During this time of the pandemic, we should be more careful about how we spend our hard-earned money. When we hear the word debt, we sometimes have this bad connotation about it. But this article perfectly explained historical debt and how good debt can actually help us in our education, careers, and businesses.
For the longest time, since we started our relationship, we always buy all of our stuff in cash. Saving up for something has always been our go to strategy and it works. We were so scared of debt. Credit cards are a no no, because we know a lot of people who were burried in debt because of bad debt. Because we both work in a Financial institution, horror stories of our clients even haunted us in our dreams. LOL! That is until we decided that we need a car.
When we purchased our very first car, we paid it off through a bank loan in a span of 18 months. We didn’t have enough money to buy it in cash. But we realized later on that the money we earned because of our car is even higher than the car’s value. Same thing happened with the new truck that we also loaned in 2019. It has helped us with our food and tech businesses. These are perfect examples of debts that generated income for us.
One of the most successful entrepreneurs from Migs’ family educated us about the pros of borrowing money for a business. He told us that we should not be afraid of debt, as long as we set our priorities straight and use it to make more money. That’s how he started his first business. Although we haven’t tried a business loan yet – we totally get his point. It just takes hard work and responsibility to pay off a debt in order not to be burdened by it.
How do we manage debt? We follow these rules at home.
Prioritize bills. We do not let bills pile up because that would mean additional fees.
Needs before wants. As long as there is food on our table, bills are paid, our clothes are clean – we couldn’t care less if we do not have the latest model of home appliances, gadgets, shoes or bags.
We make wise purchases. We do not settle for cheap items that we won’t be able to use for a long time. We always prefer quality products.
We take care of our health. Even if you have insurance to cover your hospital bills, the time that you lost is invaluable. It sounds cliche but health is wealth!
Taking a vacation once in a while for our mental health. Being frugal doesn’t necessarily mean that you shouldn’t be exploring. You can always travel and stick to your allotted budget.
We prepare our meals. Home-cooked meals are always healthier and yummier.
We only withdraw a small amount of money. We always prefer online transactions to save time and to refrain from going out. Because going out could mean gas + food allowance.
We do not compare our lives with other families. Life was never a competetion. Our goal is just to make ourselves better.
Debt can be considered as equity depending on our mindset and commitment. Debt has saved many people and businesses. What about you? What’s your take on loans/debt?
readers know that we started blogging when we were just preparing for our big
day. It was just an online diary and we were surprised that there were a number
of people who actually read and even responded to our posts. Some posts were
created out of frustrations from suppliers and some were simply recommendations
for suppliers that were extremely nice and exceeded our expectations.
We were just like typical millennials who browse the internet for product reviews and such but it’s really different if you are the one reviewing or sharing your thoughts for things that happened to you first hand. From there we learned that product or service reviews can actually have different impacts on readers – these can also define who you are as a person because it will show how you react in ugly situations.
our lives from our wedding preparations through parenthood has been exciting
and fulfilling especially when we hear people say that they have learned
something from us. Sometimes, it’s also a bit challenging because others think
that we are sharing too much information about our family.
times when we wanted to stop sharing especially when we’re too busy with work
and business or whenever we don’t feel creative. But we just keep on documenting
and sharing our lives in order for life to not escape us. It also felt like we
now have the responsibility to give our readers our insights on things so they
can pick up a thing or two from our experience.
Blogging since 2012 not only opened doors for different opportunities but also lead us to meet beautiful people that have become our close friends and event clients. It has also helped us with how we communicate with different types of people. It gave us the opportunity to get an inside feel of how things are done in everything that we review or document, like restaurant operations, production, etc. More so, our blog had been one of our tools in keeping sound mental health.
remember documenting our first attempt to buy a property from a developer that
turned out to be a fraud. We published the article last 2016 and until now, we
are still receiving emails and direct messages thanking us for our blog because
it saved them from losing money. Others, unfortunately, share the same
sentiments with us. That experience taught us a lesson on how to make
life-changing decisions. We learned to be very vigilant when it comes to big
purchases. Research, research, research, and never rush whenever we are faced
with this type of scenario. It also taught us how to be more responsible in
giving reviews and expressing ourselves but still being honest.
writing PRs for commercial brands makes money, we stand by our principles and
review the products or brands fairly and honestly. We always have to remind ourselves
that we started this blog not to make money but to write fair and honest
reviews. Our blog’s integrity is what we’re most proud of.
“2012 was my year” that’s what you said. After experiencing a really tough childhood where you have to work as a minor so you can feed your siblings and your sick mother. Send your youngest brother to school while you were studying. It’s not hard to claim that you’ve made it after all you’ve been through. It felt really good. You married a beautiful, loving, smart, and funny woman. You have a decent job that you really love doing. You drive a very reliable car and have saved money for your dream home.
years of enjoying the fruits of your labor, your life came to a halt, you and
your wife dealt with, death, unemployment, fraud, sickness, and bankruptcy.
Chapter 1: Death
It all started when your mom died, and followed by your wife’s mother’s passing after only a few months. The pain was unbearable, but you have each other. Also practicing “Leaving and Cleaving” made it easier for you to cope with your losses. Aside from the emotional stress that these deaths caused you and your wife, they also left a big hole in your bank account. The money that you saved for your dream home is no longer yours to keep.
your positive spirit and said “we can always finance our house” and so you did.
You started paying the equity every month with ease. Finally, you’re just a few
months away from owning your dream home only to find out that your house
developer is a fraud.
Chapter 2: Fraud
After months of paying for your home equity, you realized that your developer was lying to you about having acquired a license to sell and a certificate of registration. You asked for a refund but you got nowhere. You even seek help from your government, but your current laws were designed to protect development fraudsters. So there goes your hard-earned money.
renting for a few more years doesn’t sound bad”. There you go again facing
another loss with a positive mindset.
Hang on to
that smile Miguel, because what comes next will question your faith.
Chapter 3: Unemployment, Sickness, and Bankruptcy
You read it
right, that’s a 3 hit combo.
Just 1 month after the ordeal with your home developer, your company suddenly realized that they have too many trainers and decided to let half of your department go. Yes, you’re part of it. After serving the company and producing the best and the brightest in the field, all you are to them is just a number. But you’re a fighter. Unemployment is just a walk in the park. But wait, there’s more.
I heard the news that one of the last trainees whom you had a feedback session with just died of Tuberculosis as a complication of his HIV. Your wife has been telling you to get yourself checked because you’ve been coughing nonstop for the past weeks. Sometimes you are really stubborn and just don’t listen until one day, you noticed that your athletic build has succumbed to the sickness. Your right lung already collapsed and could barely walk. You are officially sick, tough guy! You started facing this situation with a positive outlook again. You still tried to make money by selling random stuff to make yourself useful. TB is highly curable. Just take your meds for 6 months and you’re done. But you were wrong. After your lung operation, your doctor told you that TB has reached your liver.
April 2016. What used to be a happy spirit who takes good care of his health and small family was reduced to skin and bones. Couldn’t stand on his own. Couldn’t lie on his bed either. Cries every night while his wife is at work, begging God to take him so he wouldn’t be a burden anymore. This situation has forbidden you to fulfil your purpose and just wanted the pain to go away.
But you know that your old self still lives somewhere in that very frail body. You know that you wouldn’t allow a survivable challenge to beat you without giving it a fight. Most of all you love your wife so much and you want to continue annoying her every day for the rest of your lives. LOL! You’ll also leave her with a lot to think about because you now have a bigger hole in your bank account. So you decided to get better and live for her.
It took you
a year to be better despite the bankruptcy. You even reached a point where you
only have 200php in your wallet.
This is the
part where you realized that you can lose everything, but being with the love
of your life makes it ok.
(For the Reader) You might be wondering about one thing. Of course, I sued my company. Hahaha!
did Miguel, you monster killing machine! While suffering from a deadly ordeal,
you spent your time waiting for your counterattack to bear fruit.
Life gave you lemons and you made lemonade out of it. You regained your good health and got back up.
The good news doesn’t end there, you and your wife even got a big bonus. After being together for 9 years, you guys were blessed with Chuck, your pride, and joy.
You enjoyed your recovery very well, so well that you forgot to maintain your weight. Yes, you have gained so much weight after recovering from TB. Since you can’t lift weights anymore due to your previous back surgery, you have to look for an exercise regimen that will not strain you.
challenge is about to hit not only you but the entire planet. I’ll tell you
what you did and still doing to overcome ‘The Pandemic’.
Chapter 5: Pandemic
2020. The world shuts down due to this new crisis. People died, businesses
closed including yours. The businesses that you started with your wife did not
escape the wrath of COVID 19. You had to think quickly as your depleting
savings won’t last very long with a baby and other bills. Thanks to your wife’s work income, you guys
are still able to barely survive.
Thanks to your never-ending desire to overcome every challenge, you turned this roadblock into a business opportunity while worrying about maintaining your health.
started a business that helps other entrepreneurs go through this pandemic
without closing shop, like what happened to you. Another silver lining is you
found a way to stay fit and healthy. Cycling blew up because people ran out of
activities that won’t give them the virus.
We’re still in it. I know that you’re still facing this new tsunami head-on with a smirk on your face.
Keep on surviving champ! You got this!
I grew up in a Catholic environment and even studied in a Catholic school where no one talks about sex like it’s Voldemort. Sex education doesn’t seem to be a big thing here in the Philippines, some even consider it as a taboo. Since I became a mom, I have joined a number of parenting groups on Facebook and as I observe, Filipinos are aware of Responsible parenthood or family planning. Most of them post their concerns on FB closed or secret groups because some are embarrassed to ask relatives about family planning. I do not understand why some Filipinos tend to make fun of people who buy contraceptive pills or condoms. There was a time when a photo went viral because a man holding a bouquet seems to unmindfully drop a condom while getting something from his pocket. The condom dropped near his shoe. Majority of the comments were nasty. I feel bad for the person because who knows if he’s set to a romantic date with his wife? Maybe, one of the factors why the Philippines is still a third world country is because we fail to educate ourselves about sex. This is why we didn’t turn down the invitation to attend the Launching of Do It Right Campaign last August 16, 2019, in Makati.
11 organizations launched the campaign urging the Filipinos to show their support openly for family planning and reproductive health. I would like to quote FPOP Executive Director, Nandy Senoc’s words: “When youth and women are empowered, there will be no teen pregnancies, no early marriages, no unwanted pregnancies or abortions. When women are well informed, the fight against poverty is already halfway won”.
I could not think of anything better to add to these. it’s high time that we become more open about our stand about family planning and bear in mind that safe sex does not only help you prepare for your family’s future, you may also be able to save lives by being vocal. You might be able to reach a person who’s unaware that he/she can acquire sexually transmitted disease thru unprotected sex.
We arrived at The Carmelence Lodge 15minutes before Check-in. Their staff seems too exhausted when we got there. It was a 30-minute wait before we got our room keys. Our room also came with free breakfast but the front desk staff forgot to ask us about it. They have don’t have a lot of breakfast options but you’re supposed to choose ahead of time so they can have it prepared and served to you according to your preference. We shrugged it off because maybe, she was just having a bad day or she woke up at the wrong side of the bed? Who knows?
We love our room. It has a little kitchen, a decent toilet, and washroom. Their comforter and pillows are also awesome for a lodge – comparable to the ones used in hotels. The place was quiet and the staff was polite too. Their food is also reasonably priced but I wish their brewed coffee was served hot. Overall, we had a great stay.
We booked our room via Agoda for only Php2,600/night. For people who’d like to explore Tagaytay on a budget, we highly recommend this place. It’s also near Sky Ranch if you’re planning on a side trip to the park. The internet signal strength is superb too. Perfect for people who are able to bring their work anywhere or those who need to be online all the time.
We booked a hotel room at Green Sun last September 28 – 29 when I attended an event in Makati. As you all know, I am a first-time-mom and since I work from home, I do not have an idea how it feels to be separated from my son even just for an hour. Hotels in Makati are quite pricey so we had to look for an affordable but clean and child-friendly hotel. After searching through our favorite hotel booking apps and checking out different hotels’ Facebook reviews, we decided to spend a night at Green Sun.
As soon as we reached the hotel, we were immediately greeted and assisted by their security personnel. Although no bell cart was available, one of their staff still offered to carry our bags.
We booked their Deluxe room that comes with a Queen size bed, television, mini-fridge, hair dryer and an electric kettle. Just exactly what we needed for a short stay. Our room was clean – no traces of cigarette smoke. We just find the bathroom a bit small especially the space for the toilet bowl. The Hotel rooms have different artworks that make each one unique.
This hotel is definitely for art lovers! Aside from enjoying your room, you may also opt to spend some time checking out the beautiful art pieces at the lounge.
Our room comes with a breakfast buffet but we couldn’t wait until the next morning to try their food so we didn’t waste any time and hit Soma Bistro for some snacks. Unfortunately, their bibingka is not available. We got turon, pancit canton and palabok instead. Price is just about right considering that you’re eating in a bistro inside a hotel. Their bistro’s staff were very courteous. I forgot to bring my nursing cover and had to breastfeed my baby. None of them gave me a “duh” look, called our attention or stare. I felt secure breastfeeding my son in public because I never felt judged.
The following morning, we got to try their breakfast buffet. For a small bistro, I like that they only have few food choices. I just noticed that they do not serve bacon.
My son’s first staycation didn’t happen in a 5-Star Hotel. But Green Sun gave us one of the best hotel experience we’ve ever had. We are definitely coming back!
I have been nursing our son on demand since September 3 and have only been pumping milk 3 times a day – whenever I am working. I get to sleep and eat better now which also means that I get to spend more time with my boys (Migs and Chuck).
If you want to know more about Arugaan, please visit their official Facebook page.
It has been more than a year since I left my corporate job for a more healthy and chill life. I have applied for several home-based jobs before I landed one a month after I resigned. Joining several Facebook communities whose focus is on legit home-based jobs helped me prepare for interviews. One of my favorites is Filipina Homebased Moms (FHMOMS), a group created by a Filipino mother with the mission to help fellow parents, mothers especially, to find jobs suitable to their lifestyle through onlinejobs.ph.
I like how the group members share their views with working from home and even share job opportunities. They also have a line-up of seminars that you can sign-up to in case you are clueless with working from home or if you just want to upgrade your skills.
Last May 12, 2018, I was privileged to be invited to an exclusive FHMOMS event sponsored by Pampers. The event was held at Mom and Tina’s Bakery in Pasig City.
It was a short yet meaningful event where speakers discussed different topics. It is really helpful to attend events like this for soon-to-be-moms like myself. My favorite topics where Healthy Baby food ideas and Homeschooling.
If you are a mom planning to have more time with your family by working from home, or if you already are working from home and needs a support group, I suggest that you join Filipina Homebased Moms and follow their Facebook Page too. It always feel good to be in a group who share the same passion with you and understand your needs and frustrations.
I hope you all had a meaningful mother’s day celebration!
Celebrations doesn’t always have to break the bank. I remember making Father’s day cards with my sisters when we were still little. My father still kept those cards on his old attache case (briefcase). One of our super cheap gifts to him, a hand grip that we purchased using our daily allowance is still in good shape. I honestly never saw my father use those. LOL! But keeping them on his cabinet for more than 20 years meant so much to me and my sisters.
2017 will be my father’s second year of celebrating Father’s day without my mother. In times like this, I know that he would rather see us, his children than go somewhere else. He’s not the type who prefer lavish celebrations so, I plan to throw a simple BBQ party for him at his house in Antipolo. Backyard BBQ is not just an event but a way of life for him! It has always been one of his favorite activities.
But of cousre, checking in a nice hotel within the metro with a relaxing one hour massage is still an option. I am eyeing for a nearby hotel (probably in Ortigas Center or Eastwood City) since we want to avoid the hideous weekend traffic. This reminded me of my travelbook.ph membership. So many hotels to choose from and the best part is, I do not need a credit card to book a room since I have the option to pay at the hotel. Safe and convenient booking, just like what my father would prefer.
Father’s day is just on the horizon. What are your plans? This special day is the best time to show your Dad your appreciation for what he is – the best father in the whole world! A sincere thank you or even just a big hug would mean a lot to him but adding an extra effort won’t hurt…after all, our fathers had sacrificed a lot for us.
DIY Hand Sanitizer
Some hand sanitizer just leave your hands dry. Try mixing your own sanitizer.
15 drops tea tree essential oil
2 TB ethyl alcohol
3 TB Coco Vera
Just mix all the ingredients together or if you’re too lazy to for DIY, just mix Coco Vera with your Hand Sanitizer and voila! No more dry hands.