Category Archives: Money Watch

15th Father’s Day

Tomorrow is going to be the husband’s 15th Father’s Day. We don’t usually celebrate these occasions in a big grand way but we do try to make the day special for him.

The youngest daughter has already made a card (oops, I hope he doesn’t read this before tomorrow). I want us to have a picnic lunch but knowing that there is a typhoon elsewhere, that would not be a good idea. We’d probably avail of that lunch buffet gift certificates I have (on Monday which incidentally is a holiday).

I also bought three discount vouchers for the same lunch buffet so that we all could go together.

Hubby is not exactly the flowers and chocolates gifter. I wish he is for I’d like to have St. Paul flowers or truffles to enjoy once in a while 😀

 

Use Your Gift Certificates

We are currently attending “free” art lessons. Well, not exactly me, but my youngest daughter. We availed the free lessons by using the gift certificate I got last year when I attended a roundtable discussion with the owners of the said art center. I wrote an article about the center but sadly the web magazine was has been offline for several months now. Since the GC has no expiration date on it, I decided to give them a call and ask if wecan still avail the services. And woohoo! we are now getting the free art lessons.

Gift certificates are wonderful to have because you get to save on what the GCs are offering. It is very important though that the due dates of these are noted so that these can be availed of before the expiration date. A magellan gps GC and/or a spa GC are both going to be welcomed with opened arms by moi, just in case 😉

If in case you don’t exactly have the time to avail of these services (like the 8 hour art lessons we are currently availing of), try to make time, especially if the gift certificates are worth your time, energy and gas.

We still have some GCs to use and I know we don’t have much time with some of it so I will definitely fix my sked to be able to avail these services and goods.

Paano Ba Magtipid

Paano nga ba magtipid, kung wala ka namang perang titipirin?

Naalala ko dati yung isang article na nabasa ko, inilista kung paano ang isang tao ay nakakapagtipid sa kabila ng pagiging penniless niya. Maabilidad kasi siya kaya ganun. Meron din namang mga taong di halata ng walang pangkain pero nakakakain sa mga mamahaling kainan ng libre kasi sila ay… huwag na nga lang baka awayin nila ako.

Paano ba magtipid? Narito ang ilan sa mga paraan para makatipid:

  • Sabi ng anak kong 9 years old nung mabasa niya ang titulong “Paano Ba Magtipid?” dapat daw “hindi bibili ng mga bagay ng hindi kailangan”. Sa palagay ko may punto siya dun. Agree ka ba?
  • Kapag nasa restoran, lalo na sa fast food na may value meals, magpadagdag ng ketchup packets kahit isang burjer lang ang inorder para may magagamit ka sa bahay.
  • Tutal humingi ka na ng ketchup packets, dagdagan mo na din ng tissue, sayang din yun, pamunas ng pawis o ng dumi sa mukha o kaya maaaring gamitin “in times of emergency” at wala kang ganun
  • Huwag na huwag mong gagamitin ang credit card kung hindi ka sigurado na mayroon kang pambayad pagdating ng bill. At para mas sigurado, huwag ka na lang kumuha ng credit baka lalo ka lang mapagastos ng perang wala ka naman in the first place
  • Bago bumili ng kung anong bagay, bag o sapatos o kaya ng isang supot ng tsokolate, isiping mabuti at maging honest sa sarili: “Kailangan ko ba talaga ito ngayon? Kapag ba hindi ko ito binili ngayon at binilikan ko sa isang araw, ganun pa din kaya ang pagnanasa ko na maging akin ito?”
  • Huwag magpapadala sa mga SALE signs dahil kapag nakakita ka ng blouse na 70% off, manghihinayang ka sa diskwento at malamang bibilhin mo, kahit na hindi mo kailangan ang blouse na yun. O sige huwag na nga ang blouse, yung table top oven na lang na 50% off, sayang din ang savings, malay mo, baka matutunan mo din mag-bake balang araw di ba? Sana nga paano kung hindi ka matutuo magbake?
  • Matutong magluto ng pagkain. Walang oras? Mag-set ng isang araw upang gawin ito, magluto ng 2 o 3 o higit pang bilang ng ulam at ilagay sa mga lalagyan at i-freeze. Oo nga’t nakakasawa pero nakatipid ka naman, sigurado pa ka pa sa pagkain dahil ikaw mismo ang nagprepare nito. At least, umuwi ka man ng gabing-gabi na at pagod na pagod pa, meron kang makakain sa bahay na iinitin na lang.
  • Kung mabilis ang internet connection mo, huwag ka na magsubscribe ng cable tv. Mas una pa nga mapapanood sa internet yung mga palabas kesa sa catv, basta lang alam mo maghanap kung paano.
  • Para hindi maging green with envy sa ibang may magagarang gadgets, mabuti pa, huwag na magbasa o tumingin sa mga gadgets site. Maiinis ka lang, lalo na kapag wala ka namang pambili.

Pasensiya na po sa bullets, tama naman pag tinignan sa dashboard pero sa published post, di pantay-pantay, grrr…

Tipid tips para sa mga homemakers.

Konting tips sa pagtitipid sa panahon ng summer.

Tipid tips para sa Time and Energy.

Napakarami pang tips na pwede i-share pero hanggang dito na lang muna ako kasi may nanggugulo na maglalaro ng Gardens of Time. Basta ang importante, maging satisfied sa kung ano ang meron ka at magstrive, pero huwag maging sobrang trying hard na nagkandarapa na magkaroon ng mga bagay ng minimithi na alam mong kailangan mo, hindi dahil sa gusto mo lang.

Saving for the Rainy Days

Two more quarterly payments for the insurance plans I am paying for and I’m almost free of these financial obligations. Even if the premium is not that big and the quarterly payments not too high either, there were times that I felt paying for these were a bit of a “burden” because of the unforeseen emergency expenses we meet here and there.

So I’m thinking, should I get another one? A senior life insurance or a retirement plan perhaps?

How did I save for the quarterly dues?

  • cutting down on expenses like eating out and impulsive buying
  • purchasing only the necessary things we need
  • saving extra money for the premiums’ payment
  • thinking about the savings I would make when the “right time comes”

The one who sold me the plans, a mom of a former student told me this: get plans that best suit what you can pay for so you won’t be disappointed for not being able to pay for something you can’t. It worked.

Yikes!

Conjugated linoleic acid is for weight loss? I’m not that knowledgeable with the different weight management fads and trends no matter how many times I’ve written about this topic because this is one of the things that I think a lot of aside from budget management, LOL.

If only thinking about the budget management makes me lose weight, then I would have been a skinny woman by now.

Speaking about budget management, the hubby once remarked that looking at the various online discount vouchers site I have accounts with will make an even poorer person than I already am. I don’t really buy a lot of these vouchers, only those that I know will make us contented.

As it is, I’ve heard that one or two of these local sites (glad I don’t have an account with these two, yey) have been having a lot of “oh no!” and facepalm reactions and not to mention angry customers.

Time like these, I wouldn’t want to be the company’s customer service rep. Yikes!