1 Million Pesos In 1 Year Update – October 24, 2011 As Of 3:11PM GMT +8

I have not updated my blog regarding my quest for 1 million pesos in 1 year. It's almost the end of October 2011. I am going to lay down the things that happened for the past weeks.

1. I sold my Acer Aspire One netbook for 7,000php. Profit of 500php.

What happened? I always go out and work just to let my brain work than getting stuck inside the house. The problem with my Acer Aspire One netbook is that it does not have long lasting battery. It only lasts for 1 hour only that's it.

Now I am in the same dilemma as to whether to buy a brand new netbook or settle with used one again but long lasting battery than my acer.

2. I paid my credit (finally) to Mr. E. Now I am going to pay off the money I owe to Ms. S and other people that I owe. Before the year ends, hopefully I paid off all my debts.

3. As of the moment, I have zero savings and not close to 1,000,000php:c I do not know what's wrong with me. I am a total spender. I want to keep track on what I spent yet I end up stopping the habit.

Before the month ends, my goal to save 25,000php. If I am going to have this money, then I can buy brand new netbook as a reward to myself.

Actually, need to raise 50,000php - 25,000php savings, 25,000 mortgage.

1 Million Pesos In 1 Year Update – September 16, 2011 As Of 8:39 AM GMT +8

Here is my latest update for September 16, 2011 to get 1 million pesos in 1 year through earning money online.

Just yesterday, I bought used netbook Acer Aspire One D250-1026. For picture, here it is:



Photo courtesy of reviews.cnet.com

Specs as stated on the box:

CPU: Intel Atom processor N270
LCD: NLED 10.1WSVGAG
RAM: 1GB DDR2
HDD: 160GB
LAN: 10/100 Base T
Wireless: 802.b/g WLAN
Softload: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

I bought it at 6,500php. I saw this netbook on sale on the Internet and I had 3,000php and borrowed 4,000php from my auntie (which money I let her keep for my earnings, it's like she is my bank).

What I can say, well it's working fine. It has all the needed software, with movies, and music as well plus sun broadband with sim for free.

Return On Investment: 6 1/2 months (estimate)

This will increase my productivity since no more crashing google chrome, slow opening of websites for my research and stuff.

I am going to test this netbook out today for my first day of work with Acer. As for my Toshiba satellite, it would be for my sisters usage. At least, we won't argue on who is going to sit first or use the laptop.

1 Million Pesos In 1 Year Update – August 31, 2011 As Of 4:50 AM GMT +8

This is my month end update for my 1 million pesos in 1 year quest through earning money online.

This is my assessment of what had happened this month. Not too much but I think I am going there…

My Productivity:

1. Thanks to my new UK client, I was writing articles almost everyday.
2. I slept a lot for the past days maybe because I always work late at night and sleep in the morning.

Finances:

1. Zero in savings.
2. 6 months delayed in mortgage.
3. 1 month delayed in my SSS payment.

Organizational skills:

1. I am so messed up with work; I have left some clients hanging I do need to catch up on them and not taking in more work.
2. Room is messy, my table is messy.

My spending:

1. I spend around 500php when I go out. 100php when I go to an internet café which is 30mins travel from where I left.
2. I spend on useless things, I spend about 300-400php on massage 2 hours + tip. Think better settle with 100php (30mins back and 30mins reflex and tip for 50php). It’s 150php per session.
3. Unplanned spending.

September comes… hope things will get much better…

1 Million Pesos In 1 Year Update – August 26, 2011 As Of 3:52 PM GMT +8

This is my 1 million pesos in 1 year update for today as I unravel my journey in earning money online.

Cash On Hand – 5,249php (got the money yesterday, August 25, 2011)

Here are some of what I spent:

1. Mortgage – 3,500 (given to my mother)
2. Food and groceries for husband – 602
3. Load (globe and smart) – 150
4. Went out yesterday, internet café to do voice chat with client and do some work – 200php
5. IC unit for Phillips TV – 500php
6. Other expenses – coke, smokes, etc husband – 47

Money Left – 250php

My husband saw me withdrawing money yesterday and he wants to get his phone back at the pawnshop SE phone that was pawned I think more than 5x already for 1,300php. This would be deductible for his salary. The problem with me is that he is not doing much work to compensate the amount I gave him every week. I need to work things out so that I will not keep on losing money. This is unexpected.

I learned my lesson to withdraw money on my own so that he will have no idea how much money I am earning.

I have some problems now I have left unfinished orders from other clients. I need to finish them up because I do not know until when this new UK client I will be working for.

With regard to my virtual assistance work, I am officially starting today and I would definitely dedicate much of my time to be more efficient bring in more money for my client so that he will be happy and left off some burden from his shoulders. This would enable him to focus on important things than doing petty stuff.

Again, my problem as of the moment is counting how much money I am earning even if I have not finished the work yet. I have to shift my mindset. This should be counting how much work, i.e. articles done, hours spend, posts done for data entry on a single day. The more I put in the more money I will be receiving.

Starting today, my focus would be on the output not on the money I would earn. My top priority is customer satisfaction!

Update on the netbook? Women do love changing minds. I am one of them. As of the moment, I put the netbook on hold. I told my client who owns a Mac I will be buying his laptop. I can wait till the time he will purchase a new Mac. At least I know he takes care of his laptop well and I am getting something of value at half the price hopefully. I really don’t like the idea of buying a brand new laptop it rips my heart shelling out that amount of money. I know it’s investment but my antique Toshiba satellite is still working will stick on this one for the moment.

I love the idea of getting a laptop or netbook for free. I wonder if I could get one from one of my clients. Who knows?

As of the moment, I have 0 savings in the bank. I am way far from my goal of 1 million pesos in 1 year. What I am trying to establish is to get into the habit of working everyday not wasting much time on sleeping or playing bejeweled. When I am into the habit of working every single day, next step would be setting up goals that are feasible not impossible.

I have learned my lesson, before I get into something I need to come up with a step-by-step procedure from the first step all the way to the top. If I focus on the end result it would be unreachable for me. Need to look at my steps and check out if I am going to the right direction.

1 Million Pesos In 1 Year Update - August 23, 2011 As Of 3:29pm

This is part 2 of August 23, 2011 update to raise 1 million in 1 year through earn money online. I am writing this one before I forgot what happened.

So, here I was writing the articles for my UK client. I submitted 25 articles to him at 7:00am but he was not online anymore so he was not able to pay me thru my PayPal for $43.75. I slept at 7am; my mother woke me up at 12:00nn because my father needs to sleep inside my sisters’ room. It seemed I was forced to wake up, I had diarrhea, been inside the bathroom for more than 10x already. I do not know if it’s the qwek qwek I ate last night, not eating at the right time, the food I ate at home (baby back ribs soup version), or is it because I am having my period and it’s my first day today. Oh well, whatever the reason I think I better be vegetarian like my youngest sister.

I just applied Pau Essences – Ocean Mist to my tummy and back. I eat brunch; drink a glass of coke and water, and it seems I am feeling alright. I do not want to take any medicine at all because I read somewhere before that taking antacid or medicines for diarrhea can decrease a person’s memory or something like that. I do not want that happen since my work relies more on thinking and be a fast reader to grasp all information in just a matter of seconds in order to come up with a good article for my clients.

And now I am writing this update…

My client for virtual assistance, we chatted regarding the work. He was asking if regarding working scheduled. Of course, I did write an update before we chatted, so I gave him my schedule and told him that I already put my work with on schedule before we started. My working schedule for him will be 10pm-6am Tuesdays to Saturdays (GMT +8). He was okay with it.

Guess what? I was surprised he asked me what salary I want that I will be happy for. I told him salary around $400-$500/month will be great. He settled to give me $400 and he will bump it up when things got better with his business. He was to do voice chat with me instead of chatting. He will refund me $25 to buy a headset with minijack instead of usb since connection will be slower with usb. Now, the need to have that netbook is extremely URGENT.

The guy who was suppose to sell his netbook with me last time told me that his friend is selling his netbook MSI u100, color white, 8 months used for 8,000php. Now, I am starting to debate whether to go for it or go for Samsung netbook that costs 12,900php brand new.

I think I better weigh my options right before I am going to decide which one to go for:


MSI u100

Color: white

Condition: Used (8months)

Price: 8,000php

Pros:

*Cheap

*Can haggle the price for 7,000 (will try)

*it has what I needed for work

Cons:

*shorter battery life 5-6 hours (as claimed)

*with scratches

*maybe there are some minor defects not declared


Samsung (forgot the model)

Color: black

Condition: Brand New

Price: 12,900php

Pros:

*brand new (never been used

*higher specs

*longer battery life

Cons:

*expensive

*be afraid to use it at a maximum level

My Verdict:

I am not a technical person. I do need the netbook for the following reasons:

• Portability
• Long battery life span
• Faster speed compared to my Toshiba satellite
• Lightweight

I will be starting to work on the virtual assistance with my client from New York tonight this is very urgent and I can raise 7,000-8,000php this week but not 12,900php. It is kind of expensive and heavy for my budget.

As you may observed, I did not put the specs on each of the netbook because I do not want to stressed out myself trying to analyze every bit of detail. As long as I can do writing work, data entry, and has excel on it. I am cool with the netbook.

Here is what I need for this month:

1. House Mortgage – 13,000php
2. Debt to Mr. E – 2,000php ($25)
3. Debt to Ms. A – 1,500php
4. Savings account – 20,000php

Total: 36,500php

12,900php – 8,000php = 4,900php difference

I need to buy a netbook that does the job but will save me more money this month so it would be MSI u100. If in case I do not like it I will just sell it to my former co-teacher I will still have my money back to buy Samsung or other netbook.

Decision: MSI u100 (used at 8,000php)

Total money needed before month ends: 44,500php

As for the money where will I get 8,000php, will work things out ASAP!

1 Million Pesos In 1 Year Off Post – I Am A Freelancer With No Savings With Debts But With A Story To Tell

This is an off post from my regular updates. I just want to share something about me, what I am going through and perhaps you guys who are reading my blog might be of the same boat as me.

I am 26 years old, married for 3 years, no kid and have been working as a freelancer for about 6 years now. What I have got for myself while working as a freelancer…

- a husband
- 1 huge flat screen TV from Philips which until now is under repair by my uncle who is an electrician
- 2 years ½ in law school ( I paid for my tuition fee and books)
- Cellphones (cheap brand new ones, and used ones)
- Clothes, shoes, etc.
- 1 compaq laptop old (sold for 500php? if I remember it right, bought it at 5,000php)
- 1 Toshiba satellite laptop (bought it at 6,000php still functioning now)
- 2 desktops, used (9,000php each one for my hubby and one for me)
- house from Camella (worth 1.4 million pesos, 7 years to pay and I am behind on mortgage, probably paid around 200,000+ pesos already)
- an outsourcing business that lasted for 6 months only
- membership in Club Ultima (behind in payments)
- money in the hands of my auntie (11,000php let her borrowed to have some capital on her business)
- many that I forgot already

Currently, I am living with my parents together with my husband. My mother and father have constantly been reminding, moaning, and giving me long sermons why I am such a mess that I am earning more money than them yet I have nothing…hmmm…

The other day, my mother and I had a heated conversation… She always compares me to other married couples that they have this and that. One married couple who happened to by my cousin, who is younger than me who finished high school, had 60,000php as savings. She is pregnant and due months from now. She and her husband works for my mom, their combined salary is 6,000php a month (safe estimate).

Then, another couple the guy who happened to be sales boy in a small sari sari store in Carbon Market married a teacher. The guy now is selling plastics and earns more than what he was earning before. My mother heard that the guy has been bragging about their house is filled with stuff like TV, electric fan, etc. Their house? They live in Carbon together with the wife’s father. The wife is working as a teacher.

My mother told me people who have been working with her now do have their own lands. To my thinking, they are children of their parents. The land if the claim of my mother is true is to their parents not theirs. If they are rich why they are working to earn 2,000php a month?

I told my mother, why you always pressure and stressing me out trying to compare me with other people. She keeps on making me feel that she is frustrated that I graduated college and what I have learned in school will lead me to nowhere if I keep on sticking to them. I told her, I did not use and brag about what I have learned in school and that I am a valedictorian and salutatorian… I did not even make use of what I have learned in school of what I am facing today.

I always keep on telling her and my father, I do not want to end up like you two – working 7 days a week, with less sleep, stressed out, no happiness and have kids that are wounded emotionally. Thinking we are not loved, less liked by people because we are ugly, etc. I always emphasize to my mother that money is not equated to success. It’s not by the number of cars, houses, money I got in the bank. I do not want to be a slave of money.

It is as if that I am a big failure coz I have a husband who likes to drink, who get nasty when he drinks too much and who beats me up when being triggered by me plus I am broke.

My mother always tell me I am selfish that even the money I have earned when I was single she did not get hold of. I told her, you always tell me that you do not want to have anything to do what I earn and not ask a single centavo when I work and now you are telling me all these. I also told her, I am not stupid enough not to think of my future and not helping you out when you grow older. She always tells me that I will be the one who will not help her when they grow old. How can I? When they have been pushing me not to do it anyways.

She even calculated that I am earning like almost 100,000php a month when in fact I am not close to that. I am working as a freelancer, there are months I earn less, and there are months I earn more.

Besides, I am not the type of person who will broadcast and tell them this is where my money goes; this is what I have been doing, etc. They always see me as a spender and I spend this and that… I do have my luxuries like food and massages but I have minimized them now due to my goal of raising 1 million pesos in 1 year.

I just don’t like that my parents are more concern on what people think about me, my husband, my status in the society, my reputation more than how I feel… if I felt loved by them, by my sisters or by husband…

Oh one more thing, my father even got mad at me because my mother was angry with me because I do not want to go to church and attend mass every Sunday with them… They see my situation as something that go to do with my relationship with God, etc. I told my mother and father, I will not go to church, hear mass and trying to look as if everything is okay. Who am I fooling, God? I want to attend mass with my heart not burdened with anger or hatred but with peace. My father told me end of May 2011 to not live in their house if I do not want to abide to what they want me to do and if I want to do things on my own, so I did. I leave my parents house for 3 weeks and I learned a lot during those times…

My parents did not know that I go to Sto. Nino Church, light candles, pray and talk to God. Then, get inside the church, fill up an envelope and offer mass for the souls of my deposed grandparents and to all the souls in purgatory. After this, I go to the altar, kneel down and talk to God for the second time. I do not ask for anything but simply thank Him for all the blessings that I have been receiving, sorry for all my sins, and lead me to the right path. Bless those people who loved and hated me…I do this when I feel so light-hearted to go to the church. I usually go there during lunch time when there is no mass and not too many people are about; I want it to be solemn when I talk to God.

Yes, I do admit I am not successful when it comes to material stuff, marriage, etc. as what is being defined by the society. But all I can say I am still searching for myself, longing for happiness and wanting to touch many lives as much as possible.

If you might have observed, I talked back to my parents. My parents have this notion because I always talk back at them and I am very hot-tempered, spoiled, “maldita”, and thinks I am better than the rest have contributed to the situation I am now.

For the past years, I have been blaming my parents because of what I am today… I have a fucked up life, a husband who does not bring in money to the plate, and a financially ruined life… But after my birthday last June 2011, I have realized that I need to stop blaming. This is my life; I am responsible for my life. Yes, some people may have contributed to where I am now but at the end of the day – I had the choice. If I could have been wiser enough I would not have been this way. But I think this is what 20s is all about, trying to get through life and learn from lessons.

Now, I seldom get angry. My husband starts to help out a bit; he now washed clothes and arranges the bed. At least there is a slight change on him. For the past 25 years, I was angry at myself, at everyone that it reflects on the kind of life I have. As of the moment, I am calmer… I learned to be patient. Take things slowly and think things through before I do them. I started to realize that when I care, love and accept myself, everything around me will soon be different. My relationship with my parents start to flourish even if not much, my relationship with my husband starts to blossom and my relationship with my sisters start to develop which was not the case before.

1 Million Pesos in 1 Year – August 23, 2011 Update as of 3:12am GMT +8

This is my August 23, 2011 Update on my journey to raise 1 million pesos in 1 year through earn money online.

Expenses:

1. Paid electric bill for last month’s amount – 5,640+php
2. Paid salary to Mrs. G for her work done – 1,018php
3. Paid Mr. E for my debt - $10 (debt left $80)
4. Bought cellphone + sim card (reconditioned for my sister) since I borrowed money from her last month, promised to buy her a phone – 629php
5. Bought 2 brand new tops from Bench, they are having a sale – 438php

Income:

As of the moment my income is zero on PayPal. But I sold my paypal funds of $32, got 1200php as my petty cash for this week.

Problems I have encountered:

1. I did not stick with the 30/30 or my version of 60/15.
2. Biphasic sleep was no good for me since I have two clients who are stressing me out and need to be online from evening till early hours in the morning. Seems I am working like a call center agent now, on a graveyard shift.

Discoveries:

1. I have observed I worked well in an Internet café like for 60php – 9 hours as a promo. I earned $43.50 for that yesterday. But the problem is I spent like 3 hours playing bejeweled. Probably, I spent like 100php inclusive of fare and the 60php rent.
2. My sleeping habits have changed. I slept like 6:30am then woke up around 2pm. This is like 8 hours still but I felt all exhausted, etc.

Dilemma:

1. I am weighing my options whether to buy a netbook or open a savings account.

Netbook:

I have found a netbook from Samsung that is on promo it would costs about 12,900php. The promo is until August 31. Why I want to have a netbook? Just in case arguments strike again with my husband at least I can simply walk out find a place and do my work. I need a netbook due to faster speed. My laptop is super slow that I could not do my research and data entry work fast.

I have some alternatives. First, I will buy the Mcbook of my client who is in the US since he is planning to change his laptop probably next month. Maybe he can offer it to me at a cheaper price at least it’s a Mac which happens to be my dream laptop.

Second, I will let my bestfriend who lives in the US to purchase a netbook for at higher specs and ship it here. I will pay him through PayPal.

Savings Account:

I am targeting to get a credit card and I was told by my friend that I can apply for credit card when my deposit is 20,000php. Their system will automatically give out a list of candidates for those who can get a credit card. But the problem is I don’t have government issued ID’s.

Final decision…

I will ask my client in the US if he is offering his laptop to be sold at a cheaper price. If yes, I will go for his Mcbook. Then, the money I will earn for the next days will be my savings and next week money earned will be for paying the house mortgage at 13,000php

2. My clients and working schedule is bugging me.

The client I got for virtual assistance is paying me $150/month plus commission. Now, I need to set a schedule for him so that I can work regularly everyday.

But I have writing clients which I can earn big time money since they like my work.

Final decision…

1:00pm-5:00pm – UK client articles (25-30 articles/day)
6:00pm-10:00pm – UK client and other writing clients
10:00pm – 6am – Virtual Assistance (will try to fix the schedule maybe will work like 4 hours a day, this would be 5 days a week)

My Plan:

1. Need to stop going to an Internet café to work it would costs me 100php and at the same time 50php for unlimited internet for 1 day in my globe tattoo.
2. Come up with a budget plan, income and expenses management put them in an excel file.
3. Sort out my work so that I can finish the Wordpress and LinkedIn data entry plus my article writing.
4. My client for virtual assistance is back and ready to throw some tasks on me now I will be totally busy.
5. I have one client in article writing that pays me well; I earn $43.50 for 25 articles. I am prioritizing him and make him satisfied.