Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Got extra money but expenses have soared

Tuesday, December 16, 2008 0
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Finally, I’ve finished writing my second report for the month, the second one that will earn me extra money to help make ends meet. The two reports will bring in an additional 5,500 pesos.

I promised to write four such reports every month and I do hope I will be able to succeed in forcing my brain to think of topics that the bosses will find agreeable – four every month, wow. If I succeed in this, that means an extra income of 11,000 pesos monthly.

But for this month, my bottom line is really bad. A number of expenses that we previously did not plan came up.

One, we spent close to triple that amount we were supposed to spend for the son’s schooling. Second, we didn’t plan on preparing anything special for Noche Buena, but the wife and I decided it’s just too much to drop an important tradition. We’re a bit worried it might be such a letdown not to see food on the dining table for our eyes to feast on Christmas eve. So, okay, let’s throw in 4,000 pesos for groceries.

You know how it is to be an expat worker, particularly being tunay na expat Pinoys. We work hard in a foreign land, depriving ourselves of easy access to family and friends, barkada and SanMig just to make sure Noche Buena is a real feast.

Would you dare scrimp on Noche Buena?

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

When liempo is truly sinful

Tuesday, December 2, 2008 0
And I thought we’d be having less than sinful meals to cut costs. But today we had grilled liempo and stir-fried chicharo for brunch, and pochero (the genuine one, according to Ilocanos) for dinner. Sarrraap. How exactly are we going to truly cut costs if we keep this love for delicious food? I don’t know. I enjoy a meal of tuyo (dried fish), but I can’t possibly have it twice a day or five times a week.

I wonder how simple our Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) will be. Will it be keso’t tinapay? I doubt the wife would live up to our earlier pledge to have only pochero and some other simple dish for Noche Buena.

Oh well.
 
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