"Making Money....the Biblical Way"

           Frugality is not my cup of tea. Whenever I'm in the mood to earn more than I spend, I always stumble and ends up broke due to my own ignorance of money-making/money-managing principles that I ought to have, especially now that we have a tight budget to follow. Perhaps, I can also blame my personal values as well because I have been used with the belief that as long as you earn money, you don't have to worry about your own survival. But this same principle has led me into many awful traps and made me the worst money handler that I can be. I remember earning 20,000 pesos in my last call center job and spending all of it within an astounding 2 weeks. It's just recently when my father died of heart attack that all of my financial flaws have dawned on me. Luckily, the price to learn these lessons was something I could afford; It came in the form of a very affordable book (it will only cost you 50 pesos!)  entitled "Ang Pera na Hindi Bitin: How to Manage Your Money so God Will Entrust You With More" written by Ardy Roberto, an award winning entrepreneur and writer, and published by OMF Literature Inc.

       The book was written in simple Tag-lish (Tagalog-English), informal, and conversational in approach. It is so entertaining and engaging that I finished reading the 97-paged book in just two-and-a-half hours of sitting. Mr. Roberto not only presented realistic principles about money but also infused several biblical examples and passages that surprised me so much because I thought that "the money is the root of all evil" thing already made it clear that the holy manuscript is totally against 'making money' and 'being rich'. But I was wrong about two things: first, the book is not about helping people to become billionaires but about helping people earn and make the most of what they have, second, God doesn't despise money-making businesses, instead, He cares so much about how we manage our money and wealth through the principle of "financial stewardship", which was emphasized by the author at the very beginning of the book. This principle tells us about God and how he entrust us with the money and wealth that we have just like the servants in "the parable of talents" written in the Bible. We don't own a single thing here on earth but how we make the money that God has entrusted to us grow  no matter how scarce or limited it is will be the determining factor of how trustworthy we are as His servants. It is not all about having more money than we actually need, which is usually the root of greed and all evils, but having the right principles and frame of mind about managing our money to suit our own needs and even give to people who are in need.
             This little book of practicality is bursting with easily digested information that will motivate people like me who are in need of an inspiration to start managing our resources more effectively. The seven principles of effective money-management suggested by Mr. Ardy Roberto is both  timeless and practical which can be applied by people from all walks of life. I'm about to graduate from college this April 2011 and the life-changing money principles and biblical verses I got from this book will definitely be of great help once I step out of the university and start fulfilling the duties of a 'breadwinner'. I still have many things to learn but I will take my own 'baby steps' to move forward. I'm thankful that God made me grab this book at a very crucial time of my life. Needless to say, money and bible can be a perfect combination if treated with the right kind of technique and wisdom. I'm very glad that "Ang Pera na Hindi Bitin" has made it all possible.   

"Beyond Diploma"

“A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that 'individuality' is the key to success.”

- Robert Orben

Every time I smell the aroma of the graduation season which, as of this writing, is now drawing closer and closer, I always remember what U.P. Diliman Chancellor Sergio Cao once said: “There’s a difference between getting a degree and being educated.” It never fails to leave me with the impression that if somebody is about to enter college, he or she must aim both the degree and what Sergio Cao emphasized as real 'education'. There is a clear demarcation line between the two and for people like me who have struggled a lot just to reach this point, it's easy to admit that the essence of graduation rites is more than the degree or diploma you earn but rather in its role as a crucial time to reminisce every single hardship you have earned just to have an education and those that made you stronger, mature, and more prepared than ever to get out of your comfort zone and start following your path outside school. Five years ago, I entered MCU with just the thought of getting a bachelor's degree. I'm lucky that I'm about to leave with both a degree and an education.

Unbeknownst to most of my contemporaries, I spent one and a half years of my college life studying biology in a state university and then stopped for about 6 months to work in a local restaurant as a crew. The following school year, I enrolled in MCU and studied nursing for the next 3 years until I went out of school for the second time around this time to work as a call center agent in Makati. We were evicted at that time from our apartment that's why I have to voluntarily work and help our family build a house first. After 6 months of struggle, I was terminated from my job and was diagnosed with mild tuberculosis, leaving me unemployed and depressed. But due to my parent's encouragement, I went back to school to finish what I have started before. But life, with its own twists and turns, never fails to test my character. Last December, my father, who have worked as an OFW for four years in Saudi Arabia, died of heart attack 2 days before Christmas and almost 3 months before my graduation. This is my story and although I don't know Sergio Cao personally, I strongly believe that the lessons and courage I have gained from these experiences are the same things that he referred as 'education'. I never wanted to sound melodramatic but I thought that a great example should come straight from the horse's mouth. And after the 22 years of my existence, I can proudly say that I've had my own fair share of struggles that taught me a lot of things you just can't learn by simply staying inside school.

As my final days in this educational institution slowly creep in, I have realized that different students have different perceptions about this solemn ceremony. Some believes that it is just a transient ceremony done just for formality's sake when people finally wear their academic attires and throws their mortarboards cheerfully above the air. Some pessimists see it as a simple rite of passage that will welcome students to the world dominated by unemployed and underemployed citizens. Some academic achievers, on the other hand, put more importance to awards and distinctions above anything else, blinded by their belief that impressive grades will assure them of success in life. From my own vantage point, graduation is more than a diploma, more than any awards or medals, and even beyond its usual definition as a 'start' of a new beginning. It is, for me, a ticket to success, a key that will lead anyone to his niche as long as he uses his education to its full potential and believe that learning doesn't stop after graduation. Universities will give us the degree but none of them will automatically provide us the genuine education that takes real character and experience to be achieved.

Graduation can mean a lot of things to different people but one thing should be clear about it: gratitude is not enough to thank our parents and benefactors for the education that has a shelf-life of forever and will withstand the test of time. Few people are lucky enough to have been blessed with the gift of education. It doesn't matter what school you came from but how you use every single lesson that life and your school have inculcated to you. I hope everyone would see graduation the way I see it now. It's above every superficiality and empty interpretation. Life doesn't end where graduation stops. It persists and goes beyond diploma.

DFA, OWWA, and the Saga of a Dead OFW

    It's almost close to a week yet the painful wait for my father's remains is far from being over. The holiday season and the painstaking processes that my father's dead and already freezing body are just two of the culprits why my family's agony still remains at its peak. My aunt, who is in U.A.E. working as a radiologic technologist, is likewise having a hard time finding a sponsor who will help her travel directly to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where my father's body seems to be waiting in vain. The stressful days and nights we are experiencing are yet to meet a final conclusion. For the record, my daddy died ofcardiac arrest last December 23, 2010 and since then, we are completely lost if his recruiter or employer are doing their jobs to repatriate my father's human remains the soonest time possible. I mean, with all the news I've been reading regarding OFW repatriation (I once read of a case wherein an OFW corpse took almost 2 or 3 months before finally returning back to the Philippines due to issues concerning the Philippine Embassy and the employer) I don't feel anything but apprehension and anxiety towards the possible time period it will actually take before we can get back our father's dead body. As recommended, we tried to contact an employee from the Department of Foreign Affairs (who we will meet by tomorrow morning) to help us hasten our father's repatriation. Together with my mother, we are praying and crossing our fingers at the same time that our appointment tomorrow at DFA will soon be proven productive and will help us connect with the Philippine Embassy at Saudi Arabia.

      We are set to go to OWWA as well by tomorrow to enlighten ourselves regarding the requirements and procedures that we need to claim the death benefits from their office. According to my research, natural death and accidental death will be covered by OWWA and the dependents will receive 100,000 and 200, 000 pesos, respectively. However, before anything else, the family should verify first if the deceased OFW is an active member of OWWA at the time of his death. You can do the verification and other inquiries through the OWWA 24/7 Operation Center or by going directly to their website. Here is the lik: http://www.owwa.gov.ph/.

    On the other hand, one should remember that DFA is the first destination to ensure the swift and smooth repatriation of the deceased OFW's body. If you're under the same situation as mine, maybe you can also check your relative's status on the Social Security System to receive death benefits, if there's any. Perhaps also check his/her contract regarding issues like repatriation fees and death benefits. On the other hand, I'm quite positive that God and Daddy are always with us and will definitely help us in every step of the way. OFWs, like my father, are living heroes who deserve the final respect and love upon their deaths. It's one hell of a process but in one way or another, I know we can make it and survive this ordeal as a united family. Please continue to pray for my father and my family. May God be with us always!