http://blogs.inquirer.net/moneysmarts Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:31:08 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en What is this thing called inflation? The man on the street cares less for the word than for the price of galunggong on his table, but they are one and the same. Simply put, inflation measures price increases –- and whether you live in Forbes Park or on Gov. Forbes ... http://blogs.inquirer.net/moneysmarts/2008/07/04/personal-finance-roundup-inflation-is-everybody%e2%80%99s-problem/ Runaway debt wearing you down? Don’t know what to do? Having a hard time finding a sympathetic listener? Pour it all out and pop me an email at lightdream (at) gmail (dot) com with your story or comment on this post. Let’s see if we can get bankers and experts to ... http://blogs.inquirer.net/moneysmarts/2008/07/03/personal-finance-philippines-runaway-debt-trauma/ You all love Warren Buffett, right? Would you pay $2.1 million to have lunch with the oracle of Omaha like this Chinese investment manager who decided to pick up the tab by taking part in a high-stakes online charity auction? Zhao Danyang, 36, will have lunch with the US billionaire at ... http://blogs.inquirer.net/moneysmarts/2008/07/03/personal-finance-philippines-lunch-with-buffett-for-21m-the-two-sides-of-generosity/ I can put a whole new meaning to being frugal, sometimes. And I’m proud of it. Unfortunately, the golden dust of stinginess can wear off so quickly because the next minute, I can be the worst spendthrift on the planet. Have you ever been bitten by these financial mood swings? Here’s ... http://blogs.inquirer.net/moneysmarts/2008/07/02/personal-finance-frugality-tips-money-mood-swings/ (This piece is written by Bianca, one of the readers of MoneySmarts who has been chosen for the one-year Money Makeover challenge by INQUIRER.net. Bianca’s real identity is confidential, so that MoneySmarts can share her family’s financials and the lessons she has learned with the rest of the world. Read ... http://blogs.inquirer.net/moneysmarts/2008/07/01/personal-finance-philippines-insurance-health-death/ If you were to put a peso figure on “your entire life” what would it be? Watch this heartbroken Australian who decided to auction his entire life on eBay, which includes his three-bedroom house, a 19-year old Mazda car, jet ski, motorcycle, parachuting gear and – get this – his lifestyle, ... http://blogs.inquirer.net/moneysmarts/2008/06/30/personal-finance-philippines-how-much-is-%e2%80%98your-entire-life%e2%80%99/ It’s pure pain to watch someone suffer from losing all his investments due to a falling market. What to do? It’s too easy to say, just hold on because markets recover all the time. Curious Capitalist over at Time.com points that the best response is no response, but active investors know ... http://blogs.inquirer.net/moneysmarts/2008/06/30/personal-finance-philippines-falling-market/ Gotcha! Here’s a snappy secret from publishers. Use words like “how to get rich in ten simple steps” or “secrets of wealthy people” in title and promotional materials. Never use “retirement.” Malayo sa bituka. (Far from the gut). Like everyone else on this planet, Filipinos don’t like to think about the future. ... http://blogs.inquirer.net/moneysmarts/2008/06/28/personal-finance-roundup-how-to-get-rich/ Pacita U. Juan, owner of Figaro Coffee, said her secret to cutting her electric bill in half is the humble power strip. Admit it, its such a chore to unplug all devices. So, use the power strip with a switch. Even that telephone charger that hardly gets removed from the socket ... http://blogs.inquirer.net/moneysmarts/2008/06/27/personal-finance-frugality-week-cut-your-electricity-bill-in-half/ If you think your stock portfolio has been beaten to a pulp, wait till you hear what technical analysts have to say about whether we’ve already seen the worst. “Has the PSEi reached the bottom? Hell, no,” said Fitz Aclan, head of investment strategy of the trust department of Banco de ... http://blogs.inquirer.net/moneysmarts/2008/06/26/personal-finance-psei-reached-bottom/