From This Home - home & finance hacks

Why our Emergency Fund is based on Monthly Expenses, not Monthly Income

If you have searched the internet about Financial Freedom you have come across the concept of Emergency Funds. Ideally, this is around 3 to 6 months of your monthly income or expenses.

An Emergency Fund is an amount of money that you set aside in case you lost your income. It also acts as a buffer to avoid touching savings or investments during emergency expenses.

Most of the books and internet articles we read says that it should be based on monthly income, there are a few that says it should be based on Monthly Expenses.

Why having a Monthly Budget is Required for Financial Freedom

Everybody wants to achieve financial freedom – free from debt, financially secured, established a healthy relationship with finances and to live the life that you want. Do you want to achieve financial freedom but don’t know where to start? The answer actually lies with how you budget and set aside money for expected expenses or what we call Monthly Budget.

For this post Monthly Budget means Cost of Living per Month. This includes, food, rental, bills, insurance, transportation, etc. Does not include payment for debts or money you put in investments.

Bill Shock? How to check if your Electricity Consumption increased this Summer of 2020 (Covid-19)

The summer heat has just been unbearable these days. And while the rainy season has started with outpours, we have not totally gotten off the effects of summer. Such as the case of our upcoming electricity bill. For the last few days, we’ve been waiting anxiously to receive our bill to see the heavy truth of our increased electricity consumption. Since we are very mindful of what appliances we use and for how long we use these, it’s easy to assume that our bill will blow up than the usual. So how will you know and check if your electricity consumption has increased?

As an engineer, I tend to focus more on the numbers especially the ones in our Electricity Meter. See the step-by-step instructions on how to check if your electricity consumption increased this summer of 2020.

How to check if your Electricity Consumption really increased?

We need to get 2 meter readings, preferably 7 days apart but 3 days apart might also be good enough.

1. Get the 1st Meter Reading

If you have received your May 2020 bill, we can use this as your first meter reading.

Get the Pres Rdg at the back of your bill. We will refer to this as 1st Meter Reading Value.

Note also the Meter Reading Date in the front of your bill. We will refer to this as 1st Meter Reading Date.

No-Fail Easy Champorado Recipe

It seems like summer has just started with heat wave making it difficult for all of us. But before we get comfortable with the summer heat, rainy season seems to be creeping in slowly. And we all know when rainy season arrives – Champorado for merienda! Here is a no-fail and easy Champorado recipe that you can try or use.

The secret to this recipe is the cinnamon powder which can be optional if you do not have. But if you do have cinnamon powder in your pantry – you won’t regret it!

Bill Shock? How to check if Meralco made an error on your May 2020 Bill (Covid-19)

Shocked by your current Meralco electricity bill? Us too.

With Covid-19 outbreak, the last two previous Meralco bills (March & April 2020) we were told that it was generated based 3 month’s electricity consumption average before that billing period. This meant that March & April bills did not reflect the increased consumption of the household with everyone at home 24/7 and the effects of summer heat as well. With Meralco staff now reading the electric meters for May 2020 bill, it is expected that it will reflect the actual electricity consumption for the month of May, as well as the consumptions that were not charged for the previous two months.

Find out how you can check and compute the electricity consumption of your household and see if you’re overcharged by Meralco.

Check for Meter Reading Error
Estimating how much your May 2020 Electricity Bill
Why is the kWh consumption so high in May 2020 Bill?
Other Scenarios
Notes

Check for Meter Reading Error

If you already have your May 2020 bill, go to the back page and search for the Pres Rdg (Present Reading) under Metering Information.

Note this number. We shall refer to this as May 2020 Bill Reading.

6 Steps to Become an Online Freelancer

Working from home and becoming an online freelancer is something everyone is now looking into. The job can be a source of decent earnings and, if lucky, can be lucrative as well.

I’ve work as a digital freelancer for nearly 10 years now. I like the perks of not having to go to office and waste my time commuting. I highly encourage friends to become an online freelancer if they can. With the Covid-19 outbreak, everyone is considering online freelance, especially those who were laid off work and those still needs to go to the office.

How do you drop your traditional day job at the office and find work online and work from home? Here are four steps to help you become an online freelancer.

Homemade Cebuano Puto Maya Recipe

Puto Maya is one of the popular Cebuano Filipino (kakanin) food. It made of sticky rice cooked in coconut milk much like the Indonesian sticky rice (except for the latter’s pandan flavour and sweet sauce). My favourite version of this is the purple puto maya from Iligan City, PH which my Mama would always buy for breakfast when we’re home. Recipe below is good for 2-3 people, depending on your appetite.

Easy Homemade Pandesal or Filipino Bread Roll Recipe

Want to bake your own pandesal? Overwhelmed or intimidated at the thought of baking pandesal from home? Pandesal is a traditional Filipino bread roll and the most popular bread in the Philippines. It is baked in the wee hours in bakeries all over the country being a staple and typically served during breakfast in a Filipino household.

Baking your own pandesal can be overwhelming, especially for a new homebaker. Here is a simple and easy to follow Pandesal or Filipino Bread Roll.

Homemade Ice Cream | 3 Ingredients Only

Summer heat is really crazy this summer amd makingbit worst because we can’t go out to travel or go to our favourite resorts to cool down. This quarantine and home isolation has got summer flying by. Since we are stocking up on food so we don’t have to constant go out – our freezer space has become limited. I decided to look up how to make homemade icecream without using an ice creamer maker.

This is a three ingredient recipe and best if you like cookies and cream. It’s very eaay to make and your family will love it!

How Clean Produce & Grocery Items to Prevent Covid-19 from Entering Your Home

Having to stay at home adoes not guarantee us safe from Covid-19 infections. Infact there have been news of an individual contracting the disease even though she never went out of her home. Turns out a delivery guy who delivered her grocery items, fruits & vegetables was an asymptomatic carrier. Crazy, isn’t it? So how can be we prevent Covid-19 from entering our home?

A popular ingredient not only for cooking but also in homemade cleaning solutions is vinegar. It is used as a natural disinfectant because it is acidic nature. This makes a natural but also potent cleaner. But it is also the safest way to clean your fruits and vegetables without introducing any harmful chemical substances in your body.

How can we clean our fruits and vegetables after our market run in the times of this health crisis in the Philippines? Here is a simple but natural way to clean our vegetables after buying it from the local market and before cooking and serving it to our family.