Mommy Ginger
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How to Make your New Year’s Resolutions Work

Every year, we speak of resolutions that we want to fulfil and accomplish. My 5 year old daughter whispered to me yesterday, and asked me if I needed help with anything. I said that she can help me with the household chores, and then I asked her why she asked me. She said, “My New Year’s resolution is to help people.”

I had no doubt in my mind that she could fulfil it.

Then I thought about what made me so sure that she could. Why do most of us fail at fulfilling our New Year’s Resolutions? How can me make sure that we keep our commitments.

Here are some insights about resolutions that I can share with you:

Make sure that your resolutions are commitments that you can keep. It’s good to shoot for the moon and land among the stars, but still make sure that that “moon” is still within reach.

So when making a resolution, think about it really well and check if you can really do it. If it’s a habit that you want to form, check and see if you can actually do it at the number of times you want to do it and if you have enough time to do it. If it’s a financial goal, see if you have means, resources and capabilities to come up with the amount that you want.

Look at New Year’s Resolutions as a way for you to form habits. In forming habits, the most difficult part is really the first 21 days or the first month.

Make it easy for yourself to stick to your resolutions. Create reminders for yourself. Set aside time that when you can do the things that you need to do. In my case, one of my resolutions is to try to Blog / Vlog as often as possible. I love doing these things, so what I did was really to set aside time to do these two things. I blocked off my calendar (a set time in Google Calendar) just to do these things.

Another thing you can do is write down on sticky notes reminders that you can post in different locations in your house or in your office. It helps to see these reminders frequently!

The most important thing (like any other goal in your life) about resolutions is to rise up and try again in case you fail. Since it’s about conditioning your mind and body to follow a habit, there will be times when it will be difficult.

Just keep on trying and eventually, you’ll be able to keep your resolution and keep these new habits.

How about you? Do you have a list of resolutions that you intend to keep? Share it with me! Please use #GInspiration #MommyGinger

‘Til next time!

Mommy Ginger

How to Build Up on Cash Again after Spending Over the Holidays

Christmas is so much filled with activities like decorating, attending parties, travelling to see friends and families. It is also a season when everyone loves to give. Thus, you feel the urge to buy gifts for almost everyone. It is indeed a very expensive time that even if you set a budget, you have the tendency to overspend it. Some of you are now thinking on how to build up cash again after going overboard during the holidays.

Here are some ideas that you can try to build up cash and regain what you lost during the holidays. Just wanted to share the things that I do:

 1. Sum up the cost of each item you spent on during the holidays.

What I usually do is keep a spreadsheet of our Christmas list. As I purchase, I input the price of the gift that I chose. This is something you can actually do next year. But since it’s too late to start this (since you’ve already given out gifts), pick a pen, try to recall and make assumptions on how much the gifts were, then do the math. See if you can still find receipts even if they are already crumpled. Try to come up with an approximate number. After which, try to split the total into cash and what was spent using a credit card.

2. Use an application and try tracking your income and expenses starting TODAY!

After I download and app or use a planner, I’m guilty of deciding to use it at the start of a month. Para malinis (so everything is in order!), as I would say. But the thing is, it will be most likely that you’ll forget to use it at the start of the month. So, you’ll end up delaying and delaying.

What I would advise is to start ASAP! Once you have downloaded the application, start using it.

Okay, so what applications do I use.

One, I use Taxumo (for obvious reasons to some). Since I use it for paying my taxes, I thought might as well use it to log in my income and expenses for my business. By the way, this is a web application, so you don’t need to download anything. You can access Taxumo straight from your browser!

The other application that I use is called Wally. I love it because I know at any given point in time how much I have in any of my accounts and in my wallet. I update it every day (at the end of the day) and I check if I get to balance everything out. So far, I have been doing a great job!

The last application that I want to share with you is called 52 weeks. I’m sure you’re all familiar with the 52 week saving challenge! Well, this actually automates it! But unfortunately, for the past 3 weeks, I haven’t saved anything yet. But, we’ll see! I know that I need to catch up.

3. Challenge yourself  and stop buying expensive things.

After calculating, you need to spend less during this time. My rule is to only spend if that thing brings me joy. I learned that from my friend who is a decluttering consultant. This is her blog: https://www.myjoyfulspace.com/. She taught me how to think really hard before buying.

Stop spending on not-so-important things so you can build up your savings. Avoid going to places that will tempt you to buy for expensive items like in the restaurant, bar, departments store, etc. Substitute a high-priced meal with one that you can prepare nicely at home. If you are looking for fun, go out with a friend and talk about good experiences. Some fun things can be free. Well, you do have to make some sacrifices for the shopping spree you did last year.

What I have noticed also is that if I know that I need to track expenses, I spend less. I’m lazy to track a lot so that keeps me from buying a lot of things!

4. Find other means of earning back your money.

It’s timely to be resolute to regain the money you’ve lost. Be determined to incur extra cash to cancel out your debt. Think about your strengths that can be valuable to others. What can you offer and be paid for it? Can you write, layout or bake? Are you good at selling? Can you teach students during weekends?

Don’t focus on JUST budgeting from what you’re earning. That will lead you to fall into the trap of going from pay check to pay check. If you want to earn back the money that you have spent, you need to find extra sources of income and make it happen!

So those are my 4 tips on how to build up cash again after spending it all over the holidays! Do you have anything else to add? Feel free to comment on this blog and let me know!

Happy new year!

Always, your partner towards success,

Mommy Ginger

 

Happy New Year! 2015 will be OUR Year

Well, well, well! It’s the last day of the year. It has been a great year for me and I hope 2014 was a memorable year for you, too. Looking back, maaaaan, I think I accomplished a lot this year, which makes me happy! Yey!

Mommy Ginger’s Year

Blow your cake, Zeeka!

Blow your cake, Zeeka!

The first quarter really kept me busy with planning for my daughter’s first birthday. From January to March, I remember finalizing all the details for her Little Miss Sunshine party. You can check out some of the suppliers that I used in these links:

http://mommyginger.com/2014/02/invite-backdrop-graphics-little-miss-sunshine-theme-party.html

http://mommyginger.com/2014/03/first-birthday-list-of-party-suppliers-part-1.html

http://mommyginger.com/2014/03/first-birthday-list-of-party-suppliers-caterer-cake-and-candy-buffet-part-3.html

http://mommyginger.com/2014/03/first-birthday-list-of-party-suppliers-activities-and-entertainment-part-4.html

During the second quarter, it was all about preparing for the Steps Project Active Lifestyle Fair with my business partners at TUTI Group. We were ecstatic to see more than 1500 participants at our first event. The event was really all about promoting an active and a healthier lifestyle.

The Steps Project team at the Active Lifestyle Fair last May 2014

The Steps Project team at the Active Lifestyle Fair last May 2014

The third quarter was about preparing for the Homeschooling conference under Manila Workshops (my own company) and The Learning Basket. We were overwhelmed by the number of people who attended and wanted to know about homeschooling. We had a total number of 490 participants during that event.

sis and mommy Ginger

My sister and I during the Homeschooling conference 🙂

*Photo from Pixtar Photobooth

For the fourth quarter, Manila Workshops together with the WAHMderfulLife.com of Martine De Luna, held our second run of the Work at Home Weekend Expo, where different entities and small businesses and entrepreneurs joined to exhibit their products and services. We also had great talks from amazing speakers all throughout the day.

*Image from Martine De Luna of Wahmderfullife.com

*Image from Martine De Luna of Wahmderfullife.com

For the entire year, Manila Workshops has ran 70+ events and we owe it all to you — sponsors, attendees, loyal customers, media, bloggers, etc. We couldn’t have done all of these without you. We still have a long journey towards helping people achieve their personal and professional or entrepreneurship goals. We have reached out to thousands of people this year and i’m hoping that we reach out and connect to tens of thousands this coming 2015.

My Dream

This year will be my third year as a full time entrepreneur. I will not tell you that it has always been a walk in the park. There are days that you will feel alone and depressed. There are times (countless times!) that I would break down and cry. People (even those who love you) will not agree with the decisions that you make. It will only be you and your dreams. But you just have to keep at it. You are the one in control of your destiny. You and you alone can make it happen.

My dream has always been to help the Philippines become a more progressive country. I know that our population is bottom heavy (sabi nga ni manong driver, bakit ang mayaman lalong yumayaman at ang mahirap lalong naghihirap?) and i’d like to help eliminate poverty by creating more jobs for those who are unemployed. One way we can generate jobs is by obviously, creating more businesses. In my own little way, I decided to help achieve this by helping others. My expertise really lies in guiding people who want to start their own businesses by helping them create a solid plan for their business. This is the reason why I created the Love the Leap program (which by the way will carry this branding next year!)…

Love the Leap Logo

 

The Love the Leap program is for those who want to start their own businesses but don’t know where to start. I’m so happy that I got to launch this project this year. I started with a batch of 6 brilliant people. I’m hoping to be able to run more classes this coming 2015.

My dream is really to be able to guide at least 500 aspiring entrepreneurs by 2020 and help them launch successful businesses. This is a big number but I really hope I can ahieve this. Well, let’s see. I’ll do my best and leave the rest to God.

Learned a lot from 2014 and excited for 2015…

I’m really excited for 2015 and i’m actually getting ready for it. I love how everything changes once the clock strikes 12 tonight. Well, not everything. I have learned a lot of things this year about myself and from these things, I will make certain adjustments so that I can become a better person. I have become more confident; I am more in touch with what I want for myself. I have learned to love myself more. It sounds selfish but I realized that if I don’t love myself enough, I can’t reach the point where I can give others the love that they deserve. I have realized that it’s alright to say ‘no’. I have realized that time is such a valuable thing and it cannot be wasted. I have learned that in an instant, life can end and that each day should be lived to the fullest. I have enjoyed being more ‘present’ — I learned to enjoy my morning walk to the bank while intentionally noticing everything around me. I have learned to appreciate the cold December wind and the rustling of the leaves. I have learned how to let go, even for a while. I have learned that people will always speak out and tell you what they think, but it’s always best to do the things that make you happy.

Last 2014, I have learned to stop and smell the roses. I have learned to love life and I’m now ready to make 2015 my year. Are you ready to make it yours, too?

Love lots and a happy new year,

Mommy Ginger

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year for Mommy Ginger, Baby Z and Dada Ej!

Happy New Year for Mommy Ginger, Baby Z and Dada Ej!