Last week I sent remittances too, one for my family and the other for my hubby’s parents. I have never been really so keen on sending remittances through Western Union because its fee is expensive compared to the bank transfer.

Of course, I understand that with Western Unionwe are paying the speed of the transaction. It’s an instant transfer and your family back home can immediately collect the remittances five minutes after you send it. While the banks, it generally takes 24-48 working days to credit the transfer in the bank account.

Another plus factor withWestern Unionis the accessibility. You can collect the remittances back home almost anywhere. There are so many shops and stores affiliated withWestern Union. Unlike with banks, remittances can be withdrawn only through the ATMs or over the counters.

Western Unionis ideal for urgent situations where money is needed immediately. Otherwise, I still opt for the regular bank transfers because the fee is only AED 15 whileWestern Unionis AED 35.

We always send our remittances to my parent’s hubby through Western Union but l really never realized the big difference until last week. After completing my transactions in the money exchange center, I took the receipts and sat in my car. I was wondering why it seemed I paid more for my hubby’s remittance than for my family.

So, I was scrutinizing the details of each receipt and eureka! I found the answer. The exchange rate inWestern Unionreceipt was only AED 11.48 while in the bank transfer was AED 11.65.

I got out from the car and verified this to the teller in the money exchange center. And I heard the confirmation.

When sending money through Western Union, the exchange rate is always lower than the current one while sending through bank transfer, whatever is the prevailing exchange rate (during the time you send the money) will apply.

So think again when usingWestern Unionfor your remittances!

I believe in our company’s mission which is to educate people and to help them secure their retirement and family security.

I am fromPhilippineswhere we thought that the only option to have a better life is to work abroad while leaving behind our love ones. Unfortunately, most of us are not financially literate. We are always confused between assets and liabilities.

So what happens, we put our hard earned money into investments which we think are assets but actually liability in real sense. More so, our generosity to our families is endless.

Hence it is quite a common scenario that Filipinos who work abroad ends up with limited funds for their old age. The sad part, these limited funds usually end up in hospital bills and medication.

Anyway, I will post more about my business at the later stage. It is for those who are keen on the following:-

• Education about personal finance
• Wants to increase their cash flow or have an extra income
• Learn about better investment options
• Keen to secure their finances for their future

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.

Photo Credit: http://marketresearchfacts.com

I am glad that somehow I passed already the stage of ignorance about personal finance. I mean, I am not an expert on that subject but I would say that I am better now on it compared two years ago.

Thanks for the tons free online reading materials about personal finance. My goal is to be debt free and to establish passive source of incomes. I am not yet there but it is on the process. It takes time get rid of old and bad “spending” habits.

I have been working on my “financial freedom” goal for the last two years. It takes a lot of discipline and sacrifice.

Compulsive Buying. Sometimes it is just difficult to ignore the red “SALE” tag. It is like a magnet. When I am in the mall and I see a “SALE”, I cannot resist the urge to rush and to look around. I have always this hope to find something really nice at a very reasonable price.

Now I still shop but only for my “needs” although occasionally I cave in to buying my whims. Before I hit the mall, I already have the list on what I need to purchase. In this way, I avoid compulsive buying even it is a sale.

Cash Diet. It is not an easy journey but possible. I closed all my credit cards last year. Now I am only keeping prepaid card because I need it sometimes for online purchases.

If you do not have discipline, then credit cards can be destructive to your personal finance health. When you are spending and you are using credit card, you do not feel the money getting out from your hands until you receive your monthly credit card bill.

Also, there is a greater possibility to spend more because the expenditures become unnoticed. Unless you are on a cash diet, you monitor every penny that goes out from your pocket.

Simple Living. Honestly I gave up already buying, planning and dreaming fancy things. For me now, it is all about functionality.

Financial freedom is not an easy journey especially if you are already trapped in spiraling debts. However, it is not yet too late and there will always be ways to improve your financial situation. It is just a matter of choice.

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My sister's old & worn out diaries for tracking her daily expenses

It is such a shame to admit but I learned the importance of tracking my daily expenses through my sister who is 9 years younger than me.

When I had my short vacation last year, I saw her thick and worn-out diary. The pages were full of stapled receipts and notes with figures on it. Curious, I asked my sister.

I came to know that she has been tracking her daily expenses as early as 10 years old but took the serious turn of detailing every expense only at the age of 15. She continued practicing it until now and it has been very useful to her especially after she started working and earning her own salary.

Because of her records, she can calculate every year her annual expenses. She even confidently shared how much annual income she needs to survive and even mentioned which year she lived more expensively compared to the other years. She attributed this particular year with high cost of living when she moved to Manila (the capital of Philippines).

If you are like me who disregard the importance of recording daily expenses, then the following points may encourage you to start adopting such financial practice.

Transparency. Have you ever sometimes wonder where did your money go? I oftentimes encounter this situation when I receive extra money like bonus or an incentive. After few days, I ponder what happened to that amount as there is nothing left in my wallet. Tracking your daily expenses will entail detailed transparency in your expenditures.

Knows When Not To Spend. Monitoring your daily spending will give you an idea of your expenditures yesterday or the previous week. It makes it easier to realize that you have been overspending by just looking at your financial records. This is helpful especially when you are setting a daily budget. Once you recognize your overspendings, you can adjust or control your expenditures for the next few days to ensure that you will be in line with your budget until the next salary comes.

How much You can Save. Religiously tracking your expenses can help you save. You will not know from where to cut costs if you do not know where your money goes, right? Your records will show how much you are spending for entertainments or for weekly groceries. Thus, to increase your savings then you must slash your expenditures in your entertainment expenditures.

Setting Target for Next Year. I have been working in the hotel industry for some time now. After midyear, the management will be busy preparing their target and forecast for next year. In order to come up with these figures, they will base it from the previous performance and figures. Similarly, it applies to our personal finance. How can we set our monthly or annual target for next year if we do not know our performance and expenditures for the current year?

These are some of the benefits of tracking your daily expenses. I know that embracing this practice can be daunting. I did it and stopped after few months but now I am doing it for good and for real!

Here are some tips to make your daily tracking easier.

• Ask and keep receipts of your daily purchases
• Carry always a small notebook and pen in your bag. This is excellent way to jot down expenses while travelling and keeping records for expenses which do not have receipts.
• Spend 10-15 minutes in the evening to write down your expenses.

Hope it helps! If you have more tips, please feel free to share..

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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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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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photo credit: www.damianhorne.com

Every time I am browsing the internet, I always end up reading blogs and websites of either digital nomads or location independent professionals. It inspires me though in a way it stirs the jealousy deep within me.

Of course, I drool over the thought of travelling and exploring the world like they do but it is the freedom from the shackles of 9-5 job that really strikes me.  Let’s face it. Not everyone is keen to embrace the idea of ditching their full time job. Just the thought of losing the monthly pay check can be disturbing, right?

I have been in the rat race for almost ten years now and the longer my tenure is, the more I am itching to leave the corporate world.

I really want to join the mainstream of working online and hopefully move up to the next level, an online entrepreneur. I am desperate but it is not yet feasible because of my current financial commitments. I know that taking the path of independent location worker is not easy. In fact, the starting phase can be very demanding but still I am keen to take the challenge.

Anyway, just sharing my thoughts.. LOL!

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Photo Credit: www.onlineworkindia.com

Working online has kept me busy for the last one week. I took up writing gigs again to keep my sanity. (LOL!)

Right now, I am somehow in a transition period from being a working individual to a home based person. I usually took short vacations only. The longest I can remember was three weeks and that period was packed with travel plans.

As I am expecting, I am not fit to travel except for short trips only. So to keep me occupied for the next few weeks, I started scouring the internet for online jobs. I used to work as part time online writer before but I totally stopped earlier this year because of the workload in my full time job.

Now, I am just glad to write again. I actually find it very therapeutic. Anyway, I sent my applications to potential online employers and recently I started receiving some feedbacks. Honestly, I was overwhelmed to realize how lucrative the offers are. If you are working at home, then it is really a decent package considering that you do not have expenses for transportation, lunch and office uniforms.

Earlier I was not convinced in working online as a full time job and relying on it as a bread-and-butter until my sister worked as an online based HR Officer. Seeing her for the last two weeks working and functioning as a typical HR Officer (but based online) amazed me. The only drawback is she works in the evening because her employer is based in the US.

Anyway, it has always been my plan to join the bandwagon of web workers and now that I have a better grasp of it, I wish to take that big career leap soon.

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I wrote earlier that I received a parking fine for not having a parking ticket though I paid my parking dues through the sms option.

So before I left for vacation, I visited the Mawaqif (a division of Department of Transport that does the parking management in Abu Dhabi) Customer Service Center. I explained the issue to the customer service agent then I showed my ticket fine and the sms parking confirmation that I received in my phone.

After that, the agent asked me to complete and submit a complaint form along with the ticket fine. She then reviewed the details in the form and stamped my ticket fine to indicate that they received my complaint.

According to the agent, the feedback of my complaint will be advised after one to two months only through sms. Also, the discount of 25% (which one can avail if the fine is settled within 15 days from the date of issue) is still valid in case my complaint is rejected.

So, let us see…

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