unexpected ways I save money

The thought of keeping some bucks into my pocket is always welcome.

Here are the some unexpected ways I save money.

1. I have switched to shampoo bars

109 pesos shampoo bar from Lazada will last me more than 5 months a piece. (Whoops shampoo bar from Lazada - you can get it from Shopee as well)

So what I do is buy 2 or 3 pieces at a time then cut 1 bar in half and use it till it melts.

Saves me a lot of money. They are unscented at it lathers really well.

I remember before that 

2.Haircut - buying a scissor specific for hair cut has saved me a lot of money.

Especially because I am not picky when it comes to my hair. 

I have wavy hair and I usually like my haircut plain straight. So I just follow a simple tutorial on YouTube and cut my hair away, annd since my hair is naturally waivy, imperfections are unnoticeable.

Of course, in a year I still get my hair cut from a salon but for just refreshing my hair with a 1 to 2 inches of trim, I am confident that I can diy it at home ☺️.

3. Waxing - although waxing at salons are convenient, it becomes burdensome due to price hence I became determined to do my own wax.

I watched a lot of tutorials online. At first I was drawn to sugar waxing, then I have tried hot waxing and lastly hard wax.

I learned that hard waxing is best on sensitive areas because its less messy while hot wax where in you use wax paper is best for legs.

Just a disclaimer though, I think DIYing hot wax is a skill. So just do it if you are confident you are not gonna burn your own skin. I feel that I get comfortable doing it on my own because I observe the people who work at the salon closely & Ithink that I don't have that sensitive skin, so I can tolerate some heat👍.

That is it for now..

I Finally figured out how to minimise my Stress

Its undeniable that stress nowadays are increasing.

No matter what age or demographics you belong to - there is always some kind of stress that pops out here and there.

After around 14 or 15 years working ( right after college) I finally able to manage my stress.

Here's the list below.

1. Find nature: this is the hardest for me because I lived in a dense subdivision.

I am thankful I found an undeveloped land that allows outsider to jog in it at a certain time.

I made an effort to ride 1 jeep and get to that destination

At first, I thought to myself that I am busy. With my work of 8-5:30 I can only squeeze in Saturday. 

So I did a handful of Saturdays walks and I loved it.

At a certain point, 1 times a week is not enough. And I thought I wanted a variety.

I saw a lot of people biking in the area as well and I thought to myself that I want to bike.

I also discovered a zumba session at the far end of the property and I am hooked the first time I joined in.

And I am so thankful that zumba class is  just donation basis, any amount would do.

Joining in a Zumba session alone gave me quite an anxiety at first because I don't know if I am getting in the way of the usual Zumba ongoers.

But when I learned the etiquette, people I do not know, now smiles at me.

Zumba Etiquette: upon joining in a formation greet the people next to you or people who is in front of you, for sure your experience will be pleasant.

The Zumba session and walking gave me the best positive energy. Was that called endorphins? 

Walking in the nature vs walking for work.

I also wanted to emphasize its different for me to stay relaxed if I walk for some kind of errand. I feel like I am occupied thinking of what I needed to accomplish which means I feel stressed. Also, it doesn't help that I walk beside sidewalks which doesn't provide a good scenery.

While if I go to that park like property ( since the houses are not up yet ) even if I know that I have work 

Debt snowball... my 2nd debt

 2024 arrived and I can't help to feel that sure time flies.... time flies so fast.

Not to mention I am on my late 30s now. Its sad but that is the reality of life.

I can only move on and do what I think makes the most sense.

So this January for sure, nobody will be exempted even me, making a goal on this first month of the year. Because that's what people do. There is no escaping it 😆.

Here it is- not sure if I can make it.. but I will try to pay off a personal loan whopping 5digits total this year.

To date, this is the highest loan i have next to my mortgage... And remember my lowest debt is a loan from SSS? Where I paid more than double the amount of my takeout loan. <I dont know why I do not have a post about that loan but I will sure make one once I made sure I haven't talked about it in this blog yet>

I have a very bitter memory about that sss loan because I thought that I can get a 100% condonation like it always have done in the past. I thought I am going to outsmart it by not paying for many years banking on that condonation policy.

Then the the reality slaps me in the face and the 100% condonation did not happen the way I expected it. Hence the bitter ending of paying more than double the amount of my take-home pay whopping 27,162.63 pesos.

A real life example of the borrower is slave to the lender. That I am at the mercy of the institution where I loaned money from.

That they can change the terms of payment or change the condonation policy however they wish.I am sure glad I had that taken down last 2023.

Anyway, as I was saying. My next target and my first goal for the year 2024 is to pay my second largest debt. My personal loan.

I guess I cannot run from it for long.

Wish me luck...

"the borrower is slave to the lender"

That is it for now... comment down below what is your 2024 goals ♥️.