Chasen Dreams

The second tranche of our salary increase was   released this month.   The net amount of the increase is not that much, but still, I am very thankful.    Just right after I received my payslip, I sent a note to our HR authorizing them to deduct an additional P400/month for Pag-ibig.   I increase my Pag-Ibig Contribution every time my salary increases.       Why did I choose to augment my Pag-ibig contribution? Firstly, the dividend is higher than bank interest.   Secondly, I am certain that it won’t declare bankruptcy since it’s a government owned and controlled corporation.   Thirdly, increasing Pag-ibig savings also   increases my maximum loanable amount since the latter is based   on the Total Accumulated Value (TAV).      And lastly, just like   “PAG-IBIG”, hindi ko siya ramdam bes! Of course I’m kidding, I am so loved by my husband. Feel ko bes!   Going back, hindi ko siya ramdam because it’...

Our financial status is not at its best.   Our household expenses have bloated while our cash inflow has decreased. I think I already mentioned  that I no longer receive windfalls.  Also, my husband’s salary increase this year is  below 5% of his last year’s salary.  While we are not on the phase where our cash outflow is more than our cash inflow, the fact that I sometimes regret our decision to invest in  real properties is alarming.    I don’t think my salary will  augment  in the near future.  Although  I heard that there is a bill seeking the increase of salaries of government employees, I’m sure that the increase would not be that dramatic. Spell INCOME TAX!   To receive a higher salary, my only recourse is to pass the exam and automatically hop to Salary Grade 23, which is a few notches higher than my salary grade.   Believe me, it’s easier said than done.  I’m still hopeful though...

“Ano kayang lulutuin ko?” – This had been my usual dilemma every afternoon.   Actually, thinking of what to cook is really not a chore for me.  Anything connected to cooking is fun.    So,   I thought there was no reason for me   to create a meal plan.   That was until I realized that I was wasting so much food and I was spending so much on food.   One meal would usually cost us P150  on the average, and I would incur P3,000-4000 on groceries per week (baby’s milk excluded).   Such realization made me decide to whip up meals  which are cheaper but healthier than our food choices then.        I have decided to  create a weekly meal plan with a COST LIMIT.   It’s actually challenging but the following reasons pressed me to carry it out:   First, we are not getting any younger. Eating too much meat and junk food is definitely not good for us....

I posted here about our electric bill concern and how we could minimize our electric consumption.  I found out that the new electric meter has nothing to do with our electric bill.  Nananahimik siya. Wala siyang kasalanan! Haha. Yes. The blame should be put on us, the “feeling rich” kids.   I enumerated  the things that we should do to lower our electricity usage.  We’ve been doing Numbers 1 and 3.  As per suggestion of Jill of Frugalhoney , we’ve stopped using the hot and cold setting of our water dispenser.   And after a month….Tadaaaaa….. Our electric bill was reduced by P1,000.  Yey!  We could have reduced the bill  further if we had just stuck to the plan of decreasing our AC usage.   Anyway, at least we've become more inspired to do Numbers 2 and 4.   We bought two electric fans for the living area and master’s bedroom so, we could limit our AC usage.   Last night, we set the AC...

I almost had a heart attack (oa!) when I found out how much our Meralco bill for the month of June was. Actually, opening the envelope of our  electric bill  is always  like opening the  Ms. Universe winner’s envelope.  Parating may kaba. Haha.  Our June electric bill gave me a big shock (electric shock lol).   I was expecting a lower consumption compared to last month’s since our bakasyonistas (my husband’s relatives) went back to the province  but contrary to my expectation,  it went up by 100 plus kWh.  Then, I remembered  that early June, I was notified by the Condo Admin staff that they changed our unit’s electric meter.  It may be the cause.  I’m not certain.  I will talk to the admin staff first before I make a conclusion. It may be our actual electric consumption  and I just  find it difficult to admit.   Here’s the rundown of our appliances and their corresponding usage: refriger...

Admittedly, I failed to track our household expenses for the last months. Yet, I’m quite sure that our expenses ballooned because of Baby C.  It’s expensive to have a baby.  Milk, diaper, nanny’s salary and vaccines eat up a portion of our household budget.  Our electricity went up by 100% too.  But the happiness of having our darling girl is PRICELESS!  Decreasing the budget for Baby C is definitely not an option.  My husband and I agreed that as much as we can, we will only give the best for Baby C when it comes to her needs, comfort, health and education.     There are things that can’t be scrimped on.   There are also expenses that can be slashed.   I assessed our combined monthly income vis a vis our monthly fixed expenses.   I  realized that our fixed expenses (baby's milk and diaper, utilities, condo unit amort, house and lot amort, lot in Naga City amort) do not  exceed 50% of our  mon...

No!!! I did not abandon my blog.   I was just busy, very busy to the point that there were times I skipped taking a shower. I’m over sharing. Haha.   It’s gross but have you heard of “pasma”? The sister of   my grandmother had involuntary facial movements.   According to my mom, pasma was the culprit.        I told my   office bud about this no ligo myth (or fact).   The next day, he sent me a link explaining that there’s nothing wrong with taking a bath even without enough sleep.   My reply, “whatever!” It’s better to be stinky than sorry.     As of this writing, I’m back to being mabango. lol So, how am I doing? I’m fine.   I can’t say that 2014 was a very good year for me and for my family.   There were challenges.   They were extraordinary.   However, we managed to get by and continued life.   And yes, despite all the heartaches, I can say that we are still very blessed.   And I w...

  The following are my 2014 goals: 1.        Save at least 6 months’ worth of expenses. 2.        Invest   P100,000 in UITF. 3.        Invest P100,000 in the stock market.  4.   Review and Pass the Bar 5.        Lose weight.   Be healthy.   Be beautiful. 6.        Furnish the QC condo. 7.        Travel to Davao City (for R and R). 8.        Travel to Macau (for R and R). 9.        Send a relative to school. 10.    Blog at least once a week.     If you could notice,   I did not include having a baby in the list.   It’s because I believe that having   a baby is   not for us to decide.   It’s a gift from God.   But of course, we are als...