Savings - Flexi-fund for OFWs. Paying SSS contributions

i am reminded of savings because of the saying "pennies for a rainy day"

and Manila has certainly had its share of rainy days these days

i am one of those individuals who remove coins from the purse to reduce its weight.  i put them in a container and sort them when i have time, and when i have filled several bags of different coins, i usually deposit them to my MetroBank account.  why metrobank? i dunno. just a habit. i deposit my coins there.  and they - the bank staff - are nice too.

a few posts back i said everyone should try to save - for a rainy day.  for money in the future.

paying your SSS contributions is one of them, as this is saving for your retirement.  i call paying your SSS forced savings - and i hope you do try to pay the maximum.  remember the pension is only about 40% of the MSC (Monthly Salary Credit.

if you are an OFW, i suggest you avail of the SSS flexi-fund.   view it as another channel for forced savings.  and well, you have to pay the maximum to qualify for paying the SSS-flexifund.  But the flexi-funds are, more-or-less, under your control, subject to restrictions.  On the left is the article from the Manila Bulletin.


we Filipinos love to spend, sometimes, i think,  rightly because cost of money rises unduly and our purchasing power can decrease with time.  this is why i advocate forced savings.

also, money on hand is the easiest thing to spend so put your money a little out of your hot hands.  i try to do this.  i am a collector, remember, and collectors are slightly weird.  friends will argue that i am officially weird because i am from Sayans, and i come not only from the weirdest batch, but the weirdest section by award in the weirdest batch.  *sigh*

one another thing that should now be in force and i want SSS to involve itself in is the PERA "mandate".   this is the link for more details personal-equity-and-retirement-account-pera-act law office blog
why do i want sss to be involved?  just for simplicity. one payment, 3 things to pay, 3 different financial instruments.  otherwise, it will probably be banks that will handle this.

well, regular people can avail of the PERA but only OFWs qualify to invest in the Flexi-fund.  one of the reasons i also want SSS to handle PERA.  PERA is not subject to SSS law, nor is the Flexifund so that gives the client/investor more options, albeit restricted.  if it werent restricted, it wouldnt be out of hot hands.

more financially savvy ofws would put their monies in other instruments such those that take advantage of foreign currency exchange rates, or do stock/commodities trading.  if you are that savvy, the returns are better for those.  but those who want a simple life may just do PERA or Flexifunds, or the usual time-interest instruments.

i really recommend Flexi-funds for those who do want a simple life, with better interest than that offered by banks.  and also, try not to get your money out of your Flexi-fund accounts when you are back in Manila.  let it ride there.  i also encourage you to check the growth of your money.  visit your account!

here is the form to register as an OFW

instructions for the form

note:  if the form is back-to-back, you must also print it back-to-back.

Click for the Editable (or fill-in form) OW-1

Click for downable OW-1 form

Click here for the downloadable Flexi-fund form

If you want to see the rest of the SSS forms - Click here to view/download the rest of the SSS forms

 

13th day of Rain today, 8 August 2012

i am reckoning my count from 27 July 2012, a Friday - when my friends and i went to Barbara's at Intramuros for dinner and a Filipiniana show.  and after which we went to have coffee.

13 days. the day is still overcast and it rained pretty hard this morning, but not so before 9 so after no-work yesterday (the rain was really terrible yesterday). a couple of texts came my way, a prayer brigade asking God to take charge of the rain.  i was not terribly afraid because He said He would not chastise His people again by water.  what i did pray for was for people to use their heads and not be stubborn.  supposedly there was an announcement regarding the imminent flooding/landslides.  

why did people not evacuate?  it is possible that they did not hear the announcement, in which case Ms. Corina Sanchez is on the nose when she puts the blame on the LGUs.  there should have been more force exerted by the LGUs.

at home yesterday, i remember hearing the loud speaker but it was just loud and not terribly clear.  i have never understood any of their announcements.speaking over a public address system- 3 things are important:  slow, concise, and clear.

bakit di na nila matuntun na dapat ang salita sa public address system ay MABAGAL, DAHAM-DAHAN, MALINAW, at MAIGSI.  ewan ko lang, pero sana, gawin ng mga gumagamit sa public address system.

weekend of 3-5 August 2012

i had labs last Saturday, and everytime i have labs, i slightly go .... i was going to say panicky, but that isnt the right word.

i just have to have to have my labs early.  I go to NKTI before 6, or go exactly at 6.  this sat i got there at exactly 0600H, and i was number 9 in the queue.  by 7, that is, an HOUR LATER, i still had not been called.  wow, i thought that was a bit much. then my alarm for my meds rang!  this alarm is for me to take my prograf (tacro), a pharmaceutical drug i must take at a regular time.  So i had to talk to the technician, she told me i could take that (i knew that) but i told her that i had not brought my medication since i thought i would be home by that time. so she took my blood and i appreciate that. like the other kidney transplants, i do not like being late for this particular medication.

NKTI labs is really very good at skeds.  however, some patients are taking advantage of the policy of the NKTI lab by arriving late and expecting to be served ahead of everybody else (except for those people who will have tacro just the same).  i dont approve.  when i needed to have my tacro graph test, i arrived early.

i think the NKTI  lab head would have to not put everybody ahead, what happens is that everybody who does not require the tacro graph get relegated to the end of the tacro graph line.  i think this is BS.  i think they should also move the regular line!!!

the results of my labs arent very hot, so i need to eat more veggies!! and a tad more fruit.  apples, pineapples, and papaya are on my list to eat.  i have to eat more fruit and less carbs.

*******

on a lighter note, i found 3 elephants at home, all of them the central decor of bags.  also, i got a comic called power pachyderms #1 and the X-Men.  Havent really opened it yet because i cleaned some more.  i am looking forward to the day when i have cleaned everything and all i would have to do on the weekend is read - i want to finish reading my complete Calvin and Hobbes, do my paints, and do a little poetry, and talk to my friends across the oceans.  i have a few pieces of canvas i want to fill.....

in the home improvement section -

i also need to improve the mural designed by some of our "boys", i got to inherit the "office" mural but i need to "fix" it because the roof leaked on it. then i need to have the narra cabinets fixed. i have had the dining and kitchen ceiling fixed, so they just need to be painted.  maybe by next week.

but the beds look great and my study is shaping up very nicely.  and my clothes have been undergoing some weeding and fixing.  i should start wearing some of those "gowns" at home...... i will see.  i did buy them to be used at home, when i want to feel glam.  i think every woman should have nights/days like that.

plans

i like it when a plan comes together.  so Sunday was cool.  things went according to plan.

that is always a good thing.

How to be an SSS member if you belong to the informal sector

i am reliably informed that individuals in the informal sector who have not yet worked in a formal setting may be able to pay contributions by joining or forming, as the documentation puts it, an "aggrupation".

Individuals who hang shingles can apply because they normally have licenses, and are clearly members of an association.  For example:  physicians, lawyers, nurses, therapists, ....., and accountants
these individuals may request their association to assist them with this -


Simply put, an aggrupation is a group, or an association.  So in this case, SSS is effectively saying, join a group and let the group have a Memorandum of Agreement with SSS.  This group will then be issued a number - and act like an employer, without being one.  The group can thus accommodate other individuals for as long as they are known to be self-employed by their regular members.

if you really want to contribute, i suggest, at least for now, that you band together with friends and proceed with this.  go to the nearest sss office and ask for details.  they will be happy to help you.

perhaps sss can simplify this further

*****
i have a very simple suggestion... why not just allow anyone to become self-employed?
perhaps like in the USA, everyone and anyone with proof he is who he says  he is can be issued one and be allowed to contribute

not totally foolproof, but hey, with biometrics and other startrek gadgetry .... fraud can be minimized
is that too simple?  everyone deserves to have a pension, so why make it hard?

there are individuals who may have not have formally studied in a school; they have studied in a much harder school - the school of experience - informal apprenticeship - with kith or kin - with friends and relatives, or worst, in an environment of almost child slavery.

they are still attempting to eke out a fair living, by doing service for many people -  it would be nice if they would be allowed to contribute...

 just a thought.

please check the aug 24 post for SE/VMs - the details there are  simpler.

Heart

The root of the word courage is cor -- the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage had a very different definition than it does today. Courage originally meant to speak one's mind by telling all one's heart.

my friend Kis sent the quote above.  i dont know where she got it, but i thought i would share it, just as she shared it.
there are many truths in the evolution of language.

Sayans - III

i was told, very reliably, that the project to transfer the Philippine Science High School campus at Agham Road to elsewhere has been dropped.

i thank all those who spoke up against the transfer, and i thank those who agreed the transfer is not a good idea.  thank you to Tylette Moreno, and all the Sayans people!

Choices - 2

got this from my mail - sent by my Sayans classmate Jimmy V
one of those beautiful stuff you are lucky enough to receive by mail

about a wonderful couple who know what happiness is all about - click if you want to read about it - happiness

Prayer for today

This is from my email today   ....
it is too beautiful not to be shared

Girlfriends in God Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com 

Sharon Jaynes

Today‘s Truth
[Jesus said] “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering” (Mark 5:31-34 NIV).


This is from the bible story about the woman who was bleeding for many years, and when she saw Jesus, she thought that if she would touch his garment, she would be healed.  Jesus felt power go out of him when she touched his garment, and He said that her faith has healed her.



Let’s Pray
Dear God, I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. I reach forward today, touch the hem of Your garment, and receive my healing. Yes, I want to get well. Give me the faith to walk in freedom and victory.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.