52-week Financial Challenge

Another year, another chance at a new beginning.And that also means another year of travelling. Yay!

For those who have been wanting to create their travel fund but don't know where to start, you can use this 52-week money challenge which I got from http://www.glammamomma.com/2014/12/52-week-money-challenge-in-2015/.

Pretty doable, because you start off at Php50 on the first week and add up at increments of Php50. Perfect for those who get their bonuses towards the end of the year. But, if you prefer to have it easier around the holidays, you can do a reverse challenge:

Remember, you can work with whatever budget you have- you can use smaller or bigger amounts, and you can also use this as guide for any other savings goals, like buying a new gadget or just building your savings.

I'm doing this challenge, too and I'm inviting you to do it with me. Here's to our success and a more financially-rewarding 2015!

Practical Tip: Pack Light

My friends know that I pride myself for being a light packer. I've always hated lugging around heavy and bulky bags filled with unnecessary items. I've made this mistake once, and I promised myself never again!

So now I'm sharing with you some of the tricks I've learned to travel lightly:

1. Get bulky. When in transit, I wear my bulkiest clothes (jacket, jeans) and shoes (rubber shoes, boots).   This gives me more luggage space

2. Smaller is better. If possible, bring the travel size versions of your toiletries- shampoo, lotion, moisturizer, etc. or you can buy those small refillable travel containers. They're extra useful if you don't want to check-in your bags. Also, my shampoo and conditioner are always in sachet form because they're less bulky and I can easily dispose them making my bag lighter at the end of the trip.

Guess which bags are mine for the 3-week Europe trip?

3. Roll not fold. I find that rolling my clothes, instead of folding them, lets me maximize my luggage space because they become more compact thus occupying less space. Plus, rolled clothes come out less wrinkly than folded ones. (Bringing clothes that don't need ironing, also helps! Haha)

4. Plan your wardrobe. It goes without saying that you should always check your destination's weather forecast to prepare a weather-appropriate wardrobe. This way you avoid bringing too many clothes that you'd end up not wearing. In my head I already plan my daily wardrobe, but being a girl, I almost always change my mind according to how I feel that day. That's why I always bring pieces that I can mix and match which creates an illusion of a bigger wardrobe.

These are just a few things I do when packing my bags for a trip. Would love to hear other tips from you! :)

Practical Tip: Sock It!

I have never been much of a socks fan. I only wore them in grade school and high school, when white socks are mandatory with black leather shoes; or had to wear rubber shoes or sneakers, which was rare. I prefer open-toed sandals because they made my feet feel free. (Whoa, lots of e's there!)

Weird trivia: back when parents gave socks to their kids that are 1 or 2 sizes too big, the normal way was to fold them under the feet. I always folded mine above the feet because I didn't like the bulky feeling of that 'extra' cloth.

Anyhoo, when I started working socks were non-existent in my wardrobe. For how can you wear socks with pumps, slingbacks and stilettos?! I'd wear flip flops while driving and then just slip on my high heels on my way to the office.

BUT! I had to change my routine when I started commuting. Since there's a lot of walking involved, I have to wear a pair of flat shoes most of the time. Now, wearing closed shoes without socks is a bit unhygienic because you sweat more and that can breed fungi. Wearing stockings was out of the question because they're too uncomfortable for our weather (although they say wearing stockings prevent developing varicose veins) and the ankle-length variety doesn't really look good. And so, my search for the best low cut socks began!

From the numerous brands I have tried, I will just feature the top 3 here:

1. Marks & Spencer

This one's my favorite because it has the lowest cut, which makes it perfect for ballet flats and mary janes. But even if the socks are super low cut, they won't slip out because of the adhesive-like stopper by the soles.

Material: Thick cotton, which is soft and comfy

Price: Php200+ Although it's the most expensive among the three, it's a very good buy because of the reasons mentioned above.

Colors: The socks are available in black and nude.

Top view

There's an adhesive-like stopper inside the soles

2. Muji

Toe coverage (I dunno how else I can describe it) is a bit wide for me, pretty much like the rest of the other brands. But the interesting here is that the Muji socks have a slingback design, which makes it 100% non-slip! So I think you can still wear these if you have slingback sandals.

Material: Airy, a bit net-like in texture

Price: Php140+

Colors: Black and Grey

Grey slingback socks

3. Biofresh

Their low cut variety is better than the standard size but I find that it's still not as low as I want my socks to be. Which is still fine, because if you're already okay with the standard size. Although it also has an in-sole stopper like Marks & Spencer's, it isn't really effective. After just a few minutes of walking, I can already feel the socks slipping.

Material: Light cotton

Price: Php125 for 3 pairs, which makes it the most budget-friendly brand

Color: Nude and Black

Three pairs in a pack

Top view

In-sole stopper

Happy sock hunting! 

Practical Tip: How to Get an NBI Clearance

Since I'm now moving to a new job, I had to fix my list of requirements and one of them's an NBI clearance. The last time I had to get one was 8 years ago, and I remember it not being a very pleasant experience. Despite being at the NBI office really early to line up, the entire process took me almost a half day. So naturally, I dreaded the thought of going through the same thing again.

Good thing somebody told me about NBI's e-clearance process! No more lining up and no more useless waiting time, hurray! Just follow these five easy steps:

1. Know Your Purpose. Check out the NBI website to determine the amount you need to pay as clearance fee. Fees differ depending on the purpose of application. Mine was for local employment so clearance fee is Php140.

2. Pay via Globe GCash. Go to any Globe office and fill out their GCash form, payee name is NBI and the contact number is 09175638053. Then proceed to the cashier and pay the clearance fee plus the additional transaction fee of Php20. Make sure to keep the receipt as you will be using the transaction reference number indicated when you login to the NBI website.

3. Go to NBI online. If you are a new user, you need to provide your email address, a password and the transaction reference number. An email confirmation will be sent to you and from there you'll be made to complete more information on the website. Warning: Make sure to check the information you type in because you will not be able to edit anything once you hit on the Confirmed button. Don't forget to print the confirmation message as you will be bringing this to the clearance center. 

4. Send an SMS. Afterwards, send a booking request via SMS (there's also a link on how to do this in the confirmation page). Here's the guide:

Your booking day could be on the same day you completed your online registration. No restriction here.

5. Show up. Proceed to the NBI center where you registered and go straight to the Step 3 counter where they take your picture and biometrics. Because you registered online, you're given priority based on your appointment time so it's ok to make singit. Afterwards go to the Step 4 counter for releasing, here they will give you the date on when you can claim your clearance.

That's it! I only had to stay in the NBI office for around 10 minutes! Unbelievable, huh? This definitely cuts the waiting time to like 1/10! I even think that for the entire 5 steps, you could be done in under 1 hour, as long as the Globe office, a business center (where you could print your confirmation message) and the NBI clearance center are all in the same mall.

The online process is such a big help but I do hope that they still improve the manual application process, though. Because from what I saw earlier, it was total chaos! There were no signs on what the steps are so people don't know where to go and what to do. And there were not enough officers (if any) to answer queries, we just had to make do with the mall security guards, who by the way can't really provide the answers. Besides, shouldn't their main job be to take care of security?

Anyway, I hope this bit of information helped you out, folks! =)