It's Time!

Whoever said it’s the thought that counts is a complete fool.

Oh, there’s no denying that Christmas is here. Aside from your calendar only having one page left, the cool morning air serves as a daily reminder. Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, it’s that time of the year again. And no, I’m not just talking about the holiday rush. For us working professionals, it’s a different kind of rush we love to call BONUS.

Made you smile, didn’t I? But notwithstanding the ‘treat others’ and ‘reward myself’ mindset of extra cash, wouldn’t it be great to give a gift this season that literally keeps on giving? I don’t want to sound like Scrooge, but really, there’s a better way to handle your Christmas bonus.

Rude Awakening: Bonus boom and bust cycle

Where has your bonus gone, you ask. Oh, it’s all in your closet, in your brand new phone, and maybe in that swanky 40-inch LCD that you got for a bargain. Let’s face it: we are all conditioned, teased, and eventually convinced to spend recklessly in this so-called season of goodwill and hope. The Christmas spirit has transitioned well into a definition comprised by weekly mall-wide sales, midnight madness, and party packages.

No, this will not be a sermon, but who are we kidding? When we’ve finished spending our bonus on non-essentials, we’re back to the reality of soaring prices of basic necessities. So in today’s cash-strapped reality, there’s no such thing as extra cash.

Not-So-Rude Awakening: Your bonus can come a long, long way – if you want to

See, we need to change our behavior towards our bonus, if we want it to stay in our hands long enough to be transformed into something more profitable. But how?

1. Let it be. Stop obsessing over how to spend your bonus. Instead, go out of your way to make sure that it stays put.

2. Invest. There’s a reason it’s called a bonus – it’s essentially more than your usual provision. If you haven’t thought of where to spend your money just yet, don’t let it sit still and do nothing! Mutual funds cater to different types of people with different financial objectives and investment horizons. So know your options and make your money work hard by investing it.

3. Start a business. If you can’t beat them, join them, is what they say. I’m referring to the innovative entrepreneurs who see opportunities on how to make their money work harder for them. It could be as easy as starting out with selling food, clothing or other basic necessities at work, with very minimal capital needed.

4. Donate. Well, there will be no immediate karmic pay-out in charity, but hey, you feel good, right? And holiday or not, the satisfaction of knowing that you’ve been a big help is priceless.

Now, can you think of other ways so your bonus will not melt like the butter over a bibingka?

It just occurred to me that as we grow older, the topic of death slowly permeates into casual conversation. Sure, it’s painful to comprehend, but it drives home the invaluable lesson of losing and gaining, of stumbling and of recovering. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m clueless. Alicia Silverstone-type-of-clueless, that is.

Way past fresh grad phase, one would think that I have made my way into finding out about studying finances, poring over Excel sheets and maintaining books. But I’m nowhere near anything that requires computations. Read the rest of this entry »

The past week has been more than a rude awakening, not just for me but of a whole nation as well. As typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng wreaked havoc in Northern Luzon, Manila and nearby provinces, past mistakes and shortcomings all came rushing in, like the uncontrollable currents of the September 26 flood.

Everyone has an Ondoy or Pepeng story to tell, including me, but I choose to be forward-looking. As we slowly recover from the trauma, physical exhaustion and material loss, lessons and realizations are now being uncovered.

Rude awakening: How prepared are we in the face of calamities and similar emergencies?

Sure, natural disasters and crises contain a potent factor that leaves many of us dumbfounded. More than the soaked gadgets and shoes buried in melted Cadbury-like mud and murk, most of the damage is emotional.

Whether you are in the middle of things or from the outside looking in, helplessness is enough to dampen the spirit.

Not-so-rude-awakening: The three P’s – Primed, Prepared, and Protected — are not impossibilities.

Let’s face it: nothing can prevent nor pre-empt the negative effects of shock. But once we regain our bearings, what I like to call the three P’s can immediately help us spring back into action.

1. PRIMED means to be informed and knowledgeable of the situation. Someone from PAG-ASA summed it perfectly: Instead of watching telenovelas, watch the news. Indeed, knowledge is power. Being in the know alleviates and somehow relieves the tension that we feel when caught off guard. Also, the right information can help guide us on what to do next.

2. PREPARED pertains to all the measures you could have done beforehand. Included are emergency kits (clothes, transistor radio, ready-to-eat food, water, fully-charged and loaded mobile phones, jacket, blanket, medicines and cash), list of important addresses and contact numbers, as well as a drawn-up plan for responding to emergencies.

3. PROTECTION gives you the ability to recuperate and return to your life before its unfortunate disruption. These are the intangibles: insurance (life, non-life, pre-need), savings, and investments that you can easily convert to hard cash and fuel your new beginning.

However, the most pressing issue transcends our personal recovery. While many of us pick up the pieces after the storm, some don’t have pieces to pick up at all, literally. Thus, donations, in the form of relief goods or one’s own time spent volunteering, are urgently needed. The Philippine National Red Cross (www.redcross.org.ph), Citizens’ Disaster Response Center (http://www.cdrc-phil.org/program.HTM) and World Vision (www.worldvision.org.ph) are just several examples of groups that give assistance to victims and opportunities to those who want to lend a helping hand.

Yes, it’s important to be primed, prepared, and protected. But to be able to contribute to rebuilding efforts can also make the greatest difference in the face of such destruction.