Monthly Archives: December 2009

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What Gifts Did You Receive?

December 31 1:08 pm ,

 

Be-Ribboned

“What?  You will not give each other any gifts for Christmas?!!!”

I had to laugh at the incredulous look on my sister-in-law’s face as I shook my head from side to side.  She could not imagine that we would want no surprises or take no surreptitious trips to the market to find that certain something that would delight a lover.

We have taken the same route with my daughter, who chose her Monopoly game board (discounted), Here and Now Edition (electronic banking instead of paper money!), with care, over a coveted Baby Alive (she thought it was too expensive – I am so proud of her).  We bought it and wrapped it together and I do not think her excitement waned or was lessened because she still waited for “the day” until she could play with it and play with us (she lost during our first game and wanted to cry but won during the second and got her confidence back – we do not believe in letting her win just because she is a kid).

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Posted in: Children's Stories , Tagged: , , , ,

How to Make 2010 Prosperous

December 30 9:18 am ,

Bloom

Thoughts of the New Year conjure with it many bright lights in colorful splendor, dazzling the night, signaling new life, new hope, a new beginning.  It is family, treats, and loud, raucous laughter.  And thoughts of abundance, great abundance, to come.

Here are some words from the experts on how to set up your financial goals and clean up your financial house:

Turn Desires to Gold

At the beginning of Bob Proctor’s program Six Minutes to Success, he discusses about the six ways in Napoleon Hill’s book Think and Grow Rich of how to turn mere desires into realities.

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Posted in: Financial Education , Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Who Makes Your Decisions For You?

December 28 2:21 pm ,

Saving Fish From Drowning

Saving Fish From Drowning

Some of my choices were made for me.

Some times, I am thankful.  Other times, I struggle with feelings of resentment.  The unwavering, hovering influence, decision-maker-cum-ones-who-always-want-to-have-the-last-words-in: the parents, a lover, relatives, friends.

All good meaning.  All who think they are better, that they know better.

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Posted in: Life Stories , Tagged: , , , ,

The Power of Belief

December 27 11:54 am ,
Illimitable

Illimitable

“You have the makings of an outstanding student.”

We were in highschool and sitting in the girls’ quadrangle talking about everything and nothing, and my bestfriend, the smartest in the batch, blurted out those words out of the blue.  I looked into her eyes and saw only sincerity.

I furrowed my brows and wondered way into the night about those words.  She believed.

A thought: maybe I could believe too.

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Posted in: Life Stories , Tagged:

Your Money Blueprint

December 22 1:04 pm ,
Planting Season

Planting Season

Who was it that promised – give me five minutes with a man and I can tell you if he is broke or not.

T. Harv Eker, author of Secrets of the Millionaire Mind.

Oddly, I find myself thinking the exact same thing.

What comes out of the mouth of people usually would give you a hint of how they are doing financially.  Yes, the Rolex, the expensive suit and the expensive cars only serve as smokes and mirrors – illusions that should not matter because it can be bought at credit (and at terrible cost).  It is the words that a person spews that could give you a window to his financial soul – past, present, future.

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Posted in: Financial Education , Tagged: , ,

Why You Need to Track Your Expenses

December 15 2:38 pm ,

Money Matters
Money Matters

I never used to until our financial planner told us we have to.

It was not an easy exercise.  There is that little notebook that you need to haul with you everywhere.  And you have to be on your guard everytime – I know I still have a dollar here, where did it go?  And there’s the hubby that you have to nag to please write every little expense when you know he will not because he does not want to.

He still does not want to.

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Posted in: Financial Education , Tagged: , , , ,

Travel: Amorita of Bohol

December 6 4:54 pm ,

 

To Travel the World

To Travel the World

I like hotels.

I like them so much – and traveling! – that we bought our own timeshare.  But like I said in my MoneySmarts guest post:

It gives birth to other expenses – yearly maintenance fees (which went up from P2,500 to P4,000 in the blink of an eye), RCI fees (S$150 annually –in Singapore dollars, but with the current exchange rate, it might as well be in US dollars), booking fees that could range from P2,500 (Asia) to almost P10,000 (outside of Asia). It does not include airfare, or the cost of food. The RCI hotels, although three or four stars, are almost always in the outskirts of the city – that means it is 30 minutes away from where the action is. With the cab fares we are paying, we could have had a decent room at a city hotel with dancing lights, Prada and great food at our doorstep.

But it is not all bad, as we have found out in our two years of owning one.

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Posted in: The Philippines, Travel , Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Going Green – from Generation to Generation

December 3 9:36 pm ,
Loving Mother Nature

Loving Mother Nature

I remember a time long ago when “going green” was not yet the “in” thing but just “the right thing to do”.

Circa 1980’s.

We would wait patiently by the side of the road in front of our house for a faint cry: Dyaryoooo! Boteeee! (newspaaaaaaper, booooottles) And when we hear it, we would rush to our house, get all the old newspapers, put them in a stack, get our hands on old glass and plastic bottles – of fish sauce, vinegar, shampoo, softdrinks – and wait for a vision of an old scruffy man pushing a kariton (pushcart).  He would waive to us and soon as he is “parked”, we would help him haul the newspapers to his weighing scale.  He would then count the bottles, do some math in his head, give us some money (a few cents, some paper) and he would go his merry way.  We would waive to mom (asking her for permission but vaguely so she could not say no) and go our merry way too – to the store where we would buy candies and ice-cold soda with the bounty.  Such was the life.

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Posted in: Children's Stories, Life Stories , Tagged: , , ,