Boracay ATV Tour!

I wanted to try this activity during our Bohol tour but we were not fortunate since ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) tour in Bohol is way way expensive than in Boracay.

Here's a tip: You can get ATV Tour at half the price. Yup! We got it at 250php each. Sweet huh!

Before the tour, the participants will test drive the ATV to make sure that they know how to operate it. And of course a lecture is conducted before it.

The tour is composed of two destinations - the butterfly garden and the peak of Mt. Luho and is completed in an hour.

First we went to the butterfly garden. Not so much butterfly nevertheless Paul enjoyed taking pictures of the birds.

Then we went to Tanawin Luxury Apartments to have a 360 degree-view of Boracay. Tanawin Luxury Apartments is located at the top of Mt Luho.

~till then

Personal Order (Being good stewards of God’s Gifts)

A lecture/kwentuhan with Lingkodmates.

Everybody has a role to play.

• You are a sister or a brother in a community.
• You are a daughter or a son and/or a sibling of your family.
• You are a worker in an organization.
• And of course you are a child of God.

What do these four roles have in common? Have you taught about it?Okay, enough of the guessing game. The answer is RELATIONSHIP.

We build relationship in a community, in the family, in the organization/workplace and of course with God. More than anything else, we should build these relationships for the betterment of our totality as a person and as a child of God.

What does my introduction have to do with personal order?

Before that we should define what an ORDER is.

Order is a condition wherein there is a place for everything and everything is in its proper place. It is a condition, which there is a methodical, proper and harmonious arrangement of disposition of a thing.

Imagine your cabinet/closet. Is it in order or not? Are your clothes arranged properly or not? How do you arrange it? Is it arranged by color or by size? Are the shirts neatly folded-up or not? Are the socks in proper place? Are those belts hanging loosely from the pants you wore the day before? Are the shoes neatly placed on the shoe rack? Can you find something quickly? If somebody opens your cabinet, will he/she be able to find something quickly?

My friend, that is one way of defining personal order.

But why do we need order?

We need order so that we can perform to the fullest and we can do what God wanted us to do in life. Order is reflective of God’s character. God is a God of Order. God created us in an orderly manner. He created our eyes on top of the head so that our vision is not hindered. He created our nose on top of our mouth so we can smell the food before we eat it. He created our ears in a manner where we can hear on both sides, left and right.

If you want something to happen but did not happen as you wished it to be is because you are pertaining to YOUR time and not in God’s time. There is always time for everything…(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

We need order because we want to grow in three (3) Christian qualities.

• Generosity
• Faithfulness
• Peace

Generosity means we are able to give to the needy.

Faithfulness means we are trustworthy servants of God.

Peace means we are able to live not of disorder.

What are the important areas to put order in?

• Time and relationship
• Treasure, Money and Things
• Talents

Time and Relationship

Time is gold. No human being can ever bring back lost time. So be careful on how you spend it. Relationship is associated with time because relationship grows with time. You need to spend sometime with those persons you want to have relationship with. You also need to spend time with God so that you can reflect on what your true purpose is.

Treasure, Money and Things

Everything in this world is from God. He owns it. We are just borrowing it. So be careful on how you handle your finances because when judgement day comes you are accountable on how you spend the gifts he gave you.

Talents

Show your talents because they are gifts from God. Nurture and hone them for the glory of the Creator. He gave you talents to share it with other people so don’t hide them.

Here are the principles I learned from my friend’s talk:

• We are merely stewards of our resources. Be very careful on how you handle resources.
• We must seek God’s wisdom and timing in all our work. All in God’s time
• We must trust God and see Him work. Be a faithful servant of God.
• Seek advise from elders. A very good sign of humility is seeking for advice if you really can’t handle the situation any longer.
• Learn from mistakes, be patient and willing to do it over again. Your emotional intelligence is put to test in this principle.
• Be simple in priorities, take away the clutter. Set your priorities, focus on them and drop those nonsense.
• Be hardworking but know your limits. Give your best in everything you do.

Here are some practical tips you can apply.

On Time and Relationship

• Buy a planner and actually USE IT!
• Schedule the important things before they become urgent.
• Live one square at a time. Don’t overstress yourself on your upcoming schedules. Focus on “today” but plan for tomorrow.

On Treasure, Money and Things

• Use the 10-10-10 Principle. (10% tithes, 10% savings and 10% emergency fund)
• Always remember this, “The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess.”
• If you have two (2) coats, one of them belongs to the poor.

On Talents

• Discover your talents.
• Do not be afraid of failure.
• Ask God to let you see where to serve Him.

As a conclusion, everything that we have comes from God. We are responsible to whatever He gives us properly and accordingly to his will. We must be patient; wait for the Lord. We must NOT go ahead of Him. He is faithful and He will fulfill our heart’s desire.

~till then

On Credit Card

A certain employee of a bank once sent me a text message saying they will send me a pre-approved credit card. All I have to do is send them my personal details thruogh the same number or go to any branch of that bank and update my details. I was confused because it was Sunday and I was about to hear the mass when I got a message like that. Do they need to do this on a Sunday afternoon? But I politely replied because I am a depositor of that particular bank and I don’t want them to brand me as a snob client. My text message goes like this, “Hi Ms. 'Jane Doe'. I don’t think I need a credit card. Please don’t send it to me. Thanks for the info anyway.” True enough, I did not receive a card.

Almost everybody wants a credit card because it can give you a better purchasing power. But, If not managed well, it can give you headache. No doubt I can manage a credit card but I don’t see the need right now. Who doesn’t want freebies or perks? Of coure I do. But to have those freebies I should spend more. That doesn’t work for me.

What do I miss in life not having a credit card? Actually, nothing. I have my debit card and a good bank standing and those are the things that matter to me the most. ;)

~till then

Compounding Interest - What is it and how does it work?

Many people do not know that time and money have a deep relationship.

Time is gold, isn’t it? There is no time machine. It is just a fiction we see in movies and sci-fis. That is why we have “if only”. Value time because you can never bring it back. A time spent is a time lost.

Money is a tool we use in our day-to-day life. We use money to buy our food, rent/buy a house and buy clothings. We work hard for the money. We spend 8-12 hours (or more) working in the office/workplace just to have money. But never people will study how money works.

Why do we need to know how money works?

Because of the following.

Money does not get sick.

Money does not stop working.

Money does not complain.

Money does not go on vacation.

Money works 24 hours a day.

Money works even on holidays.

Money is loyal to its boss. (And the great part of it? The boss is YOU.)

Unfortunately, only few understand these facts.

I’ll give you an example. If paycheck comes, what comes to your mind first? Is it your savings/investments (I mean investments on mutual funds/stocks, insurance coverages, health coverages and emergency fund.) or the latest gadget/jacket/shoes/shirt/toy in the mall? One of the differences of the poor and the rich is the mindset. If you think first of the latest gadget, cool jacket, fancy shoes, trendy shirt or awsome toy then I am sorry to say but you have a poor mindset. You may have lots of money right now to buy those things but time will come you will lose every peso you have because you have not developed the value of saving and investing.

Here are some manifestations of a poor mindset.

If the paycheck comes, it’s a signal for them to spend.

They value comfort over success.

They want instant gratification.

They are afraid to take risk.

They think they know it all.

Question: Are you one of them?

Now, if you are NOT willing to take the plunge then stop reading. Otherwise continue.

I’ll give you a detailed discussion on how money works and how you can achieve your dream using this concept.

The Rule of 72.

The Rule of Compounding Interest or Rule of 72 is said to be the greatest mathematical discovery of all times. This was formulated by Albert Einstein. This rule simply shows us how long our money will double given a specified interest rate. 72 is a constant number divided by the interest rate will give the number of years the money will double.

If you have 100 thousand pesos in a bank right now, how long will it take your money to double itself? (Without you adding a single peso to that account.) Now here is the tricky part and I’ll try my very best to discuss it in the simplest way I can. Determine the interest rate of your bank. (As I write this article the interest rate of the bank is 0.75% - not considering tax) But let us simplify it. We will compute with 1% interest rate. Let us now divide 72 by 1. The answer will be 72, meaning it will take 72 years more before our money will double. If you are 25 years old right now and you have 100 thousand pesos in a bank right now then your money will be 200 thousand when you reach the age of 97. Apply it to any interest rate and you will have an idea of what I am saying.

For Example: At 4% interest rate per annum your money will double every 18 years.

If you are 29 years old right now and you have 100 thousand pesos in a facility earning 4% per annum your money will be 400 thousand when you reach 65.

What if you put your money in a facility which earns 8% per annum? Using the rule of 72, your money will double every 9 years. If you have 100 thousand right now, assuming you are 29 years old, your money will become 1.6M.

What if you know 12%? Then your 100 thousand will become 6.4M after 36 years.

~till then

Boracay Helmet Diving/ Reef Walking!

This was our first water activity in Boracay. While we were strolling at Station 1 a lady (ate Diding) approached us and asked us if we want to have some water activities. She quoted us 400php each for the helmet diving. She told us it's the lowest we can get since it is already high season since normally it is priced at 500php. Paul and I tested our haggling skills and luckily won the battle of prices. (Yeah we won!) We got the activity at 300php each. Sweet huh!

We walked from Station 1 to Bulabog beach where the activity will take place. Upon arrival we paid for the fee and rode a motorized banca going to a bigger banca where divers await to accompany us. There was a short briefing on what to do and what not to do during the activity. I was scared since it's my first time to submerge in water. I mean really submerge. I never took a diving class nor a swimming class before going to Boracay. I wish i did. What if something goes wrong and the hose that supplies my oxygen is accidentally cut? But what the heck, that's what insurance is for!

We wore a heavy helmet while inside the water. The divers gave us some bread to feed the school of fish. The underwater world is trully amazing it makes me wanna go back to Coron!

Fifteen minutes inside the water felt hours. There was one time when I already want to go up and breathe normally. Nevertheless the experience was great and I will highly recommend this activity to my friends!

~till then