March 19-25, 2018

I went home on March 22 because I was on birthday leave for March 23.

Birthday muna. Some of us contributed an amount to treat our teammates with Ambers and Andoks goodies last March 22. I also received a card and a small gift from the team. I love the books! One of my teammates knows I am also passionate about personal finance since we’ve had conversations about it in the past because she’s also training to be a financial adviser on the side.

ChinkeeTan1
Colayco1

↑Books from the team!

Then of course, the customary birthday dinner with the BF on March 23. Single celebration for the both of us since his birthday is March 24.

March 24 was lunch with the siblings and their kiddos and grandkids at Good Taste.

TeamPilitz (03242018)

↑Team PiLitz hehehe. PiLitz is from the combined name of our father, Pido, and one of the nicknames my mom frequently used which is Litz (short for Lolita, and besides her other common nickname, Lolit). That will be our team name moving forward unless other siblings have a better suggestion.

GoodTasteHaloHalo (03242018)

↑Halo-halo to beat the summer heat. But actually, it was colder than usual that weekend.

After lunch, we went to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) to check out if they have calamansi for sale. Unfortunately, they were closed on Saturday. However, my sister in law’s cousin works there so I was able to get the information I needed later that week. They have grafted plants for sale at Php 50.00 each. Perfect. I’m not just sure if this is the dwarf type. What I’m aiming is for the calamansi trees that can just grow on big pots so that it’s easier to rearrange the backyard if needed.

Our father used to frequent BPI when he was still alive and stronger. This is where he used to get all the citrus fruits he planted. It was good to visit again one of his happy places.

From BPI, we went to Ace Hardware in SM. I am looking for cabinet handles. Unfortunately, they don’t have stock on the handles I wanted. The search is not yet over.

I also learned that my niece has an ongoing training in Sitel. I am happy is an understatement. I am excited for her. And I am praying that this is the start of a better future for her and her daughter.

We spent the morning going over her contract and giving her some pep talk about how it is in the corporate world. And of course the discussion about how she should be handling her finances. I know I  go overboard sometimes because that is already her personal business but I just want her to start practicing good money habits as early as her first salary. The first few challenges I gave her were a) to start saving for her emergency fund, b) set aside a specific amount for her retirement, c) set aside a specific amount for her daughter’s college fund, and d) save up around Php 30k-50k so that she can build a small house.

The Php 30k-50k is more than enough to build a simple house made of galvanized iron for the roofing and walls and at the very least, rough cemented flooring. We’ll build it via bayanihan to save on labor. This is good for a start. She can always improve it when future budget permits.

Hopefully, these will all materialize and she’ll not be tempted with all her wants and focus first on her needs.

On Sunday evening after mass, the BF and I went to 108 Session Road to listen to some live bands over a couple of beers (for him). This is to pass the time while waiting for my 9 PM trip back to Manila.

RM1 (03252018)
RM2 (03252018)

↑Clingy-clingy rin pag may time :p.

The end.