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One of the perks I get as a Work-at-Home mom is I receive 13th-month pay without any fail for 5 years straight. Some of my friends who are working in the government and receiving the same benefit said that I was so fortunate to have found a job online with that kind of benefit. That's very rare. I responded, "exactly"!
Since 13th-month pay is something I am always looking forward to when December comes, I see to it that it goes to something tangible. Like in the past years, I used to spend the money on different projects, house makeover for example. Or if I wanted to reward myself for the hard work I've done in the past 11 months, I allocated a certain amount to treat or pamper myself. One thing that I made sure of was I set aside an amount to buy some groceries and give to our poor neighbors or native carollers who were asking for foods or gifts.

However, my incoming 13th-month pay this year will go directly to our savings. Ronan and I have long wanted to buy a second-hand car with an age less than 5 years because our current car is super cranky now. There were several occasions that our car broke down in the middle of the road and we had no choice but to call our friend to help us tow our car. Loaning a new car is also possible but we have to contemplate yet because it will be an additional expense for sure.

Though my 13th-month pay will go to one purpose, it doesn't mean that it will hinder me to do the things I used to do every Christmas. I will still continue my mission by sharing my blessings to others and helping those who are in need.

How about you, how will you spend your13th-month pay?

Disclaimer: It is not a review. 

I think car is as important as our basic needs especially that we are living far away from the heart of the city. When our old and cranky car broke down for almost a week now, my mother and Chesska had to commute going to school every day,  same was true when my husband went to the office for work. Even though our place is accessible and there are other options such as jeepney to ride on, having a car is much more comfortable where you can bring anything you want and can go anytime most especially when an emergency strikes.

Just a couple days ago, my husband and I talked about a car loan. Honestly,  it is an idea that we often reject a hundred times but upon remembering our experiences when our car broke at the middle of the road and we had to get down and just take a taxi going home  or call a friend to help us tow our car, we discuss it with open minds.

Just to give you a few background of our car, we bought it second-hand in 2010 but the model is 1995. You see how old it is? Maybe it's time for him to retire (hehe).

Yesterday, we searched online the possible car companies that we are planning to loan with by next year, summer to be exact.  We found Toyota car company that sells our top choices namely Toyota Wigo and Avanza, and the other one is Isuzu company that sells Crosswind brand.  These have been the favorite choices my husband and I have been discussing in the past. Now let's make a comparison.

1.  Toyota Wigo (Model: 1.0 EMT)

via: www.toyota.com.ph

Toyota Wigo has a capacity of five people which will perfectly work for midget people like us (hehe). Using a loan calculator this will be the monthly amortization.

SRP: P 473, 000

If down payment is 50%

Monthly Payment (for five years): P 5, 164

My thoughts: The monthly amortization of P5, 164 is acceptable for us since we fully paid our house already. It's not really a burden to our budget.

2.  Toyota Avanza (1.3 E M/T)

via: www.toyotafinancial.ph

SRP: P 764, 000
If down payment is 50%

Monthly Payment (for five years): P 8, 341

My thoughts: My family and husband's love to travel and we need a big car that can go through rough terrains and endure long hours trip. Aside from that, the interior is big enough to accommodate people of 7. The monthly amortization of P 8,341 is a little burdensome but it's still negotiable.

3. Crosswind XL

via: www.isuzuphil.com

We can't ignore the fact that wedding costs are due to family pressure either from the groom or bride, pressure from peers, or even influence from social media such as Facebook or Pinterest, posting nice and magical wedding photos. But as practical as we are, we strive not to keep up with the latest wedding trends. After all,  wedding is not a competition.

A month ago prior to our church wedding ceremony, I shared our estimated wedding budget, detailing all the important things we had to pay and purchase, making certain we wouldn't exceed to our allocated budget. (Note: Some figures reflected there were exact amount we paid especially fees for the church, makeup, Eden resort's accommodation, and the wedding dresses, while the rest mentioned was just a rough estimate.)

Originally, we didn't want to spend more than 60,000 just for a single day. So Ronan and I had a long debate of who to invite, where is the venue, how much is the budget for photography, so on and so forth. Eventually,  we decided to have a smaller and simpler wedding. The simpler, the better.

Before I elaborate everything, let me share you our actual wedding cost, which was slightly higher than our estimated wedding budget. Note. Our wedding budget is neither loaned nor borrowed (We are proud of it!).

Details	Pesos	(1 dollar=44)
Eden Accommodation (2 days) + Buffet (32 people)	25,378	$577
Virgin delos Remedios Fee	4,200	$95
St. Michael Chapel Rent	2,000	$45
St. Michael Choir	2,000	$45
Stipend	1,500	$34
Wedding Requirements	500	$11
Wedding Clothes Rent (second use)	8,800	$200
Makeup	7,000	$159
Photography  (shoot only)	6,000	$136
Bouquets and Flowers	3,000	$68
Eden Transportation (back and forth)	2,500	$57
Church Decor	2,581	$59
Shoes (6 people)	4,120	$94
Crucifix and Bible	750	$17
Postnup Suits	2,300	$52
Hair Color (Ronan and Me)	1,510	$34
Others	9,680	$224
Total Cost	84, 569	$1922

First, let's talk about our wedding venue. I genuinely love nature as much as my husband does. I told him if we could just find the right venue - quiet, intimate, and spectacular - then all else would fall into place. So we first agreed to have Eden Garden Resort as our wedding reception.



However, after calling them up, they said that the required minimum guests shouldn't be less than 100 persons. If we had chosen that option, our cost would have reached 100,000. Though that amount already includes foods for 690/pax, St. Michael Chapel fee for 12, 900, and the hall rent for 10,000. Hello, we were only 32 and didn't want to pay the excess amount. After making up our minds, we finally chose, still Eden, but this time, we only availed the accommodation (before and after the wedding) plus buffet during the wedding for 32 pax including the photographers and makeup artists. We had no choice but forget the reception, program, etc.

Second is hire a well-versed photographer. We were so completely happy with the outcome of our pictures. These didn't tell that we only had a low-budget wedding. We owed this from  King Perez, who happened to be Ronan's college friend. In fairness, his talent fee is the cheapest fee I know, considering how creative and professional he was during our wedding. I was unsure if he just gave a discounted price because first of all, he's a friend. But tell you what, photography and video would have cost you as much as 16,000 - 40, 000, depending on how long the shoot will be. We're just so lucky we have King! hehe

Third, take into consideration the wedding dresses. Initially, our budget for wedding dresses is  7,000. We first scouted at Wedding Bells, along Ecoland, to see the dresses and most importantly ask the cost. For the first user, the cost ranges from 25, 000 and beyond  (My eyes bulged a bit because it was outrageously high). While, second user's lowest rate ranges from 13,000, depending on the style. I told my husband, "let's go to some other boutiques to take chances and I believe we can dig a nicer gown there for a reasonable price". So our second route was Teresing boutique along Magallanes Street. Luckily,  we found for only 8,800 worth for the whole package already (bridal gown, groom's suit, entourage dresses, veil, cord, 3 flower girls ' baskets ), all are second used.



Fourth, don't be too thrifty when it comes to makeup. The groom and the bride are the main cast of the event so it's just right that you both look gorgeous. I think, 7,000 was just a fair professional fee asked by our makeup artists because it already included the whole entourage. By the way, don't you ever forget to get into pre-makeup from your preferred artists so they could study further what's the best makeup for you.

Fifth, the "Others" category was our prepared contingency fund, which was gradually spent for fare back and forth (brother and mother-in-law), snacks during errands,  foods the day before the wedding since we cooked our own foods at Eden, and a small "handa" in our house two days after the wedding prepared for friends and neighbors who had not been invited.

WHERE DID WE SAVE?

We did not pay for the wedding organizer. We did the planning ourselves, though it would entail effort, time and energy.  It took us 3 three months,  ironing out everything - from complying church wedding requirements, from scouting for venues and churches, from looking into the biggest details up to the tiniest. We save 20,000. 

We did not pay for cake. Since we didn't have a formal reception, (buffet is informal..hehe) we opted not to have it. We save 3,000. 

We did not buy wedding rings. We just reused the wedding rings worn during our first wedding (civil ceremony). We save 5,000 (Just an estimate).

We did not hire a florist. Our first preference was to hire someone to decorate the church but she asked 22, 000 for the floral arrangement and bouquets. NO WAY! Too expensive. So we made the ribbons and other decors ourselves for the church by watching the process from YouTube. (You see how useful Youtube is..) For our bouquets, hair dresses, and corsages, my aunt knew a florist from Bankerohan,  so we got a discount and just paid 3,000. We save 19,000. 

bride's maid bouquets

bridal's bouquet

DIY Church Decors

We did not pay for the wedding car. St. Michael chapel is just a few minutes away from the room where we stayed so we just rode in the resort's shuttle. It was incredibly a unique experience. We save 2,000. 



We did not include video shoot.  I'll tell you, the video would easily consume almost 1/4 to 1/2 of your budget so we already settled into a photo shoot. We save 10,000. 

We did not avail the reception for 100 guests.  The ultimate reason was our budget was too limited so it turned out to be a small wedding. We save 56, 920.  






We did not bother for giveaways.  Most of our guests haven't gone to Eden yet, so I guess that was the best giveaway we had given them - plus memories and experience. We save 3,200. (100 pesos/pax)

We did not buy wedding invitation cards.  Personal invitation by mouth just worked really fine. We save 1000. 

By now, you might have known that we are the most frugal couple in the history (haha). But you know what, we have saved P118, 120 (just re-compute na lng if I got it wrong..hehe). If we had chosen a fancier wedding, our wedding cost would have been more or less 200,000, which is usually the cost of modern wedding nowadays.

Let's keep in mind that happiness is not measured by the extravagance of the wedding, but it's how the couple wholeheartedly works out the marriage vow until the end of time. Additionally,  Pope Francis said,  a Christian marriage is not just a big ceremony held in a church with nice flowers, and everyone wearing fancy clothes and taking lots of pictures.  Marriage is an act of faith between a man and woman who are both fragile and limited, but courageous enough to follow Christ and seek to love each other as he loves them. (source)

How about you? How much did you spend on your wedding? Feel free to share your thoughts.

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As the queen of practicality, we try to keep our church wedding as simple as possible.  First thing first is to consider the wedding budget.

I was being upfront with my husband by telling him,  if you wish to have a lavish wedding, "better forget the wedding". Or if you will borrow money just to impress others, "better forget me (hehe)"

Starting a married life with debts is terrible, and I don't want that to happen. Though we have been together for 5 years under one roof, we try to keep our life debtless.

I know my husband will completely agree with me because he himself is a king of frugality.  That is actually our common denominator.

So during our talk, we first decided to prepare a budget of 50k. But after breaking down all the details, we found out that we fell short. So we stretched the budget a bit to 70k including the contingency funds.

We only invited 32 guests and they were all families and the closest relatives from both sides because we just wanted the most intimate, simplest, and the most exclusive-experienced wedding.

We decided not to invite friends and co-workers. However, we told them beforehand so they would not be offended.

Let me share with you the detailed breakdown of our wedding budget.


As you can see, a large amount of our budget went to Virgin delos Remedios church for the process of our requirements alone. I was surprised that our payment would not include the choir and decor.  As I compared notes from Sto. Rosario Toril, they should have been included.

In my opinion, we should have paid much lesser amount because we are the ones following up and climbing up the mountain where St. Michael is situated. It appears to me that I double-pay for the church.

Well, I didn't complain. It all just left me hanging.

Also, if you notice,  we didn't allot budget for rings because we would just re-use our old rings used during civil ceremony. Nor we have budgets for invitations, giveaways, and cake. I told you it's not an old-fashioned and traditional wedding (hehe).

Lastly, since husband and I are not showy nor fans of corny things, we decided not to have wedding programs. We will just enjoy the remainder of the day for postnup and the guests will also enjoy nature-hopping, swimming, and eating in the eat-all-you-can buffet. I am pretty sure Eden garden will not disappoint them. hehe

That is all folks.

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This is my cellphone, Firefly Mobile. I bought this two years ago for Php 900 only.

And this is husband's phone, too, Nokia. He bought it 3 years ago for Php 2,000 only.


If you've noticed, they're outdated phones, yet still both functional, serving to our BASIC NEEDS. I reiterate BASIC - Text and Call.

If you are wondering why we didn't upgrade to the latest and hippest phone (though husband and I earned more than enough), my answer is plain and simple, "It can wait until we achieve our ULTIMATE GOAL", which I will reveal later.

Though there were times we had been ridiculed as being Kuripot (stingy),well, it's ALRIGHT because we believe we're just doing right, with our HARD-EARNED money.

I may sound braggy, but we could afford Android phone or tablet with CASH, not CREDIT CARD, (which you may have heard a hundred times that we didn't avail). But as I said it can wait until we achieve our ULTIMATE GOAL.

via: http://wirelessretailstores.com/do-people-choose-iphones-or-androids-based-on-the-cool-factor/ via: http://tabtimes.com/tablets

No offense meant, but I always notice some people keep upgrading gadgets just to satisfy their "wants" in the present, or maybe just to impress others, or to level with their peers. Your personal motive I don't care but just ensure to  know your Wants from Needs.

Upgrading is not only true with gadgets, also true  with other "Lifestyles" that may have harmed your SAVINGS,  intended for the future.

I must admit there were a lot of times I had been drooling of these stuff.

via; http://interiorsbystudiom.com/shop-for-shoes-shop-shoes-jill-zaleski/ http://rap.genius.com/Xv-i-dont-like-freestyle-lyrics#note-1492995 http://www.marmarisnow.com/place/safi-store-marmaris/

And these - House Decorations


Gadgets I can ignore, but this girly-girly thing is something hard to resist. The more I see them, the more they become irresistible. Every time we went to mall for groceries, I was tempted to stop by at dress shops or shoes stalls, but there's something nagging at the back of my mind, reminding me "IMPORTANT GOAL FIRST".
What I am implying is all about delaying short-term gratifications.

The main reason why we delay our short-term gratifications by not buying updated cellphones for example, is because we have to hit our target - fully pay our housing loan in five years time. Let me share you a brief story.

Last 2010, we availed a 120-square-meter house via PAGIBIG housing loan program, payable for 30 years for 5,620 pesos monthly.

What concerned me was in that length of time, many unpredictable events could possibly happen. What if my husband would lost his job since home-based job is unpredictable too. Or we may get broke due to any unexpected circumstances.

This concern had led us to think of ways how to shorten our payment terms. Instead of 30 years, we paid the principal amount (original price of the house) slowly, aside from monthly amortization, to lower the interest and number of years.

And finally, just last week, we already hit our target. After five years of belt-tightening and delayed-gratifications, it yields a fruitful result. A REWARD FOR A LIFETIME.



Since we completely settled our debt in PAG-IBIG,  I could already upgrade my old and cranky phone. (of course husband too, wink...) Yay!

And before I close this topic, I'd like to share this enlightening verse to help us attain our dreams.

via: http://workingwomenoffaith.com/dont-quit-you-will-reap-what-youve-planted/

If you want to know our secret how we handle our money? Please read this post.

Thanks for reading!

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We all love shopping, don't we? We can't avoid drooling over mall displays which sometimes lead us to unplanned purchase - branded clothes, gadgets, bags, a new pair of shoes, furniture, or anything that catches our eyes. If I were a heir of Uncle Bill Gates (lol), maybe I could shop things as much as I want. But we all know, that is not the real situation.

Since I've been promoted as a mom (which is my new blog's tagline), I have already become kuripot (stingy), which I'm only second to my husband who is the ultimate kuripot. Yes, we were blessed for having substantial-earning jobs, but we make sure we don't spend more than our income. We are not "ubos biyaya, bukas nakatunganga" type of people, not even one-day millionaires, because as we know (you and me) money would easily disappear in our pocket when we're not conscious of our spending.

So here, I will share with you our agreed-upon method in handling money.

1. Set up a budget.

Honestly, Ronan is much more financial literate than me, so his influence about handling money has infected me so much. (hehe) During in the early stage of our marriage, Ronan and I first talked about how we should handle our finances. We both agreed to keep track of our expenses no matter how small or big so we can figure out where our money is going.

How? We make a list by categorizing our necessary expenses including foods, emergency funds, house amortization, insurance, bills, gasoline, recreation, and the like. We agreed how much money or how many percent of our salary will go to each category.

This is how we classify the items under each category: Expenses and Savings:

2. We put right away our savings in the bank.

To avoid the bad money habit like overspending, we immediately put our savings in the bank. This fund is reserved for emergencies and future use like Chesska's education and for our retirement as well.

Luckily, since Ronan and I are both income generating, a certain rate of our income will go directly to our bank account. We have faithfully practiced this financial principle: SALARY - SAVINGS = EXPENSES. 

What does that principle imply? Well, it's very simple. As soon as we received our salary during pay day (take note pay day...well unless payday falls during holidays), we put right away our savings in the bank and never touch them unless, of course, when emergencies happen.  Then the money left will go to whatever our expenses.

Though at the beginning, we find this practice tough to achieve, but as time passed, we already get into the habit of saving.

If we'll reverse the financial equation to SALARY - EXPENSES = SAVINGS, for example,  what will happen then?  If you can't control your impulse by buying anything useless, you might have turned your savings into negative, as a result, you might have left indebted.

3. We avoid credits. 

As much as we want to avail credit card for easy purchase online such as booking a plane ticket, or for the sake of convenience by swiping the card when grocery-shopping,  but the idea that it is still "utang (debt)", then we decided not to avail it.

Instead, the only card we have is a debit card. Yes, we can still swipe and purchase online, well unless there are sufficient funds on it. As long as we know it is not "utang", then we can sleep well at night by not worrying about paying interest and credit card dues.

4. We invest into financial education.

Does it sound expensive? Actually, it's not. Financial education is just around the corner. We can read financial books on how to increase our financial literacy. Or we can ask advice from a financial mentor who can guide us how to handle our finances. Or meaningfully surf the net on how to manage our money wisely.

5. Lastly and most importantly, we practice delayed gratification.

While strolling around the mall, a nice dress in the boutique catches your attention. Would you stop and buy it? Or wait for a few days and think many times before you buy it?

How you answer the question would have a great impact on your finances in the future.

Delayed gratification is an important skill for one to develop in order to attain financial success. It means to delay your pleasure and to fight temptations over instant buying just to satisfy your present self or just to impress others.

Presently, I am proud to have a better half who managed setting aside his "wants" for the sake of our most important goal. I know he has long wanted to buy a new bike so he can exercise every morning, and a latest windows phone to upgrade his programming skills, but he rather opted to save so we can fully pay our house, hopefully, this year.

The same is true with myself. I want to replace my 8-year-old and cranky laptop into a new one, but then I have to control my urge until we'll hit our goal this year.



On the other hand, here are three ways how to reduce instant gratification.

source: http://www.jagoinvestor.com/2010/12/instant-gratification-costs-financial-life.html

How about you mommies? How did you and your husband manage your finances? I'll be glad to hear from you by leaving your comments below.

Maternity check-up, hospital bills during delivery, vitamins, and supplements before and after pregnancy for a mother’s health maintenance are one of those essential expenses spent in the early stage of motherhood. What's next to this list? Well, expect more expenses especially in bringing up your baby’s needs. Infant milk, diapers, vaccines, vitamins, and other necessities will be already included in your budget.

Amidst life's difficulties, I embrace practical ways in order to economize expenses. Here are my true-to-life story tips.

1. Plan Ahead

Plan at least two or three months before the birthday party to avoid “last minute” preparation that leads to messy outcome. Keep in mind that this is a party for your baby, not for the BIG ones. Prepare what are needed for the children to enjoy the party. Then, consider the important thing, the budget that would cover everything according to the parents’ desire and affordability.