My Life Updates Before 2018 Ends! (Overdue Post)

Hi guys! Yes, I am still alive, kicking and umm...fatter! Haha. This is an overdue post but still publishing it anyway!

A lot has change in my life while I am away. One is that I got a new job back in May 2018, I'm working now at BGC! My salary has increase, and so is my job responsibilities. Pati stress nag-increase din!

So side kwento muna tayo mga beshy, before, I thought working in BGC is more accessible for my daily commute but oh my gosh I was totally wrong! The traffic there is horrendous. Di ko alam kung bakit pero mas malala pa ata ang lugar na yun sa EDSA!

Di ko makuhang gawin ang mantra ni Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray, "to look for the beauty in the situation" kasi nagkakawrinkles ako sa 'twing nakakauwi ako ng bahay ng late. Imagine 2 hours akong nakapila para lang makasakay ng van araw-araw. Haaaay. Terible talaga!
The daily struggle of being a commuter!

Let's talk about my job, my job title is still the same but the stress is 1000x bigger! Eto yung talagang dahilan ko bakit gusto ko magquit na pero hindi pa dapat kasi nga di pa ako nakaka 1 year! Charot. Infairness ha may mga positive namang nangyari sa life ko. 

Two advantages I can think of is first, I learned a lot. Like gumagana lahat ng brain cells ko kapag nasa office ako kasi gusto ko matapos mga tasks ko. Minsan naman bago ako matulog iniisip ko na paano yung mga steps na gagawin ko para mas maging madali yung mga gawain ko. Ewan ko kung ganito din kayo sa work nyo, pero eto yung parang approach ko. Hehe.

Second, on the financial aspect, I also had a chance to save big time for build my emergency fund. I can proudly say now that I have achieved my goal of having 6x of my monthly salary. I put my emergency funds on my BPI maxisaver account.

I am super stress every time I go to work in the morning. Oo mga bakla morning pa lang iniisip ko na sana uwian na para makauwi na ko sa bahay namin which is not okay for me kasi it only show how much I hated my job. I'm thinking of resigning this 2019 that's why I am busy searching, sending my resume, and applying for a new work.

If you will ask me if I am happy with my work right now, the answer is NO, but, I still need this job that's why I am not quitting anytime soon. Maybe if there's a better opportunity coming my way, that's the time I will quit.

I also thinking of pushing freelancing work because hello nobody wants to commute everyday. For now I am staying on my work but will give you updates if ever nagquit na ko or hindi. LOL.

Anyhow, kamusta nman ang 2019 nyo? Anong financial goal nyo this year? Share your thoughts or financial plan this 2019 on the comment section below at magchikahan tayo dyan.

How to Open BPI Maxisaver & Why I chose it over BDO

Hi beautiful creature and that’s– YOU! Claim na natin yan mga ka’sis and brother kasi lahat naman tayo e likas na magaganda at gwapo. Haha. Anyhow, I mentioned in my previous post about cashing out my money on my BDO savings account and putting them on BPI Maxisavers. 

Why I came up with that decision? My answer is simple; it is because of the interest rate that I can earn with BPI Maxisavers which is a bit higher than BDO and convenience. My company payroll is under BPI, therefore, you get the whole picture. Connecting the two account online means it is easier for me to transfer funds from my payroll account to Maxisaver. The table below is the interest rate on BPI Maxisaver:

Photo grabbed from: https://www.bpiexpressonline.com/p/1/326/deposit-rates-savings-and-checking

Opening an account on BPI for a Maxisaver account is easy. You will need to bring the following requirements to your desired BPI branch:

1.    A 1x1 photo
2.    Two valid ID. I brought my unified SSS ID and company ID
3.     Initial deposit. If I remember correctly my initial deposit that time is more than 50,000 pesos. The customer service representative asks me if I also want an ATM with passbook but I told her that I’m fine with having an ATM only.

Bonus tips: Prepare the following information below because you will need them to complete filling-up the BPI Maxisaver form:

1.    SSS number
2.    PAG-IBIG number
3.    TIN number

After you complete the necessary forms, you will wait for 3 days before getting your BPI ATM card.

Once I got my ATM account, I didn't waste time and linked my BPI Maxisaver to my BPI online account. Here are the steps that I did to do this:

1. Go to BPI Online Official Website
2. Log-in to your account
3. Once logged-in go to:

My Portfolio>>Enroll Additional Accounts

Photo grabbed from: https://www.bpiexpressonline.com

and tick the box "Savings and Checking Account (with ATM card or Info Card)" then click the "Continue" button. You will prompt to this page:

Photo grabbed from: https://www.bpiexpressonline.com

Fill up the necessary information, click "Submit" and you're good to go!

I'm claiming that this 2018 I can and will achieve my goals of having an emergency fund, you can read my 2018 recycled and new goals by clicking the link. I am so excited!

If you are asking what will I do with my BDO savings account, I will still keep it and planning on putting my buffer funds there.


How about you? Where do you put your savings? Is it in the bank too? Share your experience by writing a comment below. I would like to read them.

The year 2018 Updated Goals!

It’s the time of the year again wherein most of the financial bloggers I followed and adored have an entry about their goals this 2018 and since I’m a copy cat I also created mine. Haha.

As they say, there’s a big chance you will fulfill your goals in life if you write it down. I am a firm believer of this because it serves as a parameter for me to achieve them when I’m losing that drive or sparks.

For this year 2018, I consolidate some of my previous goals way back in 2016 and 2017. You can back read them here and here. Additionally, you can also read my updates how I accomplished some of them on 2016 goals and 2017 goals.

If you're asking why I am recycling my goals from the previous years it is because I am eager to accomplish my old but never been forgotten goals. I also added new item to the list below but I try to limit them because I don’t want to stress myself too much. Let's start shall we:

1. Save at least 6-9x my monthly salary before the year 2016, 2017, 2018 ends.

2. Visit my immediate family in Cebu and vacationing for a week or two.

3. Learn how to code in PHP language or graphic designing. I can use this for my freelancing gigs and to broaden my skills. Added expertise means an increase of $$$$ that I can utilize either for investments or emergency fund.

4. Have an investment in PH stock market amounting 50K 100K. To be honest I didn't put much effort last year in stock investing because I became stubborn and I focus my time on doing nothing. Huhu. I procrastinate and losing direction in terms of financial aspect but this year will be different! Oh yes, change is coming my dear. Charot!

5. Reduce my weight. Honestly, I am anxious about our upcoming APE (Annual Physical Exam) here in our office because for sure I will learn that I gain weight AGAIN.

6. Travel within the Philippines. My goal is to travel at least 5 different local places here. I also hope I can travel to Palawan this 2018.

7. Paint our house. It's hard to believe that I still don't push this plan in our house renovation because of lack of budget. Hopefully this year will be different.

8. Get term insurance either from Manulife, Sunlife or AXA. Reading financial blogs I frequent to read I fully understand the importance of having insurance. As a PH resident, I am aware that our health benefits here are not that good compared to other countries. Getting sick is a no, no because medicine and trip to the doctor are costly.

9. Have my own mini-business. Thank God I bought a fridge last year; therefore, this goal will soon become a reality. I’m planning on selling flavoured ice-candy this summer.

10. Learn how to swim.

11. Get St. Peter life plan.

12. Put 6x of my salary in Pag-ibig MP2.

13. Have a month salary in my buffer fund account in BDO.


What about you? Have you created your goals this 2018? Share them on the comment section below!

Photo Credits: Canva.com

2017 Goals: Quick Recap on Things that I Accomplished!



  3. Before I will post an entry about my 2018 plans/goals here on my blog, let's do a fast recap of my 2017 previous goals. Okay, let’s begin!


    1. Save at least 6x my monthly salary before the year 2017 ends.

    -It's so sad that even I deliberately saving a portion of my salary, I still unsuccessful on accomplishing this goal of mine before 2017 ends, however, on the positive side I can still achieve this goal this 2018.


    2. Open another savings account either on BPI, BDO or Metrobank for my emergency fund


    - I have now 2 savings account: A BDO savings account for my buffer funds (equivalent to my 1-month salary) and BPI Maxisavers for my emergency funds ( equivalent to my 6 months salary).


    3. Buy a fridge

    -I bought a whirlpool fridge last year. It was on Nov. 11, 2017, to be exact.

    4. Buy flat screen T.V.

    -My 2nd sibling whose very lucky last year, won on their company raffle and got a flat screen TV as her prize. I thank God for this because we pray for it. Actually, we were saving to buy a TV but getting it for free is a blessing!


    5. Visit my immediate family in Cebu and vacationing for a week or two.

    -This will be added to my 2018 goals.


    6. Have an investment in PH stock market amounting 50K

    -This will be added to my 2018 goals.

    7. Reduce my weight to 110 lbs. My current weight right now is 120 lbs.

    -This will be added to my 2018 goals. Do I have to explain why?! I think it is no brainer for me not to lose weight last year because I am eating left and right. Huhu. Why losing weight can this be so hard. Food is happiness! If you know what I mean.

    8. Travel around the Philippines. My goal is to travel at least 5 different local places here.

    -This will be added to my 2018 goals.


    9. Paint our house

    -This will be added to my 2018 goals. I am crossing my fingers that hopefully this year we can finally paint our house.


    10. Get an term insurance from either Manulife or Sunlife.

    -This will be added to my 2018 goals.


    11. Have my own mini-business

    - Since I bought a fridge on 2017, my mom and I sell ice in our neighbourhood while my father is busy with his business too. He's into "nagpapahose ng tubig". 


    12. Learn how to swim

    -This will be added to my 2018 goals.

Life Lately: Emergency Funds, Pag-ibig MP2 & Work Updates

Oh hi there! Did you miss me?! I’ve been missing in action here in my blog for months because I am busy with my personal life and have no energy to update this blog space of mine. Boo! 

What’s up with my absence? Well a lot has happened to me. First of is I’ve been saving a lot these past few months because I am eager to build my emergency funds before 2017 ends. As you read on my old entries here I exhaust all of my savings due to our house renovation which happened last year.

My short term goal for now is to have 6x the amount of my salary which I’m close on achieving it. Hallelujah! To be honest I’m having difficulty on making this habit of saving a large sum of my salary into emergency funds. The temptation is real when I’m fed up with stress but I keep on reminding myself that it is for my own good and I will reap what I sow in the future. Kaya ko ‘to!



This is my current mantra now because it inspires me to do little changes in my life that someday I can be financially free and retire early. Oh ayan ideclare na natin para achieve na achieve!

Anyhow, this Friday I will be celebrating my 28th birthday and gosh three more birthdays to go and my age will be out on the calendar. Even if I have no plans on my born day I still took a leave at work. Let’s say that I don’t want to experience EDSA traffic on my special day. Alam nyo nman ang EDSA super traffic dyan. Viral nga pala ngayon sa FB yung photo ng mga tao na sumasakay ng bus sa Bicutan. 
Photo grabbed from Meg Fontiveros Page

Nakakarelate ako guys kasi dyan ako nasakay ng bus dati kapag pumapasok sa work. Que horror ang sitwasyon dyan pero kebs lang need magtrabaho para sa ekonomiya. Pak pawerrr!

Second is I sign-up for Pag-ibig MP2 but I haven’t deposit an amount yet on my account. Do you guys have positive feedback using this saving program? Please comment below if you have any. I plan to set aside 1,000 pesos this coming December when I get my 13th month pay. 

Lastly, we move to a newer office. What’s nice about with our new office space is that it has brewed coffee! The smell of freshly brewed coffee in the morning is divine.
Parang inaasam ko na sana may ganun din kaming coffee maker sa house. Haha. Syempre joke lang yan di pa keri ng budget kong bumili nun oks na muna ako sa instant coffee.

Guys do you have any plans na ba sa upcoming long weekend this October 31 and November 1? Share your plans in the comment section below? Ako? Wala pa. Tambay lang sa house and magpakababad sa mga horror movies.

I Finally Opened a BDO Savings Account



Hello my dear readers, let’s go back to the normal programming of this blog which is about my financial independence. I wanted to share with you guys, my experience of opening a savings account from BDO.

I have two reasons why I chose to have an account with them: First, their SM Bicutan and Makati branch is near from where I live and work so it’s easier for me to deposit cash, second, it’s easy for me to withdraw money from them in case of emergency which is of course I don’t want happen but it’s still better to be prepared for those unfortunate events.

I have my own payroll account on BPI but I notice that if I put my savings there I tend to spend the money and lose track of how much I save for a particular month and I also became lazy saving 20% of my salary that’s why I come up with the decision to open another savings account. FYI, I open my savings account at their SM Bicutan branch. Below are the requirements that I brought:

1.    2 government ID’s. I use my SSS national ID and Philhealth ID
2.    1 Company ID
3.    1 Utility Bill. I showed to them our electricity bill from Meralco and they photocopied it
4.    Initial Cash Deposit. You have two options for the savings account: 2,000php cash deposit is for ATM card account only while 10,000 cash deposit is for ATM card with passbook. I have 5,000php with me that day so I chose the first option.

I was given three forms that I needed to fill-out. The bank teller who assisted me is very friendly and she answers all my inquiries. She also informed me that I am not allowed to deposit a check on my savings account which is totally fine with me since I can use my BPI account for those kinds of transactions.

The good thing of opening an account with BDO is that I don’t need to give them a 1x1 or 2x2 photo of mine which are required to other banks. They just took a picture of me and it’s done! I was advice to wait for 5 days before I claimed my ATM card. After I got my card, the first thing that I did is to register my debit card on their online banking so that I can monitor how much money I saved. Here's the link of their online website click here.

Here's picture of the savings account BDO ATM card looks like.

The only drawbacks that I experience banking with BDO is when I created an account online, the amount of money has not been reflected on real time basis on my first registration. I freaked out and went to the nearest ATM to check if my money is there. I also find the One-Timed Password (OTP) a hassle every time I logged-in on my account which I understand it is for my own account security but I don’t get the point of it. 

It just eats time on the part of the end user to stay longer on their platform. Unlike in BPI, all transactions there are recorded real time and they don’t require OTP.

Anyhow overall, I will still recommend BDO because you can open a savings account with them for only 2,000php cash deposits. The said amount is also their maintaining balance to keep on your account so they won’t close your account. Amazing, isn’t it?!

Update: I encash my money from BDO and open another account on BPI. I got BPI Maxisavers. The downside of withdrawing my money from other BDO branch is that I need to pay them 100 pesos for the bank fees which is kind of sucks because that amount is not that small. So yeah, If ever your withdrawing cash let's say 50,000 pesos above do it in your BDO branch where you open your account.

How about you? Where did you put your savings? Is it in the bank or do you own a piggy bank? Share your comment below.

My Masungi Georeserve Escapade!

Hello guys, yup I’m bouncing back to blogging sphere! I have so many stories to tell you but first let me share to you my Masungi Georeserve experience. This entry is off topic from my usual post about finances and savings but still I want to impart it here because you know memories. I also want to travel to different places here in the Philippines. Ang ganda talaga kasi ng bansa natin di'ba. Of course, this has been a planned trip because I don't want put a hole in my pocket.

So sino ang mga kasama ko? I went trekking with my sister and her friends last April 22, 2017. It’s my first time to try this kind of activity so I am thrilled. Gosh, I can still remember the “pagod” and all because we trek 9 trails of Masungi (Sapot, Ditse, Patak, Duyan, Yungib Ni Ruben, Tatay, Nanay, Bayawak) under the extreme heat of the sun! Until now I have tanned lines pa.

Our day is jampacked with activities because in the morning we went to Masungi then we headed to Pililla Wind Farm and our last stop is the Daranak Falls but I'll save that on separate post of this blog. It was an exhausting day but I can say the trip is worth it and every penny that I paid is sulit! We planned this escapade one year in advance because making a reservation in Masungi isn’t easy. They are fully-booked always so if you wish to go there plan ahead of time and make early registration now on their website here.

You should also refrain from buying visit requests from outside sources. When we went there other groups has to stop their trail halfway because they make their reservations through a travel agent. There will be no refund ha so take note of it. Anyhow, I will stop talking and share to you some of our photos.


Before we start our trail, our group had orientation first conducted by the local park ranger of Masungi at the Silungan. Here we are advice to urinate before we start our trek and they orient us about the dos and don’ts that we should obey. We brought water, cellphones and light snacks such as chocolate bars and jelly ice. It’s a no-no to throw trash while on Masungi so we brought eco bags to serve as our plastic garbage.
Eto yung una kong inakyat na lubid-lubid. Maraming ganyan ang inakyat ko dyan. Eto pa lang ang simula ng paghihirap ko este hingal pala!
Kunyari di halatang hirap ako sa pag-akyat. Kunyari tuwang-tuwa ako pero sa isip ko omaygash yung pata ko nanginginig. Charot! Eto lang ba ang aakyatin ko?? Joke. Madami pa palang mga ganyan sa trail namin so wait for more photos!
Taas kamay kunyari! Haha. Ay baket nakapikit ako?! Nakakalula kasi.
Eto kasi yung dinaanan ko papuntang gitna. If may pagka'final destination ka mag-isip  like  na putol ang mga wires na yan alam nyo na kung saan kayo matutusok. Hehehe. But no guys, our park ranger told us that the materials that they use here are super tibay!
Obligatory group picture
Yungib ni Ruben. Infairness mabango dyan sa kweba na yan. Nagsindi kasi sila ng scented candles. May mga ibon din kaming nakita. Pagpasok namin sa kweba ang lamig guys parang may aircon.
Wishing fountain! Di ako nagwish. Wala akong dalang barya that time. Charot!
Groupie sa Duyan habang tirik na tirik ang araw!
Rest muna bago sumugod ulit sa laban ng pag-akyat sa madaming hagdan at lubid. Natunaw ng matindi mga taba ko sa dyan sa katawan!

Picture muna sa duyan-duyan! Nakalimutan ko na tawag dito. Sabi ng park ranger namin na si Marshal oks daw dito magboomerang! Ginawa namin. Maganda ngang pang-instagram.
Ang Patak bow! Infairness di halatang pagod ako dito.
Group picture sa loob ng Patak.
Sa tuktok ni Nanay. Kitang kita dito ang view ng Sierra Madre sa kaliwa tapos Laguna de bay naman daw sa kanan. Ngiting mga pagod na pagod na bata at gutom!
Ang aming very friendly at pasensyosong park ranger - Marshal! Tumagal kami ng 5 hours sa trail namin kasi picture kami ng picture at todo kami magpahinga. Haha.
Bale eto yung pinakalast stop namin yung Bayawak. Nakakalula tumingin sa itaas pero nakayanan ko naman makababa.
Ngiting nakasurvive! Grabe sobrang pagod na pagod na kami dyan pero pose pa rin sa photo.
At the end of our trail we went to Silungan and we are provided with  complimentary light refreshments courtesty of Masungi.

Banana, lettuce, wheat bread and they also have egg spread and I forgot the other one. Haha. Not included in the photo is the fresh calamansi juice with honey. It is so refreshing. Imagine nyo na lang na super sarap na sarap kami sa pagkain na yan dahil gutom na gutom na kami talaga!

I highly recommend this place guys because it is really an adventure and may pagka extreme factor pa ng slight kasi magdadasal ka kada trail. Haha. Anyhow, how's your summer my dear readers? Where do you plan to go this month of May? Share your stories on the comment section below!
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