BGC Highstreet and Active Fun

On my birthday, we decided to hop on over to BGC for a change in scenery. We first window shopped since the sun was still blazing hot. Our first stop was GAP:

I went gaga (pwede ring loka loka) over this cute polo for JD and it was the only stock left.

But after some thought, (insert konsensya: Daddy A said it's more expensive than the longsleeves polos he buys) I just had to return it. Birthday gift ata sakin ni God ang shopping restraint =)

Next stop was Muji:

It's like that store in the late 90's to early 2000's, Anonymous, by Tina and Ricco Ocampo. I miss that store, the prices there are more affordable. So bottomline, window shopping lang kami here.

We browsed through this shop next. It's really home stores that get me nowadays.

Next, we explored the park. R had fun with the various contraptions, or may I say, playful art they put up in the area.

R wanted to browse through this store next. She's finally transitioned to the Princess phase coming from gender neutral characters like Mickey Mouse and Pororo.

I'm so proud we were able to walk out of it without having to buy anything. She was happy to just try on various accessories.

Daddy A and his little princess:

She insisted on posing with this huge mouse silhouette whatever:

Our last stop was Active Fun. It wasn't our first time here since one of R's cousins celebrated her birthday here. R was so happy upon seeing the play area.

While R and Daddy A were playing, I ordered some pizza.

And that capped off my birthday celebration. Seems my happiest birthday so far, (although it's also the first birthday without my dad) I have my own growing family now. It's really just spending time with my family and seeing the smiles on my kids' faces that bring me joy.

It's my birthday and JD's fourth month

As I've written in this post, i was so busy but at least was able to take time out to celebrate my birthday and JD's fourth month see post here.

For those who don't know I'm already _ _ secret! Well officially I'm off the calendar but I'm quite proud I don't look it (sabi ng nanay ko) hihi. More of my realizations on ageing in this post.

JD is also four months already and still exclusively nourished by ze boobies hurray!

At four months JD:
has mastered rolling back and forth
loves bouncing/standing (with support)
babbles a lot
giggles a lot (see video link below)
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151950303853516&set=vb.746173515&type=2&theater

I'm just so happy and grateful to God for what I have and where I am right now. Thanks for another year, another blessing.

What to wear, where to go, Halloween 2013

It's that time of the year again wherein moms like me are in a frenzy looking for the perfect Halloween costume for our kids. Or maybe it's just me?! Hehe. As my friends would attest, I love dressing up. That eventually cascaded down to my kids. Most of my friends would say "napagtripan nanaman kayo ng mommy niyo noh?! Here are the evidences:

R's monthly baby photos:

As they say, I have a new victim (insert evil laugh bwahaha). Here's JD in Ninoy:

Here's R in Princess Peach, when she attended our company's trick-or-treat activity in 2011. She wasn't able to attend last year though because of the heavy traffic.

I'm just so fortunate I have a mom who can sew up an outfit/costume in a jiffy. This year I'm still contemplating on what my kids will wear.

There are nice ideas online and would definitely be hassle free. Check out:
http://totsandtoddlers.com.ph/index.php
http://www.celestinaandco.com/category/apron-dresses-and-costumes
Or I may as well go retail since they're quite affordable too. Just hop on over to the nearest mall and check out:
Toy Kingdom
Toys R Us

Now where to bring the kids this Halloween? If your village or office doesn't have a trick-or-treat activity, you may want to check out Smart Parenting's round up of Halloween activities you can bring your kids to.
http://www.smartparenting.com.ph/home-living/travel-trips-activities/a-guide-to-halloween-2013-trick-or-treat-parties/page/1

Have fun and easy on the sweets for the kids.

Working weekend, talo pa USTe, oh please be good to me birthday

Missed me? Sorry if I haven't posted about a stress-free/pasyal mode weekend with the family, it's because I'm like this:

Image from here

Yep I'm drowning in office work since last Friday. I have over a hundred page report and still halfway through last Saturday. It broke my heart that I wasn't able to play all day with my children, specially R who would shut my laptop lid whenever she'd come near me. She's really not used to seeing me work at home. If I bring home work, I usually do it when they're asleep. But this weekend, I had no choice really.

Tapos syempre late na 'tong post na 'to. By now everyone knows La Salle won. But that Saturday, despite the busy working day, siningit ko ang panunuod ng finals in our living room with my brother. I guess in every household there really is that friendly rivalry especially if each of you comes from a different Alma Mater. My dad and almost all his brothers were from La Salle, my cousins and specially my brother all came from the same school as well. Me, my mom and hubby of course are from UST, as well as hubby's siblings and mom.

Sabi ko pa kay bro C, sino matalo bili ng pizza. Eh nagugutom na ko, sabi ko "order na tayo, bayaran mo na." Bro C said "ayoko nga hindi pa naman tapos ung laban, ikaw nagugutom, ako kaya ko pa magtiis." At hindi ko na talaga natiis I ordered pizza, which seemed like a bad omen pala, natalo nga ang USTe! Hay, after all the bashing, chants and hiyawan namin ni bro, in the end ganito rin kami like the Teng brothers and enjoyed our pizza:

Image from here

After pulling and all-nighter, we got to have our family day in Trinoma after mass. Didn't shop that much, lumalakas na ang will power ko yey! We just basically enjoyed the day with the kids at Timezone and ate at Burger King for meryenda. Daddy A just bought me some tank tops and a blouse at Landmark for my coming birthday. R naman is at this stage na she would ask for "something", like a cheap pasalubong (like food) when you come home from work or buy something before going home (like stickers, or some cheap item like cute clips or panties etc.). Sinanay kasi ni Lola P and Wowa C niya na laging may pasalubong pagdating galing Divisoria (tsk tsk!). So before going home, we bought her a hanky. Masaya na siya dun. I just have to explain we can only buy her stuff if she's been good or doing well in some area (e.g. toilet training). And nothing above Php50!

Anyway, as of press time, I've submitted the draft report na binu-buno ko. I also had a wonderful birthday celebration with my family. Will tell you more in my next post.

Household budgeting 101; How to manage the family fund

Let’s shift to money matters this time. I realized my posts have been so much about malling and shopping, you might think my financial IQ is way down low and I'm a bad influence. To think Daddy A and I are CPAs, and that our everyday jobs immensely relate to finance, you might say we don’t practice what we preach.

To start off, before we got married, we could say (and even our parents would attest) that we were both financially savvy individuals. I was a heavy saver since I was a kid. I would always save a part of my allowance and I rarely buy anything from toy stores. I just wait for occasions such as birthdays, Christmas or good grades for gifts/rewards. From my alkansya (piggy bank), bank account, and wallet, I well-accounted for those until the last centavo, maybe that's the reason I became an accountant. Daddy A on the other hand is maipon din, and "kuripot" hehe. He won't buy new stuff unless laspag na ung mga dati niya. It helped pa na scholar yan before kaya anlaki ng natitipid niya.

When we got married we merged our financial principles and agreed what to apply with our own family. And here are those financial principles we actually try to live by:

1. Any financial guru has already said this equation time and again: Income – Savings = Expenses
2. Ask yourself before buying, is it a need or a want? Hokey honestly, yung mga ibang nabibili ko lately ay tawag lang ng sale at retail therapy dala ng stress. But I make sure we allot some for savings.
3. Try to be debt free as much as possible. We rarely use our credit cards, only for big transactions and we pay the full amount when the bill comes. Meaning if we can't afford to pay it in a month's time, we won't buy it yet. Exception to the rules are taking out a housing loan or car loan, which to us are basic necessities. We just have to make sure we could afford the monthly amortizations.
4. When helping others such as family or friends, set a manageable amount (that in case they can't pay up, it won't hurt your budget that much)
5. Live within your means. Period.

So how do we manage the household budget? Open a MS Excel worksheet and here's a template you may use:

List down your sources of income and add them up, e.g.:

1. Daddy's monthly net pay (When I say net pay, this is what you see in your payslip, net of taxes and other standard deductions. This basically is your active income)
2. Mommy's monthly net pay (if the wife works as well)
3. Extra racket - average per month (This is your passive income from your sidelines)

List down your savings and investment contributions broken down per month, into 3 categories, e.g.:

1. Long term - Pension/retirement fund/life insurance contributions; stocks/bonds/mutual funds; college fund contributions; downpayment for a house/investment property
2. Medium term - travel/vacation fund; downpayment for a car; puhunan (investment) for a business; new baby (hospital, baby gear, clothes etc.)
3. Short term - Emergency fund (once it exceeds 6 months worth of monthly expenses you could transfer the excess to medium and long term investments); tuition fee; big occasions/celebrations
4. Tithes - Investment niyo 'to sa heaven. Never forget to thank the Lord for all His blessings. It's up to you how much. Basta I learned that whatever you give back to Him, it comes back a tenfold or even a hundredfold.

List down your regular monthly expenses according to the hierarchy of needs:

1. Food - sometimes buying in bulk doesn't save you a lot. Just make sure you buy what your family can actually consume.
2. Medicines/vaccines
3. Rent or housing loan amortization
4. Utilities (electricity, water, communications)
5. Transportation or car loan amortization
6. Clothes
7. Househelp
8. Other daily personal expenses (e.g. lunches, parking)
9. Dates
10. Family day/malling (weekends)
11. Other personal expenses (e.g. salon, massage, personal shopping)

Equals (negative Php) hehe. Joke! This is where the principle of living within your means applies. Try to cut down on some costs at the bottom part of your expense list. A little sacrifice here and there makes a big difference (say instead of weekly, make it every two weeks or once a month). 

For your savings/investment list naman, try to set reasonable amounts of how much you can allot. It doesn't have to be huge immediately, maybe when you get a promotion or salary increase nalang. Pangit din naman yung you'll scrimp and save tapos your kids are getting malnourished or "aircool" (butas-butas) na ung mga damit niyo. I would also advise that you read a lot of financial books from authors that are easy to understand like Bo Sanchez and Francisco Colayco.

It's all about discussing with your family your priorities and just sticking to it. Involve the kids in the discussion as well. And always be honest with them about how much you are actually making.