Author Archives: Issa

To Eat Out (Or Not)

August 6 11:52 pm ,

Fine Dining

A relative does not like eating out, even on important occasions.

You can actually feel his displeasure when we insist (except when it is the Sofitel buffet, which he loves).  This is because he thinks eating out is a waste of money.  This view is okay (and maybe true), except that he strongly suggests to everyone (read: bullies everyone) not to eat out (when it is not his money that will be spent).  And for special occasions (like Christmas or Thanksgiving), he wants the cooks in the family to do all the cooking (my husband outshines me in this regard so, no, I am not included in “cooks”).  That does not sit well some of the time with some of the members of the family, the ones who slave it out in the kitchen (who pay for the grocery too – a double whammy?).

But I know he means well.

Now, my husband and I look for every excuse to eat out.  For the past years, the lines between special and not-so-special occasions (or without any occasion) have been blurred for us. Name a restaurant, if it is good (and not so unreasonably expensive), we have probably eaten there (I partly blame food blogs, which I love to read).

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

Move Your Cheese

August 1 9:31 pm ,

Be Uncomfortable

“When I enrolled in Maven Secrets, I did not know what I was getting into. I only thought I would learn about blogging, get to know the man behind all those amazing features in Our Awesome Planet and, yes, dabble a little bit in internet marketing. I did not know that it will lead to my re-examination of my life, that it will change my life, transfer me from the confines of my glass penthouse to vibrant, more exciting possibilities. Let this serve as a warning and a warm welcome to those who will follow this unbeaten path.”

The above was my testimony for MavenSecrets when I attended its pilot class more than a year ago.  But its echoes reverberate to the life I know today.

MavenSecrets is an internet marketing program.  But it was also a way out – because like what it did to Anton Diaz, its founder (and to my other classmates), it strengthened my desire to leave the rat race and go after things that I am passionate about – like family and doing the things I could not find the time to do, the more important things that give life its flesh and its color.

Through having multiple passive income streams.

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Posted in: Financial Education, Life Stories, Mentors, Wealth Attraction , Tagged: , , , , , ,

A Garage Sale, Some Realizations

July 28 11:44 pm ,

Giving, Sharing

I will make an unusual statement: in some countries, it is easier to give.

First, a backgrounder.

In the US, we held some garage sales.  It is easy.  You just gather the things you do not use out of the closet (or the garage), put a price to it, set it up at your garage (or yard, for a yard sale) announce it over the internet or advertise in some local newspaper (for free), show up on the day with some loose change, preferably psyched up to deal with penny pinchers (who want your memorabilia for a song) and wait.  At the end of the day, you will have earned some cash, freed a part of your garage (or closet), and found homes for the stuff you would not miss anyway.

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Posted in: Financial Education, Life Stories, Wealth Attraction , Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Baby Economics

July 22 5:19 pm ,

The Sweetest Thing

I always knew that I will be having 2 children.  But child number 2 took a long time in coming. Nine years in fact.

I do not know why we waited but economics figured prominently in our decision to postpone having a second child.  How much does a child cost? More than ten million pesos or some USD$266,698.  That figure is daunting.  Add to this the fact that our financial planner is saying that we have to have an obscene amount for the college funds of child number 1.  Consider too that Filipino children stay in the coop for much much longer (say, forever).  Thus, for a long while, child number 2 seemed a distant possibility.

But then, every time I looked at babies, I looked at them wistfully and felt the pang of wistful.

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

Prelude to a Garage Sale

July 9 5:30 pm ,

Snapshot of A Life

It is amazing how much people accumulate for half a lifetime.

Take us, for example.  We have moved from house to house no fewer than 5 times (once, overseas).  And there were things and possessions that already got left behind – pictures (of friends, old boyfriends – on second thought…), documents that were once deemed important (thesis), favorite clothes (where’s that bridesmaid’s gown? Or my Victoria Secret lingerie that were wedding presents?), favorite jewelry (mom used to have dangling earring made of rhinestones that I loved looking at but maybe it is fake – where did it go?) that sometimes it pains me to think of what had become of them.  And yet, looking at the cavernous heap that I have to sort through now, I am certain that I am left with a whole lot more than I can deal with (or want).

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Posted in: Life Stories, Wealth Attraction , Tagged:

East versus West: Alternative Medicine

July 5 10:42 pm ,

Ancient and Mystic

Who will not look at other avenues for cure?

We did.  And he came heavily recommended.   One touch at the pulse, one look at the throat and the extended tongue, and he will know what is wrong with you.  At least that was what we were told.

He was Dr. Tan Ci Shou and he practiced traditional Chinese medicine.  A healer (there are many accounts from friends and strangers that make him sound larger than life).

I have no knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine.  Or what I think I know, I learned from some Chinese movie (or is it from a Korean tele-series?) and novels (Amy Tan?).  But it is fascinating and enchanting and carries more charm than the synthetic (non-natural and expensive) medicine of the west.

And okay, we were something short of desperate – as the pronouncement from our three doctors did not sound very promising.

So one Sunday afternoon, we meandered along the streets of Binondo to Fu Yong Mansion, Ongpin corner Teodora Alonso Street.  It was there that we found him, at a nondescript, decaying building, two fu dogs guarding the entrance.  We were excited to meet our alternative (also scared).

He was wearing white and sat at the corner of a box-shaped room, flanked by a female assistant and 5 other people.  We sat and waited for our turn (hand on the camera – I originally wanted to document the experience but did not because I got shy).  I imagined how this office must look like on a regular day (not on a Sunday at 4pm), when a line would snake out from the room, down the stairs and onto the hot, busy street, everyone sharing their stories (or not), while waiting for their 5 minutes with Dr. Tan.

Because really, that is all it takes.

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

Win A Day of Pampering

June 21 9:39 pm ,

Some Roads Lead to Bliss

As I promised in an earlier post, a reader of YouWanttoBeRich will win something during YTBR’s anniversary month.

That something is a day of pampering.

I confess.  Ever since I was old enough to get a manicure and a pedicure, or go to the spa, that would be one of the highlights of my day, week, month.  That it reinvigorates and makes a whole new you – those “promises” are true.  Well, okay, at least for me.  Even veteran actor Dolphy is said to get a massage everyday and that is one of the secrets of his longevity.

What’s not to love?  Even babies seek human touch and thrive because of it.  When I stroke hubby’s hair or rub his back, or give my daughter a foot spa (which I have not done in ages – sorry my baby), they keel over and let the sensations take over.

Answer these questions in the COMMENTS section of this page so you can win some pampering treats: What is your favorite article in YouWantToBeRich and why.

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Posted in: Contests , Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Getting Additional Health Insurance

June 20 9:57 pm ,

Too Much?

When is enough, enough?

We have medical insurance.  Of course, we have medical insurance. But it was your run-of-the-mill type with a per person limit of up to $2,000 in one year.  A lot of people do not even make a dent in that amount because they never get sick.  Well, for the years that we have had it, we usually use up (if any) only $400 annually – some for check-ups, others for laboratory tests and procedures (blood tests, colonoscopy) and annual medical exams, some for our daughter’s hospitalization (twice these five years) – an amount that is more or less equivalent to what we have paid for it.  But this year was different.  Hubby has about depleted all of it with all of the tests he had to undergo for his heart.

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Posted in: Financial Planning, Health, Insurance , Tagged: , , , , ,