Youth Marian Crusade Forever

Seeing a familiar face, especially after so many years, always brings back good or bad memories, depending on the relationship one has had with the person. Mine was a spiritually lifting experience when I saw Fr. Matthew from the Marian Missionaries of the Holy Cross (MMHC) last Tuesday and Thursday when I attended a mass at the Greenbelt Chapel.

I'm Ready to be Rich

I never wanted to be rich! Never! You can ask my wife about it and she'd surely validate my claim.

Double Your Money

I'm not offering the public any business or investment scheme that doubles their money after a certain period. This one is purely familial in nature.

Our Beloved Camille's Birthday Celebration

Everybody in our family woke up early last Saturday, June 5, because it was a special day. It was Camille's 11th birthday and she was excited about it. Weeks before that, she kept reminding her mom about her request  to cook carbonara for her on her natal day. Well, she also requested me to cook biko for her but she  'pestered' her mother more than she 'pestered' me.

The Power of Tithing

I have a confession to make: I used to give a measly P20.00 for my offering to God. Yes, I was that stingy when it comes to giving back to God, the source of all blessings. Why was I that scant in giving to God? It's because I was not a believer of tithing then. I used to think that it was an Old Testament practice and our Church does not impose it on us. Besides, I see other churchgoers giving the same amount or even less. Also, my thinking then was that If I would give 10% of my income for my offering, how much more will be left for our family's expenses?

May 2010 National Elections

My wife and I had just cast our votes. We planned to go to the polling precinct at 7AM but we woke up a little bit late thus we reached our destination only before 8AM. Since we had already verified our registration online, we knew beforehand our precinct number, hence we thought we could finish voting in less than 15 minutes.

Charm's Summer Class

Our youngest daughter, Charm, is on the last week of attending her summer class in preparation for the coming schoolyear. She is an incoming junior kindergarten in the same school where her two siblings are also enrolled. From the looks of it, Charm is going to be a bright pupil just like her Ate Clare. This early she is already showing good performance in school (talk about being a stage father).

On Being an Angel Investor

Have you heard about angel investing? 

I came to know about it when I joined pinoymoneytalk.com's forum. In the forum, you will get to know a lot of angel investors -  individuals who invest in start-up businesses in exchange for a higher return than would normally be found in traditional investments. Depending on the nature of their business,  proponents usually offer monthly interest ranging from 3% to 12% based on the amount of investments, which range from P30K to P700K or more. Sometimes, a group of angel investors pool their money to avail themselves of the higher interest rate.

Don't Save Your Money in Banks

That's the most significant learning I got from reading Bo Sanchez's books. No, he is not totally against saving our money in a bank. In fact, he advises all of us to put 3-6 months of our salary in a bank for emergency purposes. Other than that, the rest of our disposable money should not be parked in a bank. Why? Because we will not get the maximum gain if we do so. Not even the time deposit will grow our money exponentially. Even an 8% per annum (this, I think, is the highest rate being offered by one of the biggest rural banks in the country) is nothing if there are other charges that will be deducted once a time deposit has matured.

Tracking the Performance of Mutual Funds and Unit Investment Trust Funds

When I decided to invest in mutual funds (MFs) and unit investment trust funds (UITFs) I knew that I didn't need to track its daily performance since they are meant to be long-term investments. But since I was a newbie in this field, the excitement of seeing how my portfolio perform daily prompted me to visit the websites of the four different investment firms where I put my money. 

Risk Appetite

I am amazed at how I have outgrown my fear for losing money over failed investments. The first time I went into business and failed, I became averse to risk that I stopped going into another business and put my money instead in banks. For quite sometime I have been lodging my money in savings accounts that earn a very minimal interest. I did not even bother think of having it deposited instead in a time deposit to give me a higher yield. I was content that my savings are safe in the banks.

Fathers' Involvement

I attended my eldest daughter's Recognition Day last Wednesday. Although she was not able to make it to the top honors, still we, her parents, are very proud of her for being second honors, given all the extra curricular activities she had this past schoolyear. I don't normally go up the stage to put on my daughter's medal. I give the honor to my wife, saying jokingly that I have had enough chances of going up the stage to receive medals when I was still studying. But this time, my eldest daughter requested that I do it for the academic awards, with her mom putting the medals on her for the banner (Best in English Communication) and special awards (Best in Pilipino and Computer).

The Ever Appreciative Charm

The other day, I was having breakfast with my youngest daughter. Her mom, who was at the office, cooked kare-kare for our viand. It was actually our 15^th wedding anniversary and I decided to take a forced leave from the office to attend to filial matters and meet my wife in Greenbelt in the afternoon for our celebration. The usual inquisitive child that she is, Charm asked me a lot of questions during that breakfast time together (by the way, all of us in the family are accustomed to eating rice for our breakfast). She asked why I was not at the office, why only her mama was at the office, why I like vegetables, why kare-kare is my favorite, etc. Oh, children!

My Google AdSense Earnings

I got very excited the other day because I received a postcard from Google AdSense Support sent via snail mail. When I opened it, it contained the Personal Identification Number (PIN) I needed to become eligible to receive payments for my  AdSense account. Since I have not been checking on the Monetize portion of my blog, I did not realize that I have almost reached the payment threshold to qualify for a payment. Encoding my PIN does not automatically translate to immediate monetization. I still have to reach the required monthly balance of US$100 before Google AdSense Support process my payment. The PIN I received was only for verification only of the contact information I gave them and to ensure that I receive my payments.

The Return of the Diminishing Load

Who says that only hoodlums perpetrate crimes such as highway robbery? Even big telecommunications firms rob their hapless victims, their loyal customers, in broad daylight. Maybe, you may have also been victimized by the diminishing load even if you did not subscribe to any of these unsolicited promotions sent to your mobile number by these firms. I, too, was once a victim of this 'heinous' crime.

Guide to Investment Decision

Ever since I became aware of the ways to financial freedom, I have been an avid follower of a website that gives comprehensive ideas where to invest one's hardearned money. I have been promoting the site, pinoymoneytalk.com, to my other officemates who have been asking for business tips. The site has vast wealth of knowledge that can truly guide one in making investment decisions. Admittedly, most of my investment decisions are based on the information I get there.

High School Reunion

Last January 30, I attended another small gathering of our high school Batch '87, which I also organized. This has been the fifth or so mini-reunion of our batch that I had organized since 2005 and I always feel excited every time because reuniting with old friends is always a welcome event. Although I usually see the same faces most of the time, a new face or two would be added each reunion and that gives me a sense of accomplishment. 

MF and UITF Advocate

Ever since I became aware of and actually invested in mutual funds (MFs) and unit investment trust funds (UITFs), I have voluntarily designated myself as its advocate, sharing my knowledge about it and trying to influence others to try investing in it, too. Whenever I get the chance to discuss it with people around me, I always grab that opportunity to do so. And I feel happy when people become interested in investing their extra money in either MFs or UITFs. My immediate previous entry differentiates the two.

Do You Know Where to Invest Your Money?

I'm into investments nowadays. Lately, I have been investing in mutual funds (MFs) and unit investment trust funds (UITFs). Basically, both are forms of collective investment schemes that pool money from different investors and invest it in stocks, bonds, short-term money market instruments, and/or other securities. There ends their similarity. As to their differences, I took the liberty of reposting the comprehensive explanation found at a financial blogsite (www.pinoymoneytalk.com), which I have been avidly following.

Living in Simplicity

I have just read the soft copy of Bro. Bo Sanchez's "Simplify and Live the Good Life," which was e-mailed to me as part of my rewards for being a member of the Truly Rich Club. It reinforces my time-honored practices for living in simplicity. Yes, I have always been simple, but not deprived, in many ways.  Call it frugality or, better yet, wise spending.

The Road to Financial Freedom

I came across a book by Bro. Bo Sanchez, the popular charismatic Catholic preacher, about the Eight Secrets of the Truly Rich. It talks about how his views on accumulating riches have changed from that of negative to positive. He also gives some practical steps on how to free oneself from financial burden and earn passive income that would give anybody the opportunity to increase the active income -- one derived from day job -- without really eating too much of one's time.

Vannie, Our Bunny

It has been more than a month since Vannie became a family member. I bought her as a present for our youngest daughter Charm who was then recovering from her two-day admission to the hospital for gastritis. I still vividly remember how her face delighted upon seeing the pair of rabbits I brought home that night and her utterance of appreciation for buying it for her. Since we didn’t have a ready cage yet that time, I asked our helper to make one on our yard using the spare tinplate bars we had.

A Healthier Me This Year

When we had our reunion with balikbayan friends in Trinoma days before last Christmas, my wife and I saw this exercise gadget, the Air Climber, in Landmark Department Store. Wifey instantly liked it because of the video demonstrating some of the workouts using it. I promised her I would buy it as my Christmas present for her. I did buy it for her...but only after Christmas.

Giving Back to God

My youngest daughter did something good that made me and my wife smile while we were attending the healing mass in St. Peregrine Laziosi Parish Shrine in Tunasan, Muntinlupa City this afternoon. Let me keep you hanging for a while and start from the very beginning.

Live Longer and Holier

Death is inevitable and each of us will have to face it sooner or later. While we do not have the power over death, we have the power over what we do to our body to live longer. For instance, we all know that eating too much of everything sweet, salty, sour, and fatty leads to sickness or disease, or sometimes aggravates our condition if we have it pre-existing already. Yet how many of us keep away from feasting on foods loaded with these life-threatening ingredients?

A Thief In The Night

The reality of death is always present. It really comes like a thief in the night. And nobody really has the chance to prepare for it. Well, not if you're diagnosed with the Big C or any terminal sickness and the doctor has given you your date with the Soul Taker. At least, knowing that you're dying soon, no matter how painful and shocking it may be, is always a better option than not knowing until when you will stay alive. The former still gives one the opportunity to amend all his wrong doings and live the last days of his life in all holiness while the latter does not bring immediate enlightenment but rather brings complacency towards working for the salvation of one's soul.

A Long and Lasting Friendship

Real friends don't need to see each other frequently to keep the friendship burning especially now that rapid advancements in communication technologies make it possible to connect with each other anytime anywhere. Everybody is just a text message or phone call or e-mail away.