Budgeting Tips

You can't grow money out of trees. And you can certainly not get to a million without a piso / a dollar. So let's talk about budgeting.

1.) Determine your cash inflows.

The question to ask is where does this money come from? Are you employed and get a monthly salary? Are you a student and get stipend? Are you getting an allowance from a corporation or a family member? Figure out where the money comes from. If there is no cash inflow we can't begin. (Just in case you realize that you don't have an inflow before going to step two establish one first. Get a job or a scholarship or allowance or stipend or retainer.)

2.) Draw a line between wants and needs.

Wants and needs varies. For instance, a car is a want for most people but if you're living with an old sickly grandmother you'll realize you need a car. Or if you have a pregnant wife and live far away from the hospital, the convenience and security the car provides you will easily make it a need. Map out what you need in your life. Follow the basic needs of food, and shelter. Factor in transportation cost. If you are just starting out in the industry you might need clothes. Normally I tell everyone asking me for advice to think annual. A venti doesn't look like much but if you convert that to annual costs you'll realize how much you could have saved.

3.) Map out your budget.

Again, normally I would ask my friends and family to do this annually. But for some people 100,000 PHP/USD would seem too much and I understand how that can be overwhelming. So map out your budget based on what's comfortable for you. If you earn on a weekly basis you can do a weekly budget. Whatever is comfortable for you since you're starting out.

4.) Set a goal.

Okay now that you've figured out you only use half the inflows for nneeds you can set a goal for the other half. Its always nice to visualize the finish line. Are you saving up for a nice car? A new home? An exciting vacation? For retirement? Once you have that you can see how long it would take before you can realize the goal. I know a friend who cut his food expense to a quarter to buy a car within the year. This is why you need a goal. If you want to get something out of it you have to have a clear idea of the finish line.

5.) Track your expenses and re-evaluate every (depending on the budget you set) week/month/year.

Personally I would suggest this to be bi-monthly. It helps you check if everything is in order. You can re-arrange your finances quickly and if you go out of budget you can catch the reason early on.

6.) Establish an emergency fund.

If you're only starting to save now (for whatever goal you set) do set up an emergency fund. Because there are risks in our day to day life and if we don't set up an emergency fund when we get a disaster we end up losing our budget. What if you lose your job? Or if your car breaks and you need it repaired? I recommend an amount that will keep you afloat for three months. So check your expenses. How much do you need in order to survive for three months if you lose your job today? Why three months? Because it takes about a month to look for a job. And another month to receive a paycheck. The third month is your buffer.

7.) Reward yourself.

Okay, lastly reward yourself. You were disciplined enough to keep a budget. You deserve a treat. Don't deprive yourself because you worked hard for this and you deserve it.

Xo,

Paula

Trading in money for time

So you probably heard the sad news that I've decided to stop studying in a fashion school and prepare for my laws exam early next year. Maybe what you didn't know is that I died juggling work and school on weekdays. Sure they're 3 blocks away from each other but that doesn't help any. I remember going back and forth five times because I had to be in both places once.

And then it got me thinking, just how much do I value my time? And I factored in the company. Are they going to give me another raise? Or did I make the yearly quota? Being the finance girl of the company I know the position I'm in. And I need the time more than the money.

So similar to how you write a letter to your HR about getting a raise, its the same as writing to get more free time. Nothing final yet but I'm looking at a 3 day work week. I still have the same work load but I get the time to study. *wink wink*

Its all about negotiating. If you believe in yourself and how much you contribute to the company I think you can get anything you want.

Xo,

Paula

Value Added Services

Today I woke up with a certain irritation coming from an allergy, this made me lose sleep and occupied my hands for the most part. I was literally crying in bed. I did not want to go to work. It wasn't comfortable.

But I got up and prepared myself for work. I saw this guy I have had a crush on in elementary school, he's my neighbor, and I wanted to be swallowed whole by the ground. I don't like him anymore but being in a less than pleasant state I didn't and wouldn't be civil. I stopped by the drugstore before work to get something to numb the pain and give me some form of relief, but there wasn't any less strong that was being sold over the counter. (Cheers to people that helped.) I was literally crying because of that pain all morning before and the first few hours of taking the meds.

I got into a cab. Decided that it's an awful day. Internally cursing at the universe for the pain I'm going through. And as I pulled the ugly old cab door (I judged the cab. It looked awful okay?) close the driver greeted me with a smile, and a good morning, and offered mints and tissue. (He did see me crying and sniffling.) He and that moment 180 my day.

It is those tiny moments that get you through. These moments that put a smile on your face. These moments you recall after the day is over.

As a customer, and a merchant, we want to make sure we are able to give something more than what are customers are paying for. Is it courtesy? A smile? Being friendly? We earn from new customers. But its repeat sale and word of mouth that makes the company a success.

Xo,
Paula

Pre VS Post Paid Mobile Plans

Hello universe, 

I haven't been around lately (with the excuse that I have been too busy with work, life and studying.) Today I'm writing about mobile plans (what with the iPhone 6S coming out it pays to know what you're paying for.)

What most of you don't know is that I don't change phones very often. So while the universe comes up with a new phone promising to be better than the previous one, I'm still using my RAZR, my Palm, and my BlackBerry. Maybe some of you won't know or remember what those are, but I'm pretty sure you know what a flip phone is. With the keypads not being on the screen and actually being keys. I quite enjoyed that type of phone. And I didn't worry about dropping it from the second floor to the ground (I've gone as high as fourth and other than a few cracks and chips it works fine.)

I think I'm a good candidate to compare post and pre paid plans. I've been using a phone since Nokia came up with the giant hand-held phones with a giant battery. (That was in first grade I think.)

Let us start with the Prepaid Plans 

What do you pay for? A SIM card.

A SIM card that typically comes with initial credits that can make you call or text or surf (depending on your phone.) if you don't already have a phone, you have to buy one out right. You can get this from your provider, or your friend (using the same provider,) online (although beware of stolen phones and jailbreak/openline.) You can even get it free from parents or family members. Just make sure the phone and SIM are compatible meaning the phone is not exclusive to a provider.

What else you need: time and time again you'll need to reload/top-up your phone for credits if you want to keep making calls.

Why I like it: it's easier to budget with a prepaid phone. You know how much each message costs and how much credits you have left. It forces you to monitor your usage and stay on budget.

What's the downside: sometimes you get caught in a bad situation where you run out of credits. And you're in the countryside and they don't have top up stations, convenient stores or even internet connection. You'd have to wait to find one before you can start making calls or texts again.

Let's go to Postpaid Plans

What are you paying for? A SIM card, a phone, and the credits used monthly aka your credit plan.

Let's dissect that:

A SIM card is what helps you connect to the world. Similar to the Prepaid one only this is the brain that gives you automatically credits each month.

A phone- you can get this free with your plan if you stay with your provider for two years. You can get it in installments billed to you monthly. Or you can also buy it out right like a prepaid. This is one of the perk that postpaid offers. If you don't have enough cash to buy a 700USD phone you can pay in 20USD installments to get it. (Only if you really want it though.)

Credit plan- this automatically restarts each month for as long as you keep them as your provider. The good news is you never run out of minutes. And if you do you can continue making calls and will just get billed overage.

Why I like it: I think those listed above are pretty good reasons why I like it. 

What's the downside: You're stuck with a plan for two years minimum. So if I lose my job tomorrow and I still have 14 months left of my contract I would have to pay that amount every month or buy out my plan in order to stop paying for my phone monthly.

Pro tip: its always cheaper to buy your phone out right than pay for it in installments through your provider. Again you have pay in full, upgrade with a discounted rate (normally the higher the cost of the plan the better the upgrade you get,) and installments for as long as you have a contract. Remember that credit card talk we had? You don't get charged finance charges if you pay in full. Similar to that concept, since the provider is financing the cost of your phone they will (because it is a business) surely have some form of profitability from selling it to you in installments.

Pro tip #2: always review your plan if you're postpaid and your usage if you're prepaid. Re-evaluate. And compare always.  Are you paying for a lot of things you don't need? Do you need to top up less frequently?

What did I do?

I switched from post to pre paid to control usage. There's that extra control you have when you decide to have 100USD this month and 50USD the next. If you need to just use calls you can sign up for just calls. And the rates are cheaper than post paid plans.

I switched to a different phone recently because of work. I needed the functions in my new phone. If I didn't need it I would have stayed with my old phone from high school. This I paid for in full (through my credit card) deferred into 6 months. That way you get to pay in installments without being charged finance charges or interest.

Hope that helps especially Christmas is coming and i know a lot of people upgrade phone plans during the holidays.

Xo,

Paula

Why it pays to begin your day early

As a young girl living in the country side and working in the bustling Metropolis (imagine London the far drive to the countryside,) there are several reasons why it pays to start each day early.

I'm going to share how my morning routine looks like with you first. Just so you know how early I start my day and when I actually start working.

I don't know about you guys but for me, I need a quiet alone time to start my day. This usually happens at 1 or 2 am. I meditate on the day that passed and the day that's beginning. This is normally just deep breathing and thinking. Dark, quiet, background music playing softly. Now the good thing about this is nobody is awake yet. So you can really enjoy that quiet. I reach out to my friends abroad and respond to personal emails and messages. See, to wake up early one must sleep early and get enough rest. So any emails or messages that come in at night I respond to in the morning.

After that, I get up. I stretch. I get a light snack. I do all the hygienic stuff like shower and brush my teeth. When I'm done I prepare for the commute to work. Now when you begin your day early you can take the public commute. Chances are there is no traffic congestion yet and there is little to no chance that you will be late. I do this at 6am.

The commute without the heavy traffic is about 45 minutes on public transport, and about 30 minutes if you drive. I spend that time 15 minutes to read and 30 minutes to sleep. When I wake up I'm at my stop.

This is the first reason why it pays to start your day early:
Beginning early, clears away chances of stress.

Now if you're like me who is paid on a project basis and not an hour basis, you get to have a free schedule which means you can start and end any time you choose.

Which brings us to the second reason:
Arriving to work early lets you get ahead. You start early, you finish early.

That's very true for me. I normally finish my work early so I can leave early. And if you're studying this gives you plenty of time to get to school. This happens about 1pm.

And that's third reason:
You can spend half the day doing something you're passionate about.

In my case its fashion school. It can be something else to somebody else. You can use the extra time to spend with your family. I don't know. Whatever you feel like will be valuable to you. Take your partner out. Host a dinner. Pick up your children.  Even if you factor in the traffic at 1pm? Its not as bad as traffic at 4-8pm. You'll get to where you're going in under an hour depending on how far away it is.

To do this, there is one rule. To strike a balance. You can't keep going to midnight parties and wake up at 1am. You'll be exhausted and when you're tired you're not conditioned to work, which is stressful. So if you still party at night, this is not for you. I would suggest you get enough rest to prepare for the next day. Again, balance.

Rest is equally important to work. You can start early or late. I chose to start early and gave you my reasons.

Xo,
P

Work, study, life balance

Do you ever get that feeling where you are alone on a weekend and half the time you're trying to get more sleep half the time you're still thinking about work. And all of the time your head goes back to the checklist of requirements that never seem to end.

My finals week was moved from the last to this week. And frankly I thought I would make the deadline last week. But when your suppliers decide to not tell you there are no stocks left to accomodate you, and when the other backs out even with the additional week you still kind of panic Additional pressure if your boss is your professor's friend and they both expect you to raise the standards to three levels up.

I have not seen my friends. I have not been to classes. All I have been doing is working. And like everyone says when your life is seemingly a mess and about to go up in flames that's when you get promoted. And I'm barely hanging on. My life is about to be toast. Or roast even.

So for this post. There are no tips. Just remember to know your priorities. Make sure to give time for what is important. At the end of it all you have to be able to live with what you chose from the beginning.

Because it does not just happen. Your life doesn't become a mess over night. It is a series of choices you made that makes your life a mess. It is premeditated and thought upon over and over. Do something about it now while you can. My life is so hard to manage now but I'm trying.

Xo,
P

How to get a raise

First things first, make sure you are employed. And then make sure you are a good if not a great employee. That means don't come in later than your boss, don't come in wearing rags of a pyjamas (not even kidding my co-worker showed up with wet uncombed hair, unironed ratty shirt and butt ugly old shorts,) don't slack off. And go above and beyond what is expected of you. Sure they don't expect you to pick up the things your partners left at the event, and it's been there for a week. But you will because you're stellar.

Second, work hard. Hard work pays off. Do your work according to schedule, lead the team, call the shots. 

Third, if your boss doesn't notice (which she does) bring it up. Let her know the extra responsibility you took on. The results you are producing. The extra hours you devote to work.

Fourth, ask for it. If it's not offered. Ask. Knock and the door will be opened. If you're producing results and they don't notice, make them look your direction.

Fifth, actively look for a company who will appreciate your effort and contribution. Let your employer know. And resign.

Okay so not a lot of people know that I've had thoughts of resigning. And I would have two weeks earlier if it wasn't for my boss who noticed and promoted me. Of course because i know my worth I've taken the time to think about it before signing a contract and an increase of pay and responsibilities.

So those are my five tips. 

Xo, 

Paula

How your credit card works

If you're one of those who pay the minimum amount due of their card every month and wonder why she or he is buried under credit card debt, this post is for you.


I only ever use my credit card for two things. One to buy plane tickets that are on sale online, and two to book uber trips because I don't have a driver or my own car.

I do not shop online. Well I tried that. It did not end well. It was expecting to get a really nice product, getting something mediocre. Returning said product. Exchanging it because you do not get refunds, still not being happy. Settling for a product I don't need assured that it was an original, only having it cleaned at the store and being told it was not their product. End result? Never going to shop online ever again.

So, going back to the credit card talk. Credit card works like cash. Only its a plastic with  a magnet stripe. This is ideal for those purchases that require a huge chunk of money. Knowing my country, there are risks involved to bringing a wad of cash. One of those risks being theft. Even if you're in a private vehicle or a public vehicle the risk will always be present.

So just like your normal everyday trade, you purchase a product or avail a service and you pay with your card (similar to paying with cash,) only instead of receiving change you get a triplicate of your payment received that you have to sign.

That there doesn't harm you. What harms you is the finance charges. What are those? These could be anywhere from 1% (I think local coop banks still offer that)- 5% (cash advance rate) of your total amount due charged to your account.

Its not that simple though to illustrate here is the reply my bank gave me when I asked about it my MasterCard:

         

We compute finance charge on retail purchases by multiplying each transaction by the number of days from transaction date until statement date and then multiplying it by 3.5% by 12 months divided by 360 days. This is the average daily balance method

So you have to take into consideration, amount you spent, how long it took to be billed, the number of transactions you have and then multiply it by .035 (this is your rate) and then multiply that by 12/360 which I figured would be the month.

Now here's a little secret they do not tell you. (Even on fine print its no longer there.) you don't need to worry about that computation if you pay your monthly balances in full.

Yes folks, you do not get charged finance charges if you pay the amount due in full. Also pay your bills full once every month. Because they charge you payment fees if you do it over and over within the month.

Hope that helps you!

Xo,
Paula

Did he value your time?

Today I sat in a coffee place for an hour unaware that banana pancakes take more than an hour to make. The reason you might ask? They bake pancakes. For thirty minutes. Each. Now I'm okay with waiting 30 minutes for really spectacular you'll-forget-your-name-and-go-crazy fluffy pancakes. But over an hour felt a bit too much.

While the waiters, crews, baristas are unapologetic and continue to gossip about local celebrities and what they wore to a screening of a low budget local film they co produced (made up that film bit) I start counting minutes. I start getting angry. I start counting what millionaires are making while I waste time waiting for three pieces of pancakes with frozen peanut butter and over ripe banana swimming in a dollop of salted soft butter. I start picturing the ifs. The phone calls I'll miss, the emails left unanswered, the meetings I'll be running late to attend. How much would that cost me? If I was a high powered rich business woman making over USD1500 a minute.

The young man who looked like he was fresh out of high school handed me my order, with a smile and a small I'm sorry. No remorse what so ever. I left briefly. As the driver drove away, I calmed the storm inside me. The problem, I thought to myself, is the mentality. The people in that establishment did not value time. The way I valued mine. I wasted less than two hours for those pancakes. Lucky I wasn't paid by the hour.

In those mundane day to day activities for the rest of our lives lie the awakening moment, the big flashy LED sign that blinks, the hard slap, or that three gold strands on a well greased ball, often times we miss if we don't pay attention. It was on that brief drive that the difference begins and ends in the mind.

It is the lack of ambition. It is the lack of urgency. It is the lack of self appreciation. Appreciation of self worth, of time, of other people's time and interest.

What makes a poor man poor is his way of thinking. The same way a rich man is rich because of his thinking. A dollar is just a dollar. To a rich man it could be the building block of a million. To a poor man it could be the difference between life and death. It could be a fraction of the cost of your lunch. It could mean a lot of things to different people. That all depends on you.

Xo,
Paula

Rest is just as important as Work

TGIF meant very little to me. It meant close yo nothing actually. Until this week. Never have I thought that I would see a working week that looked like this. Where it starts at 6am and ends at 9pm. Hustling every minute of it.

Suddenly weekends meant more to me than anything. Weekends were developed historically to promote recreational activities and motivate workers to spend money. This improved the economy a great deal.

I don't know if the struggle is coming from my recent vacation. Maybe I'm not over staying at the beach and swimming with the fishes. Maybe its really just a crazy week. And maybe we don't need sleep. So while I accumulate baggage under my eyes, and pretended I am working hard to improve company standing, other people rest.

I take calls until 11pm and maybe I have been over working. It is my father's words that I go back to when I'm in such stressful hectic situation such as work. He said, "separate work from personal life. Strike a balance between the two."

I am excited for the weekend. I expect to have a wonderful lunch with friends and sleep long hours.

I hope that you guys value rest as much as you value work. Make sure to keep the fire burning. Rest when you should. Work when you should. Stay lovely.

Xo,
Paula