Ang PISO Ko

Attended " How to be Truly Rich Seminar"

2009-11-11T11:06:00.002+08:00

Last Saturday, hubby and I attended this seminar conducted by Bo Sanchez. It is a good seminar especially to those who are just starting on financial literacy. He discussed some things that we already know but we still learned a lot from him. We are planning to attend other seminars or trainings like this in the near future and be on track again on our Journey to Financial Freedom.

Lessons Learned from our Daughter's Hospitalization

2009-11-09T10:19:00.002+08:00

Here are some our lessons we learned from our daughter's hospitalization. Some would sound simple and funny but they are still lessons learned that you can also learn from.

1. Trust your instinct.
Tuesday night before she was hospitalized. I noticed a different sound on her breathing. I asked hubby to text the pedia if we can give her antibiotic. The Pedia told us that she should see our baby 1st before she can give a prescription and also advised us of her clinic schedule for the Holiday. Hubby and I already filed an advance leave of absence for the coming Friday. Hubby said that we can bring our baby on that day. I suddenly felt that she must be brought to the pedia so she can take the proper medication as soon as possible. Upon seeing my baby and hearing her breathing, the pedia told hubby that she can't let them go home. They need to stay in the hospital. Our baby has Ashma. It's good that I trust my instinct of bring her to the hospital that day. It could have gone worse and our hospital bill could have been more!

2. A Credit Card can save a Day
Since it was a different kind of emergency and we are not fond of bringing a lot cash. Hubby used our credit card for the Hospital Downpayment. The transaction is much easier. Aside from that, we're able to use the charge slips for food freebies that we had for our meals.

3. Philheath Card is a Necessity.
Our Hospital bill could have been ~20K. Thanks to Philhealth! We only pay a little more half of the total bill. So if you are not yet a member, you better enroll now. You can be an individually paying member for only 100/month or 1,200/year. This is just a little amount compared to your peace of mind.

4. We can live without a TV for 5 days.
It sounded like a joke but it's true. We stayed in a semi-private room for 2 days and a private room for 3 days. All of these rooms have no TV. There were no other rooms available. It's still an advantage because our bill could have been more. Anyway, on these days w/o a TV, we became creative on how we entertain our 9th month baby. It was all fun!

5. Blessings come unexpectedly
We could have touched our EF. But we're blessed not to have to because a long time loaned money was paid. It was even a little more than the amount that we need to pay for the hospital bill that we charged to our credit card. Thanks to Him!

You might be curious why we pay for the hospital bill and we should have a health card. Actually, we have one but our trusted pedia is not accredited. It's okay anyway, her PF was pro bono.

Loving my Credit Card

2009-11-09T09:22:00.004+08:00

I love my BPI Credit Card. Aside from getting 3% rebate for filling up our tank with Petron products, we are also getting food freebies.

Last Month, we're able to claim a lot of Jolly Hotdogs, Ice Craze, Fries and Burgers. This Month, we're able to claim a lot of Chicken Joy and Peach Mango Pies. It was a great help especially on tough time. My daughter was confined in a hospital last week. We're able to save some on food expenses by using the charge slips. We're able to have 2 free lunch for 3 people. Not bad, right?

If you have a BPI credit card or even a debit card, you can click here for the details of their food freebies this month.

By the way, this is just some of the good things that we can get from our credit card. But we also need to remember that we have to pay our purchases before the due date to avoid finance charges.

Received Some Freebies

2009-08-25T23:58:00.000+08:00

Got these cute picture frames from KiddieParty.ph by joining their promo. Check the details here.

OC Post-it Sampler Pack

2009-08-17T21:54:00.000+08:00

I got this sampler pack for FREE. I just registered at www.ocintraining.com and received an email that I can claim my sampler pack from my choosen National Bookstore outlet.This sampler pack comes with 1 pop-up Post-It with paper dispenser and 10 pcs. of Post-It flags. Not bad huh?!

Got A Free Lunch Yesterday

2009-07-22T23:05:00.000+08:00

We had free lunch yesterday using our BPI charge slips from Chowking. We had fish lauriat, pork lauriat, halo-halo with 1 scoop of ice cream and 3 siomai (3pcs each). We're not able to eat all of them and just took some of them out for our PM snacks.

Anyway, this is just one of the advantages of owning a credit card. We should enjoy the perks we're getting but we need to ensure that we're paying our bills on time to avoid paying finance charges.

2009 Goals - 2nd Quarter Review

2009-07-14T15:41:00.000+08:00

Whew. Looking at my 1st quarter review, I didn't make any progress. I need to get back on track. Hopefully, I 'll have a positive review next quarter.

2nd Wave of Waiver

2009-05-18T13:17:00.000+08:00

I have 2 BPI Credit Cards. One is a BPI Express Credit Card which can only be used locally and a BPI Petron Mastercard. I was able to waive the annual fee of my Petron Card few weeks ago (see details here) and I was, again, able to waive the annual fee of my BECC this month. Thanks to BPI as well as to PinayandMoney for the info.

Have taken a Money Personality Quiz

2009-05-18T13:08:00.003+08:00

Have learned about a money personality quiz thru Millionaire's Act website and found out that I am a balanced spender/investor.
Below is a brief description of a Balanced Spender/Investor and I believe in most of them.

Your money personality is: Balanced

People who exhibit a balanced money personality style enjoy making and managing money. They may view budgeting and investing as a game of sorts.

Money is viewed as a tool that is used to achieve ones goals.

While they often have a budget, Balanced persons do not become overly uncomfortable with the occasional unforeseen expense or in purchasing the occasional luxury item.

Balanced persons often feel that diligence, research and effort will reward them in the end.

If they invest, Balanced persons tend to have balanced portfolios and are often comfortable seeking advice from financial managers.

It's nice to know that I'm not doing bad but hope I could improve more. I wonder what is your money personality. You can take the quiz and love to hear what you got.

BLOG FIND: RECESSION OVER?

2009-05-06T18:28:00.001+08:00

According to this blog, it is likely to be over but we don't need to become very excited. There is a sign of optimism here but it's not bad at all. We just need to plan and prepare for the upturn.

Waived Credit Card Annual Fee

2009-05-02T15:44:00.001+08:00

I just want to thank PinayandMoney for the tip on waiving annual fee for BPI credit cards. I didn't know about this before. Initially, I am charging all purchases to my credit card to earn reward points that I can use to pay for my annual fee. Sayang. If I have known about it earlier, I could have use my points to get other reward items.

Nevertheless, I am still thankful that I was able to avail it this year. I just called their hotline and asked them if I can avail of the waived annual fee. After reviewing my account for some minutes, they confirmed that my request was approved and gave me the confirmation number. The reversal of the fee should reflect in 2 to 3 working days. And it did. Thanks to BPI and thanks again to PinayandMoney for this information.

BPI Trade Lowered the ADB of their Savings Account

2009-04-29T22:38:00.001+08:00

I got this mail last week and I was happy about it. Now, we can use some of the amount use to maintain our account to buy more stocks. I t will not be wasted waiting for the 1.75% interest which is being compounded quarterly. My dumdum have more power.

Dear BPI Trade clients:

Greetings!

Please be informed that the monthly maintaining Average Daily Balance (ADB) of your BPITrade settlement account with BPI Direct Savings Bank has been lowered from P5,000 to P500.00. As a non-ATM deposit account, the BPITrade settlement account will earn interest as follows:

Interest Rates (per annum)
If daily balance is:
PhP 0 - 499 0.000% p.a.
PhP 500 and above 1.750% p.a.

Please visit the FAQs on the BPITrade website for more information.

Thank you.

BPI Trade Team

2009 Goals - 1st Quarter Review

2009-04-29T22:26:00.003+08:00

We're not able to review our goals for the previous month because of our busy life. Anyway, I allocated this evening for this review.

1.After giving birth, transfer part of USD savings from BDO regular savings to PS Bank or China Bank TD. - GOOD: DONE. Not in PS Bank or China Bank but in Asia Trust because they have the higher interest rate.

2. Current EF is at 25%. By the end of the year, it should be more than 50%. BAD : It is currently at 21%, we used some of them when I gave birth instead of using all of our USD. It is still a good move because USD/PHP rate now is higher.

3. Transfer part of our EF to either BPI Direct TD or China Bank TD (whichever have the higher interest). BAD: Pending. still scouting for the best instrument.

4. Invest in Mutual Fund (PAMI and/or Phil EQ). BAD: Backlogged because I haven't studied the details of it yet

5. Increase investments in Philippine Stock Market. BAD: Backlogged. No budget. No extra.

6. Renew our insurances. Moderate: I renew one of our insurances. Supposed to increase one of our VULs but we didn't pushed thru because of the market condition.
7. Get a HS and/or College Plan for our soon to arrive Baby or just increase our investments. Moderate: Backlogged. We haven't made up our mind if we'll get one because of the bad news that we're hearing on pre-need plan companies.
8. Keep our Company Stocks (Grants and ESPP) intact and wait for the up turn. GOOD: We're keeping them.

Our Score: not bad at all. We have 2 good, 4 bad and 2 moderate. We're still on the 1st half of the year. I am targeting to have a higher score by the end of the year. Wish me luck. Hehe.

Perk $ Time Deposit of Asia Trust Bank

2009-04-29T20:58:00.005+08:00

If you are looking for a bank where to can safe keep your USD for a while, I can recommend Asia Trust Bank. They have a product named Perk $ Time Deposit. I learned about it while googling for the best USD TD account in the Philippines. I remember that I saw it from a forum but can't remember the exact forum name.

Initially, I was comparing BDO, BPI, PS Bank and China Bank. And I was already considering PS Bank. But I changed my mind after seeing the rates of Asia Trust. However, the rates in their site is not updated.

Some infos I can share:

Min Investment: $5K
Prevailing Rates as of 03/19/09 (Sorry, a little old now.):
90D = 3.00%
180D = 3.25%
270D = 3.50%
360D = 3.75%

The interest is not compounded per quarter. But it is not bad after all. You'll still get 3% if you keep them for 90 days. This is the highest interest rate for USD TD that I have seen so far.

It was Kept

2009-03-16T14:59:00.003+08:00

This is just an update on my last post whether to keep our USD or not. Well, we decided to keep part of it. We paid 50% in USD and 50% in PHP. I don't know if this is a wise move but it's like applying the rule of not putting our eggs in one basket. In our case, we are not emptying one basket.

To Keep or NOT to Keep?!

2009-01-21T09:44:00.000+08:00

We have saved some USD for my hospital delivery. Now that USD is not yet stable, we are having 2nd thought of using it. We are thinking to just use the peso that we have.

What do you think?

Goals for 2009

2009-01-16T16:13:00.001+08:00

We scored good last 2008. We hope that we can make it better this year. So far here are our goals for this year:

1.After giving birth, transfer part of USD savings from BDO regular savings to PS Bank or China Bank TD.
2. Current EF is at 25%. By the end of the year, it should be more than 50%.
3. Transfer part of our EF to either BPI Direct TD or China Bank TD (whichever have the higher interest).
4. Invest in Mutual Fund (PAMI and/or Phil EQ)
5. Increase investments in Philippine Stock Market.
6. Renew our insurances.
7. Get a HS and/or College Plan for our soon to arrive Baby or just increase our investments.
8. Keep our Company Stocks (Grants and ESPP) intact and wait for the up turn.

Goodbye 2008

2009-01-16T16:00:00.001+08:00

I was not able to update this blog for quite sometime. A lot of things already happened.

1. Late in November, our company had a RIF (Reduction In Force). Approximately 15% of our company's population was laid-off. The package was good but the thought of losing a job before the holidays was still hard to accept. Hubby and I was just lucky that we are not included in the list.

2. After the RIF, one of our company's VP released an email that there would be no salary increase for year 2008 and 2009. Sigh. However, we are still thankful that we have a job.

3. The stock market is not doing any good both in the US and Philippines.

4. Christmas came and now a memory. We're poorer by some grand. But we feel rich in love. This is talking about emotional investments.

5. Many families celebrated the coming of the New Year with a blast and bang but we celebrated it with fun. No fireworks but laughters.

And now that 16 days of 2009 already passed, I think I need to revisit our 2008 Goals and grade ourselves.

1. Pay off Debt (Zero out our Housing Loan from Pag-ibig) - DONE!

2. Increase our individual coop deduction by 500php by February this year.- DONE!

3. Get in touch with a Sunlife and Philam agent for our planned Life Insurance and Retirement Plan to study their plans.- DONE!

4. Only hubby will get a Life Insurance. We based it from the books we read.- DONE!

5. Bonuses - 10% will be kept for savings, 10% for sharing, 80% bonus for ourselves - dine out and wants.- DONE!

6. Review our goal at least once a month.- SEMI- DONE! We're not able to review it monthly due to busy schedule.

Our score is 5/6 or 83%. We think this is not bad for the 1st Yearly Goal we have set for ourselves.

How about you, we're you able to attain all your 2008 goals?

US Economy Crisis and Some Bad News

2008-11-18T20:21:00.000+08:00

I was not able to go to work yesterday because of nausea. I know this day will not be a good day for me because I have tons of email to read. I have ~ 400 new messages in my inbox.

But I never thought that more bad news will be coming in. A counterpart from the US called me and brought out a bad news.
1. One of our counterparts were terminated this morning. She was in our plant last week and just reported to our SJ office this morning. I know it it such a bad news for her. This made us all sad.
2. Latest news in Silicon Valley is about a Chinese Engineer who got fired and in return killed 3 people in their company (HR personnel, VP and CEO).

I know US is far from the Philippines but we are somehow affected because there are a lot of American companies here in the Philippines. We will be affected whether we like it or not.

Actually, rumors had been circulating lately here in the office. There would be lay-offs. They said it's about 15-20% per group/ per department. This is making us paranoids. We don't know whose on the list. Only directors know what's on the list. The announcement is taking a backseat because they still need to consult with DOLE. But according to the rumors, the announcement will be on Monday. I'm keeping my fingers cross. I'm praying really hard and trying to stop thinking about it. I don't want my baby to be affected.

Free Coupon - TREAT or TRICK?

2008-11-14T21:11:00.002+08:00

Few weeks ago, hubby and I did our grocery shopping. We are doing it twice a month in SM Hypermart near our home. Our bill reached more than 2.7K and from the receipt, we saw that we accumulated more than 500 pesos of "Buy Me" items. So I have it checked by the customer rep and I got a chance to rub a lotto ticket. Unfortunately, I didn't win anything (I already won 2 coke in can from our previous grocery shopping). But I thought we're still lucky because I got a P50 off coupon which is valid until Nov.02.

Came Nov.01, we still haven't use the coupon. But since I forgot to buy candles for the All Souls Day, we visited SM and bought some candles and some other stuffs we need for the house. All the time, I thought that I can easily use the coupon like what we did before. Unfortunately, there is a note in there that we can only use it if we accumulated a total of 500pesos worth of Buy Me products. I was disappointed because we don't have plans of buying more stuffs that day. Bottom line, we're not able to use the coupon. And thanks to SM Marketing Strategy. It was a good TRICK and not a TREAT.

2008 Performance Chart

2008-11-04T18:17:00.002+08:00

I had been religiously tracking our finances since year 2008 started. So far here is our track record. I didn't include the Gross Asset because I am more concern on the Net Asset. This is being updated bi-monthly after receiving our salary.
Our investment portfolio is somehow diversified but the proposed division by Money Smart is not yet online. The fluctuations were mostly caused by the Global crisis because we are working in an American company. We have some benefits that are given in USD. This is also the reason why sometimes I get torn by the foreign exchange changes.

Anyway, we are forecasting that there will be a big deduction of our net asset early next year because I'll be giving birth that time. The good thing is we are prepared. We just need to replenish the "loss" after that.

By the way, I am a visual person and this chart can show me how good or bad are we doing. I just don't know it this will also work for other people but it might be worth a try.

From DINK to DIwK

2008-10-29T18:55:00.002+08:00

Before I started this blog, hubby and I are DINK couple (Double Income No Kids). We've been DINK for 3 years. We've been praying for a baby after a year of marriage but it was not given to us.

As the saying goes, GOOD things happen to those who wait. This is exactly what happened to us. GOD is GOOD. He puts everything into place. We received a big blessing by end of May. We confirmed that I was pregnant 1st week of June. We're able to close our Housing Loan by mid July because of the blessing we received in May.

Everything just fell into place. Thanks to Him!

And now that some things will change because of the addition in our family, we will need to be Money Smarter. We need to plan for everything like:
1. Budget - need to add the baby necessities like diapers and Milk
2. Insurances
3. Educ Plans
4. Health plans

I know the list will go on and on. But we need to be ready. Planning plus action is still the best defense for emergencies and crisis.

Update on LBC Banks' Royal Earner Account Interest Rate (as of 10/24/08)

2008-10-27T15:45:00.002+08:00

LBC bank is one of the banks that offers high interest rate for a 5YR TD. Learned about it from PinayandMoney Blog. Hubby and I inquired last Friday and there was a slight change. The interest rate for the TAX Free 5Y TD was lowered from 9% to 8%. This is still acceptable because currently most banks offers TD with interest rate ranging from 1.5% to max of 6% (PSBank).

We just hope that they will not lower it more because hubby and I are planning to increase our savings in this bank.

Rice Price Increase

2008-10-09T18:10:00.002+08:00

Few years ago, our cafeteria is only charging us 3 pesos for a cup of rice. Just this year, they have increased it to 4 pesos. And today, we received a memo from our company that they will increase it again from 4 to 6 pesos.

The good thing is that our company will subsidize the additional 2 pesos. We will still be charged 4 pesos/cup. Thanks to the management. This is still a potential savings of 1040pesos/year for us.

We Feel it Now

2008-10-09T18:08:00.001+08:00

Hubby and I are working in an American Semicon Company. We have 5 major sites.We have San Jose CA, Minnesota and Texas in the US. We have a plant in Cavite and an office in Taguig (The Fort) here in the Philippines.

We start to feel the US crisis last month. Lay-offs happened in Minnesota. Our Texas plant is shutting down - this is an old news but we know that somehow it will affect our stock price. The recent happening was last Friday. Lay-offs happened in our San Jose site. Approximately 50-100 people lose their jobs.

This worries us because whenever layoffs happened in our major sites, something will also happen in our Philippine sites. We normally have voluntary resignation. There were benefits given but it can't sustain a lifetime. To have a business or a regular source of income is still the best option. One thing that worries me is our EF which is still way behind our target. We're only at 17% so we need to tighen our belts more. We need to revisit our expense file and check how can we improve further. We just hope and pray that it would not happen here.