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2011-10-04T10:20:00.001+08:00

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How to Setup Internet Sharing on a Mac (video)

2011-01-18T01:06:00.000+08:00

I was finally able to setup my own youtube account and here goes my first upload. It is a how-to video (sorry, it has no audio) about Internet Sharing on a Mac. Enjoy!

By the way, the step by step instructions are posted here.

P.S. If you like this post, kindly use the share button above, or subscribe to Richardson Consulting. That's all for now. Happy internet sharing everyone! =)

How To Waive Credit Card Annual Fees

2010-11-23T01:50:00.004+08:00

Last week started off with a decent surprise as I was able to save Php1,800 by having my Citibank Cash Back Visa's annual fee waived. No questions asked. No conditions necessary. I don't normally expect that from Citibank since it is the only credit card company that was able to force me to pay up on an annual fee a few years back. Getting away with an annual fee without anything in return is quite rare these days. But I did it with not one, not two, but three credit cards this year. That means I get to enjoy getting points and/or rebates on gas, phone bills, groceries and other purchases for another year.

Credit Card Annual Fee is the yearly membership fee charged to a cardholder for the right to carry and use a lender's credit card. Today I am gonna share with you many different ways to save on your credit card annual fees. All based on personal experience.

Use your points or miles. In most cases, banks just won't waive your annual fees without anything in return. They would suggest that you give up your points in exchange for the annual fee reversal.
Transaction-based conditions. In my experience with Standard Chartered's Platinum Cash Rewards Visa, I had to make five (5) swipes in order to reverse my annual fee. I gladly obliged since there was no minimum amount required. I could have just bought five 99-cent Apps from the AppStore and I would have saved Php2,500. I didn't buy apps, but I did save twenty five hundred bucks.
Amount-based conditions. HSBC once asked me to spend a total of Php5,000 within 30 days so that they would waive my annual fee.
Auto-charge a utility bill. Saved another Php1,800 by enrolling my cellphone bill to my credit card.
Enroll to e-statements. If you haven't done so, go green now. You save a thousand bucks and you help save mother earth too.
Subscribe to text/e-mail alerts. This is my favorite. Partly because it doesn't make sense (for the bank/credit card company). But hey, I saved Php1,200 by doing this.
Request for an annual fee reversal/waiver. Sometimes, all you have to do is simply ask.

How about you? How were you able to reverse your credit card's annual fee?

P.S. If you like this post, kindly use the share button above, or subscribe to Richardson Consulting. That's all for now. Happy swiping everyone! =)

My Take On Cost Averaging

2010-11-10T02:17:00.001+08:00

As many of you already know, the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) has been on a rampage, breaking record highs day after day after day. Value investors must be smiling right now since most of the stocks they bought one or two years ago are probably 3 or 5-baggers by now. Those who invested in the stock market via cost averaging (as recommended by Bro. Bo Sanchez in his free e-book) are probably smiling too. But some people might be asking: what the heck is cost averaging?

According to wikipedia, Cost Averaging is an investment strategy wherein money is invested in equal amounts regularly and periodically over specific time periods (such as P1,000 monthly) in a particular investment or portfolio. By doing so, more shares are purchased when prices are low and fewer shares are purchased when prices are high. The point of this is to lower the total average cost per share of the investment, giving the investor a lower overall cost for the shares purchased over time.
Like I said before, I am not a big fan of Cost Averaging. I must admit, though, that I would have used this investment strategy during the global economic recession. Bu that was 2008. Fast-forward to 2010, if I were asked right now if I would cost average my investments, I'd probably say 'No'. Here's why:
Cost averaging is feasible in any market, whether rising or falling. But while it is true that a person who invested Php120,000 in a top performing equity mutual fund in 2009 through cost averaging (10k per month) would have probably earned more than 100%, fact is, that person didn't maximize his potential ROI. As seen in the image below, cost averaging was not as feasible compared to a lump sum investment. Both strategies, however, did give decent returns because we currently are in a bull market.

On the other hand, when the market is going downhill, it may be wise to cost average an investment for the simple reason that we do not know when a market hits its bottom. At the same time, we are able to mitigate the risk of buying too many shares at too high a price. As we can see in the theoretical scenario below, the total average cost per share of the investment was lowered significantly compared to a single lump sum investment. In this scenario, cost averaging was the more feasible investment strategy.

In a nutshell, money cost averaging is still feasible at any market. But in a bull market, doing so may not yield the maximum earning potential of your investment. In a bear market, however, cost averaging is a more favorable strategy. How about you? What's your take on cost averaging and other investment strategies? Let me know by dropping a comment below. Thanks! P.S. If you like this post, kindly use the share button above, or subscribe to Richardson Consulting. That's all for now. Happy investing everyone! =)

Maids Can Invest in the Stock Market, Why Can't You?

2010-10-21T03:17:00.006+08:00

Last week, I wrote about how to open PDF files on iBooks, and gave away a copy of Brother Bo Sanchez' free e-book entitled "My Maid Invests In The Stock Market... And Why You Should, Too!". As promised, I will be sharing my thoughts about this e-book, and how it has affected my mindset when it comes to investing in the stock market.

Before reading Brother Bo's e-book, I was already investing in the stock market, or should I say, trading in the stock market. I started with a capital of Php1,250 and was only able to buy the minimum board lot of one of the blue chip companies here in the Philippines. Fast forward two and a half years later and out came this ebook with a really catchy title. I mean, really? Maids? Investing in the stock market? Yeah, right! But after reading the whole thing from cover to cover, multiple time, I was kinda wishing Brother Bo published this e-book one year earlier, back when the economy was still down and most stocks were cheaper.

But let's not dwell with the past and just try to move forward. Through this e-book I learned that Money Cost Averaging is actually feasible in ~~a rising~~ any market. I've never liked this investing strategy, partly because, it requires a lot of discipline, and more discipline. But experience has taught me that cost averaging actually works. Details will be discussed in a future post.

"Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful." This is one of Warren Buffett's rules on investing, which was quoted in the e-book. Why did I highlight this? Because when others were fearful (because of the global economic crisis), I WAS TOO! And it cost me. It cost me a lot. Let's charge that to experience. "How much of a lost opportunity was it?", one might ask. Here's how much:

MEG was worth around fifty centavos per share back in early 2009, today it is worth around Php 2.50.
AP was worth around five pesos per share back in late 2008/early 2009, today it is worth around Php 25.00
DMC was worth around five pesos per share back in late 2008/early 2009, today it is worth around Php 33.00

In addition to these two valuable lessons, Brother Bo gave us a freebie by actually listing down some stocks that he recommends (this was then only available to Truly Rich Club members). Here are the YTD performances of some of them:

Notice that the stock prices of most of the companies listed in the e-book rose pretty high. Their growth rates beat interest rates of bonds + regular savings + time deposit accounts combined. For the one that didn't, well, it gave out huge cash dividends. :D

In a nutshell, "My Maid Invests In The Stock Market... And Why You Should, Too!" is a good read. Had this book been published one year earlier, it would have made a big difference in my net worth. But this is not about me. It's about you, my dear readers. This e-book makes you realize how easy it is to invest in the stock market. And how instrumental stock market investing could be to the achievement of your financial goals. Bo's maids can invest in the stock market, why can't you?

How To Open PDF files In iBooks (Free e-book included)

2010-10-16T00:58:00.006+08:00

What's not to love about the new iPhone 4? It can call & text (no-brainer), connect to the net via 3G or WiFi, Video Call via Face Time & Yahoo Messenger, play music & videos, and run a multitude of applications, among other features. Oh wait, there's one more thing, the iPhone 4 also has an e-book reader, aptly named "iBooks" (iBooks is also available on iPhone 3G/3GS, iPod touch 2G/3G/4G, and iPad).

I love iBooks, not because I can store tons of e-books on my iPhone, but because I can download PDF files or e-books in PDF format from the net, and open them in iBooks. Let me show you how. In this demo, I am going to do the following steps:

Open Safari from iPhone
Input the following link in Safari's address bar: http://bit.ly/aFZ3GJ
This will download Brother Bo Sanchez' free e-book entitled "My Maid Invests in the Stock Market... And Why You Should, Too!"
Click Open in iBooks (see screenshot 1)
iBooks will launch and should display e-books
Select My Maid Invests in the Stock Market... And Why You Should, Too!

Click Open in iBooks

E-book is now displayed
in the iBooks library

Read pdf from iBooks

Congratulations, you have successfully added a PDF file to your iBooks library. If you already know how to this, well, at least you got a free e-book, right? Get e-books by Bo Sanchez and lots more here. Enjoy this free e-book and let me know your thoughts about it. I'll be sharing mine in my next article.

That's all for now. If you liked this post and want to learn more techie and financial stuff, please subscribe to Richardson Consulting. Thanks!

Create Money Machines

2010-10-14T02:48:00.002+08:00

One fine day not so long ago at work, my friend Fina and I were talking about how we've been doing, financially speaking, especially during the times when the economy was down, when she introduced me to the works of Brother Bo Sanchez. The curious little boy that I am, I googled him up, subscribed to his daily newsletter, checked out the Truly Rich Club, and read some of his free e-books. Months later, I, along with my fiancé, was able to attend Brother Bo's "How to be Truly Rich" seminar, in which, we also bought his latest best seller "Choose to be Wealthy".

What I particularly liked about "Choose to be Wealthy" was the power talk CD that came along with it. The talk was entitled "Create Money Machines". I'd like to share my reflections about "Create Money Machines" and hopefully, this entry wins me three tickets to the next "How to be Truly Rich" seminar on November 13th so I could bring along two of my friends. =)

I have heard the "Create Money Machines" power talk on my iPod many many times and I never get tired of listening to it. Why? Because in a way, it serves as a reminder to me of the "Whats and Whys" of my life. What am I gonna be after X amount of years? What am I gonna do with all the ~~millions~~ billions I'm gonna earn? Why am I investing in the stock market? Why would you buy an expensive condo unit? Etc. Listening to "Create Money Machines" answers all these questions and it keeps me in the right direction into achieving my goals.

Okay, just to be clear, I am not earning billions, yet. But I will. Very soon. Anyway, since we are talking about money machines, let me share mine, why I chose them, and their performance:

Equity Mutual Fund - my first dive in the investing world was in the form of a equity mutual fund. I chose to invest in an equity mutual because I have a long term outlook and I had the risk tolerance for it. After 3 and a half years (recession years included), my equity mutual fund has gained 59%
Balanced Mutual Fund - I went for a little diversification and chose a balanced mutual fund that was just 2 months old. After 3 years and two month, my balanced fund has gained over 90%
Variable Universal Life - If Suze Orman read this, I'd be getting a Suze Smackdown. But anyway, I invested in a VUL to protect my loved ones. This is basically a money machine for them just in case my manual machine (me!) shuts down for good.
Stock Market - investing in the stock market was easier, cheaper, and more convenient than investing in mutual funds (less legwork, online accessibility), and it has a relatively higher rate of return (which, of course, also means, higher risk). My current portfolio has a paper gain of around 30% as of this writing.
Real Estate - my fiancé and I bought a pre-selling condo unit to live on for a few years before renting it out. Ground breaking hasn't even started yet but the condo's value already increased 3.9%

If you wanna learn how to create your own money machines, grab a copy of Bo Sanchez's latest book "Choose to be Wealthy" and also, if you like this post, please subscribe to Richardson Consulting. Thanks!

Three Is Better Than One

2010-07-19T04:01:00.003+08:00

Don't you love it when things you don't expect to work hand in hand seem to get the job done perfectly? Well, this was what I experienced a few days ago with the major Telcos. As you can see in the picture below, I was using Globe Tattoo's Mobile Partner app on my MacBook. Try to look closely and you'll realize that I was actually connecting to Smart 3G. Look down a little bit and you'll see that the modem I'm using is from Sun Broadband. Ain't it nice to see them working together?

Personal Goals 2010 Updates

2010-07-18T01:49:00.003+08:00

I wrote these personal goals (in my Mac's Stickies app) back in January. Every time a goal is accomplished, I would cross them out. I finally got the time to publish them so here's how they look 6 months later

~~Join a table tennis tournament. Making it to the top 8 would be a bonus.~~ I was able to play for my project's table tennis team. And we ended up 5th place. Not bad. Until you learn how many teams competed in the tournament.
Run in a charity event (SuperBods). Jersy and I finished the 3K run in less than 30 minutes. Not bad for first timers.. I'm gonna try the 5K run next time.
Travel more often (once or twice a year is a definite improvement over zero trips). Visited Cagayan de Oro for the holy week. Took another hellacious bus ride to Cagayan Valley for my bro's wedding. Cebu-bound in November.
~~Swipe less often~~ - No more monthly installments. Yey!
~~Cook more often than eat out~~ [CANCELLED] Since I'm using an electric stove at home, and Meralco's rate hike, this is not as feasible as I thought
Create my own iPod touch app [NOT STARTED] Still don't have the creative juice to do this.

Since most of the goals above were already crossed out, I'm adding a few more goals to accomplish before the end of the year:

Score at least 10 points in one of our remaining ABL games. [side note: The last time I scored in double figures in an ABL game was way back in 2006]
Resist my gadget lust (iPhone 4, Mac mini, etc.)
Decide the final date of the wedding
Make sure our Cebu vacation doesn't end up like the one we had in Baguio 2 years ago

Will have another update soon... In the meantime, I have to catch up with some techie posts. =)

iOS 4.0 Download Links

2010-06-22T02:04:00.006+08:00

Hey guys! Here are the download links for the most awaited iOS 4.0 (formerly known as iPhone OS 4.0):

I just finished downloading the iOS 4.0 from iTunes (update to iTunes 9.2 is required to install iOS 4.0) and I'm currently updating my iPod. That's it for now. Enjoy! =)

I read somewhere that multitasking can be enabled on iPhone 3G and iPod touch 2G via jailbreak. Very tempting.

Internet Sharing On Mac

2010-06-03T19:20:00.000+08:00

Ever since I got my Sun Broadband Wireless account, I have been trying to find a way to share my internet connection thru WiFi. Being a MacBook user, I am able to easily share my internet connection thru AirPort (Apple's wifi card). With Internet Sharing enabled, WiFi-enabled devices such as the iPhone, iPod touch, PSP, etc. can connect to my MacBook and access the internet as if they were in a WiFi hotspot.

Here is a step by step instruction to enable internet sharing on the Mac:

Turn AirPort On
Create a Computer-to-Computer wifi network
Go to System Preferences, then select Sharing. Tick on the Internet Sharing check box. Click Start from the pop-up confirmation window. Choose which connection to share from the drop down list. Then tick on the AirPort check box to share your internet thru AirPort.
Once Internet Sharing has been enabled, the AirPort icon in the menu bar would have an up arrow inside.

Sharing your internet connection on a Mac is so easy. Tested devices include iPhone 3G, iPod touch 2nd gen, PSP 1000, PSP 2000, HTC Touch, and any WiFi-enabled PC/laptop/Mac.

Unlock Huawei E160 3G Modem FREE

2010-06-03T17:47:00.007+08:00

As of this writing, I am connected to the net using my honey's Globe Broadband Tattoo-provided Huawei E160 3G Modem on Sun Broadband Wireless. She got the modem as a freebie when she got her new Asus F80Q laptop. The Huawei E160 was previously locked to Globe Broadband Tattoo. But thanks to a very generous PExer, I, and other Huawei E160 users are now able to use the 3G modem with any network we want. I made this post to spread the good deed that deywet has done for me and many others. And if you also want your Huawei E160 3G modem to be unlocked, all you need to do is post your Huawei modem's IMEI on this link --> THREAD <-- and the unlock code will be posted shortly. This charitable act will help you save around Php200.

Disclaimer: Huawei E220 is not supported. However, a guide to unlocking the E220 is already posted here. DO NOT post your IMEI here because I don't have the unlocking software. If you are not a member of PinoyExchange.com, signing up is free. Happy browsing with your unlocked Huawei 3G Modem. :)

Below is the list of supported models (all Huawei): E156,E160,E166,E169,ETS668,T128,T156,T158,T160,T161,T201,T208,U120,U3300,U7300.

3G Internet Connection Sharing Over WiFi On Windows XP

2010-06-03T17:03:00.006+08:00

I am going to share with you today a step by step procedure on how to share your 3G internet connection over WiFi using the Internet Connection Sharing feature on Windows XP SP2.

Hardware Requirements:

Laptop or Desktop with WiFi card. Most laptops and netbooks already have WiFi built-in. This PC will act as the host PC that will share its 3G internet connection.
3G modem connected on your PC's USB port. For this article, I used Huawei E220 on Sun Broadband Wireless.
Another laptop, WiFi-enabled desktop, or any other wifi-enabled device such as the iPhone, PSP, or iPod touch. In my previous experiments, my MacBook was able to successfully connect to my honey's ad hoc network.

Now that you have the hardware ready, it's time to get your hands dirty (well, not really. It is as easy as 1-2-3):

Enable Internet Connection Sharing. To do that, go to Network Connections and locate your 3G internet connection's dialer. Right click and select properties. From the properties window, select the Advanced tab. Tick the check box for to enable Internet Connection Sharing. Select Wireless Network Connection to enable sharing via WiFi.
Create a wireless computer-to-computer network (also known as ad-hoc network). At the taskbar, right click on your the Wireless Network Connection icon. A window opens to let you choose a wireless network. On the left side of the window, click on the "Change advanced settings" link. You will be directed to the Wireless Network Connection Properties window. On this window, click the Wireless Network tab. Click the Add button to create a new wireless network. Make sure you tick the check box at the lower left side of the window to make your new wireless network an ad hoc (computer-to-computer) network. Adding network security protocols are optional but recommended.
And that's it! Now go get another PC, Mac, PSP, iPhone, iPod touch, or whatever, and connect to the new ad hoc network you just created. On Windows XP, you'll know you have successfully connected when you see something like this: [screenshot to follow]

There you have it. Everytime you connect to your Smart Bro, Globe Broadband Tattoo (formerly Globe Visibility), or Sun Broadband Wireless, any device that accesses your ad hoc network will have access to the internet as well. Happy Internet Sharing! :)

Sun Broadband Wireless Internet Sharing

2010-05-12T16:00:00.002+08:00

It has been two months since I subscribed to Sun Cellular's wireless internet service that is weirdly named "Sun Broadband Wireless". I think it's weird because broadband was mentioned before wireless. And weirder because it is barely able to provide "broadband" service. But that's not the point. Now let's assume that you have Sun Broadband Wireless, and you want to share your internet connection, how do you do that? Well, you came to the right place. Because that's exactly what I'm going to write about. In fact, I am writing this post via a computer to computer wifi connection. I'm using a MacBook while the host (the computer connected to SBW) runs on Windows XP SP2. As promised, here's a list of internet sharing options for your Sun Broadband Wireless: [cbmage]Affiliate Marketing[/cbmage]

On a Mac, use AirPort Internet Sharing. Tested to be working with wifi enabled gadgets such as PSP, iPhone 3G, iPod touch, HTC touch. COST: zero. CONS: shortened battery life for Mac. Windows-based laptop cannot connect.
On Windows XP, enable Internet Connection Sharing on your SBW connection. Create an ad-hoc (computer-to-computer) wifi network. This is the current setup at home right now since the PCs can't connect to my Mac. Tested with 5 concurrent users. 1 Vista, 3 XP, 1 MacBook. I have yet to test if the wifi enabled gadgets are able to leech from the host's internet connection. COST: zero. CONS: shortened battery life for host PC
Use a 3G Mobile Router. Here's a sample. However, this router is very costly. At Villman, it costs Php8,988.

There you have it. Let me know what works for you or if I left out other internet sharing options. Thanks! :)

Practical Financial Planning...

2010-03-22T23:26:00.002+08:00

...brought to us by a kid. I was moved when I saw this video. I hope you will be too. Now who says financial planning ain't easy?

Elijah Offering Video from Elevation Church on Vimeo.

6 Questions To Get To Know Each Other Financially

2010-02-15T01:04:00.001+08:00

I was on my usual PF-Bloghopping when I saw this article by Single Guy Money and How I Save Money and wondered, how would this post look like if I were the one answering the questions? Wonder no more because I did write my own version of 6 Questions To Get To Know Each Other Financially. Here it goes:

How do you spend: cash, debit or credit? For my daily expenses, cash. I use credit cards for our weekly groceries. I rarely use debit because they don't offer any benefits other than the convenience of a cashless transaction.
Do you bank online? How about use a financial aggregator (Mint, Wesabe, Yodlee, etc.)? Yes to online banking. I do most of my banking transactions via online banks. Services like that of Mint.com don't work with the local banks here in the Philippines.
What recurring bills do you have set on autopay? Cellphone bills (Smart & Sun), Internet bill (Sun) are on auto-charge to my credit card.
How are your finances automated? answer #3. Plus our condo payments are on post-dated checks. Transfers from my main account to my checking account are already pre-scheduled. The same is true for my insurance premiums. Also, 10% of my gross monthly salary is kept away automatically as a contribution to our company's Staff Provident Fund.
Do you write checks? If so, how often? Very rarely. That's after writing 60+ post-dated checks for the condo's down payment and VUL premiums
Where do you stash your short-term savings? A savings account with an ATM. Sometimes, I do some short term trading in the stock market for a little profit once in a while.

How about you? Feel free to answer the 6 questions in the comments below and let's get to know each other better. :-)

My January 2010 In Review

2010-01-31T23:59:00.000+08:00

After months of salivating over Apple's Magic Mouse, and a 1TB external hard drive, I finally put my gadget lust to a temporary rest, by buying a 1TB Seagate Expansion external hard drive. And then there's the iPad. Thank you Apple for coming up with a product that I don't wanna buy. At least I can save a few bucks for more important things.

A few days before purchasing the Seagate Expansion, I was lucky enough to book 2 round trip tickets to Cagayan de Oro, which means, I'll be spending the Holy Week at my honey's hometown. Hopefully, there won't be any storms or flash floods this time around. :D

And oh, did I forget to tell you that we got new phones too? And some more stuff. What does this mean? I'm f'n BROKE. That's not a good way to start the year. I won't justify my purchases. But they are serving their purposes. Unfortunately, I have no choice but to report a decrease in net worth, and an increase in credit card debt (note: I still and always pay my bills in full).

I am so broke that I had to skip on my planned monthly investment in mutual funds. Fortunately, I still have my forced savings program going. So despite the shortage in cash, I know my emergency fund is getting bigger and bigger every month. Updates on our financial goals are posted here.

Despite all these "mishaps", I will still declare that we’ll have a super-blessed year in 2010! I claim a year of amazing abundance for our lives. This year, we shall receive more love and give more love. We shall experience more joy, greater generosity, dreams fulfilled, financial increase, open doors, new opportunities, divine connections, supernatural appointments, great miracles, answered prayers, and exponential growth. Amen! (Thanks to Fina & Sir Bo for this line. It keeps me inspired.)

What else? Ah yes, my brother got married. And we're expecting a new family member by May. That means we'll have 3 family members who were born in the month of May. My sister & I were arguing whether "Jet" should be born on the 17th (my sister's bday) or 25th (my beerday). I'm still contemplating how Jet should call me. Should it be "Uncle Sonn" or "Tito Sonn"? What do you think sounds better?

That's all for now. Til next time. :)

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010

2009-12-31T02:14:00.000+08:00

First of all, belated Merry Christmas to everyone. And of course, may everyone have a prosperous New Year.

Another year has ended and a new one shall start. For most of us, 2009 was a very challenging year, especially at work. Because of the global economic crisis, some bonuses were not paid out. Yearly salary increase was not given. Heck, even those who deserved a promotion didn't get one. I, for one, was badly affected by the scrapped bonuses and salary non-increase. To add insult to injury, my employer now requires me to work 45 hours per week. WTF???

With regards to finances, I missed a lot of opportunities because I traded for short term gains instead of investing for the long term. In addition to that, I missed my goal of building a Php100,000 emergency fund. But as they say, "experience is the best teacher." So I'll just take those lessons and look forward to a better 2010.

To sum it up, 2009 was a sucky year for me professionally and financially. Despite the challenging times, I still have a lot to be thankful for this year. There's my fiancee, Jersy, who loves me so much and will become my wife; my mom, who is a living proof of the power of prayer; my aunt, who gave me a huge discount when we bought our dog, Bullet; and of course, our Creator, who gave us life. What are you thankful for this 2009?

How To Spend A Million Pesos

2009-12-22T04:19:00.000+08:00

Last week, I wrote about my Real Christmas Wishlist, and in that post, I mentioned that I hope Santa would grant my wish of having Php240,000,000 in cold cash. Many of you may wonder, what's with the 240 million? Why not a billion? Or a hundred billion?

Well, the wishful thinker in me would have said, "the more, the merrier." But realistically speaking, nobody in their right mind would give away a billion pesos for nothing. Heck, not even a million. So why did I wish for Php240 million? It's because at an assumed 5% net return per annum, the Php240M principal would earn Php12 million per year, or Php1 million per month.

With a million pesos coming in every month, I could probably stop working and just retire. But every time I tell a friend about this wish of mine, I almost always get suggestions on how to spend it. One friend even suggested to change cars every year. But ideally, this is how I would spend a million pesos monthly:

100,000 - Charity
100,000 - Tithe
250,000 - Investments (Real Estate, Stocks, Mutual Funds, UITFs, Bonds, Insurance, etc)
50,000 - Future children's educational fund
100,000 - Medical expenses for longevity
200,000 - Living expenses (Food, Clothing, Shelter, Utilities)
100,000 - Fun money (doodads)
100,000 - Parents' retirement

That's it. Now I gotta find ways to earn Php1,000,000 monthly. How about you? How would you spend a million pesos? Let me know by leaving a comment below. Thanks!

My Real Christmas Wish List

2009-12-08T01:18:00.007+08:00

I know these things cost quite a fortune. But that's why it's called a wish list, isn't it? Hopefully, Santa grants my wish and gives me any of these items:

1. iPhone 3GS 32GB for me and Jersy
2. Samsung LED TV 55"
3. Nintendo Wii
4. Sony PS3
5. Trip for 2 to Hong Kong (with accommodation at HK Disneyland)
6. Apple TV
7. Apple Magic Mouse
8. Honda Hybrid car
9. Twilight Saga books for Jersy
10. Vampire Diaries books for Jersy
11. Female Lhasa Apso puppy (mate for Bullet)
12. Php240,000,000 in cash!!!

Why Php240M and not a billion? Read here.

Merry Christmas everyone!!! =)

My Christmas WishList

2009-12-08T01:15:00.003+08:00

I just learned that I already earned $8 from PayPal's Facebook App called "PayPal Wishlist". The list of items you may choose as part of your wish list are limited. However they are still worth wishing for. As for me, I'm wishing for an iPhone 3GS, an LCD TV, iPod Speakers, and vacations at Hong Kong and Thailand.

If we include other gadgets and stuff, it might take a day or two before I'm finished. So why not take advantage of this little tool instead, and earn $1 in the process? Share your PayPal WishList to your Facebook friends and earn $1 more (up to $100) for every friend who creates his own PayPal WishList. Now let's proceed to My Real Christmas Wish List

On Dreams and Deadlines

2009-12-03T02:48:00.000+08:00

Before anything else, I would like to apologize to sir Randell Tiongson for borrowing this post title without his permission. I figured maybe I could share how a dream's deadline kinda messed up my financial goals for this year, but somehow I feel grateful that it did. So what the hell am I talking about?

Well, ever since I started blogging, I made it a point to have a goal or purpose for what I do. That way, I am able to see how I achieved a certain goal, or how I came up short. Let me refer to those goals as "dreams". Most of the time I set those goals but did not have a concrete action plan, much less a deadline. And of course, you all know what happens to those dreams; they remain to be just f'n dreams. Last year, I set an ambitious goal of saving Php100,000 as my emergency fund. During the first 5 months of the year, I thought I was on track. And I was, until I got a call from my aunt asking me to attend this open house at Newport City. And so Jersy and I attended the open house, which served a delicious lunch buffet. Full stomachs and a few hours later, we got ourselves a brand new condo unit. So much for the emergency fund, we're gonna be having a place we can call ours. No more renting. No more landlords.

The bottom line is: reading Sir Randell's article made me realize that dreams really have deadlines. And although buying a home meant postponing my other "dream", it's all worth it.

And now, back to the drawing boards, and regroup on how to make the other dreams a reality...

Internet Sharing On Snow Leopard

2009-09-21T22:35:00.003+08:00

Finally, after almost 5 days of tweaking and configuring, only to fail, I was able make Internet Sharing work on Snow Leopard 10.6.1. I also created a screen recording while configuring Internet Sharing and it will be available very soon. In the meantime, I hope you could easily follow the steps on this simple guide to Internet Sharing On Snow Leopard. Cheers! :)

Assumptions:

Your Mac is running on Snow Leopard 10.6.1
You are connected to the internet. (I am connected to Sun Broadband using a Huawei E220 HSDPA modem)
AirPort works on your Mac.
Internet Sharing is initially turned off.

How to share your internet connection via AirPort on Snow Leopard 10.6.1:

Go to System Preferences. Select Network. Take note of the IP address of your internet connection.
From the list of network interfaces, select AirPort. Click the Advanced button. Click on the TCP/IP tab.
Configure your IPv4 by selecting "Using DHCP with manual address" from the dropdown list.
Input an IP address similar to your internet connection's IP address. example: If your ISP's IP is 10.150.0.1, you can input 10.150.254.254 in the IPv4 address field. Then click OK. Click Apply.
Return to System Preferences. Click Sharing. From the available services, select Internet Sharing.
Select the internet connection you want to share, then click on the check box near AirPort. After selecting AirPort, turn on your internet sharing by clicking the check box near Internet Sharing. Click Start.

That's it. Your internet connection can now be shared with any WiFi-enabled device. While configuring this, I was able to check my exchange e-mail on my iPod touch. I also fired up TwitterFon from my iPod and posted the Internet Sharing via AirPort on Snow Leopard is working again. I hope you find this helpful. :D