Pera Palaguin, Pangarap Abutin--Philippine BTr 2017

7:00 PM angeLjamie 0 Comments


 The Philippine Bureau of Treasury has raised over P70 Billion from its latest tranche (RTB 19) of 3-year fixed Retail Treasury Bond (BTr) offering last March 28, 2017.

The BTr has a fixed coupon rate of 4.25% per annum, at a face value of P5000 per bond.  A rate that's considerably higher compared to the last tranch (RTB 18), which was 3.50% fixed for 10yrs.

 Retail treasury bonds are open to the public and is a good way of introducing the average Juan dela Cruz to the world of investing.  It's considered to be very low risked, and can be treated the same as a time deposit.

 The public can get the bonds from 17 different banks tapped by the Bureau of Treasury, between the public offer period of March 28 to April 06, 2017.

 For those interested, simply contact your bank agent provided in the list.  You'll be required to sign up some forms, and have the invested amount on your bank account for debiting.

 Every quarter, the interest would be credited direct to your bank account, until the bond matures.  At such time, the total amount invested would credited to your bank account.  Take note that the interest is subject to a 20% final withholding tax; which is the same as any deposit account that earns interest.

To know more about Retail Treasury bonds, visit their site here.

Not familiar with BTrs investing?  Here are some of the best blogs regarding this simple investing tool.

Think Pesos 
Security Bank 
Isensey


Photo credit: Philippine Bureau of Treasury

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Earn Rebates Every Time You Shop

7:00 PM angeLjamie 0 Comments



If you're into online shopping or an avid user of sharing apps like Grab car, you can actually get a rebate each time you shop from these merchants.  You can even get a rebate from airline tickets.  Signing up is totally FREE and the cash back is easily credited to your bank account.


Simply sign up with Shopback; click the store link from their platform and buy as normal.  Shopping from Shopback platform ensures that your purchase is credited for the rebate.

 Shopback is a start-up company headquartered in Singapore that uses Southeast Asia's love for online shopping.  They partnered with over 1000+ online stores to give rebates back to customers while shopping.  Think of it as a rewards program online.


The rebate is a percentage of your total purchase on a store.  For example, merchant A is offering 6% rebate and you're total purchase, excluding shipping, is P1000.  You'll earn P60 as rebate from the transaction.

 It's like scouring a free shipping every time.  What's best is that the rebate is on top of any sales, discounts or promotions the store is running.

 To know more about Shopback, visit their website here.
To sign-up here for a free Shopback account and a get a P100 sign-up bonus.

Photo: Shopback

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Wilcon Depot Inc IPO

7:00 PM angeLjamie 0 Comments


Wilcon Depot (WLCON), a known construction material retailer in the Philippines is set for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) this March.  The very 1st for the local bourse this year.

The IPO price is set at P5.05 per share, which is on the low end of the IPO price range that the company submitted to PSE.  Up to 1.39 billion shares are to be listed, with the P7.03 billion proceeds to be used in doubling the companies stores from the current 37 to 65 in the next five years.

The offer period will run from March 20 to 24, with the listing happening on March 31.
 
To know more visit PSE.


Photo Owned by: Wilcon

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Casita del Rose Feature Wall

9:57 AM angeLjamie 0 Comments


A recent guest wrote about their experience in staying at Casita del Rose in her own blog and sent the link to our Facebook page along with a 5-star rating.

Reading the post while doing grocery shopping wasn't conducive to health.  My youngest son had to guide me by my arm while we shop since I'm fully distracted.  All my attention was on my phone and the blog I'm reading.

The guest gushed about our bedroom feature wall and how the room was arranged to bring a homey feeling to guests.  This brought a sense of validation to me.

Hubby and I designed the entire room around that feature wall.  It's made of pallet wood, sanded and stacked in random fashion, then finished off with a top coat glazing to make the wood shine.

 The wall sconce are outdoor lights meant for perimeter fence, but I think it works perfectly here.  It gives a log cabin vibe to the entire place.

The decor of the room is actually not finished yet.  I still have more knick knacks to put in to complete that log cabin look.  Watch out for those little details when you visit Casita del Rose for yourself.

 Read MsEu's blog here.



Photo courtesy of:  Casita del Rose, Just like Eu

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Free Insurance With BPI Pamana Savings Account

7:00 PM angeLjamie 0 Comments


 I've visited BPI Family with the intent of opening an account for Casita del Rose.  It would make tracking of finances that much easier if I can separate the expenses for the unit, as compared to our household expense.

 Ms. Janice of BPI Family Noveleta was nice enough to explain the different ATM account that they have.  


The BPI Pamana Savings account caught my attention.  Getting an insurance is a wise move, but with all the bills, getting that insurance takes a back seat.

The account comes with a free Term Life Insurance worth 3x the account balance is provided by BPI-Philam.  No premiums nor check ups needed.


 It is similar to your typical savings account that earns interest upon reaching and maintaining a certain monthly balance.  There's an ATM or Passbook option and you can even open a US Dollar Pamana account.

 To open an account, simply go to any BPI or BPI Family bank account and bring the following:
Government ID
Proof of billing (address must be the same with your ID)
1x1 ID picture

 Opening balance is as low as Php 5,000 for a BPI Family ATM and Php 25,000 for BPI Island ATM account.  For a full listing of deposit rates and maintaining balance, visit BPI.

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Lifehack Lesson 2: Never Miss A Meralco Bill With e-Meralco Bill

7:00 PM angeLjamie 0 Comments


I like staying on top of my bills; and with Casita del Rose being about 40km away from our house, it would be difficult getting the Meralco billing statement physically and paying it on time.

 No electricity at Casita del Rose is a big NO-NO!

 It's a good thing that Meralco now has e-Meralco billing statement.  You can access your account online and see your billing statement even before they are physically delivered to your address.

 There's also e-mail notification where they would send a copy of your billing statement to your registered email.

 To register, follow these simple steps.  You'll need your Meralco bill.  The oldest bill you can use is 2-months.
  1. Register here.
  2. Agree to the Terms and Condition
  3. Enter the needed information, which you can get from your Meralco bill. 

  4. Click 'Enroll'
  5. Create your username and password
  6. Tick the “Do you wish to be notified of your bill due date and bill amount through email?” *You'll still receive a paper copy of the bill even with the e-bill
You can now log-in to your account.

 You can enroll multiple Meralco account under a single log-in account.  Just go to Options > Enroll Another Service.

 Visit Meralco you have more questions about e-Meralco Bill.

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How To: Pay Meralco Bill Using Smart Money

7:00 PM angeLjamie 0 Comments



If you're a Smart Communications subscriber and has a Smart Money account, you can actually save time and money by paying your Meralco Bill using your Smart Money.  Instead of going to a Bayad Center or queuing up lines at Meralco, follow these steps and pay your bill easily.
  1. Open Smart Money from your Smart Menu


  2. Choose Pay Bills
  3. Choose Others
  4. Meralco Biller Code is 05010


  5. Enter your Meralco Account Number.  This is the 16-digit ATM/Phone Reference No below your billing statement.
  6. Enter the exact amount to pay.  Use # as substitute for (.)


  7. Key in your Smart Money 6-digit PIN.
  8. Wait for the confirmation text from Smart.
And you're done!

It takes 2 to 3days for Meralco to post the bill, and you can only pay bills that are not due.  For overdue accounts, you'll have to go to Meralco to pay the amount.

 Smart will only deduct your Smart Money wallet for the amount paid.  Transaction fee of P2.50 will be deducted to your load or billed to your account if you're on post paid.

 Note that Smart Money wallet is different from your Load Wallet.

 You can actually monetize this feature by offering this payment service to other people at a small fee.  Or encash your Smart Money wallet thru the payment service without paying high encashment fees.

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Early Check In? Sure!

7:00 PM angeLjamie 0 Comments


I've listed Casita del Rose in Airbnb for less than a month and I would say that it's getting some nice attention.  All past weekends since listing were booked, and I'm starting to see inquiries for weekday stays as well.

 One thing I noticed is that guests always ask for an early check in.  I guess that's normal since you'd like to unload whatever you've packed for an overnight stay in Tagaytay and have enough time to explore the place at your convenience.

 As such, I'm glad to say that we're now offering Early Check In, for a fee.  The Fee is about P500 to allow you to check in early, which is between 9AM to 12NN, instead of the 3PM Check In time.  Payment for the Early Check In Fee would be thru Special Offer only.




 The request would have to be approved prior booking and would depend on the availability of the unit.  We don't want to evict our guest staying at the unit the night prior!

The process is still on experimental stage, but we're glad of finding ways we can cater the request of the guests.


Photo owned by Shutterstock

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How To Add Airbnb Calendar to Google Calendar

7:00 PM angeLjamie 0 Comments

If you're using Google Calendar, you can export your Airbnb calendar to Google and see your reservations and activities in one glance.  To do so, just follow these simple steps:
  1. Log in to your Airbnb account, then go to Calendar.
  2. At the top, choose Availability Settings and expand the Sync Calendar option.
  3. Choose Export Calendar and copy the iCal link.

    4.  

  4. Log in to your Google Calendar account.
  5. From the Other Calendar options, choose Add by URL.  Paste the copied iCal link from Airbnb and click Add Calendar.



    6.
  6. It would now show all your active and passed reservations.  You can copy the reservations to your calendar or to a new calendar that you can share in other platforms like blogger. Just click a reservation and choose Copy to my calendar.

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Get Your Coupon Here!

7:00 AM angeLjamie 0 Comments


Did you know that you can score a coupon from Airbnb that you can use when booking an Airbnb room anywhere?  And when I say anywhere, I mean any of the over 3M+ listings that they have, as touted in their About Us page.

Staggering, right?


In Manila alone, there are 9300+ active listings that you can choose from.  There are even Airbnb listings of private resorts all over the country.  Fancy rest houses that are once exclusive to circle of rich people are now listed in Airbnb.  Who wouldn’t want to spend a night at a private beach or a private island?
 
So, sign up now and get your P1100 coupon.  It’s FREE.
 
To use, simply book any of room at Airbnb—aside from Casita del Rose, and Airbnb will apply automatically your coupon value during payment.  Make sure that your total booking (less fee) is over P3500 to be qualified.

So go ahead, book that P5000 a night room in a private island now.


Image source:  www.shutterstock.com, www.airbnb.com

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Airbnb, Verify Me

5:00 PM angeLjamie 0 Comments


Recently, I had a fresh Airbnb user asked me about the verification process of Airbnb.  

Apparently, since I’m the type of cautious host, I’ve added the ‘Verified ID’ requirement on my listing before a guest can make a reservation.  By ticking this option, guest requesting a reservation would be routed thru the verification site.  Where they would be requested to make any of the following:
  1. Add a profile picture
  2. Upload a photo of their government issued ID
  3. Connect another online Account, like Facebook, Google or LinkedIn
  4. Take a selfie
  5. Answer some questions

 Options 1 and 2 are easy.

This can be done by going thru your Dashboard and choosing the Profile tab.  From there, go to the Trust and Verification tab to connect your other online profile to Airbnb.


 It’s option 2 that’s a breaker.

 Uploading the picture in Airbnb takes a lot of patience… and a strong net connection.  Something that’s not very reliable in the lovely PH.  But do not despair.  Try first the option of linking your other account and if that didn’t work, find a better WiFi signal than what your phone provides.  You have 12 hours to complete the verification process and reserve your room.  Just go to www.airbnb.com/verify to complete the verification.

 If time is of the essence, better use your desktop with a DSL connection to upload the ID and complete the verification process.



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Why You Should Book An Airbnb?

5:00 PM angeLjamie 0 Comments

Airbnb offers alternative option where you can stay for your next vacation, especially when the budget is tight, or you're hesitant to stay in questionable hostels.

Here are some of the reasons why you should book an Airbnb room instead of the traditional hotel:

  • Way cheaper to stay in an Airbnb room compared to Hotels. Especially here in the Philippines, where there’s hotel scarcity. For an overnight stay in a hotel in Manila, Trivago lists the room at the lowest P900 for Kabayan Hotel at Pasay City to P18,300 a night at Solaire Casino. Compared to a range of between P600 to P2400 for Airbnb. Most of these Airbnb rooms are studio or 1BR condo’s peppering the city.

  • Same basic amenities between hotel and Airbnb. Airbnb hosts make sure that they provide clean sheets, toiletries, air condition and WiFi access to their guests.

  • There’s a more homey feeling when staying in an Airbnb room. Like, you’re just bunking in at your friend’s or cousin’s house. 

  • You get to stay like a local. There are plenty of Airbnb rooms with complete kitchenette that lets you prepare your own food.

  • All the beautiful interior, in a less stuffy and more shabby chic style. Remember, Airbnb rooms are real houses of people. May it be just their vacation house in a touristy spot, or their upscale condo at the city; Airbnb rooms carry the owner’s style and vibe.

  • There are a lot of Airbnb rooms to choose from in various places. Which is helpful when you want to be a stone throws away from the event you’re attending or the tourist spot your heading. In Metro Manila alone, there are over six thousand active rooms to choose from.

  • No physical money exchanged between hosts and guests. All transactions are done under the safeguard of Airbnb.

Want to book an Airbnb room? Get it at a discounted rate by signing in using this link, for FREE! 


Photo property of ClipartFest

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Casita del Rose is now WiFi Enabled

5:00 PM angeLjamie 0 Comments

Vacations are supposed to be fun.  A time to relax and spend quality time with friends, family or special someone.

It would be great to be off the grid.  Where you won't be bothered by the online community or worst, your work email.

But alas! It is not in the Pinoy's nature to do so.

We want the Facebook update from friends.  And we want to post our own lovely vacation photos as well.  As it happens, and while it happens.

Hence, we're happy to say that while staying at Casita del Rose, you'll still be connected to the net.  The unit is now equipped with WiFi, powered by PLDT Home DSL.




Now, you don't have to postpone the sending of those lovely Tagaytay pictures that you have.  Because internet is #Life!



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