Home Improvement - DIY part 1

         Now that I am unemployed, I will be posting more blogs than the usual. After the stressful week of our demo teaching and completion of the records of the students, I let myself rest for a while without thinking of my current situation of being unemployed. But I only let myself be that way for two weeks and now I am back to reality. Last Saturday, while I was breathing some fresh air outside our house, my eyes were pinned on the front view of our house, that's the time I decided why not make a little improvement on it.

 DAY 1 (April 3, Monday)

          This is our house and I always say that " it may not look beautiful but for me it is the most beautiful house in the world, "dugo't pawis ang puhunan namin nung ginawa yan." I know how expensive it is to build or improve a house and with my current financial situation today I know that its not possible. But since I really wanted improve the appearance of our house I decided to do it myself.

        So last saturday, we went to market market mall and I bought a flat latex paint as a primer and a paint brush. I looked for some of my old tool stuffs and found some roller & tray that can be use in applying the latex paint. I also found latex paint remains with approx 1 liter content while searching for other old stuffs beside our house. And because latex paint is water based I was able to use its remaining content.

        So that's the outcome of my labor, I started around 7am and finish at 1pm so it only took 6 hours to apply that primer latex finish. I only spent a total of P 129.75 for latex paint & paintbrush since I still have these leftover latex paint.

DAY 2 (April 4, Tuesday)

        I also patch the area near our water meter with a mixture of cement and sand and would you believe that it took me 3 hours to do that. "Nakakapagod pa lang mag-misla ng semento kahit konti lang." I spent P27 for 3 kilos of cement and sand is free since my brother still has some stock of sand left.

         Yes, I did that  but just the half area only, o di ba - pede na akong laborer sa construction kaso di ko mapantay, e :).
          I spent a total of P 156.75 for two days for materials and of course the labor is free. 

Breakdown of expenses for two days

       I still got lots of plans improving our house but for now I only want to paint the front area of our house and I'll do it one task at a time. Hope it will have a beautiful outcome.


Till then!
God Bless & Have a great day ahead!

Simple Dinner at Home

         I'm starting to get bored and tired these past few days. The feeling of being unproductive is starting to sink deeper in my thoughts, "ramdam ko na ang nakakapanibagong buhay ng walang trabaho." But still I want to rest for few months and spend quality time at home. I want to experience again the joy of living even if we have very little resources today. I've been telling my mother the advantage of having peace of mind by being contented with whatever we have at home and not the luxury of this modern day era. Malls are everywhere and I admit that we're one of those people who enjoys going there and eating out in fastfood chains becomes part of our weekly routine.

          Last week, after my orientation in TESDA, I went to "palengke" (wet market) and bought some veggies not thinking of what our dinner will be.

7pcs siling haba-P5, 17pcs onions-P10, 2pcs eggplant-P12, 8pcs tomatoes-P12

est. price per piece

          I spent a total of P39 ($0.78) on those veggies and while I was heading home, our neighbor gave me these indian mangoes, freshly picked in their mango trees.

         When I arrived at home, my mother thanked me for buying these veggies but with a slight comment of "gusto ko sanang pumunta ng mall at ayoko ng mag-isip ng uulamin na naman". So I told her that I am a bit tired and doesn't want to go out but I told her not to worry because I will prepare for our dinner that will look like dining in a restaurant.

#mybest effort in preparing dinner

          Yes that's our dinner last thursday. The total cost for that meal is only - P11.80 ($0.24) and that's for four of us - Mama, Dade, Kuya and Me, sobrang mura, di ba? Here's the breakdown for that meal:

          The pesang tilapia at the center is a leftover food from our lunch meal. Rice is not included in the computation since I do not know its price equivalent. Would you believe that the meal I prepared that night is a winner, "simot sarap, taob lahat, & no food wasted"  which for me is important in practicing frugality at home. As much as possible I do not want any leftover foods at night. I often see my Kuya placing some leftover foods in kanin baboy in the morning which I really hate, nakakapanghinayang di ba?

        Aside from the money saved, we really enjoyed that dinner together -"sarap kayang kumain ng nakakamay at nakapatong ang isang paa sa upuan." I told my mother "o di ba, di pede sa mall yan ha", hahah. :)

        Now that I am unemployed my goal at home is to bring back the simple and happy lifestyle that we had before. My reason is simple - Simple living means less expenses but more quality time with our loved ones.

        How about you? What are your ways to simplify your lifestyle?

Just sharing my experiences again!

God Bless and Have a great week ahead!

500k Target this 2017

          On my first year of blogging last 2014, my only goal is to reach a total of P100k both in savings and investment & I reached it (Jan 2015-Networth post). On my second year of blogging, I have set a total of P200k both in savings and investment & its a success again (Jan-2016 lookback post). Last May 2016, I revised my financial goals (300k Target goal) and made it to simpler ones (May 2016 - Simplified Goals) and since its my third year in blogging my main goal is to reach a total goal of P300k and I'm proud to say that I reached it after I finish my P200k BPI Philam Insurance Plan. It was a big leap and a big addition to my financial portfolio.

          2016 maybe a year of financial crisis to me but it was also a year of challenges both on financial and personal aspect. It changed my outlook and attitude in facing problems. A usual "worrier" me now becomes an excited and looking forward being.

          This 2017, the start of my fourth year in blogging I've set my target goal again. I only listed three major goals this year.

 First, I want to complete my housing fund. Target P100k.
          My priority last year was to organize my emergency funds & I was able to set 20k for health emergencies, 20k for family emergencies, & 10k for my education. Part of that emergency funds is my housing fund where I placed my capital contribution account with its interest plus the extra amount I took from my emergency funds. Hopefully, when I get the remaining salary from employer I'd be able to complete it.

Second, I want to have a personal fund again. Target P10k.
          Since I'm done with my practice teaching, I will be taking another short course in TESDA. My classmates are also planning to take a review class for the licensure exam for teachers and though I'm a bit hesitant about that board exam still they advise me to take a shot on it. I might use my education fund and I plan to raise up another personal fund again.

Third, I will have a total of P500k both on insurance, investment & savings this year.

          Yes, you read it right its half a million target this year - a preparation for one of my long term goal which is to have a P1M total of insurance, investment & savings. Though I am unemployed right now, my Pagibig fund will have a big addition on it as soon as my employer settles their dues and I plan to continue paying for my Pagibig fund contribution. The completion of my BPI life insurance exceeded my P300k target last year and so I decided to aim for P500k this year.

          Now that I'm through with my practice teaching and other school requirements in my BTTE course I can now focus on my personal and financial goals. I am now unemployed but I have lots of plans running in my head again and I think I will have lots of adventures this 2017.


Just sharing my experiences.
Go for the goals again!
Have a great week ahead & God Bless!

Unemployed and Seeking for my Right as an Employee

          After my practice teaching and final demo teaching I'm back to reality- being unemployed, jobless and unproductive, the kind of feeling I really hate. Today, I was recalling some of the events I had in the company for the last two months because one of my officemate texted me to go to our office to claim the completion of my 2016 salary but she mentioned again to bring my resignation letter.
        
         While I was on leave for one & half month my officemate texted me that the company stops its production last Feb 28 & it will be officially close on March 30.  They had given me my partial 2016 salary of 10k last January and 20k last February that's why I was able to concentrate on my practice teaching without thinking of the expenses on both school & family needs. I was able to settle some of my credit card dues and save a little bit of it.

          The last time I went to our office was last February when they gave me a 20k partial 2016 salary and my boss required me to submit a resignation letter and I asked him--Sir, is it necessary?...and he answered, yes it is a requirement in SSS. Then I told him, I'll just bring it next week and he replied again, he needed it and told me that there is a draft resignation letter in the computer that I can use. I told my officemate not to bother I'll just bring it.

         That day I went to SSS office near our place and made an inquiry and they inform me that resignation is not needed- a "no earning report" is required if an employee is onleave without pay. They told me I can file a complain if I want to but I told them its not necessary because the company settlement is on process as far as I know.

        I still don't plan to give them my resignation next week and right now I am trying to figure out my reasons for not tendering my resignation if they insist. I know the rules of closure of company and the benefits of the employees but it's not the main reason why I do not want to resign. I know that our SSS & Pag-ibig contribution & loans are not yet settled and its the main reason why I am not filing a resignation. Although I trust his words that he will settle it after they sold their house and lot still I do not trust the circumstances that might happen in the future.

        I know "mabait ako or tanga ako" because no complaints or inquiry were made during those times that they ignore their responsibility to their employees. From what I heard, its somewhere between 2012 or 2014 that they stopped their contributions and loan payments of their employees. I understand their situation but they cannot force me to resign until everything is settled, di ba?

         There's this saying that I read in FB, "Love your job and but don't love your company because you may not know when the company stops loving you." True enough, I have given my heart in that company but now it seems that they do not care at all and they are not being totally honest with me.

          Kndly share if you have suggestions about my situation or if you have the same problem or experience as well.


 Have a great day ahead!
God Bless Everyone.

FINAL DEMO DAY

           Nine students - the number of students who undergo practice teaching in WBNHS and last week was our final week of demostration.
          We were all stress last week as we prepare for our final demo. We were divided into three groups and that means we have three days, three programs/events, and three classmates to prepare each day for our final demonstration and we were the last to perform it.

          This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. - Psalm 118:24.
A bible verse posted in fb by my classmate to motivate all of us as we present our final demonstration that day.
           "Kaya natin to Ate Grace" - the encouraging words from one of my classmate. I was really nervous last Wednesday but glad that all of my classmates, critic teacher and students were supportive . Of the three students, I was the last to perform my final demo and when the panel and head teachers went inside I told myself this is it. Here's some clippings in my final demo:

Review, Motivation and Lesson Proper

Application and Presentation of Students

           One of the tip I got from my classmate before I held that final demonstration was- If I forgot something don't go back or if I made a mistake don't show it, it will not be notice. Another tip I got from my critic teacher is that - do not be conscious with your grammar otherwise you will get lost with the flow. True enough, they didn't notice that I forgot some details in my lesson plan. Lastly, it was my students who keeps encouraging me, "don't worry ma'am, we'll support you & kaya nyo yan." It is clearly shown how the students presented their artwork. It's one thing that I really love being a teacher.

          Finally, the judgment time - as you can see in the photo above, after the final demo, we sat in front of the panel and one by one they gave comments on our performance. We also learned a lot from it and regardless of the constructive comments we received, our overall performance pass their standards and that's a big "wow" to us.
          With all the adrenaline rush I had last week for our final demonstration, I can now breath normally and enjoy the remaining one week to teach my students. I love this journey!


Just sharing my experience again.
God Bless & Have a great week ahead!