Thank you Lord for our families.

G.G.S.S.

I encountered a group of high school students on my way home from work. We were all seated very close to each other inside the jeepney that I heard their talkings. "G.G.S.S. talaga yang si XXX. Palpak naman.Kakainis!",said one of the girls. The others also commented on how they felt irritated with XXX. I was so clueless to what G.G.S.S meant. I felt that I was too old to know what was this new term then I texted Dear Hubby for help :)

Nanay is In!

Yes, Nanay is now into investing. 

In my previous post, I have shared how Nanay manage her funds through jar system. All her cash and coins are orderly distributed per use. Yesterday when I visited her and Tatay, she told me to "invest" (she used this term) her allotted savings of my son for his education. I asked her to where? I just want to clarify if she's referring to a specific bank or an investment vehicle she knows. She then answered mutual fund. Wow! Si Nanay alam ang mutual fund. Honestly, I was surprised. I asked her how did she know about investing in mutual fund. Whenever I share to her about it before, she just say "ok". She didn't even care to ask what was it all about or even said something in contrast. " Nabasa ko un Sun Life ni Piolo at naikwento ng Auntie mo maganda ito." So, thank you Papa P for opening Nanay's mind about investing. My aunt is her eldest sister living in the US whom I mentioned sending her monetary gifts. Auntie has insurance and mutual funds with Sunlife in the US. She had explained most probably to Nanay how investing goes when she called a few days ago. 

Inspiration from the Human Exclamation Point*

*http://www.joyamartin.com/zig-ziglar/

I don't Take NO for an Answer ( My BDO-UITF experience)

I won't discuss much about the step by step procedures on how to open a UITF account with BDO. There are already countless blogs and sites that you can search on the net regarding those procedures. I would just love to share my experience on how I did open one. 

Today is Monday.Monday is today.

Challenge: Kids on spending and saving

It is a basic principle in personal finance to know what you really need and what you just want. True enough in adults, it takes a lot of effort enable to distinguish which is which. Things that are important and what are those we can live without. Knowing the proper concept of spending comes savings. And this challenge becomes harder when you have kid(s). 

Inspiration for the day

Tofu Thursday: Tofu in Oyster Sauce

Dear Hubby requested for this dish. A very good alternative for meaty meals. Luckily, an officemate mentioned that a magtataho always delivers taho and tofu to their house.  Yes, Manong's tofu is really fresh and smells good. Three blocks cost Php 100 or Php35 if you'll buy only one block .This dish only costs less than Php100 and is good for sharing with 4 people.

On Savings

In personal finance, it has always been a requirement to have savings. Save funds for future use. We name them as our emergency fund, health fund, travel fund, charity fund....  name it in any way you would want it to be called. The fact that you are into saving is really a big plus. 

When I was younger, there are only 2 options that I know on how to save. Either save it through banks ( if you have the cash to meet the minimum deposit requirement) or save in a piggy bank. Actually, I never had a piggy bank. I only had old milk cans or old Alaska milk boxes. I even had made my own passbook from old notebooks so as to monitor my cash , I mean my "baryas". 

My Financial Journey

I was 6 years old when Nanay opened me an account with Prudential Bank. I still remember the 1x1 picture I had that time was in black and white. I had no idea why the guy at the green table asked for my name to be written on the white cardboard. Life went on then came emergencies. I was in high school when I needed to withdraw my savings to help pay our electricity bills, for Nanay's medicine when she was hospitalized, school projects and so many more. Every time I went to the bank to make withdrawals, that same guy at the green table would say " Baby ka pa sa picture mo dito."  He was referring to my old photo on the passbook. It had been just an old memory of my savings account because before I graduated high school, there was nothing left in my fund. My passbook got two punched holes that simply meant " CLOSED ACCOUNT". Sad it may seem but that was life then. 

A Thought from RichDad :)

DIY Fabric Bouquet

It was a lovely friend's bridal shower and her farewell party a few months ago. Everyone was effervescent to throw a party for her. And any bridal shower will never be complete without a gift to the bride-to-be. I volunteered then to make a keepsake for her. But since she had to fly for the US to get married there, a keepsake that will last forever was an idea. 

I had been checking some sites for the best gift and found a fabric bouquet.Very unique and very creative. 

I had found an old dress in my closet and whole kindheartedly decided  to use it for the project. No regrets actually. And the best of it was the dress was made of 3 hues- baby pink, purple and off-white. So timely for my idea. Then I got some spare net fabric and pearls as well. Everything was so meant to be. I just bought a pomelo-colored thick ribbon and some jewels. Total cost for this project? Php35 only. Here was the tutorial that helped me a lot. 

So glad that she not only liked it but loved it. 

Congratulations again dear sis! Hope to see you again :)

Take down some notes

I found this meme hilarious. Guilty as I may seem, I am currently doing this whenever I fetch my son from school . Gone were the days when the parent or someone who was tasked to fetch the child in school will stay inside the classroom to take down notes. This usually  happens whenever the child was not able to take down notes because he was so excited to leave or just simple lazy that day. I remember back then when Nanay will fetch me in school and before we leave the classroom she’ll check my notebooks one by one so as to know if I did write or take down notes. And if I did not, she will ask permission from my teacher to copy the lessons of the day and even asked her how it was done especially in Math. Nanay is really one-of-a kind. Now with my son in kindergarten , it is very important to check their lessons for the day. My son’s penmanship itself is still a work in progress. Instead of me writing those what were on the board, I just simply take photos of them.

Baptismal Anniv

I believe all of us knows when our birthdays are. Either celebrate it pompously or simply, celebrations are part of our culture. But if asked, do you still know when were you baptized?

We never celebrated this in my home when I was little. But when I started to have a family of my own, we do celebrate it. Both Dear Hubby and I were baptized on December 30^th. This was when baptismal rites has been free of charge ( even today) because it's the city’s fiesta. We both hail from the same place by the way.  My sonny’s baptismal date was September 20^th. He was 3 months old  then.

Last month, we celebrated my son’s 5th baptismal anniversary. It was just a simple close family gathering.  He thought that it was his birthday again with carbonara, fried chicken and cake served. We were not able to invite guests but still some friends and his godparents who remembered sent their greetings. We attended the mass to start the day.  He was not given any material gift unlike during his birthdays.Good thing he did not look  for one.  We just blessed him with our prayers. As naive as ever, he just simply said “ Wow, love naman ako ni Papa God. Dalawa birthdays ko.”

My Start

                                                                                                              https://www.startmona.ph/

Ano'ng matagal mo nang gustong simulan?

It all started here. 

I am inspired by this Nescafe's newest ad campaign. It really gave me a hit. I thought of reading a new novel then I read a mystery one. I finished it in two days . Found a new recipe and tried it. Dear hubby and sonny loved it. Thank God for it passed their palates' standard. What else? Then I thought, why not start a blog for myself since I do love reading blogs. It would be nice to share my ideas and experiences with others. Hope to give inspirations to others as well. I used to have this bit of mañana habit attitude before wherein I tend to delay a certain task and ended up not doing it at all. Then I will hear myself uttered the most common dreaded expression - sayang!.  But now that I'm more mature ( I should be!) and knows to control myself, I have stop procrastinating on the things that will make me feel happy. Learning to know what to prioritize is very important. Determine what to do first, the next and so on. If a certain thing did not come up as productive as I thought it would be, then at least I have tried it. No sayangs. 

I have been thinking on what will be the best title for my blog and kazzam! momYnvestor best suited my ideals. I am a mom and also an investor. I googled the definition and got these:

Wikipedia says investment is time, energy, or matter spent in the hope of future benefits actualized within a specified date or time frame. Investment has different meanings in economics andfinance.

Investopedia says that investment is an asset or item that is purchased with the hope that it will generate income or appreciate in the future.

For me, investment is not all about money. It is about spending or giving out my time on things that will make me happy. This is the purpose of this blog. It is not much about stocks or mutual funds or insurances. I am still a student on this field. What most interest me is about life itself. I invest my time to give the best of myself to others, trying out a new product that will help me, checking out a new book,movie or recipe or just simply checking my FB account and know what's new with my friends. Spending quality with my family is already a BIG investment. I also have a friend that whenever she comes home from Manila to visit her parents, she'll post their photos and just simply label them " ang sayang hindi napapalitan ng pera". Priceless. Very.

Life is so wonderful if not explored. Just like a cute poster from our local ice cream parlor," Life is like an ice cream. Enjoy it before it melts." Makes sense.