Author Archives: Issa

Eating In Style – At Half the Price

August 15 1:36 am ,
The Psychology of Hunger

The Psychology of Hunger

A sea of gastronomic fare set amidst gleaming cutlery, lit with chandeliers dripping from adorned ceilings, while strings serenade the night – it was a sight to behold and I tried to hold back the moan gurgling from my chest.  I look over at my husband and I know he feels the same.  I can see the same desire in his eyes.

A buffet spread in all its glory.

And we are paying for all of this gastronomic, marvelous, excellent (I could go on) – food – at half the price.

Half the price.

Oh, and did I mention, the setting is a five star hotel.

Sofitel and Shangri-la, Spiral versus Heat

Allow me to usher you to the world of the truly rich, where USD$50 dinners can be had for – yes – half the price.  But – there is a but – (and here it is again) but only if you are a member of the privileged set.

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

Time Management for Entrepreneurs

August 12 11:45 pm ,

 

Capturing Time

Capturing Time

I am overwhelmed.

The problem with having a finger in too many things is that it is a problem –you end up going around like a headless chicken, not knowing which tail is up and why, missing appointments, wanting to miss appointments, day ends up unproductive because the enormity of everything threatens to engulf you and not doing anything seems so very enticing.

Warren Buffett said: “We enjoy the process much more than the proceeds.”

But he is Warren Buffett, and he has a team of lawyers, tax planners, financial advisers, accountants and analysts, not to mention secretaries and people who will do anything for him, at his beck and call.  He is not a one man like team like you and me – starting entrepreneurs that we are.  Pending a Warren Buffett status, we have got to get a hold of ourselves, and time.

After all, they say, time is all in the mind.  It can contract and expand at the turn of the mental dial.  Now, how to find that mental dial…

Enter time management.

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Posted in: The Basics of Finance , Tagged: , , ,

Remembering How the Philippine Economy Was In Year 2007

August 7 12:38 am ,
To Remember is to Learn

To Remember is to Learn

When in November 2007 a tank pummeled down the gilded glass doors of the Manila Peninsula Hotel at the main business district of Makati City in Manila, Philippines, heads began to shake. The country had been experiencing a re-emergence, a resurgence of some sorts, economically. Filipinos had begun to cling to threads, albeit thin, of hope – that the country may finally be shaking the vestiges of its zest for change and choose one unbending path as a nation.

But then another madman decided he wanted to hold the reins of the country. The government had to show that it was in control, hence, the tank. It took all of six hours before he was crushed, but in his wake came threats of another martial rule marked by the imposition of a curfew and the suppression of press freedom. Filipinos waited with bated breath for a crash.

After all, thus was the fate of the Philippine economy – it stumbles at the onslaught of both the familiar and the unfamiliar, teeters at the brink of a dark night.

And the Philippines was just starting to get it right.

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Posted in: The Beginning, The Philippines

Remembering President Cory Aquino

August 3 2:28 pm ,
Remembering Cory

Remembering Cory

At around 3am on August 1, 2009, D and I were woken by a sound.  We did not know what it was, I thought it was an earthquake but the walls were not shaking, D thought it was just the sound of a door slamming. We slept, perplexed.  Something had bothered the peace of the night.

In the morning, I knew why.  An angel took in her last breath and ceased to be.

President Cory Aquino had succumbed to the colon cancer that she had battled for several months.

I remember

The year was 1983.  I was barely out of my childhood.  The television was on and I saw my mother burst into tears.  Ninoy Aquino’s bloodied body had just hit the tarmac.  He came amidst the flurry of yellow ribbons (I barely understood the symbolism), against the advice to him that it would cost him his life.  It was a much anticipated return, the return of a hero, who was imprisoned and exiled through the machinations of Marcos.

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Posted in: The Philippines

2004: The Philippines on the Verge of a Collapse

August 2 9:51 am ,
To Fly The Flag

To Fly The Flag

The Philippines stands on the precipice of an unraveling. Experts from the University of the Philippines School of Economics confirm a dire warning earlier issued by the chief of the London-based Standard Chartered Bank – the Philippines is going by the way of Argentina, that is, it is a ticking time bomb, precipitating towards an economic collapse.

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Posted in: The Philippines

Wealth and Health

August 1 12:46 am ,
Getting There

Getting There

I was immortal until I filled out a life insurance policy application and received the results of my laboratory test.  I was “rated”.  It meant I was “substandard”.  I was not sure I liked the sound of that.

SUBSTANDARD – below average insurability.  Acceptable but on modified basis or at increased premium rates. Certain hazardous occupations, physical impairments, unfavorable conditions or personal and family history may cause higher rates of death or higher mortality than normal and will necessitate acceptance of any applicant only on modified basis or at an increased rate.  These cases are normally referred to as substandard risks.

I was floored by this realization.  I need to pay a higher premium and I could die.

I tried to find out what my laboratory tests meant.  But several additional tests and doctors and google could not satisfactorily explain what an elevated reading of an enzyme meant or what causes it or what will happen to me.  Head hung low, I paid up.  At least I was insurable.  There was no other way to go but face the truth and try to be healthy.  And hopefully reverse my “rating”.

Because what will I do with all my wealth when I could not live long enough to enjoy it.

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Posted in: The Beginning

Shopping and Hunger

July 28 11:02 pm ,
Feed Your Hunger

Feed Your Hunger

I am not a shopper-shopper.  For some reason, having a million bags strung over my arm (or D’s) or spending precious hours trying on dresses after dresses or shoes after shoes do not appeal to me (D, please do not shake your head – yet).  Unless I am hungry.

There was a time before our financial planner (the dark ages), before reason reigned supreme.  One of his earlier lessons was some words of caution: “Do not go to the mall when you are hungry.” Huh?

He explains: the hunger gives off an emptiness sign to the psyche and the psyche goes haywire and the emptiness needs to be filled – instantly.  This is transmitted to the brain, and since the main activity at hand is shopping, the mind fools itself into thinking that the hunger will be satiated by buying.  It is correct, to some degree; the buying will stave off the hunger.  But the relief is merely temporary. After all, the stomach is still hungry, and the hormone ghrelin is still running out of control in the bloodstream.

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Posted in: The Basics of Finance , Tagged: , , ,

Why You Need Insurance, Insurance Agents and Insurance Companies

July 26 1:55 am ,
Getting to the Core

Getting to the Core

I had my first life insurance policy when I was 21.  I did not think I needed it, death was furthest from my mind at that time.

But everyone was getting one (at the office, at least) and so I did too.  The bi-monthly deductions hurt (though it did not even reach the one million mark) so it was kind of a hard decision to make.  But after courting me day after day, making sure I get the medical exam and pass it, after we did the dance of joy (I signed up), I never saw that insurance agent again.  I left the job and forgot the insurance and never knew what became of it.  I did not know I had options – take the cash surrender value, buy an extended term insurance or a reduced paid-up insurance or even reinstate within a three (3) year period.  I did not do anything because the agent did not take the time, nor cared, to explain my options to me.

And so I look at insurance agents with skepticism.  One call, one meeting, and I would find an excuse not to see them again or sign up.  It went like this for several years.  I did not know I was making unavailable to myself the most basic step in establishing financial freedom – protection.

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Posted in: Insurance , Tagged: , , , , ,