How do you teach money lessons to your kids?

How do you teach your kids about money? I know how difficult it is. I am sometimes guilty of just giving my kids some money whenever they ask for it, depending on how much is available in my wallet. Through the years, I have learned that there should be an established budget, savings and guidelines on how much each of my kids should receive each week or what will be spent on clothes and other necessities.

In my research, the case should be that we parents should be the ones to teach our kids the right way of handling money because otherwise, they will learn this from watching TV, through their friends, or the Internet, and the main lesson that they will learn is to spend, spend, and spend. This can lead to trouble, and it can also be a tough way to start out in life.

I've learned about the three-step plan that will help us in giving our kids the financial skills that they will need all their lives:

(1) Give your kids some allowance. I must admit, I didn't give my son allowance until he was in Grade Six. I learned that this should be the case. And although it's a little scary to hand cold, hard cash over to your children, kids won't learn to manage money unless they have it in their possession. Kids as young as eight, the same age when I started giving allowance to my youngest daughter, can handle a small allowance each week. This is for incidentals or for the piggy bank. As they become tweens, that amount can increase. They can pay for some of the expenses that you would usually buy for them, like art supplies. High schoolers may be able to handle lump sums beyond their allowance to purchase big-ticket items such as clothes. They may even be ready to use a debit card or other alternatives to cash.

(2) Teach them how to budget. Just how much money your tween or teen can handle depends partly on his maturity level. But every child is bound to be more successful if he learns how to budget and prioritize. Teach your kids to write down everything that he spends during a week or a month so that he'll know how much was spent on junk food and other unnecessary purchases. To motivate your child, get him a special notebook for writing down their purchases, or, you can set up a financial program on the computer. Point out what your child may be missing. The amount your daughter spends twice a week on ice cream could add up to enough to buy that skirt that she wanted to have.

(3) Get them to save. There's a lot you can do to help even the most self-indulgent children. (a) Make saving a condition of their allowance; (b) Introduce the magic of compounding. Make sure the savings earn interest. Even today's low rates add up over time; (c) Offer matching funds. If you can, volunteer to match a percentage of what your child saves, and deposit the sum directly in his account.

Some Food Safety Reminders

With all the new viruses and diseases that we can get from contaminated raw ingredients, it pays to be more conscious of food safety practices. Below are some reminders to ensure the safety of food that we serve to our families:

Wash the can opener after every use. Most people forget to do this. The blade gets into the contents of the can and when not washed, the microorganisms are now free to attack. This can contaminate the next food item you use the opener for.

Wash chopping boards before and after each use. If you leave the boards just lying around in your kitchen (no matter if its clean), insects and other pests can wander all over it when you're not looking.

Use color-coded chopping boards. They might be a bit expensive but your family's health is important. Opt for a set of four: one each for fish, poultry, seafood, and vegetables. The idea is for you to cut items on the corresponding boards so that there's less danger of cross contamination.

Chill leftover food. Don't just leave them at room temperature. Food will spoil faster when not chilled even if they are covered. It's best to put leftover food in covered containers and store in the refrigerator or freezer.

What's with your hair?

I Love Chocolates!

I love chocolates! I'm sure most of you will agree that chocolates are really great when it comes to making anyone feel good. I have a sweet tooth, so, a lot of times I have to satisfy my craving for it. I even have this habit of hiding a pack of chocolates in the refrigerator from my kids, although to their credit, they really don't touch my chocolates without my permission.

I prefer milk chocolates, but since I have a heart problem, I was advised that eating dark chocolates is actually good for the heart. So, now I eat more of these type of chocolates, but of course, I still go for the milk type.

I found an online store which sells fine handmade chocolate and dark chocolate treats, the Gertrude Hawk Chocolates, which offer gourmet dark chocolate. When I saw their website, it felt like heaven going through all the types of chocolates that they offer. Their dark chocolates looked so yummy, especially the one that comes with a tub, the Dark Chocolate Mixed Nut Clusters Tub. And of course, my all-time favorite! There were plenty of milk chocolates to choose from. They even have a Milk Chocolate Ballerina which my daughter --- who dreams of becoming a ballerina someday --- will surely love. They even offer wedding and party favors, like the custom dipped apples designed like a tuxedo and a wedding gown, they're so yummy just by looking at them. I'm sure my craving for these little sweets will be satisfied just by trying out most of the items that they offer.

Advisory about your car aircon

I got this from email and I just thought of sharing this with you. Do not turn on A/C immediately as soon as you enter your CAR! I'm also guilty of this especially when it's very hot and the car is parked outside, I always have the tendency to turn on the aircon immediately as soon as I enter the car.

Please open the windows after you enter your car and do not turn ON the air-conditioning immediately. According to a research done, the car dashboard, sofa, air freshener emits Benzene, a cancer causing toxin (carcinogen- take note of the heated plastic smell in your car). In addition to causing cancer, it poisons your bones, causes anemia, and reduces white blood cells . Prolonged exposure will cause Leukemia, increasing the risk of cancer may also cause miscarriage.

Acceptable Benzene level indoors is 50 mg per sq. ft. A car parked indoors with the windows closed will contain 400-800 mg of Benzene. If parked outdoors under the sun at a temperature above 60 degrees F, the Benzene level goes up to 2000-4000 mg, 40 times the acceptable level ... & the people inside the car will inevitably inhale an excess amount of the toxins. It is recommended that you open the windows and door to give time for the interior to air out before you enter. Benzene is a toxin that affects your kidney and liver, and is very difficult for your body to expel this toxic stuff.

Mailboxes, Anyone?

I’ve always loved getting mails, that is, regular mails or snail mails. Even though we now live in a world where emails, webcam, online chatting, videocon, are considered to be more popular, I still get excited whenever I receive mails, like greeting cards from relatives abroad. That is why when I saw the mailboxes from this site: www.mailboxandbeyond.com, I really got excited because they offer different types of mailboxes that will surely suit my taste. They have wall mounted mailboxes, Victorian mailboxes, column mailboxes, and a lot more designs to choose from.

While I was at their site, I also got interested in the address plaques and the house numbers that they offer. These will really make a house stand out in any neigborhood because there are lots of designs to choose from and can even be personalized to suit one’s taste even more.

These are simple additions to any home, and for sure, I would like to have these as my next project in my home.

Have you joined Bukisa yet?

I'm earning quite a few dollars submitting articles to various sites. Just recently, I've joined the Bukisa network. Just like Triond, in which I'm a member since 2006, Bukisa also lets you earn money by submitting articles to their site. You earn through the pageviews that your articles generate, and your earnings will be based on the current Bukisa index published in their site, for example, if the current Bukisa index is $4, it means you will earn $4 for every 1,000 unique views that your article gets. But the big difference of Bukisa from Triond is that if you invite your friends, and they also start to write articles that generate traffic, you will earn 25% bonus, and if those friends also invite their own friends, and also write articles of their own, you will get 1/16 of their total revenue. Isn't that cool?

From the reviews that I read about this site, it looks promising and can really help in adding up to your monthly passive income, because once you've submitted your articles, they will continue to earn income for you for as long as they generate traffic. Of course, it will help that you also continually promote them. So why not, Join Bukisa now, and be in my network.

Tatay's 75th Birthday

My father-in-law celebrated his 75th birthday last Sunday. It was a nice surprise party organized by his kids, although preparations were a bit hectic. Each was given an assignment during the preparations, and as usual, I was assigned to do the invites. Each family was also tasked to prepare a number. My kids decided to do their own rendition of David Cook's Time of My Life, with Earvin doing the guitar.

Top EC Droppers

Sorry Guys, haven't done this for quite some time. Time for me to appreciate and give thanks to my top EC droppers.

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Cebu Pacific's Happy Hour

I was in our office clinic this morning when I saw the Cebu Pacific ads in the newspaper about their latest promo. I got excited when I saw that it was an all-in promo for only Php299.00 for all domestic destinations. Booking period starts today until Friday, 13-15 May, 11:00am - 2:00pm and 5:00pm - 8:00pm. Travel period is September 1-30 2009.

My husband and I have been planning to go to Davao. We even planned to celebrate our wedding anniversary there, but due to budget constraints, we ended up going to Canyon Woods with the kids. So, when I saw this promo, I grabbed the chance, I booked a flight to Davao for two, and got even more excited when I saw the total fare, Php1,350.00 two-way for two persons. It was really a great deal! From Php10,000 when we were trying to book in March to Php1,350! I immediately called my dear husband. I told him, I'm booking a flight to Davao for us, through Cebu Pacific's Happy Hour promo, and told him to take care of our accommodations. I think I didn't even wait for him to finish whatever he was saying. All he could do was say yes.

But then, enough of my excitement. I was able to make a booking, enter my credit card details, and then the system said that my payment is being processed which will take 60 seconds to finish, it was around 11:30am. I waited... and waited... I wasn't even able to have my lunch break because I was worried that the system will flash a message which will require an action on my part. Finally, at 3:00pm, I tried calling the Cebu Pacific hotline. Of course, what would I expect? The line was busy, but I patiently waited for the call to connect. When finally somebody answered my call, I told the customer support about my problem, and when she got back to me after checking their records, she said the transaction was not completed and the payment was not cleared, and she suggested that I should just try booking again at 5:00pm. Oh no! after waiting for 3 hours???!!!

I had no choice but to try again although I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get the same dates again. My friend was also helping me by trying the website and checking if the promo was up already. She said we should try at 4:30pm. True enough, when we tried booking at 4:30pm, the promo has started, but I couldn't get the same dates again, so I tried the week after. I got it! But then, again, hold on! Don't be so excited, I caught myself.... When finally the payment cleared and I got the confirmation in my email, it was only then that I breathed a sigh of relief!

Next concern would be the accommodations. When I showed to my husband the confirmation notice, that was the question that popped into our minds. We just laughed and said we could sleep in the airport and eat whatever is available there.

Oh well... let's see what happens. For sure, I will share the news here....

On-the-spot Photo Contest

It's amazing!

As required by the Camera Club to those who joined the Exploring Tarlac On-the-Spot Tour (OTS), I submitted four photos, and I got a big surprise because two of my entries made it to the top 10!

My photo of the Resurrected Jesus Christ which I named Above All won 3rd place, while my photo of the colorful cradles (Makulay na Duyan) which served as wall decorations in the Isdaan Restaurant won 8th place.

I didn't realize that half of the difficulty in choosing photos to submit was the difficulty in choosing a title for the photos. My title for the photo of Jesus Christ was inspired by the song Above All. I'm sharing with you the lyrics below which for me really aptly describe the photo.

Above all powers
Above all kings
Above all nature and all created things
Above all wisdom
And all the ways of man
You were here before the world began
Above all kingdoms
Above all thrones
Above all wonders
The world has ever known
Above all wealth
And treasures of the earth
There's no way to measure
What You're worth

CHORUS
Crucified Laid behind a stone
You lived to die Rejected and alone
Like a rose Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all


ABOVE ALL


MAKULAY NA DUYAN

I'm just so happy that my first attempt at joining a photo contest got me two awards. Beginner's luck? Could be... but who cares? I'm just happy and it got me inspired even more to join more photo shoots. Now, my friends have been telling me to join the succeeding OTS... well, let's see, if time and budget permit.

Exploring Tarlac

Three weeks ago, I had the opportunity to join the On-the-Spot (OTS) Photo contest tour of our Camera Club in the office.

I've been a member of this club for so long but this was the first time that I joined their tour. In previous years, I was just enjoying the discounts from Fuji in Megamall that the members are entitled to. It was actually the 2nd quarter OTS, I missed the 1st quarter OTS in Clark, Pampanga Hot Air Balloon last February.

Our first stop was the Capas National Shrine. It was redeveloped by Pres. Fidel V. Ramos to show our genuine reverence to the World War II soldiers who were part of the Death March. The Capas Concentration Camp was built in 1940 as Camp O'Donell, and it was where more than 40,000 Filipino soldiers and 9,000 American soldiers were imprisoned. More than 30,000 soldiers died here due to sickness and torture.

We then proceeded to the Monasterio de Tarlac situated on the mountains of Brgy Lubigan, This place is often flocked with devotees, especially the sick, ever since the former Papal Nuncio Fernando Filoni blessed and enshrined the Holy Relic of the True Cross of Jesus on 30 January 2007.

We attended the Holy Mass which lasted for two hours, however, we didn't notice the time, as it was very solemn, and the Homily message was really something that you would go home pondering on. Masses are held here every Sunday at 10:30am. The arquetta is open for veneration twice a year, 30 January and 14 September which is the Feast of the Holy Cross.

Before the Mass started, I took the opportunity to take photos around the place, particularly the statue of Jesus. Although I was under the scorching heat of the sun, I didn't mind because the view was really breathtaking, but it was quite interesting that right after the Mass, heavy rains poured out, so, I was thankful that I had already taken some photos.


We had lunch at Isdaan Restaurant in Gerona, Tarlac. It was my first time here, and I found the place interesting because of the huge statues.

It was a floating restaurant with huts all around. Diners are allowed to feed the fishes but only with the food given by the staff, and kids are given life vest just in case they fell off the edge while feeding the koi fish. It has a very nice ambience, and I'm sure it would be more relaxing at night. The food was also good, and we were all actually starving because we arrived there at around 2:00pm already.

Next time my family goes on a road trip, I'll make sure that we drop by this place.


Our last stop was at The Aquino Center . We almost didn't make it here because we were late for two hours and we were worried that it would be closed already by the time we arrived, but fortunately, they waited for us, so we were really very thankful to the staff. There was a 30-minute film showing, which narrated the life of Ninoy before, during, and after the Martial Law. Cameras were not allowed inside the museum, although we were allowed to take some photos in the lobby. The museum has an immense collection, and I actually had goosebumps walking around the place, looking at all the paraphernalia that Ninoy had, like his old camera, the clothes that he was wearing when he was shot, and a lot more. The paintings of Cory Aquino were also displayed there, as well as all the souvenirs of her term as the President of the Philippines.

Of course, an out-of-town trip wouldn't be complete without dropping by a Pasalubong area. We went to Nathaniel's in Pampanga where I bought their famous Buco Pandan and siomai, and some chips, unfortunately, I wasn't able to take pictures of the place and the food that I bought.

Next post would be the photos that I submitted to the Camera Club.

Make your home bug-free the natural way

How many times have you used insecticides to get rid of those irritating insects that have somehow found a way to your home?

And how many times have you been frustrated because they don't seem to be working and the insects look like they're just ignoring these harmful insecticides and repellents?

Below are some home remedies that I got from Prevention Magazine (Oct 2000 issue) which you might find useful.

Basil and Bay Leaves. Not just for culinary and medicinal use, they are also effective in warding off insects. Just burn sprigs of basil on barbecue grill to repel mosquitoes. Likewise, a bunch of basil hung over the kitchen window can deter flies.

To repel cockroaches, place bay leaves in corners and dark crannies - under sinks, for instance - and the pests won't return. Place a few leaves in drawers and on bookcases to prevent silverfish damage to books or clothing. (These leaves can be bought at supermarkets --- or you can plant your own).

Citrosa Plant. Put this plant, which has a citrus smell that repels mosquitoes, inside and outside your house. It's a nice ornament for the house too.

Citronella-based candles. Light one candle and place it near entrances or in places high enough so children can't reach them.

Citronella-based soap. Make sure that it contains no harmful chemicals and is also ideal for use even for young children and babies.

Citronella oil. Mix citronella oil with water and put them in a diffuser or burner. This will emit a citrus smell everybody, except the mosquitoes, will love. You can also try mixing one ounce citronella oil and a few drops of baby oil or vegetable oil. Apply to skin before going outside.

Orange or lemon peel. Pour 2 cups of boiling water over peelings of one orange. Let this steep for 24 hours. Strain the mixture into a glass jar and toss the peels into the compost. Use this liquid as a spray mixing in a few drops of castille soap on ants and their nests. Smells nice too! You can also put some lemon peel inside your sugar-bowl to stop the ants from coming in.

Plaster of Paris and oatmeal. They make an effective cockroach killer, when you mix equal parts and sprinkle on roach trails.

Sugar and baking soda. To go after roaches, mix 50/50 granulated sugar and baking soda and place it in the path of these pests. Roaches have an acid stomach, so they can't resist sugar - and the baking soda mixes with the acid in their stomachs.

Talcum powder or chalk dust. To keep ants from entering the house or anywhere else, sprinkle baby powder or any talcum powder on entry points. The ants won't cross this boundary, and the powder is safe around pests and babies. You can also try chalk dust instead of the powder.


Red ground pepper and curry. Prevent black ants from invading your house by putting some of the mixture at the source of their entrance.