Anne Curtis for PS Bank

I really love these PS Bank commercials starring Anne Curtis!
 

The comments are kind of disturbing though because instead of focusing on the message to save money, the commenters point out that the first video was "copied" from Taylor Swift's music video. Talk about not getting the point :( 

Anyway, I'm still hoping that with someone as popular as Anne Curtis talking about saving money and subtly poking fun at the flashy and glitzy lifestyle, the gospel of savings, and hopefully investing, will be embraced by our youth.

Anne Curtis for PS Bank

I really love these PS Bank commercials starring Anne Curtis!
 

Mind Over Gut

I am a stock investor. That means I'm a long-term investor and do not care about the dips and dives of the market because all that action won't matter 10 or 20 years from now.

So why does my heart go to my throat every time I see all the red in my COL portfolio? Why is my instinctive reaction to cut my losses and try to rescue what's left of my capital?

Clearly there's a disconnect between my instinct and intellect.

Maybe I shouldn't open my COL account for the next few weeks or so huh?

Sige lang. Deadma lang.

Mind Over Gut

I am a stock investor. That means I'm a long-term investor and do not care about the dips and dives of the market because all that action won't matter 10 or 20 years from now.

So why does my heart go to my throat every time I see all the red in my COL portfolio? Why is my instinctive reaction to cut my losses and try to rescue what's left of my capital?

Clearly there's a disconnect between my instinct and intellect.

Maybe I shouldn't open my COL account for the next few weeks or so huh?

Sige lang. Deadma lang.

June 2013 Budget and Goals

 

Ok, so it seems a little anti-climactic to publish this month's budget and goals with only 9 days left to go before the next month kicks in, but humor me will 'ya?

For this month's budget I did not have to set aside money for hospital and household expenses. The hospital expense is pretty obvious but for the household expense, I decided to do away with the category altogether because it's quite vague to be honest. I don't really know what it constitutes, so off it goes.

I'll talk about the Php10,000 miscellaneous expense soon because it's best if I shut my trap for now.

This month's goals, some of which I have already accomplished:

• Breastfeed exclusively
• Store breastmilk
• Blog regularly again for my 3 sites
• Resume freelance work
• Get back on the couch to 5k program

Three weeks left before I go back to work. Ayoko :(

June 2013 Budget and Goals

 

Ok, so it seems a little anti-climactic to publish this month's budget and goals with only 9 days left to go before the next month kicks in, but humor me will 'ya?

Round-up of May Budget and Financial Goals

 I was dreading coming up with last month's budget report, but it actually didn't turn out as bad as I thought it would. Yay!

The hubs and I stayed at my parents' house about a week before I gave birth because my mom wanted to monitor my diet as I had already put on 40lbs by then, 5lbs above the maximum allowed weight gain (and perhaps she saw our usual monthly restaurant expenses?:p). This accounted for the lower grocery and gas expenses. As always, we went over budget with our restaurant expenses but notice that it was only by Php1,130 and that's because I gave birth on May 15 and was under house arrest for the rest of the month and even for the first few weeks of June. Simply stated, it was because of a circumstance beyond our control that gave us our first acceptable restaurant expense.

We stayed rent-free at my parents' but we gave extra to the helpers, a bonus for the additional work because of our presence. I placed that expense under miscellaneous. Also under miscellaneous was our share in the electricity bill and the lunch we sponsored for the doctors and hospital staff who looked after me and Ace a.k.a. Bean.

Speaking of doctors, we paid absolutely nada as doctors fees when I gave birth last month. However, I did end up delivering Ace via caesarian section, so instead of the Php10,000 projected by my OB-mom, we ended up paying Php17,000. That Php17,000 represents the hospital fees net of Philhealth subsidy. With the doctors' fees, we probably would have paid an additional Php50,000. Once again, hooray for being a doctor's kid!

I already foresee that this month's budget will be our best ever, this time because I'm exclusively breastfeeding Ace and am basically tethered to him day and night, so goodbye to eating out as often and to mall runs.

As for last month's goals, this was how they panned out:

• Give birth- Check!
• Breastfeed- Check! Although we had a tumultuous start, I am now exclusively breastfeeding my baby. Oh the savings that the boob juice brings (approximate Php4,000- Php5,000 per month. Formula is very, very expensive!)
• Use cloth diapers- Nope. After about a week of using cloth diapers (although not exclusively) I had to use disposable diapers because I have absolutely no time to wash cloth diapers. When we get a yaya for Ace by next month, I'll bring out the cloth diapers once again. Diaper expenses are Php240 for 5-6 days.
• Find a stay-out nanny for when we go back to the condo in June- Nope. But we do have a yaya lined up for July, although she'll be living in my parents' house and the hubby will bring Ace there everyday while I'm at work.
• Open a savings account for our house renovation fund- Check! But the house renovation plan keeps on changing! I swear it's so frustrating. Now, the hubby doesn't want to get the next door unit anymore and just wants to fix up our current unit. I'm through making renovation plans. The house renovation fund will now be named as the house equity fund, to be used when we move to a bigger place, whenever that may be.
• Go back to my original monthly investing budget- Check!

Round-up of May Budget and Financial Goals

 I was dreading coming up with last month's budget report, but it actually didn't turn out as bad as I thought it would. Yay!

Updates

 

So it's been almost two weeks since I last posted here and for that I have no one to blame but my son. That's right, you with the numerous feedings, nappy changes and incessant need to be carried every waking and half-waking moment. Being a parent surely has its bright spots, but anyone who says that it's happiness and sunshine all the time is lying. I love my son, but I have to admit that I never imagined that being a parent would entail this much sacrifice, and it's really just beginning. These days, I'm avoiding ambitious to-do lists and mid-term or long-term plans, and in their stead, I focus on little victories, such as being able to take a long shower everyday while the baby sleeps.

Updates

 

So it's been almost two weeks since I last posted here and for that I have no one to blame but my son. That's right, you with the numerous feedings, nappy changes and incessant need to be carried every waking and half-waking moment. Being a parent surely has its bright spots, but anyone who says that it's happiness and sunshine all the time is lying. I love my son, but I have to admit that I never imagined that being a parent would entail this much sacrifice, and it's really just beginning. These days, I'm avoiding ambitious to-do lists and mid-term or long-term plans, and in their stead, I focus on little victories, such as being able to take a long shower everyday while the baby sleeps.