Handling Finances.

Here are some interesting/good read articles that are money related:

6 Simple Steps To $1 Million
10 Simple Steps To Financial Security Before 30
Squeeze A Greenback Out Of Your Latte

I'm actually guilty of some of the things mentioned like spending for gourmet coffee, I used to buy in Starbucks more than twice a week but I had to stick to a budget and promised myself to brew most of the time (which is cheaper even if your beans are from Starbucks), and just get a gourmet coffee fix once a week.

Another thing mentioned in the article is bringing your own food for lunch, which I actually do, from Monday to Thursday, then Friday is the day I treat myself out for a good lunch/an eat out, so I guess that's not bad right? I get to save money, and I've been doing that since I started working so that's for 5 years already.

On the rest of the items/tips mentioned in the articles, I'm still working on it :D I really love good food, and I enjoy eating in restaurants on weekends, well, for this one I really have to set a limit on.

Hopefully, with these little practices, it will eventually contribute to my first million target! :D

Hopefully I'd still get my first million soon :P

Earning Through Blogging Part 2.

I wish I can also earn a lot by blogging! This is my second post about it already, (first here). I thought about it, I mentioned before in my blog that I wanted to be a food blogger, but I'm usually lost for words when eating really good food, so I can't do that. I don't have other passions in life, hmm baking could be counted but it's not like I bake every week or every single day so how am I supposed to put entries on that, right? I usually just blog on random things :)) And I had a stand before that I will try to minimize entries on my personal life since this blog is Google-able, I don't want people that I really don't know know a lot about my life :) Just snippets of stories but I don't think I'm ever pouring my whole story in my blog. Well I'm no celebrity so my life isn't really that much interesting, the usual interesting blog posts I have are about travels (well these are the ones that I like), but then again I'm not really no Richierich to be able to travel all the time :D

And so far, since placing the Google Ads, I've never earned a single dollar at all :( Oh well, I guess my blog will never be money making thing. I have to come up with something else so I can earn my first million!

Winning the Lottery.

In case you haven't heard, the prize for today's draw is whooping P130M! I know the odds of winning in a lotto is one in a million or so(I remember in college, we actually computed for the probability of getting the numbers in Statistics class), but it's the thrill of having that 1 nth chance to win :) I dunno, maybe it's just me. But you know or well maybe in my family, sometimes someone would joke that okay we'll do that or get that once we win in the lotto, but no one actually bets? But once you put your place your 6 digits in that card, you're actually a little step closer to winning the prize money.

After you bet on your numbers, you can now daydream of what to do with the P100++ M, like thinking of giving your parents the money for their house in Lucban, or giving money to your brother so he can go to London, haha, but that's part of the whole lotto experience. For me at least :) And I get excited and giddy, since I rarely do it. I know for me the lotto experience is for fun, but for most people, it's because they need the money.

I've watched a story before, a man won the lottery here in Manila, so from rags to riches, now he's back in the slums because he didn't manage the money well. Sometimes getting a lot of money that you didn't work hard for is not really a solution to alleviate someone from poverty. Hard-earned money is hard to spend, and I know everyone would agree with me on that.

Anyway let's focus on the happy thoughts :) *Positive Energy*

Whether it's really fate or sheer luck, that one in a million winner in tonight's draw will be sure damn lucky! :) Who knows, maybe tomorrow I'm blogging in the airport, on the way to some destination so I can hide from the media. *wink wink*

Money Matters.

I realized while editing my old posts, yes I edited everything to put tags, I've never written anything about expenses or money or anything about it at all. I've actually saved a url of a blog of this girl who was giving advise on how to save money since she's on credit card debt, a lot of credit card debt actually. I can't find it anymore but I read it for a while because she had an interesting story, a girl who can't stop maxing out her cards :p It's like shopaholic, the girl who gives advise on money can't actually manage her spending. This time it's a Filipino who writes a blog and gives tips, advises on how to manage finances while being on credit card debt.

Anyway aside from the fact that money is the root of evil, I'd disagree on it being the root of all evil because that's being presumptuous. But I do agree that it can cause havoc on relationships and marriages.

For 2008, I actually started taking down my expenses vigorously. I got that idea from my friend Lance. I save it on my phone then later on update an excel file (once a week or 2x a month) which is actually bordering OC-ness already. It's actually helpful because the savings is computed already and I can check how much I'm left to spend for the month. Plus the chart at a glance can already show me the percentage of what I spent. This one's for June, and shopping took a big percentage of my spending because it was the Zara and Mango sale! :D Who can resist that? But for most months the shopping represent 0% in my spending. I usually shop one time big time. I edited the percentage part on the chart and some of the breakdown of my spending, so not to reveal that much info on my cash out :p A lot of money go to food actually, for most of the time. I love good food, then the next one's fare/gas/parking. I rarely bring a car, with rocketing high gas prices and all, who'd be encouraged to bring one. The note worthies in my list, grocery for my toiletries, snacks etc, then I have my bookstore category for my book spending, who knows if I don't monitor it I might actually end up buying a lot of books. Then last worth mentioning, coffee. I know it sounds funny but I actually have a pact with myself that I won't spend that much on Starbucks. I drink coffee everyday and for most days I settle with the brewed coffee in the pantry. It's just a matter of having the good beans, then I'm happy with brewed coffee from the pantry :)

If you don't know me well, you'd think I spend a lot but if you really really know me, I'm kuripot, and I'd actually search the stall in a mall for the cheapest bottled water. Waffle Time tops the list, from P12 it's now P15. I bring baon to work, even sandwich for merienda. I've always wanted to buy a laptop, but I really just can't force myself to get one because I think it would be spending too much on one thing. I've never bought a anything more than P15,000. Digicam, Cellphone, Ipod Nano, all of these bought for less than 15k! I shop in Zara and Mango only when they're on sale, I book my Boracay trips only when Cebu Pac is on sale.

Okay, I think I'm negating the kuripot part, so I'll stop now :D I still have my shopping preferences and my trips but I try to spend my money wisely, and that's all that matters :)