Preparations for the Future: Starting My Journey to Financial Freedom

Whether you subscribe to it or not, the fact still remains... money makes the world go round. This is why most that belong to the middle class work diligently. The ultimate objective should be financial freedom. No, not should but that "MUST" be our the ultimate goal right. Unfortunately, not everyone (at first that is) seems to realize that this should be their goal in a financial standpoint. When they do realize it, regret is one of the initial emotions that comes up, but on the brighter side of it, it is never too late. This is what I want to impart with you on this little personal development blog post about starting my journey to financial freedom.

I made this post this 6th of July, 2012 and plans to make this blog post as a starting point in my journey to financial freedom. Basing on its two keyword "finance" and "freedom", financial freedom is not entirely about being wealthy (although it is under it), but more on being able to enjoy life without being affected with financial complications and uncertainties that may rise in the future. So how do we become "financially free"? Well, I am no expert, I did say that I was just starting. The best way to learn about it is with research, that's what I did and that is why we have books and the internet, right? At the age of 26, I regret some financial decisions I did in my life. If only I saved my money before. If only I invest it on interest-yielding financial mechanisms. If only I did or didn't do this. In the end, rather than sulking up on the mistakes of the past, we should move forward. What truly matter is that we learned from these mistakes, that in some weird way that it helped us get to this point of realization. Although it is good to reward yourself every once in a while, we should never loose track of the future, of the goal to be financially free. A luxurious and spendthrift lifestyle only belongs to those who can afford wasting their own or their family's wealth. Well we can even say that they are having this sort of lifestyle because they have reach that point of financial freedom. So while we haven't reach the point of financial freedom nor have resources to waste we should learn to change. One shouldn't live beyond his means but under it, and find other ways to increase his income.

What I leaned from researching is to SAVE MONEY. That is my biggest mistake in life. It always come to my mind, but never actually acted on it. But now, there is no time to waste. If I want to get started with the new knowledge I gained, I need to take up action.

Here are some great tips:

• Save Money. The bank is a good place to start.
• Pay up and be free from your debts. Completely avoid credit cards
  Have a separate emergency savings. A 3-6 months worth of emergency funds is essential to serve as a cushion to protect you from various unfortunate financial situations like losing a job or medical concerns.
• Set money for investments. This is the money generating machinery that would help you gain financial freedom. This is worth researching for.

This past few days, I have talked with colleagues in my new career about finance and the future. The new career I have isn't that rewarding and I need to maximize my income stream and total earnings. This is why I have been researching about the stock market.


Here is a good informative animation about how stock works I stumbled on my research:



I now plan to invest on stocks. A year ago, I did plan to start with time deposits and buying bonds through banks, but I wasn't that serious to actually act on it. I am thankful for maturity finally catching up on me. If I want to give my future self and family a good life, then I have to change and compromise some things in life.

Ask yourself this, what are you willing to do to achieve the things you want in life?

RetroPilipinas.com and PinoyMovieBlogger.com: Blogs Leveled Up and Updates

Retro Pilipinas and Pinoy Movie Blogger, two other blogs I authored finally got their own domain names this June 21, 2012 (Thursday). Everyone can now reach Retro Pilipinas, blog dedicated to everything nostalgic and retro in the Philippines at http://www.retropilipnas.com for Retro Pilipinas; and Pinoy Movie Blogger, blog dedicated for Filipino movies which include local film trailer impressions, Filipino film reviews, and articles about the Philippine cinema at http://www.pinoymovieblogger.com.

It was really a big challenge maintaining four blogs especially now that I have a new career to pursue unlike before. But even if the time restrictions and limitations, my passion to share and blog will never fail. Now more than ever I am more passionate to create more informative, entertaining, and worthwhile content for both the local and international netizens.

Work Gets in the Way: Missing Blogging and Missing Sharing

It's almost been a month! I am officially an office guy working for a budding gaming company here in the Philippines. After three years of home-based benefit-less outsourced work as a content writer, I finally got a job that I like and that rewards me for my efforts. The only issue I have now is I missed sharing my thoughts and information online.

Well, this is considered a blog post, right?... you might ask. Well yes, but before, I had a work I usually wake up in the morning to face my PC and share everything that my hearts desire: international movies, Filipino movies, a retrospective on Philippines, and many more. I literally spend my whole day blogging and it's okay. There is a certain fulfillment for me when I blog. Even if there are not that many people responding to my blogs, in the back of my mind, I know that I have done my part.. I have enlightened, entertained, and informed someone. That is probably where I get my drive.

This is an old photo of me on a vacation years ago. Yes, I literally gained wait from this pic and I haven't had any real pic as of the moment. so I'll just use this old pic. Probably next time, I'll have something better to share :P

It is currently 3:00 in the morning. I just finished watching the 19th episode of Grimm while eating the instant noodles mom cooked for me when she opened the door for me when I arrived back at 1:00 am. It was about an hour and a half trip from my schedule which ran from 2pm to 11 pm. Then that same schedule will repeat on the next day. Luckily I have two days of break but recently I got sidetracked when I bought Final Fantasy XIII-2. Well I still haven't finished the game. I have literally spent the small time I had playing the game which is a good reason why I really missed out on blogging. I was really surprised when I received two event invites in the past, but has completely passed out because of my work and leisure. I had this kind of conflict before, but my previous work was more flexible and I was able three tasks at a time. Now I usually spend or waste my time in the bus commuting to and fro from home. I miss blogging and the simple life, but I also know that I need this job right now. One thing is ceratin, I have a lot of things going on for myself right now and a proper time management is really needed to organize the things I love. Yes, things I love. The person to love (romantically) can wait, whomever she might be. As our popular saying goes in the Philippines bahala na si Batman.

Officially a FlipGeek: First Article on FlipGeeks about Tokusatsu

It's now official, yours truly is a FlipGeeks . I got in touch with them a couple of weeks back and was fortunate enough to become a part of their project.

www.flipgeeks.com/

FlipGeeks is the Filipino geek’s corner for toys, comics, video games and everything else! FlipGeeks or FG aims to be the number one online resource in the Philippines in providing news, updates on the geek genre (toys,movies,comics,etc) and pop culture.

It can really be a big challenge for me especially as I also author a few more blogs besides CMABLOGS mainly CMAQUEST, Retro Pilipinas, and Pinoy Movie Blogger, not to mention a new career. I am not complaining, I willed this! I like challenges, I like sharing stuff, and I as usual I plan to conquer the world!...

I have always wanted to be part of something big and something relevant (for me that is). I believe that the geek community is growing and has been taking over the internet like global warming to Earth... (DERP) that was not a good comparison, LOL. I believe FlipGeeks can reach that community starting here at our motherland, the Philippines. I will aid the group's objective to be the community that FlipGeeks aims to be and maybe more. This is enough motivation to keep me going like an Energizer bunny.

Besides the regular spots where you usually see me blogging,you can now regularly see me blogging at FlipGeeks as well usually about all my geekiness. For starters, I made my very first article about tokusatsu's influence to Filipino kids and the geek community at RETRO FLIP GEEK: A Look Back at Tokusatsu Shows and Its Influence to Filipino Kids.

If you guys can remember I made a similar post about tokusatsu here at CMABLOGS with For Philippine Television Networks Consideration: Create An All-Original Filipino Tokusatsu Series Seriously for the Younger Television Audience. This previous post and my first FlipGeeks article compliments each other rather than just being a mere copy-and-paste copy of each other. Hope you guys can check both of them out.

For Filipino Geeks out there, you can visit FlipGeeks for more Geek news, articles, reviews, and giveaways.

Balancing Act Between Gaming and Blogging

So may things to do in so little time. I too am one of those people chanting those statement over and over again. Well, I know I am at fault here for not having the proper discipline to even manage my own time, but I can help it. Now that I am making a decent earning from my home-based writing career, I can only do one of two things work more or balance things of by playing. I decide the latter.




Not to say that blogging is not entertaining at all... it is, but if you have visited my other blogs like CMAQUEST, Pinoy Movie Blogger, and Kuwentong Bayan at Alamat you'll notice that I take blogging seriously. Serious in a way that I invest a decent amount of my time just to make a competitive post. I can't even balance work, romantic relationships and blogging in the past, but luckily I gradually learned to resolve that issue. But after I got my Xbox 360 last year, things started to go out of hand once again. Gaming tends to eat a lot of hours away making other tasks impossible to fulfill with out proper time management. Sadly I don't have such discipline in me. This is why a reader can easily notice that my last blog post was on the last week of July. I got hooked in playing various Xbox 360 games like Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, Dead Space, Dragon Age II, Mass Effect 3 and various Xbox Live Arcade titles. In a way, I find it gaming an escape to the lonesome nature of my home-based career. This is probably why I have invested more time on it than blogging, but then again,  can't really quit blogging... not just yet. Do you have that idea in your head that you just want to share and ope to the rest of the world? That is what I have always been struggling. I have so many wonderful and creative blogging ideas that tends to be overtaken by work or gaming, but it always resurfaces. So here is attempt number "I don't know what anymore" to rid me of that creative urge. To at least keep at least 2-3 blog updates on every the blogs I own, and probably create two or three new ones in the process. I still have so many things I want to express and share online, but I am restricted with my own weakness.

Hopefully I can finally find balance amidst the chaos of my own doing.
Cheers is to another good start.

The Lazy Bug and a Retrospective

It has been three weeks since I last updated my blogs and became inactive in the blogging community, luckily I got my act together again to start blogging again. Call it a blog vacation or a blog hiatus but my inactivity in the blogging scene has made me appreciate the little things in life. I have been a lazy bug on blogging this past few weeks and here is a recollection of the things I'v experienced and hopefully learned from it this past few weeks.



It is really amusing to see that there are things that can be realized, learned and appreciated only if we take a step back and slow down our fast phase living. This is what I have realized on my weeks of blogging procrastination, and who would have thought that there is something good that can be derived from it?

Slowing my phase and being more of an observant and a reader has made me realize a couple of things and here they are in various aspects of it:

Politics

Philippine politics and the past elections has made me realize one thing (way long ago), that there is no perfect political setting or politician in the Philippines. Why is this so? It is because of our culture and the thing called personal interests. A good example would be the soon to be fourteenth Philippine president Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, though I have nothing against the person many have given their trust and faith to him to lead the country to progress but with the looks of traditional politicians "trapos" backing him up, it looks like personal interest will once again reign supreme in Malacañang. I am not referring to it as an opinion but rather than as a fact because of the existence of "utang na loob" or the "sense of gratitude". How much we look at it, and not just in a national level alone, the sense of gratitude has always been there to either help or pull back the progress of the general populace.

Blogging, Respect, Recognition and Ethics

A recent issue regarding the relationship between bloggers and advertisers in the Philippines surfaced as one unfortunate incident of misunderstanding on a particular event led to something out of hand creating this ruckus in the blogging community. Pointing fingers and blaming any parties from the said public spectacle is useless now, what everyone who have read the case should have learned something out of it, and that is professionalism and ethics. With the hundreds (if not thousands) of blogs now surfacing annually, we should all recognize the capabilities, responsibilities and the ethics towards the industry and each other whether you are an advertiser or a blogger.

Contentment

One can have all the treasures that the world has to offer but there is also a high probability that he is not contented and happy with his life. Money is without a doubt an essential part of our lives but it does not necessary means that it will dictate how we act towards our fellowmen. I have been in a friend's house recently and have notice the luxury oif their lifestyle and I must say there was a lot of envy going on inside my head back then. Envy is a negative trait but somehow we can use that to fuel our dreams and aspiration for contentment, greatness and the pursuit of happiness without burning any bridges pulling down anyone along the way. At the end of that day I realized that I don't need to have a multistory house to live in, a stylistic luxury car, and all the money in the world to spend to be happy... as long as we have people we can rely on, a family and set of friends who love us selflessly and just the way we are, a decent career,and a sense of contentment then we are fine as the way we are.

The Indefinite Future and Planning Ahead

Having a good conversation with friends and talking about anything under the sun could be a learning experience itself. Just recently, I have visited a good friend who just gave birth to her first baby and we talked about planning ahead. I was shocked to hear how expensive her delivery cost. We also discussed about buying new properties and their investment on that for their future. This made me realized that what I have today may not be sufficient in the long run and would require a serious amount of planning and saving money if I want to have the best future for my family. With the flow of our conversation it eventually inspired me to strive harder and work the double for the indefinite yet secured future if I just put my mind and heart to it.

My iBlog 6 Day 1 Business Day Attendance

Last April 16, 2010 I experienced my first ever Philippine Blogging Summit (popularly known as iBlog) held at Malcolm Theater at the University of the Philippines Diliman. iBlog is an annual event for bloggers to understand and learn more about the multi-faceted world of blogging. Here is my iBlog 6 Day 1 coverage which focus on topics such as business, advertising and promotion.



iBlog 6, though on its six year was my very first iBlog event so I was really excited for it. The feeling that I will learn and grow more as a Filipino blogger through iBlog got me really excited. I left Dasmariñas City at around 7:30 in the morning which took me one and a half hours of travel time, thank goodness that I was not late.

Sa familiar faces like Flowell and Miss Janette who were busy setting up the stage for the actual program. Most of the attendees where people from PR companies, blogtrepreneurs, and other business-related organizations for iBlog 6 Day 1 was targeted for businesses and entrepreneurs wanting to understand how to tap blogs as a medium to promote their products and services. This was the schedule for day 1 on the 6th Philippine Blogging Summit:



Miss Janette Toral on the stage lead the first talk regarding blogging for business. An introduction and analysis of the factors that helps business through blogging.

Day 1 (April 16, 2010)

9:00 – 9:15 Opening Ceremonies (National Anthem, Welcome Remarks by JJ Disini)
9:15 – 9:35 Blogging for Business: Tapping Bloggers to Generate Buzz (Janette Toral)
9:50 to 10:10 Advertising in Blogs (Abe Olandres)

10:25 – 10:50 BREAK

10:50 – 11:10 SPONSOR talk (Ivy Jean Vibar)
11:25 – 11:45 SEO & Blogging to Promote Your Business (Francis Gary Viray)

12:00 – 1:30 LUNCH / NETWORKING

1:30 – 1:50 Measuring Blog Buzz (Carlo Ople)
2:05 – 2:25 Legal Concerns in Blogging for Business (Emerson Bañez)

2:40 – 3:00 BREAK

3:00 – 3:20 Blogger and Advertiser: What is the Win-Win Relationship? (Diana Paterno)
3:35 – 3:50 Online Attraction Marketing (Manuel Viloria)

4:05 RAFFLE and GROUP PICTURE

The speakers could only accommodate an hour or so of explaining their individual topics but that didn't get n the way of sending out the message to the audience.



Abe Olandes, author of Yugatech discussed his experience and knowledge on advertising in blogging. Building that reputation to be recoognized by advertisers, placement patterns of advertisements on a blog, pricing for advertisers, and many more were the topics discussed by the author of the highly acclaimed Yugatech author. Being a recognized name on the Filipino Blogosphere not just by bloggers but mainstream companies as well, Abe Olandes was the right man to enlighten the audience with the in and outs of advertising through blogs.



The question and answer segment after each talk gave opportunities to some of the audience to learn more about the topic through a series of relevant questions. Mike Abundo spearheaded the series of questions right after each speaker was over with their topics. His questions are more likely to challenge the expertise of the speaker which in turn could either make the speaker shine as a reliable speaker or the opposite.





The Philippine Online Chronicles or the POC, a partner of iBlog 6 featured the new evolution of reliable news and blogging through the site. A mash up of traditional and new media, the POC is your source of quality Philippines news and relative discussions online.



In between breaks, bloggers and other media organizations got to the chance to socialize. I later joined Don, Rina, Alvin, and Fritz, fellow bloggers which made learning more interesting. It was also my first time meeting up with the jolly Dani and Ian.



Targeted more on the PR companies utilizing the power of blogging groups is another interesting topic for the day which made me wished that the PR agencies which I knew of (who have invited us in the past) were present to realize a perfect set up, a win-win relationship with bloggers. Didi Paterno discussed this topic which was also tackled in Carlo Ople's discussion on measuring blog buzz.

Though not really targeted for the first time bloggers, I appreciated and learned from the first day of iBlog 6. iBlog 6 Day 1 topics and discussions inspired me to become a better blogger by utilizing a blog's hidden potential of promoting one's name or business, which in return will yield new and better opportunities for bloggers, businesses and entrepreneurs.

Bloggers Come and Join the iBlog: The 6th Philippine Blogging Summit

Blogs are like stars in the bright clear sky, numerous! Each having their own place in the vast depth of cyberspace. Others are shining so brightly while some have just began its life. iBlog has been an annual event for new and established bloggers in the Philippines to cross paths to share and learn from each other about blogging. Whether you are a personal, photo, family-oriented, music, money making, general, entertainment, literary blogger etc. iBlog will help you get acquainted and become an effective blogger based on the category of your blog.



Join the iBlog: The 6th Philippine Blogging Summit for two days this April 16 and 17, 2010 at the Malcolm Theater, UP College of Law, UP Diliman, from 8 am to 5 pm. Registration is free. All you need to worry now is the transportation and managing your schedule for any/both of the two day learning summit. Listen from fellow established bloggers as they share the different aspects and responsibilities of blogging in this age of information and technology.

To register and learn more about the key speakers for the two-day event you can visit iBlog's Official Website here:



iBlog: The 6th Philippine Blogging Summit
http://iblogph.org/

This would also be my first iBlog Summit experience so I am really excited to enhance and develop my skills and knowledge in Blogging. I wasn't able to atend the 5th Philippine Blogging Summit because of some issues but this year yours truly would be on both the events. So hope to see you guys there!

I think it is the right time to make contact cards. Numninumninum

Blogging Tips for Bloggers Running Out of Ideas To Blog

February 04, 2010 (Thursday) - Today I am helping out newbie and fellow bloggers who often experience mental or writing block on their blogs. This is how I manage to successfully overcome a "blogging block" with out straying away from the genre(kind) of my blogs.



Blogging Tips for Bloggers To Avoid Mental Block
Blogging Tips for Bloggers Running Out of Ideas To Blog

Post relevant blog posts or do not post at all - This tip applies to niche blogs or topic-specific blogs. For example you have decided to make a blog dedicated to food, isn't it weird if you post an irrelevant topic like car post? A good tip is to not stray off from your chosen genre of blogging. If you can't seem to blog anything regarding your topic then by all means do not post irrelevant posts. If you are a food blogger then stick to blog posts related to food, fahion is to fashion, etc. In CMABLOGS's case since I have chosen a more wider genre, which is a personal and events coverage blog. I may post freely any topics which is interested to me like hobbies, favorites, experiences, perspectives, and anything personal but to a certain limit for it is still indeed a public material and we do not really want the world to know our every action (though there are some whom prefer to do such spectacle). The second and majority of the post as well here in my blog are topics related to the blogosphere which I belong to, mainly blog events which I have been invited. This does not not mean that I will only blog about blogger related events, but some important community events which is worth blogging and sharing. Thus, being loyal to my chosen genre of personal and events coverage blog.

Set aside or prepare relevant blogging materials - One good way to avoid a writer's block or mental block in blogging is to set aside blog-related materials like magazine and newspaper articles for tangible materials. You can also bookmark a website that you find related to your blog. This isn't called cheating or copying other people's work but try to recreate or spice up these references as much as possible, or better yet recognize them as a source on your blog post. This is what I usually do on my infotainment and magazine CMAQUEST. I collect or use materials from websites I subscribed in and reshare them on my blog but with more relevant photos, trailers and information which is the signature of CMAQUEST.

Keep a note or any portable storage device in reach in case of ideas randomly comes in - The brain "is like a box of chocolates, you'll never know what you're gonna get" (ain't that sound familiar?! hahaha). You will never know when an inspiration for a new material to be blog will be coming in, and in case it dod what wiill you do? This is why it is important to have a pen with pocket notebook or piece of paper to jot down those instant and random ideas which suddenly pops in. If you don't have any pen and paper, you can always save such ideas on your mobile device for reference when you finally arrive home.

Be in the Mood. Stay Fit and Healthy - How can you successfully put up the words and thought on your blog when you aren't even in the right mood or health to blog at all. Try to have the proper amount of rest, exercise or any means to stay fit and healthy. The brain can't fully function on a stressed out body so prioritize your health as well.

So there you have it! My first blogging tips series for fellow bloggers running out of ideas. Hope you liked and learned from this little sharing of knowledge which I impart with you guys. Thanks for reading and if you like and want to receive regular updates on my blogs, you can always subscribe to my RSS feeds or via e-mail.

My 2010 New Year Resolution Is No New Year Resolution at All!

January 08, 2010 (Friday) - My 2010 New Year Resolution is No New Year Resolution at All!.



The common mistake of almost everyone is making up a long list of New Year Resolution but eventually failing to fulfill them. Just like crossing one's fingers when lying, you're telling the person in front of you (or the world) about your New Years resolution but crossing your fingers at your back which symbolizes you lacking the initiative to follow up on that list and ultimately failing to fulfill a single one of them.

Well, that was kind of absolute, huh? Another year has passed and we can not avoid the fact that we aren't getting any younger so change is eminent. So we usually make a list of things to do or things to change within the coming of a new year. The only mistake we usually commit over and over (New Year after New Year) is making a list of things we should do. Though I am not saying that it is oh so wrong to do. The important thing is the will and the dedication to pursue those endeavors, not how long the list goes.

This is what I have personally observed from some of my other peers and based from my own experiences in the past. Making up a list of things to do but eventually failing to fulfill them will later make them feel bad about it. So my 2010 resolution is no making of list of things to do, things to change, nor broadcast them on public so that if I can't fulfill them later then I won't feel about it. This is just a personal opinion and this doesn't mean that you shouldn't have a New Year resolution, only that if you will have a list don't be too ambitious to change everything about you in one sitting. Take it one step at a time, one negative trait a year... slowly but surely.

May everyone have a happy and prosperous new year ahead.

A Take On Juggling Relationship, Responsibilities, Blogging and Gaming

August 01, 2009 (Saturday) - Ah! The first day of the eight month. Looking back at my July archives I can clearly say that I have really slacked in my blogging. There is a reason to this and probably the same reason why others are being stressed with their lives, juggling different colliding aspects of their life.



with all the images I wanted to use in this post, this one looks really applicable. After looking at the source I also found a nice website which advices you on Juggling Life and Work.

Early this month I came to realization that one of my toughest enemies that we are facing in life is procrastination and the lack of self-discipline. Take my case for instance, I procrastinated and keep on putting my utility bills behind (internet connection bills) until it the amount to be paid topped up to a sum of money I could not immediately come up with. Not to mention I am getting lazy at work because of dating, socializing, and spending my leisure time (playing computer games).

Due to the lack of discipline there can only be some tasks to be prioritized, blogging and covering events were the two which was left out. I still don't know if I have acquired some sense of self-discipline and responsibility right now but I do hope I did. I am slowly be appearing more and more again, and probably catch up on my back log blog posts. The blogger in me whom I set aside is crying out for attention and "justice" so know I am back and hope to be more active than ever before. Hopefully juggling my life, work, leisure, and relationships even better.