(This post is written by Bianca for Money Makeover)

May you live in interesting times, is one Chinese saying, or curse, whichever way you want to look at it. We do live in interesting times. Just when we thought that we are probably getting it right, calamity struck. Our car was taken. It was not insured.

A little background.

The hubby drives a 9-year-old truck that was the apple of his eyes. His brother handed it down to us four years ago. We paid the balance whenever we could and had already given a total of P90,000, the last installment just very recently. There is, of course, the cost of maintaining it which ran up to some P200,000 over the years. He had dreams of “dressing” it up – in March, he bought it a P20,000 set of wheels filled with nitrogen. He wanted it “lifted”, repainted, made into a macho monster truck. It was a constant companion when we moved furniture, or people, from here to there, and a comfort in the many times that my much-older car has broken down or was being repaired. He never wanted a new one. He was content and happy, my boo.
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I can spot them 50 feet away — mommies with not a single strand of hair out of place, carrying tiny handbags, and with fingernails done to perfection. Mommies who are slim, trim, and confident. Sometimes, I wonder if I decided too early to be a work-at-home mom.

Think big, bulky, baby bags and endless trips to the pediatrician. Gone are the regular trips to the parlor for hair spa and I have long since traded my strappy sandals for comfy ToeBerries.

While interviewing Education Secretary Jesli Lapus at the sidelines of a conference last year with the World Bank senior guy looking on, I saw him eyeing my notebook suspiciously after I turned a page to take down notes. The entire spread was full of scribbles made by my two-year old son. Using a big-point permanent marker, I might add.
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We answered this question in our personal finance feature today:

Question: I am one of the thousands of people who live in Quezon City but work in Makati City. That means I drive some 20 kilometers to work every day, and that’s just one way. I tried commuting but it’s impossible during rush hour. With the price of gasoline going up, travel to and from work makes a huge dent in my budget. Is there any relief in sight for us? – Josephine P.

We all will have to deal with the rising cost of gas, whether or not we are from Quezon City, Bulacan, Cavite, Cebu or Davao. The most terrible forecast I have heard so far is for a full tank to cost P30,000. That’s almost the take-home pay of senior call center agents.
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Almost everyone wants to be told what to do.

Put P10,000, P100,000, P1 million here, here and here. Choose this company, dump that one. Buy now, sell in three years. Sell Glutathione while it’s hot…

Attend a seminar to find your life-partner. Write your dreams, send your thoughts out to the cosmos at four in the morning everyday so that the universe can respond to your desires and one day you will wake up a multi-millionaire with a house in Ayala, Alabang.
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Inflation clocked in at 9.6 percent in May, a 9-year high, says our banner article today. Citigroup expects inflation to reach 8.3 percent for the entire year. At the core of this economic indicator are two basic things: prices are skyrocketing and our savings and investments are getting squeezed.

Should you be worried? What does a 9.6 percent figure mean?

First, it’s just a hair’s breadth away from double-digit inflation and is the highest since January 1999.
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Reader DB responded to my request for tips on how to get 50.0 percent to 75.0 percent off 5-star hotels and resorts and she responded with this comment. Sharing with you here so that it’s easier to find:

I go by the following:

1. Research and compare — Farecast.com tracks fares on given periods. I also use Quikbook.com, Kayak.com, and other travel search engines. Check hotel or airline websites for deals and promotions. For hotels, call the local hotel, and compare with the online price and the price given via their 1-800 (central office) — yes, these rates may be different. For US business travels, I use Hotwire.com and Priceline.com (sometimes Hotels.com) — I get the best rates from them including car rentals.

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