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6 GOOD MONEY HABITS TO BUILD THIS YEAR

by Bogie January 12, 2022

It is good to start the new year right, especially when managing your hard-earned money. Our habits can make a significant difference in reaching our financial goals. It also determines the state of our finances. We probably had terrible spending habits last year; however, we have the power to improve our financial status today by taking small steps of change that will bring impact to our financial health. Below are the habits you need to build to improve your financial situation.

1. Set a Clear Financial Goal

Write down your money goals for this year. It can be a short-term or long-term goal. As you write your goals, make them specific. Common financial goals include getting out 1. of debt, saving for retirement, building an emergency fund, and many others. Your goals will serve as your motivation, and it will allow you to look at your money differently. You will begin to see how every decision you make matters to your financial health.

2. Create a Budget

Creating a budget is very important for you to reach your financial goals. It is how you get intentional with your money. It allows you to live within your means. Some people fail to budget because they think it is unnecessary, especially with the little money coming in. However, if you want to make your financial goals come into reality, you must know what money is coming in and what’s going out when you are spending.

You may try to create a spending plan. You can find a lot of templates available online and just edit them to suit your needs. Once you have made your budget or spending plan, always stick to it.

3. Save

It is essential to prepare for any expenses that may come unexpectedly. Saving money is necessary to have a secure financial future. As financial experts would say, the more you save, the easier it is to finance your long-term goals. It will also be easier to handle financial emergencies such as house repairs, medical bills, etc. Saving money might not give you the immediate reward, but it will surely pay off in the long run. You might not have everything you want right now, but it will be exciting when the day comes that you can pay cash for things.

When you get paid, the idea of saving is to set aside a certain amount of money for your future. You have to do this before you spend money on anything else. How much money you should set aside for saving is totally up to you.

Since it is the start of the year, you might want to start a Money Saving Challenge. A money-saving challenge is a fun way to save and, at the same time, help you with your goal. You can find a lot of resources on this online. Whatever saving challenge you take, remember to set realistic goals for saving, and don’t push yourself too hard.

4. Pay Off Debts

Dealing with debt, especially during the pandemic, is challenging and stressful. However, you have to include it in your goal this year to pay off your debt, as it gives you more opportunities to save. If your resources are getting back on track, you may start making a habit of paying more than the minimum to eliminate your debt ahead of time. Moreover, settle those debts that are easy to pay first and then move on to pay off another debt one after the other.

Also, make it a habit not to accumulate debt. The more debt you have, the more your monthly fees and the less money you will have on savings and buying other essentials.

5. Use your Money Wisely

Investing your money allows you to grow your money over time. The earlier you invest, the more financial security and wealth you will have. If you haven’t started investing yet, this year might be the best year to start. You are never too young to start planning for your future. If you are not very familiar with investing, you can ask for help from financial advisors. You may also read additional information here.

6. Track Your Financial Progress

Don’t forget to track how much progress you’ve made on your money goals. How much debt have you paid off? How much money have you saved for a home or a vacation? Tracking your progress will motivate you to pursue what you have started.

These tips are easier said than done, as establishing better money habits takes time. However, if you have the discipline to pursue what you want for your money, you will surely achieve your goals. The sacrifices you will be making today will surely be worth it in the long run.

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Surviving the Year of Teaching in a Pandemic

by Bogie June 30, 2021

Dear Survivor,

How are you doing today? I know you are very busy right now preparing for the opening of the next school year, but I just wanted to tell you that I’ve been thinking about you.

As you prepare for the next school year, I just want to let you know that you have done an excellent job last year. I was there when you first started your Kindergarten class. You pressed on the unmute button and enthusiastically introduced yourself to your students. You sang together to a greeting song, with each voice cutting in and out on top of each other. I have heard you often say, “Can you hear me?” and your students gladly respond. Then, 40 minutes after, you waved goodbye and sat in silence.

“Will I be able to make it through the school year?” Will my students be able to learn something with this kind of learning platform? Those were the questions that you repeatedly asked yourself.

I know all the work you have done and what you have put through so you can adapt to online teaching in a blink of an eye. And a year after, you are here, and I am glad YOU ARE STILL TEACHING. I thank you for making it through despite the challenges of the pandemic.

It’s Okay to Fail

It’s okay to fail and try the next day again. The shift to distance learning has allowed you to try a lot of different things. There were lots of trials and errors. Remember the challenges you faced with regards to connectivity? You waited for months to have an internet connection in your school. Your students can’t hear you clearly because they have a poor internet connection at home. Some of them don’t even own computers or laptops. Other students can’t join classes due to connectivity issues.

There were issues on Google Meet links that didn’t work out, there were scheduled brownouts in the community, students did not turn in learning materials because they don’t have a printer at home, and many other challenges. However, you never took these as hindrances to learning but considered them as learning opportunities.

Those challenges have taught you patience. It taught you to be flexible and be resourceful. I appreciate you for not giving up on your students and for continuing to try out new ways to help them succeed in school.

Whenever you feel like you’re not making any difference, always remember that growth takes time. I understand how you may feel discouraged about your abilities and progress in your teaching skills. You are working with students day in and day out, putting time and effort and lots of prayers into all that you do with them, but aren’t seeing the return. That doesn’t mean that you are not making a difference; it just that growth takes time.

Kindness Matters

During the entire school year, people deal with anxiety, stress, financial issues, and isolation. I appreciate you because you have always practiced one of the rules in your Kindergarten class, “Be Kind to One Another.”

I appreciate you for responding nicely to parent’s inquiries even when sometimes they can be too demanding. The smile you give to a parent when you greet them or talk to them matters a lot.

Thank you for finding ways to connect with your students, even as you’re trying to take care of yourself and your own family. The compliments you gave to each of them are constructive, motivating them to do their best.

Wearing the Right Attitude

Although students are a bit difficult to handle online and many learners fall behind and embrace giving up, you never fail to motivate them. You always try out ways to make your lessons enjoyable to them, and when they don’t respond, you make it your best to visit them at their homes despite home visit restrictions.

And, of course, just like every other year, some students have needs that are so big, and you just cry out to God asking for help how in the world you will ever be enough for this child. You may not be able to do everything for your students, but the attitude you show in class helps your students relax, remember, focus, absorb information, and learn a lot.

Your grateful heart also made a difference in the life of your students and your co-teachers. You taught your students to be thankful for the little things by making them write on their Gratitude Journals. It was a life-changing experience.

Rest: Our Secret Superpower!

I am pretty sure that you are tired and always looking forward to the weekend. Despite your busy schedule, I appreciate the moments you take to recharge and nurture yourself. Rest is genuinely our secret superpower!

Thank you for taking time to rest, as teaching in the pandemic was more than hard work. Remind your co-teachers to have the needed time for themselves as it is essential for their mental health. It is also necessary to have that required time for yourself to process your thoughts and feelings, so you can be there to support your students and be prepared to talk to them about specific issues in life in the coming school year.

Prayer Changes Everything

There were times that you felt overwhelmed with the teaching challenges. Most of the time, there’s just way too much on there- more than you could ever hope to get done in any reasonable amount of time. Sometimes, you don’t know what to do. Then, you turn to God and Pray.

Thank you for showing me that you can’t fix all your problems alone and that what you need most of the time is PRAYER. Your dependence on God’s enablement, His joy, His strength, His wisdom, and His power has allowed you to overcome all the challenges that come your way.

The way you follow Christ in today’s time can impact others to also rely on Him for help. Thank you for reminding your students and co-teachers of the importance of prayer. In this time of uncertainty, we need to work hard, yes, but we need to pray harder.

Finishing Well!

Lastly, continue doing the call of teaching and finish it well. Remember the famous story about the Tortoise and the Hare? Your students love to hear this story over and over again. This story is an excellent reminder of how we can start well and finish well. You may have started teaching during the pandemic, and everything was not going well for you. However, I appreciate you for making it through this year. The way you teach and serve now can inspire the teachers that come after you. May your life lead the way as an example of love and hope to the teachers who will follow your lead.

With Much Love,

Teacher Bogie

This story is an entry to ComCo Southeast Asia’s “Write to Ignite Blogging Project Season 2: Dear Survivor”. The initiative continues to respond to the need of our times, as every story comes a long way during this period of crisis. The initiative aims to pull and collate powerful stories from the Philippine blogging communities to inspire the nation to rise and move forward amidst the difficult situation. The “Write to Ignite Blogging Project” Season 2 is made possible by ComCo Southeast Asia, with Eastern Communications and Jobstreet as co-presenters, with AirAsia and Xiaomi as major sponsors, and with Teleperformance as a sponsor.

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13 Years and Counting in Blogging

by Bogie February 23, 2021

It was 13 years ago that I started blogging. I started for the reason that people can make money in it. It was not easy from the start as there were a lot of things to learn. I totally started from scratch. Moreover, there were times that I ran out of creativity and topics. My experiences has made me realize that I have grown to be a better blogger. Most of all, it has led me to expand my horizons.

Being Part of a Community of Bloggers and Content Creators

Blogging has given me the opportunity to meet new friends who are also into blogging. What’s good about being in a group of people who share the same passion and interest is they are able help you grow and inspire you to do your best. Whenever I run out of creativity in writing, I look to my blogger friends and ask for some inspiration. Most of the time, our community often conducts a series of activities that helps us grow in our followings, improve our contents and strengthen our relationships together as a community.

Joining Events

Because of blogging and because I am part of a community, I am able to join events. From store opening, product launchings, conferences, community developments, talks and many others. These events enabled me to meet business owners, managers and a lot of wonderful people. Joining events gave me the opportunity to improve my social skills.

Even during this Covid-19 pandemic, I am still able to join online events. It is very exciting as I am able to meet a lot of bloggers from different parts of the country.

Improving and Learning New Skills

One of the areas that I have also grown as a blogger is on the development of my skills. Through blogging, I was able to learn photo editing, a little bit of video editing, graphic design and many others. Most of all I have improved in my writing skills. Over the past years, I am just writing for the sake of writing, but now I am mindful of what topics to write and what topics that create interests to my readers.

I am also thankful to friends who taught me how to tweak my blog a bit to make it look more pleasing. From blogger set-up, my blog is now on WordPress. Up until now, I am still learning some of the technicalities but someday soon I’m gonna be able to master it.

Blogger to Social Media Influencer

I now have the chance to be working with local brands through their campaigns. The moment I got my first collaboration, my confidence grew. It inspires me to do my best and be a better influencer. This experience has taught me to be authentic and unique in everything that I do. Most of all, I have learned to just be yourself and do not compare yourself to others.

Exploring More

With all the good things blogging has brought me, I am still open for more experiences and learning. Many people are now making money on different social media sites. That is why I am into building my Youtube channel, but I am still figuring out what better contents that I will be creating. Moreover, I wanted to explore more on building followings on my Facebook Page and Instagram. I might be joining TikTok soon, but I am still contemplating on it. Whatever that will help me grow, I will definitely pursue it.

Throughout the years of blogging, I have learned that things do not happen by accident. If you want to pursue something, you will have to make a choice. If you want to improve on something, continue learning, be teachable and most of all be yourself. I am looking forward to many more years of growth in blogging.

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