Mommy Banker

Work to live. Live to love.

Nappy Sac: Not Your Ordinary Diaper Bag

As a new mom, one of the first things I did after giving birth was look for a diaper bag which wouldn’t crimp my style. No cutesy plastic-y bags covered with bears and bunnies for me. =) I found a nice cream and white bag at Whimsy which was spacious and stylish but didn’t have enough inner pockets. Thus started my quest to find the perfect locally produced diaper bag (in terms of specs and price). My favourites so far are Baby Couture and Nappy Sac which have become my staple baby shower/christening gifts to close friends and relatives.

Baby Couture produces bags which were great for moms. I’m now using one (Madeline) as a gym bag during the weekday. Visit their kiosk at the Shangri-la Mall to see the different designs.

Nappy Sac is another new local brand which is a hit for those who love a splash of color (read: no limited to pink and blue). My favourite is the brown “Gabby” bag with its orange lining – perfect for the funky dad out for a stroll in the mall. I also like the “Jell” bag made of brazilian leather.

Newly launched a few months ago, the makers of Nappy Sac are negotiating with various retail outlets and the bags should be publicly available soon. For those who want to get one now, contact Jell at 0917-522-6349.

=======================================
Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials. ~Meryl Streep

Subscribe to my feed or subscribe via email to get notified of my next post.

April 23, 2007 Posted by jhorca | baby, bags, shopping | , | No Comments

Trimming Expenses

Now that Christmas is just around the corner (and hopefully the shopping list has been accomplished), it’s time to make lists for the New Year. Let’s count the ways in which we can save on a few more pesos.
  1. Pay cash whenever possible. Psychologically, it’s harder to spend cash than use plastic.
  2. Research before travelling. There is a wealth of knowledge AND bargains to be found online.
  3. Plan your purchases. Don’t buy on an impulse. Patience is a virtue. If you see something you like in a store, chances are that it will be included in one of the many midnight madness sales which come at least once a quarter. Why pay full price when you can get it for 20% off? =)
  4. Open a separate savings account (preferably one of the higher interest money market accounts) for big-ticket items such as appliances, travel, or house.
  5. Use a budget, especially for gifts.
  6. Track your spending on paper. If you write it all down, you’ll probably spend less.
  7. Ask if there are discounts (before ordering in restaurants or checking out at the counter). You’d be suprised at the number of freebies you can get in restaurants if only you ask.
  8. Quit the cigarettes and the booze.
  9. Save all your change and use it to buy gifts next year.
  10. Have pot-luck dinners. Rotate the hosting.
  11. Have semi-annual garage sales. If you haven’t used it in over a year, chances are you won’t use it in the years to come.
  12. Only use ATMS where you won’t be charged service fees.
  13. With the rising cost of oil, look at fuel-efficient cars when considering your next purchase.
  14. Pay off your credit cards monthly and avoid paying interest.
  15. Take advantage of your company benefits — take that annual medical/dental exam. Health is wealth.
  16. Buy term instead of whole life or universal life insurance.
  17. Take advantage of VOIP for your long distance calls.
  18. Cut back on eating out.
  19. Buy energy-efficience appliances. They’re cheaper in the long run.
  20. Keep up maintenance on cars. It may prevent costly future problems.
  21. Pay your bills online. Check out the online bills payment facility of bancnet.
  22. Buy an e-pass or EC Tag. It will save you time and remember, time is money.
  23. Brown bag it or scout out the inexpensive place to buy lunch.
  24. Do you REALLY need that capuccino? =)

December 16, 2006 Posted by jhorca | shopping | | No Comments

Holiday Shopping Tips

Red shouldn’t be the financial color this Christmas season. These tips should help keep you in the black till the new year.

1. Pay Cash. Not only that, pay in big denominations. It makes you think twice when you go to buy something with a PHP1,000 bill. There are a lot of cash cards in the market. Load them and stick to the limit. Once you’re out of money, you’re out of money.

2. Read the fine print. Do you know how much your credit card charges as penalties if you either pay late or don’t pay off the full balance? Does your credit card company have a two-cycle billing policy?

3. Keep a running total of your non-cash expenditures. You’d be amazed at how much money you can burn in just one day in the mall. At the end of each shopping expedition, just tally your credit card receipts to see if you can still splurge on another pair of Zara jeans without going over your credit limit.

4. Have a plan. Ok, so you fell off the wagon. If you overspent your budget this Christmas season, come up with a REALISTIC repayment plan. Try to go back to a zero balance by the end of the first quarter. You don’t want to have this debt cloud hanging over your head for too long.

5. Get easy gifts out of the way. Put aside the money to pay the 13th month bonus of your household angels. Try to get this out early so that they don’t form part of your December shopping budget.

6. Make a list. Check it twice. Trim it down if you have to. If you can, match each item with the store you’ll visit so you can get your shopping down efficiently (with minimal temptations). Your feet and your wallet will thank you.

7. Think outside the gift box. In a previous post I mentioned more often than not, it is the small activities we do with our families which mean the most, not the expensive trinkets. Build memories, not possessions.

8. Gift yourself with financial freedom. Take the time to go to the bank, not just to withdraw money, but also to look at financial products which you can use to jumpstart the savings habit AND/OR lighten the spending. Open an savings (for a rainy day) account to which you can autotransfer funds come payday. Once the balance reaches a sizeable amount, you can then transfer to higher yielding investment instruments.

9. Keep the change. Don’t knock the value of the peso. I’ve been keeping all of our change in a Winnie-the-Pooh piggy bank for Andre. Last year, I deposited over P3K in coins in his savings account. For the singletons, that translates into 6 gift packs from Body Shop. =)

10. Shop on a full stomach. The worst shopping decisions I’ve made were done either on a panic spree (gotta get a dress for a wedding) or on an empty stomach. Everything looks so much nicer when you’re running on fumes.

December 1, 2006 Posted by jhorca | shopping | | No Comments

A Budget for Today and Tomorrow

Anyone handling the household finances knows how hard it is to balance the books and ensure that at the end of the month, our wallets are filled with money, not bills. In my own quest to take control of our expenditures, I’ve devised my own spreadsheet, plotting out expected big ticket items (spending AND saving). Quicken or Microsoft Money doesn’t do it for me.

Kiplinger has come up with the simplest yet most effective worksheet that I’ve seen. It’s perfect for newlyweds and young families. Sometimes, simple is best. =)

December 1, 2006 Posted by jhorca | shopping | | No Comments

Get off the Holiday Rollercoaster!

Christmas season is a rollercoaster of stress and spending. By the end of the ride, you exit with a hoarse throat, empty wallet, frazzled nerves and shaky legs. For many, the short ride is not one of exhilarating joy but of stomach turning stress (”I need to find the perfect gift!” “Forget the credit card bill… There’s always the mid-year bonus…”)

Holiday spending has become a symptom of our consumption driven society’s lack of self-restraint. It doesn’t have to be this way. Stop and take steps to actually enjoy the holidays this year. Here are a few suggestions care of Diane McCrudy, an experienced financial planner with over 25 years of professional experience under her belt:

1. Make a spending list based on hard numbers, not emotions. When you have hard numbers in front of you, you’ll be less likely to overspend out of guilt or desperation or just simple ignorance of how much you’ve already spent. If you find that you can’t afford a big holiday this year, then don’t. Postpone it to next year.

2. It’s OK to break your holiday spending traditions. All too often, we try to outdo ourselves in getting the PERFECT (read: usually expensive) Christmas present for our loved ones. If money is tight this year, just warn your family and close friends in advance. You never know, they might just be in the same predicament. =)

3. If your extended family wants to cut back, suggest some money-saving ideas. Start of tradition of “grab-a-gift games”, set price limits of settle on a gift-to-kids-only policy.

4. Think edible, biodegradable, or readable or… homemade! Try not to add to the bulging closet of dust-collectors. Most people appreciate gifts like sugar cookies and a nice bottle of wine. My gift this Christmas is Desto’s Leche Flan, a melt-in-your-mouth flan whose secret recipe has passed down at least 3 generations in my husband’s family.

5. Favor holiday activities over holiday stuff. Think about what means the most to you during the holidays. Is it the gifts in your stocking… or the time you share with loved ones? There are so many activities that the family can enjoy… like the fireworks display in the Ayala Malls or the tree-lighting ceremony at the village park.

6. Create new traditions. As a young parent, I try to build memories for my son to savor and treasure. Creating your own traditions is far more rewarding than going along with the expensive, stressful status quo of giving and receiving lavish gifts.

This holiday season, simplify and relax. Enjoy your holidays! =)

November 27, 2006 Posted by jhorca | shopping | | No Comments

Holiday Saving

This year, there have been so many unexpected yet necessary expenses in our household that I’m starting to view Christmas with quite a bit of trepidation.

My next couple of posts will be about how to spend wisely during this holiday madness. Sana matuto din ako. =)

November 22, 2006 Posted by jhorca | shopping | | No Comments

Giving without spending (too much)

‘Tis the season for giving… it is the time of the year in which we not only show our loved ones how much we love them but also look for ways to share our many blessing with the community. www.savingadvice.com listed a number of ways that we can help our favorite charities which won’t damage our wallets (too much anyway).

* Donate Your Time: Organize an outreach and try to make it a regular affair (and not just for the Christmas season). Hands On Manila recruits, educates, and coordinates a network of volunteers for diverse community projects within the greater Manila area. For more information, to find out the next date and location of an orientation or to check the monthly events calendar, contact: handsonmla@yahoo.com, homla@info.com.ph.

* Donate Your Skills: Less obvious to many is that you may be able to donate a skill that you have to the charity. This is great for people like me who have poor interpersonal skills. If you are an accountant, help keep the books in order. If you have a flair for organizing, organize a garage sale… the options are endless. If you have a skill, ask the charity if they can use it (chances are they’ll give you a resounding aye).

* Donate By Clicking: There are a number of websites that receive money by you simply clicking on a button. When you do, advertisers are displayed and they pay a certain amount for each click. You can find a large list of charities that make money this way at Charity Click Donation

* Place The Charity In Your Signature: Place the website address to the charity in the signature of your emails (this will make it show up at the bot om of every email you send out). If you participate in a number of online forums, place a link to the charity in your signature that will show up each time that you post on those forums. This is a great way for others to learn about the charity, especially if you are active and well liked in the community (hehe… assuming).

* Sell Goods For Charity: If you have old stuff lying around the house, consider selling it on eBay and having the income generated go to the charity of your choice. I’m going to be joining the San Lorenzo Village community garage sale on Nov. 18. Proceeds from the booth rentals will go to Perdisco, an organization geared towards helping the persons with disabilities in my community live normal, productive lives.

With a bit of creativity, there are a lot of ways that you can help your favorite charity without spending a lot of money.

November 12, 2006 Posted by jhorca | Finances, personal, shopping | | No Comments

10 Things to Buy That Will Save You Money

I read this great article at www.pfadvice.com which listed a few items which more than pay for themselves in the savings they provide.* Water Filter: Some people feel their home tap water is not good to drink. If you are concerned about the quality of your tap water and regularly buy bottled water, purchasing a water filter will save you hundreds of dollars over time. A quality water filter will make your water just as pure as most bottled water and pay for itself within months in most cases.* Faucet Aerator: Faucet aerators are small devices you can place on your faucets in your house. They reduce the water flow coming out of the faucet by about half. Even with half the water flow, the water stream from the faucet will often feel stronger than the normal flow due to the way they work. Using faucet aerators will save a typical family of four about 280 gallons of water a month and pay for themselves in less than a year.

* Low Flow Shower Heads: Much in the same way that faucet aerators reduce the amount of water used from your faucets, replacing regular shower heads with low-flow shower heads can reduce your hot-water consumption while showering by as much as 30%. Due to the way they are manufactured, they will provide a strong, invigorating spray. The low-flow shower heads save money in two ways: a reduction in water consumption and a lowering of the energy costs needed to heat the hot water for the showers. An added benefit for those with larger families is low-flow shower heads will make the hot water last longer for multiple showers.

* Compact Fluorescent and LED Lights: While compact fluorescent (CF) light bulbs cost more than regular incandescent light bulbs, they use about two-thirds less energy and last years longer.

* Things You Use When They Go On Sale: Anything that you use on a regular basis that goes on sale is worth buying and stockpiling. As long as you know that you are going to eventually use it and won’t end up throwing out a large portion of it due to it expiring in some way, then it is worth purchasing it ahead of time. So the next time a 3 day midnight madness sale is advertised, make a shopping list of must have items (and I’m not talking about the red shoes or frilly blouse that you like in the window display).

* Rechargeable Batteries: Batteries can cost a small fortune, especially if you have a large number of electronic equipment that are “high drain” devices. While initially more expensive than regular alkaline batteries, purchasing Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) rechargeable batteries can save you a lot of money in the long run. These replaced old-style NiCad rechargeable batteries and have a much higher capacity than NiCad’s do. Best of all, they don’t suffer from memory effect that could quickly shorten their life.

=======================================
Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials. ~Meryl Streep

Subscribe to my feed or subscribe via email to get notified of my next post.

November 12, 2006 Posted by jhorca | Finances, investment, shopping | , , , | No Comments

Retail Therapy

It’s month-end and I have already run out of breakdown prevention leaves. =( A massage was out of the question. Eating was also out of the question. That left shopping….

This lunch break, I skipped the gym and broke my resolution not to go anywhere near a bookstore during the grand annual sale held each August/September. As I entered National Bookstore at Greenbelt, it was all I could do not to break into song and dance. It was like I was channelling Becky Bloomwood: any item used for self improvement or bought on sale is not really worth counting and is in fact saving money!

I walked out of the store 30 minutes later with the following gems:


Both the Complete Craft and The Between the Lions books were hardbound. The books were being sold at bargain prices: Complete Craft - P539; Between the Lions - P209; Photo Crafts Sourcebook - P419.

I feel much better now.

August 18, 2006 Posted by jhorca | personal, shopping | | No Comments

Baby Couture Diaper Bags

I’m a proud owner of a Baby couture Diaper bag. No, I’m not pregnant (but am about to start training to be). The brainchild of Rea Uyco and family, these bags are a godsend for both Pinay working moms and kikay moms. I initially bought a few as shower gifts for friends and officemates but then quickly realized that the spacious bags with multiple inside pockets would also help me in my neverending quest to organize. I quickly snapped up a brown & pink Sydney for weekend shopping and a sophisticated black & white Madeline for the gym. I absolutely LOVE my Madeline bag! It sure beats walking down Ayala Ave to Fitness First in full business battle gear with a knapsack on my back. =)Since the bag collection is still in its infancy (a walk-in store is in the works), the color choices and designs are fairly limited. But with a price range of P460 to P770 and relative exclusivity, who’s complaining? The bags are currently being sold by orders only. You may view them through the website and contact Rea at miloku2003@yahoo.com.au for pricing and delivery options. The last time I checked, delivery of 4 bags or more was free so it pays to pool.

July 1, 2006 Posted by jhorca | baby, bags, shopping | , , , | No Comments