Fourth goal- Health Insurance (Be Healthy & Save Money part 3)

Like what a commercial ad of a vitamin product says, “Sa panahon ngayon bawal magkasakit.”For a minimum wager like me who works for 50 to 60 hours a week, everyday & every hour counts. "Bawal umabsent kaya bawal magkasakit, e pano pag magkasakit, di pa rin maiiwasan paminsan minsan nagkakasakit tayo, absent na, bawas sahod pa, dagdag gastos pa sa consultation at gamot.”

That’s the reason why I decided to prioritize my health over my financial goals. I need to strengthen my body at the same time prepare for the unexpected circumstances. It is also part of my back up and emergency fund that I plan to set aside every payday so I can concentrate on my goals.

Today, as we age we encounter some health problems that are stress related, age related and unexpected. No matter how we prepare ourselves we need to set a back up plan for those unexpected circumstances that may occur in our daily lives.


1. AGE RELATED - For a women age 30 yrs old & up single or married ones we are required to atleast  have an annual check up with our ob-gyne and an annual examination - papsmear, breast or transvi-ultrasound. As for me I'm 39 years old I've been regularly visiting my ob-gyne for the past 6 years. It was only last year that they found out that I have an endemetriosis cyst. So I bought a card at Philcare for only P 670.00 which will cover one (1) ob-gyne consult, one (1) papsmear, & one (1) breast or transvi-ultrasound.

Why I bought this card? let's review:
(I've made some research on the prices from other hospitals & here's what I found )
Consultation fee for ob-gyne ranges from  P 300.00 to P   600.00
PAP Smear  costs around                              P 250.00 to P1,000.00
Transvi Ultrasound/Breast Ultrasound       P 650.00 to P2,000.00
                                                                    ---------------------------
Total cost                                                    P1,200.00 to P3,600.00

So Philcare womens healthcard @ P 670.00 = Reasonable enough :)

2. Stress Related - I work 6 days a week from mondays to saturdays with an additional overtime of 3 to 5 hours a day for 3 days (monday, wednesday, friday). "Umulan o bumagyo, tag-init o baha, me tulog o wala" I need to work. There were times that I feel that my energy is draining due to stress and whenever that happens I feel that I am more prone to diseases. My stress diversion --- chocolates & candies thats when tonsilitis attacks. Last year I had a fever due to tonsilities I needed to consult a doctor to ask for new antibiotic but I was hesitant - 300.00 na naman ang consultation plus laboratory examination and antibiotics so I resorted to taking just paracetamol & some natural methods I usually do until my fever fades out.

3. Unexpected - I'm not prone to coughs, colds & flu since I'm taking more of vitamin c & vitamin b complex but last year I experienced a back/pelvic pain for almost a month. I wanted to go to the doctor but I was hesitant again due financial reason, so I just bear the pain until it fades out without knowing what the real cause of it.

4. Monitoring - Since I got a positive result on my endemetriosis cyst last year monitoring is required so I will be going back to my ob-gyne for check ups.

These are the reasons why I bought another health card in Philcare Clinic - This Consult to the Max Card covers 1 year unlimited check up with -- Internal Medicine, Family Medicine/General Practitioner, OB-Gynecology, Pediatrician , ENT ( Ear, Nose, Throat). Plus a 10% discounts on xrays and other laboratories examination.

 

Why choose Philcare ?
Affordability - I think is very affordable & reasonable.
Proximity -  It's one jeepney ride from my office so it prevents me from being absent at work.
Quality - Philcare staffs are approachable, the place is cool & the most important factor is I'm confident knowing that my ob-gyne works also at makati medical hospital too.

(My doctor also advises me have a cervical vaccine and a flu vaccine --- as of now I'm saving for it i'll be adding this in my goal list this 2014.)



There are also other bundle health products you can choose in philcare, you can just visit their clinics to buy those cards. You can check their websites for other health cards too.
http://www.philcare.com.ph/products/





Now that my first, second, third & fourth goal are already set I'll be focusing on my next goal.

Third Goal - Exercise (Be Healthy & Save Money Part 2)

Third Goal : Exercise, Exercise, Exercise !!!

I have three motivations here:

1.)  EXERCISE KEEPS US HEALTHY - Our body needs at least 15 to 30 minutes of moderate exercise everyday according to Harvard  Health Publications.

2. ) EXERCISE & SAVE MONEY -  And that 15 to 30 minutes of walking can actually save me three to four rides of my transportation allowance everyday:

Morning

From Home to C5 road                  =  Tricycle ( P 8.00 )  = 15 minutes of walking

From C5 to Bayani Rd (optional) =   Tricycle ( P 8.00 )  = 25 minutes of walking/jogging

From Gate 3 to Petron station      =    Jeepney ( P8.00 )   = 10 minutes of walking

Evening

From C5 to Home (special)            =  Tricycle (P25.00)   = 15 minutes of walking

3.) EXERCISE HELPS ME TO BE MORE PUNCTUAL AT WORK - Last year I really had a hard time battling lateness at work. So this year, I decided to to adjust my morning rituals to cover my 15-30 minutes walking activities everyday. – The result is good --- lesser deductions on late means higher salary :)

"My morning route to work instead of riding a tricycle I prefer to walk & jog in front of Heritage Memorial Park where people in our place use to jog & exercise every morning."

Second Goal : Be Healthy & Save Money Part 1

I once read this "If you want to save money, go on diet". It's like hitting two birds in one stone
 -  we save money by keeping our body healthy.

Last year I was so busy working that I sometimes forgot to drink water in between meals.
When it comes to food I eat and drink whatever I want --- burger, fries, spaghetti, pizza, softdrinks ( I'm addicted to it),etc. I eat veggies too but more often I eat what I feel like eating with softdrink as a partner. But I noticed during those days I always feel that my back is aching. After my annual check up ( papsmear & ultrasound ) they found out that I had endemetriosis cyst - so they scheduled another ultrasound after two months to monitor its size. What I did was researched on the cause of this cyst & know what the right foods to eat. And one of the main cause of it is dioxin that are usually present on the animal products. So I monitored what I eat-veggies & fruits specifically, I drink 2-3 liters of water a day, green tea in the morning as much as possible.
After 2 months I've got a positive result my endemetriosis cyst got smaller so my ob advises me to continue a healthy living lifestyle, no medication is needed just monitoring.

As I start the year 2014 I started journaling everything regarding my health.
From the foods that I eat, the amount of water I drink, my vitamins intake, check up etc.

My Second Goal:

*Eat Veggies & fruits daily---this two should always be present in everyday meal, its cheaper and its healthier than meats. And instead of softdrinks I turn to fruits-- 1 piece of banana, an apple, an orange, a slice of watermelon or pineapple, they only costs 10-20 pesos each or per slice. These fruits are always present in the market or in the place where we eat.

Another healthy foods that I eat during sundays are kamote tops, kamatis, mangga at bagoong with fried galunggong.....this is my favorite meal ever :)

I also love sitaw, malunggay, kalabasa but I don't eat okra & ampalaya, waahhh but I'm trying now :)
"Basta kailangan ng prutas at gulay everyday, lessen meat intake."


*Drink 2-3 liters of water a day ----our body needs at least 2 liters of water everyday and an additional 1 liter to help us look younger & fitter. This is really helpful and its free at home & in the office, so I always bring water while travelling. I also have a friend also who's on diet & he advises me to drink water first before meals in that way it'll lessen my food intake.


" No to softdrinks & other artificial drinks --- plain water muna atleast 3 liters a day."

This is an easy goal to achieve but it also needs discipline to come up with good results, anyway veggies and fruits are cheaper and water is free so make the most of it.



Our health is our greatest assets if we don't take care of it---it'll be our biggest liabilities.

"Stay Healthy & Stay Focused".