Investing 101

Posted on November 22, 2021 by admin

My high school friends and I were throwing ideas on FB Messenger about the next topics to tackle in our live stream for January. I suggested that we take up basics of investing because a lot of people even in their 40s have no idea how to go about it. I said why not we talk about what are the investment instruments that you should have when your investment horizon is 6 months, 1 year, 3-5 years, or 10years ++? I told them I remember interviewing the president of COL Financial about 13-14 years ago about this and he gave me excellent tips that I use up to this day.

I did a similar interview with then-PSE president Hans Sicat about the basics of stock market investing for my TV network. We did an #askPSE live tweet segment then to popularize stock market investing and to widen the local retail investing base.

I really should upgrade my digital camera now. *sigh* I should get what some Youtubers use for clear videos. And a good video editing software. These videos are just raw videos for posting on my TV network’s online news website and wasn’t meant for broadcast since these videos are accompanied by texts. I just collated them in my channel, which is just a dumping ground of my interviews that had nowhere to go.

Like this one:

I think this interview was done during Ayala Corp’s annual general meeting in April 2012.

I should fix my Youtube channel because I have a lot of interviews that could be used as reference or they could be standalone news stories.

On the other side of the coin, I was almost scammed this morning but good thing I was alert.

So you see I have posted the ad (on several FB groups/marketplace/platforms) that I am selling my Roland E-09 arranger keyboard and I had been receiving inquiries about it. Most were low-ballers but there was one potential buyer who was keen. Then long story short, we came to the advance payment part of the conversation.

Then he sent me a G-Cash payment alert

However, I realized that it wasn’t a notice for payment; it was a notice that he asked for payment as a remittance fee. It was fishy because the remittance fee was exorbitant.

I searched on Google and found that KKB (kanya-kanyang bayad) a.k.a. Dutch Treat is a function in G-Cash, like Venmo in the US, where you can split the bill and you can receive a payment from your friend for his share of the bill. The scammer made it look like it was a notice from Moneygram and at first glance it was convincing. But Moneygram transfers don’t look like this.

When I told the “buyer” this was a scam, he blocked me and left the FB messenger chat. I posted on Twitter and FB about this modus operandi and I asked my friends to report the scammer. I had one TV reporter friend from my old network to message the scammer that the network received a complaint about him and he would be reported to NBI.

I would check his many FB accounts if they’re still up. The fucker.

I was so incensed that I finished a floor-length curtain panel for my room to let off steam. By hand.

*My granny curtains. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

I’m trying to have more prints in the house because white is boring. Next time I will try graphic prints and see how it would look and if I like them. So far I’m in this cottagecore phase again, just like when I was in high school. My bedspread then were florals and I crocheted doilies, my study table was decorated with figurines of rabbits and similar designs that would go with the cottagecore aesthetic. Then when I started working, I gravitated towards Asian designs, the zen mode–the minimalism phase. I went for Budji Layug x Francisco Mañosa designs with a sprinkling of Japanese aesthetic. This is my rebellion against the horror vacui that Filipinos are known for and which my ex-in-laws were going for. I simply rejected this pack rat mentality and this design aesthetic that was an assault to the senses.

Speaking of designs, I already contacted my future contractor and he will meet my mom on Thursday or Friday and I will do a video call with them so I can explain what I wanted. It would have been great if we could have met on a weekend so I can drive down there but he’s also a busy guy as I see him posting his multiple projects. He and I used to chat a lot in high school over the ham radio. Fun times.

Push comes to shove

Posted on November 15, 2021 by admin

youngster putting rose flower to head in suicidal thoughts — Photo by Elijah O’Donnell on Pexels.com

My friends and I were computing how much I should demand if they force me to transfer to Singapore.

Based on this self-assessment test by the Ministry of Manpower, the minimum salary of someone with my position and profile should get at least SGD 10,000++ or around USD 7,400. That’s the minimum and does not guarantee that I would get an e-Pass. A rival company had advertised for SGD 13,000 (USD 9,000) so they would have to justify why I would only get SGD 10k and not SGD 13k.

Given that the parent company is cheap, they wouldn’t give me the SGD 13k while the SGD 10k is too tight a budget given that HDBs in SG for 2-bed (it has to be 2 bed or otherwise the apartment would be too small) is SGD 2,600 in the outskirts like Jurong West. The school around that area is OWIS, which is around SGD 20k a year but the reviews are terrible given that it’s a budget international/private school. Ok, let’s just ignore the reviews for a second there. My housing would be SGD 2,600 + SGD 400 (utilities) + SGD 400 groceries + SGD 4,000 (school fees and other expenses) = SGD 7,400. It would be SGD 2,600 for everything else–that’s SGD 10k net. So that means I need to add 15% for tax and whatever contribution to pension or whatever the government subtracts.

I don’t think this would be a happy arrangement.

I think I would win the argument and they would let me just stay here.

Because Saturdays

Posted on July 10, 2021 by admin

*Soybean paste soup with rehydrated kelp, soft tofu, enoki mushrooms. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

We didn’t go out today because I tried fixing and cleaning my six-year-old LG refrigerator. And it took all my energy and it knocked me out by 2:30 pm. It was leaking again so I guess one of the drain tubes got clogged again, same as last year. I tried contacting the repairman but he never responded. So I took matters into my own hands and tried to do what that guy told me to do when this happens again.

As of this hour it hasn’t leaked yet so yey for that. If my fix didn’t address the issue in the coming days, then I guess I have to make that trip to Anson’s in Cash and Carry Makati and buy that Hitachi fridge. If not the Panasonic one.

I need a bigger freezer since we make fridge cakes and ice cream at home.

I read in an FB group about money saving hacks that you can go to Anson’s in Cash and Carry to haggle the sticker price if you pay cash and if you ask nicely ( for a manager’s discount). I know enterprises need to push out inventory as fast as they could and if inventory doesn’t move in xx days/months, they’re losing money. The brands I’m going for are not as popular as Condura/Samsung/LG so I can try my luck. If I can bring it down by PHP 5,000 then I’m good.

Meanwhile, I also need to visit a paint center and check if I can match the color of my closets, which is close to between light blue and Tiffany Blue. Because cats. I patched the scratches with filler but that means I need to cover the wood-colored filler with paint. If I can’t match it, then I would have to sand everything, put a primer, and paint it with teal or light blue.

I’m keeping myself busy so I don’t live inside my head. It’s the most dangerous thing for me these days. If a raw nerve gets plucked, just like last week, it results into basura days.

The IATF has now allowed children above 5 years old to go outdoors but not in malls, restaurants, or any enclosed space. Which is the right thing to do because Indonesia is suffering the consequences of their lax rules.

We still can’t go back to Anilao because the danger of Taal Volcano spewing ash all over the province is high and it could happen any time. We’re waiting for the big one again, just like in January last year. Resorts in Anilao and elsewhere in Batangas had shut down. Right now we’re in Alert No. 3, some communities have already been evacuated.

I’m racking my brain with things that we can do so we don’t go stir crazy and the kids won’t be glued to their computers all the time. Camping is a bit iffy these days given the monsoon rains.

Fresh air and financial spring cleaning

Posted on May 16, 2021 by admin

Tonight I finally was able to ride my bike for some exercise and fresh air. On my way to UP, I saw how Maginhawa is trying to keep itself afloat.

*Uno Cinquenta with diners. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

I did my usual routine: I bike, tie my bike at the guard house then walk for an hour or so around University Ave.

*Another day has died. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

I take short breaks to do stretching exercises and then resume walking.

*It has been months since I last saw the Oblation up close. Sigh. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

*Water break before going home. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

I was out for almost two hours and enjoyed the soft, cool night breeze and the smell of grass. I also heard cicadas, the sound that reminded me much of provincial life. One day I will go back to the province and escape Manila.

Or I will be somewhere else. I don’t know.

This thought prompted me to check my investments. Well my UITF, ETF and VUL funds are tanking because they are all in equities. The PSEi last week touched the psychological barrier of 6,000 and 5,900 may not be far behind. My money market UITF is doing fine but it’s not even an investment at this point since I’m just letting my emergency funds sleep in that facility so it won’t be eaten away by inflation.

I’m debating whether I should top it up because unemployment emergency funds should be 6 months’ worth of my monthly salary.

I am more inclined to top up my VUL fund because this has been my habit whenever I get a windfall every year (i.e. bonus) but I’m thinking of opening a mutual fund with another fund management group. The reason why I got another VUL is that I want to have two life insurance policies since my kids don’t have anyone else but me to rely on financially. Their dad hasn’t given any tuition money since they started going to school at 3 yrs old. So anyway, one VUL plan is heavy in the life insurance part and not so much on the investment funds. The other VUL is heavy on the investment but not much on the (term) life insurance side but both have accidental and health riders. VULs would also protect my children from being taxed when receiving money upon my death.

So the alternative to topping up the VUL fund is I can have a mutual fund invested in a balanced fund since my investment horizon has already narrowed significantly as compared when I first bought my two VULs (I was 28).

But but but… I want to bottom-fish! If the market is tanking, I should be picking up bargains, right? I do cost averaging on my UITF and and ETF every month so a tanking market is immaterial at this point. But topping up my VUL or investing in a mutual fund now means something–buying really low.

Something to think about before I buy a new laptop.

Revenge spending

Posted on April 22, 2021 by admin

*Chairs in SM Department Store. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

I know I could have bought these chairs online but for some reason I was on a revenge spending binge for some random shit from brick-and-mortar stores this week. Maybe because I allowed myself to spend on the bathroom. Maybe because I was too cooped up at home because of the never-ending lockdown. Whatever the reason, I bought these chairs to replace my daughters’ battered computer chair that I passed down to them a year or so ago and the red plastic chair that’s unstable.

I bought again a new humidifier, which I really don’t need but I just want to have a beautiful scent wafting in my bedroom while I slave away on the computer. I’ve been buying random stuff online as well. 💣

I almost bought a guitar online. Good thing I checked myself and asked, do I really need this?

😁 *Better bathroom now*. *Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

So taking showers are much better now that I no longer have a grungy bathroom. I couldn’t add a small sink without chipping away at the walls and burying pipes on concrete floor. Besides this carpenter is a crook. Too long a story to tell but he is a jackass that I just want the job to end. Because he did a bad job, I had to bring in another guy to rectify the errors, including a clogged shower drain.

*New contact lenses and eye glasses for me. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

And since my headaches coincided with my revenge spending, I had my eyesight checked yesterday for any changes on my nearsightedness before buying a new set of contact lenses. My suspicion was right that my astigmatism got worse. So now I ordered new toric contacts and will have my eye glasses fitted with new lenses. Too much screen time 🤦🏻‍♀️

I now gained back all the weight I lost biking a few months ago. The last time I biked to buy veggies was two weeks ago. Too exhausted by work to ride.

*Vegetable run. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

I will try to get back on the saddle again this weekend. I need to reclaim my physical health and sanity. And to make me stop shopping for random stuff online because I’m bored.

Everything is so f*cked up right now

Posted on March 17, 2021 by admin

*Something to help me through this crazy time. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

After a year, we’re back to square one. Octa Research says we’re having a serious surge of COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila and the variants we’re having (damn, we already have our own ‘Philippine variant’) are not to be messed with.

The Octa team said that if the effects of localized lockdowns and stricter quarantine measures continue, the NCR would have a reduced number of cases by the end of March.
“The result is that the more optimistic scenario could reduce the number of new COVID-19 cases by the end of March to less than 4,000, compared with 7,500 if there are no changes,” they said.

We’re basically still stuck with a virus that is getting more clever. I’m just praying none of my friends and loved ones would get sick because this unseen monster could hit from anywhere. Hospitals are already at capacity again. We never managed to really to flatten the curve or had a downtrend. All thanks to the mishandling of the pandemic by this brainless authoritarian government. It makes me sadder that some countries are getting out of this pandemic and are already “near-normal” while it seems like we’re never going to see the end of this.

*My hand-sewn masks for female friends. I do sew masks in male-friendly prints for guy friends. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

All the more I am busy sewing masks for friends to help me to manage my anxiety while encouraging friends to save the environment by using reusable masks while keeping safe from the infection. If they’re only going to run to the store and not be in crowded spaces or in healthcare facilities like clinics or hospitals, my masks that are made of tightly woven cotton (either Japanese, Indian, or Turkish cotton) would suffice. As a freediver, the news reports of face masks or PPEs littering the sea makes me angry.

Speaking of diving, I would have to have our reservation at Blue Ribbon in Anilao moved to…God knows when. I don’t think this surge will ease after two weeks. Besides, the weather now is f*cking crazy. Imagine, middle of March and we are dealing with low pressure areas (that could be a beginning of a typhoon). It’s supposed to be the hot and dry season right now. On a personal level, I am not complaining because at least it’s not as hot compared to last year but from an agricultural perspective, this is not good. The planting cycle is going haywire. Crops could be destroyed.

Meanwhile, my plan to buy a small lot could be within reach sooner than I realized. I have to decide where that lot could be. My job requires me to be here in Metro Manila but I cannot imagine myself staying here for the rest of my life. I could buy in my hometown and there’s a nice lot there on a hill just within or inside the university campus that is surrounded by trees that I knew was for sale. Two Cubo units that I could join together would be sufficient for me and my girls and I could upgrade it as time goes by since I will be saving a lot of rent money. However, I cannot drive to Makati everyday if face-to-face events and meetings go back. Either I give up being a super journalist and just be content being an editor so I don’t have to be mobile all the time–but I’m not sure if I am ready to hang up my shoes and newsboy cap. I love being in the field too much.

Think, think, think.

But that little dream of having a homestead by a hill/mountain or the sea is nagging me. It’s calling me. Now that I’ve decided to remain a single mom for the rest of my days made that voice louder.