Simple Thoughts of Mine

Archive for January, 2010

21. Exercise at Home

Cancel your monthly gym membership fee and workout at home. A one-time investment in a treadmill or other workout equipment accomplishes the same goal for less.

22. Take advantage of child care reimbursement

Some corporations offer employees childcare assistance. If a large chunk of your salary goes toward paying childcare , ask your employer about reimbursement.

23. Surrender the credit cards

Uncontrolled credit card use contributes to excessive debts. To regain control of their spending , many people close their credit accounts. This doesn’t solve the problem. Entrust your credit cards to a family member.

24. Eliminate cable

Cable providers offer over 200 program channels. However , do you really need these many program options? Cancel expanded or digital services and reduce your cable bill.

25. Get a programmable thermostat

Save money on your energy bill with a programmable thermostat. Keep the heating and cooling system off during the day , and program the system to turn on an hour before you arrive home in the evenings

26. Become a DIY pro

Save money on home and automobile repairs by performing your own maintenance. Take free home improvement classes offered by retailers like Home Depot or Lowes.

27. Check restaurant bills for errors

Make sure the restaurant bill is accurate before paying. The waitress could have inadvertently double charged you for a drink or side item.

28. Attend matinee movies

Before 4 PM , movies theaters offer discount showings. On average , you could save $2.50/person. Better yet , wait until the movie is being played in a second-string or $1 movie cinema.

29. Have a garage sale

De- j unk your house and earn a little extra cash with a yard sale. Another alternative , sell your stuff on Ebay.

30. Stop “keeping up with the Joneses”

Just because your neighbor or best friend bought a new car doesn’t mean you should follow in their footsteps. Live within your means and stop trying to maintain a lifestyle that is equivalent to friends and family.

to be continued…

There is no other enjoyable thing to do on my free time than to watch a tv.   Yes, I am a couch potato!  I love to watch ABS-CBN’s program whenever I’m not doing anything.  I remember my ex told me that having cable tv is useless for me.  Well at least Sean can watch his favorite Cartoon Network and Nickeledeon   So far, I am still enjoying my 14″ LG television in my room.  But I wonder how is it like watching my favorite programs on HDTV or plasma tv with complete home theater speaker set-up.   Wheww!  Just don’t know how it will change my viewing habit.  Hahahahaha….  What do you think?

Picture courtesy of Knowledgebase-script.com

I went back again (Dec. 19, 2009) at Enchanted Kingdom for the “nth” time.  This time with the students and teachers of Teresa National High School and of course with Sean.  I more enjoyed it this time because Sean and I had all the time together.  But unluckily the park was so crowded that we only had 5 rides. 

There’s this new attraction which I forgot the name and I think it is fun.  You have to go inside the ball which floats on the water and makes you stumble to death.  Hahahahaha….

You will even willing to stay ’til night (wonder if they’re using Minka lighting to make the park well lighted) to witness their fireworks display before the day ends.  But unluckily we didn’t able to see the fireworks for we left the park at exactly 8 pm, half hour before the display.  Sean was asleep the whole trip back home and we arrived at 10 pm.  Surely it was a day full of fun.

I went to the market on the last day of December to buy some foods for New Year’s Eve.  You just can’t imagine how crowded the place was.  Inspite of the increased price of meats, fruits, vegetables, fishes, and almost every single commodities when New Year comes, you can’t stop the Filipinos on buying foods and firecrackers for the New Year and it is because of the tradition we inherited from the Chinese.

Every year, one of our problem is gaining weight.  Yes! because holiday season is the time that we eat a lot.  Right?  So it become a problem on the first day of the year.  Guess treadmills will be a blockbuster in the gym.

What we are having for tonight? Mmmm… beef broccoli with oyster sauce, crispy pata, sopas with quail eggs, ham and hotdog sandwich, fruits, buttered shrimp, pork and squid barcecue and some desserts. Yummy… Wanna join us?

I used to work in a pre-need company (Eduplan Phils., Inc.) which deals with educational and pension plan.  That time, way back the 90′s, the industry was a big hit not until the time that one huge pre-need company failed to pay their scholars and pensioners their benefits due to mismanagement of funds.  From then on other companies were affected too.   Little by little people’s trust decreases ’til few subscribe for the insurance.

Nowadays health insurance, car insurance and home insurance as well are still salable.  And I think these are the insurances that we must have.   Being sick is no joke, not to mention those expensive medicines, hospital bills and professional fees.  Such a pain in the neck Arrgg!  Losing home from fire and other calamities is also a major problem.  It’s not easy to build new house these days.  Insurances are still a YES thing to me.  How about you?