Spending New Year’s Eve at Sulo Hotel

Because my rhinitis acts up when I get exposed to smoke, hubby and I decided to spend New Year’s Eve in Sulo Hotel in Quezon City.

A 20-minute drive from home, we chose Sulo Hotel primarily because we thought it offered free Internet connection. Unfortunately, and much to my chagrin, the hotel charges a ridiculous PhP300 per hour for its Wi-Fi connection. What a ripoff!

We paid PhP4,500 for a Deluxe room, a 26.5-square meter bedroom that can hold up to three people. Another disappointment came when I surfed the Internet (using my personal SMART Bro) and checked Sulo Hotel’s website. The website revealed that the hotel has an ongoing promo wherein a triple occupancy bedroom only costs PhP2,009. The promo is in effect if you book from Dec. 15 onwards. When did I book our room? Dec. 1, thinking that the hotel would be sold out if we booked a little bit later.

Room 127 is okay. I don’t think that this was worth PhP4,500 though. One, there was only one toothbrush when we arrived and I had to call housekeeping to request for one more. There was also only one bottle of water (complimentary drinks) but I just didn’t bother with getting the second bottle.

Two, the hotel is quite old and anyone can tell that, judging by the chipped-off bathroom sink.

Three, the fridge is also in need of replacement. The inside door lacked a grill that would keep water from falling.

Fourth, there was no New Year’s activity but hubby said I shouldn’t expect much from a three (or four) star hotel.

The only redeeming value of the hotel is the bed, which was quite comfortable. We also maximized the money we paid for by charging all our mobile phones and using our laptop for several hours. Hah!

And of course, it provided me with protection from the smoke and dust from firecrackers.

Come Dec. 31, 2009, we will definitely not go back to Sulo Hotel to spend New Year’s Eve. I’m hoping hubby and I can spend it in a much better hotel, where the money we will shell out would be worth it. I also had to keep in mind that I’m spending time with my husband, which is what’s important.

Happy New Year to all!

Make it a habit: Start the year with an emergency fund

An emergency fund is a requirement to financial independence. Everything starts here. If your family still doesn’t have an emergency fund, start saving for it this 2009. Or if your emergency fund is still not enough, beef it up for the new year.

But many people are still confused about emergency fund. How much should be your emergency fund? How long should it last? How do you compute for it? Why should we have an emergency fund?

There is no clear rule on how to set up your emergency fund. There is also no clear rule on how long should an emergency fund last. Financial planner and personal finance author Suze Orman recommends having an emergency fund of at least eight months. But because of the US economic crunch, Orman recommends having as much as 12 months of emergency fund.
Filipino personal finance author Francisco Colayco, meanwhile, recommends six months. It’s really up to you which one to follow. Personally, I follow Suze Orman’s eight-month rule.

What is an emergency fund for? Simply put, if you are not able to work, if you become unemployed, if you become sick, an emergency fund should be able to tide you over while you’re not earning money. An emergency fund should allow you to pay for your household bills and other payment obligations.

So how do you compute for your emergency fund? Basically, there are three approaches.

Option 1. Identify your fixed expenses monthly.
Identifying how much are your fixed monthly expenses will not take more than 10 minutes. List down all the bills you need to pay monthly. This should include household bills, grocery bills, insurance payments, loans, amortization, etc. If you’re paying some bill on an annual basis, just divide it by 12 (for 12 months).

Option 2. Use your gross income as benchmark.
This is a lot simpler. If you’re earning PhP30,000 gross monthly, just use this as your benchmark. Using your gross as a standard, this allows you to have more breathing room.  However, if you’re earning a lot of money, let’s say PhP100,000, this means you should have at least 800K of emergency fund and this may take you a long time to achieve it.

Option 3. Use your net income as benchmark.
This is also simple as you only need to look at your payslip and see how much is your net income monthly. The tricky part is that many of us tend to spend more than our net income. Just notice how often we dip into our savings because we already run out of money two weeks after we received our salary.

When you have already chose which option to use as benchmark, just multiply it by how many months you think your emergency fund should last. So if you’re earning 30K gross monthly or have a fixed expense of 20K a month, just multiply it by six or eight months.

Season’s Greetings from Pinay and Money

Sorry I haven’t had the time to update this blog but just like the rest of us, I’ve been caught with the Christmas bug.

But let me wish all of you a merry and healthy Christmas and a (literally) prosperous New Year. Let us all strive to have a fruitful year in 2009.

MRT, LRT to reduce operations on Christmas, New Year

Are you a frequent MRT or LRT commuter? Just keep in mind that MRT and LRT will reduce their service this holiday season.

MRT3 will start at 5:30 AM during the holidays. The last train will leave Taft Ave at 10:30 PM instead of 11 PM.

Meanwhile, the last trait (LRT1) will leave Baclaran at 8 PM. The train from Monumento will leave 8:30 PM.

BPI’s tips for hassle-free holidays

I received an e-newsletter from BPI, where several tips were given for hassle-free holidays.

Tip #1: Avoid queuing at the ATM to withdraw.
Use your BPI Express credit cards for shopping and dining this holiday season. You not only enjoy the convenience, you also get more perks and privileges at partner merchants.

My advice: make sure that you pay your credit card debt in full every month to avoid incurring penalty and finance charges.

Tip #2: Manage your budget by purchasing on installment at easy-on-the-pocket terms of 3, 6 , 9, 12, 18 and 24 months.
Real 0% and Special Installment deals are available in all major appliance, computer and gadget stores, as well as your favorite shopping establishments like Greenhills Shopping Center, Marks & Spencer, Robinsons Department Store, SM Department Store, Store Specialists, Inc. (SSI) brands, Toys R Us and Zara.

My advice: Buy only what you need. Just because you have a credit card doesn’t mean you can afford to buy big-ticket items. Make sure you have save for it or you’re just using your credit card to earn points. And again, always pay in full every month!

Tip #3: Use your Frequent User Rewards points to redeem items you can use or give away as Christmas gifts.

Tip #4: Save time with BPI’s convenient 24/7 channels.
Use Express Phone, Express Onlune, Express Mobile for your various banking needs like baying for your credit card and utility bills, inquiring your card and account balances, transfering funds and reloading your prepaid phones.

My advice: Online banking is highly recommended. I just hope that BPI Express Online stays online during the long holiday break.

Chinabank raises its interest rates again!

Chinabank raises its interest rates again!

For the fourth time this year, Chinabank increased its interest rates again. For the Diamond Time Deposit, the interest rate for the 50K to 199,999 bracket is 5%, a good 0.25% higher.

The rates are effective Dec. 15, 2008. Here is the interest rate table for the Diamond Time Deposit. 

 And here’s the interest rate table for the ordinary time deposit of Chinabank.

Lower transpo fares effective today

Good news to commuters!

Effective today, Dec. 15, the minimum fare for jeepneys is PhP7.50. Fares of ordinary or non-airconditioned buses will now be PhP9 for the first five kilometers. Fares for airconditioned buses, however, remain at PhP11 for the first five kilometers.

For frequent taxi commuters, the compulsory tip of PhP10 will be temporarily suspended.

Keep in mind though that the fare reduction is only provisional and will be effective until February 2009 only.