Our life and lifestyle inflation

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Natanggap na ng mister ko ang official letter nya about his increase. As expected, it is around 5% at wala pa roon ang Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) increase na matatanggap nya ngayong taon. With the tax cuts taking effect soon, he'll bring in an extra $40/bi-weekly after tax and retirement contribution.

Well, sa iba masaya na sila pero ako hindi. Sa inflation pa lang, anong magagawa ng $80/month?

Actually, I will disagree with myself dahil meron. My family doesn't do the whole lifestyle inflation thing.

Lifestyle inflation, to me, is upgrading your lifestyle when you get an upgrade in income. If you find yourself saying "Pag tumaas ang sweldo ko, magpapa-member na ako sa gym." or "Pag na-increase-an na ako, bibili na ako ng iPad."

Without you realizing it, you have adjusted your way of living just because you earn more. At the end of the day, you are back in the same situation -- either may utang ka pa rin or wala ka pa ring ipon.

Naging biktima rin kami ng lifestyle inflation pero nadala na kami. Ayoko na! Hindi naman kami keeping up with the Joneses type, pero we like nice things such as dining in fancy places and traveling.

Pero hindi naging mabilis ang realization. It took awhile rin. Maraming self-entitlement issues (I deserve it!) at self-denial (May ipon pa naman tayo eh.). What helped us move forward was having SMART goals na pareho naming mag-asawa na pinag-desisyunan. Tulad ng budget, matagal din bago namin naabot ang paradigm shift.

To this day, we still struggle to keep from inflating our lifestle. Mahirap din kasi na puro sacrifice na lang lalo na kung kayod kabayo tayo sa trabaho diba? So we constantly check our decisions against our budget. Tulad ngayon buwan na-overbudget ko ang kuryente by $50, so we have 2 options: gamitin sya for leisure or idagdag sa pambayad utang.

We chose to use the extra $50 towards leisure. This doesn't happen every month though. We choose our leisure carefully, and usually pang-pamilya ang leisure namin para tipid tulad ng pagpunta sa local pool. We all enjoy swimming together.

Going back to the topic of sweldo, no news pa rin about my increase. Sabi ng manager ko, pinag-dedesisyunan pa raw ng management ang increase across the board. Di bale, effective July 1 naman yun so may aasahan akong back pay na substantial din! :)

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Daycare fees to increase

Parang headline sa diario no? :)

Kapo-post ko lang nung isang araw about sa $620 childcare rebate na makukuha namin. Nakuha na nga namin kaso naman the other day we received a notification from our kid's daycare that they are going to increase their rates by $50/bi-weekly.

Shet. Ang laki!

In the first 2 years with them, the increases were around $12/bi-weekly. Di masyadong ramdam. Pero itong $50 effective the first week in November is sobrang ramdam!

Malapit nang mag-kindergarten ang anak ko. This means less money paid towards daycare dahil libre ang schooling dito. Bababa ng mga $150/bi-weekly ang pay out namin next year.

Dalawang reasons bakit sila magtataas: 1. Increase ng GST (or VAT) at 2. Yearly increase ng salaries ng teachers. Four percent ang increase ng sweldo nila! Sana lang mas mataas pa sa 4% ang increase ng sweldo ko. Malalaman ko yun next week.

Apektado rin kami sa VAT, lahat naman tayo, lalo na kung consumer ka. Buti na lang walang VAT ang mortgage dahil kung meron man, ewan ko na lang. Ibebenta na lang namin bahay namin at mag-rerenta na lang kami.

Pamahal ng pamahal lahat despite the recession. Grabe ang buhay talaga! Paano na lang kung marami kaming anak? Hay nako.

Kaya maski risky man sa ngayon na maglipat kami ng bansa, gagawin pa rin namin. May kabagalan ding umahon dito sa kinalalagyan namin. I mean, mabagal magpayaman! Mas mahirap kung may utang tulad namin. Imagine ko na lang yung ibang mga tao na mas marami pang utang kesa sa amin at marami sila! Meron ngang journalist dito who came out na $50k ang utang nya at single sya ha! Grabe no?

How to start planning a wedding

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I'm sure that a big, lavish wedding requires detail-oriented and effective people planning one. I'm married but I didn't have a wedding. However, I'm an organized person so read up.

Before you start thinking of themes, dresses, flowers and so on, you first need to know this:

Your guest list - how many you are willing to invite.

Draft a list with your partner and start paring down as you take your budget into consideration. This may take awhile, but the sooner both of you agree not to add (or remove) any more guests, the better off you will be to proceed to the next steps.

You will need an estimated number of your guests so that you can among other things:

• Choose a suitable location to hold your event and find out how much it would cost
• Find out how much catering would cost, and choose a caterer of your choice
• Find out how much it would cost for guest giveaways (a famous practice in Filipino weddings)
• Find out how much your cake would cost should you decide to serve it as dessert
• Find out how much your invitations would cost

A cousin of mine and her husband did this. There were issues along the way, such as not inviting another cousin, but they knew what they wanted. At the end of the day, they had the intimacy of the wedding just how they liked it and the cousin did not really miss a thing. We hardly see her anyway, something like once a decade.

Multi-tasking is not cool

Because almost everything in a wedding is dependent on one or the other, create a plan that shows their relationship. The table below shows an example of what I'm talking about.

I'm no longer a fan of multi-tasking. In this regard, though you can contact suppliers for everything on the same day to get the momentum going, it would really help you stay sane if you channel all of your energy into completing one item at a time. Stick to mono-tasking so that you wouldn't feel harrassed by the demands of your wedding. You and your partner will have more mental energy to make the best decision on every task in your list.

Make your day YOURS

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One thing my husband HATES about weddings is how it becomes a giant production. Photographers here and there, videographers blocking the guests view of the couple, cables running up and down the church and reception halls, the couple not having any chance to really hang out with guests...my husband hates all of that!

I suppose it boils down to what you want out of your wedding day. I still believe that you should enjoy it with very little worry about the "program". Discuss with your videographers and photographers about maximizing on candid moments, rather than instructing you to "act" all the time.

Admittedly, I would like to have one of those on-site videos but I don't want the people I hire to be obtrusive. I want them to capture moments naturally created during the whole do. At the end of the day, I want to be able to say "I got married" and not "I created a wedding production".

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Catch 22: Salary or experience?

My husband has been unhappy in his job for more than a year now. Naghahanap na sya ng work ever since. He has been looking overseas (dun sa lilipatan namin) pero grabe naman ang recession doon. As in sa isang position, at least 200 applicants ang karibal nya. Dito naman walang masyadong magagandang opportunities. Kung meron man, ang bababa ng sweldo.

The other night nakakita ako ng position for him na sobrang interesado sya, kaso nung nakita nya ang range ng sweldo budgeted for the position nakakapanlumo naman. The maximum that the employer is willing to pay for is $30k/year less than what my husband gets now. That means $1,200 a month less than what we get now, combined.

Ayaw na nya agad mag-apply pero sabi ko ituloy nya and then negotiate if/when he is offered. Yun din ang isang frustration nya sa work nya ngayon. Mataas na ang kinikita nya na parang pang-trap na sa kanya kung sakali mang gusto nyang maghanap ng ibang trabaho.

Honestly, magiging mahirap para samin kung sakaling mabawasan ang take home pays namin. May mga utang pa kasi kaming binabayaran. Kung wala sana, ok lang na mag-work sya on a lesser salary in a job that he enjoys tremendously. Important saming mag-asawa ang work enjoyment. We spend 8 hours a day doing it, we might as well enjoy doing it diba?

I immediately checked our budget and changed his net pay to what he'd get if he got that job. Deficit talaga kami if ever. Sobrang dami rin ng sacrifices ang gagawin namin on top of our sacrifices already. Di na namin mababayaran ang student loan nya. Lalong di kami makakaipon. Sobrang tiis ang kelangan namin gawin, for what? Para masaya sya sa work tapos ang family naman namin magsa-suffer?

Hay. Bakit ba ganun? May work ka nga, taas ng sweldo pero di ka naman masaya. May makita ka namang ok sana, ang baba naman ng sweldo. Any advice?

schooling in da Philippines

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I recently caught up with an ex at napag-usapan namin ang tuition sa Pinas. Malapit nang mag-highschool ang panganay nya at dahil plano ko rin pag-aralin ang anak ko sa Manila, I got curious as to how much they are paying for education.

They pay P35k/year for his son's tuition at a small school within their village. I thought that wasn't bad, but when he mentioned that his friends' kids tuitions nagulat ako! P80k/year for a child to study at San Agustin Makati! I didn't ask kung anong grade level na yung mga bata pero nonetheless mahal pa rin.

Would I be willing to send my child to private (and prominent) elementary and high schools? Definitely not.

I didn't come from a prominent school, not as prominent as San Agustin anyway. I studied at a prominent university though. I met really rich kiddos at uni but I realized soon din na wala namang pinagkaiba ang natutunan nila sakin. We all started from scratch when we entered uni life.

Saving for college
We have been saving $100/month towards our child's college education. Ayoko kasing magka-student loan sya in case plano nyang mag-aral sa ibang bansa. Pag wala na kaming utang, I will bump our savings to $200/month and then invest some of it until he gets to uni age. Wala rin akong problem kung mag-aral sya sa Pinas for college. The Philippines have produced really bright students who excel in their chosen careers.

That said, ok lang samin kung sa less-prominent or semi-private school sya mag-aral but we are gearing up for the best university education for him. Sad to say, best can sometimes mean expensive maski saang bansa ka pa tumingin.

I researched online for pictures of San Agustin's facilities. Hands down ang ganda, but then are they enough to warrant a tuition of such scale? The sosyal side of me says yes, pero my husband and I are after my child to learn and to enjoy the process of learning. The physical aspect of his learning, ie school, will never indicate that at all.

Teacher:Student ratio
Sa school ng anak ng ex ko, it's 1:30; sa San Agustin it's 1:50. Pareho lang din ang ratio ng highschool ko to San Ago eh :) Same curriculum din naman. Yun nga lang wala kaming swimming pool. Ang anak ko pa naman ay mahilig sa tubig. Before he turns 4 I bet marunong na syang lumangoy dahil ngayon pa lang ay marunong-runong na sya.

Sorry I digressed. Anyway, may point ako about the ratio. It does matter dahil not all students have the same need. With a smaller ratio, a teacher can assist the struggling students. The teachers will have more energy at the end of the day din. Less masungit! :)

What do you think about paying tons of money to send your kid to primary and secondary educational institutions?

Want things for free?

I have been a member of Freecycle. My family has enjoyed a few items previously loved by other people, and we have given away things that still have plenty of use in them.

Concept of Freecycling

It's actually simple -- you post items that you want to give away or want to have. It's not a first-respondent-first-keeper set up. The owners can choose whom to give the items to. Meron din kasing ibang mga members na hoarders din. I've given 2 things to one person and I did that kasi she owns a daycare center. Anything for kids, go ako! :) 
 

We have given away toys, clothes, random things that were no longer of use to us. I'm actually disappointed to find out that greater Manila has no group registered on Freecycle pero meron ang Cebu and other major cities in the Philippines.


Anybody keen to start that group?

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Regalo on sale

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My birthday is coming up but my lovely husband decided to use his gift card (given to him by his boss for a job well done months ago) to buy me a cute satchel bag for my birthday present. I'm a happy child today.

At first I felt bad that he had to use his gift card to spend on me. I rather he spent it on himself. Kaso wala naman daw syang gustong bilhin for himself kasi all set na raw sya. He is obviously content with what he has.

The bag was orginally priced at $230 pero on sale sya for $115. When we left the shop, he started rambling about how it would've been better wrapped nicely but that he'd rather he gets me something that I want. Magkaiba kasi kami ng taste ng asawa ko.

Sometimes I wish that he could just magically know what I want para naman ma-surprise ako ng totoo. Kita kasi agad sa mukha ko kung di ko gusto ko yung gift. Di ako magpapaka-peke with all that shrieking for joy effect na napapansin kong ginagawa ng ibang girls. Pero mababaw lang naman din ang kaligayahan ko eh. I like expensive things pero I can't afford them. :)

I'm happy with my new Lily Rose satchel bag. It's off-white and just the size that I've been wanting. Buti na lang I also gave him cuff links for his birthday less than a month ago, kasi he had also been wanting those. I gave him 3 pairs for different moods and occasions. I'm happy that we each got things we both want. :) I like gift-giving like that.

Environment-friendly ka ba?

Recently my husband said that he wanted to sell our Victa electric mower. Kasi raw para matapos nyang ma-mow ang buong property namin (around 700sqm of grass), it will take him 3 days. The mower kasi has to be charged for a minimum of 12 hours before we can use it again. It takes a little over an hour bago ma-drain ang battery ng mower.

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So bakit to issue for me? Kasi nung naghahanap kami ng mower, gusto ko sana is yung petrol-type pero medyo environment-friendly na hilaw ang asawa ko. Nung nalaman kong 12 hours ang charging time nya, diskumpyado nako nun, pero go na lang ako para wala nang issue.

Hilaw ang environment friendliness nya, in my opinion, kasi ayaw nyang magsampay ng labada! Gusto nya palagi gumamit ng dryer. Ok lang naman sakin mag-dryer kung winter dahil almost a need sya lalo na kung walang tigil ang ulan. Pero pag summer, I really want to air dry our clothes.

Siguro nga magkaiba ang priorities namin about being green. May mga ibang bagay na magkasundo kami about being green, such as pag-compost at pag-recycle. Hard core talaga kami about those 2 things.  Even sa mga products na ginagamit namin, tulad ng laundry powder. May mga eco-conscious clothes na maganda sanang bilhin pero ang mamahal pa ng mga yun sa ngayon. Siguro in another 10 years I might consider buying one or 2.

So ngayon, nag-agree na kami na ibenta yung electric mower tapos bibili na lang kami ng 2nd hand petrol mower. Mukhang forest na yung backyard namin! :) Desperada nako!

Childcare rebate = windfall

Uy, mukhang makaka-claim kami ng childcare rebate for 2 tax years! :)

That's $310/year x 2 = $620 of windfall! :)

What this means for us is extra money towards debt payment. How I wish lang na pang-savings sya or pang-retirement. That's what sucks about having utang -- any extra money we've got is plugged into debt payments agad. No questions asked.

Kayo, what do you do with your windfall?

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Split or joint finances?

May nabasa akong blog post tungkol sa mag-asawa na nagkaroon ng mainit na argumento dahil sa pera. Yung lalaki kasi mas maliit ang sweldo kesa sa babae. Ang gusto ng lalaki ay split nila ang bayad sa mortgage based sa income nila.

Mahirap na situation yun ah. May mga kakilala akong mag-asawang ang set up ay yung isa magbabayad ng renta or mortgage, tapos yung isa sa mga bills at grocery.

Sa amin ng asawa ko, our salaries are pooled into a joint account. Lahat ng expenses dun sa joint account lumalabas. Lahat ng gastos, ipon, at utang ay shared namin including his student loan that I hate so much.

Di ko yata alam kung anong gagawin ko kung nagkataong ganun ang ugali ng asawa ko. I don't think aabot sa point na ikinasal na ako bago ko malamang ganoon ang attitude nya towards money. Mas malaki ang sweldo ko kesa sa asawa ko. Never pa kami nagkapareho and I think it will continue like that unless mag-quit ako.

I admit that there are moments when I resent paying his student loan of $450/month. Siempre naman dahil ako walang student loan. Pero I love him and he didn't hide the fact that he owed student loans before kami nagpakasal. Ang hindi ko lang inalam ay kung magkano talaga yung loan. Uhm, I think sinabi nya kaso I was not paying that much attention then. There are times, lalo na pag nagtatalo kami about something na gusto kong sabihin na I hate paying his student loan, pero I always stop myself. For one, where would that lead our argument to? Secondly, anong mababago nun kung sabihin ko man? Wala rin, utang pa rin sya.

I think pag married na kayo, everything is on an "us" or "ours" basis. Paano kung magkasakit yung lalaking yun tapos ang laki ng hospital bill nya. Would he think na ang split din ng pagbayad is the same as their mortgage? Hah! I doubt that.

I would never have it any other way. Joint finances, to me, is the best way to go in handling money matters in a marriage. It's open, honest, and creates a sense of trust in a relationship.

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