The World of Second Chances

Money Vibes

March 6, 2014

Career, Finance & Product

IDCWordpress

I threw an old piggy bank last Saturday in my AIM to start thinking BIG when it comes to saving and earning money. Money is limited and how I wish that I could just buy all the things that I fancy about! How I wish that I could help more, give more and share more of my blessings to those in need!
Saving money is not foreign to me. I started saving when I was in grade school and spending them on good causes were the sweetest things that I remember until now. In my adult years when I became the front-liner in the economic battlefield, I had gains and as well as losses but I never stopped fighting for what I believe every man should aspire—FINANCIAL FREEDOM.

Money is limited and we are not born into wealth but it doesn’t mean that we will live from payslip to payslip forever. I attached a sample computation of how compounded interest works. I assumed a 2% interest rate, 2000 pesos as initial deposit and 12,000 pesos yearly deposit. By the end of the 15th year, I would have PhP210,216 in the bank. Therefore, to be able to hit a certain target savings on a particular target year, I would just manipulate row D5 and onwards to input how much should I save per year. I agree that banks do not offer the best “earnings” out of the money that we put into them but MOST of the people in the Philippines would rather do banking than investing their money somewhere else.

Saving and investing is the right formula to financial freedom and it works for most people I know. As soon as they build their target savings, they invest their other money on stocks, mutual funds or business venture to maximize the return of their passive income.

The key here is to create a VISION of how much money you would like to have after X number of years and everything will fall to its proper places later. Because a person who has adapted a culture of financial awareness will be more conscious about his cash flow, what his priorities are and how to earn more money.
Money is limited but as Bo Sanchez says, if we believe that we have unlimited sources of it, then we will attract it. I call this one “money vibes.”
Pets Are Not Commodities

February 25, 2014

Wedding & Family Life

“Mommy, I want those colored chicks,” my four-year old son Adi told me last Saturday morning.

“You can’t have it, Adi. You don’t play with something that has life,” I said.
He pouted his lips and stormed out of the house; what a way to accept “defeat.”

The following day, he was asking for money to buy the colored chicks from the vendor. I repeated my position about “no playing with something that has life” but my effort was in vain because his father backed him up! So after a few minutes, my little boy had this uncolored chick inside a small cage. I asked him to take care of it and Adi seemed genuinely interested on his new pet.

The chick seemed to be uncomfortable being confined in a small cage so I transferred it to our laundry basket and gave it some food and water. It accidentally splashed itself on the small water container so the poor chick was trembling. My daughter wrapped it on a piece of old clothes to make it warm. Soon later, the chick was lively again, eating and drinking. Adi lost interest on the chick except for some occasional “visits.” My daughter brought the chick to her room on Sunday night to protect it from predators.

Monday morning, I took the chick down and asked my husband to borrow the empty cage from our neighbor. The chick seemed to grow bigger and happier. I checked the chick when I arrived from work Monday night. We had our dinner and when I checked on it after dinner, it was gone! There were two cats sitting beside the cage and one of them SURELY ate our poor chick!

I called Adi to tell him what happened. He was briefly mad at the cat but when he went inside the house and continued the movie that he was watching, he forgot about his pet chick!

Parents, it’s okay to buy our kids a pet if they are matured enough to take care of it.

It’s okay to buy our kids a pet if we have the space and capability to nurture it.

It’s okay to buy our kids a pet if the pet is old enough to be taken cared of by a human being.

Parents, we don’t need to patronize an industry selling young pets for a profit. We know that the best care these pets can receive will still come from their mother.

We don’t need to patronize an industry that decreases the value of an animal to a commodity.

Responsible pet ownership is what we should teach our children.

Photo courtesy of thelongestwayhome.com.
Will You Marry Me?

February 17, 2014

Life & Love

“Olivia, will you marry me?”

These words caught my attention while I was rushing to work last Friday, Valentine’s Day. My initial reaction was, it must be one of those Palmolive or Ponds advertisements. Little did I knew about the impression that it must be John Pratts proposing to Olivia Daytia or better known as Isabel Oli. The couple denied the involvement and the people were left wondering who this lucky Olivia was.

I love marriage proposals but I don’t want mine to be the center of attention. My husband’s marriage proposal was plain and simple; he went to my apartment one morning, took my right hand and inserted the ring on my right middle finger. It was the sweetest moment of our relationship.

The best thing about a man proposing to his girl is the certainty that he wants that girl to be his wife and to be the mother of his kids. Enough of some men complaining about girls chasing marriage. If a man is certain about his feelings and future with his girl, he will marry her no matter what.
Gabay Sa Pagkuha Ng Urn sa Thai Airways Cargo

January 20, 2014

Wedding & Family Life

Mahirap ang mamatayan sa ibayong-dagat at nagpapadagdag ng hirap ng loob ang mga gastusing kaakibat ng pagkamatay gaya ng bayarin sa ospital at repatriation ng bangkay. Walang problema kung ang namatay ay miyembro ng OWWA o may employer bago namatay dahil sasagutin ng OWWA at employer ang mga gastusin pero kung ang kaso nyo ay parang kaso ng namayapa kong tiya, heto ang ginawa kong mga gabay para sa pagkuha o pag-claim ng urn.

Kung ang namatay ay walang aktibong trabaho at hindi rin aktibong miyembro ng OWWA, ang Philippine Embassy ang otomatikong may hurisdiksyon sa bangkay. Importante ang pasaporte ng namatay para ma-verify ang pagkakakilanlan nito. Ang mga gastusin ay dapat pag-usapan ng kamag-anak ng namatay at ng Philippine Embassy.

Magastos ang mag-repatriate ng bangkay at aabot ng 2 buwan o mahigit pa ang pag-uwi nito. Kung katulad namin kayo na bukas ang isipan sa cremation, ang cremation ang isang option kung gusto ninyong mapadali at mabawasan ang gastos ng pag-uwi ng bangkay. Syempre, kinakatawan ng artikulong ito ang mga normal na mamamayan na walang gaanong kakayahan na magbayad ng malaki.

Mula sa araw ng cremation hanggang araw ng pagpapadala ng urn sa bansang pinagmulan ng bangkay ay inaabot ng 10 working days. May mga permit kasi na kailangang lakarin.Sa mga panahong ito, importante ang madalas na komunikasyon sa Philippine Embassy. May mga representative silang naka-assign sa bawat kaso. Sa kaso ng aking tiya, si Atty. Chares Marie Elacion ang syang masigasig na kausap namin mula sa Philippine Embassy in Cambodia.

At dahil sa Cambodia dinatnan ng kamatayan ang aking tiya, sa Thai Airways ipinadala ang kanyang mga abo. Hintayin ang airway bill number ng cargo upang ma-track sa Thai Airways Cargo. Tatlong oras ang byahe mula Bangkok o Cambodia hanggang Pilipinas.

1. Alamin sa DHU (Document Handling Unit) ng Pair Cargo ng Thai Airways kung dumating na ang eruplanong nagsasakay sa urn. Ipakita ang airway bill number. Ang pag-aayos ng cargo ay kadalasang tumatagal ng hanggang 2 oras mula paglapag ng eruplano.
2. Kapag ready na ang dokumento sa DHU, ipa-photocopy ang mga ito. Safe na ang 4 na kopya.
3. Pumunta sa Customs Office malapit sa Terminal 1 para makakuha ng gate pass. Apat na kopya ng gate pass ang ibibigay. May babayarang halaga na nasa Php50.00. Fill-upan ang gate pass at pumunta sa Terminal 1.
4. Pumunta sa opisina na nagbibigay ng gate pass para makakuha ng pass papunta sa Customs Office sa Terminal 1. Kung may kasamang kukuha, ihanda ang PhP50.00 para sa kanya. Mag-iwan ng ID. Wag kalimutang balikan.
5. Pumunta sa airport ng Terminal 1 at dumiretso sa Customs Office sa dulo. Ipasa ang mga dokumento para matatakan. Magbabayad ng PhP200.00 dito.
6. Kung wala pang 5PM, pipirmahan ang gate pass ng Customs Officer na naroroon sa may Pair Cargo sa Ninoy Aquino Avenue.
7. Ipa-photocopy ang pirmadong gate pass sa 1st floor ng building at dumiretso sa warehouse na nasa likod ng building. Maraming sasalubong na fixer. Nasa sa inyo na kung papatulong kayo. Nagpatulong kami! Hahahaha!
8. Ipasa ang gate pass sa warehouse custodian at hintayin ang cargo. Tignan kung tamang cargo ang naibigay sa inyo.
Are We Done Yet?

January 16, 2014

That’s Entertainment

I was laughing from start to end of the movie, “Are We Done Yet?” It’s a 2007 family comedy film starring Ice Cube. The movie’s message is simple— a house and a home are two different things. A big house does not necessarily translate to the dwellers’ happiness if there are conflicts within them. Some families that live on large houses tend to alienate from each other because of too much space built between them while some families that live on cramped houses tend to complain of lack of privacy from each other.

But what is really a home if a house is not a home? A house is a shelter, our physical protection from sun, wind and rain. A home is where we find emotional protection from the forces outside of our house. Therefore, a home is what every families want to achieve—peace, love and protection.

A house can be a home if every families and even housemates spend some time to bond with each other. There has to be a constant communication to keep that connection. My kids’ yaya noticed that Adi and Robi turn unruly everytime I’m around. In the past, when I was physically and mentally drained due to a day’s hard work, I shunned the kids away but the result was they became more disorderly. When I did the reverse thing like giving them my attention, they behaved.

A house can be a home if husbands and wives love and respect one another. If there is more understanding and acceptance between couples, then there is less to be annoyed about.
Should I Get Worried, Ensogo/Livingsocial?

December 6, 2013

Life & Love

I am not a fan of online shopping because I prefer to look at the item before deciding to buy it. The reason why I bought a single airbed from Livingsocial (formerly known as Ensogo) is to test the waters before taking the plunge. I bought the airbed last November 22 and when the proof of payment was generated, I was surprised to see the delivery date supposedly on December 20. I called up their hotline number at 555-6868 and they assured me that the shipment timeframe was December 6-20; they will deliver the item once it’s available.I asked if they could make it on December 13 so that there would still be enough allowance for delivery should any problem take place. They agreed.

The shipping address is at my office address since our company is well-known in the area. I called up their hotline last Tuesday to inquire if there’s any possibility to expedite the delivery from December 13 to December 6. The lady customer service representative assured me that she would do her best to expedite the delivery on Friday.

I called up their hotline yesterday morning to inquire the delivery status of the airbed and I explained that the reason why I was calling them since Wednesday was because I needed to inform the guards on duty about the package. Our guards are on a shifting schedule and the person who received my instruction might not relay the message to the incoming shift. The male customer service representative suggested that the rider would text me if he is along the way. It was a nice deal.

Early this morning, I told the guard-on-duty that I am expecting a package but she told me that she would leave in a while so I needed to tell the other guard about it. So anyway, I have informed the outgoing and the incoming shift of guards about my package.

Just to make sure that everything will come out as planned, I called up Livingsocial’s hotline to ask about the status of the delivery.

Livingsocial: Your delivery time frame is between December 6-20.

Me: Yeah, right. I know. I’ve talked with two of your customer service representatives and they assured me that they would expedite the delivery to December 6.

Livingsocial: Who among us did you happen to talk with?

Me: I did not get his name but he’s definitely not you!

Livingsocial: Kasi po, the delivery time frame is December 6-20.

Me: Yeah, I know. Is there a way to expedite it? What’s the problem? (beginning to show signs of annoyance)

Livingsocial: The product is not yet with us……

Me: (very pissed off) So sana, you told me from the start that the product is NOT yet available para the customer can better understand WHY you can’t make it on December 6!

Debah? Why would they print out the shipment date as December 6 if the product is not even available on that DAY. Ano to, lokohan? Stop the BS! Just deliver my airbed and we’re done!

Update: I got my airbed last Monday, December 16! Yey!
I would like to commend two of Living Social’s customer service advocate, Cash and Cris. I am not sure if these are real names though. Cash and Cris were polite and knew how to handle an agitated customer. They knew what to do and offerred a solution to my delivery concern.
Yolanda Victims To Relocate In Bataan

November 27, 2013

Life & Love

I found a good blog (http://bataan-prpc.blogspot.com/) about the Bataan Philippine Refugee Processing Center in Morong, Bataan in my effort to get to know about this project that was funded by the UN. I’ve never been to the BPRPC and I regret not being given the chance to go there before it closed in the 90’s.

There’s a suggestion to relocate the Yolanda victims to the BPRPC while the government is busy with rebuilding the affected parts of Leyte like Tanauan, Palo and Tacloban. Personally, I have no problem with that; if my province was able to accommodate foreign nationals in BPRCP, then it is more logical and moral to do the same with our kababayan.

The mayor of Hermosa, Mr. Danny Malana, expressed his intention to welcome the Yolanda victims as soon as the PNP gives their nod to lend the still uninhabited housing community there.

We are talking about an interim solution here. The real challenge that the government and the Yolanda victims must face is how to rebuild that part of Leyte. Architect Palafox guested on a morning show last week discussing about what kind of building and house design is suitable for coastal areas. What about the livelihood of the people? I heard from the news that the government will stop its relief operations by December. Isn’t it too soon? I hope I just got it wrong. I have no problem with stopping the relief operations as SOON as the people are financially, physically and emotionally capable.