilities anywhere for a year. Normal rates should have been around P3,000 but the guy gave me a special rate. I guess he took pity on my flimsiness…or their memberships are dwindling.
I need to save up for 6.4 months worth of monthly fees while the 5.6 months will be covered by half the proceeds of the phone I sold (while the other half boosted my eFund).
Also, yesterday, I opened two time deposits for 180 days and 30 days, earning 2.75% and 1.875%, respectively. The 180-day deposit included the money I saved from my parents’ store and will be given back to them when needed. Kinda like their very own eFund. The 30-day deposit will be rolled over and increased with deposits each month.
I had a bit of fun analyzing the would-be interest income before I did the deposits. Questions as to how much should be placed in each interest bracket were answered by my trusted spreadsheet. As a result, optimum interest income will be earned (though pathetic, still).
If it is, then by golly, you, GFC (global financial crisis), GET OUT!
It’s the 23rd of January and already, news of huge factories shutting down and preneed companies wanting a Philippine government bailout are dominating . Seems like the analysts are right, after all (knock on wood).
Today, pre-need companies’ association admitted that they are in danger of failing to deliver what they promised to policy holders. They can still pay those that will make a claim today, but not those claiming 2 to 5 years from now.
Overseas Filipino Workers’ remittances dropped to or by $12 million. Some of my friends in Dubai got laid off after 3 months.
Yesterday I decided to sign up for a one-year gym membership for P1,250 monthly or about $26. Actual swiping of my card however, should have been tomorrow. After hearing all that news I quickly changed my mind. Nowadays, no one can really be too sure of tomorrow. And since I am still in the process of building up my eFund and all, I decided it was best to hold out a bit more.
Perhaps I can give running/brisk walking a try…
A will keep the Blackberry Bold he picked up from the trash. We tried to sway him but it was his call. I’m not sure but I think he called the owner, and it went bad.
His girlfriend’s brother even told him to just keep it in a corner and put salt all over it. Kinda like pickle it. LOL
He’s still not using the phone. Perhaps figuring out what to do with it. A is a good guy, after all. Maybe he’ll change his mind.
Yesterday, my staff, A, received a phone call that brought him to tears. He took another male staff, R, to the smoking area (no, they do not smoke). When they got back, A was still forlorn and decided to call it a day. He forgot to take his PSP so I took it home for safekeeping.
R told me that A picked up a Blackberry phone left by the owner on the trash can where they dump cigarette butts.
When I reached home, A called, and told me of the Blackberry owner’s text message: Return the phone ’cause you won’t be able to use it. I can have it blocked by Blackberry. If you cannot return it personally, leave it at (the owner’s office).
Naturally, A was annoyed. To the point that he was so frazzled he kept on calling the phone Blueberry. I was, too (though I still know it is BLACKberry…). The three of us were of the same opinion: answer the guy, explain that it was NOT STOLEN from him, and that if he doesn’t change his tone, A should KEEP IT.
Blackberry blocking the phone? Go ahead. The cellphone repairmen around Manila CAN and WILL unblock it. National Telecommunications Commission can block the SIM and the phone using IMEI, but trust me, 6 out of 10 repairmen can undo it.
Of course, the right thing to do is to return the phone despite the owner’s arrogance and irritating presumption that A stole the phone. It is A’s call. If it was me, I’ll wait awhile and think it through. Probably sell it and donate the proceeds, and laugh at the guy. Or keep it, then laugh at the guy.
What would you tell A if you’re in my place? Keep it? Sell it? Return it?
since the fire that destroyed our old, wooden house.
It was around this time, too, 9:30 PM. I was 11 years old then, in 5th grade. Took down the manual typewriter to the living room so I can work on a school project while watching TV, when a neighbor passed by our house shouting fire.
My father was in the province then, and my brother was lying upstairs sick. There were 5 of us in the house at the time.
The 11-year old me quickly gathered my school stuff, ran upstairs, grabbed a blanket and spilled every clothing in the communal closet. When that was done, I went over to my parents’ closet, and what do you know, my mom, in her frenzy, locked it. My hands were clumsy and can’t get it to open. I ran over to the room I shared with my grandma and grabbed the plastic jewelry box where I kept all my then-lifetime savings (about P250.00) and dragged the blanket with the clothes downstairs.
My (2nd) sister was then running the length of the house, calling my father: “Papa…Papa…,” while wringing her hands. Snapped her out of it by screaming for help with the blanket with clothes. We dragged it outside, to the other side of the street in front of our house.
While all of that were happening, my brother and 1st sister were taking out some of the appliances, one of which was the LPG tank. When I got back from dragging the clothes, guess what I brought out next? My three, fully grown dogs. Yep, all me. I was about 80-85 lbs then, or maybe even less. Don’t ask me how I was able to take them all out and tie their leash on the LPG tank (luckily it didn’t blow up). After that, I grabbed the tin coin holder at the store, placed it inside the rice cooker, and ran out.
When the fire reached our house, my brother braved it and went back to get the manual typewriter. Crazy, huh?
When we can no longer go back inside, we stayed across and the heat was so intense. The sides of the washing machine, karaoke,TV and everything half melted. All we could do was watch. I held on to my 3 dogs. The firemen occasionally sprayed water on us to keep us from getting fried. Some firetrucks stopped about 500 meters from the actual fire to protect a grocery store.
The fire lasted for about 3-5 hours, and all that was left after was charcoals and remnants of our stuff.
My father arrived from the province when the fire was put out. We stayed on the road till noon the next day. The owner of the grocery store brought us food, and took us in for about a week. A family friend took us for 2 months after that while our house was being constructed. In between transfers, we slept on the cement floor with cartons and sacks as beddings. We ate out of plastic bags, no utensils.
The family who took us in was more than generous. Gave us an entire room, fed us, sheltered my dogs. We transferred to our half-finished house during the summer of ‘91. No electricity, walls unfinished, no bed nor matress. We had doled out blankets, clothes, half-melted appliances saved from the fire.
You know what sucked more? All our pictures were burned. None of our childhood photos were saved except for one of my brother. Oh, the framed wedding picture of my parents was saved, too. The sewing machines my father bought when he was still single to start his tailoring were burned. When we visited the site, we saw bunches of half-burned 100-peso bills, huge milk cans filled with burned coins, the batteries of my newly-bought brick game (remember those? Tetris? Yeah.)
I can’t even begin to imagine how my parents turned our lives around after the tragedy. They were not fans of banks, kept their money in the closet (remember the closet my mom locked?) and milk cans. My brother and 2 sisters were all in college and me in 6th grade the school year after that fire.
I’m not sure where this post is going. I didn’t even mean to write in details. After all, past is past. We are here now at the same site of the burned house. Family still together. All the three dogs are dead long ago (one was 3 years old, one 14, one 15).
We had it rough. But we still have enough.
Better late than never. Below are my 2009 goals. They are alot and on the ambitious side, but I’d rather dream big and fail (a bit) than to have mediocre success…
Finances
1. Save 3 months worth of aftertax salary as emergency fund. That’s about P54,000. I have about P20k in that fund and with the help of automated savings plan by my company, P34K will be fairly easy to achieve.
2. Save P12K for annual insurance premium due July 2010.
3. Save P15K for our Boracay getaway. I’m kinda hoping it will be Palawan instead, but my friend in Dubai wants to see Boracay. This will be funded by the income from my micro business.
4. Save P10K as Christmas fund starting July.
5. Save P20K as ‘retirement fund’ and place it in time deposit, adding about P20K each year. This will be my cash retirement fund. This will be funded by about 50% of any windfall I receive.
6. TRY to increase investment in stocks by about P10K. This is not obligatory, looking at the performances of various mutual funds. 50% of any windfall may or may not go here.
Physical Improvement
1. Get a gym membership. Running can be an option if I can wake up by 4:30AM and the drug addicts and the likes are on vacation…
2. Avail of a skin improvement package (or whatever you may call that) from a reputable skin clinic.
I’m not getting any younger, and the damage done to my skin by the sun and whatnots will be obvious in the not-so-far future. Better prevent it, right? Very expensive, but hey, this is a GOAL. I’ll work on it. I have no plans of being a high-maintenance girl, though.
Professional
1. Get a promotion and significant increase in salary. Of course, this will depend on my employer and the company’s performance (and mine).
2. Renew license (spill over from last year…)
3. Apply for Social Security ID, and apply for a loan just to activate my account. (Spill over from last year…)
Uncategorized
1. Go with my parents to attend grandma’s birthday in May.
2. Annual pilgrimage to Our Lady of Manaoag’s Shrine in July.
3. Try out bowling.
4. Trek Anawangin Cove.
5. Wall climb (after strength exercises…).
6. Apply for a passport.
7. Visit an OB for a long overdue checkup. I never had one, and I’m scared, but the stories of friends who had cyst/lumps inside their uterus/ovaries are scarier.
8. Visit dentist for cleaning in July.
Wish me luck!
They sent me some lovin'