What I Do On Payday

Payday is almost done (for some). How well did you do? 

So, its payday, what have you been eyeing out to use your money for? The gorgeous shoes that you can't wait to wear with your friends? How about that cute little summer dress that you've already imagined an OOTD shot at the beach? Have you been dreading to get a new bag, because your bag can't handle all the loads? Or are you excited about that new gadget you've been watching from the tv ads?

Your money's coming!! 

How can you just not think about that top, shoes, bag, gadget, make up, or whatever it is?? I mean, It's all you've ever wanted!! 

You know you'd totally look gorgeous, handsome, perfect, pretty, cute, cool and all other stuff you can think of having that item with you! 

IN YOUR ARMS! Or on your body, feet, or hands. :P

I'll have to admit, from that point in time of wanting something, I have thought of hundreds of stuff that I want to get my hands on!! 

You feel me??

Most, if not all people think that way. I used to think like that, though I still do, but after reading and learning from different people about dealing with money, I've come to realize that I was actually doing it wrong. We all have to admit that most people's mentality about money isn't quite helpful. They always keep on saying that you better have a nice job to have a nice future, you have to keep your money in the bank or try doing the lotto once in a while because you'll never know your luck and all other things about handling money. Yeah okay, and then what? What do you really do with it? How should you really look into it? How are we supposed to think about money, salary or debt?

 The difference of how I think,

     BEFORE: "I can't wait to get my money so I could buy that (insert item here)!!"

     NOW: "I need to know how much I'll get to know how much I'll set aside."

The way I think about getting the money before made a HUGE difference of how I handle my money today. 

Okay Cath, what am I really supposed to do?

We're almost there. 

Here's a few steps on how I started handling my money this year and how it kept me take control of it:

1. List all your bills and/or debts
   • List ALL and I mean ALL necessary bills that you need to pay monthly. Having a list of every bill means that you are being aware where your money should be spent first. You don't really want to get a pile of bills and a few notice of disconnection, right?
   • Example: tithes, savings, investments, rent, electric bill, water bill, Internet bill, phone bill.

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. (‭Luke‬ ‭16‬:‭10‬ NIV)

1. Specify percentages or amount per bill
   • In this part, percentages and/or amount is something that should be taken automatically from your salary. Not by any government entity or other person, but YOU. Hooray! At least you really know where your money goes. Just kidding! :P
   • I use percentage and amount for my list. 
   • Example: tithes 10%, savings 10%, investment 10%, rent 2000, electric bill 500, water bill 100, internet bill 500, phone bill 500. 
   • You may change the percentage or amount depending on your own preference and convenience.
2. Prepare a cash envelope
   • You just need a simple cash envelope. No need to be formal if you're trying this one for the first time. :)
   • Your envelopes should correspond to the number of bills that you have.
   • Each envelope needs a label and a paper or post-it where you can take notes of any changes in the amount.
   • I usually update the notes with dates and the current amount.
3. Your expenses
   • Your expenses or your pocket money, is the remaining amount from your budget. 
   • The equation: SALARY - ALL BILLS = POCKET MONEY.
   • At this point, you may be a little surprised. :P Awareness is the key. :)
   • My expenses are usually spent on transportation, food, and other stuff.
4. Make adjustments every now and then
   • Your favorite part is here!!!
   • If there are things or items that you really want to buy and save for, you can create an additional item in your list specifying your target. 
   • Example: tithes, savings, investments, rent, electric bill, water bill, internet bill, phone bill, bag, laptop.
   • You can use percentage or amount on your target depending on how much you can save for it or how fast you want to get it.

A few tips and reminders while trying it out:

• This is not proven effective, but this helped me in handling my money since the start of this year. So far, so good! :)
• Cash envelopes are temporary cash compartment, keep it safe.
• When a salary arrives earlier or in cash even before I blinked (oh! How I wish everything comes that fast!), I try my BEST not to use it yet until I have allocated it in my cash envelopes.

Here's a list of books and people that helped me be aware financially. Hope this will help you too!

• Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
• For Richer and For Poorer by Chinkee Tan
• My Maids Invests in the Stock Market by Bo Sanchez
• Francis Kong
• Anthony Pangilinan
• Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan
• Bo Sanchez

Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.(‭Isaiah‬ ‭55‬:‭2‬ NIV)

My First Trip!

My first out of town trip! 

Not for work or show. Not even a 'free' kind of trip. And when I say 'free', it's those trips that you get invited and all you have to bring is pocket money. 

Yup, first time!

Anyway, hopefully this post will help you just in case you're planning to go to San Fernando City, La Union.

We went to La Union to attend my partner's friend's wedding. Since this is one of his highschool friends, he has to be there. PERIOD. You know childhood friend duties where you have to be there? So, instead of traveling a total of 12-hrs just for a wedding, we also decided to stay after the event.

We need a nice place to stay, just about the right distance from the wedding proper and reception and practically perfect for a quick vacation. We really did search a few places, considering the price for a 2 nights stay. We also did read a lot of reviews before choosing a place. 

Place to stay.

SUNSET BAY BEACH RESORT. 

For an instant stay, affordable and I'll-be-back kind of place, this is definitely the place to be. I love how it is located along the beach itself, so you don't have to bother traveling from your hotel all the way to the beach. The beach front view is perfect in the morning and all throughout the sunset!! You can just stay in their restaurant and chill while you stare at the beautiful sea for the whole day. Definitely my kind of vacation! Speaking of restaurants, their food is great!! The food price is worth it! Really, it is!! Well, maybe except for the drinks. They also have a pool, so you have the option to swim in the pool or in the beach. 

We got the deluxe room for 2. That's Php 2,200 per night. The room was nice and simple. I'm not the picky type of person in choosing a room. I just need a private toilet and bathroom, an air condition, and a comfortable bed to sleep in, that's all. We weren't lucky enough to get a glimpse of the other rooms personally but they have a few photos of it in their link. You can check their prices and other details in their website, Sunset Bay Beach Resort. And before I forgot, their staffs were all accommodating.

If you're also planning of going around the city and you don't have a ride, you can take their tricycles and go from one point to the other. 

The price per transportation is usually Php40. 

We had that figured out when leaving the place. We paid our first few tricycles for about php70 and above. Yeah, you still got those vibes of paying too much for something and not getting informed. That's why I'm telling you on this post! Most tricycle drivers would play safe and say that you can pay how much you want, or fool you from saying a much higher price. I mean, with that kind of travel (<10mins/ride), you sure won't pay just Php20 like the usual manila tricycle ride. 

Moving on...

Places to see.

La Union has pretty much a lot of places you can visit. Given the time, we only had the chance to visit Ma-cho Temple in the same city. It's a chinese temple, not sure how old, but has a nice overlooking view of the place upto the Thunderbird Resort. It was peaceful and relaxing! 

Ma-cho Tempe was one of the closest place we can actually go through from our hotel. Pindangan Ruins are also within San Fernando City.

I would probably visit San Juan and try surfing next time!! :)

Foods to try.

Different provinces has a lot of different foods to offer. One of the thing that we made sure not to miss was the Halo-Halo de Iloko at Zandueta street. Walking distance from Ma-cho temple, no need to ride a tricycle. All you need to do is activate your GPS, just to make sure your walking towards Zandueta street or you can just simple ask around. Don't worry they don't bite at all. :p 

Upon arriving, we had to wait to get seated. From the number of people, and from the looks of their orders, most of them were tourists trying out this restaurant. Most of the people ordered Fiesta and Buko halo-halo, well, it was actually hot so everyone would normally grab into something cold to freshen up.

My partner had the Fiesta Halo-halo and I had to try the Ginataang halo-halo. Despite that hot weather, I really really wanted to try ginataang halo-halo. My personal opinion? The ginataang halo-halo was the best!! Yup, bias right here!! 

We learned about the Halo-halo de Iloko from Surf's up: A 'Biyahe ni Drew' itinerary to La Union. Watch the video! Ginataang halo-halo for the win! :)

One of the best sights on the beach was, of course the sunset. Still the best scene for vacations!! 

La Union was great! I'll definitely be back to visit, see and try what else La Union has to offer!!  

If you want to know more about La Union, here's a link that was REALLY helpful during our research! :) 

It's from Two2travel. Their travel guides are the best! You want details? They've got it!! Go check their blog!

That's about it! Hope you had fun reading! If you have any suggestions or you just want to share your experiences in La Union, feel free to share it in the comments below! Have a great summer!!!

Why I started blogging

Last 2014, I told myself that I wanted to create my own blog. That's it! No more, no less. I didn't have a plan or whatsoever. All I had was the idea of having a blog, capturing photos, typing whatever comes to my mind and posting it. Though I did have 2 posts from my old blog, but I decided to take it down. I did capture a few photos of what I actually wanted to post in my blog, created a few draft posts, but not actually posting ANY of the photos and drafts that I had.

By the end of 2014, I really felt I wasted that feeling of excitement of creating that blog. Just before 2015 was about to come, like any regular people, I had a list of some 'things' for the upcoming year. It wasn't a new year's resolution, not even a 'bucket list for 2015'. What I had was a GOALS MAP, and in it I wrote 'Blogging'. 

I still have it. I still wanted to have a blog. 

That was when I actually decided to start a blog - for real (and I will keep on reading this to remind me of that).

I have a separate notebook for my blog, which I can carry whenever I can. I started my research (still doing it) on January 2015. I wrote everything I've learned, mostly about starting a blog. Some of which I wrote were:

• Why do I want to blog
• Interesting blogs (I'll have a list and links for that!)
• Links about starting out
• Blog name ideas
• Useful software and apps
• Blog observations

But I still do have my Evernote for taking notes digitally! ;)

Before I forgot, here's a list of the blogs that have been helpful. This might help you as well:

• Sparkle and Mine
• By Regina
• The Inspired Room
• Blog Clarity
• Pig and Dac
• The Wonder Forest
• Rekita Nicole
• I can build a blog
• Organized charm
• My love for words
• By Dawn Nicole
• Elle and Company 
• A Savory Feast

After 2-3 months, I began reading a lot of blog posts. I even started to create a Bloglovin' account to follow the bloggers that helped me through their posts in starting out. I enjoyed every post no matter how short or long it was. I began thinking of the process behind their every post. I felt that I wanted more than just own a blog! Then I came across this quote,

"Don't focus on having a great blog. 

Focus on producing a blog that's great for your readers." 

- Brian Clark -

Blogging was more than just being able to post, but for creating posts for the readers. 

How about you? Why do you want to blog? How did you start blogging?

Thanks for reading! :)