Closing Exercises: My Thoughts

All these years, I have turned down several invitations to be the guest speaker of my  elementary school. Yes, my alma mater. One of the basic reason is that I do not know  what should I have to convey with the graduates and the parents. I feel like I do not  have enough confidence to be in front of all of them. I feel like I do not have anything to share at all. Like I haven't accomplished much to publicly speak in front of all the graduates.

But then, I guess now is the perfect time to accept it. I once climbed the same stage to claim my diploma and awards with a great anticipation of the next stage in my life. A new beginning to start with afterwards.

So what will I am gonna say? I haven't been successful in any areas yet. Just like them, I am still at the starting line. But then, success is not about just making a thousand a day, right? It is not about being listed in the forbes magazine. Or being in the top 10 tax payer of the country. So maybe, all these years that they keep on asking me to speak is that they are seeing something in me I never thought I have.

I have told them finally that each phase of life is a journey. And theirs just started. That anyone can dream and be able to accomplish those dreams. As Lupita Nyong'o said, "our dreams are valid". There maybe a lot of bumpy roads ahead but when there is focus and determination, we will always be at our destination in no time. The best thing is to enjoy the journey all through out. Eyeing the destination will never be fulfilling when we haven't enjoy those moments of hardships, those sweet joy of accomplishing small items, those tears of frustrations, and all.

And also I must abide by the theme: “Saktong Buhay: Sa De-Kalidad na Edukasyon Pinanday”. I have to research more and think of something close to reality inspirational speech. That thing which will not bore the crowd for a lengthy talk and then nothing remains afterwards.

I have been preparing for it as early as last last weekend when I received the invitation. There are a lot of things running in my head but I have to trim it down to that which is close to the theme. I am not perfectly in line with the theme actually, because I know some of the successful people I know never even made to college. Somehow, since I will have to speak the importance of education, I might as well, select the words that I am going to say. This is only my view point.

When I was young, they instilled it to me that to be able to land on a better paying job was to finish school. I knew it from the deepest back of my mind. But then as we grow old, learned the society, and eventually become curious with others success, education is just a part. Most of the success stories are from the persons themselves. The drive of the person that no matter how many failures we encounter, our willingness to stand up and beat the odds is what matters.

Just sharing. God Bless. :)

I Am On An Alternative Path These Days

I have many topics in draft but could not make it to publish mode. I have been contemplating if what I am sharing is actually an information or just my thoughts. So I decided to just let those sit in my drafts. I will try to re read it again and eventually re write it to something more of informative and realistic.

The past weeks, husband and I have not made it to one of our first quarter goal this year - BPI UITF due to a very hectic schedule of his. I can't sign in behalf of him. So , I will have to wait for this joint account to materialize.Maybe, the delay is of something beneficial for both of us later. I am positive, there is a reason behind this. At the moment, I am revisiting our target goals and re-aligning on the present situation. Now, I know, that the alphabet letters are actually designed for plan changes. Wink.

Yes, I have to revise some and make amendments. Anyway, nothing is permanent they say. And though we have plans, His is the best.

Jeremiah 29:11

'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

 I am glad, this week for me is a little relax.  So in the meantime, I am managing my time with reading more books and financial blogs, watching movies at home, looking for areas of improvement in my work, and also attending financial lectures with friends. These alternative path I am on right now is giving me time to check , redefine our goals, and make feasibility studies on some further thoughts of having passive incomes. I am also occupied with the speech preparation for my alma mater for next week.

And my weekends are for family and my little girl. In full. No social media and anything. Just spending the quality time with her and the family since I am away 5 days a week.

Just sharing. Happy Weekend. God Bless. ;)

My Daily Mantra

Wanna know my Mantra since 2014? It's gratifying seeing this in front of my work pc, in sticky notes. Since I have started to be financially aware and how writing one's goals are of great importance, I have been addicted into writing as well. That my thoughts have finally materialized in papers.

I became in love with highlighting every little thing I accomplished and crossing out those which no longer matters as I go down the road. Yes, there are phases of life when view of things changes and perspective needs to be rearrange. I am grateful for all the lessons I learned along the way. And hoping to be better as I pave these roads of uncertainty.

What keeps me going each day amidst the busy heavy workload and hectic schedule? My mantras that I have written way back the start of 2014. Reminds me when frustrations sits in and felt like things aren't falling into its right places.

*Be kinder than necessary - Kindness connects to who you are, while niceness connects to how you want to be seen. - David Levithan,Every Day

*The power of Giving - It is our sign of gratitude to the blessings we received

*Always Smile - It is contagious; Lightens up a heavy heart

*God loves me - His love is pure and completely hears the sound that my heart resonates

*Pray - Nothing is impossible in His perfect Timing

*Patience is a virtue - Waiting for the right time

*Age gracefully - Stop worrying

*Quality time - Spend more with Family and Friends. I have been working away from home since I graduated from college. So I am trying to make more time with them.

*Find time to connect - Keep up with friends and relatives;

*Enjoy a hobby - Simple Joys like cooking and sewing.

*Read a book - Learn a new word.

*Enjoy little things - Remember, not every one has

*Never Compromise - Learning to say No.

*Value other's time - Every one's time is precious.

*A promise is a promise.

*Always have a positive thinking. Good vibes radiates.

*Enjoy good music.

I have been re-aligning my financial goals with personal goals as well. There were times when I get disappointed with results. Other times frustrated with exhaustion. And a few more times, when I felt like I am on a dead end. It helps that these are my reminders to myself. A note for myself.

Not every time is smooth sailing in reality. We visualize a perfect world but then in actual, our patience is tested. Our mood swings. Our perspective changes. Our life paces. It's a good thing that we have our little reminders to stay grounded.

Just sharing. Happy Weekend. God Bless! :)

Where Did My Bonus Go?

Wondering why I haven't post any new topic about investments and all? Well, I am trying to figure out how to write the ventures we have come up with. Suddenly, I decided to just write it in a short sweet sentence with no further elaboration.

Last payday, the company gave our bonus. Yes, end of February is the bonus month for us since we are following a fiscal year. I am happy with what I received. It's a gift. It's a blessings. I decided to divided a portion of it to my family, my husband's family and the church. I am in joy. For the first time in my life, I have given the church a little bigger than I used to give. I am glad I have learned about the word tithe. Honestly, I wasn't taught of that exact word at home or in school or even in my environment. I only have came across it via all these financial blogs and finally enlighten about it.

And the rest of the money with the addition from the husband? It went directly to investment and a new income generating venture.

We added a small amount to the educational fund of our little girl.

We top up an amount to one of our source of our income. Top up means additional income for us.

We just signed up a 2 year contract for a rice farm lot. We intend to keep the income from this source for the plan apartment, and we will actually see how it will go along the way.

And just last night, a friend of mine told me they are opening a piggery business by 3rd quarter and currently under feasibility study. We might shell out a small amount. We'll see if after studying more about this agriculture venture will actually yield a positive results. For the meantime, I will have to read more and research more about this topic.

After all those, I told my husband, 'hindi ko man lang nahawakan yung bonus ko'. He said, it's ok, this is for us. We are delaying our gratification for our children's generation. Because you know why the rich continue to work even when they already are rich, they are working for their next generation's generation. Makes sense.

The next goal in our mind is to teach and show the the next generation how to properly manage what we have earned hard to build.

God Bless. Smile. :)

Learning English - My Method

In one of my telephone conversation with a client, I noticed myself stammering a lot in my English pronunciation. I know it is just fine, English is not my first language. Sentence constructions is also difficult for me which takes me a little longer to form an English paragraph. I have to make many revisions from time to time. In short, I am not proficient in English.

I wonder then how can I improve my English proficiency. Most of the applications I did before for oversea, I was asked for my English proficiency and to fake it, I often check the box for fluent in both written and oral. But in reality, I have difficulty expressing myself in English. Recently, I am thinking of switching a job, but I am dreading the interview. I can't sell myself in English. You know what I mean.

And at the back of my mind, I need I have to do something.

I have to squeeze time to learn a word each day and its meaning and be able to apply it in a sentence. I remember during high school in our English subject we had a notebook where we cut an English word from newspapers or magazines, paste it on a page, provide its meaning and use it in a sentence. And I started just doing that. But with only a notebook and a pen. Whenever I encounter a word that I don't understand, I just write the word, google it and write down its meaning. Good thing, I have this blog to apply the new word I learned each day.

I have been listening to great music these past weeks. Honestly, before, I couldn't understand the content of a song if I do not read the lyrics. But with more listening, I am beginning to understand the lyrics and how it is pronounce in a song.

I watch more English movies lately. Would you believe I don't actually understand English movies' plot without a subtitle? Or without me reading first the synopsis? That's how low my comprehension is. Before, I lean on the character's actions of the movie thus movies with less actions and more of conversations bore me. I don't understand it at all. With more exposure to these, I think I am progressing with the pronunciation as well as comprehension. I am still having trouble though with British English. I will get to that. :)

I am also finding time to read English books. Out loud. I remember the time, when husband heard me reading out loud and he has given me a face of disbelief. Like, seriously, you are reading out loud? Hahaha. I ignore him of course and just continue. The truth is, I have the 'probinsiyana' accent with 'f' becoming 'p' and vice versa. With 'o' as 'u'. And a lot more of the letters. Hahaha. He sometimes correct me with how I pronounce a word. A real time feedback. It's a good one though.

My financial blog reading for over a year now has taught me a lot of jargon words in financing. Glad, google is readily available. The adjustment with all the terms is all worth it.

I have a long way to go with English word/s. There are these idiomatic expressions I have yet to study.

Think positive. God Bless. :)

Breaking Away At The Moment

Two weekends ago, I was amazed by how my little child demonstrated perseverance into learning something new. Yes, looking at her from afar and just watching how she manages to go back and forth walking is something so wonderful for a mother like me. She sometimes loses her balance and then get up again and go the same routine. What caught me more smiling was when she was trying to reach a ball from the far end of the sofa. I watched her as she tries to reach it with her hand and fail several times. After many tries, I was anticipating for her to ask for my help but she didn't even glance at me. Instead, I saw her grab a teddy in the sofa and used it to pull the ball towards her and turned to me and said "Ketch" (for catch).

Funny how my little girl is teaching me a lot about all of these qualities. Her patience to get up every time she loses her balance from walking and running is remarkable. I know every kid in the world is actually like she is. Just unique paces. 

I know within myself that I should be childlike and not a childish at all. Having these certain treats - perseverance and determination, I know we can go along way with savings, sharing, and investing.

I admit, sometimes i am lax and most of the time, lagged behind with the care free attitude towards the future. Basically, my graph of motivation is fluctuating heavily as my emotions. Hormones they say. I get easily swayed and just completely dropped everything I have started eventually. Remember my expenses tracker?

As I watched my little girl move back and forth without her even looking at me and just continue her routine, even dances and raises her hand with a beaming smile on her lips, I thought how contented she is. How happy she is with her routine.

So maybe if I apply the same determination and perseverance to the other aspect of my life, I might end up with endless possibilities. As of the moment, I thought I have done so much with not much of results. I need more patience to look again. Fire up my desire to push me forward again. And if I encountered another dead end such as today, I can go back and examine where I went wrong.

Why did I say I am on a dead end today? I feel like I have exhausted so much of my effort and do not know if I can think more. To kill this immersing feeling, I decided to read a book. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. I must say it is a very good read.

I am determined to be a better person not just in my finances, our finances as a couple but also a better person in relationships whether it to be with my husband, my siblings, my in laws and other people. I wanted to persevere my personal goal as an individual and grow more spiritually.

I can do this. Baby step. I have started with finances and as of the moment, I can say though I am lax sometimes, my status is work in progress. A step forward still.

Just sharing. God Bless. Smile. :)

February - Spending Less and Less

28 days and they have gone so unnoticed. February, 2015. How it really went by so easily. I haven't got the chance to buy anything for myself. Wow! I am hoping the following months will be the same.

So what have kept me busy that I haven't hit the mall this month or the flea market for that matter? First, I am tired going out after work or before going to work. The workload has been heavy as reflected with my post. I only have few short posts. That when I get home, I just wanted to lie down and sleep. But, after a few minutes lying down, I usually grab my phone and check things out in the province. Then cook a simple breakfast and wait for the husband to come home. Sometimes, I eat alone specially when he has to extend longer period of time.

Second, I don't have any particular I like this month. My husband once told me, 'ang hirap mong regaluhan, wala kang gusto'. Hahaha. What he meant is that I don't really have those 'I want this, I want that' attitude. A chocolate will make me happy. A cake will make me giddy. But no to those high end gadgets, flowers, or other things. So this month, my husband only bought me chocolates and few junk foods which I crave on a PMS as a valentine gift. I begged the husband not to buy me any flowers which he promised not to. The flowers will wilt and the materials used to form the bouquet will add to waste.

Third, I haven't been watching TVs lately so I am no longer in sync with the trends. Hahaha. Added to that,  I have kept away from those few people who wanted to show off a lot. Who talk about the new 'must haves' and the 'new must try' eating venue/staycation and all. I think it had helped me because I know within myself, there is that 'inggetera' feeling. Hahaha. Plus, the social media craze like instagram and facebook. I put myself in lie low mode after I organize the contacts and following list. For me to learn more about contentment, I stayed away at those in the meantime until I can figure out exactly how to deal with it positively.

I am a work in progress. I know. I am willing to learn and change for the good. There maybe humps along the process but I know that I can do it. Things will fall into its right places at the right time.

Think positive. Smile. God Bless. :)