Most people know Goldilocks for their cakes and pastries.

I like those too… but they’re not all that I come to Goldilocks for.

What those pasalubong people probably don’t know is that Goldilocks has some pretty good meals too.

JP and I always stay late at the office. When we get out past 10pm and still have the energy to walk home and enjoy the late night breeze along Pasong Tamo in Makati, we usually end up eating a late night dinner at Goldilocks. Our usual Goldilocks branch is the one beside BluRackets and across Marvins Plaza and Shell on Pasong Tamo – Herrera. Just the other night, we went again. I’m so thankful they’re open till late because otherwise, I’d probably end up eating a microwave sandwich or hotdog bun from the Select convenience store. And yes I know that’s not healthy.

My favorite meal? An order of laing and siomai! JP got me hooked on laing — and how they do it at  Goldilocks is yummy. It’s tasty, spicy, and it’s sorta veggie right? Or sometimes I’ll have fish or bistek. Whatever, all the meals are the lutong bahay kind so it’s a welcome change from hamburgers and fried food.

You’re the #1 Goldilocks, because you nourish me whenever I have late nights — which is practically all the days of the week!

Not quite. I’ve turned off my job alerts for about a year now. The only time I’m on jobsites is when I’m posting job ads myself for junior web designers, web devs, and interns. Recruiting is so not easy — but just another business skill I’ve had to learn along the way.

Paper screening, phone interviews, writing the perfect job ad, communicating with job sites… I don’t think they teach this even to Psychology majors. Good thing I have CiteHR and HR Philippines to run to.

Back in March I wrote about a sales training program. Maybe *fingers crossed* I’ll get a chance to hone those communication and selling skills at only the most awesome ad network in Asia.

Why apply for a “real job” now?

There’s not much room for me to grow being full-time in Pigmata Media, which is primarily web development and user experience. My 1.5 years with Pigmata have been a lot of trial and error, and will still continue to be. It’s like a 24/7 real-life MBA that you could never be prepared for. All those startup mistakes? We did that. We started with as little capital as we could, took out a lease on a small office (in Makati CBD no less!), no concrete plan — but with dedication and guaranteed client consulting work!

I could probably stay in Pigmata for years, however long it takes to exit. But would I still be happy? Writing and refining our web development proposals took months, servicing those contracts are a whole other story, attracting good talent and giving them a comfortable workspace takes thousands of pesos and lots of time searching and interviewing, pitching and asking for business investments, recovering from bad hires, oh , and nothing can prepare you for the enormous checks for business taxes.

I know I said you should be your own boss. I still believe in that. I still partly own Pigmata. And I still want to tell the world that we have great technologists in the Philippines. I’ve given it a real shot, and practically all my personal resources. I’ve stood up against friends and family and advocated the entrepreneurship life and delayed gratification – I live and breathe it (you should see where I live versus my parents’ home). I’m realizing though, that it doesn’t have to be either-or… and there are a few ‘self-employed’ and ‘employee’ jobs that are actually pretty good. I’ve had enough of you (for now), Steve and Robert Kiyosaki.

Not everyone’s born to be a Donald Trump or Washington Sycip, but we can sure as hell try. But when you’ve given almost 2 years of your life to a consulting startup where you’ve become an above-average Jill of all trades… that’s not my life story.

I need to be around people (new, old, young, nice, smart, not-so-pretty, tenacious, silly, all welcome) I can learn from and be in a group I can help make better — and live healthy and make money along the way, of course. If I do go back to the employee life, one thing I’d probably miss is “being able to decide exactly what to do each day with your time is a massive privilege,” which is as much boon as bane. I used to be excellent in everything I did, I think I need to guide myself back to my golden days.

It’s been a pretty difficult past few months. I visited my cousins in California, ate a lot, enjoyed the (not so) cold climate of Fresno and San Francisco. I enjoyed an attempt to visit the city that never sleeps, ate a lot, visited the Tech Museum, Hearst Castle, reconnected with family friends and hung out with their kids… and ate a lot.

New Look, Recommended Blog Editor

Installed a new theme yesterday and been having fun playing with it. Upgraded to WordPress 2.7 too. The pretty theme is NOT plug-and-play and I’ve had to configure a lot, not just with the theme but with the WordPress installation too. Crossing my fingers that everything works and things will be easier to find. I kept putting off blogging new posts because of how hard it got to deal with my old WordPress. I wrote my first draft in Windows Live Editor then have to come back to WordPress admin for some custom settings. Pretty manageable now.

Soul Searching

My soul searching is far from over. Being quasi-independent and self-employed is really testing me. I try and try to be frugal and think positive thoughts. I’ve accepted that I have to delay gratification – but really, it’s taking super long. I want to have time to blog again about personal finance and to learn new stuff and to meet new extraordinary people – which is pretty hard when you’re trying to do the job of 10 people. I need to commune with my higher self and spirit guides and hear what they have to say, whether I’m still doing the right thing.

I’m considering going back into a normal job that’s either B2B marketing or technology related. I still want to work with numbers, though not necessarily in finance. I majored in accounting because I figured it was the best fit since I was good at numbers and in English writing. Ah, if only I knew then…

I never knew in high school or even college that there were sub-fields of marketing that required proficiency in numbers like data mining, PPC ads management, media planning, ad operations. Very interesting and very new careers to look into that are blossoming. My skills and interests match – but what opportunities are there in my beautiful tropical country?

Sales and B2B Marketing Training

My new personal endeavor is becoming the most effective business development/salesperson ever. I’ve been dying to market our learning web app and time management software, but my partners haven’t had enough time to finish them. I’m a frustrated lightworker who hasn’t had a chance to build and to market a meaningful product that I believe in, that could make an impact.

I want to get into UP ISSI’s April session for Creative Selling Techniques which costs P7,500 for 5 Saturdays — but where to get the cash? I have a bunch of podcasts and books and really want to get to the Sales Shebang Conference in September.

New Stuff

I’ve been addicted to Pet Society, Fashion Wars and all those Zynga war games on Facebook; and Sorority Life on Myspace. Play much? I just like the escape from reality – too bad it wastes so much time. I’m getting over it, thank God.

Got myself a new Compaq CQ60-224NR notebook last January, from Christmas money. I probably should have set it aside for my buffer but it was such a good deal to pass up. I was in the States for a short time and I wasn’t going to get a notebook with such good specs for the price, USD499 plus tax. Being on vacation, I pretty much put my savings and expenses on hiatus. Lesson: still keep track of money in and money out even when on a personal break.

But now, what should I do with the Compaq, preloaded with Vista? It’s grown sluggish, considering it has 3GB RAM?! It’s supposed to be lightning fast, right? But no. I have image editing software and browsers, a few AIR apps for internet marketing, and MS Office. It is eff-ing slow.

• Intel Pentium Dual-Core Mobile Processor T3400 (2.16GHz, 1MB L2 cache)
• Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1
• 3GB DDR2 system memory
• 250GB (5400rpm) SATA hard drive
• 15.6" diagonal WXGA high-definition HP BrightView widescreen display (1366 x 768)
• 802.11b/g WLAN
• HP Webcam with integrated digital microphone

My father’s side has been active in politics. It’s time for me to join the family business.

I’m counting on your support.

BDO is so consistent with their terrible customer service. They make my life f*&king miserable.

I have to vent. If you’re having a great day so far, don’t read lest you absorb the negative vibes I have now after another horrifying blood-pressure-raising episode at the BDO Bagtikan branch.

What branch???

When I make a deposit, like when I pay my rent, so I fill out the deposit slip right? Then I have to know the branch too? Who keeps track of the ‘branch’ these days?

Don’t open your TREASURER IN TRUST FOR TITF account at BDO

We opened our TITF (treasurer-in-trust-for) account there (BDO Bagtikan) when we were still processing our incorporation in 2007. I had to go back 5 times just to open the account, and another 5 times to close the TITF (which you do when you’re already incorporated). They kept asking for photocopies of this and that, and a new format of the secretary’s certificate of this and that, have to see the originals, they even rub the notarial seal — what are they gonna make me notarize again if it doesn’t pass their subjective muster? They wouldn’t accept JP’s ID cards, they talked in a condescending manner the whole time every time not at all service-y or polite.

Other than over-the-counter transactions at the teller, every BDO experience of mine has been horrible. HORRIBLE. It makes me cry now just thinking about it.

Secured credit card — BDO Say What???

I ask about secured credit cards at different branches — ah, no officer even begins to understand what I’m talking about. I have to explain that you open a deposit and then hold-out on it, have a deed of assignment, and use that as security for a credit card. Oooh, they don’t have that anymore. But BDO Customer Service Hotlines say they do.

Lousiest Xoom / Remittance Partner ever

BDO is the Philippine partner of Xoom, which we sometimes use for remittances from the US. One time, Xoom suddenly deleted our bank from their affiliate banks so our remittance went nowhere. That’s probably Xoom’s fault. But they assigned it by default to Equitable PCI — where we don’t even have an account. Stupid? Mindless? Ah yes.
We had a Xoom remittance for pickup today. Like I did a couple of weeks ago, for which they gave me hard time because my IDs say Lourdes Marie C. Casas… but the remittance indicates Marie C. Casas. But they gave it to me anyway because I had the right ‘secret word’. So the same thing happened today, and they wouldn’t give it to me. Yeah, as if there’s some other Marie C. Casas with the correct password with the correct amount with the correct reference number. I’m usually empathetic, that they’re just doing their jobs, but they just stood there — not giving me any feasible solution that would make the stakeholders happy (me and my sender).

I swear. I had to put my head down and command myself to breathe in, breathe out. My eyes were fluttering, my heart was pounding, my blood was boiling.

I HATE BDO.
I know I am not alone.
You’re growing too fast for your own good.
But yes, it’s nice of you to keep open longer hours and on weekends.
Maybe you should think about investing in showing your people what CUSTOMER DELIGHT means instead of gobbling up all other banks.

Tags: bdocustomer service, bdo feedback, banco de oro

Guys, please allow me to share an anecdote about my sister. Thank you for your patience. I’m going through Steve Pavlina’s self-discovery exercises right now as well as managing pigmata.com. I may take the RFP program soon… if only I got a discount.

My Sister’s Sandwich

“Could you check on Mavic? She’s been throwing tantrums about something at Coffee Bean — I don’t know what she’s crying about.” Mom welcomed me on my Sunday visit.
“What are you talking about?”
“We went to ATC yesterday and she wanted to order something you got for her but she didn’t know what it was called.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“She was so upset,” Mom continued, “she couldn’t sleep last night.”
I went upstairs to look for my 14-year-old sister. Mavic was in my parents’ bedroom watching anime. I kissed her cheek.
“What did you want from Coffee Bean?”
Her face crumpled at the memory.
“We ordered it before. Sandwich.” She babbled, “You ordered when Mommy. Before. The sandwich!”
I racked my brains to recall a time when we ate at Coffee Bean. At Alabang Town Center?
“The pesto breadsticks I from Tea Square? The stall near Coffee Bean?”
I never buy cake at Coffee Bean ATC. Once I bought a revel bar — didn’t like it. But I do buy at Greenbelt or Convergys… why exactly?
“No! We waited for Mommy.”
Hmm… we waited for Mommy. In Makati? Just that one time.
I suggested Mavic to order my usual sandwich…
“Roast chicken chipotle sandwich? With foccaccia bread? There’s chicken inside and a little green?”
“Yeah that!” A smile broke through my sister’s was-clouded face.
I stood up to look for a scrap of paper and pen.
“Here. Keep this in your wallet.” I wrote Roast chicken chipotle sandwich. P169.

The following Sunday, we visited our Lola in Malamig, Laguna. From Laguna, we went straight to University Belt to pick up Tricia’s stuff then back to Alabang — to get that elusive gourmet sandwich! Mavic and I walked to Coffee Bean in ATC… and the sandwich was out of stock.

MarieCasas.com is now Money Management for Young Entrepreneurs by SexyMoneyGenius.

Inasmuch as I advocate personal finance for Filipinos, I couldn’t relate anymore to the budgeting methods and advice that would be suited to a lot of Filipinos who are employed. I’m training myself to get into the entrepreneurial mindset. Cash flows, when you start a business, just don’t come as regular paycheck anymore.

I co-founded a web startup in 2007. We incorporated, applied for business permits, run overhead costs, and all the necessary tasks of running a business. My “emergency fund” from when I quit my job in March 2007 was just about running out. I need to find a way to stabilize my income and typical personal finance advice just don’t cut it anymore.

I couldn’t “save 10%” or invest in financial instruments anymore because I didn’t have inflows. I want to find out how people who start a business manage their money, if they’re even able to budget their personal expenses anymore.

You have to advance money for the company because business loans haven’t come in yet. Or the business isn’t qualified for loans yet and now neither are you. How do startup entrepreneurs establish credit? How do they pay personal bills? Find friends who understand their plight? Talk to fellow young entrepreneurs who want to talk about business ideas and not about their lame bosses or hours of overtime?

I’m happy to work 70-hour workdays… or more. I want to catch up on all my old leadership and marketing and business newsletters and RSS feeds. I’m happy to enjoy a large Caramel Ice Blended coffee (no whip) at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, but I guess I’m not supposed to be able to afford it. But I like enjoying my movies with JP, I like eating out and I should have my hair treated once in a while. I have lots to learn, new habits to develop, new experiences to laugh and cry about, new corporate bigwigs to charm, new blogs and financial or business writers to discover!

I’ve switched from the calendar plugin to a public Google calendar feed for the personal finance events so you can easily subscribe. Just check out the footer.

Happy holidays!

Everyone wants to go abroad.

Two of my high school friends, Rachel and Joy will go to the California, US and Australia to try to establish a new life in “greener pastures”. My aunt is always pushing me to find work abroad for me to prosper. Yeah, I’ll be in Hong Kong later this month for the HPAIR 2007 Business Conference for a couple of weeks – but that’s just to visit.

Why would I want to leave? Not because of the money…

• Freedom from this “conservative” society – yet decisions are made on principles and morals, not your environment
• Run away from corruption-infestation – traffic enforcement, long lines to get a passport or a license – ah, the simple joys of living in a corrupted developing country?
• Young e-commerce and web startup industry. It’s rare to find talented web and software developers and programmers who are willing to give up a cozy job to bootstrap a startup and develop something new and innovative.
• Independence – Close family ties have the benefit of saving you rent money but also distorts the concept of independence for young adults. My parents would take it against me if I move out within the metropolis, but it would be okay if I lived alone in another country.I want to stay in the Philippines.

I have no immediate (or medium-term) plans of going abroad to find work. For graduate studies maybe but I’m fine living here in Manila, Philippines. I’d also rather move to the cities of Cebu or Davao when I settle down.

I’m one of the rare Filipinos who won’t go abroad.

Prosperity in entrepreneurship and investing. There’s money to be made right here! Henry Sy is expanding SM by at least 5 SM Supermalls every year and Jollibee is going into the carinderia industry. Heck, the Chinese, Indians, Koreans, and Western expats are migrating here because there’s money to be made off us!

Things are looking up! I almost cried when I heard on the radio that Dr. Romulo Neri was the new Chair of CHED. On one side, the the public now has to confront the reality of the worsening “mismatch” in the education sector. Fortunately, 88% of female college students are starting to recognize the vast potential in the Philippine market and want to become entrepreneurs.

“To solve that mismatch, we have to reorient our education system, particularly higher educatio… So we have to go through more ‘techvoc,’ or technical-vocational, engineering courses. We’re promoting entrepreneurship, education reoriented to entrepreneurship, instead of just [studying to be able to get] employment, among other things.” [Neri is education czar 7/29/07 Inquirer]

On the other hand, the currently unemployed and “mismatched” have to recognize that self-employment, starting their own business, and learning right money management can give them a better life than any instant cash loan or pitiful job (“just for the sake of having a job”) they don’t like.

Low cost of living. Infrastructure isn’t perfect and pollution in Metro Manila is so bad. Still, the Philippines has the conveniences of broadband internet connection, telecommunications. A single individual can live comfortably on $500 a month or even less and still have savings.

Filipino families in the Philippines can even afford a house maid ($2/day) to take care of laundry, cleaning the house, and tending to the children. We spend too like the Westerners but we manage to keep the costs down.

In comparison, just look at the string of OFW-themed movies that display the good and bad of working abroad. It’s sad how they work their asses off, live less comfortably than in the Philippines, and are unable to build enough funds for retirement or for a business.

• Dubai (Claudine Barretto, John Lloyd Cruz, Aga Muhlach)
• Milan
• Anak
  [youtube tdH3u0WFZyI]

Do something for the Philippines. I truly want to make a difference – whether it’s just accompanying someone to a money management seminar, or finishing a project for a new client or spreading the campaign for financial literacy. I’m happy to do what I can from my home base.

Tags: aga muhlach, claudine barretto, dubai, movie, ofw, filipino abroad, migrant filipinos, jollibee carinderia, sm supermalls, sm build new malls, why filipinos go abroad, personal development, web startup philippines

Watch out for the new website (PinoyMillionaire) that will revolutionize personal finance in the Philippines. Here’s my introduction to be placed at the PinoyMillionaire homepage. Is it a tad too long?

Dear Modern Filipino,

Financial education plays a key role in improving the lives of Filipinos, both here and abroad.

Reality bites. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer – and with good reason. The rich understand personal finance; if they are able to financially educate their children, they get richer at exponential rates and so on. On the other side of the riles (tracks), the poor spend what they earn for daily necessities and lottery tickets, which their children imitate when they grow up. This spirals them down into poverty.

Something has to change. Hard-working employees work 50-70 hours a week so they never make time to learn about personal finance. They take advantage of housing loans, car loans, personal loans, and all other types of loans. With so many expenses going up, they may never build up enough retirement funds.

Dying broke is scarily far more common than dying rich.

Malls are a spending haven for yuppies with pre-approved credit cards. Very few companies in the Philippines provide financial literacy seminars (how to manage debt or how to save for retirement) to their employees. Parents don’t know how to invest the right way so they can’t teach their children the right way either. Parents even expect the school to teach their kids about personal finance – but the curriculum only covers basic economics.

I honestly believe that a higher level of financial literacy could decrease the level of corruption. If corrupt officials knew how to live below their means and save and share with their morals intact, the situation may not be as bad.

I’m not saying be centavo-wise and peso-foolish either. Choosing to eat fish balls at the street vendor where it’s flavored with gas fumes so you can save your money is not as smart as spending a bit more to eat in a sanitary BFAD-approved canteen. Those P300 shoes may not last a month but the P2,000 pair may last for 2 years. Buy wisely.

I dream of all rich Filipinos. *I’m getting teary-eyed as I write this.* You don’t have the excuse of not having information anymore because I’m giving it to you here – at no cost. Stop “investing” in that lotto ticket and start making yourself rich the right way.

To your health and wealth,

Marie Casas
Founder
PinoyMillionaire.Com

Special thanks in advance to JP - the best and best-looking web designer/developer!

Based on empirical evidence gathered by Dr. Thomas Stanley (author of The Millionaire Mind), my traits would fit me right into the rat race. Simply put, Marie’s mind IS NOT a Millionaire Mind. I STRONGLY DISAGREE. I CHOOSE to disagree.

Built to be an employee

I have to acknowledge though that majority of my track record to date does not quite fit with the majority of the millionaires that Dr. Stanley studied.I have always been an honor student (Studies show that most successful entrepreneurs have average performance in school.).

Unlike most entrepreneurs who built their own wealth, I have always lived comfortably enough (not too posh) and never felt the need to find other ways to succeed in life because my grades, awards, and co-curricular activities have been good enough to get me to junior executive jobs in good companies fresh from college and/or law or business school if I wanted.

After graduating from DLSU and obtaining my Certified Public Accountant license, I worked for a couple of months as a junior officer Finance at a top international bank. I then entered as a management trainee at a multinational FMCG. I was never quite happy. I was constantly complaining and never happy about going to work everyday even though my gross pay was bigger than some staff who may be working for more than 10 years. It must be partly due to being the eldest child, being used to (quasi) independence, and the yearning for and knowledge that there is something more. I wanted to be free to pursue my economics studies and research projects, have fun with JP and my friends and sisters, start a business, travel, write and so many more! 24 hours a day aren’t enough for my dreams.

Reality of the rat race

My boyfriend JP says it’s not how long we’ve been going out, it’s the intensity or the quality of the time that we do spend together that matters. Some couples have been together for 10 months but only have a dinner or movie date once or twice a month. I hardly think that can build a strong relationship. I’m going with the same frame of thinking. It’s not how long I’ve worked as an employee in any company that’s going to matter in my life. IN MY LIFE. I’m going to look at the quality of my dreams, my achievements, my memories, my assets, my friends and family time, my thoughts and emotions.

Robert Kiyosaki‘s first lesson from his rich dad : he had to miss his Saturday baseball games because he was told to work in the dad’s store for a measly 10 cents per hour. In less than a month, he got fed up and realized that rich dad says not to trade time for money. Don’t work for money. Build systems and processes to have money work for you. I’ve read and heard this so many times from big guys (who know what they’re talking about!) so I know it theoretically. The same epiphany came to me 7 months after getting into the employee route.

I say, Filipinos are in dire need of good financial education and sound personal finance habits. This is my contribution.

It takes courage and an open mind to get out. Until we get to the age of 65, 88% will be dead or dead broke. That’s why it’s hard to get out of the rat race, trading time and youth for money – because practically everyone’s there! It’s going to be lonely if you’re not with them 88%.

I’m not against hard work

I’m not afraid of hard work. I can do loads of overtime, lose sleep, and even spend my own money. I used to do volunteer work and ran a big student organization for 3 years, taking time away from school or potential part-time income – just because I loved it.

I want to do what I like, to like what I do, and to see that it has an impact on people’s lives. I want to at least see the value that my effort gives to them. The value of something I do should be rewarded at the true economic benefit that it gives to others, not some value that’s net of corporate income tax, business taxes, indirects or overhead, electricity, advertising, dividend income for others, and other considerations. Don’t you think you deserve that?

Dream big

It’s possible. I can see my Tagaytay house and lot where JP and I will live in the next few years. My children will study in the International School system and will learn about money smarts at a young age. I’ll get my parents a place too for their relaxation.

It’s going to happen in this lifetime. My mom handled her money well. From a child selling flowers in the market, she managed to send us to good schools and to buy us a really nice house. She even got me a car. Our expenses aren’t going to lessen anytime soon though so I know I also need to make that geometric growth in my income happen that straight-line salaries can’t.

Next time, I’ll tell you about ways I’ve found to realize these big dreams.

Technorati: personal finance, retirement, savings,budget, how to start saving, start a business, money management, financial adviser, financial adviser, money advise, money sense, personal financial planning, entrepreneurship, starting a business, financial education, money lessons, make money online, online business, quarter life crisis, adversity, entrepeneurship, gonegosyo, pinoy entrepreneur, pinoy business, employee vs entrepreneur, employee versus entrepreneur, intrapreneurship