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Category Archives: Family

Experiment: The 30 Days Challenge

28 Jan

Photo Credit: http://betterhorsesclassifieds.com

Resolutions really do not work for me because I always fail. I read somewhere that one of the reasons to blame for not achieving any rate of success is the lack of motivation or purpose.

When your life is threatened to end because of an illness, you will definitely do anything that the doctor says in order to prolong your life. If the doctor advises you to change your diet (i.e. no more salty and high calorie foods), then you will definitely change your eating habits overnight, right?

You have a strong motivation which is to live longer. That your drive to change your habit instantly.

As for my case, I am caving in to Bo Sanchez’s 30-Days Challenge. I want to start a raw food diet. Well, I have tried it before for two weeks and I really felt good but it didn’t sustain longer. I have a list of excuses to back it up. LOL!

Anyway, I will start the 30 days challenge to gear me up and hopefully to adapt a healthier way of life for good.

My motivation? I know from the bottom of my heart that I am living an unhealthy lifestyle. That’s a given fact – no exercise, high consumption of fast foods, high level of stress from work, more processed foods in my daily diet and so on. Now that I have a son, I want to take care of my health hoping to live longer to see him growing up.

I just gave birth late last year and I am already in my early thirties. When I do my calculation, I will be in my fifties when he starts his college degree. So that’s my main motivation and hopefully strong enough to help me cling on my resolution.

 
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Posted by on January 28, 2012 in Family, Health, Life in Abu Dhabi

 

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Thoughts About Retirement and Investments

19 Jan

I never had a serious thought about retirement until I spent three months maternity leave back home. My Mum just retired last year from her teaching job for more than 30 years. Though a bit fearful of the fact that she is no longer receiving monthly salary, the thought of her monthly pension somehow pacifies her but she will not receive it until five years from now.

It made me think.. really..  My Mum is lucky that she has a secured pension from her teaching job. What about me? If I will decide to go home to the Philippines, I will be jobless because I am considered already over age for any available jobs back home.

Therefore, I will rely only on my savings and hopefully investments to support me and my family. It is quite a scary thought, right? Savings I think no matter how big the amount  will eventually diminish in the long run if you do not have any other source of income.

Investments on the other hand can be risky especially if you opt for business. The return of investment is not 101% guaranteed.

Because of this realization, I started to explore the opportunities of securing our retirement and establishing potential source of income once my hubby and I decided to go home for good in the Philippines. I am quite cautious in any form of investments because it is our hard earned money. At the same time, I want to have saving options with higher yield.

So far, I am paying faithfully my Social Security System (SSS) monthly contributions. I really do not know how much to expect from it but it is better than nothing, right?

Also, my brother and I found very helpful information in Bo. Sachez’s The Truly Rich Club. We have been members for sometime now and it is really enlightening. We are not that financially literate but with the guidance and help of Bo. Sanchez, we started to invest in stock market. If you are a beginner in investments, then this is a good way to start actually.  If you want to know more about the Truly Rich Club, click it here.

You will get also a copy of his ebook called “My Maid Invests In The Stock Market… And Why You Should Too”.
 
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Posted by on January 19, 2012 in Family, Finances, Investments, Life in Abu Dhabi

 

New Breed of “OFW” Motherhood

13 Jan

My Son "ZJ"

 
After giving birth to my son “ZJ”, my life has never been the same again.  If weekends before were spent in the malls or out of town escapades, now it is spent on Skype because it is the only time I can bond “online” with my son.  

For those of you who are not familiar with the setting of Filipino families, let me give you a glimpse of it.  A big chunk of our population is working overseas. You can find an OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) soul across the globe working as a nurse, waitress, housemaids, engineers, service crews and so on.

Oftentimes we trade our professions with the opportunity to work abroad hoping that we can give our family back home a better standard of living. It is not only our professions that we sacrifice but as well the reality of leaving your family for extended period of time.

There are OFWs who left their professions as doctors of medicine and instead worked as a nurse or nurse aid abroad because the pay is better. We have also OFWs who are teachers by profession and they leave this job to be housemaids abroad. Again, for the same reason  - the pay is better.

As for my case, I have been an OFW as early as 22 years old. I was single then and my motivation to leave my family was to explore the world and to earn more in order to help them.

Now that I am parent, my hubby and I have even deeper desire to give our son a better standard of living. We do not want him to experience the hardships that we went through while growing up.

And we know, this is not possible if we will work back home. So for the time being, we left our little boy at the good hands of my Mum and sister back home but we are working to take them very soon here in Abu Dhabi.

Until it happens, I am monitoring my son’s progress through Skype. Seeing him online eases my longing and the thought that he is better off back home makes our sacrifices worth it.

I miss you Z….

 
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Posted by on January 13, 2012 in Family, Life in Abu Dhabi

 

New Year.. New Decision..

03 Jan

I could not trace back on what prompted me but I made a firm decision on the first day of 2012.

“Now is the time to live the life I always wanted to and to take bold decisions to make it happen.”

For the last three years most of the decisions I made in my life were anchored on fear and inhibitions prioritizing security first while compromising my happiness. It is not always the best scenario and oftentimes I linger on sadness and endless grumbling. Sad, but that’s what I was going through.

This year I want live with Steve Jacobs’ words, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life. And the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you have not found it yet, keep looking. As all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it”.

So now, no more whining about work… It is time to address the issues and hopefully I will find something that will make my work life more meaningful.

 
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Posted by on January 3, 2012 in Family, Thoughts

 

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New Beginning..

01 Jan

I have not opened my WordPress account for sometime. To be exact, my last post was made 119 days ago. Many things happened for the last few months which kept me away from blogging.

The highlight was the birth of my baby boy “Zeoh James” last September 17, 2011. Since then everyday was an adventure and exciting journey until I flew back to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates last November 4, 2011 to resume my office work while facing the sad consequence of leaving my 6 weeks old ZJ at the good and loving hands of my Mum and sister back home.

My son "Zeoh James"

After giving birth to ZJ, life has never been the same again. Life is more meaningful but painful at the same time. Everyday I long to simply walk away from my corporate life in return for a fulltime job of a doting Mum to my son.

But I have to face reality.

Anyway, I do not want to be emotional on the first day of 2012 as I had already been in the last few hours of 2011. I hang on to my faith that I will be with ZJ very soon.

On the brighter side, I made a decision today that I will be blogging again. Honestly, writing has never been in my things-to-do for the last few months. Since I came back to work, I am working 14-16 hours almost everyday thus when the weekends come, all I yearn is to sleep and rest.

So, what I hope for 2012? Many things actually in which I believe the bottom line is almost the same with everybody else – “Good health, Prosperity and Happiness”.

Happy New Year and hope to see you around!

 
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Posted by on January 1, 2012 in Family

 

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Investing in Stocks..

01 Sep

Earlier this year I started to invest small amount in Philippine stocks because I was inspired by the Truly Rich Club of Bo. Sanchez. I want to give it a try.

By the way, I want to stress. I am not trading stocks. I am investing only which I intend to leave it for certain period of time. Honestly, I am not an expert in stocks investments but I am following the guide of Bo. Sanchez.

So far, it is too early to judge because I just started. Also, my investments are still very minimal though I wanted to increase it at the later stage when my personal financial health is in better condition. Also, I am serious in pursuing this investment while I am still a working expat because I can still afford to spare small amount for investments.

Once I am back for good in Philippines, I know that it will be a difficult task then.

I am really optimistic that this type of investment vehicle will be financially rewarding as long as I have the discipline to invest regularly.

You can click here to learn more about the Truly Rich Club.

 
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Posted by on September 1, 2011 in Family, Finances, Investments

 

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Philippine Hospital Bills can Kill you..

29 Aug

Photo Credit: http://stlouis-bankruptcy.com

I was admitted in the hospital last weekend as per the recommendation of my doctor. She was quite anxious because during my last ultrasound the heartbeat of my baby was below normal. So, I was confined in the delivery room for 12 hours with some medical device attached to my tummy and my baby’s heartbeat was monitored the entire evening.

Gladly, everything was alright and after two nights in the hospital, I was discharged.

While my sister was busy settling the hospital bills, I was somehow in the state of ignorance. I was not sure how much to expect because I have been out of the country since 2002. I knew it is costly because that is the rant I always hear from the news but I never felt the expensive cost until my sister handed over to me the details of the hospitalization bills.

The two nights in the hospital along with the laboratories and other tests costed me Php 13,000 (approx  USD 325).

My medical bills made me think. Just imagine that I paid already such amount for two days only. What will happen to those patients who have complicated illness and require intensive medications or treatments? What happen if they cannot afford the cost of hospitalization bills?

It really made me think and in a way scares me.. I should have always a health fund in case such needs arise (though God forbids!).

 
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Posted by on August 29, 2011 in Bills, Family, Finances, Thoughts

 

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Etihad Airlines Travel Policy for Expectant Mothers

11 Aug

Etihad Airlines is the National Airlines of Abu Dhabi and it is the only airline which has a direct flight from Abu Dhabi to Manila. So when I travelled to Philippines last week, I took Etihad Airlines without any second thoughts considering that I was 7 months pregnant.

Before purchasing the airline ticket, I checked the pregnancy policy of the airlines.

Etihad allows expectant mothers to travel up to 36 weeks for single pregnancy and 32 weeks for multiple pregnancy. Travelling from 28 weeks and onwards, the airline will require a medical certificate from your attending physician stating that you are fit to travel, the expected date of delivery, the number of weeks and if it is single or multiple pregnancy.

And most importantly, the medical certificate must be dated within 7 days from the date of departure.

Click here to read more about Etihad Airline’s policy for expectant mothers.

As for my experience, they didn’t ask for my medical certificate during the check-in process and even during the boarding time. My only regret was I opted for a window seat. The passenger beside me was not really feeling well and she was asleep most of the time during our journey. I felt awkward waking her up every time I needed to pee.

It is really recommended to choose a seat close to the washroom. In my opinion the best option is the exit row because it is very spacious. Also, do not forget to consider your baggage as pregnant women are not advised to lift heavy weights.

 
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Posted by on August 11, 2011 in Family, Life in Abu Dhabi, Transpo, Travel

 

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Maternity Leave

08 Aug

My tummy at 6 months...

As mentioned in my previous post, I felt like my life was going through a 180 degrees spin after realizing that I was pregnant as there were so many changes happening physically, emotionally and financially. My priorities in life are suddenly changed.

Anyway, I decided to take an extended leave because I want to deliver here in Philippines. I am quite anxious considering it is my first baby. So, my Mum’s presence during this milestone will make a significant difference.

Gladly, my employer agreed for extended leave. I availed my remaining vacation days for 2011 and I took also advance vacations days. On top of that, I am covered for 45 days paid maternity leave as per the law in UAE.

It is indeed quite a long leave from work.

The challenge is at work because we have limited staff. Fortunately, it was all sorted out before I left but I decided to continue checking my office emails at home to lessen somehow the work burden I left to my colleagues.

Well, wish me luck as I open this new chapter in my life.

 
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Posted by on August 8, 2011 in Employment, Family, Life in Abu Dhabi

 

Renaissance

20 Nov

Missing my family (my sister Cash, "Meh", Mum, my big Bro and my nephew Jim Gabriel)

It has been awhile since my last post. Many things happened that I can hardly breathe and cope up.

There was the demise of my beautiful niece.

I shifted to a new house – traded the nice villa in a quiet and lovely neighborhood to a flat conveniently located in the heart of the city.

Our office has been restructured – new bosses and colleagues, new office system and policies. It was quite a big adjustment for me.

I am missing my big bro. Following the demise of niece, my brother is still back home with his family. I miss chatting with him. Somehow his presence cures my depressive moods.

‘Am missing Mum and my sis too.

There are more.. but

Life must go on… (**smile**) and so does my blog..

And I terribly miss writing, the only work that always matters to me..

Hopefully this post is the beginning of more writings and blog postings here in Frugal Expat – a renaissance.

 
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Posted by on November 20, 2010 in Employment, Family, Life in Abu Dhabi

 
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