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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

My 2014 Short-Term Goals

Hello,

I cannot remember if I had my 2013 goals so I cannot check if I achieved them or not. But anyways if I cannot remember then I will instead write my 2014 goals.

1. Jog for at least once a week.

2. Write a post to this blog even once a week or a month.

3. Lessen spending too much on dining out. Or dine out only for once a month.

4. Teach in a private school. Will pass applications to different private schools until March 2014.

5. Enroll 3-6 units of Master's Degree.

6. Spent more time with family.

7. SAVE & SAVE & SAVE & SAVE.....

Hope I can achieve my short term goals for this year. Be this year a prosperous one Lord :)

God Bless to all of us,

Christmas 2013 and New Year 2014

Hi,

It's been a while I was not able to update this blog, tsk. I've been so busy with work and my other duties outside work also. But hoping for this year 2014 I can write 1 post every week or once a month. Writing and reading are my past time when I am not working or if I have no hangout with my friends. 2013 was for me a "Hangout with friends" year, I can't count on my fingers anymore on how many times I'd go out with them. Well if I am always having fun with them then my expenses also rise up but it doesn't matter if I did because happy moments cannot be bought with money.

So how did my Christmas 2013 and New Year 2014 goes?

I spent my Christmas 2013 at home with my family. It was very nice and happy because I realized that I am not always spending time with them. Like we are doing the Videoke or having a chitchat with each other. It went well and it is really a blast!

Our New Year 2014 was indeed happiest moment also of my life. I spent it with my mother and grandmother, so only 3 of us watch the fireworks at our veranda. We eat the foods that Mom and Lola prepared, it was delicious. It was 2:00 am already when we doze off and goes to sleep.

My 2013 was great, so many trials and blessings has been poured out for my family and I am very thankful to God for all of those.

Best Regards,

Sunday, August 4, 2013

My Selfie Sunday Date at McDo

Hi,

It's August already and day by day it's been just like oh clock is ticking very fast. Month's end with ber is fast approaching. I am looking for more things and moments to experience this month. I have one thing I want to accomplish this month and that is to have a second savings account where i can put my emergency fund coz temporarily I am putting it in a cooperative, the cooperative is just fine but it is not anymore convenient on my part because i need to travel 15-20 mins just to go there to deposit my emergency fund. I want my emergency fund to be automatically deducted in my salary bank account and doing it online is the most convenient part to make for me. So I am hoping that I could do that this month.

Enough of that by the way :) let me proceed to my selfie date at McDo today. It's been a while that I was not able to go out without any company of my friends since I always go out meeting them at the city or they will come at our house to do a movie marathon during weekend. I can only go out during weekend coz I am so busy with work from Monday to Friday. So here is what happen today with my selfie date mode :))

  • I go to church at 2:30 pm mass and it ends at around 4:00 pm.
  • After that I went to the nearest mall which is Gaisano Mall Iligan City a few blocks away only from church.
  • There are several food chains inside the mall. There is Chowking, Jollibee, Greenwhich, Mang Inasal and Red Ribbon but what I choose is McDonalds :) I always eat at Jollibee and Chowking with friends also Greenwhich with Mom. Mang Inasal and Red Ribbon is not on my list of want to eat up something because of their expensive food, well for some it's not but I find their food expensive. Jollibee, Greenwhich and McDonalds food fits well my budget or any persons budget if they want to eat food that are delicious and at the same time cheap. I have only PHP 100 budget for this selfie eating :) So I enter McDonalds and order a McFloat, Fries and a Burger. I did take a picture of it, see below: :)

When I eat out I always get the receipt. This way I can total how much I spend for it in my spending tracker app on my ipod. So I take a photo of the receipt also, just take a look:


You can read on the receipt that the Burger cost PHP 29, Fries is PHP 29 and Coke Float which is PHP 25. A total of PHP 83.00 and I have a change of PHP 17.00. My PHP 100 budget really fits up. Going to McDo once a while without someone with me feels like very nice or I mean it was really fulfilling. I don't have someone to talk to but I feel not alone, yes it's not, why? Coz sometimes I do feel that I need to think and think and think again for a while without getting any ideas or opinions from friends or others. I just enjoy eating there plus reading an ebook from my iPod, most funny thing also is I can observe people around me, how they talk with their date's, aka their boyfriends, their kids etc. So now I will see to it that even just once a month I will make this thing, dating myself once in a month :) This is cool!!!
  • Last is after eating at McDo, I went upstairs or at the 2nd floor of the mall to look at their displays of clothes, shoes, and many more but I end up not enjoying it because I have no money to buy anything in there though, hehe. Yeah, budget is very tight so I need to discipline myself not to wander around anymore because for sure jealousy will strike me.
That's it! My first weekend sunday date with myself for this month of August. How about you? Do you also do selfie date?

Till next time,

Monday, July 22, 2013

Believe What God Believes About You

Hi,

Have I told you that I am reading this book for this month of July? Well if I did not, let me tell you how I get this. I bought this book when I go to Cagayan de Oro City to renew my professional license id as a teacher at a National Bookstore in Limketkai Mall. I forgot the exact price, what I remember is it cost PHP 200+. Let me show you it's cover:


This book is for women, and the author is "Emilie Barnes" if she is familiar to you, can you let me know what are other books she written?

Let me now proceed to what is this post about, I am now on page 233 of this book, it has a total of 279 pages and it will be few days more to finish reading this. By the way I am reading this every night before I sleep and after I woke up in the morning. This book has a Scripture Reading and a Key Verse, after that there was a reflection from the author about the scripture reading. Let me show you what I read today.

Title: Believe What God Believes About You

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:4-13
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 13:4-13

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now i know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

It's important to believe that we have value and that we are worthy to give of ourselves. This begins by knowing and accepting what our heavenly Father believes about us.

Till my next post,

Monday, July 1, 2013

Tracking Down June Expenses

Hi,

I have been tracking my expenses for 4 months now, I have started it last March 2013.  I am doing this stuff every month just to track where my money goes each day of the month. See below where my expenses go and how much.



June Expenses
Forgive me for the picture that is not really clear. I will just write the amount of my expenses below:
  • Utilities (Electricity, Telephone, Internet) - PHP 2521
  • Insurance (Life & Health) - PHP 2824
  • Irregular Expenses - PHP 3659
  • Help to Parents - PHP 13000
TOTAL = PHP 22004

My total expenses for June was PHP 22004. Hooray! My expenses for June is not that big compared to the last 3 months I am tracking it. 

My total expenses for March is PHP 27418, April is PHP 24994, May is PHP 29315 and now June is PHP 22004. I am very happy about this. I now know how to properly manage my money for the month of June. But I really need to still lower my irregular expenses. My irregular expenses are those expenses for eating out  with friends, transportation and groceries. 

I will make a budget plan starting this week for this month of July. I hope that my expenses this month will be much lower again just like the month of June.

Till my next posts,

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Peso Cost Averaging Investing

Hi,

Its been a while that I was not able to update my blog because of so many things/work and activities that I need to do this month. I am the Assistant Team Leader of our SFC - Christian Life Program and I did attend the SFC 19th Provincial Conference. You can see my pics below about this events I am mentioning.

CLP

SFC 19th Provincial Conference

Now, let me proceed about this topic I am writing about :) 

What is Cost Averaging?

It is an investment strategy which requires systematically purchasing securities at a determined intervals and set limits over a long period of time.

Its been 4 months already this month of June that I am monthly investing in my FAMI-SALEF(Save and Learn Equity Fund) with a minimum amount of PHP 1000. I am looking for a long term investment at about 5 years from now. I am hoping and praying that I can maintain this and my retirement fund will get ready at my age of 65 or also.

How about you? Do you also invest in this kind of method? Let me know what you think.

Till my next post,

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Being A Servant of The Lord

Hi,

It's been a very busy month for me and i forgot to update my blog this month. My goal is to write once a week and unfortunately I am not successful about this because of so many things to do at work and my service for the Lord :). It will be 2 yrs already this coming July and my experience of being a servant was the best thing or experience that has ever happened to me. It makes me happy and it completes me when I am doing my service every Sunday for our Christian Life Program and attending some events. I can't really explain why but deep in my core I do love to serve.


Last Sunday (June 9, 2013) we had our Talk 9 for our Christian Life Program in ISK Church here in Iligan City. The talk was about Receiving the Power of the Holy Spirit. All the participants will undergo the "baptism" not the literal baptism where a priest conduct it but this is a process where the servants or old members will pray over on each of the participants. They will pray for the participants prayer concerns and the gifts they wanted to receive. There are 9 gifts to be prayed for but they are ask to just select 3 gifts out of 9.  The 9 spiritual gifts are gift of tongue, faith, healing, prophecy, vision, discernment, wisdom, knowledge, interpretation. 

What did the Bible says about the Holy Spirit?
Many people during the prophet Ezekiel's time were enmeshed in sin and spiritual lifelessness, like many Christians today.  This is what God said to them:
  • Ezekiel 36:26.  God's promise of the Holy Spirit.
  • Ezekiel 36:27.  God's promise of help and power to do what is right.  The Holy Spirit gives us the power.
The Holy Spirit that God promised through Ezekiel, Jesus gave to his disciples.  With the Holy Spirit, men gain:
  • A new nature, spiritual power.  Galatians 5:16 23.  The inward dimension.
  • Power to serve.  Acts 1:8.  The outward dimension.
God wants all men to have this new life.  God sent His Son into the world so that we could be given the source of the new life, the Holy Spirit.

As a conclusion,
God wants you to have His gifts because He loves you and wants to live in you by His Holy Spirit.  Desire God's gifts!
God offers and gives His gifts.  Our part is to accept.  Let us all give the Holy Spirit a welcome into our lives.

Till my next posts, I''ll write about finance topic in my next post.

Cheers,

Friday, May 31, 2013

Tracking Down MAY Expenses

Hi,

It's 12:02 AM of June 1, 2013 now, another month to experience new things and to discover new world that God has to offer :). For the past 2 months I've been tracking my expenses so that i'll know if I am effectively following my budget plan and of course being to live frugally at the same time. Don't be shock on what will I'll show you below on my expenses this month.


 

As you can see the expenses, I have very big expenses this month of May not like the previous month of March and April. My total expenses has been blown up to an amount of PHP 29315. My help to parents amount doesn't matter or does not hurt on my part because my family depends on me. The irregular expenses has increased but I have already told you that this month my acne has started to appear again on my face and I have to go to my dermatologist again to have treatments for my acne, an expenses that blow my budget up for this month. Below is the budget plan I made for month of May, so now you can see the difference on how much my expenses increased.


My supposed to be budget for May is only PHP 23100. But it ended up to PHP 29315. The difference is very big PHP 6215.

I know that this is not really a good news coz I do want to spend less on my irregular expenses and save/invest more. There are things that I can't control and need to importantly take care to like what happened on my face to have those acne back. But right now it is slowly been clearing up, the treatment has worked out. A lesson learned that I should really stick to the doctor's regimen and advised for me to do. 

Right now, I just lay out my budget plan for June, you can see the image below. So do hoping that I can follow this budget plan now and work slowly to building up my emergency fund for this month.


Till my next posts,

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Who is Suze Orman?

Hi,

I've been busy lately and keeping this blog up to date seems a bit hard this days. But I know that blogging is not easy, it does requires patience and of course hard work. So I am here now to update this blog :) Why I am writing this topic now? Well, you know all the while that I reading and following some financial bloggers and reading most of their posts that catches my attention. One of their posts was all about "Suze Orman"? So I am really curious of who is there person that most bloggers are talking about.

So I research and read the blogs that talk about her and this is what I have read:

Suze Orman is one of America's most recognized expert in personal finance. She is called "a force in the world of personal finance" and "one-woman financial advise powerhouse" by USA today. A two-time Emmy Award-winning television host, New York Times mega bestselling author, magazine and online columnist, writer/producer, and one of the top motivational speakers in the world today, Orman is undeniably America’s most recognized expert on personal finance.


photo taken from his website: Just click here

Last night when I am browsing some bloggers post that I follow, I stumble upon a blog that featured a video about her interview in ANC by Karen Davila. CLICK HERE to watch the video from a blogger's post named Jill :) . A few minutes video that do tell everybody especially to us "Filipinos" to "live within our means but within your needs". A line that I quiet didn't grasp at first but later on I understand what she meant. We have to clearly understand the difference between a "want" and a "need".

I'll be posting next about an "Expense Tracker" from her website that I was able to grab on what she says on the video that I do really want to try. 

So keep reading my blog and watch out for it :)

Cheers,

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

How long after waking up in the morning should a person eat breakfast?

Breakfast is be the first meal you eat every day. Although there isn't an official time for breakfast, most people eat breakfast within one or two hours after waking. If you don't eat before mid-morning (around nine or ten o'clock), you are probably skipping breakfast. 


 There are two common reasons people skip breakfast. Either they feel they do not have enough time to eat breakfast, or they think skipping breakfast will help them lose weight. Neither reason is good. Skipping breakfast is usually not a successful way to lose weight. People who skip breakfast have a slightly lower metabolism and they tend to snack more during the day. Breakfast eaters also function better mentally. It is difficult to get much work or studying done when your body has run out of fuel. 

 If not having enough time is a reason for not eating breakfast, then get up a few minutes earlier or have something ready to go. Food items like refrigerated hard-boiled eggs, whole grain cereals and fresh fruits take very little time to prepare. A good breakfast should contain a good dose of fiber and protein to keep you satisfied until lunch time. Here are some great breakfast ideas: 
  • Fry one egg in a non-stick skillet and serve with a bowl of oatmeal. 
  • Warm up some leftover chicken breast and serve it on whole grain toast. 
  • Have a yogurt, nut and fruit parfait. Use plain yogurt and mix in berries, nuts and honey. 
  • Eat a bowl of whole grain cereal with low fat milk or soy milk. 


 Maybe you work nights and don't wake up until afternoons. That doesn't mean you skip breakfast, you should still eat within one or two hours after waking.

A Story To Tell: Considering, Who is Jesus Christ for us?


Somewhere in Milaor, Camarines Sur, there lived a fourth grader boy who would follow this route to school everyday: He has to cross the rugged plains and cross the dangerous highway where vehicles are recklessly driving to and from. Once past this highway, the boy would take a short cut, passing by the Church every morning just to say Hi to God, and faithfully say his, "Magandang umaga po" in Bicol dialect. He was faithfully being watched by a Priest who was happy to find innocence so uplifting in the morning:

"Kamusta, Andoy? Papasok ka na?"
"Opo padre ... "he would flash his innocent grin, the priest would be touched. He was so concerned that one day he talked to Andoy.
"From school...", he advised "Do not cross the highway, you can pass through the Church and I can accompany you to the other side of the road...that way I can see that you are home safe...."
"Thank you father ... "
"Why don't you go home ... why do you stay in this church right after school?"
"I just want to say 'Hi' to my friend, God,"


And the priest would leave the boy to spend time beside the altar, talking to himself, but the priest was hiding behind the altar to listen to what this boy has to say to his heavenly FATHER...

"You know my math exam was pretty bad today, but I did not cheat although my seatmate is bullying me for notes... I ate one cracker and drank my water, Itay had a bad season and all I can eat is this cracker. Thank you for this! I saw a poor kitten who was hungry and I know how he feels so I gave my last cracker to him ... funny but I am not that hungry. Look, this is my last pair of slippers ...I may have to walk barefoot next week, you see this is about to be broken... but it is okay....at least I am still going to school.... Some say we will have a hard season this month, some of my classmates have already stopped going to school .... please help them get to school again, please God? ....Oh, you know, Inay hit me again, it is painful, but I know this pain will pass away, at least I still have a mother.... God, you want to see my bruises? I know you can heal them.... Here... here and .... oh ...blood ....I guess you knew about this one huh? Please don't be mad at Inay, she is just tired and she worries for the food in our table and my schooling that is why she hits us....Oh, I think I am in love ... there's this pretty girl in my class, her name is Anita ... do you think she will like me? Anyway, at least I know you will always like me, I don't have to be anybody just to please you, you are my very best friend! Hey your birthday is two days from now!!! Aren't you excited? I am! Wait till you see, I have a gift for you . but it is a surprise! I hope you will like it! Oooops, I have to go ..."

Then he stood up and calls out, "Padre, padre, I am finished talking to my friend ....
youcan accompany me to the other side of the road now"

This routine happens everyday. Andoy never fails. Father Agaton shares this every Sunday to the people in his church because he has not seen a very pure faith and trust in God, a very positive look at negative situations.

One Christmas day, Father Agaton was sick so he could not make it in the Church, he was sent to the hospital. The Church was left to 4 manangs who would chant the rosary in 1000 miles per hour, would not smile and would always find fault in what you do, they were also very well versed in cursing if you irritate them! They were kneeling, saying their kilometric rosary when Andoy, coming from his Christmas party,playfully dashed in..

"Hello God! I ......"
"P----!! (a curse) bata ka!! Alam mo nang may nagdadasal!! Alis!!"

Poor Andoy was so terrified, "Where's Father Agaton? He is supposed to help me cross the street ... and to be able to cross the street I will have to pass by the back door of this church. Not only that, I have to greet Jesus. It is His birthday, I have a gift right here....

Just as he was about to get the gift out of his shirt, the manang pulled his shirt and threw him out of the church.

"Susmaryosep!!! (does the sign of the cross fervently) Alis kang bata ka, kung hindi matatamaan ka!!!

So the boy had no choice but to cross the dangerous side of the road in front of the church. He crossed. A fast moving bus came in. There was a blind curve. The boy was protecting his gift inside his shirt, so he was not looking. There was so little time. Andoy died on the spot. A lot of people crowded the poor boy, the body of a lifeless young boy...

Suddenly, out of nowhere a tall man in a pure white shirt and pants, a face so mild and gentle, but with eyes full of tears... He came and carried the boy in His arms. He was crying. Curious bystanders nudged the man in white, and asked:

"Excuse me sir, are you related to this child?
Do you know this child?"
The man in white, His face mourning and in agony, looked up and answered,
"He was my NESTFRIEND." was all he said.

He took the badly wrapped gift in the bloody chest of the lifeless boy, and placed it near His heart. He stood up and carried the boy away and they both disappeared in sight. The crowd was curious ...

On Christmas Eve, Father Agaton learned of the shocking news. He visited the house, and wanted to verify about the man in white. He consulted the parents of Andoy..
"How did you know that your son died?"
"A man in white brought him here." sobbed the mother. "What did he say?"
The father answered, "He did not say anything. He was mourning. We do not know him and yet he was very lonely about our son's death, as if he knew our son very well. But there was something peaceful and unexplainable about him. He gave me my son, and then he smiled peacefully. He brushed my son's hair away from his face and kissed him on his forehead, then he whispered something..."
"What did he say?"
"He said to my boy..." the father began, "Thank you for the gift .... I will see you soon ... you will be with me..." and the father of the boy continued, "and you know for a while, it felt so wonderful ... I cried, but I do not know why....all I know is I cried tears of joy .... I could not explain it, Father, but when that man left, something peaceful came over me, I felt a deep sense of love inside ... I could not explain the joy in my heart, I knew my boy is in heaven now but...tell me, Father, who is this man that my son talks to everyday in your church, you should know because you are always there ... except at the time of his death ......"

Father Agaton suddenly felt the tears welling in his eyes, with trembling knees, he murmurred:

" ... He was talking to no one ......but .. GOD...."

If you love this story, please. share this on to your friends. So you can touch others too.

Credits to: Princess
By: Pinoy True Love Conversation

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Wants Vs Needs - Which is more important?

Hello,

A busy week for me but still I want to write this topic just to share what is my opinion about this blog post. This past few days I have been into blog post browsing for some bloggers online and most of them are on financial matters but one blog caught up my attention, it is not about Financial topic but it is on Beauty. A blogger has a website which here blog was about Beauty products and etc that concerns about beauty of a woman.

 I am a person that doesn't care much about my beauty, I mean I am very simple to the extinct that I will just go out with a powder and a lipstick on my face. I am not also concerned about fashion, I just wear any clothes that I feel comfortable to. I don't also like trends, even if there was a new trends on clothing or accessories, I don't follow it. I don't care if all people I see wear those trendy thing when I go out. I just want to be simple, that's it!Not a simple word where I don't take a bath anymore, lol! :)

Well, for me which is more important on wants and needs it would be "Needs". 


Let's define first what is needs and wants:
Needs - is something you have to have, something you can't do without or can't live without.
Wants - is something you would like to have. It is not necessary but would be a good thing to have.

For these two things it is absolutely clear which is more important from the two. Needs are those things we can't live without. Example was food, we need to eat in order to live so a food is a need.
Wants are those things that we do like to have but it is necessary for us to have. We can live without these things. For example was a new car or a new phone. We can go to our work or go to places without owning a car, we can travel to public transportation like jeepneys. If you have a cellphone then it is not necessary to buy another one just to keep up with the trend now for latest phones that just got out of the market recently.

Back to what I have mentioned above about the blogger I told you. She has a post that kinda caught up my attention. It was called a "Belle de Jour Beauty Box", this a box where latest beauty products was included. For just a Php 580 for 1 month purchase you can have this beauty box each month. In one box, there are a lot of beauty products included that if you total the overall costs of it, it will amount to more than Pphp 580. So you can save more if you purchase it said the blogger. But what confused me was if I do purchase it, can I really use of all the products of this box? Certainly a big "NO" pops up on my head. Why? This month I am  undergoing a treatment for my acne and my dermatologists prescribed me products that can only be put on my face and nothing else. So if I purchase it and has some products that can be put only to my face then for sure I cannot use it. And of course this is really a big "WANT" and not a "NEED". I can live without this thing that I do really want. I want it because my birthday is fast approaching also and was thinking also to be a gift to myself. But still a part of me says that I should not purchase this.

So I'll give myself two more weeks to decide if I will purchase this and if still I can't decide after that. Then I would definitely not purchase this want.

Till my next posts,


Thursday, May 16, 2013

Pay Yourself First

Hi,

It's been a while since I've updated my blog. I just got into some busy stuff lately ad recently I started to change my sleeping time, before I slept at 12 midnight or 1 am everyday and now I want to see to it that I can now sleep at 11 or 11:30 pm.  By the way I write now just to update on what is going on with my life.

I have been stressed out this past few months and one effect of this was my acne has started appearing on my face and it was worst just like last year when I started to have this. My insecurity strikes again and I don't really like it. My doctor has given me a maintenance regimen to use for my face but when I go to Manila last February for our SFC conference I stop the regimen and stick to a bar soap which was not on the doctor's list that I should use. So 2 months after I was back from the trip all of a sudden my acne has back. Everyday there was a pimple forming on my face and started to cover my jawline and my chin. It's really horrible and sometimes I don't want to see the mirror anymore.


When I got my salary yesterday, I immediately set aside a money to use on getting my acne treated again by the dermatologist. I had a Clarifying facial that was worth Php 700.00 and after this I got a consultation to have a KI injection worth Php 100.00. The doctor advised me to take a antibiotic to take for 1 month because my acne was worst already. Each capsule worth PHP25.00 but I pay Php 750.00 for the 30 capsules. Overall I pay a total of PHP1,550. The amount was kinda not bad, I am taking risk to take out an amount like this on my budget just to be able to have an acne free face. Being frugal sometimes need to be lift up in case of paying yourself first at the end.

Till my next post everyone.

Cheers,

Friday, May 3, 2013

Fiesta Celebration Saving Tips

Hi,

It's been a busy day today because our Purok is celebrating it's annual fiesta. We are not expecting many guests today to celebrate with us because we haven't invited so many for this. But the opposite happened, many of our neighbors, relatives and friends celebrated with us. I am glad that even though we are very tight on our budget right now and afraid if the food serve will be enough for them. But were very blessed that indeed the food served was just enough to all of them to eat. 

My mother did some several techniques or tips on how to save on preparing for the food to be served to the guests:

1. Cook the food at home. Never order or call any restaurants for the food you want your guests to eat. 

2. Buy the ingredients of your recipes you want to cook at a local supermarket. A supermarket that has a lowest price among it's counterpart. Do some research on these stores if they have the lowest prices on their commodities.

3. Don't hire any entertainers to go to your home just to entertain your guests. Get you DVD's and play the song they like and let them sing at your home. For sure they will be happy and get entertained without spending any penny.

So these was the tips that I learned today from my mother. Living frugally can save you a penny
even on something you don't think you can. 

Till my next posts.

Cheers,


Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Tracking Down April Expenses

Hi,

It's been a while I was not able to write a post for this blog. The month of April was the busiest month for me since 2013 came in. I had so many struggles in my service for SFC and other stuff I need to first do. But right now I want to write about my expenses for the month of April. I started tracking it last month (March 2013) and right now hope that my expenses for April will be lower.

Expenses for Month of April:
  • Utilities (Electricity, Telephone, Internet) - PHP 2,285
  • Insurance (Life/Health) - PHP 4, 905
  • Irregular Expenses (Day to Day Expenses) - PHP 3, 304
  • Help to Parents - PHP 14, 500
TOTAL: PHP 24, 994 

 

Last month my expenses was PHP 27, 418.5.

So the difference was PHP 2424.5, so I was able to save this money. This goes to my investment and my savings account.

Hope that this month of May I can still save more and invest more on my mutual fund.

Cheers,



Thursday, April 18, 2013

The Importance of Staying on the Same Page with Your Family

Hi,

Are you a married or do you currently reside with your romantic partner?  If you do, there is a good chance that money is always a concern of yours.  When two individuals are in a relationship, there are often issues that arise concerning money.  For some families, it is hard to get and stay on the same page, concerning finances. If at all possible, you will want to try avoid doing this, as it may not only harm your wallet, but your relationship as well.

It is important to make sure that you and your partner are on the same page. In fact, you may even want to take the time to establish some ground rules. These grounds rules may include not having a debit card at all or leaving it home at all times. If the debit card is used or a check is written for the joint account that you and your partner share, it is important that the person who used the account informs the other.  Communication is key to keeping your finances in check when having a joint checking account with your husband.

In addition to the improper use of debit cards or check writing, when using a joint checking account, there are many couples who have problems with one or both individuals just spending more money than they have.  This is often a problem with credit cards.  Credit cards, as you likely already know, are considered financial death traps, as they can cause so many problems.  For that reason, if you or your husband or your partner have any credit cards, it is advised that you sit down and discuss usage with them.  The best way to stay out of credit card debt is by limiting your use of them or at least your spending.  If spending is occurring, it is important that your partner knows about that spending and visa versa.

Since unnecessary spending is a problem, you may want to take the time to create a budget for your household. When doing this budget, it is important that you and your partner create the budget together.  This is how you two can both stay on the same page, with your finances.  A budget can account for all of the money that you and your partner have coming in, as well as all of the money that needs to be spent, like on rent, gasoline, or car insurance. This can give you an idea of exactly how much extra you and your partner have to spend each month or even how much you don’t have to spend.  As a reminder, be sure to create your budget with your husband or your partner.  

If you are married, you may find yourself having a little bit more trouble with the money issues between you and your husband. What many individuals do not realize is that when they are married their financial mistakes also become the financial mistakes of their spouse.  This is what leaves many women, and sometimes even men, having a difficult time getting back on their feet after a divorce.  It is not uncommon for many divorced couples to declare bankruptcy after terminating their relationship.  

To help prevent your marriage or your partnership from this trouble, you will want to keep all of the above mentioned points in mind.  Learning how to budget together, as a family, as well as properly use all bank accounts and credit cards is the best way to stay all on the same page.  Staying on the same page, when it comes to your finances, is the key to financial reassurance and possibly a happy healthy relationship with your husband or partner.
I am currently single right now but when I step into marriage arena I will see to it that me and my partner will be on the same page especially on our finances.

Cheers,


The Importance of Creating a Budget for Yourself

Hello,

Are you a debt-ridden woman?  Even if debt may not be an issue for you now, there is a good chance that it will become one in the future. Whether you are in debt now or if you are looking to prevent yourself from falling victim to it, you may want to examine budgets. Creating a budget for yourself is a simple process, but it is one that can help to keep you out of debt or even get you out of debt.

Before examining how you can go about creating a budget for yourself, it is important to understand the importance of budgets.  As previously stated, budgets are a tool that can be used to make sure that debt isn't any longer an issue for you.  By creating yourself a budget you are able to track your spending, as well as ensure that all needed expenses, like your car instance or your mortgage, get paid.  This also gives you the opportunity to examine how much extra money you have each month, money that you could put towards repaying your debt or put in a savings account, if you aren’t in debt right now.

When it comes to creating a budget for yourself, you should be able to find a number of budget templates online for you to use. While these free resources are nice, you may only want to use them as starting points.  You can get great ideas from them, but you may want to create your own budget. This is important because not all individuals lead the same lives or have the same expenses to take care of.  

It is also advised that you take the time to create a budget for each month of the year.  As previously stated, a budget allows you to account for your spend in advance.  If you have a birthday party in July that you need to attend, you may need to account for buying a gift.  However, this is something that will likely not occur each month.  Creating individual budgets for each month of the year may seem like a complicated process, but it doesn’t have to be.  It may take a few extra minutes, but those few minutes are more than worth it.

To get you started with saving your money, to help relieve the stress and other issues often associated with debt, you will want to start by outlining all expenses that you must pay for on a monthly basis.  These expenses are ones in which you cannot go without paying, like rent, mortgage, renters insurance, homeowners insurance, auto insurance, auto loan payments, groceries, and your utility bills. These are the expenses that must be paid, no matter what.  

Once you have a detailed list of important expenses, like those that you are unable to go with out, you can focus on the next level of importance.  These are items such as internet access or cable television.  If you are just looking to save money, possibly to put into a savings account, you should be able to continue paying these expenses without any problems.  On the other hand, if you are looking to dig yourself out of all of the unpaid debt that you have accumulated, it may be a good idea to go without internet access or cable television, if at all possible, even if it is just for a short period of time.

You can also use your budget to determine how much extra money you will have each month.  You can do this if you regularly work the same hours or if your pay is salary based.  Once you have totaled up all of the aforementioned expenses, you can subtract that from the amount of the money that you bring home from work each week.  Any extra is money that you may want to consider putting towards your debt or saving, just in case.

Creating a budget is the most convenient way for us to get out of debt or save. I am creating a monthly budget each month and track my day to day expenses. I track everything, this way I can more discipline myself for spending unnecessary things that will keep me out of my budget.

Till next time.

Cheers,

How Your Debt Doesn’t Have to Be the End of You


Hi,

Are you a woman who is in debt?  Whether you have debt solely from attending college, from credit cards,
 old medical bills, or a combination of them all, you may be scared, unsure, and frustrated.  In today’s society, with regularly rude calls from debt collectors, you may be feeling as if your debt is causing you to become insane.  Yes, it may seem like the end of the world, especially at first, but it is important to remember that your debt doesn't have to the be the end of you.

The last thing that you will want to do is allow a debt collector to get you all worked up, no matter how they act or treat you.  If you feel that you cannot take it anymore, you do not have to.  At any point in time, when speaking to a debt collector, you can simply hang up the telephone.  More drastic approaches have been used by women including screening all telephone calls with the use of caller id or an answering machine.

Although you may not be interested in speaking with a debt collector, you may want to think about doing so.  Often times, you will find that debt collectors stop calling or at least reduce the number of calls that they place to you once they are able to at least speak with you. So, if you are feeling up to it, go ahead and answer that phone. Just be sure not to make any payment arrangements that you cannot keep. 

Another one of the many reasons why debt is so stressful and such an issue for many women is because they feel helpless and hopeless when they are unable to pay their debt.  What you need to remember though is that there are always ways that you can go about working to pay off your debt, even if it is just a little bit at a time. It may seem silly, but paying off your debt, even if it is only twenty dollars here and there, is likely lessen the burden and stress that you currently feel.

If you would like to get out of debt, but you don’t know how, you may want to consider making an appointment with a debt reduction specialist or an accountant. While this professional assistance will cost you a little bit of money, upfront, it is well worth it for many women; women just like you.  That is because the professional assistance of debt reduction specialists and accountants may be able to help you get your life back on track.

Although the cost of seeking professional assistance is more than worth it, you may not necessarily have the money to spend. If that is the case, you can still work to get yourself out of debt and settle this stressful issue once and for all. What you are urged to do is examine your spending habits.  You may even want to record all of the purchases that you make during one weeks time. How many of those purchases can you live without, even just temporarily? As previously stated, paying off your debt, even in little increments, may be able to help reduce the stress often associated with unpaid debts.  So, even if you are only able to save two dollars on a soda each day, that should provide you with twenty dollars a week to put towards your debt.

In short, debt is an issue that many women must face and deal with each day. Although it may seem like it, debt doesn’t have to be the end of you, as outlined above.
Having debt is a problem that I really want to avoid. So if you want to get out of debt start to "Live within your means".

Tell my next post.


Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Why Is it Important to Save Money?

Hi,

I have been busy this past few days so I was not able to update my blog. But here I am writing again to all of you. For the last 3 years, saving was not on my agenda. My mindset was why would I save if I can buy the things I want? Why worry for the future if I am still young and still want to explore the world? These are some of my questions in mind before but right now all of these questions has changed.

When my mother has been hospitalized all of a sudden last year, that was the point where I have no savings, at all. I have 0 savings on my bank account and no emergency fund. So that time I was forced to loan a certain amount to pay the hospital bills for mom and until now I am still continually paying it. It is not easy to have a debt but I have no choice that time.

So right now, this year I mean I have been started saving 10% of my income each month. I also started to invest in a mutual fund company for my future retirement. I am also saving for my emergency fund that I should really have in case of emergencies just like what happened to my mom last year. So slowly I am doing this and have to discipline myself more to achieve all of this.

I will enumerate at least 3 reasons why we should save:

1. Emergency Cases
In case of emergency like sudden hospitalization or out of pocket medical expenses, flood if your area was at risk of storm, job layoff and sudden loss of income.

2. Retirement
I am still 25 right now but this is my concern already at my age. I am worrying about this because my job is not permanent and anytime my income can be lost so I need to save for my future retirement. When we retire, we will probably need a savings or investments to take place the income I get from my job.

3. Education
I have a plan to take my master's degree next year or 2 years from now. I just like to learn more and want to invest in my education that anyone cannot steal from me. Education is something we should invest or save for our future.

So all of us must save right now!Not tomorrow or the next day, but now!

Hope you enjoyed my post.
Till next time.





Friday, April 12, 2013

Avoiding Impulse Spending

Hello,

For the last three years of working, I honestly say that I am guilty of this. I am not thinking about my future that time. All I want was to spend my money to those things I like even if those are not necessary for me to use. Let me ask you some questions below.

Answer these questions truthfully:

1.) Does your spouse or partner complain that you spend too much money?
2.) Are you surprised each month when your credit card bill arrives at how much more you charged than you thought you had?
3.) Do you have more shoes and clothes in your closet than you could ever possibly wear?
4.) Do you own every new gadget before it has time to collect dust on a retailer’s shelf?
5.) Do you buy things you didn't know you wanted until you saw them on display in a store?

If you answered “yes” to any two of the above questions, you are an impulse spender and indulge yourself in retail therapy.

This is not a good thing. It will prevent you from saving for the important things like a house, a new car, a vacation or retirement. You must set some financial goals and resist spending money on items that really don’t matter in the long run. 

Impulse spending will not only put a strain on your finances but your relationships, as well. To overcome the problem, the first thing to do is learn to separate your needs from your wants.
Advertisers blitz us hawking their products at us 24/7. The trick is to give yourself a cooling-off period before you buy anything that you have not planned for. 

When you go shopping, make a list and take only enough cash to pay for what you have planned to buy. Leave your credit cards at home.

If you see something you think you really need, give yourself two weeks to decide if it is really something you need or something you can easily do without. By following this simple solution, you will mend your financial fences and your relationships.  

Till next time.

Cheers,


Different Types of Investments

Hello Again,

Many of us didn't know the different types of investments. Especially those that haven't started investing yet. When I joined IMG(International Marketing Group) - Wealth Academy, my ignorance on investing has changed. They have several series of seminars offered to Associate Broker like me for free to attend to.  

There are three different kinds of investments. These include stocks, bonds, and cash. Sounds simple, right? Well, unfortunately, it gets very complicated from there. You see, each type of investment has numerous types of investments that fall under it. 

There is quite a bit to learn about each different investment type. The stock market can be a big scary place for those who know little or nothing about investing. Fortunately, the amount of information that you need to learn has a direct relation to the type of investor that you are. There are also three types of investors: conservative, moderate, and aggressive. The different types of investments also cater to the two levels of risk tolerance: high risk and low risk. 

Conservative investors often invest in cash. This means that they put their money in interest bearing savings accounts, money market accounts, mutual funds, US Treasury bills, and Certificates of Deposit. These are very safe investments that grow over a long period of time. These are also low risk investments.

Moderate investors often invest in cash and bonds, and may dabble in the stock market. Moderate investing may be low or moderate risks. Moderate investors often also invest in real estate, providing that it is low risk real estate.

Aggressive investors commonly do most of their investing in the stock market, which is higher risk. They also tend to invest in business ventures as well as higher risk real estate. For instance, if an aggressive investor puts his or her money into an older apartment building, then invests more money renovating the property, they are running a risk. They expect to be able to rent the apartments out for more money than the apartments are currently worth – or to sell the entire property for a profit on their initial investments. In some cases, this works out just fine, and in other cases, it doesn’t. It’s a risk.

Before you start investing, it is very important that you learn about the different types of investments, and what those investments can do for you. Understand the risks involved, and pay attention to past trends as well. History does indeed repeat itself, and investors know this first hand!

Cheers,

How Much Money Should You Invest?

Hello,

I am a first time investor and I had just started investing through a Mutual Fund company particularly on FAMI (First Metro Save & Learn, Inc) last month (March 2013). Many first time investors think that they should invest all of their savings. This isn’t necessarily true. To determine how much money you should invest, you must first determine how much you actually can afford to invest, and what your financial goals are.

First, let’s take a look at how much money you can currently afford to invest. Do you have savings that you can use? If so, great! However, you don’t want to cut yourself short when you tie your money up in an investment. 

What were your savings originally for?
It is important to keep three to six months of living expenses in a readily accessible savings account – don’t invest that money! Don’t invest any money that you may need to lay your hands on in a hurry in the future. 
So, begin by determining how much of your savings should remain in your savings account, and how much can be used for investments. Unless you have funds from another source, such as an inheritance that you've recently received, this will probably be all that you currently have to invest. 

Next, determine how much you can add to your investments in the future. If you are employed, you will continue to receive an income, and you can plan to use a portion of that income to build your investment portfolio over time. Speak with a qualified financial planner to set up a budget and determine how much of your future income you will be able to invest.

With the help of a financial planner, you can be sure that you are not investing more than you should – or less than you should in order to reach your investment goals. 
For many types of investments, a certain initial investment amount will be required. Hopefully, you’ve done your research, and you have found an investment that will prove to be sound. If this is the case, you probably already know what the required initial investment is.

If the money that you have available for investments does not meet the required initial investment, you may have to look at other investments. Never borrow money to invest, and never use money that you have not set aside for investing!

With an initial investment amount of Php5, 000 you can start to invest in a mutual fund company you prefer that requires this initial investment to start.

Till my next post.

Cheers,


Why Do We Create Blogs?


Hi,

There are several reasons on why do we create blogs. Let me categorize it below:

  • Blogging for Fun
Although blogging can be used for a variety of other purposes such as generating income, promoting a cause and providing information there are many bloggers who enjoy blogging simply because it is fun. These bloggers enjoy blogging for reasons such as staying in touch with friends, expressing themselves or keeping a record of important events. This article will explain how blogs can be used for these purposes. 

  • Blogging to Stay in Touch with Friends
Staying in touch with friends and family members is just one of the many reasons a person may wish to start a blog. This is especially useful for those who move far away from their friends and family members. Staying in touch by phone, regular visits and even email is not always easy. This is because it can be difficult to keep up long distance interactions with several different people at once. However, by maintaining a blog, a person can greatly simplify the process of staying in touch with friends and family members because they do not have to repeat information in individual phone calls or emails or make time to visit several different people. 

When maintaining a blog, the individual can choose to post a variety of information and photos. Through this information and photos the blog owner can keep others informed about current events in his life. Friends and family members can view the blog at their convenience to catch up on important events in the blog owner’s life and in most cases can post comments to the blog owner. They can also read comments from others. This is beneficial if those viewing the blog know each other because they can not only stay in touch with the blog owner but also have a chance to communicate with other friends and family members through the comments section of the blog. 

  • Blogging as a Form of Expression
Some bloggers begin blogging as a form of expression. They may right poetry, songs, short stories or even use the blog to vent about personal events or politics. These bloggers may wish to keep their blog private or can make the blog available to the public. Keeping the blog private is sort of like keeping a diary or a journal. It gives the blogger a multi-media form of expressing himself without the risk of others discovering his true feelings, innermost dreams or frustrations. Other bloggers opt to make these blogs public. This may be for a number of different reasons. Sharing these feelings with others allows the blogger to reach others who may have the same interest as the blogger. 

Bloggers who use their blog as a form of personal expression may want to be cautious and consider the decision to make a blog public. This is important because the blog owner may initially not see problems with allowing others to view his personal thoughts. However, over time he may realize his blog could either be offensive to others or could result in problems if friends or family members view the blog.

  • Blogging to Keep a Record of Events
Another common reason for blogging is to keep a record of important events. Examples of some types of events which a blogger may wish to document include a pregnancy, weddings, vacations, sporting events or completion of school events. Using blogs to keep a record of these events gives the blogger an opportunity to record daily events in one simple location where they can easily look back on the blog or share the postings with others who might be interested in the events. In these cases the blog can serve as a form of scrapbook documenting the events as they occur. The blog owner can post as often as he desires and may choose to include elements such as photos, music, audio files and video files into the blog. The blog can also be designed to suit the events being documented. For example a journal depicting a vacation may have backgrounds, fonts and colors representing the vacation location while a pregnancy blog may feature elements which represent pregnancy, babies and being parents. 

For what I have mentioned above, my reasons was for fun and form of expression. Hope what I mentioned above will let others know why do we create blogs.

Cheers,


Thursday, April 11, 2013

Blogging for Teens

Hi, 

Well, why I didn't think about this when I am just on my teenage years? I am already 25 years old now and just started writing my own blog. A better saying that goes, "Better late than never". 

 Every day, blogs are created by people of all ages and from all walks of life, but when it comes to blogging, teen writers are truly on the cutting edge of the movement. Because today's teenagers are the first generation of people to have grown up using the internet at every stage of their development, many adolescents have a seemingly innate sense of how to use web technology to express their innermost thoughts and ideas. Older writers often experience a kind of learning curve when they begin to blog, but many young people find that using a word processor and blogging software feels more natural and direct a mode of communication than writing in a diary ever could. 

One of the reasons why blogs have undergone a kind of explosion in the teen community and are growing by leaps and bounds is the fact that they provide a unique mixture of visibility and anonymity. A teenager can invite friends and peers to read his or her blog with a simple email, thereby winning attention or possibly even praise. Of course, with visibility usually comes the possibility of embarrassment, but the fact that it is possible to blog anonymously with an invented handle or nickname negates a lot of the potential for humiliation. Many a blogging teen lives in fear that a parent or guardian will discover his or her blog, but by publishing under an alias a teenager can spill his or her secrets without fear of being traced. 

Outside the world of blogging, teen writers often have very limited opportunities to be published. Magazines and journals are often reticent to publish young writers who may not have as much credibility as older writers with a lot of experience and extensive credits to their names. This can discourage adolescents from writing or from seeking chances to publish their work. By blogging, young people can begin to gain a following of readers without first having to win the attention and support of an editor or publisher who may not be very interested in teenaged authors. 

 Between the fact that blogs provide young people with a chance to exercise their impressive technical aptitude, to gain visibility without compromising privacy, and to build a readership for their writing without having to jump through the traditional hoops of the publishing industry, it is little wonder that are so many teenagers with blogs. For some teenagers, blogging is even a very social endeavor that allows them to meet people with similar interests from all over the world. Many a blogging teen has discovered that having a weblog on the internet is a great way to explore self-expression and, often, to win positive feedback from new friends. 

Till next time. 

Cheers, 

Blogging 101

Hello,

I have been blogging recently, why? I just don't know yet,kidding :). Well, I decided to have my own blog because I want to write. I want to share what I learned from the blogs I did read, through financial seminars I attended, and the books I read that I just bought at a very cheap price on a Book Sale at utmost price of  Php 15.00, yes it is very cheap. So let's start of what is Blogging 101.

Blogging 101 is mostly about the blogging vocabulary. To understand blogs, you need to know the terms blog, platform, domain, and web host. Once you have mastered these key elements of blogging, you can enter any conversation about blogging with confidence. After you know what exactly a blog is, you will be on your way to passing the final exam of blogging 101. 

Blog is short for weblog, which simply means a series of online posts presented in reverse chronological order. That's all! Most blogs are text, but there are also photo blogs and video blogs. The rest of blogging 101 has to do with the technical side of things. If you are setting up a blog, you will need a platform, a web host, and a domain. A blogging platform is a computer software program that allows you to write posts and to update your blog. Your platform is also what you use to design the look of your blog, from color scheme to font size. The web host is sort of like the virtual file cabinet where your blog is stored. Your computer communicates with the host when you upload or edit a post. The domain is the online address of your blog, and usually ends in ‘dot com'. Now that you know what a blog is, what a platform is, and what domains and hosts are, congratulate yourself! You have passed blogging 101.

Till my next post.

Cheers,
Jing

Investing and Financing


Hi,

Investing and financing, two different terms that has different meanings. But for a newbie like me these two terms has a broad meaning. There are lots of business right now that operates and most of them does know what is investing and financing. These businesses are either productive or not. Cash flow of the businesses needs to be stable for it to run in the long run.

Another portion of the statement of cash flows reports the investment that the company took during the reporting year. New investments are signs of growing or upgrading the production and distribution facilities and capacity of the business. Disposing of long-term assets or divesting itself of a major part of its business can be good or bad news, depending on what's driving those activities. A business generally disposes of some of its fixed assets every year because they reached the end of their useful lives and will not be used any longer. These fixed assets are disposed of or sold or traded in on new fixed assets. The value of a fixed asset at the end of its useful life is called its salvage value. The proceeds from selling fixed assets are reported as a source of cash in the investing activities section of the statement of cash flows. Usually these are very small amounts.

Like individuals, companies at times have to finance its acquisitions when its internal cash flow isn't enough to finance business growth. financing refers to a business raising capital from debt and quity sources, by borrowing money from banks and other sources willing to loan money to the business and by its owners putting additional money in the business. The term also includes the other side, making payments on debt and returning capital to owners. it includes cash distributions by the business from profit to its owners.

Most business borrow money for both short terms and long terms. Most cash flow statements report only the net increase or decrease in short-term debt, not the total amounts borrowed and total payments on the debt. When reporting long-term debt, however, both the total amounts and the repayments on long-term debt during a year are generally reported in the statement of cash flows. These are reported as gross figures, rather than net.

Till my next post.

Cheers,
Jing

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

What is Frugality?

Hi,

If we search online especially on Google there are a lot of meaning of Frugality. This is my main subject of my blog name because I really want to become one. For the past 3 years of working and having my own money to spend those I like and get the things I want, frugality was not on my mind after all. It is not on my vocabulary for short. I just spend and spend and was last year been addicted to online shopping, so all my money was being spent online buying clothes, gadgets, etc that are just "wants" not "needs". I realize this year that all of it are just "wants" , yes unfortunately I didn't even saved a single centavo of my salary. This is very sad but now I realize it should be stop.

Once you're addicted to online shopping you can't get out of it easily but with my great determination to quit this addiction, I really did quit!Yes, it's not easy but if you are determined to do so, then nothing is impossible. IMG - Wealth Academy was a big part of it and the major reason why I successfully quit was because my mother was hospitalized last August 2012 and was diagnose to have a diabetes.

Right there and then I slowly started walking to frugality. I don't spend anymore to those things that are only wants not needs. Before I buy something, I think twice or third if that is a want or a need. I started saving from my salary even a little amount and a big step was I started to invest my money in a mutual fund company which is FAMI. I got myself a health insurance from KAISER for my future medical expenses.

Before frugality was just a word that is not important to me but now it does change already. So I search for it's meaning and what I found when I search for the meaning on Google was:

Frugality is the quality of being frugal, sparing, thrifty, prudent or economical in the use of consumable resources such as food, time or money, and avoiding waste, lavishness or extravagance.

This meaning now has been marked already on my head and heart.

Hope to write more post soon because I am really busy with work and my service to God this past few days.

Cheers,

Jing-Jing