The Goal

Sale season is upon us, but I haven't burned my credit card in Zara and Mango as I normally would for the simple reason that we have a goal.

Stocks Update

After weeks of a sideways market leading to losses which reached -6% at some point, my stocks finally showed a profit at a solid 1.28%! Woohoo!:p

If I cash out now, I can buy myself a nice juicy burger or two, except that I don't eat fastfood anymore after my recent medical scare. 

Caught!

I remember I was so proud while writing about this loophole when it comes to paying my credit card bill online. How I found a way to effectively extend the period without coughing up a financial fee.

Well, apparently the bankers have caught on, because I was charged a finance fee in this month's billing statement. It makes me wonder now if they read my blogpost:p

Anyway, I had 3-4 years of enjoying this gray area so I really have nothing to complain about.

Must find the next loophole to exploit!

On Network Marketing

My first experience with network marketing or multi-level marketing was in the early 2000s when my mom put down money with the Mateo Management Group (MMG). That time, there were no products to be bought and sold because MMG supposedly used the members' money to finance their many businesses, but the emphasis on recruiting others in your downline and eventually not working at all because of commissions from your recruits, was also present.

Circles

My mother probably earned ten times more than my dad during the peak of her career. She had her own lying-in clinic where she was on call 24/7, while she also made the rounds of the nearby hospitals. My father, on the other hand, worked at the same government agency for the last 30 years, where he climbed his way from being a medical officer to bureau director.

Looking Back

I remember when my sister was born, I was with my father when he paid the hospital bill. I remember looking up as my father looked into his wallet and realized that he didn't have enough money to settle the bill and asked the cashier if she would take some dollar bills instead.

I felt so guilty that time because the day before that, he bought me a pair of rubber shoes for PE class and I thought that he ran out of money because of my new shoes. I thought that because he couldn't pay the bill, my mom and new sister wouldn't be able to leave the hospital.

I was six years old when I realized that money wasn't something to take for granted or fritter away because my parents had to work for it.

It's funny how such a simple incident shaped my entire mindset about money.

Stock Trading

I've been subscribed to Bo Sanchez's Truly Rich Club ever since the year started, and though the daily GodWhispers is nice, what I really look forward to is the monthly stocks update report. 

Saying No

 What is it about deciding to be more frugal and money savvy that suddenly brings an onslaught of delicious (and expensive!) choices right at my doorstep?

Staggered Credit Card Payments

Aside from crowning myself as the Queen of Rakets, another thing that helped me wipe off my massive credit card bills was staggering my credit card payments through online banking.

It's really simple, I just take note of two things in my credit card statement: (1) the Payment Due Date; and (2) the Statement Date. By looking at my credit card statement, I can approximate my due date will fall on the 7th and the billing statement will issue on the 17th of every month.

To inverter or not to inverter.

One of my mom's friends is thinking of buying the condo unit next to ours, so she dropped by our place to see how a dressed up unit would look. We started talking about the pros and cons of living in a condo unit, and eventually got to the topic of airconditioning and she was shocked at our electricity bill. She said that in her old clinic, they would have the AC on from 2pm to 9pm everyday and their usual electric bill amounted to less than Php1,500/mo.

Bank on This

When it comes to opening a savings/ checking account, I only have 1 rule: I will go with the bank that won't make me line up.