The long overdue birthday post
Filed under celebrations, personal stories
My birthday started with a bang, and this is not a tall tale. There was noise in the house so loud I was awakened from my sleep, considering that I don’t even hear two alarm clocks ringing simultaneously on normal days.
I thought it was very sweet of my housemates to throw me a surprise party at 7 a.m., so I dragged myself out of bed at that ungodly hour and went downstairs to tell them I appreciate their efforts but would rather just sleep.
It turned out there was an uproar in the house. One of my housemates, who was about to be married this month, was crying her eyes out while her boyfriend (and his balls) shrunk in front of very angry women. The boyfriend had come to the house so early in the morning after finding out that my housemate was breaking up with him. The guy, who was so used to hitting her he forgot that he wasn’t in his territory, hit her for all the neighbors to see.
When the queen mother of the Order of the Old House on Kamuning Street found out, the guy saw the end to his machismo. I’m sure he would never again come within 100 meters from our street.
After the guy was out the door and all was settled, I went back to my room to continue my beauty sleep. That was when I saw this little thing sitting on my study table.
She was all wrapped in pretty paper, of course. She came with a note that said her name should be Cluckee. Why my abnormal (above-normal) housemate Cathleen chose to give a stuffed clock to a sleepyhead is beyond me. 
When I got to the office, there was a CD of Disney soundtracks waiting for me. Yay! I’ve always wanted to have one.
The managers, including the general manager, later came to my desk that day to give me a birthday card and have a little chat. They wouldn’t believe that I am still eighteen, but the gesture reminded me that I am one lucky wage slave, although I would have appreciated it more if there was some cash, too.
I couldn’t gather everyone in one place at a time convenient for all, so I chose to celebrate my birthday three times–lunch at the office that day, dinner that night at Casa Verde (which serves the best baby back ribs in Cebu) with girls from church, and dinner the following day at the house.
Now I am broke, and I still do not have profound, thought-provoking realizations for a birthday entry, like I promised. The closest thing I have to that is a resolution to watch out where my money goes. I feel that eighteen is the age to start becoming responsible–start saving seriously, cut down on fast food and Coke, wake up early, and… come to work early.
As proof of my determination, I met up with an insurance agent last week. The agent gave me several options, none of which I completely understood. While she was talking about growth and investments and bonds, and was trying to convince me why her company is the best, my mind was swimming, and I couldn’t help but think that, omg, I really am an adult now, dealing with things like these.
That, my two readers, is my big effort to become a responsible citizen. This is not to say, of course, that I’d become prissy. What good is your early twenties if you don’t have little adventures here and there?
Comments
so, happy birthday?! just live life to the fullest! you can make it.
i will. thank you.
happy birthday! you seem to be more responsible than me when I was eighteen, lol. I never think about managing my finances until I was about to marry. So I commend you for that. anyway thank for dropping by on our blogsite.
i am not really eighteen. lol.
Talk about some love-quarrel drama on your birthday pa ha, teehee. About the agent thingee, if you’re earning pretty fine naman na (and have no family obligations whatsoever), and you actually are thinking of ways to double those savings already, try putting some money in a mutual fund (kesa TDs or savings accounts) na lang. Mas malaki ang returns eh. Hehe, ako personally advocate ng MFs eh. Though wala pa talaga ako napag-investan. Pangarap pa lang. Haha. Mas broke pa ako sa iyo kasi. Anyway, goodluck with life!
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what’s TDs and MFs and how are those different from savings accounts? sensya na ha. i badly need to get me some financial education.
[…] Quest for the True North » Blog Archive » The long overdue birthday post […]
Oops, sorry about that. TD’s (time deposits) basically have lower interest rates compared to MF’s (mutual funds). Meaning, mas kaunti tubo per annum. But unlike TD’s that are backed up by PDIC in case of loss (meaning mababawi mo kapag nawala sa’yo, say, yung bangko kung saan ka nag-open ng TD ay nanakawan, hehe), losses incurred in an MF cannot be recouped. It’s like a gamble that you make kasi when you engage in an MF. But you can always buy then pull out your investment in an MF anytime unlike in a TD that you have to hold on to a certain period of time pa before getting back. Deposits (savings or time) kasi are merely ways of keeping your money in some vault na may kaunting konswelo na tubo. Hehe. Kaya kung medyo gahaman ka na sa pera, matitempt ka talaga na mag-invest sa MF. Hehehe, pero MFs are generally safe naman. Losses are not as drastic as compared to investing in stocks na talaga kasi pooled ang money sa MF, at professionals ang naghahawak ng pera mo. Kapag stocks naman kasi na, ikaw na mismo magbabantay sa stock market, teehee. Ibang storya na pala yun…
Hindi pa rin naman ganun kadami ang alam ko, but I hope I got to share something 
ah. hehe. yep, i’ve heard about time deposits. i thought yun ang may pinakamalaking returns. what i knew was that, kung malaki na pera mo, mag-time deposit ka na lang instead of a regular savings account. i heard mas malaki ang interest sa time deposit. ngayon ko pa narinig yang mutual fund as a way of saving money. i mean, i probably read about it or heard about it in economics class, pero di dumikit sa utak ko. how does it work? parang stocks pero iba ang maghahandle? tsaka bat andami mo palang alam? investor ka na no?
Yup, tama ka naman na mas malaki ang time deposit returns kaysa sa savings accounts. Pero may mas malaki pa dun– hehe, yun ngang MFs. Mukhang pera lang talaga eh noh. Hehe. Let’s just say that it’s taking the next level out of the conventional way of saving up for the future. Mutual funds kasi are usually handled by an investment management company who are made up of investment professionals who does the actual job of picking the stocks for us in the market using the money that they get from us. Mutual funds by definition diba are money pooled from different investors, big or small. For as low as 5,000php nga, pwede mo nang ipatubo yun sa mutual fund na mapipili mo. You usually sign up some form sa company na may hawak nung mutual fund, then they give you some certificate to back up the money that you gave to them. Sa stocks/bonds din nag-iinvest ang isang mutual fund, dito nga lang ay merong middleman. Pwede kasi na diretso ka nang tumawag sa broker ng PSE para ikaw mismo mamili ng stocks na gusto mo eh. Sa mutual fund, may ibang tao na mas marunong na pipili for you. Parang ganun. Hehe. Pangarap ko talaga na makapasok sa investment management industry, kasi tiba tiba ang kwarta dun eh. Haha. Dream ko pa lang maging investor. Baon pa nga ako sa utang ngayon eh, kaya imposible pa. Anyway, take it easy at work. Thanks!
Belated again! Hehehe.
Glad to hear you’re thinking of ways to save money, or at least make your money grow.
I’ve invested in a mutual fund, and right now, naloka na yung pera ko kasi lumiit na siya. Hindi naman kasing liit nung una kong ininvest, mas malaki pa rin yung money now kesa sa original amount that I invested (di pa rin ako nagdadagdag kasi tinatamad ako), but there was a point when it was doing really good that my money was doubled. Kaso I’m not sure what’s happening with the stuff now dahil umonti nanaman siya. I should probably pull it from that fund and place it in another, yung less risky. I don’t know much about MFs but I liked the idea of letting my money grow at a higher rate than the usual TDs.
mutual funds are great. just make sure what you invest is money you won’t need. like place it there and forget about it for a year.
TDs give you outrageously low income.
savings accounts, asus. pinapatay ka sa inis. 4% lang, may tax pa. keep your spending money there, nothing more. for bills, dates, etc.
here are more tips. sensiya na, ako rin ang nagsulat. try not to get bored. hehe.
http://mayamanako.blogspot.com/search?q=capacity+to+buy+fish+
It’s a little late but Happy Born day!
And like you said, you should start saving up. I regret the day I went splurging with my salary back when I was much younger. One day I told myself that I should be responsible in life. So I saved up and invested my money thru financing. Few years later I bought my first car.
why do i suddenly feel na napag-iwanan na ako ng mundo when it comes to handling money?
maraming, maraming salamat sa inyong mga comments. i really appreciate hearing your advice.
ella: i’m interested in mutual funds. oo nga naman, kung may better way of handling money na mas better ang returns, why not try? naintindihan ko ang concept ng stocks; some of my friends have persuaded me to try investing in stocks, pero i was hesitant kasi wala akong basic understanding ng stock exchange. i told myself na pag-aralan ko muna ang stocks. ayun, eto, two years na ang nakalipas.
it’s good to know na there are people who are good at it and who will do it for me. actually, parang nabasa ko na ata yan sa isang book before on how to get rich. baka di lang dumikit sa utak ko. 
anyway, where do i look for companies that handle mutual funds? how do i know which company to trust? ngapala, syempre, may share sila sa earnings ng investor no? tsaka magkano minimum na pera kelangan kong ibigay? nag-iisip ako kung pwede singwenta pesos. lol. joke.
jen: salamat, lukring. sabi ko na nga ba eh, mayaman ka.
may mairecommend ka ba na company? okay yung double the capital ah. parang gusto ko yun.
attitcus: binasa ko na. salamat sa tips. inggit ako sayo. if you started saving since second grade, aba, milyonarya ka na siguro?
hmmm… i started saving money early, too, since first day of school ata. kaso noong bata pa ako binibalik ko sa nanay ko ang mga ipon ko, kaya wala akong nailagay sa bangko. maaga rin ako nagkapera. i earned my first thousand when i was eight. lagi kasi ako sumasali sa art competitions when i was a kid. from then on, marami na akong na-earn through art contests, up until high school. kaso nasa mother ko lahat . okay naman. i don’t regret give it all back to her, though. kaya ngayon na lang ako mag-build ng sarili kong fortune. hehe
jomari: nah. don’t regret it. for me, it’s a way of enjoying your first earnings. ako wala akong regrets, kasi marami naman akong na-experience na di ko na-experience back when i didn’t have my own money. btw, share ka naman ng secrets mo. san ka nag-invest? gusto ko ring magka-kotse.
hi aileen! tingin ka dito–> http://www.icap.com.ph. Anjan po listahan ng available MF’s sa country. Sa pagdedecide kung ano ang okay sa mga iyon, mukhang hindi ko po kaya sagutin pa yun, hehe… may mga links naman sa website ng mga companies na makikita sa site na binigay ko, baka makatulong na yun. Happy Investing! Hehe.
thanks sa list.
kasama pala ang prudential. yun kasi company nung agent na mineet ko eh. sige, mag-compare and contrast na lang ako. magtatanong na rin ako. thank you very much! 
Hi aileen,
Nice post! Again, belated happy birthday.
Trying to be responsible and mature is truly a challenge. I have seen you savoring these challenges and I have seen your transition. Just remember that maturity does not come to us out of the blue.
Enjoy life and learn your lessons well, hahaha!
Hahaha. What transition are you talking about? lol.