Financially-Happily Ever After

Madaming tao nagtatanong sa akin ano ang tingin ko sa kanilang mga problema sa puso. Hindi as sakit ha kundi relasyon sa knilang mga boyfriend/girlfriend o mga asawa. Nuon ganun lang. Ngayon dahil malamang lahat ng kakilala ko ay may mga asawa na, hindi maiiwasan na tanungin din nila ako ng mga usapin tungkol sa budgeting nmin mag-asawa. 

Nung nag-share ako ng pasasalamat sa Financial Group 2nd Anniversary year-end party, yung iba nagulat nung sinabi ko na kanya-kanya kaming hawak ng pera ni Abbey. Hindi na yun bago sa mga talagang malalapit sa amin. Pero syempre yung mga kakakilala pa lang eh bukod sa gulat eh madami din tanong. Tulad ng... 
1. Paano mo malalaman kung sobra na ang pinapadala ng asawa mo sa pamilya nya
2. Paano mo malalaman kung anu-ano pinagkakagastusan ni mister. 
3. Baka mamaya may kalaguyo na yan. Ikaw din. 
4. Sino ang nagiipon para sa future ninyo? 
At kung anu-ano pa. 

But for me financially-happily ever after evolves in different values of human. Basahin mo ung mga susunod at magkaron ka ng check-list. 

TRUST
I trust Abbey's decisions how to spend his hard earned money. My father even told me way back before "Ang asawa mo nagiisip bago gumastos."  He even have an app to monitor his monthly expenses. 

"Nakapagpadala na tayo para kila papa.", monthly yan na maririnig ko sa asawa ko. Pag hindi nya nabanggit for 1st week ako na magtatanong kung naitransfer na nya na ba ung para sa kanila.Sa side ko? He knew it all. We only have one account in remittance center and it was named after him. So, every month when I am giving money for my dad and mom's monthly allowance he is always asking "Hindi mo dadagdagan?". 

Diba? Sarap ng mga ganyan klaseng tanungan? Kaysa sa "Nagbigay ka na naman sa pamilya mong batugan!". Haha! 

HONESTY
Maging tapat sa isa't-isa kung magkano ang pumapasok at magkano ang lumalabas. In that way, you and your spouse can both adjust. Baka kasi yung partner mo buong katawan at utak ay pagod na pagod na kakatrabaho para kumita ng pera, ikaw naman bili dun at kain dito ang inaatupag para lang may ma-ipost sa facebook. 

Alam ni Abbey ang sahod ko at ganun din ako sa sahod nya. Pero we do not get the habit na i-check ng i-check ang mga bank accounts ng isa't-isa. We know each other's passwords pero dahil nga walang dahilan para magsinungaling eh it is only a waste of time to see if the amount debited and payslip is totally the same. 

Na-save na ang oras ninyo wala ka pang sakit sa damdamin kakahinala. 

COMMUNICATION
Usap-usap din pag may time. Mali! Dapat laging magusap. 

Baka naman kaya hindi maaayos-ayos ang buhay ninyo kasi ayaw nyo upuan. Baka naman bubuka pa lang ang bibig ni mister para pagusapan ang gastusin eh nakasinghal ka na kaagad. 

Naalala ko ung housemate ng kaibigan ko dito sa Singapore nung tinanong niya ako about sa telenovela kung ano na ang nangyari. Sabi ko pasensya na di ako nanood ng mga drama. Ang point ko lang, imbes na ubusin niyo ang oras niyo pakikipagtitigan sa tv eh bakit hindi kayo mag-usap mag-asawa? At sana kapag mag-usap kayo eh magpakumbaba kung may mali man kayo at yung may tama naman ay wag maninigaw. 

Gawin nating lahat ng may pagmamahal. Alalahanin ninyo asawa ninyo ang kausap nyo hindi ninyo treasurer or sekretarya. 

HIYA
Mukha akong magastos pero kung kilala nyo ako eh sasabihin ninyo na "tsani" ako. Tulad ni Abbey bago ako bumili eh nagiisip ako ng madaming beses kung kailangan ko ba ang bagay na yun. Kung matipid ka hindi lang sa salita kundi sa gawa eh mahihiya ang partner mo na gumastos sa walang katuturan. 

Walanghiya din ako alam nyo ba yun? Si Abbey bago nagkaroon ng iPad/iMac madami akong tanong kung bakit nya kailangan. Makalipas ang 3 buwan pumayag ako at maraming kundisyon. Kailangan nya ma-100% ang exam nya at kailangan ay sa IT show namin bilhin para kung hindi man discounted eh madaming makuha na freebies. 

COMPATIBILITY
I am so blessed to have a husband which complements my goals in life. I am so blessed that I have my own cheerleader. Every time I lay a plan, he never tells a "no". He always tell na "I think this would be better."  

We both believe in investing and aiming for an early retirement. We are in the same page when it comes helping people in need and we learned to harden our heart when lazy people are asking for funds. Ayaw namin sana maging dahilan ng pag-aawayan ay pera. 

Dati tuwing magkukuwento ako gaano ako kaswerte sa asawa ko kasi mag-apat na taon na kami kasal eh wala pa talagang away na nagaganap sa amin; ngayon na-realize ko na may away na pala. Tinawagan ko siya sa trabaho nun at nanggigigil ko syang tinanong, "Nag-withdraw ako kanina, lumaki yung balance ng account ko. Dinagdagan mo na naman pera ko 'no?". 

Ang asawa ko nasa kabilang linya. Tumatawa. Ang cute-cute ko daw. Haha! 

We are both thankful to our parents who set good financial values in us. Kung nagkulang ang nanay at tatay mo sa pangangaral sayo about sa money management eh di pa huli ang lahat para matuto. 

Mas maigi ang magtanong kesa magmarunong. Kaya sana bago magpakasal eh mapag-usapan ninyo ang mga bagay na pinansyal. Makikita mo dun kung magiging asset ba ang magiging asawa mo or liability, magiging cheerleader mo ba sya o greatest critic, magiging masaya ka ba pagtapos ng kasal o kinabukasan pagtapos ninyong mag-"I DO" ay baon ka na sa utang. 

Isip-isip...

Tandaan, ang isa sa kadalasang dahilan ng paghihiwalay ng mga mag-aasawa eh pera. 

2014: On HIS Grace

Me: Why is your face like that?
Colleague: Because I am sad.
Me: Why are you sad?
Colleague: You know, sometimes you will wake up and feel unhappy.
Me: Why?
Colleague: Don't tell me it didn't happened to you before.
Me: It happens to me. But not a lot. And whenever it occurs, I asked my husband to sing. Oh! I'll call my husband, I will ask him to sing for you.

Then she smiled. And every time I see her she always tells me that she's happy and no need to call my hubby. Haha.

*******

This 2014 many hurdles were set on our way. We were tested financially, emotionally and our trust to ALMIGHTY.

Some were the events that can break me and my husband but we chose to cling more to each other and jumped together these hurdles.

--> This year my mother-in-law won her battle with cancer. No more pain, she's in the hands of the LORD.

You can see how wrecked he is inside. He still hopes for her to heal but all the medical facts shows the opposite. "Do you have any regrets that's why you can't let her go", I asked Abbey. He replied back "No". Then after that he woke up from reality that we need to accept the fact about Mama's case. Abbey flew back and forth to Manila to spend more time with Mama. We Skype-d, call and sms Mama everyday. We want her to feel how much we love her. We always asked her "Mama love mo kami? Hanggang saan? Proud ka ba sa amin?" She will answer back with a snobbish tone. Malamanng nakukulitan na yun sa amin. Haha! 

My mother-in-law proved how easy to deal with this infamous disease if you all give all your worries to HIM.

--> My father hit by a mild stroke and this made our family bond stronger. Every family member had done their part. My sister and Kuya Laleng gave their time to be with father while he is on ICU and Kuya Ric took care of the medical bill through the help of Philhealth. Me? I flew back home to clean my dad's 4-storey house. Haha! Mission accomplished.

--> ALMIGHTY's grace shone on us again when the lymphoma of my sister-in-law was detected in an early stage. HE again proved that HE owns the richness in this world. From first session up to the eighth, Ate Rizbeth's chemotherapy was finished. THE ALMIGHTY provided it with no hesitation.

Blessings poured to Ate Riz. From siblings, relatives, churchmates, friends, government organizations and even private companies helped financially. "Kahit kailan ang DIOS ko ay hindi nagkulang". 

Despite of her condition, Abbey and I got a good chance to spend with Ate Rizbeth and her family here in Singapore not only once but twice!!! :)

--> My grandmother passed away. I am happy. All sufferings were done and she left wonderful memories for me to reminisce.

The day that I went to visit her and she asked if she can have my earrings. When I handed the pair of gold to her she eyed for my ring. I refused to give it to her. Why? "Lola, wedding ring po namin ito ni Abbey." She looked to my husband and gave a hilarious laugh. Haha! Everytime I phoned Lola, she always say a simple "Salamat sa lahat. Buti ka pa di mo ako nalilimutan". (Shocks I wanna cry).

I do not regret anything as I know I have done and gave the best I could as her granddaughter. And I know she is proud of me and my husband.

Happiness is a choice as also your sadness. You can't totally avoid problems to come your way but you can choose the problem to be a blessing rather an obstacle.

Everything happens for a reason and I hope this post help you to see more light than darkness in every challenge we encountered.

Choose to be happy. 

Kiyosaki's Cash Flow : The Missing Sector

A lot of people know the famous cash flow quadrant illustrated and made popular by Robert Kiyosaki. But if you do not know what is the meaning of the diagram above I will explain to you in the most simple way I can do.

Let’s start with the left side of the quadrant.. The Poor Side

E = Employee
We were trained in our schools to be a good employee. Am I right? I know I am right. Parents always tell their children to go to school, get high grades and you will land in a good job with high pay. I do not despise being an employee. I am also an employee until now. I love being in this sector. With ups and downs of the business I am still here and getting my monthly salary. But I need to sit in the office for 200 hours a month; take the commands of my boss, please the customers, cooperate with colleagues, beat deadlines, etc.. etc.. For me this is a challenge to conquer every day. And I am happy for the current company I am with.

But in this quadrant the earnings are restricted. Almost all time of your day was occupied by your job. You must work so you can earn.

What if you cannot work anymore?

S = Self-employed
This is where my siblings were trained for. They have their businesses. They are their own boss. Their income depends on how hard they work.

Multi-Level Marketing is definitely in this sector.

I tried to be like them and because I saw there is a lot of money to be harvested in there but in 6 months I surrendered. I had my own computer shop back then and even it is generating money I chose to close it down because I am not happy to be in there; totally tied up and doing all the necessary paper works and thinking how to get the business going. Stressful!

I will repeat my question from employee's group. What if you cannot work anymore?

Now, let's jump to the right side... To Rich and Financially Free Side

B = Business Owner
So what's the difference between self-employed and Business Owner? You are a self-employed if your business cannot run without you. Business Owner is a person whose business keeps going even without his direct supervision.

Sounds relaxing right? It is not hard to jump from the left side to this quadrant. It is so easy. You just need the proper knowledge in the business and get the most trusted people you know. Utilize their time and pay them for the work they have done for you and your industry.

How do I know it is simple. Me and my husband have rental apartment business in the Philippines. I asked my dad to work for me and pay him for every project we build. He supervises the construction and thinks how to lessen the expenses building them. My sister does the necessary paperworks in city hall, Meralco and Maynilad. My sister-in-law is hands-on when choosing the tenants, checking their monthly rentals, and getting all the problems that arises in the compound. All we do is sit here and wait for their monthly rental report. No stress! You help to give a living for others. Nice, right? To own a system?

I = Investor
In this sector, money is working for you. The best! Isn’t it? These are the people where compound interest is their best friend. Today it is easier to invest in real estate, stock market and bonds. Nowadays, many companies also offer mutual funds. But please be careful as a lot of scams ride the hype of investing. In this quadrant, you have more time to spend with your family. This is definitely a freedom we are looking for.


The cash flow quadrant is not just representing the flow of money coming in and out from the person, it also represents someone’s financial status. So I learned that there is a sector that Kiyosaki might missed out or just totally ignored it. Haha. It is the “U”.

U = Unemployed
Maybe Kiyosaki never include this sector because there is no inflow of money in this ring. But I want to highlight this status. Some are really unlucky and picky to land a job and some are very lazy to have one. And as my father always tells, if the people really wants to earn a living, there will always be a way. Unemployment is equal to laziness.

So please people! Wake up and work your a$$ off! Do not be a big liability to others.


Before the year ends, take some time to think over and start looking for opportunities for you and your family to go to the right side of the quadrant!  We can all do this! Pray and work hard!