Category: Money Matters

Teaching My 7-Year-Old Financial Literacy: Exploring ‘The First Ten Rules of Wealth’ by Richard Templar

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As a parent, I’ve always believed that education extends far beyond the walls of a traditional classroom. This belief has been a driving force behind our decision to homeschool our 7-year-old son, giving him the freedom to learn in ways that suit his interests and needs. One area that Mahal and I are particularly passionate about introducing to his curriculum is financial literacy. In today’s ever-changing world, the importance of understanding money, saving, and investing cannot be overstated. I grew up with a poverty mindset… that feeling that we’re always lacking… that belief that I’m not worthy of the good kind of life… and it took years of reading self-help books, and wealth-related books, and listening to Oprah and Tony Robbins before I was able to fairly say I that I’ve somehow overcome my poverty mindset and started my journey towards abundance. I want Tuz to have the right kind of thinking when it comes to money and wealth so that he will be able to live a more abundant, rich, and fulfilling life.

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Louis Vuitton Cebu Salon de Luxe: Our Luxurious Experience

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Introduction

When it comes to blending opulence, entertainment, and high fashion, NuStar Resort & Casino stands as a shining example. Nestled within this haven of luxury is the prestigious Louis Vuitton store, beckoning fashion connoisseurs and style enthusiasts from around the world. Join us on a virtual tour of this remarkable shopping destination, where extravagance meets gaming in perfect harmony.

But before that, the truth is, this was my very first time inside any luxury brand shop. Before this visit, I only had the guts to go inside a Kate Spade shop where I bought a P20,000+k handbag (which I forget now where I put I can’t find it anywhere, huhu) after I spent almost P500K on a Black Pearl 24K gold face mask package at Alabang Town Center (where I really got duped!) I was supposed to use that money for an LV bag but these Black Pearl people are such notorious sales people, ugh! Anyway, that was almost 10 years ago. Life happened. I mostly shop online these days when I have the budget (I’m extreme… I’m super frugal most of the time but when I get hormonal, all hell breaks loose in shopping lol!) This time, I had the guts to finally come visit a Louis Vuitton shop coz it coincided with my hormonal phase and it so happens there’s a shop now in Cebu!!! 🤑🤑🤑 I was super excited! My budget was less than P500K but I was really excited to buy.

Enjoy this vlog I created about our unforgettable visit that happened the day after our 9th Anniversary Celebration at Nustar. Do check it out:

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Free Tours in Boracay

The Allure of Free Tours in Boracay: Unveiling the Budget Traveler’s Paradise

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Traveling to Boracay, a tropical paradise in the Philippines, is a dream for many. With its powder-white beaches, crystal-clear waters, and vibrant nightlife, the island has earned a reputation as one of the world’s top tourist destinations and I personally, am lucky, for regularly visiting the island all these years since 2004. When Mahal became my best friend way back 2012, I started bringing him here and as life happened, the island, throughout all these years, in a way, became one of our second homes (aside from Siargao, Dumaguete, and Oslob). And for budget-conscious travelers embarking on a two-week adventure like us, the importance of being able to experience free tours in Boracay cannot be overstated. These cost-free excursions not only provide an opportunity to explore the island’s natural wonders but also offer an authentic glimpse into the local culture and heritage. This article will highlight the significance of free tours in Boracay, especially for travelers on a budget. Do watch these 3 places we visited for free on this beautiful paradise.

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Paradise Garden Resort Hotel Boracay

Paradise Garden Resort Hotel and Convention Center Boracay: a Sneak Peek at Our Affordable Stay

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Mahal and I can be very frugal when it comes to our travel spending especially when it comes to visiting Boracay because this island can be very expensive. So, for many years, whenever we’d go to Boracay, we were okay at staying in super budget accommodations that go for P600 per night, at the most P800. But after we got married, we felt like we can afford to upgrade our lifestyle a bit… so Mahal looked for an accommodation that offers excellent rooms and service but at a fraction of what guests usually pay for in similar hotels. And he found Paradise Garden Resort Hotel & Convention Center. We originally booked it for 1 week but after we saw the room, how soft the pillows are, how nice the beds are, and saw Boracay once again, we felt like 1 week won’t be enough so we booked it for a total of 2 weeks! We wouldn’t have been able to if this room was rented out for double the price we got it. We actually walked around Station 2, 3, until Bolabog beach but those that are priced similarly were way too small, cramped, and simply depressing. If we wanted to get a similar room at another similar hotel, the going price was double to triple that price! Woah! So this was really a steal! And they even upgraded us to a bigger room at no additional cost!  Watch my vlog to take a peek. 

Secret Civil Wedding: Becoming Mrs. Villanueva Part 1

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It was supposed to be a “secret wedding”… We wanted our partnership to be legal and official even before we lay out all the plans for 2023, one of which is being able to do our dream beach wedding. Blame it to my “segurista” and OC personality, I just want everything ironed out on the legal front before the year ends. And I’m very grateful for the fact that Mahal has always wanted to marry me and supports me all the way, til forever and beyond… ❤

Actually, if we didn’t have the funds to do a beach wedding next year, a simple, “secret”, intimate civil wedding one is what we’ll really do. We are both introverts after all. I was even content to just have a piece of thread tied to my finger as a promise of his love. But thank you, God, for blessing us with a beautiful engagement, complete with an engagement photoshoot and engagement video shoot, and even an engagement honeymoon in Camotes Island which I’ll share here soon. We really feel so grateful plus I feel like such a celebrity (lol!) doing 2 kinds of weddings. Actually, even before J.Lo and Ben Affleck did their two weddings, doing the same had always been my plan… the two stars just beat us to it! Lol!

Didn’t JLo say

“Life is an art… and we are the artists… make it as beautiful as you want and create exactly what you want it to be…”

So that’s what we did!

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Thoughts About Real Estate and Mortgages in These Trying Times

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Hello, hello, hello!

I’ve been catching up on a TON of work since we got engaged!!! A lot of things have been going on in my personal life as well but I’m hoping to share more of our adventures real soon. And one of these adventures that I’d like to share here with you now is not just about travels that we’ve been doing but more importantly, stuff that we’ve been accomplishing to help fulfill those goals we’ve set out for ourselves for this year and the next. I gave you some ideas before about how to reach your goals for 2022 and I’ve also shared with you some financial tools if your goal is a financial one.

So, this other adventure that I want to share here with you is also a bit related to finances. As you may know, Mahal and I are getting married next year and we are in the works of fulfilling our dream of having a beach wedding in Mactan, Cebu. Even if what we want is just an intimate one with only a few guests, it would still be considered as a big spend for us frugal folks so we’re doing everything we can to augment our income. We don’t want to spend so much on the wedding because we have a bigger fish to fry so to speak. Or shall I say “fishes”? Teehee.

And these “fishes” are:

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3 Ways to Use Home Equity to Generate Passive Income

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When one is at the point in their life asking themselves “Should I rent or buy a house?” many questions are going to come to mind. They might be thinking about whether where they are looking to buy is where they really want to settle down and if not, will it be somewhere that’ll be easy to rent out. It’s also more than fair to think about what the market is going to look like for the coming years and what that’s going to mean when they are looking to sell. 

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10 Financial Tools and Tips That Can Help You Stick to Your Budget and Grow Your Money This 2022

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We’re heading to the 3rd week of the new year. Have you started working on your 2022 goals and dreams yet? Perhaps, my previous blog post can help you as I shared there 3 strategies I use to reach mine —> How to Get Anything You Want – 3 Strategies to Help You Achieve Your Goals in 2022

If your 2022 goal has something to do with finances like mine, then stick around because I’ll be sharing with you some basic tools and tips I’ve used and continue to use to keep my finances in check, stay out of debt, thereby helping me save more, invest more, retain a good cash flow, and let my money grow. 

I think even before one thinks about the more complicated nature of finance, it is best to tackle the basics first which is HOW TO BUDGET RIGHT. I believe this is an area where many of us fail from time to time, if not every single time! I’ve been there in my 30’s. I’ve always wanted to budget well but I’ve always ended up in debt… huge debts to the point that my precious house – the product of my own blood, sweat, and tears — almost got repossessed by the bank!                                    

Good thing I was able to start getting out of that rabbit hole and just before I hit my 40’s, I was finally debt-free! I even managed to finish my home mortgage payments back in 2017 making me a proud home owner of a two-story townhouse in one of our capital’s central business districts where real estate prices go high! I’m about to turn 44 next month and I’m happy to say that I’ve maintained my debt-free status ever since. Perhaps you might think it was wisdom that comes with getting older coupled with discipline. It’s both, but it’s also more than that too. I’ll share with you the basics below. 

The financial tools and tips I’ve used to help me budget well and which can help you stick to your budget too are as follow:

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How to Get Anything You Want – 3 Strategies to Help You Achieve Your Goals in 2022 

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As we begin our journey this New Year, many of us think about having new goals, new dreams, and basically how do we get about achieving them. I’ve thought about these things myself. Mine in particular is about increasing my net worth to a particular amount and this involves budgeting all of my money and assets well. This thought has been ringing in my mind since late last year, especially after Typhoon Rai hit us and I knew in my gut that I should make this financial goal my number 1 priority. 

So, to help me dissect the process of how I’m going to achieve this particular financial goal of mine this year, I listened to a podcast by Marie Forleo discussing the topic “How to Get Anything You Want?” This can actually apply to getting anything you want this year — whether it be getting your life back together, having the kind of relationship you want, traveling to a particular place, getting the job or career you want, setting up your own business, winning a nobel prize — you name it and the strategies here will help you make it happen.

I’ll share with you below the notes I took so that you too, can have some ideas on how to achieve your goals for 2022, especially if it’s a financial goal like mine. 

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New Year's eve

My Little New Year’s Eve Diary

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When I think about what 2020 has been for us, I have nothing but prayer of thanks. 

Though this pandemic did affect some aspects of our business, we were able to pivot, adjust, and not only survive but thrive. Truth is, in the 3 years that we’ve lived in Cagayan de Oro, 2020 has been our most successful year. And for that, THANK YOU, GOD! 

A huge part is because living and working from home is not new to us. We’ve always been the introverted type and my work has always been online, so it didn’t really change our routine much. And because most of the world turned online, business has never been better.  It also helped that we got out of our tiny pad. Since travel was restricted, our original plan of living somewhere half the time and living in the tiny pad the other half of the time was no longer possible. I needed space to breathe and just be and I’m so happy we got to experience living in a cozy house here in Cagayan de Oro City. Before the year approached its end, we even got to host online and overnight parties. 

But don’t get me wrong… There were dark days, yes. Days when I felt like the world was going to end as if we’re entering the era of zombie apocalypse…

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Christmas

Unexpected Christmas Wishes Coming True

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It’s true what they say… when you least expect it, that’s when the magic happens. For the most part of the year, and the last 3 years before that, I thought we will have the same Christmas as before — we used to live in a tiny pad, so decorating our home for Christmas was not an option then. Instead, we’d go to a hotel resort here in Cagayan de Oro City and spend an overnight stay for both Christmas and New Year. Although on our first Christmas here in 2017, we celebrated it at our farm with our people. I’ve still yet to blog and vlog about those amazing hotel resort stays we did but I really plan to (next year, hopefully, as throwback features). Oh wait, I did blog about our Seda Centrio New Year Stay.  

Well, this year, (in a way, thanks to this pandemic — we got to transfer to a cozy house — looking at the silver lining here), my long overdue wish of spending Christmas in a beautiful, cozy home I personally decorated, hosting a party if possible, and just chilling and pigging out over a simple Noche Buena feast in our pajamas — finally came true!!! I’m so happy, I really can’t stop expressing it! I’ve been saying it on my social media posts and even offline to Mahal. I’m just really so happy. Hallelujah! 

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