Andrea's Zero Hour

Lord, thank you for being with us the whole time when Andrea is not feeling good. Thank you for cuddling our precious angel during the critical hours. Thank you for the gift of life. We all pray for her swift recovery. AMEN. 🙏

#AndreasMilesone

#AndreasZeroHour

#AndreasRoadToRecovery

#AndreaShuntStory 

Her symptoms started when she had an irritated right eye (or so we thought). Her eyes got swollen due to tears. We had it checked by her pedia and she was given a prescription for eye irritation but after a few hours she had an usual episode of bradycardia (her heart rate went down to 40ish). So we rushed her to the hospital on June 3, 2023. She was confined for 6 days but nothing was conclusive. 

Her pedia, Dr. M. Wassmer saw some infection in her blood stream so he started some antibiotics. But she still had some episodes of bradycardia even when she's awake. Her heart was checked by a cardiologist, Dr. Tolentino, and confirmed that her heart is healthy with no signs of any cardiac problems. According to him, her bradycardia is not cardiac in nature but rather central. Her neurologist, Dra. Fojas suspected it was a shunt failure since after she pumped her shunt valve Andrea felt better and her heart rate went up to 100 bpm. Her neurosurgeon, Dr. D. Isabela, checked her shunt valve and said it was functioning. Btw, her shunt valve was also replaced last 2020 due to malfunction. 

Andrea eventually felt better. Her heart rate went back to her normal range. And because she had no other symptoms, no seizure, no fever, no cough, no colds, we went home with no conclusive findings on June 8, 2023. 

Soon after 2 weeks, she had another episode of bradycardia. We observed her, monitored her heart rate and supported her with oxygen. I also had to manually pump her shunt so she would feel better. I already sent a message to Dr. Isabela informing him of her situation. We were scheduled for a checkup after the weekend. 

On June 30, 2023, 7am, she woke up with a smile on her face. She knew we were worried and she tried to feel better. But at 8am, she had a breakthrough seizure for about 5 minutes. Her left hand stiffened and she went pale. Her oxygen went down to 35%, her heart rate went down to 40 bpm. So we increased her O2 to 3 lpm. We tried to wake her up the whole time. After a while, her stats shoot up to her normal range. We called Lifeline 16911 so we could bring her to Makati Medical Center. Since we are in Silang, Cavite, the patient transfer service took an hour to our place. Andrea's state stabilised, and we're able to give her her meds for seizure. 

At 10am, we're already in MMC ER, and her doctors checked her and they had a consensus that this is a shunt malfunction. Dr. Isabela then scheduled her for a VP shunt operation at 4pm. At 6pm, the VP shunt operation started and lasted for an hour and a half. Dr. Isabela went out of the operating room and gave us an update. He said, there was an adhesion on the tip of the abdominal portion on the shunt. This caused her cerebral fluid to stick up on her head and caused a pressure on her brain. They had the existing shunt system removed and replaced with a new one. Andrea tolerated the whole procedure well and stabilised after 2 hours. 

We were transferred to a regular room for observation. Everything seems okay except one thing. She had insomnia for 3 days, as in more than 48 hours of no sleep or even a nap after her operation. The doctors said she is still getting used to her new shunt and to give her some time to adjust. She was given melatonin and benadryl at bedtime to help her sleep but to no avail. I had to put a damp towel on her eyes so she could close her eyes and help her sleep. After the 3rd night she was given a higher dose of melatonin and benadryl, she then was able to get a 3-hour sleep. Her sleeplessness could also be environmental because of the hospital setting. So her doctors agreed to sent us home. 

Due to her operation, we arranged a patient transfer via stretcher thru Lifeline 16911 from hospital to home. On July 4, 2023 at 7:30pm, We were home. After dinner, at 9:30pm, Andrea is sound asleep and on her road to recovery. 🙂

Shout out to our prayer warriors, thank you for praying with us. And please continue to pray for her fast recovery. 🙏🙏🙏

Trust God with all your heart

Hospital is not the best place to be in right now. But sometimes it's a matter of life and death. I've been having chest pains for a week. My doctor said, based on my lab test results, my chest pain is cardiac in origin. I might be having a heart attack and I need to go to ER to see a Cardiologist. I pannicked. I was scared. Every hospital right now is in full capacity, Covid patients or not. Delta variant is just around. But time is very crucial. 

My husband needs to be with my daughter with special needs. So I called my sister from a distant city at the middle of the night to accompany me to the hospital. But the incoming severe weather made our situation a dire emergency. Typhon Jolina is about to make a landfall anytime soon. And I'm still having chest pains and chills due to panick attack.

I prayed harder to God for protection, guidance and healing. "We need you Lord right now. Please protect us from the virus and the calamity. Only You can protect us, Lord." 

My sister, being the head of their family and the only one doing outside errands, head out at the middle of the night, at the middle of typhoon, risking her safety, to come with me to the hospital. 

At the Emergency department, they have repeated my blood tests. My troponin level is still high, so we were advised to be admitted for further assessment. But due to the hospital's full capacity, we have to wait in line. So while waiting in ER, I had all my blood works redone. Chest Xray. 2d Echo. ECG. Everything is normal except for my troponin level which, according to the doctor, might be caused by a heart damage. They recommended me to undergo a heart MRI or Andiogram procedure to rule out if there's swelling or any blockage in my heart. If any arteries are blocked then I need to undergo Andioplasty. My heartbeat raised as if I am in a marathon. I felt the chest pain again. While the doctor is explaining our options I am having chills. I was scared to death. Am I really having a heart attack? Am I gonna die? Do we have money for the operation? What will happen after the surgery?

I talked to him "Lord, please guide us. Please heal my heart. Please let there be no blockage in my heart. I need you Lord, help me." "But if this is my time, Lord, please take care of my daughter, my husband and my family. Let Your Will be done, Lord. It's all up to you. Please take care of my family." 

I told myself before that I am ready to die. But that very moment I realized how scared I was. I was scared of a heart attack. I was scared of getting covid. I was scared to leave my family behind. So I prayed for another chance to live and be with them. Maybe it's God telling me "Are you sure, you are ready die?"  I humbly say "No, Lord, I'm not. I take it back, Lord. Please give me another chance."

Time was ticking and I needed to decide so that the doctor can proceed with ruling out what's causing my chest pain. So we, my husband, my sister and I, decided to go with the Angiogram procedure to check my heart once and for all. I was scheduled the next day for the procedure. The waiting time in the ER was nerve wracking. The longer we stayed in the ER, the greater exposure we had with Covid. I was glad we were at the Cold Zone of the ER and so far, as per the nurse, there were no Covid cases in the area. But still, the scenario is very scary. In situations like this, ONLY God can protect us from harm or getting Covid. 

After the Angiogram procedure, the doctor gave me the good news. There's no blockage in heart. I was relieved. "Thank you, Lord, for the answered prayer!!! You never failed me! I love you, Jesus! Thank you Mama Mary for praying for me!"

We requested to be discharged from the ER since we are still inline to get a room. And thank God, the doctor allowed us and just prescribed some medicines. I'm also glad that my HMO almost covered my bill so I just paid for my PCR test, which ia negative by the way, and some misc items. Thank you Lord for everything! 

My final diagnosis was Tietze syndrome. I'm not sure if this is related to my Pfizer Covid vaccine or not. The doctors did not confirm that. But I had no other illness or health issues except for the chest pain. Anyways, atleast, all is good now.

In times like this, prayer is our only defense. Trust God with all your heart and He will fight our battle. He will not forsaken us. He will not leave us. This too shall pass. Believe. Claim it. Trust God.

My Journey to Stock Market Trading during the Covid19 Pandemic

I discovered the stock market around May 2012 because I wanted to be financially free. I've read somewhere from some financial gurus ( I forgot the name, sorry! ) that there are only two real businesses where you can earn money, in real estate or in the stock market. I chose the latter because it requires only a small capital to start with. 

I started with Mutual funds before, maybe around 2006, but this time I wanted to manage my money. I opened an account with an online broker, COL Financial at 5,000 pesos and started building up my portfolio. I did this with a mindset of a long-term investment because I really wanted to retire young and travel the world. I've had my share of wins and losses from blue chip companies. I relied mostly on the fundamental analysis of my stock broker. When my broker said a stock is a buy then I buy, then wait for my gain and sell if they said I should sell my shares. During those years, technical analysis is too much for me to absorb so I never tried to understand. 

During this pandemic, no matter how I want to stay strong and have faith that everything will be alright, I came to a point where all my anxiety kicked in and I worried about the future. There's a realization that life is too short so do whatever makes you happy. As for me, when things are back to normal, I want to travel the world with my family. But travelling involves quite a sum of money so I need to increase my income stream. But we are limited to do so due to the community quarantine. So what to do?

I started exploring the stock market trading when my sister shared about her gains on some of her stock positions and how she maximized her earnings by doing the 8k rule. I was curious so I watched the video of MoneyGrowersPH on Youtube then I watched the next video on how to earn 50k to 100k in the stock market and the next video... and the next. And boom! My brain was lit! That was my turning point.

Last October 13, 2020, I decided to learn more about the fundamentals of technical analysis. What is a support and resistance? How do you know when to buy or sell your stocks? How to plan your trades? What are the winning strategies? How to cut losses? There's so much questions in my head and I wanted to learn more. There's a lot of video content on Youtube University. ^_^ And they are just out there for free. Yes, for free! (Well, there are paid trainings if you want to dig deeper) 

I started watching the free training videos of Investa to learn more about trading and investment foundation. I focused more on the technical analysis. I also watched videos about Price actions, Japanese candlesticks and patterns, some of the market indicators like MA, MACD, RSI, Fibonacci, Ichimoku and a lot more! I learned how to read and use the Chart by Investa. I also learned about virtual trading where you can execute your plan and strategies with a virtual money amounting to 100k. (More like of a practice account.)

By November 17, 2020, after five weeks of intensive learning, I executed my strategies on my real portfolio and I can say that 20% realized gain in one week is not bad at all. I'm still learning though and the best teacher is through experience. My goal is to gain 25% in 100days or at least double my money to fund our future travels. ^_^ (So, let's pray for guidance!)

Just sharing my stock trading journey. If I can do it, then you can do it too. As the saying goes, NEVER STOP LEARNING!

^_^

By the way, here's one of my technical analysis with ACEN. 

Cremated or Buried?

It's a taboo topic for most of us. But for me, I think it should be planned before anything happened to you. Everything should be taken care of so your loved ones can actually mourn. It's hard to deal with all the paper works and services when you're emotionally down, right?

So, have you ever thought of your memorial service or have you decided if you wanted to be cremated or buried? As for me, I've been open to my family that I wanted to be cremated. But most people I talked to before don't want to be cremated because of their religious beliefs. Some says that when you are cremated, how can your body be resurrected at the end of time during the second coming of Jesus. Well, I've also been thinking about that for the longest time until after reading the Holy Bible a few month ago.

The book of Corinthians talks about the resurrection of Jesus and our body:

The Resurrection Body

Someone will ask, "How can the dead be raised to life? What kind of body will they have?" You fool! When you plant a seed in the ground, it does not sprout to life unless it dies. And what you plant is a bare seed, perhaps a grain of wheat or some other grain, not a full-bodied plant that will later grow up. God provides that seed with the body he wishes; he gives each seed its own proper body. (1 Corinthians 15: 35-38)

This is how it will be when the dead are raised to life. When the body is buried, it is mortal; when raised, it will be immortal. When buried, it is ugly and weak; when raised it will be beautiful and strong. When buried, it is a physical body; when raised, it will be a spiritual body.  (1 Corinthians 15:42-44)

There! So regardless of our choice we will still be resurrected, right? (That is, if we did good in our life) 

The next thing to consider is the budget. I think buying a vault from a columbarium is much cheaper than buying a lot from the cemetery although it still depends on the location of the vault. 

So good luck with our choice! And let's live our life to the fullest! 

Ciao! ^__^ 

Is DMCI Condominium a PWD-friendly home?

Growing up, a condominium is not really an ideal home for me. Maybe because of the constricted spaces and its ridiculously high prices. At the back of my mind, why would someone invest on a property that has a lifespan of 50 years and won't even own that lot? Well, that thinking changed due to some reasons.

Let me give you little bit of background why we ended up buying a DMCI condominium unit.

Starting a family earlier than most people of our age, plus my daughter's condition, is kind of a big challenge for us. We lived with my in-laws, although we occupy a separate part of the house. But as time passed by, the place became too crowded for us. Not that I had a problem with my in-laws but my daughter is growing up and I wanted her to breath some fresh air. We also have two house helpers back then because we both work in the office. Later on, when our finances got a little better, my husband and I started thinking about moving out to our own place. So we started to scout some house rentals around the city. We also had a chance to visit one mid-rise condominium in Taguig and we fell in love with that place because of the resort-like ambiance of the property. Since the property is ready for occupancy, the price is too much for us. So we turned it down.

To cut the story short, we ended up renting a bungalow house in Paranaque. And we lived happily ever after... not until we had a grumpy neighbor! Kidding aside, we really loved that place. The location is so close to the banks, restaurants, pharmacy, supermarkets and more. The traffic was great when we moved there. My daughter also started attending therapy school within the city. We brought her almost everyday for an hour therapy session. As days passed by, the traffic worsened and my daughter's travel time changed from 30 minutes to 1 hour. Sometimes, she's not able to make it on time so we needed to cancel the session and she will travel back home. See? She prepped for an hour and traveled for more or less three hours for an hour-session. What is worst than that?

(Glitters please...)

One day, while on our way to the therapy school, we chanced to pass by a pre-selling condominium property being built. We took a flyer and had a chat with an agent.

Arista Place

Live the resort life in the midst of the city

A gem in Parañaque City, this Asian Tropical themed condominium community comprises an abundant array of leisure amenities fit for your family's lifestyle. Beautifully nestled along the city confines, Arista Place brings you in a relaxed but secured ambiance topped with the utmost exclusivity, ensuring you of a place you can call 'Home'.

Wow! We wanted to own a place we can call our "Home Sweet Home". Most importantly, it is closer to my daughter's therapy school, like just 5-mins away. It has a swimming pool for her aqua therapy. She can breathe fresh air when we stroll at the park. She can have her birthday parties at the function hall so we don't have to find a venue. We all had that in mind. It's for her convenience.

Since it is a pre-selling property, the buildings and the amenities are not yet built that time. We can only view a miniature property landscape and a model unit at the sales office. So, we carefully chose the building and unit based on the blueprints presented to us. There are only two buildings that have an easy access to the amenities, one is already sold out and the other one is not yet even built. So we chose the latter. As for the unit, we selected a unit higher than the trees and facing the amenities so we can have a better view of the property. The building has an elevator as per the agent so we don't see any problem with my daughter being on a wheelchair. If I remember it right, I asked our agent about the ramp and other wheelchair access and I think he said DMCI being compliant and everything so we will have no problem with that and then the deal was closed.

We've waited for 18 months until it was turned over to us. We furnished it before we moved in and then we were on cloud nine! We thanked God for this blessing! Really! For more than a year, we were on a honeymoon stage. Enjoying our "Home Sweet Home".

Until some issue arises. After 19 months of living in our unit, I politely requested for a wheelchair ramp for our building.

Hi,

We bought a unit in Melhor bldg, Arista Place thinking amenities and parks are easily accessible. My daughter is a PWD and always on her wheel chair. We are having a hard time going to the park or the pool area using the Melhor bldg access. Either we ask for a guard (or some maintenance guy) to help us lift/ carry through the stair or she'll need to go down to the basement and wheeled around two buildings (which is not always feasible).

Is it possible that we can request a ramp in Melhor building (at least) so she can easily go to the amenities area? This is also for all other residents that are having difficulty accessing the amenity area.

Your positive response is highly appreciated.

Thank you,

But only after 10 months when I got a response from DMCI saying that my request is not feasible:

This pertains with your request for installation of ramp at Melhor Building in Arista Place.

After coordination with the concerned departments, we would like inform you that as much as we want to accommodate your request, we regret to inform you that your request for additional ramp is not feasible.

We truly understand all the rights of all our PWD clients and we are very much willing to extend all the help that we can offer to at least ease the inconvenience that you may encounter.

Prior to the construction of Arista Place, we ensure that all our plans have been checked and approved by the governing entities and that includes the safety also of our PWD clients.

We believe that building a community like Arista Place will not be possible if we violate any rule that is not in accordance with the law.

Please let us know how can we help you and we are very grateful to help you.

Thank you very much for your understanding.

 

And I got another email suggesting that we use the basement parking ramp.

We regret to inform you that your request to install ramp is not feasible. Upon coordination to Property Management of Arista they already inform you that your request is not allowable due to there are already ramp for PWD located at the basement parking and it is the typical design for all the buildings in Arista Place.

Seriously? Use the basement ramp? O yeah! That is what we've been doing since we moved in! And I can assure you that it is hard and definitely not safe. I will dare anyone, who rally that idea, to sit on a wheelchair and wheel himself up to the ingres road. Really? Did they even think about it or at least tried to use the basement ramp?

This is the basement ramp.

Do you see what's wrong with these photos? Yes. There are no railings, right? Based on our personal experience, it's hard to push a person on a wheelchair with that slope. How much more if the person on wheelchair is alone and just wanted to breathe some fresh air around the community? It is also not feasible! Let talk about safety? Is there any signages or safety measures for PWDs. None. What if there's a car?

This is our building entrance from/to the road:

And building entrance from/to the amenities:

See? You need 2-3 people to lift a wheelchair-bound person through those steps.

We already have an accessibility law but is it being implemented?

According to the Magna Carta for Disabled Person or IRR of BP 344, no group of people shall be deprived of full participation and enjoyment of the environment or be made unequal with the rest due to any disability.

1.3 BASIC PHYSICAL PLANNING REQUIREMENTS. No group of people shall be deprived of full participation and enjoyment of the environment or be made unequal with the rest due to any disability. In order to achieve this goal adopted by the United Nations, certain basic principles shall be applied:

1.3.1 ACCESSIBILITY. The built environment shall be designed so that it shall be accessible to all people. This means that no criteria shall impede the use of facilities by either the handicapped or nondisabled citizens.

1.3.2 REACHABILITY. Provisions shall be adapted and introduced to the physical so that as many places or buildings as possible can be reached by all.

1.3.3 USABILITY. The built environment shall be designed so that all persons, whether they be disabled or not, may use and enjoy it.

1.3.4 ORIENTATION. Finding a person's way inside and outside of a building or open space shall be made easy for everyone.

1.3.5 SAFETY. Designing for safety insures that people shall be able to move about with less hazards to life and health.

1.3.6 WORK ABILITY AND EFFICIENCY. The built environment shall be designed to allow the disabled citizens to participate and contribute to developmental goals

(Reference: IRR of BP 344)

 

In spite of everything I put on the table, the law and the inconvenience, we still got a 'NO'. It is so obvious that it is a violation of my daughter's right to have an accessible environment. But what can we do? Instead, we go on with our lives and deal with it.

After a while, some other issues were raised by the other residents. So we brought up our concern about the building ramps and cited the other areas that are not accessible by PWDs as well. These include the Function hall and AVR, being on the second floor of the Clubhouse with no elevator or ramp access. We also mentioned the badminton court, gazeebos and pathways that do not have a ramp. We've communicated everything to our property manager and as far as I know with the BODs but our concerns fell on deaf ears. So we joined the group of unit owners who wanted to take it to the next level. After consolidating all issues, we sought for the intervention of the Paranaque City government. We spoke to our good Mayor Olivares and he immediately sent people to check the property the next day. After the inspection, we waited for months but to no avail. In short, there were no actions made.

So, to answer the question 'Is DMCI a PWD-friendly home?' It is a big NO. Well... not yet but I'm very optimistic that one day, when God permits, DMCI will do the right thing.

Ciao!

Happy Independence Day!

And yeah, I'm back to blogging.

It's exactly 90 days since the Philippine government have implemented the community quarantine here in NCR (National Capital Region) due to the Covid19 Pandemic. As of this writing, we have a total of 24,787 cases, 1,052 deaths and 5,454 recoveries. We still have 18,281 active cases which means 74% who were tested positive are still fighting for their chance to live. Looking at the data, I'm not really sure if we're flattening the curve. There are news of a possible vaccine within the year but who knows when?

Looking at the brighter side of this pandemic, a lot of good things happened. Mother Earth is healing! No traffic. Less pollution. Most countries are on lock down. Most people stayed at home. Families are bonded together. There are lots of wanna-be chefs who mastered cooking and baking. People with green thumbs rekindled their likeness to gardening. New entrepreneurs had the guts to do their business online because of the demand, may it be food or essential goods.

Basically, life forced us to go back to the basic things that matter. This pandemic gave us the time to re-organize our thoughts and feelings. The time that we've always wished for but we cannot have because of our other priorities. Now that we have all the time, this is the perfect moment to think about our mission in life and be closer to God.

From the bottom of our hearts, let us pray for the end of this world pandemic. So we can finally say out loud and proud "Happy Independence Day!"
 

The Art of Letting Go



Bo Sanchez's talk at The Feast last Sunday at PICC struck my heart so deep that I started crying without any tissue or handkerchief at hand. I was caught unguarded because I don't wanna cry especially when there are thousands of people in front of me. (Lucky for  me because I was at the back seat so I'm the one who saw a lot of people wiping their eyes.)

The Love Ribbon



First, they had a re-enactment of a father and daughter's love. The father is holding a ribbon that he tied to his daughter representing his love for her. He love his daughter so much that he don't want to let go of that ribbon so he can protect and guide his daughter. But as she aged, there are lots of pitholes along the path and the father is still holding that love ribbon. But time has come that he realized he needed to let go of that love ribbon so her daughter can do more and explore life. It breaks his heart but it is for his daughter's sake that he needed to let go. So he gave the ribbon to his daughter and let her go on with life.

The daughter said that she honors his father and mother so much and thanked them for the love that they gave her and her siblings. There's no need for that ribbon now because their love for her is instilled in her heart. She is who she is because of her parent's love. A grown up young lady who is ready to explore life. There is no need for that ribbon now because she knows that that love will guide her through life. And God will always be there for her. 



It was a great father and daughter's story. We felt their love for each other. I saw a lot of The Feast attendees wiping tears from their eyes. We didn't see that coming. 



A Million Love

Bo gave us another scenario about lending money.

You have a 10,000 pesos in your savings account. It's your only money for your daily expenses, for food, for your kids, for your rent and for others. Now a friend who has an emergency asks you to lend him 10,000 pesos. Will you give your only savings to him? Of course not! We can't afford to let our kids starve, right? 

Or be kicked out of our house if we didn't pay the rent.

Now let's change the scenario. You have a million in your savings account then a friend comes to you asking to lend lend him 10,000 pesos because he have an emergency. Will you give that 10,000? Yes, of course! It feels good to help right?



The moral of the story is that it is hard to let go of something if it's all you have.



It is that same scenario for your loved ones. When you focus all your life to that person and its time to let go. It feels like it's that end of the world... the end of your world. It's hard to let go when you know it will take away all your happiness. It's like having only that 10,000 that its so hard to let go.

Now if you focus your love to God its like having more than a million that its ok to let go of that 10,000. It's ok to let go of that loved ones because you have God!



Let go.. so you can have more.

From personal experience, It's so hard to let go. I know my baby Andrea do not have a long life span. 

I know when the right time comes I have to let go. I only pray to God that He'd make me stronger to bear that day... that He'd help me be ready for that day. When that time comes, no more tears to shed but happiness will fill my heart. Happy to know that she's where she have to be. Knowing that God alone can fill that emptiness and sadness. He will embrace me with His greatest love.

When that time comes, I will be ready to let go.

Me & Andrea

How to Apply for PWD Id in Paranaque City

Andrea's PWD Id has long been expired. We got her first id in Taguig in 2009 and it's valid only for three years. Since we already moved in Better Living Subd, Paranaque, I decided to get her new id here.

I searched the internet and saw derdo's blog post which is very informative. I was able to secure all the necessary requirements beforehand but I still called the DSWD office in Paranaque City Hall at (02) 829-3324 to verify the requirements. They said that I also need to provide a whole body picture.

I went to Barangay Don Bosco in BLS Section 2 to secure a barangay clearance with Andrea's name on it. They gave me a form to be signed by the president of our homeowner's association. Then I brought it back to them for processing. Fee is Php30.

After securing a barangay clearance, I went to Paranaque City Hall's DSWD Office at the second floor. It was already lunch break but they still processed my application! Yay!

Here are the requirements:
1. Medical Certificate / Clinical Abstract
2. Barangay Certificate (Purpose: Residency)
3. Three(3) pcs 1x1 ID Pictures
4. One(1) pc Passport size picture
5. Duly accomplished form

Be sure to bring the original and the photocopy but they will only get the photocopy. No need for birth certificate and school id.

And voila!

They gave me Andrea's PWD Id, purchase booklet for basic commodity and the medicine purchase booklet. Yay!

Christmas Decor Shopping at Dapitan Arcade

I've watched several episodes of Kris TV when they shop around some places in Manila and scout for pocket-friendly items and goodies. They have featured the Dapitan Arcade whose famous for affordable Christmas decors.

I usually buy decors from the malls and bookstores during Christmas seasons (you know! some last minute shopping...) so I know how pricey they are. When I learned about Dapitan Arcade, I'm really got curious and excited, I wanted to checkout the place and experience it myself.

  

Along with my hubby and sister (and her two kids), we went to Dapitan around the second week of  November. There are already quite a number of shoppers but you can still walk around the area. Most stores have a fixed price range and you won't be able to haggle for discounts. I'm not sure if the prices are much cheaper when you buy during off peak season. But I can say that it's much cheaper that time compared to buying the same item in malls.

Here are the items that I bought:

Belen. I really love to have a Belen to remind us the true spirit of Christmas. Christmas is Jesus' birthday anyway. This is compose of 9 figurines and the tallest is 6 inches. So you have baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, 3 kings, and 3 animals. This cost me only a thousand pesos.

Christmas Tree Skirt. So the gift are not scattered on the floor. It costs 400 pesos. 

Santa Candy Container. A 4-inch santa with a big gift sack for the candies.

Christmas Wreath. A plain wreath only costs 150 and a fully designed one costs around 500. I bought the plain one and will design it myself. 

Christmas Light. Different kind of lights cost only 200 and they all have ICC stickers so they are safe to use.

Christmas Tree Decors:

    Ponseitta Large. Costs 350 per dozen. Much cheaper than those in malls which cost around 40 each.

    Ponseitta Small. Costs 180 per dozen. 

    Snow Dangle. 20 each

    Doll Dangle. 3 for 100

    Pine Fruit. 10 each.

I also bought an 18-inch Christmas parol for only 1,200 which costs around 2,000 in malls.

There are lots of other items but I can't buy them all, although I am tempted. 

Maybe next year... after I replenish my budget. ^_^

My Journey to Financial Freedom

In 2007, I decided to be financially free!

We tried to live on our 70% and saved the 30%. I started to write down our budget plan to track where we spend most of our hard-earned money. Saving money was difficult since we have huge debts to pay. We want to be debt-free as soon as possible so I listed down all our credit card and loan balances, sorted them out, started paying off those with the smaller amount dues to free up some of the bank's interests. Those that are not zeroed out, we tried to pay higher than the minimum amount. I paid the bills on time so that we won't be charged of the late dues. As much as possible, we pay in cash instead of using our credit cards. We tried to live within our means. It was a long journey but we were able to get out of debt three years after.

Looking at the interest earned from our savings account minus the taxes, I realized that maybe I should try the time deposit which offers a much higher interest rate. So I put our savings in a time deposit for 3 months. But before the three-months-holding-period expires, we had an emergency. I have to pull my investment out and forced to pay for the penalty. Maybe it's not a good idea, anyway. So I sticked on putting our money to our savings account afterwards.

Around 2008, I have read the Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki and learnt that we can have a passive income and an active income. I have also learnt that there are four types of people, The Employee, The Self-Employed, The Businessman and the Investor. We can be two or three of these types. For me, I don't wanna give up my job so I'd still be "The Employee". I also wanna have a passive income but I cannot run a business so I'd like to be "The Investor".

Wow! I'm excited to be "The Investor" while being "The Employee".

I started researching about the whats and hows of investment. I've read about the treasury bonds, UITF, Mutual funds, stock market, and real estates. I am a conservative type of investor so only mutual funds fit into my current financial status. I've learned a lot from the pinoy money talk forums and blogs. I also have read Francisco Colayco's book Wealth within your Reach: Pera mo, Palaguin mo where he discussed how to grow your money in the Philippines. He talked about mutual funds. By the way, I have also read that you should only invest your "extra" money which you won't be needing to pull out for a long period of time.

Mutual Funds. This funds are managed by a professional fund manager who invests the money in stocks, bonds, money market instruments, and/or other securities.

Oh Ok. Since I don't know about stock market, which I thought was very complicated, and government bonds require big sum of money, I'll stick with mutual funds and have these fund managers manage my investments. Ok. Then I chose the balanced fund because I am a conservative type of investor. Fund managers will invest my money in bonds and stocks whichever have the most potential income.

For somebody, like me, who doesn't know how mutual funds really works, taking one step forward was really breathtaking. So I took a deep breath and opened my first mutual fund account with Sun Life Financial. As of the midst of 2008, Sun Life was one of the top performing mutual fund companies. The minimum initial subscription then was only 10,000 pesos. The NAVPS, Net Asset Value Per Share, was only 2.0230.

As per wikipedia, the worst financial crisis happened in 2008 also known as the Global Financial Crisis. It resulted in the threat of total collapse of large financial institutions, the bailout of banks by national governments, and downturns in stock markets around the world. In short, the financial market is down. As per many financial advisers, that's the best time to invest. The idea is to buy low and sell high. You invest when the market is low and and sell your investments when the market high. Good timing, right?

In early 2009, I opened another mutual fund account with ATR Kimeng's The Mutual Fund Company of the Philippines, Inc. The minimum initial subscription then was only 5,000 pesos (As of this writing, it is now 10,000 pesos). It is also one of the top performing mutual fund companies. I have also opened a balanced fund account with Optima fund because my Auntie is an agent and offered it to us. After those investments, I stopped putting in money and settled with their minimum subscriptions and watched how much our money can grow.

In 2011, I checked my accounts and I was surprised that the market value of my investments already doubled. I have increased my investment with ATR Kimeng as soon as I had an extra money.

In the second quarter of 2012, when we started attending The Feast in PICC being Bo Sanchez as the speaker and preacher, he shared how he grows his money so he'd be able to help the poor. He talked about how ordinary people can invest in the stock market. Wow! "Stock Market". Big word! He mentioned about his book My Maid Invests in the Stock Market... And Why You Should, Too! This book talks about how a small portion of your income can be invested in the stock market thru Citiseconline(COL).

Citiseconline(COL) have this Easy Investment Program (EIP) where in you can start with only 5,000 pesos. COL EIP gives investors a simple and more convenient way of investing in the stock market regardless of age, income, or experience.

As per this book, there are four rules to follow:
Rule #1: Invest small amounts
Rule #2: Invest even when there's a crisis
Rule #3: Invest only in giants
Rule #4: Invest in many giants

I opened an EIP account and regularly added an investment. At first, I strictly follow these rules. Through time, I've learn more about the technical terms and timing in the stock market with my husband, my sister and my friends who also got involved in the stock market because of me. At least I'm not alone on taking this path. As of this writing, I don't follow these rules anymore. I know the risks. I take responsibility of my actions. I tried to diversify my investments. I tried day trading. As of mid 2013, I have already realized my earnings when the market was high and started buying shares again when the market was low.

I'm still a work in progress. As I take this journey to financial freedom, I am learning new things along the way. Sometimes, it's worth taking some risk. If you stumble, then learn from the experience.

I hope to inspire you with my journey so that when I become rich someday, you'd also be rich too. Let us help the world prosper especially the Philippines, contribute in the world market, use our God-given talent and be a blessing to others.

Cheers!!!