tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18514858963569106082024-11-06T10:59:28.643+08:00PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-70393028492762565352009-02-10T17:33:00.000+08:002009-02-10T17:34:55.913+08:00

.NOTE FOR my subscribers: I could be in trouble for the circumstances by which I've blogged. I plan to close this account soon and I wish to keep in touch with you after I will have rebuilt it in a new account or maybe in ways other than blogging. I know it's awkward to ask for your email ads since I myself have not even made public my own email addy. And, yeah, I sound very pretentious for even

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-10057587015534432632009-02-09T15:00:00.001+08:002009-02-09T15:04:41.888+08:00

.TWO THINGS I need to talk about: A vacuum cleaner and a percolator. These are household appliances that really won't make it to my list of essentials. They’re budget busters. We can do without them. The floor won't rot without that noisy machine, and hot water from a pot on the stove is enough to melt instant coffee and produce an aroma that wakes up my senses every morning. But the wife seems

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-80653934577715949902009-02-07T00:51:00.004+08:002009-02-07T00:58:03.271+08:00

.LET ME interrupt my programming for some public service in my own sweet Tagalog. I received an email from a company in the Philippines called Cisco (I guess it's one of those Internet business solutions providers) na nag-aalok ng libreng video conference sa mga OFW. Hindi klaro ang lahat sa akin as to how the entire thing works, so there's not much that I can share with you about this libreng

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-7145285065326066432009-02-05T18:07:00.006+08:002009-02-06T00:28:01.125+08:00

.IF YOU'RE Filipino and nearly as jaded as I am about policymakers and government executives in the Philippines, this article may come with a tinge of lime juice laced with green mango extract. I'm talking about giving Senator Mar Roxas a two-second thumbs up for raising a howl about Philippine regulators' negligence in protecting the interests of ordinary Filipinos who bought pre-need plans from

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-87529175148147635912009-01-31T01:17:00.000+08:002009-01-31T01:22:43.120+08:00

.I GREW up in seven houses. Maybe more, my memory escapes me and that's the thing -- house-hopping displaced much of my childhood memories, the kind that I believe helps the soul grow fonder of its past and be at peace with itself. What the hell am I writing?The past 10 years, I've been obsessed with the idea of owning a house and to this day it still bothers me why I view home ownership almost

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-31980135968780429162009-01-30T00:44:00.000+08:002009-01-30T00:49:57.246+08:00

.EITHER I've begun to take blogging way too seriously or I'm under the illusion that I could be a blogger extraordinaire. Truth is, I simply want to write. But I keep forgetting why I've joined millions of others in the blogosphere.If you've noticed the past couple of weeks I carried in my Sidebar a link to Money Hacker, a network of personal finance blogs that aim to teach people financial

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-79728392134163454042009-01-22T01:41:00.000+08:002009-01-23T01:13:21.433+08:00

.SHUT UP or you'll sleep in the pigsty tonight.That was how Grandmother hushed me up about two decades ago and I recall it today upon knowing that I have failed to raise an equivalent of 100,000 pesos. That's extra money I should now have in a separate bank account a year after I concluded that saving just a tiny bit of my monthly income would translate into a significant number every year. Yeah,

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-90835772844593223852009-01-19T17:02:00.000+08:002009-01-19T17:09:57.859+08:00

.WHOSE idea was it to invent the bolster? It's one of my least liked items in a household -- in a matrimonial bed, to be specific. At night it sits like a wedge in bed between the wife and I when disagreements hit the boiling point. But, thank God, of late the bolster has found its rightful place elsewhere in the bedroom and the queen-size bed now feels just right -- tight enough our flesh touch

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-52129078543756488492009-01-14T17:40:00.000+08:002009-01-14T17:47:50.867+08:00

.NO RESPONSIBLE person dives into property investing without careful planning. I say it because I consider myself irresponsible, even stupid. And if you don't wish to fall into the same trap I did, you may want to extract a few lessons from my own missteps.About seven years ago, I was still working in Quezon City in the Philippines and had an extra 15,000 pesos ($300) in my ATM plus an equivalent

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-56057312064882033602009-01-11T16:47:00.000+08:002009-01-12T01:00:27.321+08:00

.LISTEN UP, Mr. Frugality! This is the draft of my first State of My Republic speech.Someone withdrew money from my bank account. And it's a welcome development as far as my personal goal of owning a house is concerned.Yes. Yes. Yes. Add exclamation points. Yes. A few days ago I wrote: The money that I sent through a remittance firm is finally in my checking account waiting for the developer to

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-5975843877117765912009-01-07T17:19:00.000+08:002009-01-13T17:17:15.652+08:00

.AT AN airport, Belle and I are each waiting for a taxi to go to another airport. She looks at me and I notice her looking at me when I glance at her. We both look away and I stifle a laugh at having to look away. I look at her again and this time it leads to a casual exchange of "Pinoy ka ba?"We agree to share a cab to go to another airport where we'll take our flight back to our host country in

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-19864326551191720902009-01-07T17:00:00.000+08:002009-01-07T19:59:19.855+08:00

.I've been tickling my brain about saving up for retirement so I'm putting pen to paper to get a clearer picture of basic concepts that I will have to bear in mind in attempting to map out my route to financial freedom. Whew! Wish me luck. Below is the romanized version of my thoughts. This is the second instalment of the article and if you want to go straight to Part 2, scroll down.Part 1I'M THE

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-87256349320367346852009-01-06T17:00:00.000+08:002009-01-07T20:02:42.912+08:00

.When there's not much in the wallet I always try and remember what the old folks say: Count your blessings. Each time I still do weigh my fortunes and it only reminds me I've wasted much of it. But now I'm trying to plan ahead so I could make the most of what I earn because to this day I've nothing significant in my bank account despite working outside the Philippines for well over four years

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-44417811782484803872009-01-05T19:15:00.000+08:002009-01-05T19:15:01.177+08:00

.Organizing isn't a department in which the Filipino people excel. And the Filipino expat community (OFW) in general has been weak in organizing despite the fact that we could actually contribute to positive changes we want for the country by our sheer numbers. It's good news to me then that Pinoy expats in the UAE have come together to set up a foundation to help Filipinos in that part of the

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-67065970207139033122009-01-04T21:07:00.000+08:002009-01-08T18:59:34.436+08:00

.You'll know it when you enter a computer shop and the customers around you are (Filipinos) Pinoy expats. There's no way you will miss it. Unless the entire Philippine archipelago is deprived of Internet connection.Some of them frequently make use of instant messaging with video and talk functions, and they go about it with abandon. I know it because I'm Pinoy and having lived and worked outside

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-77869811308833265912009-01-03T20:49:00.000+08:002009-01-03T21:02:28.021+08:00

.You see, I'm still totally clueless. I wanted to post the comment below on Ms Ellen Tordesillas, blog entry on the OFW Awards subject only to realize I had to be registered on WordPress to be able to do so. E paano na to, nasulat ko na comment ko, ilang minutes din yon. Lol. Post ko na lang sa sarili kong blog, link it to Ms Ellen's and hope she gets to read this. Ms Ellen is one highly

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-43751576999718774412009-01-02T22:33:00.000+08:002009-01-06T01:45:49.728+08:00

.Call me clueless. Surprised to learn there are thousands of Pinoy expats who've occupied some good spots in blogosphere. And quite popular, to boot. Which gives me a bit of a push to blog on as I plod on with my work that I count on to pay for the condo unit that's been occupying me for more than a month now.I've been wondering how much rubbish I'm depositing on the Net, talking about my

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-57221298602660025832009-01-01T19:11:00.000+08:002009-01-01T19:11:00.310+08:00

(Continued from yesterday's blabber)There are days though when I haunt myself with questions about the insanity of having to write blog entries when I have no idea whether there are readers out there who would bother to read stuff they most probably don't care about. I sometimes persuade myself to think that there are Filipinos like myself who might be in the same situation and would be glad to

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-7682382518242448192008-12-31T19:02:00.000+08:002009-01-06T01:38:18.224+08:00

.So why should I keep doing this? Or am I wrong? Or maybe I've to remind myself what this is all about.When I started this blog, I had no idea what positive contribution this would have on keeping myself on my toes in meeting my commitments to paying for the house that I bought in late November 2008. Today I still have no idea about how this could possibly be anything that would contribute in any

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-12027840557039479622008-12-30T18:39:00.000+08:002008-12-30T18:48:08.522+08:00

. Inflation rates in the Philippines next year are projected to be milder than in 2008. Must be good news. But what do I care? You and I should at least keep track of this economic indicator once in a while. We may earn in currencies that when converted give us loads of pesos, but when inflation rates are red-hot, we lose. Okay, lemme listen to my pea-sized economist part of my brain.With lower

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-87273260824569410522008-12-30T18:17:00.000+08:002009-01-08T19:03:06.748+08:00

First posted on Dec 29, 2008.Now I know how important it is to save up way before you actually buy a house or go around scouting for one. Tell me I sound mega-clueless. Well, I knew since ages ago that anyone who wants to invest in a property or buy one has to have saved a significant amount.But it's not easy when there are so many things that you want to have -- things that you've always wanted

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-65225315772311154702008-12-30T18:02:00.000+08:002008-12-31T18:48:04.449+08:00

.Scroll down for a listing of articles on a Pinoy expat's journey to finally owning a property back in the Philippines while he toils in a foreign land. Do browse through this mini-library where you will find a catalog regularly updated by our Pinoy expat's librarian -- Ms. Tapia.If you're new to this site, you may want to subscribe to my pages. The buttons are on the top left parts of this page.

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-1798025707929810032008-12-27T18:34:00.000+08:002008-12-27T18:40:11.026+08:00

.Blogging has sparked in me an interest in checking out other blogs on related topics and this has led me to sites that I think would be useful to people mulling investing in property. I wish I had come across some of their blog posts prior to deciding on buying my own condo unit, but I've no regets really. Sometimes it's just reassuring to know what you think you should know before you make an

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-64688017499792193082008-12-27T18:25:00.000+08:002008-12-27T18:32:29.149+08:00

.Most of us who work away from home are most likely in a situation that does not allow enough time to keep ourselves updated with news that we cannot afford to miss. I'm just lucky though that my job involves mining the Net for information, so let me gather from time to time some tidbits that I guess will be useful reading for you guys. The items below are clippings from websites that I believe

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1851485896356910608.post-27482955762431403672008-12-16T18:46:00.000+08:002008-12-19T00:25:51.837+08:00

..Finally, I’ve finished writing my second report for the month, the second one that will earn me extra money to help make ends meet. The two reports will bring in an additional 5,500 pesos.I promised to write four such reports every month and I do hope I will be able to succeed in forcing my brain to think of topics that the bosses will find agreeable – four every month, wow. If I succeed in

PinoyXfathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078170287598534247noreply@blogger.com0