Work-Life Balance

Bank owned property listing websites updated!

2009-12-10T02:36:00.004+08:00

I was finally able to update my list of bank websites in the Philippines that contained bank owned property listings. Please check it out here: The Ultimate List Of Philippine Bank Websites With Online Bank Owned Property Listings

My Day 6 Output For The Thirtyday Challenge

2009-04-23T07:23:00.003+08:00

Yesterday was day 6 of the Thirty Day Challenge and it was very rewarding! The past days' activities culminated to the creation of this blog of mine: http://makingmoneyideas.traffic4pros.com. Next step is to create and publish my first blog post.

9 Ways To Invest In Foreclosures And Earn Money | Foreclosed Real Estate Philippines

2009-04-18T23:17:00.000+08:00

9 Ways To Invest In Foreclosures And Earn Money | Foreclosed Real Estate Philippines

This is how I intend to get life balance, without the need to have a full-time job!

19 Free Legal Forms And Contracts From Philippine Legal Forms | Foreclosed Real Estate Philippines

2009-04-11T08:59:00.002+08:00

I finally remembered to post this free list of Philippine legal forms. Check it out through the following link: 19 Free Legal Forms And Contracts From Philippine Legal Forms | Foreclosed Real Estate Philippines

Five Things to Consider when Buying Foreclosures | Foreclosed Real Estate Philippine_

2009-01-30T08:38:00.000+08:00

Five Things to Consider when Buying Foreclosures | Foreclosed Real Estate Philippine_

PINOY MONEY ONLINE: Make Money with Get Paid to Click PTC Sites

2008-11-17T16:42:00.000+08:00

PINOY MONEY ONLINE: Make Money with Get Paid to Click PTC Sites

This is a great addition to making multiple streams of income!

October 2008 CPA Board Exam Results

2008-10-22T06:32:00.002+08:00

The results are finally out and 2,442 out of 6,663 examinees passed the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Licensure Examination administered by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) on October 2008! Congratulations!

Check below to view the complete list of passers.

The Top 10 new CPAs are:
1. Richie Jackson Taguinod Padilla, University Of Saint Louis-Tuguegarao — 92.71%
2. Ziff Calvin Rigor Marabillo, Silliman University — 92.14%
3. Joanes Albert Batalla De Vera, Far Eastern University-Manila — 92.00%
4. Richellou Jamaica Ortega Lenon, University Of The Philippines-Diliman — 91.86%
5. Hazel Angeline Quiapos Abenoja, Bicol University-Legazpi — 91.57%
6. Mhark Almario Serato, De La Salle University-Manila — 91.43%
7. Kristine Jennifer Discaya Chua, University Of The Philippines-Diliman — 91.29%
8. Adrian Hizon Bajador, University Of The Philippines-Diliman — 91.14%
9. Raymund Christian Sayco Ong Abrantes, Ateneo De Davao University — 91.00%Teejay Tamayo Banal, Jose Rizal University (JRC) — 91.00%Apple Amatorio Canaya, University Of The Philippines-Visayas-Iloilo City — 91.00%Jessica Madriaga Delos Reyes, Adamson University — 91.00%Melody Jade Figueroa Quilana, University Of Northern Philippines-Vigan — 91.00%Leomar Gabon Velez, Polytechnic University Of The Philippines-Main-Sta. Mesa — 91.00%
10. Edison Ramirez Bautista, Wesleyan University Of The Philippines-Cabanatuan City — 90.86%Mark Jerson Rodriguez Pulohanan, University Of The Philippines-Visayas-Iloilo City — 90.86%

Click here to get the complete list of passers.

Google wants well-rounded staff

2008-10-20T12:28:00.004+08:00

By MARGARITA BAUZA • FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER • October 19, 2008

It's no surprise that employees at the Internet search giant Google -- whose wacky cubicles are known for their Mr. Potato Head, superhero and Elmo doll adornments -- was ranked as southeast Michigan's top workplace in the medium-sized company category (151-500 workers).
"Our culture is something that we take a lot of pride in," said Jake Parrillo, spokesman for Google, which has offices in Ann Arbor and Birmingham. "Everything that we do, we do to make a better work environment for employees."

Employees enjoy a vast menu of in-house perks that include massages, free gourmet lunches and gyms. Dogs can come in for visits. The Ann Arbor facility is the headquarters for Google's AdWords operations.

Davang Shah, 32, head of marketing for automotive, said truth and openness came to life for him when he came to Google. He and his boss share an office, which encourages free-flowing discussion.

"Out of that come the best ideas," he said. "It's not very hierarchical. It's an organization that values ideas and not where they came from."

Shah has been at Google for 13 months after three years at Ford Motor Co. He receives the training he needs to do his job, and his bosses encourage him to take time off, placing a premium on employees continuing to be well-rounded individuals.

Volunteering is one of the favorite aspects of his job -- whether it's painting a school, working at a soup kitchen, or raising money for breast cancer research.
He also appreciates the diversity in employees when it comes to skills, ethnicity and religious backgrounds.

"When I look at the organization as a whole, experiences go far beyond auto-related experiences, start-ups, tech, advertising," he said. "I believe strongly that that leads to better, well-rounded ideas."

But the most rewarding part of his job is that he enjoys what he does.

"I look forward to coming to work, I'm tested in a way that I haven't been tested before and that I have the resources and work in collaborative environment to do what's best for the client."
Grady Burnett, director of online sales and operations, says Google's success lies in that collaborative environment.

"Everyone is empowered to solve big problems, we encourage them to take on challenges, that it's something they should own."

Community involvement seems to make a big difference in employees' lives, he added.

"We've seen a lot of great success and commitment in this area," he said. "The majority of people I work with are very civic-minded people. I think it gives a feeling of purpose and belonging to the broader community and it's fun to do these projects."

All I can say is wow! Those lucky bastards! I wish I was one of them. -Jay Castillo-

From : http://www.freep.com/article/20081019/BUSINESS06/810190398/1019/BUSINESS

Living Paycheck-to-paycheck? Be your own CFO!

2008-10-19T04:39:00.005+08:00

I've said to myself before that I would be a lot better with my finances if I would only treat my personal income the way a CFO would manage the finances of the company he/she works for. Imagine if you tracked your income and expenses and know at any given time your net cashflow for the month. Personally it was really hard at the start but with the right tools and mindset, I was able to do it.

Anyway, to get you started, why not try reading Flexo's explanation on how he’s become the Chief Financial Officer of his own life.

More than a year ago, this inspired me to start using MS Money to track and manage my own finances. It only took me a month to go from living paycheck-to-paycheck to having a positive monthly cashflow. After a year, i can confidently say that I have managed to save at least 25% of my total income, which are now in various investments. The breakdown of where my income went to is summarized below.

I'll make another more detailed post about this in the future.

Tell me if you found this as helpful as I did!

The Secret to Life Balance: Stop Multi-Tasking and Start Multi-Purposing

2008-10-18T22:00:00.000+08:00

By Carol Ring

If you're like most people, you've encountered situations where you had to do something, even though there was something else you really wanted to do. Perhaps you wanted to take the kids to a movie, but you had to finish a project for work. Or maybe you had to attend a meeting, but you wanted to spend the afternoon working out. Chances are that whatever you had to do won out, and what you wanted to do got put on the back burner…yet again. Such a scenario happens all the time. People are torn being doing what they want to do (which usually involves personal activities) and doing what they have to do (which usually involves work activities). As such, they're continually searching for life balance-the buzzword of the 80s and 90s that gave people yet another thing to stress about. Consequently, too many people are running at a crazy pace in all directions, all day, only to end up exhausted, unfulfilled, stressed, and dreading that it's going to be exactly the same tomorrow.

Wouldn't it be great if you didn't have to choose between personal and work activities-between what you have to do and what you want to do? Fortunately, such an option does exist. You simply need to stop multi-tasking and start multi-purposing. Read More about it from the source.

When I read this I thought to myself this was the story of my life. Well, not anymore, thanks to this article!

UP Oblation Run Pictures

2008-06-23T07:48:00.000+08:00

Not something you see everyday, Honorable Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay surrounded by naked guys with their penises exposed.

I wonder if my wife who finished her studies at UP would actually look forward to this event. I chanced upon this picture at pinoymoneytalk.com.

Click on this link to see more

If you hate rich people, you'll never become rich

2008-05-29T12:05:00.000+08:00

I was getting coffee during break time when I heard some officemates talking about people who where rich like they were the scourge of the earth.

It then occurred to me that these guys will never become rich because thy hate rich people. If you hate them, then you definitely don't want to be like them. If you don't want to be like them, you most certainly won't be like them and this will happen through the decisions that they would be making for the rest of their lives. Makes sense right?! Of course people who get rich at the expense of others are a different story and should not be admired or emulated.

Think about it...

Our HP DL380 crashed...

2008-04-23T02:45:00.000+08:00

After an extended power outage, our e-mail server conked out and wont even POST. Our server is an HP DL380 G4 and I never thought that this 3 year old server would fail this soon and require a system board replacement. Oh well, Murphy's Law has come back with a vengeance.

Hopefully we'll get the server back online with the arrival of the replacement system board.

Too much on my plate

2008-04-23T02:37:00.000+08:00

This will be my first post after 5 months, obviously I've been too busy to update my blog. Well at least a lot of great things have been happening lately. Let's see, I have joined REBAP Marikina chapter, I have just conquered my fatty liver (my liver enzymes are now within normal levels thanks to Liveraide), I have finally decided to buy a Hyundai Getz 1.5L CRDI, and of course, my wife has just passed the 2007 bar exams, yipee!!!

I'll discuss more about all of these in the coming days...

Real Estate Broker Licensure Exam.

2007-11-26T12:17:00.000+08:00

I just finished taking the November 2007 Real Estate Broker Licensure examination last November 25, 2007. Thanks to the very hard review class practise exams given to us by the Urban Institute of Real Estate c/o Engr. Enrico Cruz, the actual exam was quite easy. Our practise exams were usually fill-in the blanks while the actual exam was multiple choice. Can't wait to get the results!

My first attempt on real estate...

2007-10-15T23:48:00.000+08:00

This happened more than 2 months ago, after just 2 weeks of attending the weekly cashflow sessions at charter house. I high-lighted promising properties in a listing from BPI's asset management group and when I showed the list to my mentor, she ponted out this 1 property in Makati that was probably worth looking into because of its good location. This was a BSA condo unit that measured 34sqm and was for sale for about 2M. The day before(which was a Tuesday) I already called BPI to check if the unit was still available. They said I can visit the unit anytime. During the cashflow meeting, we decided to visit the unit on Saturday. Come Saturday, Karen, Glenn, Earth and myself visited the property and found the unit as a great deal.

Here are the numbers. Comparable condo units were selling at about 2.5M to 3.0M, meaning I could get at least P500,000 in profit if I flipped the property. If I were to go for cashflow, I could get at least P6,000 monthly positive cashflow. I could even get more if I were to rent it out to an expat. Take note that this condo was just a stone's throw away from AIM and greenbelt 3.

Come Monday, I already drafted a proposal which I faxed to Karen so she could show to Ms. Dinna for her comments. While waiting for her feedback, I decided to call BPI to check on the property. I was shocked to find out that the property was already sold last Friday, the day before we visited it.

I guess it was a really good deal as the bank officer told me the buyer bought it in cash. Oh well, no need to feel bad as I am sure that there are other properties out there... I just have to keep finding those great deals.

Lessons learned:

1. Great properties are sold quickly, fast and decisive action is key.
2. Do the numbers fast, I created a simple excel sheet to do this, based on sample computations in Larry Gamboa's book, Think Rich Pinoy!.
3. It's all about location, location, location... I am now on the lookout for condos in this great location. I am more sure that I will be making my money when I buy, not when I sell, I'm not doing any speculation as this is based on the present market value of comparable properties.
4. I found out that this bank sold properties through mortgage loans, which meant I must be able to meet their financial requirements. Although I was confident on this, it would still take more time as compared to banks that sell properties through a contract-to-sell. You can read more about this in Dinna Revilla's book, Riches in Foreclosures.

More to come...

Money Management Works!

2007-10-15T23:37:00.000+08:00

It's been almost 2 months now since I started to implement T. Harv Eker's principles on how I manage my money. Although the percentages are not yet exactly at the levels described in the book, I am at least able to set aside 10% of my salary each payday for my financial freedom account. The rest are still lower but its a work in progress.

The funny thing is that my salary is still the same, yet about 3 months ago, I could barely make ends meet and I was like living paycheck-to-paycheck. I guess the universe really does pay attention to how we play the money game. No doubt about it, I'm playing to win!

I'm back!

2007-09-30T07:36:00.000+08:00

Been out of circulation for awhile, so many things happened the past month and I never got to make an entry here since. Anyway I'm back and I made it through a bout with vertigo, my wife's bar exams, a crisis at the office, and a real estate deal that almost made me go 20% closer out of the rat race...whew.

Free seminar: Investing in the Stock Market Today

2007-08-02T14:26:00.000+08:00

If you want to learn more about investing in stocks, click here. The best part about this is its free and it's highly recommended as seen here. Thanks Jomar!

Think Rich Pinoy(the Seminar) with Bo Sanchez live @ August 18,2007

2007-07-31T23:23:00.000+08:00

Pop Quiz Time!
1. Are you working harder than your salary?
2. What is your money's profession?
3. Can you answer these two simple questions?

A lot of people have dreams of being free to do what they want in life but are stuck in jobs-working hard.
Most of them don't know that their money must work harder than they do.

Bo Sanchez & Larry Gamboa has been teaching how to do this for 3 years now. And you must give yourself a chance to know how it's done.

Attend the NEW Think Rich Pinoy! Seminar (featuring Kiyosaki's CashFlow 101 game) on
Saturday, August 18, 2007, 8:00am to 5:00pm, Philam Life Bldg. UN Ave.

(Not in the Philippines but Interested? Keep reading).
* To reserve a seat, please check availability first by texting 0917-850-5681
Deposit Php1450 (see below for promos) to: BPI Account:Espiritu Santo Technologies Int'l Inc;
Account# 8291007318.
After depositing, email richteamevents+forum@gmail.com for the scanned deposit slip and
registration info such as full name, nickname, address, home/ofc no., mobile no. and
birthdate.

What's new for Think Rich Pinoy August 2007?
--------------------------------------------

-Bo Sanchez will be there, live.

-Removing the blocks that prevent you from acting

-Actual people --who have just SOLD their FIRST & SECOND Foreclosed property--will tell their story (this is a continuing saga).

-More details & stories from Larry's New Mentoring Sessions

-Foreclosed property buying step by step

-Using other people's resources to get that property

2 ways to shave off that price
---------------------------------
Seminar Investment is : P 1450.- (includes lunch)

10% off: Early Bird Discount: 10% off, pay Php1,300 only.- (Valid until Aug. 03,2007)

50% Off: Limited Seats! Graduates of previous ThinkRichSeminars pay only P 725.-

Want to GET a sponsor? Read on and we'll show you how.

Families of OFWs, this is for you.
-------------------------------------------------
If you know any Overseas Filipino Loved Ones who are coming home by August -invite them to go with you to this seminar. Larry's team will
teach you both how to convert all those remittances into passive income -so Filipino family members can finally come home to their
families.

If they cannot come, ASK THEM TO SPONSOR YOU. It will be money well spent. After you attend, tell them all about it.

For those who've read the book Think Rich, Pinoy!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most of you want to start but can't. Larry & Bo will also teach you how to remove the blocks that prevent you from moving forward and increasing
your income. This is material covered in his newest book, Grow Rich, Pinoy!.

FORWARD This: If you're already attending the August 18 event, please forward this email to others, who like you--may be interested in getting PASSIVE INCOME or applying Kiyosaki's concepts in the Philippines.

Sometimes getting sick is okay...

2007-07-31T23:03:00.000+08:00

... As long as it is not that serious. I was on sick leave today due to a mild flu and cough and cold. My wife took care of me and I had a wonderful time spent with my cute and adorable baby boy. Now that's work-life balance!

Work-Life Balance - You get it through Financial Freedom

2007-07-30T10:03:00.000+08:00

Financial freedom, that is my goal. Just what is financial freedom? From the game Cashflow 101 by Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, it is simply having more passive income than your expenses. It means you don’t have to work a single day for the rest of your life as you are already out of the rat race. Passive income? Rat race? What are those you may ask? You wake up early in the morning, go to work, work hard all day, get a salary, pay your bills, wake up early in the morning, go to work, work hard all day, get a salary, pay your bills… a never ending cycle. That’s the rat race. If you are in the rat race, you are at the mercy of your employer or your source of income that is not passive. You simply have to work hard, otherwise, you won’t have food on the table, no water, no shelter... get the picture?! Passive income is income that goes to your pocket whether you lift a finger or not. With this blog, I’ll try to share my thoughts and experiences on my journey to financial freedom, along with all the adventures in my work and family life, and how I am constantly balancing the two. Of course work-life balance is definitely easier to achieve when you are out of the rat race.

In some way, I would also like to thank and give credit to the kind hearted individuals out there who have become my friends, mentors, or who have helped me one way or another in this journey of mine. I hope this would be of help to those who are also on the same journey. This would also be a good place to announce to the world when I have already achieved financial freedom… which is soon, very soon!!!