My husband and daughter makes it a point to drop by at music store that they could see. I don’t really mind because I use that time away from them to go to the store that catches my fancy too.

I have no musical inclination whatsoever so I don’t see the point of going inside a store with products I hardly understand. Makes sense, right?

One time they saw this evh amp at Guitar Center and my husband discussed its use to my daughter and they were talking about it until they left the store. Guess what? I didn’t really care haha

Have you ever got the chance to watch the I-Vice Ganda Moko sa Araneta concert? I didn’t and I feel bad about it.

I’ve heard that it was a fun-filled 4-hour concert and friends say that it was really worth it. Tickets got sold out weeks before the concert, people really want a good laugh these days, right?

I wonder if they had an orchestra and they bought their cajon from musicians friend. That would be a blast!

On April 22 we bought a very old car from a friend and we named her Sprinkles. Sprinkles is a 1990 Nissan Sentra sedan, obviously a second-hand car. We didn’t really mind because it was in a very good running condition when we got it, no major issues just few minor flaws (no missing bolts just minor, dismiss-able bumps and gasgas — hello! it’s so old so do not expect a flawless body, right?) .

Buying a car was really part of our 2013 plans but we didn’t know that it will be given it us this soon. Second-hand for the simple reason that we cannot afford a brand new car (cash or installment).

Sprinkles runs so well and the airconditioning system works perfectly as well. It has been road tested and triple checked by a Nissan accredited auto-mechanic.

Though old, Sprinkles is still a beauty, right?

Welcome to our home, Sprinkles! <3

My friend Dee encouraged me to become a realtor. She’s already a full-pledged one and has been earning thousands (if not millions) from her deals since she was 23. Told her that sales isn’t really my forte and a lot are doing it already. Her advice was for me to give it a try as I will not discover my inner blessing if I won’t unleash it, right?

Dee is now in the states and has been selling properties like hotcakes! See nags head nc homes for sale. Do I want to be like Dee? Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll see

I’ve been thinking of putting up a school supplies store in our area though I am not sure if it will even work. Aside from school supplies, we can also accept  cd reproduction, typing jobs, book reports, ID lamination and the likes.

We already have a working printer and machinery for ID lamination so we will only invest on the school supplies. Is this even feasible? That I am not sure of. I’ll give this a good thought

We usually start our summer activities after everyone had theirs and that’s usually around end of May until the second week of June, right before the school year starts. The ups? Less people in the beach and airport, and cheaper airfares.

But that was before when Tatay was still alive. Now that our schedule in visiting Leyte has been transferred to the end of December until January 9 or 10, we have all the reasons to start summer early!

Here’s our planned schedule this year (I say ‘planned’ because this may change depending on our schedule and budget) :

March 25 – 30: Holy Week
March 31: Easter Sunday, we might attend Easter activities in a hotel
April 1 – 5: Staycation! Time to pull the pentair pool pumps, inflatable pools and their new swimsuits!
April 6 – 14: My cousins are coming over so we’ll be very, very busy for sure. We’re going to Enchanted Kingdom, Subic and Baguio this week.
April 15 onwards: Swimming lessons for Yona

No plans for the month of May yet but for sure it’s going to be fun, fun, fun!

I started buying in eBay again. Buying there will really save you a lot of money buy if you are doing it for fun, then you’re doomed.

January 2006: Seeing all sorts of clothing and shoes brands, household items, cigar brands and whatnot in one buying platform was heaven for me until I got stuck in the deepest pit of debt. So I shifted gears and hasn’t been on a buying spree for as long as I can remember. I buy, alright, but not too much. I know my limits now.

How about you, do you buy stuff in eBay too?

When your child was still in diapers, you were probably talking or thinking about how you would handle him or her having a first date. This is a touchy subject for parents, but there are ways that you can be cool about it with your child, while still taking precautions to make sure that everything goes as smoothly as possible. The following tips are sure to help you to maintain a calm demeanor when this time comes.

How to Introduce Yourself

This part is crucial for you to remember. You do not want to be one of those scary, intimidating parents who scrutinizes the young man or woman immediately upon meeting them. This is especially common with fathers and daughters, because the father usually wants to let the young man know that he will tolerate no funny business at all from him. However, if the father is too overbearing, his daughter most likely will be angry and rebel or lose trust in her father. If you must answer the door when your child’s date arrives, be sure to smile and invite him or her in the house. You can offer the date something to drink, but acting overly polite actually may make you appear un-cool to your child and his/her date. Just be natural, and leave them to start their date after the introductions and specifics have been hashed out (unless you are driving them to their destination).

To Call, or Not to Call?

This may be one of the reasons that you purchased a cell phone for your teen-to call or text when he or she is on a date. You really should avoid doing so, because you will seem annoying and it will not be good for your relationship with your child. There are exceptions to this, of course. If you are meeting your child and his/her date at the end of their date, you are fine with calling to confirm the time and where to meet. Also, if it has been hours and is past his/her curfew, you definitely should call your child.

Playing the Waiting Game

It may be hard to decide whether you should wait up and grill your child when he or she arrives home at the end of the date. There is no definitive answer to this, except to do what feels right. Depending on your relationship with your child, it might be appropriate to have a talk over ice cream, pie, coffee/tea, etc. If you do not have that sort of relationship, you still can show that you are available to talk or make sure that they had a good night, by saying something casual and that you love him or her. Remember, a first date is just as stressful (if not more so) as it is for you to have to let him or her go.

Do’s

*Be a “cool” parent
*Be polite
*Introduce yourself
*Get the specifics-where they are going, when they expect to get back

Don’ts

*Be Overly Polite
*Ask Many Questions
*Be overbearing and/or intimidating in other ways

Rebecca Smith is a 28 year old freelance writer, living in Upstate New York. Check out www.thefamilycompass.com for more tips on maintaining a healthy and happy family.

What’s frugality to you? I am just new to this frugality thing and I know that I have so much to learn but living in a very small budget is no longer new to me.

After leaving work in 2008, I knew that our finances was really in big trouble. I was jobless and I have huge chunks of debt. I blamed it to my online shopping habits, I shopped both in Multiply and eBay without knowing that it was already hurting our finances. My husband knew about this but didn’t really care because he could see that I was happy.

After about a year, I realized that this cannot go on forever. It has to stop or else I’d end up in jail for not paying my dues. So right then and there, we decided to cut back and we were successful in that aspect, though it took me a few years before really accepting the whole cutting back thing wholly. I was  a shopaholic so withdrawal was really, really hard for me.

Now 4 years later, we are living the frugal life. Skimping on unnecessary things, but we spend money on what we deem is important.  We splurge from time to time especially on travels and food but that’s it. No more unnecessary buying, “one toy is enough to please a happy child” – I tell my kid.

I still shop, yes. But I make sure to look for the best promotional items under $1. I am using my mind now when it comes to spending.

The past weekend has been hell for someone I know. He got sacked at work because his office mates plotted something against him. The sad thing was, he was the one who chose these employees to join his team, not knowing that a few years later, the same set of people will stab him big time.

Money was the real issue. One single reason that lead to greed and envy. I was like, “WOW! For them to do that to him, they must have been hating him eversince.”

Oh yeah, they did. Those bitches did. The lesson here was, do a background check before letting other people come into your life. For your security and for your peace of mind.