Did you know that...

Again, let's make this a Filipino-English post para mas feel at nanunuot sa damdamin. if you need a pure English translation, just send me an email and I'll gladly translate it for you. Sayang ang pagiging freelance writer ko if I can't do that. :-)

Let's get the ball rolling. Did you know that...

1. You can get "loyalty credits" from being a Globe subscriber for at least 24 months?

Yup, it's true!. I've been a Globe subscriber for ages, or since 1997 yata yun. Ang arte-arte kasi ng Smart before and it was really hard to get a plan with a free phone from them noong mga panahong yun. Ewan ko na lang ngayon.

Anyway, so yun nga after 24 months of use, nag-expire na si plan. Eh likas talaga akong maurirat, I called Globe's customer service kasi I wanted to find out how to get a new phone, kasi di ba laging me mga bagong phone na ino-offer for free sa mga mag-aavail ng plan. Sabi ko pwede ko bang i-terminate existing plan ko then kuha ako ng bago just to get a new phone. Adik?

I was told I didn't have to do that pero yung phone na gusto ko is available only for a higher plan. Eh I didn't want to upgrade kasi plan 1200 yata ako that time. The customer service rep told me that ayun na nga... I can just get "loyalty credits" if I don't want to settle for a lower-end phone.

Ang scheme is I will have to sign up for another 24 months and they will deduct half the amount of my monthly plan, meaning 600 less tax or some charges yata yun for those 24 months. So installment. Let's say 1200 nga yung plan ko, more or less 700 na lang babayaran ko kasi ike-credit ako ng Globe ng 500++.

So, if you are a loyal Globe subscriber like me, make sure to find out when your plan is due to expire and call them right away to ask for the same deal. Ako, ever since I learned na me ganun pala, lagi kong hinihingi yun kasi parang hindi nila sasabihin sa inyo ng kusa. My husband does this na rin kasi nga tinuro ko sa kanya.

2. BPI waives annual membership fees - yes, yes, alam ko other credit cards do this... pero for the first year lang! Kaya paki-baba ang kilay nyo kasi useful din itong tip kong ito. :-)

Again, I've had my BPI credit card since 1997. Loyal sa mga Zobel de Ayala? I was once an employee kasi of one of Ayala Corporation's affiliates. PERO... I didn't know about this waiving of the annual fee thing until an officemate told me sometime 2005 na siguro. Imagine for years I've been religiously paying those annual fees eh pwede naman pala ipa-waive???

All you have to do is call them and request that waive your annual fee once it appears on your billing statement. Remember, it has to appear muna on your SOA before you call them, otherwise uulit lang kayo ng tawag.

Baket need pang intayin mag-appear sa SOA? Kasi me instance na hindi naman kayo nacha-charge. Well, at least in my case ganun. Hindi ko alam kung nagsawa na ang BPI sa kaka-request ko taon-taon since 2005 kaya hindi na nila ako china-charge, pero yun nga for the past 2 years yata wala akong annual fee. I would know kasi nga pag me nakita ako sa SOA eh itinatawag ko agad. Again, ginagawa na din ng husband ko itong discovery ko na ito. So try nyo din.

Might as well try it on your other credit cards. Malay nyo naman... Aba sayang din ang 1,500 to 2000 na membership fee.

3. Bayantel gives P500 rebates on your DSL bill IF you lose your DSL service and it was not restored within 24 hours.

I'm not very happy with the services of Bayantel kasi madalas napuputol yung DSL ko although na-program ko naman mag-auto redial pero still, hassle di ba? Anyway, pag naputol DSL nyo, i-report nyo agad kasi that is the only time the 24-hour count starts.

Take note of the exact time when it is restored. You will know kasi tatawagan naman nila kayo, so you really don't have to stare at your modem to wait for it to come to life. Pag lumagpas ng 24 hours at di pa nare-restore ang service, i-report nyo agad. Konting galit-galitan para mas effective although ako galit talaga lagi kasi naman my work depends on my DSL. Walang internet, walang trabaho.

At most importantly, wag mag-settle pag sinabing "may nagpunta na pero walang tao sa bahay nyo." Ang mechanics ng rebate program nila is REPAIR WITHIN 24 HOURS. Kahit dyan matulog ang repairman sa bahay nyo, kung hindi na-restore ang service nyo, you have every right na mag-reklamo and ask for that rebate. Basta lumagpas ng 24 hours kahit 1 minute lang i-reklamo nyo na. Well, that is kung importante sa inyo bawat piso na ginagastos nyo. If you don't need the rebate eh di keber. :-)


Isip pa ako ng mga tips and saving tricks na pinakinabangan ko talaga. For now, enjoy nyo muna mga ito.

I need referrals for the following

These openings are for Emerson Electric Asia, ROHQ

Please send the resumes through raspberry_glace04@yahoo.com

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Tips that Really Add Up - Continued ulit...

Let's make this post in Filipino-English naman para mas me feelings ang mga side comments. Hehehe. Feel free to jump right in and comment.

Bale isang tip lang ito kasi mukhang magiging lengthy ang pagdi-discuss ko so bear with me.

CONSOLIDATE YOUR CREDIT CARD DEBT

How many credit cards do you have? Ako, I have at least 3. Isang BPI classic, the maroon one, isang BPI Edge kasi wala akong mastercard before, and isang BDO Shopmore.

If you love shopping like I do, for sure gamit na gamit ang cards nyo and pag may nag-offer ng 0% malamang nangunguna kayo sa pila ng mag-aavail. I was like that. WAS... past tense na. I used to earn a lot in my job in a government financial institution. Di po ako nangongotong nor was I involved in shady deals. Supervisory level na ako dun when I availed of an early retirement package, so medyo malaki na kita ko and I was used to a lifestyle of just charging anything I want knowing I would have the money to pay or it come payday.

So when I availed of an early retirement package and got employed in a call center, dala ko pa din yung "lifestyle" ko which I did "enjoy" for 10 years. Since hindi pa naman ganun kalaki ang kita ng husband ko sa call center din, I just charge our groceries and meals out on my credit card. I came to my senses nung parang ang laki-laki na ng binabayaran ko sa monthly and yet it was not causing a dent in my outstanding bill.

Noon pa lang I thought of consolidating my credit card debt na. Pag may balance transfer na offer I would immediately avail thinking nakakatipid ako on the finance charges kasi compared naman sa usual 3.5% eh magiging .70% or at most .90% na lang. Or so I thought.

Since hindi naman talaga kalakihan ang kita namin sa call center, or actually malaki naman kung single ka and you live with your parents at wala kang kotse na at that time eh malakas talaga sa gasolina, panay pa din ang charge ko ng groceries at dinners or lunch out sa credit cards ko. I mean, hey, kaya ka nga nagta-trabaho para naman ma-enjoy mo din ang buhay mo. Kaya ayun, kaliwa't kanang balance transfer ang in-avail ko.

When I was in the process of deciding kung kaya ko mag-stay-at-home Mom, lalo kong natitigan yung mga credit card statements ko. Matagal ko ng na-realize na dapat kayusin na talaga yung mga utang ko kaya I have really stopped using my credit cards. Ni hindi ko na nga dinadala. I really felt naked at that time lalo pag alam kong wala naman akong cash. I just avoided going to the mall na lang. Kung groceries lang kailangan, dun na lang ako pupunta, di na ako iikot for fear na makakita ng magugustuhan kong want na iju-justify kong need.

Anyway, going back sa pagtitig ko sa credit card statement ko. I discovered na totoo palang me "hidden charges". When I computed my BDO monthly due I discovered na pati yung mga balance transfers ko eh isinasama nila sa outstanding bill ko na china-charge pa nila ulit ng 3.4% monthly interest! So kamusta naman di ba? Paano ka nakatipid sa finance charges pag ganun? Eh di it defeats the purpose entirely?!

Nakaka-asar kasi if you think na your deposit to these banks only earn a measly 1% PER ANNUM! Ni hindi nga 1% MONTHLY eh. Tapos yung mga deposito nyo ang ginagamit ng mga bangko ito to give out loans that charge 3.4% interest monthly!. Para kang iginigisa sa sarili mong mantika.

So eto nag-balance transfer ako ulit, pero this time sa BPI na. I was able to prove to myself na yung bina-balance transfer ko sa BPI eh hindi kasama sa china-charge ng monthly interest kaya pala kahit halos same lang ang credit limit ko sa BPI at BDO eh di hamak na mas malaki lagi ang nakikita kong finance charge ng BDO credit card ko. Another thing going for BPI is that they don't charge you immediately upon your purchase. Mag-i-start lang ang counting nila the minute they get the charge slip from the merchant where you made your purchase. So swerte mo kung yung merchant is matagal mag-submit ng charge slips. Makikita mo yan sa "post date".

Pag tiningnan mo yung credit card statement mo sa BPI, me purchase date or transaction date tapos me post date. Post date is when the merchant submitted the charge slip to BPI. Yun ang start ng pag-charge nila ng interest sa 'yo.

Sa BDO at alam ko Citibank ganito din, kahit isang buwan bago mag-submit ang merchant ng charge slip, nire-retroact nila yung pag-charge sa 'yo ng interest. So from the day you signed that charge slip, expect na tumatakbo na ang metro.

About 0% purchases. Wag din agad-agad maniniwala sa mga ganitong promo. Canvass, canvass, canvass. Check the actual retail price (parang Price is Right)kung cash nyo bibilihin yung item. Kasi kahit 0% pa yan, different yung ginagamit nilang price kesa kung cash purchase. In short, naka-tuck-in na talaga yung interest pag credit card nyo binili. Hindi talaga siya 0%.

Ewan ko lang dun sa mga sinasabi ng BPI na "THE REAL 0%" ha. Kasi nga ginaya na ng ibang credit cards yung gimmick na yun. Ang claim ng BPI eh 0% talaga sila, meaning hindi bloated yung price nung item to hide yung interest. Kaya nga CANVASS, CANVASS, CANVASS.

Kung gusto nyo talaga maka-ahon sa utang nyo sa credit card nyo, like me, i-avoid nyo at all cost ang paggamit ng credit card. Kakainin talaga kayo ng buhay ng interest charges. Or kung di naman talaga ma-avoid, make the conscious effort to pay it off na lang agad. Yung pautay-utay na minimum payment nyo will not do you any good. Patay na kayo hindi pa tapos ang utang nyo. At kahit patay na kayo hindi naman ira-write-off ng mga bangkong yang ang utang nyo. Hanggang mahahanap nila ang pamilya nyo, eh for sure makakatanggap sila ng statement of account.

Tips that Really Add up - Continued...

Here are some more practical tips that really add up... well at least based on my own experience.

1. Have several income sources - I first read about this advice from Robert Kiyosaki but it was Bo Sanchez who made me see the light. Robert Kiyosaki kasi tends to write his advices in a vague manner or maybe I was too young then to appreciate and understand his book. Maybe I should read it again...

Anyway, when I read about this advice in one of Bo Sanchez' books, I had a hard time trying to figure out how I can apply it in my own life. You see working on a graveyard shift really takes its toll on the body and I required at least 8 hours of sleep in the daytime just to recover. Sometimes I would sleep for 10 hours straight. So kamusta naman? Ano pa magagawa ko sa isang araw to have another source of income?

I thought of putting up a small diaper distribution business, since I've been reading a lot about it and my son's biggest expense, aside from milk, is on diapers. That business flourished for a few months, but I was not able to sustain it because I was not managing it personally. I was not tracking the inventory and the sales. leaving it to my son's yaya to sell and collect payments. So I decided to stop it until I could really manage it myself.

Right now, I'm back to selling diapers although to former officemates only. I have yet to go on online selling, but if you can and have the time for it, give it a go! Sell anything online! The main goal is to supplement your lone income source, if you are employed.

Aside from selling diapers on the side, I also re-write articles for some clients. I have an oDesk account and I'm starting to get invites from buyers to work for them. Also, prior to resigning I was able to get a client from filipinowriters.com who is giving me a fairly decent compensation for writing jobs.

This blog is actually a product of my efforts to have several sources of income. Unfortunately, I have yet to earn from it. I now have some page impressions but no income from it really. The only good part about this blog is I'm meeting a lot of people still, even if I'm just here at home the whole day. Three snaps for that!


2. Compare prices - I don't buy my groceries from just one store. I make the rounds of Landmark, SM Hypermart, SM grocery, Save More, Robinson's Supermartket, etc.

You will be surprised to find out that these stores vary in prices by as much as P20 pesos per item. An example is my son's milk, Lactum. Last time I checked, Landmark sells it for P505.00. SM Hypermart sells it at P515. Mercury Drug at Shangrila Edsa sells the same milk for P503.00 A small store near my former officemate's house sells Lactum in the same packaging and size asthe others, for P502. It used to be P490 until last week. So if they raised their prices, SM, Landmark and the others are soon to follow, I'm sure.

If you're living in QC, you can also try Cherry Foodarama and Circle C. I think I saw some good prices there also.


3. Buy a fuel-efficient car - We used to have a Nissan Sentra 1991 and our monthly gas consumption back them ranges from P6,500 - 7000. Tipid pa yun because I schedule our trips so we won't be running around in circles and wasting gas. When I sensed that Neggie (that's what we called the car because she was dark grey) was starting to require a lot in terms of maintenance, I made computations to find out if we could save more with a new car... and if we can afford it!

Fortunately, we found a good deal at Kia Diliman. They offered to let us trade-in our gas gustler so we only have to add a few thousand more for the downpayment of a new Kia Picanto 2008. Hence, we have had Picoy (from Picanto) since October 2008. From P6,500 monthly, our gas bill is now only P2,500. Lamyerda galore pa kami nyan ha!

Also, with the new car, we can now use E10 instead of the regular gasoline. If like me, you are trying to incorporate some earth-saving efforts into your daily routine, this is a good thing to try. You will still get to where you need to be, but with a lower gas bill and lower carbon dioxide emission.

Tips that Really Add Up

This is supposed to be a blog where mothers and homemakers like me, or just women in general, can pick-up a tip or two about saving, earning extra money or handling their finances. Unfortunately, I have been too caught up with the second activity that I am not able to post as many entries as I envisioned when I started this blog. Let me correct that now by sharing some tips that really add up.

1. Buy everything in sachets or doy packs - whenever I go grocery-shopping, I make sure to compute the price of, say shampoo, in a bottle against those in sachets. I do this by comparing the contents and dividing the price by number of milliliters that a container or sachet has.

I often find out that it is much cheaper to buy shampoo in sachets than get a bottle only to throw it after we have emptied it out. If you can find a way to re-use the bottle, then good for you.

This strategy also works for fish sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, oil and even condensed or evaporated milk. I even get my son's milk in a box instead of a can and it has cost me a lot less money for the same amount of milk or even more.

2. watch TV less often - aside from depriving Meralco of a few hundred pesos, watching less TV will actually give you more time to do things that don't really require the use of electricity. Unless it's a show you really, really have to watch, don't just sit idly by the TV. Take the time to read more, play with your kid more, spruce up the house, etc. Sometimes we are just too lazy to think of other more productive things to do, and TV provides us a fast escape.

Have you heard that Tina Maristela-Ocampo's, yes she of the famed Celestina bag made of Philippine shells, family does not own a single TV set? Yup, that's what she announced when asked about her parenting skills. She credits not having a TV for her kids' love for reading, arts and other creative endeavors. Well, look at her. Look at what she has thought of. Her bags are the rage in Hollywood.




3. Eat less - how much is your grocery bill and how much of it goes to food? Now, look at yourself and your family, are they overweight? For now, let us set aside the other factors that contribute to weight gain and just focus on food. The simple equation is if you eat more than you burn, you will gain weight.

If you are a mother like me, no matter what your current weight is, I'm sure you would want to lose some weight be it a pound or 5 pounds... or more. Here is your chance to hit two birds with one stone.

4. Eat OUT Less - or better yet don't eat out at all. Brown-bag your lunch and even your snack items. Try it for at least a week and see how much you would have saved.

Back when I was still working in the same office as my husband, we would often just have food delivered. And everytime, it would cost us somewhere between P250 to 350 for a decent meal for the two of us. Multiply that amount to at least 3 times a week. How about for a full month.

The thing is, now that I'm at home and can actually buy ingredients to cook most of our meals I am finding out that P250 is more than enough for a full day's meal for me and my husband, with still some left over for his lunch at the office... and pet food.

Dying... and leaving expenses behind.

Remember, Trinidad "Trina" Etong? The wife of Ted Failon who supposedly committed suicide because she was having financial problems.

When one dies, do their financial obligations end with them? Legally, the answer is NO. Dying is not an escape, both from obligations and expenses. The family they leave behind will be answerable for everything the dead thought they could escape from by taking their lives... or just plain dying.

In the case of Trina Etong, her husband Ted Failon would be liable for the payment of her obligations, with money coming from her estate. Not a lot of informal or personal creditors understand this, so they just choose to write-off the deceased's loans or payment obligations. Maybe it also has something to do with the Filipinos culture of empathizing with the bereaved loved ones. Good for the Etongs if that is really the case. But business creditors know the law only too well, they have lawyers to see to it that they are able to collect, dead or alive.

Anyway, the brother of my Lola died last Tuesday. Like us, his family is not well to do. I can only hope they are able to cope up with the hospital bill (he died in the hospital) and the funeral expenses. Lord knows it is costly to even just die in the Philippines. Getting a memorial plan is not a safety-net either. I got mine from Legacy Consolidated and where is my money now?

The Family that Eats Together... Saves!

Yup you read it right, "The family that eats together... saves!". Really, they do. Have you checked your electric bills lately? How much is a kilowatt per hour where you are?

My last electric bill cost me P3,200++ ($1 = P48). It is summerime here in the Philippines so a big chunk of that bill can be attributed to our constant use of electric fans and air-conditioning. But if you are counting pesos and cents like me, I'm sure you will also be wracking your brains thinking of ways to cut-back. Maybe not on fan and air-conditioner use, but on some others that you can do with out. That is what I did.

I simply cannot bear not using the fan and the air-conditioner especially during midday when it is at its hottest. I pity my 16-month old son as he drips of sweat at the slightest movement or even when just taking a nap.

Then it occured to me, we were using the microwave way too much to re-heat food. Actually, depending on the amount of food to be reheated I use either the microwave or the gas stove to heat our food. Now I'm using an American Home 800-watt microwave. So you'd probably say I'm nuts bacause the energy expended is supposed to be 800 watts per hour.

Would you reconsider your impression of me if you can monitor just how many times and minutes you use the microwave in a month? Woudn't it add up to 800 watts at some point if you continue to use it regularly?

The point is every electrical appliance we use contribute one way or the other to our electric bill. If we limit their use, wouldn't it contribute to shaving off our electric bill or enable us to enjoy our favorite appliance some more without the guilt come meter-reading time? To compensate for what we could not live without is what I'm driving at, if not to save by limiting use of electricity all together.

If families eat together when it's meal time, then we don't have to constantly re-heat whenever a family member chooses to eat at his convenient time.

Imagine the impact this would have on a typical family of four or five and each one eats on his own. You would have to re-heat at least 3 times every day. How much electricity would that eat up in a month?

Aside from the money-saving benefits, you get to limit your carbon footprint too. Carbon footprint is what is left after energy is used up. It is what causes greenhouse gases to be trapped on the earth and alter our climate. This is why we have been having torrential downpours when we are still supposed to be enjoying the heat of summer. But more on carbon footprints in my next entry.

Reviewstream.com: A Review

Are you an internet surfing addict or a work-at-home Mom constantly foraging for ways to earn online? Are you a certified Girl Talker? If you answered “Yes” to either question, then you have probably gone through the pages of www.reviewstream.com, or have at least heard about it.

I found out about Reviewstream through a fellow WAHM, and then read about it from the forums in Girl Talk. You see as early as I made the decision to quit my job and be a WAHM, I have started the quest to find online opportunities to earn from. I read forums, joined discussion groups, asked other WAHMs… everything! Hey, my family and I need to eat!

Anyway, based on the recommendation of other WAHMs, I went for it. Based on what’s written on their page, they pay as much as $2 per review and you can review anything you want just as long as you have used the product (e.g., a perfume or a certain toothpaste brand) or have availed of the service (like in a hotel or restaurant).

So filled with hope, I submitted my first product review, of this netbook that I’m using. Then I quickly followed it up with a review of the swim park we went to on my birthday. Unfortunately, I used different emails and according to their policies merging of accounts is not allowed. So technically, I have two accounts with them that need to earn $50 before I could request for payment. You think that would be fairly easy right, since 1 review = $2? So it’s just 25 reviews for each account? I thought the same thing!

I was so motivated by their email (to my two email accounts) saying that I have earned $2 for each review, that I drew up a mental list of which products I could review next. I quickly decided to review the Revlon Custom Creation foundation




and the mineral blush my mother gave to me, and the sunblock I bought for my son. And yes, I made sure to pick and use only one email account so I would reach my first $50 faster.



Here is the sad part, when I checked my email I got the shocking news. All three reviews earned only $.40 each for a total of $1.20. Now how that happened I do not know. I made the decision to review these products because there was a note on Reviewstream’s website saying people were asking for more reviews on make-up. So I thought I had the $6 in the bank, so to speak.

It appears that the $.40 is their bulk rate for reviews that they find “lacking” or not to their liking. I have no problems comprehending that. But I’m just wondering how they arrive at the decision of whether a review is acceptable or not. I made sure my reviews were meaty and extensive enough, because their website would not accept them in the first place if they were not. So unless they were expecting a chemical analysis on the composition of the make-up or the sunblock, I don’t think anyone can say more than I did.

Would it have been because of the grammar? Of course not! I did a grammar and spell-check in MS Word before I submitted my reviews. How about problems with the writing style? I don’t think it would be reasonable for them to expect “professionally” written reviews from non-writers. Besides all their site said is that you should write about your experience with the product or service, in correct English.

More than anything else, I am a professional writer / re-writer! Not professionally trained or educated as a writer but I do get paid some $2 for a 350-500 word article and to think I just started that gig about a month ago.