Lately, I have been contemplating on going home for good. I am very tired of living a corporate life which sadly equates to stress. Sometimes I wonder why some people are so keen to stay in big cities and bear the hustle and bustle of the urban life.

I know that we have our own preferences and I like the greenery and laid back way of life in the province as long as I have an internet connection… LOL!

Anyway, let’s hope for the best this month. In the industry I am working right now, we are forecasting a tough year as competition intensifies and I know the situation will be even worst when the summer season comes.

In a way, I am glad that I decided to leave. What a good excuse, huh!

The requirements are your old Emirates ID and original passport.

Go to Infinity Services. They will do all the typing and then pay for AED 340 for the processing and courier services.

Then simply wait for the notification sent through sms for the delivery of your ID.

Here are the contact details of Infinity Services.

Phone Number: +971 2 6811 644
Fax number:      +971 2 6812 717
Website:             www.infinity-co.ae

Its validity is coterminous with our residence or employment visa. I renewed my visa last March 2011 and ideally I should renew my Emirates ID too that time. The initial process of our Emirates ID was quite a nightmare because there were long queues. Because of what I experienced, I was just too lazy to process the renewal.

Then last December my colleague notified me that starting 2012 there will be fines for late renewals or applications. In end of January I renewed my Emirates ID. I was quite confident because the fines for Abu Dhabiresidents will start only on 1^st of April.

Actually I was amazed because the processing now is fast and efficient. It took me only 15-20 minutes.

Anyway, after 2 days I received a sms advising me to visit again the Infinity Services, the agency that processes the renewal and applications of Emirates ID inAbu   Dhabi. Then I was informed that I had to pay the fine of AED 580 because of late renewal.

I came to know that I was fined for AED 20 per day since 1^st January because I am holding a government visa.

Really, I felt bad for paying such a hefty fine but I had no choice.

Lesson learned – avoid procrastination!

And I did.

I resigned from my job last week without another job offer at hand, a decision that according to some of my clients-turned-friends is not a very smart move considering the tough job market in the city.

Despite of the discouragement, I resigned.

Of course, I am leaving my job for a very valid reason.

Anyway, wish me luck in search for a new job! I am trudging the world of uncertainty but I have faith to the man up there. I will definitely find a job before my notice period ends!

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!

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.

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

• Fine for Dropping Cigarette Butts  AED 200
• Fine for Spitting AED 100
• Fine for Littering on the Street AED 500
• Fine for Spitting Gum AED 500

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.

So I decided now to use the Google Documents. I am keeping my journals and blog posts online. It is easier to access regardless if I am at home or somewhere else. I fear the safety of my external drive if I continuously use it. At home, it is fine because I know our computers but outside I am fearful that it will be infected with virus. Then all of my files will be gone.

The safest way so far is the Google Docs.

My sister recommended DropBox as well. I really have not explored the details of this option but I am using it for sharing of files only with my sister.

What about you? Where do you keep your files?