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Archive for April, 2008
30.04.08

Don’t get in if you don’t know how to get out

- Investing -

Investing lesson for the day from Noet Ravalo:

Before you invest, find out whether selling eventually will be a problem.

The possible earnings may be high based on the best guess-timates, but how do you cash in if no one is buying? Classic examples: time-share, real estate, jewelry, paintings, even certain bonds and stocks can be difficult to sell.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

29.04.08

Gov’t bank targets OFWs with high-yield deposit product

- Financial Planning, Investing, OFW, Saving money, banking, retirement -

money

State-owned Landbank of the Philippines’s sweet deal for OFWs launched yesterday is described in this article.

An annual interest of 7.0% and a maturity of 5.5 years is not bad for anyone’s portfolio. Experts always tout diversification and to do that properly, the risky part should not overshadow the secure and boring part. How to cut the cake exactly depends on personal risk appetites, of course.

It is a fact of life that stocks are sexy and deposits and bonds are boring. ☺ Most of the times, boring is good.
[Read the rest of this entry »]

28.04.08

The 5Cs of diamond rings

- Marriage, credit cards, shopping, spending habits, weddings, women and finance -

Bridal Bouquet Camilla

(Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall leaves a blessing at St Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle after her civil wedding Prince Charles 09 April 2005. It’s easy to overspend on weddings, especially on rings when couples don’t know what to buy. Photo from AFP.)

Raising your eyebrows? You’re saying there are only four Cs?

Cut, color, clarity, carat.

Let me add one more.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

25.04.08

Frugality Week: Vote for the cheapest grocery in the Metro

- Frugality Week, budgeting, buying tips, family finance, food -

Grocery Shopping

a. SM/Hypermarket
b. Landmark
c. Rustan’s
d. Puregold
e. Shopwise
f. Ever Gotesco
g. Cherry Foodarama
h. Metro Gaisano
i. Robinson’s
j. Metro Stop
k. Santis
l. Waltermart
m. Makro
n. PriceSmart

25.04.08

Frugality Week: ‘Good eats’ on low budgets

- Frugality Week, budgeting, family finance, food -

Heat Resto

(Photo courtesy of Michelle Morelos)

With a global food crisis hanging over our heads, should we say goodbye to ‘good eats’?

Here are some tips from MoneySmart friends for enjoying good food even with low budgets:

1. Skip the fruit shakes, juices and signature concoctions! Super mom Kitts Luna-Vibar points out that these drinks cost as much as one dish. And don’t go bottomless if you don’t drink that much!

[Read the rest of this entry »]

24.04.08

Frugality Week: Grocery shopping mistakes you think you’re too smart to make

- budgeting, buying tips, family finance -

Grocery Shopping

1. Too busy to check the lowest or highest shelves.

Heinz Bulos, editor-in-chief of MoneySense magazine, says the most expensive items in the grocery are mostly at eye level. If you want to find bargains, you have to stoop down or look up. “This may not be true all the time, but I did find that it was true in some of the grocery stores I went to,” Heinz says.

We had a good laugh at the fact that I’m only all of 4 feet and 9 inches.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

23.04.08

Frugality Week: Use yummy rice alternatives and extenders

- Frugality Week, family finance -

I love my adobo with rice, but a friend once showed me how to eat it with bread.

Hmmm. Ok, maybe I will if there’s no alternative. But I still would rather have hot, steaming rice.

The Philippines has been eating rice for centuries. Changing an entire nation’s eating habits won’t be easy. But as former socioeconomic planning secretary and UP professor Felipe Medalla pointed out to me a few weeks ago half-jokingly, if Filipinos won’t eat too much rice, there will be no shortage!

[Read the rest of this entry »]

22.04.08

Poll: Who should bring home the bacon?

- Marriage, family finance -

butterflies

(File photo from AFP)

a) Who has the big muscles? Of course, it should be the husband. The wife should stay home with the kids.
b) Do you live in the middle ages? Women can and should have equal rights to work outside the home. Brawn is no longer the world’s currency. Brain is.
c) Husband: There are no opportunities for me out there. Wifey has the upper hand in the labor market. I can stay home and take care of the kids.
d) Wife: I want to work but I am kept home against my will.
e) We are having the time of our lives. We are in business together.
f) Should this be an issue at all?

[Read the rest of this entry »]

21.04.08

Frugality Week: Filipinos throw away P23M daily due to rice wastage

- Frugality Week, Money Myth Busters, So What Chocnut?, alternative investments, budgeting, economy, family finance -

kid and rice

(Photo from Agence France-Presse)

We hardly think about the few mouthfuls of rice left on our plate. Taken together, this daily rice wastage average 15 grams per head, or 1,280 tons per day and cost Filipinos P23 million. Did I say “daily”?!

Mind-boggling.

These are official figures from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), the principal research arm of the government on food and nutrition, that I caught this morning from the television show “Mornings on ANC”.
[Read the rest of this entry »]

18.04.08

The scam that rattled high society

- scams -

High Society

(Photo credit: AFP)

I missed seeing this article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer when it came out in end-March, but I think it’s worthy enough to be shared again in MoneySmarts, just in case you guys missed reading it too.

Say it with me. “If it’s too good to be true…

Enjoy reading!
[Read the rest of this entry »]

Welcome to
Money Smarts, where people can talk freely about personal finance, business, financial independence, the economy and my personal favorite, giving the rat race a kick on the butt. INQUIRER.net business editor Salve Duplito has the floor, but you can freely ask questions and take the mic.
Disclaimer: Readers are solely responsible for their investment decisions; conduct proper due diligence and obtain professional advice. Money Smarts will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a reader's reliance on information obtained from this blog. Money Smarts receives no compensation of any kind from any company or individual mentioned.
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