Why We Do Not Buy/Invest Condo/House & Lot in Philippines For Our Own ?

Eh bakit nga ba?

2007 pa lang, I am on a hunt to buy a piece of property. Nag-scout ako ng bahay at lupa and condo, kaya masasabi ko na medyo exposed na ako to this kind of matters.

On viewing day of a certain condo sa may Taguig area. Tinanong ko yung ahente. "Paano kung nasunog, lumindol, or kung ano pa man ang mangyari at bumagsak ang building. Paano yung property? Itatayo nyo ba ulit?" She answered me back with a shocking truth about condominiums. "Nope. Ibebenta ang lupa at paghahati-hatian ng mga owners and pinagbentahan." Ang swerte mo na nun kung mag-breakeven kayo sa pagkakabili mo ng condo + association fees + yung pagkakabili mo sa kakarampot na space for garahe ng sasakyan mo + obligatory insurance + real property tax ng unit mo at common area. Oo, isama mo na ang halos kulang na Php25,000 sa installation ng Meralco and Maynilad. Meron pa! Ang transfer of title (arghhh). So from that day, nawala na sa vocabulary ko ang salitang "condo".

At isa pang tumanim sa utak ko na sinabi ng nanay ko ay "Ma, lupa. Lupa ang bilhin mo." Kaya nag-hello ako sa idea na House & Lot. Tama House and Lot. Hindi lot lang. Bakit kamo? May mga kakilala/kaibigan ako na napasubo sa mahal ng gastos nila sa pagpapatayo ng sarili nilang bahay at binalasubas pa sila ng architect and contractor nila. Andyan crack agad ang sahig at dingding, tumutulo agad ang mga pipes, at iba, after matayo yung pundasyon, iniwan na lang ng contractor. May sahig, may bubong, may dingding pero walang finishing. Kaya talaga yung iba, mababaon sa utang mapatapos lang ang "dream house" nila. Pero hindi sumagi sa isip nila na yung dream house nila ang magbibigay ng bangungot sa kanila sa walang hanggang pagbabayad ng mga nautang nilang pang-pondo.

Ngayon na alam ko na matagal na gusto ko ay bahay at lupa. Bakit di pa nga ba ako nakakabili? Ang totoo nyan...wala pa kaming budget na mag-asawa para dyan. Pero do not get me wrong. Naka-pagscout na kami and nakita na namin ang gusto naming bahay. Alam na namin ang presyo and based sa computation namin sayang ang pera. Haha.

Bakit sayang eh para sa amin naman yun? Kasi pag binili namin yun, wala na kaming pang-fund sa mga investments namin. Ayaw namin na nakatira nga kami dun sa pangarap namin na bahay pero kailangan namin magtrabaho ng 20 years just to pay it off. Ayaw nmin matulad sa iba na nung nawalan na ng trabaho eh nahinto na sa pagbabayad ng bahay..ayun na-remata ng bangko ang bahay at lupa na tanging pinag-ukulan nila ng pagod.

As of now, we are focusing on our cashcows. Investments that will work for us to fund our dream home.

Para makatulong sa inyo makapag-decide kung kaya nyo na ba bumili ng property ngayon, tanungin nyo ang sarili nyo ng ganito:
   --> Sa bahay/condo ba na gusto ko ay may ipon na ako worth 30% ng ng kabuang value property, Bakit 30% ito ay sasagot sa downpayment at may pang-buffer pa kayo kung may singilin man sa inyo na miscellaneous cost.
   --> Yung monthly na hulog ninyo ay hindi lalampas sa 30% na take-home pay po. Bakit? Di pwede na halos buong sahod mo ay pangbayad mo lang buwan-buwan. Paano ang pangkain mo? Pambayad sa bills at pamasahe mo papunta sa opsina? Sige nga?
   --> Kaya mo ba magbayad kahit mawalan ka ng trabaho bukas?(Huwag naman sana) Paano kapag nangyari yun? Bebenta mo ng palugi?

Mag-isip mabuti tayo mga kababayan kung kaya na ba bumili ng condominium/house & lot. Ito ba totong maging "dream come true" sa inyo or magbabaon sa inyo sa utang.

How To Teach an 8 Year-Old to Save Money

I want my nephews and niece to learn the value of money. And on their age of 7 to 8 eh mas madaling tamnan ang utak nila sa mga ganitong financial education. 

Hindi ko naman sila pwedeng turuan agad mag-stocks and i-discuss sa kanila kung sila ba ay for long term investors or for traders. The best I can teach them as of now is how to save.

Para ganahan ang mga bata na mag-ipon, I challenged them na kung sino ang pinakamadaming ipon ay tatapatan ko ang amount. So it means na mado-doble ang pera nila. 

So when my husband and I arrived Manila last June, handang-handa na ang alikansya nila. And they are bugging from morning until we are having dinner. Their alikansya, made from woods and bamboo, are always in front of my face. Haha. So after dinner, we open one-by-one. 

First we open Hannah's wooden house. It only costs Php140, Baste have Php837, and Sam saved Php782. Close fight within the two boys. When they saw how little Hannah saved, Baste and Sam cites why she have a meager amount. Hannah showed a sad face and I decided to double all the amount of their savings. I declared Baste won the challenge. 

Habang nanonood ako ng tv, Baste came to me and asked me a question that shocked and made me laugh. 

Baste: Tita Wil kelan ka ulit babalik?

Me: Next year. Why? 

Baste: Kelan mo ulit dodoblehin alikansya namin?

Me: Why?

Baste: Kasi ung binigay mo po na pera ngayon isasama ko sa ipon ko para pag balik mo dodoblehin mo ulit pera ko.

Me: Ate Sol yung anak mo balak ako lutuin sa sarili kong mantika. Haha!

Children loves to compete and loves to receive rewards. Try this to your child and their cousins. :) It's fun. 

Holler "BUY-BUY!" to Great Singapore Sale 2014!

Great Singapore Sale or widely known as GSS is a yearly event. This is waited not just by Singaporeans but also all races in or out of the city state. Now 2014, it started last 30th of May and stretched until 27th of July. 

As always, I am excited for this. Why? Here I can shop guilt-free. Almost all of the boutiques raising their red "SALE" flag and dropping the prices for almost 80% off. Imagine that? Big savings right? 

I shop not only to refill my stocks of toiletries but also I do it to check-off the list for my holiday gifts. My husband and I are Filipino-expat, in this time we also buy some things that we can send to our relatives back in the Philippines.

Oh, do you know that some of the commodities in on-line shops were came from this great great sale? 

What are you waiting for? Fly in to Singapore and indulge in this event. :)

Are You Really Saving in Buying Coupons/Vouchers?

I will confess that I am voucher-dependent. Yes, I really saved a lot from purchasing those than paying the actual price. To tell you frankly, I subscribed to almost all of it from Groupon, Alldeals, Deals.com.sg and the list goes on. If you are following my facebook account and our couple's blog you can see from there the activities, salon, out of the country tours, and spa services we availed. 

If I am saving a lot from it, I also saw some of friends, colleagues and even acquaintances wasting money and their precious time in this platfrorm.

I cannot say that I am an expert but here are the tips that maybe can help you how to really saved money in buying those coupons. 

1. Ask your self first. Do you really need that item? When is your last manicure/pedicure/hair cut/hair color? Does your stress exceeds your limits that your muscles shouting for some massage? Is that buffet a good excuse to skip your diet?

Ask those questions and believe in your intution. The voice within will tell you that "Hey! You better not buy that."

2. Check the reputation of the merchant. This is a must! In getting some services and products we always wanted it to be a good one right? So ask from people who already availed it or read some blogs/reviews. 

3. Really? You are buying gadgets there? Why not at the IT show? Great discounts and more freebies.

4. Take a good look on these. Some deals are valid only to some group of people. Look on the list below.

a. Valid for first time customers only. 

b. Valid for male/female only.

c. They have specific IC holder that they want to serve.

d. Does your age qualify?

5. Going for a hair cut/color/perm/straightening? Is there any length limitation? Is the chemical they will be using okay with you? 

Massage? Is that the kind of massage you want them to do on your body? Any additional

payment if you will use their amenities?

6. Holiday trips! Yahoo! Check if the taxes, breakfast or even flights are included or not.

7. Of course, this is a great marketing strategy for all the merchants. Learn to say "No" if they present  some bundles of products and services. 

All you need is read, read and re-read all the terms and conditions. 

Oh, as I told you before, I am coupon enthusiast and above are the tips for you not to commit some of the mistakes I had gone with.

Below are the sites I really trusted and offers a great merchants for their deals. Happy shopping!

Deal.Com.Sg

Groupon Singapore 

Why I Bid Goodbye in Purchasing Belle de Jour Power Planner or Acquiring a Free Starbucks Planner

I am a great great fan of planners ever since I set my foot in the corporate world. From that time my boss gave me a Guess planner, I am really hooked up to the help it gave me for my day-to-day life.

Am I addicted to always have this kind of notebook? Yes! I feel so incomplete if I do not have a planner. I can't live without it but mid-year of 2013, I decided to shake off that feeling of emptiness and left my 2013 BDJ planner at home.  

Here are the reasons why I do not buy any planners from now on:
1. I realized that the Starbucks or coffee cafe free planner really costs me a lot of money, yes it is free but for me who is not fan of their coffees, it will take me about a thousand pesos to have that for free.

2. BDJ Planners is a very cute planner and a lot of vouchers inside. I saw the 2013 issue and I am really disappointed. Dati sa Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and Ace Water Spa bawi mo na yung almost Php600.00 mo. Ngayon, di na ganun kaganda and valuable ang mga vouchers inside. 

3. Planners are so heavy inside my bag, taking it out made a big difference on the weight. Now, I just use the S Note for my doodles or save the links I need to remember in my phone.

4. The ultimate "why" I bid goodbye ay, now that I am already married, its my duty to let my husband know my schedules and vise versa. So instead to buy a pocket planner for him, I went back to my college days where I do not have money to buy those planner and yet need to have an organise myself to finish all my projects before the target date.
From June 2013, we use my own version of calendar. I usually use recycled paper  then use excel to create a table. No fuss, just spend for a small amount of ink in the printer and tadahhhhh! Two persons, in one piece of paper, can see all the events. We can give way to each other and not compromise any schedules.

Maybe this will help the couples out there. 

Oh, this is just above our light switch so we can see all the must-to-do before facing a new day!. :)