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

I’ve been on YNAB budgeting system for 3 weeks now. Before that, I was on and off with my envelope budgeting, but since having reformatted computers and moving files, I didn’t have my old spreadsheets anymore so I had to start from scratch.

Why did I buy YNAB?

1. Jesse knows budget matters. Jesse Mecham, who created the YNAB on Excel and as a desktop application is also an accountant, so I trust he knows his spreadsheets.
2. Strong YNAB community. It’s encouraging to see that there are a lot of newbies and YNAB veterans who are still willing to help out. That’s how I got to use…
3. Easy tracking anywhere using YNAB Pocket Mod (how to fold) by fellow YNAB user Mudie. This teeny tiny booklet is where I track all cash expenses. Nifty!
   
   
4. Goodbye envelope plastic case. It can be a hassle going around with a bunch of envelopes. JP would always look at me all weird when I pulled out my envelope case at the cashier. It helps that I’m on my iMac everyday so I update my YNAB at least every other day, while I’m still getting the hang of it.
5. Easy to use. The software is well-documented. True enough, I got started in about 20 minutes using the cheat sheet

4 rules of YNAB

Rule #1 got me hooked. Being an entrepreneur, with variable income (timing andamount), it hasn’t been easy curbing the occasional splurge (like getting 4 pairs of sandals on sale at VNC Glorietta last June *sigh*) when I’ve given up a lot of other luxuries I’d gotten used to (weekly movies, meals out everyday, salon day, etc). So I’m building my buffer, which will help me truly NOT live from paycheck to paycheck.

1. Stop living paycheck to paycheck
2. Give every dollar a job
3. Save for rainy days
4. Roll with the punches

Can’t wait for YNAB Pro on Mac – due 2008. YNAB has two versions, YNAB and YNAB Pro. There’s YNAB Pro ($39.95) for Windows and already compatible with Vista. I got to try it on our HP laptop for initial setup and I really liked the interface. I can’t wait for the Mac version! Thankfully, there’s a toned-down version of YNAB ($19.95 – less than PHP1,000) that works on Excel/NeoOffice/OpenOffice so I went ahead and got my own copy and set it up on the iMac. 3 weeks in and I’m really happy with it. It’s addicting actually, scanning my 3 sheets (Register, Budget, Overview). $39.95 or $19.95 isn’t so bad at all considering you’re going to use it for years.

You can know more about YNAB and order your copy online over at YouNeedaBudget. Pay by credit card (via Paypal or Google Checkout, just make sure there’s “https://” in the address bar) and you’ll get a personalized download link so you can download and install the YNAB Program.

No credit investigation. No income documents required. – Metrobank Value MasterCard application

Good info for freelancers, college students, or newly self-employed who aren’t ready with their income documents yet. You can Share This article through the link at the end of this post.

I will build my own credit and have my own credit card. I only have a supplementary card and debit card now. I could have gotten myself a Gold credit card based on my old salary but I thought that I didn’t have the discipline to control my spending yet (and my mom discouraged – that’s all). I’ll never know now what crazy stuff I would’ve bought before. I probably wouldn’t have quit yet because I probably got “necessities” (like clothes from Zara or an iPod) on installment.

Now, I’m just thinking of the convenience because it’s such a hassle to manually reconcile my cash on hand with the money I spend. My dilemma now is I’m newly self-employed so I can’t produce the financial statements and ITR yet for the application requirements.

The next best solution is getting a secured credit card. I just keep a small amount in the bank and I get to use a part of that amount as my credit limit. After a year or so of good credit behavior, charging a few small items and paying the card bill on time, I’m bound to get an offer for an unsecured card. Get Rich Slowly readers also recommend this for those with no credit history.

Requirements are typically the same as when opening an account, the deposit, deed of assignment on the deposit, and annual and joining fees.

How can I make the best use of a secured card to build my credit rating?

Buy a few things and pay off the card every month. “People should not get these cards to carry any balance,” Sherry says. “It seems you need to make a few purchases and pay for them. It helps to pay in full every month to show you’ve got this excellent credit rating.”
While secured cards make sure you never spend more money than you can afford while they force you to save, it’s not a good idea to keep one any longer than you have to, experts say.
All secured cards have annual fees and higher interest rates than regular, unsecured cards. If you have enough discipline to use a secured card responsibly, you have enough to use an unsecured card and set up a better savings program on your own.
“We recommend to people that it should be a stepping stone,” Sherry says.

I shopped around. I’m not keen on getting BDO because it’s more advantageous if you buy SM, which I rarely do. And I don’t like dealing with the people at the branch near me. I dropped by the BDO Makati Cinema Square branch earlier today. BDO doesn’t offer secured credit cards. No feedback yet from RCBC Bankard if they offer secured credit cards. B

HSBC people are soooo nice. Their phone customer service and personal bankers… I went to the RCBC Plaza branch to inquire and I wanted to open an account right then and there! (No, I haven’t yet) I added a new column in my matrix.
Disclaimer: I inquired with the banks as part of my due diligence. Don’t take what I write as gospel. Please call or visit the banks and conduct your own due diligence if and when you decide to apply for a secured credit card.

The Philippines may be a developing country but hooray! We have stock trading online! You can start for as low as P5,000!

Not ready yet? You may want to play games first. You can also avail of free seminars for beginner investors.

I have listed online stock brokers in the Philippines. I’ve put their details in matrix form for you to be able to assess for yourself which is the right fit for you.

Technorati: learn stock trading philippines, investment seminar philippines, investment seminar, financial analysis, financial education, investor, how to trade stocks, how to buy stocks, how to trade online, citiseconline, citisec, philstocks, bpitrade, bpi, trade, stocks, commodities, online broker philippines, online broker, manila