My hospital bill when I gave birth to Manu.

Thanks to my husband’s medical benefits, we didn’t spend a single centavo on hospital expenses . Unfortunately, we wouldn’t be enjoying such benefits the next time around as Gats had already resigned from the company. This is why I’ve been in the constant search for a reasonably priced health insurance (and an affordable life insurance as well) that could match what my husband used to enjoy. Unfortunately, no company could top nor even match it. Could this mean more delays for baby#2? Gats hopes not!

We’ve been paying amortization (mortgage) for our condo for the past three years now and we can honestly say that its not so harsh on our wallets as we initially imagine it would. Three years ago, rates were a high 12%. Now its somewhere between 7% to 8% — there are lower rates as 5% but those come with shorter terms which we aren’t really interested in getting.  It wasn’t hard to apply since we only had to show documents which we already had in the first place (billings, proof of income, etc.).  And, it should be easier now since there’s an influx of development from good developers that it really has become a buyers market in a span of 3 years. We’re really quite envious of opportunities today, as the same investment we put up a few years ago could have gotten us a Makati or Fort Bonifacio condo today.

Manu’s Little Gym ends next week and we’re already contemplating whether we should enroll him for another quarter or to already consider a playschool environment for him (this is why we tried the summer camp). Granted that our son is only 2 year 1 month old today we are already pondering about this and the other forms of investment we will be making for him in the coming years: playschool, pre-school, grade school – the list goes on and on!!. We never thought that being parents was this hectic – you’re already thinking years ahead. There’s this “want” to give anything and everything you can possibly can so our boy is well equipped for a bright future. But to do that amidst the rising prices of gasoline and commodities is really a challenge. Heck, we might even need to consult someone who can offer investment management advice just so we can balance our checkbooks. But I guess that’s really the sacrifice we give for our children so they in turn can give it to their children.

I am very keen on paying my bills on time, credit cards especially. You all know that credit card companies charge incredibly high interest rates and penalty fees once you fail to pay on time. And although I am completely aware of this, I must admit that I have once risked delaying payment on a credit card and suffered the consequences. Good thing I live here in the Philippines where credit scoring is not a practice. Else, my credit rating would be less than perfect and securing a loan would be difficult. But to those living in the US where credit rating is crucial, consumers can apply for a credit card, home loan, auto loan or personal loan despite their history of bad credit loans. Consumers may even receive credit counseling from the experts. So I guess they’re still pretty lucky to have such companies offering these types of services.

As for me, I had learned my lesson and I never will again fail on meeting payment requirements and deadlines.

I love how a credit card sales agent grabs your attention by an opening statement such as, “Ma’am, you are qualified to receive a P50,000 check from xxx Bank.” If it’s your first time hearing this, you’d probably say “yes” right then and there. But I have heard that line too many. So even before the sales agent could finish his sales pitch, I’d cut him off and say “I’m sorry, but I have to decline. I really don’t need the money right now.” While this is partially true (hey, everybody needs money eh?), I really don’t want to be incurring another debt, most especially a credit card debt (which charge notoriously high fees). I am slowly paying off my credit card balances as of the moment, so unless I want to go bankrupt and carry out an IVA, I am staying away from these credit card companies.

It really is a shame that our current political arena has once again been thrown into chaos since we are currently enjoying probably the best bank rates in recent years (even decades). Another good example are interest rates today for car or real estate purchase which are in the single-digits versus just two (2) years ago. Of course we don’t really know how this will last but because of political reasons it could probably end even sooner. With this on the horizon, its time to reconsider either putting money into a stable business or sticking it into a current account with fixed CD interest rates (on or before 2010).

Going home from work, we always pass by the NAIA road, where the Duty Free Shop and the former Duty Free Shop, now popularly known as the PAGCOR Casino, are located.  My husband and I would always wonder what makes people go (and return) to the casino since we always find it with a lot of cars parked outside, thus a lot of gamblers inside. Everyone knows the saying “the bank always wins” but why do these people go back when it’s that obvious? Maybe they have a lot of cash to spare? That probably is the most logical answer since gambling entails a hefty sum of money. My husband would sometimes joke that we should go in, see and try our luck. I’d rather he try an online casino, at least he won’t lose his shirt in the process. Having said that, I still want him to read a few pointers about online gambling if and when he (or I) decides to try it.

My husband has been in the real estate industry for almost 10 years now and is still surprised at how indifferent some buyers are with regards to the computation of their exact mortgage amount are. Granted that not every one of us would know how to compute for our periodic payments – which is simple enough using MS Excel, but at least some would make the effort to seek an explanation and understand how the figure was derived. This is a serious topic since payments, whether buying a car or property; usually delve in years (decades even). As a cost-conscious individual, I wouldn’t want to be stuck paying a high mortgage when I could have asked for a more affordable term to begin with.

Amortization is always a part of big-ticket purchases. I won’t go into the formula as I’m no expert in the subject. But suffice it to say, that we can ask someone proficient in accounting or finance to teach and compute for us and better yet if help is out of reach visit a Free Mortgage Quote site via the web. Knowing what to look out for is very important as money is never cheap. There are a lot of variables in the formula but they all translate into one result – COST! Having said this, I hope that this could serve as an eye opener for everyone to take time and understand what you are literally paying for.

I’ve receiving a lot of text messages, recently, from different banks and financing institutions offering salary loans of various kinds. I’ve never really entertained the offers, though, since (1) we get by with the combined salaries that my husband and I put together and (2) I think that it would cost an arm and a leg just to pay the principal and interest. Of course I’m basing #2 on the assumption that finance charges would be same as credit card chargers since both are considered short term – which I haven’t really verified. But guess what I recently found out regarding such short term loans? Well, it gets even shorter! There’s now what is called payday loan. Let me correct that, it is a “No Fax Payday Loans” as everything’s done online nowadays. I guess the name is pretty explanatory but to clarify further, the term of this loan is as short as 2 weeks. The term sounds pretty familiar? It is also called a cash advance, but given by another company and with interest. So if you’re in the market for a very short term loan, you can probably consider this no fax payday loan in the future. I’m sure local banks and financial institutions will be creating such products soon. But mind the interest payment! It’s the bitter ingredient in the “pill.”

Do you sometimes wish you could go back to being single? I do BUT only in terms of finances. Back in those days, I had my money all to myself – no utilities to pay, no household supplies to purchase, no mortgage payments to disburse. Now that I am a wife and a mom to a wonderful beautiful boy, I constantly am on top of these things. Not that I am complaining but sometimes I ask myself, “What if I get a loan for a big ticket purchase?”. More often than not, the answer to that is no since we are still currently paying two secured loans which we acquired from a financial institution. Also, both my husband and I are paying off credit card purchases from the past year. Speaking of which, I think we should compare credit cards in the market once we fully pay our obligations from our current credit card companies. In this way, we could choose which credit card brand will best suit our lifestyle, and lessen our credit card debt.