Ayie
When it comes to saving my husband relies on me the most. I can say I had a good training with my mom when I was a kid and handling some side business growing up taught me a lot how to be frugal and be a spender at the same time. Oh yes I can splurge when I want to shop and once I start there's no stopping me. During this tight economic time we have to be smart with our spending and find ways on how to save so I'm really keeping that in mind.
When I came here I noticed hubs has a big jar where he dumps all his coins. I took the initiative and continue putting change there because in time we can just exchange those for bills using the coin machines here. It was a boring day just us relaxing at home, hubs busy doing computer stuffs and me just chilling out. I thought of counting all the coins (quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies) just to pass time. Call me weird huh? Well not me alone, look who got curious with what I was doing and counted the sorted coins as well! Though he didn't join me sorting out the coins and stacking it per dollar.
Now here's the fun part.....can you help me count how much we saved in the jar? Btw, this was done few months back that's why I'm separating the new sets of change we get and count it before I put in the jar. You can see how I stacked the coins, one stack is a dollar so you just need to count how many stacks are there. Believe it or not, keeping your change this way is a good way of saving money too. It may not be that much but in time you'll see how much you saved already. I like training kids this way by giving them coin banks and teaching them to save there so they can get something they like later on. I also do this kind of saving with loose bills, whenever I have extra I just keep it. That serves as our emergency money at home, no need to rush to the bank just to get some cash.
But lately I haven't been putting much change in the jar because I haven't been really doing much groceries being busy with other things and therefore not carrying much cash doing my usual purchases. Hubby is the same, he just gets the allowance he needs for the week from the bank and there were even times when we go out without carrying any cash at all. I know it's not good to do that but those times we're really out and about thus forgetting to pass by the bank to get some cash. good thing we always carry our debit cards which covers our cash needs whether we eat out or shop. We're not too reliant on credit cards and only really use it when needed. Call it cashless days! It's very common here anyway and you can actually even get those reloadable Prepaid Debit Card, Prepaid Mastercard or Prepaid Credit Card in local stores and other establishments. In cases that you don't want to use your debit cards for security purposes there's a safer and more secured means of carrying cash through the reloadable AchieveCard. With this you don't need to use and expose your bank debit card or atm making your accounts protected from hackers and identity thieves. (hubs was once a victim, somebody got a hold of his number and good thing he noticed about $300 loss, tracked with bank's help but we still can't believe how it was done so be careful purchasing most especially online with less established stores) It can be used easily in any location as long as it accepts Mastercard for your purchases in store or online. Same time you can watch your budget since this Prepaid Debit Card is reloadable, you can easily set the cash limit that you want to use. Efficient don't you think? I even used used this method back there in the Philippines when they introduced those express pay cards but honestly I prefer to use cash still since I tend to spend more not seeing my bills flying away! =P Like I said earlier, once I start, I can't stop! A piece of advice to all before I end this long post of mine, may it be cash, card or checks make sure you spend wise. It's still best to save up for the future.
After all the reading, back to my question... how much in total? Also, what are your money saving tips? Mind sharing?
Ayie
Poema de la vida (Poem of Life)
La vida es un lugar de parada, (Life is but a stopping place,)
Una pausa en lo que va a ser, (A pause in what's to be,)
Un lugar de descanso a lo largo de la carretera, (A resting place along the road,)
Para la eternidad dulce. (To sweet eternity.)
Todos tenemos distintos trayectos, (We all have different journeys,)
Caminos diferentes a lo largo del camino, (Different paths along the way,)
Todos estaban destinados a aprender algunas cosas, (We all were meant to learn some things,)
Pero nunca la intención de quedarse ... (But never meant to stay...)
Nuestro destino es un lugar, (Our destination is a place,)
Mucho mayor de lo que sabemos. (Far greater than we know.)
Para algunos el viaje es más rápido, (For some the journey's quicker,)
Para algunos el camino es lento. (For some the journey's slow.)
Y cuando finalmente termina el viaje, (And when the journey finally ends,)
Vamos a reclamar una gran recompensa, (We'll claim a great reward,)
Y encontrar una paz eterna, (And find an everlasting peace,)
Junto con el Señor. (Together with the Lord.)
--author unknown
...y descansar en la paz eterna querido hermano...
(may you rest in eternal peace dear brother)
Enoc's my dear husband's half bro (from papa's previous marriage before he met mama). Hubs had some chance to spend time with his older brother when he came back here in US sometime 2005. Enoc even stayed in his apt for awhile. This photo was taken here at home when papa brought Enoc for a visit before he went to El Salvador and during this time he was already very ill. I didn't miss the chance to snap a shot of all of us so I set the cam and I'm glad I did. My husband and I knew this time might not come anymore. I thought this past week won't be as stressful as the later week but so much things happened in a week's span after he's brought back here in California by his hermana. Last Friday hubs received a call from his hermana saying it might be his last day so we came in rushing. It was indeed the last, me and hubs witnessed his last breath. It's a very painful moment for my husband seeing his brother go as he was holding his hand tightly. Our only relief was seeing him go without struggle, pain, seizure or any suffering and we saw his face happy. I bet he is now, being free of pain and free to see and go back to his wife, kids even merely as a soul. He can now watch over them now despite the absence of his physical body. Que nuestras oraciones con usted Enoc...
Ayie
I'm still archiving and at the same time organizing my HD files because I want to clear some space too to give way to my new images. My office projects and personal projects consume a very big portion of my HD so it's about time to dump some unnecessary files. I can say we were lucky to get the chance to practice and work in our former office Ole Naval Architects. Boss was exceptional, not somebody who would push you aside but someone who would want you to excel and achieve something in your career. A great mentor and architect! He taught us many things there and molded us to go further up our career, never selfish about sharing his knowledge. He was never judgmental about me and my hubs since we worked in the same office. Boss knew from the start that we're together and still he was not barred by that fact. When he needed an addition to the office and knew my hubs' qualifications, he didn't hesitate to hire him without further personal questions (we submitted resume together in all offices since we were looking for a new employers). We didn't have problems in the office since we observed professionalism and people around us never even hinted our personal deal. It was even boss who spilled the news about us being together later on! Our relation with boss didn't end when we left the office, he was one of our godfather on our wedding. =) 
...proposed privacy enclosures for visa booth area...
Oh what a recap! Now back to my projects. Like I was saying earlier, the office gave us great opportunities there handling our German projects. Those projects weren't easy and quite delicate because Germans are very meticulous. So much things to learn about their systems and planning more so we're working on a new embassy project. It was really scary to handle such a delicate project but it's all worth because I learned so much from it. The
German Embassy was my starting project there when i first came in so it's a total shock for me. I had the privelege to go in an out of the embassy with ease during inspections (security's really tight). The other German project,
Goethe Institut was given to my hubs who later on passed it to me when he left to go back to US.
...goethe institut, manila...
Security features and planning was very essential for this project but one thing that played a big role is the communications systems. Being new to this system made me confused too because you don't do these things in ordinary residential projects. IP (Internet protocol) / PBX (Private Branch Exchange) system was given high conideration for the communications efficiency of the projects. It's a business telephone software based system designed to deliver voice or video over a data network. Working on the electrical and auxiliary plans was not joke at all that time.Just when I thought I can get away with electrical layout and anything about it after leaving that electrical contractor office I was in before and now I am more exposed to it! I admit it's for my benefit since this is really part of our work scope. High Speed Data and Structured Cable Design were also covered. These kind of projects need to have efficient system connection to keep the workflow good. Just like when boss went to Germany and left me the responsibility to attend to the German's queries during boss' absence, we exchange emails aside from the usual phone calls. Not only with electrical and auxiliary systems but other fields like mechanical and lots of detailing were done. Surveying, measuring and many plan revisions were made prior to project completion. Right now I don't want to do those things anymore, simpler projects are fine and i think I'll enjoy more. Those kind of projects sure are big time but also mean more stress. That's the least that I want now from work. I just want to enjoy designing and doing other things now and nothing too heavy. I wish you all a pleasant weekend! Enjoy!!
Ayie
I was in the mood one day for dumplings so I decided to make some for our dinner. I can't really share the exact recipe measurements because I don't follow measurements instead cook according to my taste. How about you, do you cook as instructed or you are such a kitchen scientist like me? =)
ingredients: ground turkey meat, minced onion, chopped garlic, salt & pepper
(optional: pinch of sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, chopped rosemary & other herbs)
Mix all ingredients, scoop a teaspoonful or spoonful filling (depends on your dimsum wrapper size) and using your finger dab the outer rims of the wrapper with water or beaten egg to seal. Be creative! design your dumplings as you wish =)
I'm leaving you with a soupy wonton treat for the weekend! Have a pleasant one!
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