Job Moving

Hi all! I haven't updated this blog for a couple of weeks now, I've been busy with work and some job applications. Job hunting is such a stressful ordeal! There's the set up of schedule, the first interview, then the second, some tests, and then the most dreading part - the waiting!

I am praying for this one job that I applied for to be given to me. I really hope that I get this job as a Controller. Of course a change in job most of the time brings higher remuneration and benefits as well, but most of all I'm yearning to advance my skills and at the same time share my expertise and knowledge to the new company. Hopefully I get this job. I think what I need to do now is to pray and be patient!

Prayer and patience works wonders. I'm gonna put that into work now. Update soon!

Goodbye Honda Cub C70 and Some Online Selling Tips

Yupi the C70

I just sold my 1997 Honda Cub C70. I named him Yupi. I got Yupi about a year ago from his previous owner in UP Los Banos, Laguna. I bought Yupi for the use in my food delivery business. I was able to make use of his service for a few months, but only after spending a few thousand pesos for his repair and maintenance.

Some of you might ask why I spent money for an old beaten up motorcycle. For those who are not knowledgeable of  this type of motorcycle, Honda C70's are rated the number 1 greatest motorcycle ever by Discovery Channel! C70's are cheap, economical, and classic looking. You may view this Discovery Channel documentary here.

I never really wanted to sell Yupi. I wanted to restore and make him look like a brand new version of him. But due to the costs of restoring classic bikes, I opted to sell him and give him a better chance of being restored to his optimum beauty. 

I enjoyed my rides with Yupi, and I hope the new owner will be able to restore you beautifully until you become really the greatest motorcycle ever! 

Just to give you guys an idea on how I sold Yupi, I made use of free ad listings like OLX.PH

The market for used classic bikes is quite small that is why its quite long to sell. The secret to selling online is to make sure that you post honest descriptions of your item. Make sure also to communicate with prospective buyers all the time for proper scheduling and location meet ups. Do not get disheartened if you do not sell your item right away. Just make sure that your post is up and running and answer queries all the time. I'll post more about online selling soon!

Back on the Bike and Gym

Earlier this year, I was diagnosed with slipped disk on my lower back (herniated disk). This event was a big downer for me. I live an active lifestyle, going to the gym, running. playing football, and biking. However, I had to let go of all of these because the doctors (YES, doctors, I consulted two of them) recommended and advised to rest and sort of protect my back from incurring further damage due to strain.

I forced myself not to do any of the activities I love, it was hard and depressing. Since I couldn't do any physical activities, I turned my gym-time into chess-time! My football weekends became family-weekends! My morning runs or rides became walking the dog trips! I had to change my ways for my own benefit. Change is hard to accept, but it is part of life and we should just keep on doing what is best for us.

Although I badly wanted to play football or ride my bike, I kept at staying at home and doing non-strenuous activities. It was okay, but I really missed sweating out and releasing my stress through exercise. However, a for a few weeks now, I have gone back to the gym, and begun riding the bike (stationary)! Since I felt that my back has become stronger from all the core and back stretching exercises I've been doing, I became confident that I could start doing some light lifting and stationary biking. I asked the doctor if I could do these stuff and he allowed me to :) Since then, I have allocated some 30 minutes or so everyday doing these endorphin releasing exercises, and I love it!

Being back on the gym and bike even for small amounts of time, gives a lot of benefits. It's a free way to release stress, recharge my focus, and basically be healthy. Physically sweating out releases all of my stress be it from work, finance, and general life, sweating out gives me the chance to exhume all the strains that I have. Exercising also recharges my focus. I like it when I start to sweat and be in the zone that I start thinking of things that I want to do and how I will do it. I get to think clearly while on the bike. Lastly, of course all the benefits of exercising and sweating out points to a healthier life. All of these benefits comes from doing something I love, and best of all, it's free!

How I Repaid My Debt

I was thinking of what to post for today, and since it's a Monday and a start of another week, I thought of sharing something a bit grand and inspirational, well for me at least :)

Let me share how I was able to payoff my debts. Earlier this year I wrote that I was in a pile of debt, amounting to around Php 400,000. This is a lot! For an average office worker, having this amount of debt is a large burden, Something like David and Goliath!

I vowed to myself that within this year, 2015, I will payoff all of these debts! These debts comprised of credit card dues, home loan amortizations overdue, and some personal loans. All of these debts came from my "not-so-failed-business". I call it not-so-failed because although I did lose money from it, I learned a lot and now a better business person. More on this on another blog post.

Let me now share some of the things I did in order to repay these debts tantamount to more than half year's cash flows in.

1. I think the most important thing in order for one to accomplish paying debts is to VOW and PROMISE to ones-self that you will pay your debt! I made a promise to myself that I will repay all of the debt I had as I was sick and tired of having to pay extra finance charges for my credit card and home loan amortization dues! That is one motivation for me to quickly repay all of my debts. From the start of the year, I made a promise that I will repay my debts within this year, and fortunately I was able to do so by the third quarter of 2015! Promise and follow-through!

2. Adjust and adapt. With the continuous charges I was receiving from the banks, and bills coming left and right, I was suffocating from all facets of my financial life. Since I vowed that I will repay my debts within this year, I had to change my lifestyle as well. One example I did and still doing is cutting down on my weekend drinking sessions with friends. Ever since I did so, I was able to not spend extra for beer and booze. I also minimized my travels to the malls. This is one tip for people who would really want to change their lifestyle and not spend. DO NOT GO TO PLACES WHERE YOU WILL SPEND MONEY ON! It's as simple as that :) 

3. Allocate and stick to it. Once you have figured out how much money you can spend to pay for your debts, allocate is strictly to that account and stick to paying it, on time! This requires a lot of discipline and reminding ones-self that you have vowed to repay your debt. There comes a time in this part of paying debt that you will get tired of repaying the debts you have because you will feel deprived of all the money you could have been spending for yourself, but instead is paying back for the debts and charges you owe. But remember that this is a part of the promise you made. NO PAIN, NO GAIN, well for this case, NO PAIN, NO ZERO BALANCES! Allocate your finances for repayment, be disciplined, and stick to paying that account.

The above are just some of the things I did for me to repay my debts. These are all of course in the broadest sense.... If you keep on your promise, adjust your lifestyle, and keep on keeping the balances to zero, sooner or later, you will be debt and interest-charges free! *Sigh of relief :)

  

Packed Lunch (Baon) a way I save

I bring baon (packed lunch) to the office - instead of buying food from the cafeteria or pantry, what I do is bring food from home. Reasons and tips why I bring baon:

1. We think that it's cheap to eat in the local cafeteria and the cost/benefit (hassle of cooking) of bringing food and buying from the cafeteria is slim. BUT! It is not! Believe me, bringing food from home saves a lot of money because, you will not have to physically shell out money in the cafeteria where additional food costs additional money. Come to think of it, I you have packed lunch you will have to finish it because it will be a waste if you do not! But if you go to the cafeteria for your lunch, you will have to bring out money from your pocket to buy whatever food you want. Just the mere act of not getting money from your pocket is already a saving technique!
2. Bring dinner's leftover for your packed lunch. This is what I actually do. I cook more for my dinner so that the extra will be my lunch the following day! This saves me from buying from the cafeteria, and saves me cost in the actual cooking.
3. Buy from your "cheaper" store. I used to shop from SM supermarket/Savemore, but after comparing the prices from there to Puregold/Palengke, there's still money to be saved. So all my groceries are coming from Puregold/Palengke now.
4. Buy in not so bulk. Of course you would want to save from saving yourself the cost of going back and forth to the grocery but you also want your food to be fresh. So I would suggest that you buy food good for a maximum of two weeks. Anything more than that will already but too frozen (unfresh).

And so, those are the things I do for my baon, I hope you would try bringing your own food too and start to save money!

Home Loan Repricing

I just saved my self Php 40,000++!!!

We all know that it’s not easy to make/save Php40,000++ in a few days’ time.

But I was able to save myself that amount from being spent just by doing some simple analysis and some good old negotiation.

I will tell you exactly how I was able to save Php40,000++

First of all this Php40,000++ is a form of savings on my part. This is with regard to my monthly amortization for my condo unit.

I was in the midst of another yearly repricing (interest change) for my home loan, when I decided to check out other bank’s offerings in home loan refinancing.

Luckily there’s a promo for home loan refinancing from HSBC. They were offering free administration fees of up to 1% of the total loan amount! That means that I only have to pay a few thousand pesos if even I want to transfer my loan to them. But, that’s not all, they were offering extremely low interest rates as to the one I currently have on my BPI home loan….

The HSBC home refinancing scheme was giving out the following rates:

4.99% fixed for one year 
6.24% fixed for 3 years 
6.49% fixed for 5 years 

Imagine that! I was paying an interest rate of 7.5% in BPI and there was HSBC giving out free administration transfer fees and low interest rates!

And so my journey to saving Php40,000++ has begun!

I hurriedly contacted HSBC about the promo they have and true enough it is still on.

A friendly HSBC loan officer contacted my right away and gave me full details.

I was about to send all my requirements for them to start my application when I thought of negotiating with BPI my current rates….

And so my negotiations for a better rate has begun!

I contacted my loan officer to inquire about rates adjustment options, who then gave me a number to contact.

Someone from the line answered and told me to email them regarding my inquiry.

I then emailed them my case which they swiftly replied to.

TIP: let them know that the other bank is offering the free transfer fees and lower rates!!! If needed, attach the email from your contact from the other bank!

The consumer loan officer replied right back to me regarding rate readjustments, and offered me:

“We may request for approval to grant you our lowest possible rates for existing loans as follows: 

6.50% - yearly re-pricing 
7.00% - fixed for 2-3 years 
7.50% - fixed for 4-5 years “

The rates provided were terrible comparing to the one provided by HSBC!

I then replied to his email and attached the rates from HSBC and asking them if they can give me the same rates….

Alas, they replied with:

“6.50% is already the lowest possible rate and we can not go any lower than this.”

I was ready to get their 6.5% yearly re-pricing rate when I thought of giving it another push and try to haggle for a better rate!

I asked them if they could give me any of the two options I wanted, all the time giving them the impression that I was ready to move to HSBC if they didn’t give my requested rates!

“As a loyal BPI customer, I really want to have my loan standing in BPI. 
However, with the offering of lower rates by other banks, I am really considering to move my loan. 

With that, could we please request for lower rates, perhaps at  

6.25% fixed for 3 years  
6.5% fixed for 5 years 

Please let me know if this is approved. “

I think with the last push I made, I was able to convince them that I will really move my loan to the other bank. Remember that our loan interests are the bread and butter of banks that is why they wouldn’t want to lose customers to other banks.

The next thing I received from the officer was that he would escalate my request to higher managers, and asked me to be patient because it would take around 10 days to process.

And so I waited anxiously about the approval or disapproval of my request.

Would I have to move my loan to HSBC and adjust my payment methods for my loan?

Or would BPI give me better rates to work with and stay as a loyal customer to them?

The wait was long and it took more than 10 days too!!!

After more than 15 days of waiting, the officer replied to the email thread and said:

“The Management has just approved  the applicable rate for your loan at 6.50% effective 09/12/2015 (starting 10/12/2015) until 09/12/2018 with Php 3,000.00 processing fee.”

That is effectively 6.5% interest rate for 3 years fixed!!!

Using a simple amortization calculator, I computed that I will be able to save around Php1,150 monthly for three years which equates to a whopping Php41,400!!!

I am thrilled to have saved myself that huge amount!

More than the amount I am really happy to have exercised my negotiation skills and a little bit of financial savviness to my advantage.

And so for anyone who would want to have their loans repriced, try these steps and who knows you might just save yourself a large amount of interest charges!

If you want more tips you may email me or comment below to start a discussion! Good Luck!

Update

Hello there!

I have not updated this blog for quite some time now! I know that I should have but I couldn't find the time and topic to write about... Perhaps just some quick updates from my financial world:

1. NO MORE DEBT! I have successfully paid all my bank and credit card balances :)

2. PIGGY BANK! I know this sounds a bit childish but using the piggy bank is the one that works best for me. I started using a piggy bank to keep my extra coins saved for a few months now, but since then I have bought a bigger piggy bank and have made it a point to keep paper bills in them as well! The smaller piggy bank I have is almost full now :)

3. Passive Income - My source of passive income for the past couple of months have slightly slowed down. My rental business of Scooters has not been working for the past months but my room rentals is still on going, thankfully :)

4. Business - I am more and more thinking about going bank into business. Not sure yet what it would be but definitely something that I am interested in pursuing in the coming months.

That's it for now, hopefully I can put more into this blog in the next few days.
Keep well and save well people!

UPDATE: BPI Credit Card Cancellation

I really do not know how to start this update. Anyway, it is with a slight regret to say that I failed in cancelling my BPI credit card. Yesterday afternoon, the BPI phone banker in charge of cancellations called me up. I knew that there will be a spiel from his side talking about how good having a credit card is, and how convenient it is, etc. I was expecting it, and it did come but it was more on the benefits of having a credit card for future needs.

For example, he said that banks would need to have credit information if ever I would apply for a loan. He also mentioned a lot of other good things about keeping onto my credit card!

Alas, I have been sold to by a phone banker. At the end I did not cancel my credit card. However, I did manage to get my annual fees waived!

Some benefits I get from keeping this credit card:

1. Waived annual fees - I just need to call them back once the annual fees do get posted on my account
2. My rewards points will be published as a payment, so that is around P400.00 less my balance
3. Keeping my credit information published for future needs (loans, etc) - it is better to have records
4. I really do not fear of misusing my credit cards anymore as I have cut them months before, so I get to have my credit records on without fear of spending in the future

And so, this is it, my failed attempt to cancel my credit card. I hope that people can learn something from my experience.

I want to stress that you can request to have your annual fees waived!
Just tell them you'll cancel your card because of it! ;)

BPI Credit Card Cancellation Call

I just got off the phone talking with BPI's phone banking system - 89100.
I called them about cancellation of my credit card.
I somehow feel cheated because:

1. I waited for 16 minutes before getting to talk to a phone banker.
2. After telling that I wanted my credit card to be cancelled, the phone banker immediately asked why I wanted to cancel it. As I do not want to be tied to credit cards anymore, and having one will entail you paying annual fees, I casually said that I didn't want to pay any of those fees anymore.
3. The phone banker said that 'what if we can waive the annual fees'? I said no, I do not want it anymore.
4. Having a balance in installment the phone banker said I will have to pay a pre-termination of installment fee (last installment payment of P612.00) and the pre-termination fee is P540.00, the phone banker is using additional cost in order for me not to cancel.
5. I immediately called his attention to a very wrong option being offered to me! I said I wanted the card cancelled, and that is final.
7. He then put me on hold again as he needs to transfer me to another department who processes the cancellation. After being put on hold for two minutes, the phone banker says that the lines are full and that they will call me within the week.

I feel so cheated because it seems that cancelling your credit card is such a hassle for time, effort, and even emotion. Banks really do not want you cancelling your credit card because one credit card is an opportunity for the banks for a lot of earnings!

If they do not call me within this week I promise that this BPI credit card I have will be cancelled within this coming month of July!  Be wary of credit cards, they are easy to get and even easier to use, but is very, very hard to pay off, and get out off! It's like a bad relationship, dragging, complaining, and fated to fail. 

Passive Income

Having been on a tight financial condition for a few years now, I became very interested in monetizing my current assets. I have some sources of passive income, below is a list of what I have available for rent in the market:

1. Condo room - since I only live by myself in my two bedroom unit, I have a spare room which I have opted to rent out. I have been renting it out for three years now. My previous tenant stayed with my for 2.5 years, and now my new tenant is in for a short stay for only 4 months, since he's a French student on internship only in Manila.

Renting out my condo room provides me passive income on a monthly basis. It's still a business so I must be very creative in advertising and offering the room for rent. I use OLX and other online advertising sites to post my room for rent.

2. Parking slot - My father recently sold our car, and with that I now have a parking slot that is empty. I contacted one of my neighbors and offered her my parking slot, which she happily agreed to rent out! Not only I get to earn passively, I also gained a new neighbor-friend :)

3. Vespa scooter - I prefer to use scooters than cars, it's very fuel efficient, fast, and reliable as well. One of my scooters however is a white, classy, and stylish Vespa which is rarely seen on the
streets. For almost a year now, I have been renting it out for people who want to use it as a props for their nuptial photos, videos, and even corporate events.

I think having things to rent it out as great way to earn passive income. Ownership of the asset doesn't change, and you get to use it more than what it's supposed to do - monetize it. If you want to monetize and earn from your current assets, you just have to be flexible, creative, and open to other possibilities!

Small Wins

I remember from one of my workshops before in Achieving Goals is that people should celebrate small victories in whatever goal they have set.
These small victories or wins are any steps or milestones that one has reached in pursuit of the ultimate goal.

One of my goals this year is to zero out all of my debts. These are credit card balances for two of my cards, amounting to around P80,000.00 and past dues for my condominium amortization amounting to P75,000.00

As of today, I am able to pay out almost 80% of those debts I have!!!
Imagine that, paying 80% of the debts I have in a matter of 6 months!

I am on a high actually every time I go to the payment center and pay for my past dues, it just feels great to be able to take one small step towards you goal.

And so, I am celebrating this small win by posting this blog and letting the world know how great it feels to move towards financial freedom!

Updates

Hello!!!

For anyone who has been reading or is just starting to read my blog, evidently I have not been around much. I have been busy with my new work, and well, life itself. The first time I started to blog, I thought, I can do this easily, write this, and write that, but the truth is that it's hard to keep on writing about one focused topic, and in this case, personal finance.
It's not that I am not interested in writing about it anymore, it's just that I got caught up with other things. So here's a brief update on my side and my journey to financial freedom:

I have successfully finished paying off my credit card debts. It has been a tough six months of 2015 because majority of my cash went to the credit card companies. I have learned my lesson and I am glad to report that I have never used my credit card even once from the start of this year.
The secret to not using it? I cut them off!!! It's as simple as that, cut the evil credit cards, and throw them away, then proceed to paying off your balances. Make sure to pay amounts at least 100% more than the minimum balance required!

Bike to work plan - this has been put to rest as I was diagnosed with herniated disc on my lower back. This means no intense workouts and activities. The bike to work program I initiated lasted for about 2 months, and although I did save some money from not paying for gas and parking fees, I think I
spent a lot on food because of the hunger I felt after biking. Haha!

I am almost five years now in my current company and have been promoted four times, I computed my salary from when I started and it seems that after five years, I have almost doubled my salary amount. I am not sure as to what is the going rate for salary increase but mine seems to be okay. Opinions please?

As of now, this is my only update. I hope to write more frequently. 

Bike to work

I try to live an active and healthy lifestyle, I go to the gym at least 4 times a week, I bike, jog, and play soccer once in a while. I also almost all the time watch what I eat. Last week, I was in and out of the hospital for check ups because of this faint pain or sort of throbbing in my heart which make me uncomfortable and scared... I felt scared because it might be something with my heart. However, after checking with cardiologists, and pulmonary specialists, all are normal, I think it might just be heart burn, because of my love for coffee... And so, my post today is about biking to work, and keeping healthy - physically and financially. 

I have decided to start biking to work, I have done this before and I will now continue to do it. Here are some of the things I think I will get from biking to work:

1. Healthier body and mind - I am a strong advocate of being active as it provides the needed boost one needs in order to maintain good body functions. Not only will our bodies will benefit from the increased blood and oxygen flow from being active and sweating out, our minds will also be more alert and awake. If I would start biking to work, I will have the much needed additional minutes of being active before getting down in front of my desk for another 8 hour bout with my computer.

2. Savings - I made a rough estimation of the cost I am incurring on a yearly basis, and came up with around P25,000.00 for the cost of my transportation to and fro my home and office - this includes the gasoline for my Vespa scooter, and parking lot costs. I was thinking that if I just take my bike to the office, I will have significant savings which I believe will be of great help to me. :)

3. Environment friendly - Aside from the direct benefits that I will get from biking to work, I will also indirectly help the world become a better place. Instead of burning fossil fuels from my car or scooter, I will be burning fat to bring me to my workplace!

However, all these positive things also comes with some challenges, here are some that I have experienced and how I coped with them.

1. Safety - Biking in Manila can be a a dreadful experience especially to newbies. Safety first! 
Always wear your helmet, get a decent helmet to provide your head with cushion if ever an accident would happen. Helmets can be bought from P500.00 up in your local bike shops!
Be seen with lights and blinkers, these things are essential especially if you are to ride at night, it is your responsibility to be seen by motorists and commuters.  And lastly, bikers should stay on course, meaning do not ride like a maniac and veering left and right just because you can! Remember that you are sharing the road.

2. Things to bring - This can be a real challenge! Getting yourself to the office by bike is already a a challenge to do. Having to bring things with you is another thing! The way to get this is by planning, either by bringing all the things you need once every week (Monday) or bringing less stuff everyday. Be sure to bring essentials - clothes for the office, of course you shouldn't wear your office attire while biking (sweat and dust are your enemies). Minimize what you bring and leave the heavy stuff in the office (laptop) if possible. Another way to get around this is by equipping your bike with carriers or racks, these things are available online or on your local bike shop for about P800.00.

3. Weather -It's summer season now here in the Philippines, and riding the bike is not hard, only sweaty, but when the rain starts to come, one should have a reliable raincoat to be used when riding to work. Have you bags covered too!

To sum it up, I am keeping by biking to work as it weighs more benefits to me even with all other challenges attached to it. So if you want to save money, keep fit and alert, start biking everyday!

On Valentines Day

Prices of chocolates, flowers, romantic dinners and wine increase by at least 50% every February 14. I have always been adamant about not celebrating Valentines day outside the house where couples will practically be robbed by themselves and the consumerist culture brought about by cupid. I think that it is an unessential holiday because making love should not only be made special once a year but all through out it. Don't get me wrong, I do get how couples would want to celebrate this special day, but to expense money more than what its worth because of the scarcity that that special day of love has made - is simply wrong. I would rather just chill at home, watch a movie, cook for my love, and enjoy the day not having to pay overpriced things. In addition, you'll not only pay for overpriced gifts but you'll also have to brave the traffic in the city and go through the difficulty of finding parking spaces on some establishments. 

Couples can always have their own romantic days anytime without being overpriced. Of course if the couple can afford to expense their romantic day, then by all means they can do so. The only thing that I'd like to point out is that paying so much more for the real market value of something, for me is not worth it. Happy Valentines Day, everyday, lovers! :)

Finance and Happines

I recently read in a financial book that our personal happiness is directly connected to our financial health, more than so than our physical, emotional and personal outlook, as our financial health supersedes these things. Come to think of it, it does bear some truth to it. I try looking at it from that point of view and how people say that money can't buy happiness,but the truth of the matter is that almost all things in life needs money to function. Love can't be bought, but it also needs money to prosper and grow, without money love will falter because of all the physical needs the people in the relationship needs. Peace of mind will come if all your personal needs are met, which needs money. Physical health can be achieved without much money involved, but if you want to maintain and continue existence in the world healthily, you will need the help of money to buy healthy food, medicines, supplements, etc. 

What I am trying to point out is that we all need money to somehow help us become happier in our lives. We do not need a lot of money to be happy, just enough for us to maintain a healthy, comfortable, secure, and simple lifestyle. So if you are thinking that you do not need money to be happy, then you are wrong. Live below your means, save, invest, and enjoy the beauty and grandeur of our most prized possession, our lives and our relationships.

Why and for What?

I have been meaning to write my blog on personal finance for a few months now. I figured writing a blog on my personal finance would be a means to sticking to my goals and plans because I'll have a venue to view and account my struggles, wins, challenges, and perhaps even victory at the end. Just to share some background about me and my finances, I am 29 years old, single, gainfully employed in a Financial Services company in Manila, Philippines, I have little to no savings, currently on my way to paying all my debts which has accumulated due to a not-so-failed business venture, I have a housing loan amortization for a condo unit I am living in. 

Last December 2014, during the Christmas break, I was able to get hold of my schedule and just slow down for a little bit. I was just at home resting and thinking about how my financial situation got so mislead by my desire to create a business venture. My finances started to collapse during the year 2013-2014 when I kept on investing money into my food business. The business flourished for a little while, and was actually gaining traction among my clientele, however after reviewing my accounts on year end, it dawned to me that all the hard work on marketing, operations, and finances that I have put into the business I was still below my Break Even Point. That was the time when I really started to look into my own needs financially. As I have put into the business roughly around 350-400K pesos for its operations, and have realized that it was at a loss, and I myself left without much money and in debt, and would like to get married soon to my beautiful girlfriend, I needed to prioritize and look at reality. 

I prayed hard for discernment and understanding of my situation and future. Fortunately, my prayers were answered from a book I picked up at my Mom's house, it was Bo Sanchez's 'Simplify and Live the Good Life'. That book gave me my paradigm shift - it changed my behavior towards money, life, dreams, goals, desires, needs, priorities, and love for God and others. In that book I learned that working hard for more money is plainly wrong and illogical, as it really applied to my case because during my business days I was also employed and really worked so hard on both of that major activities that I have gained weight, became almost hypertensive, was stressed-out, and had losing relationships due to all reasons above and lost time. I am truly grateful to the words in that book for it has made me a different man - simple and with a noble purpose in life. 

Before my paradigm shift, I really wanted to go into business also because of noble things like making more money to help my parents, and provide employment to the community, but I have realized that subconsciously I wanted to earn more money to have more material things in my life - perhaps a new car, the latest gadgets, etc., I also wanted to be famous from that business venture because I wanted to become a well known entrepreneur. These things in hindsight are all superficial, and my paradigm shift changed what I really needed in my life - a strong and healthy family life, simple and secure lifestyle, a healthy and stress free body and mind, and a challenging and fruitful vocation.

Since that Christmas break I have made small steps into my new life dreams, I have since then wrote down my goals in life, have maintained a daily journal for all my expenses and earnings, made more money than I had from my business venture just by selling on the side (more on this later on), have lost weight and began eating healthy foods again, I have paid 1/4 of my debts with target completion of the rest by mid of 2015, and most importantly I believe that I have at last arrived at my starting point of my dream life. It took me quite a lot of time and money to finally arrive at my beginning, thanks to the power of prayer and discernment, discipline, and a clearer, simpler desire in life. 

Welcome!

Hi there! I am starting my blog today on personal finance and things connected to it. I am hoping that this blog will help me in sticking to my financial goals and dreams. Come and explore with me the steps I will take to achieve my goals. I hope that in one way or another this blog would help you too... So here it is, my personal finance blog. Welcome!