Budget Woes

 

The year has just started but the expenses a homemaker has to deal with have gone full swing.

Once again, it’s the season for school field trips and fabulous Prom Nights.

While youngsters are eagerly anticipating these activities, most parents I bet are simply cringing at the mere thought of spending much for these costly endeavors.

Who wouldn’t be?  Expenses just keep on piling up each day.

So what would a “wa-is” mother to do in times like this? How can we make both ends meet despite the economic crunch? For starters, let’s talk about how moms can do well when running errands in a grocery store,

A wise spender will never go to a store with an empty stomach. Shopping while you suffer from hunger pangs will just force you to buy things in haste. Also, dining at a resto nearby so as to satisfy your groaning and complaining stomach might also eat a big pie on your budget. As a result, you will end up scrimping on things you actually need.

Likewise never go shopping when you’re tired to the bones. You’ll end up buying products that first catch your eyes but you don’t necessarily need but you buy them anyway because you just want things done in a jiffy.

Third, always go to the grocery store with a list of things you need to buy so that you will never go beyond your budget. Also, having a list will ensure that you will never have to return to the grocery store for important commodities you failed to buy on your first trip.

Of course there are some women who can just grab and toss anything onto their pushcarts never mind if they are hungry or tired. They are the fortunate few who are not hampered by any budget limits.

But there are moms, who like me, are transformed into math wizards the moment they start rolling their carts or scour the wet markets for commodities.  They form the majority number of moms who always have to stay on budget.

But you know what? The most challenging travail of a parent is not just having the ability to stay within the budget.

By far, the most difficult thing a parent faces each day is knowing she has to pay or buy something for her family yet she doesn’t have a budget to begin with at all.

A mom or a dad will never be able to accomplish anything without any money to spend in the first place.  A parent may have a good vision on how to better the lives of her family, she may very well come up with a good project but if she doesn’t have adequate funds on hand it will be difficult to move and accomplish much.

Sometimes, we can’t just rely on our usual budgets at home. There are times when we have emergency expenses to address such as a leak on the roof, a busted light bulb in the restroom or a leaking faucet that needed to be replaced. That is why, a home manager must always have an emergency fund.

I wish all parents have enough funds to work on. How nice it would be to have enough elbow room so we could fix what needed to be fixed in one’s turf, we could buy what we needed to purchase so that we can provide a more conducive and healthy environment for our children and we can create projects that can improve the lives of people who are important to us.

Hopefully, this issue on having an adequate “budget” will be resolved. May this fervent wish come true  for everyone most especially in Dagupan.

Issues and Concerns on Population and Poverty

I don’t get it! Last week I read a news item in one of the national dailies that Malacanang is now pushing for  Responsible Parenthood (RP) as one of its priority bills in Congress to replace Rep. Edcel Lagman’s

 “Reproductive Health (RH) Bill”.

According to Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda in a press briefing after a meeting with Catholic bishops two Mondays ago, the RP bill will not be the watered down version of the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill. Instead, the RP bill will focus on poverty reduction rather than address the problem on population growth.

Lacierda further  explained to the bishops that the RP bill is primarily a poverty reduction measure because poor families will be informed about different family planning methods, including the natural methods promoted by the Catholic Church.

“We give them choices as to how they would like to plan their families. We inform them not only the natural but also artificial family planning methods for them to also be able to come up with a decision when to have their babies, the spacing, so that we can also avoid unwanted pregnancies and all these concerns that will, in a very large measure help them plan their family," he said.

Here’s my two cents worth on Malacanang’s RP bill. Why the heck did the think tanks of PNoy’s administration have to change the term from Reproductive Health to Responsible Parenthood? Just to please the Catholic bishops – not necessarily to please our God Almighty? You see, if one has to take a closer look at the focus of the two bills, they are actually pushing for the same thing.

Whether its RP or RH Bill, Malacanang acknowledges that with the current Philippine population at 94 million there is a need for couples to be informed what are the family planning methods available to them so that they can have children at the time that they are most ready to have them.

It even puzzles me what survey or study did Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman based her statement when she said during the dialogue with the bishops that the increase in population trend has no relationship with the reason why many Filipinos were living in poverty.

Oh my! Take a look around you. A couple with two to three children can still send children to school as compared to a couple with six or more. Couples with less number of children can still serve decent meals while those who have more mouths to feed have to stretch their budget to a hilt or end up eating just rice, topped with salted shrimp or “bagoong” or worse, none at all. Meron at merong relasyon between poverty and increase in population, di ba?

I really wish PNoy will not be swayed from his old stance. Late last year I had this impression that he has the political will to support the RH Bill. Why the seemingly change in viewpoint?

The truth remains, our country has a burgeoning population, the rate of which is faster than we can propel our country’s economy forward -- that is, from a  bleak financial system to a tiger and wealthy nation in Asia. We need to address the problem on population. If we can address the population trend, we can also address the poverty issue.

The third and hopefully the last dialogue between the government and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) will be held this February to further discuss the future of RP Bill. Whatever the outcome is, whether it is RH Bill or RP Bill, this corner is hopeful that the final draft will have the best interest of the greater number of Philippine populace in mind -- and not just he interest of one elite religious hierarchy, which does not necessarily reflect the voice of the majority of Catholic faithfuls.

Sino kaya ang pakikinggan ni PNoy: The silent voice of the majority or the noisy voice of the few. Malalaman natin kung sino talaga ang Boss niya. 

Bravo, DepEd

No homework for all elementary public school pupils! This is according to the DepEd Memorandum No. 392, which states that there will be no assignments to be given to students enrolled in public elementary schools especially on weekends. The memorandum was issued based on the complaints of parents that their children bring home a lot of homework and thus, do not have ample time to play or to bond with other family members.

A few weeks ago, this column also tackled a similar story pertaining to the number, degree of difficulty, and length of schoolwork brought by students at home. I must say, some assignments are really preposterous!

We must be clear on the main purpose why children are asked to do additional school work at home. The intent of making students accomplish homework is to instill self-discipline and to build the character of a generation that will eventually take the helm of leadership in the future. Another reason is to increase the student’s knowledge and skills.

However, there are schools which have seemingly forgotten that their pupils are breathing human beings capable of experiencing tiredness and even burn-out. Teachers of varying subjects load our kids more than they can actually finish or worse, comprehend.

School experience must be pleasant. It must not be abhorred by young people. Rather, it must be embraced by learners the moment they enter the portals of their school’s premises.

My only wish is that after DepEd officials have handed this memorandum from the national level down to the district superintendents, division chiefs, principals and finally to the teachers -- another guideline will follow suit that will address the needs of students enrolled in private academic institutions. Students from private learning institutions are even more overloaded with homework.

Please. Let our children enjoy their childhood. Allow them to rest. Allow them to explore other fields of interest. Give them time to play and to socialize.

How I wish my children were able to enjoy the games I played during my younger days just right after I get home from school.

With no plants to water or animals to feed in FarmVille-- a program in Facebook which has made many internet users become virtually instant farmers—youngsters in the past are easily contented by merely huddling together in a  moon-lit street or by playing classic Pinoy games.

Patintero is an enjoyable game

I can just reminisce how we loved to play Patintero or Tumbang Preso. These games, of course, test a player’s agility. How enjoyable it was to hit a shorter stick with a longer one while playing Siatong. A game played wherein the loser has to take the punishment of shouting Sia-tong for as long as he can while running back to the original starting place. What fun it was to play Taguan (Hide and Seek), too. Undeniably, I learned about our social customs, standards and values of our culture by playing with childhood buddies as much as I learned about Philippine History in the four walls of the classroom.

So, with this new development in the Department of Education, I would like to say bravo, DepEd! Well done! Secretary Armin Luistro.

And Suddenly Time Stood Still

Two Saturdays ago, my daughters asked me if we could go buy something from a bookstore located at CSI CityMall. As a doting mom, I gladly obliged.

Trudging towards the main hi-way of Malued District, I immediately saw a tricycle parked along the road. “Great! We won’t have any difficulty finding one!”, I told myself.

My kids hopped onto the passenger side while I went around and sat behind the driver. I even kidded the driver, “Ma, dito na ako sa likod mo kase di ako kasya sa loob ng tricycle.” And I could still vividly recall how he let out a quick chuckle as he knew that I was referring to my weight issue.

With that, we slowly traversed the main road till we turned right as we reached Malta Street. Honestly, I really did not know that the driver was feeling unwell. After all, he was driving the vehicle seamlessly.

As we reached the end of the street, he made a gentle stop. Then it happened. He turned to me as if wanting to say something. But he couldn’t say a word. Instead, he began to go into a seizure. My first instinct was to grab my daughters and to pull them out from the side car of the tricycle and to bring them to a safer place.

My mind raced. Was this man having a Grand Mal seizure? Maybe he was an Epileptic. Or worse, was he having a heart attack?

It was a kind of scenario where you don’t want to be in. As I looked around, all the onlookers were as stunned as I was. Traffic along Tapuac Street virtually stopped as if time stood still. Tricycle drivers,who were once busy huddling on the other side of the road, froze. By-standers, just everyone, were all shocked.

All I could do was yell. “Help him please!” I couldn’t move myself. My knees were shaking and I couldn’t let go of my daughters who I was afraid might follow me if I run towards the driver to help him. I wouldn’t want them to be put at risk lest they get hit by another vehicle driven by a distracted driver. Oh! It felt terrible looking at the poor guy till his seizures stopped.

Finally, as I let out another yell encouraging someone to bring him to a hospital, some tricycle drivers were able to get back to their senses and carried the then unconscious driver to the passenger side. In a jiffy they sped off to bring him to a nearby hospital.

Honestly, it took a while before I was able to compose myself. I didn’t even now where home was at that time.

My legs really felt like jello. The image of him turning his back to face me and the mere fact that it was the last effort he made before he began to have his seizure was hard to forget.

He was probably in his mid forties. He was a little heavy on the side. Goodness! It’s very possible that he has a wife and it is probable that he had little kids who might have been waiting for him to come home that night. Oh I can only imagine!

When I went to bed that night, a plethora of questions about how I’ve been running my life began to cascade my mind. The kind of food I eat: the good and the bad Cholesterols. Hmnn.

How many hours of sleep do I get each day? Do I get enough exercise? How is my relationship with my Creator at this point in my life? Am I making a difference as I pass through this lifetime? 

The incident really got me into deep thinking. I know. It’s time to change ways.

Looking back, my heart is filled with gratitude as to how the Lord spared my life and that of my children from meeting an accident on that fateful day.

As for the tricycle driver who I barely knew and who according to my source is currently fighting for his dear life, I pray that that he will be able to survive the unfortunate ordeal. In fact I would like to thank him through this corner. You see, if he did not stop the vehicle just before he had the seizures and if he went full throttle instead, who knows what could have become of me and my children?

So for the rest of the week and the years to come, let me say to everyone -- stay healthy and stay safe. God bless.

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

I’m blessed to have a wonderful husband who enjoys reading books. I don’t have to purchase a book because I can always borrow his.

Recently, I got hold of one of his books entitled “The Know It All” written by A.J. Jacobs which he recently bought from Caleb’s—a bookstore with big discounts as it is closing shop  in January.

The author is the editor of Esquire Magazine who had this obsession to read every page of the Encyclopedia Britannica, a colossal feat that in his own words would entail him to digest 33,000 pages, 44 million words and 10 billion years of history at that!

Who among us would ever want to spend time to absorb such gargantuan amount of information especially at this time and age when everything can be browse in the internet? Well, that was A.J. Jacobs’ quest! Even his own family members were unconvinced that he could pull off this daunting task and finish the entire volume of the Britannica. After all he was like wishing for the stars and the moon.

But you know what? Jacobs’ book got me into real serious thinking. What about my own quest for 2010? Was I able to achieve it before the current year comes to an end?

At the start of 2010, I really wanted to do something different. Sure, I dabbled a bit in radio work in 2005, taught Nursing Management at University of the Pangasinan in the same year and had a good number of years working in the country’s former top hospital Makati Medical Center and a tertiary government hospital down south a few ages ago. But for 2010, I wanted to commit myself to achieving a goal I haven’t done before.

My 2010 quest was nothing as grand as the impressive exploits of A.J. Jacobs. My quest sprung from the fact that at the end of the year I honestly did not want to answer a friend’s query: “Kamusta ka na Ana?” with the classic response: “Ganoon pa rin! Parehas Lang! Ok lang!”

So, looking back, I guess I had a fruitful year. For one, this article is my 20^th for Mom’s Corner.  Embarking in the field of writing and maintaining this column was not only a viable endeavor but it was something that I discovered I passionately like doing.

As the year ends, my gratitude goes to my better half Butch, Pangasinan’s info chief, who continues to challenge me to explore new possibilities. Truly, he is the wind beneath my wings!

I want to take this time to thank him for encouraging me to pursue this endeavor.

But I tell you, I get jelly legs when my brod-in-laws -- who excel in this writing field – would tell me that they have read my column.

There’s Kuya Jun V. — columnist of an illustrious weekly newspaper in Pangasinan as well as consultant to the Philippine Information Agency -- who told me during the Martinez reunion last October that he reads my column. Thanks Kuya -- you inspire me.

Then there’s Kuya Dante V. -- now Transportation and Communications Undersecretary and formerly CEO of an award-winning PR-Adverstising agency in Makati who gave me sound advices on writing after reading one of my columns.

Also, many thanks to my publisher for being patient with me and for inspiring me through text messaging as I try to beat the deadline every week. One day I want to write as crisp and as flawless as you do, sir Behn!

I also would like to thank many of my co-employees at Dagupan City Hall, some of whom I just met for the first time, who would tell me that they have been reading my column.  I draw strength from their inspiring words. 

And there were other endeavors like for 2010,  I learned how to drive—a skill which made me appreciate the dexterity and quick decision-making prowess of those who cruise the thoroughfares everyday.

To Ma’am Emma Molina of the City Agriculture of Dagupan who urged me to try my hand in emceeing during the daylong symposium on maintaining the cleanliness and the viability of our rivers. A stint which led to another emceeing chore during the oath-taking ceremony for newly-elected barangay officials in November. Thanks for the trust and confidence, Mayor Benjie!

It does pay to have a goal at the beginning of the year. A goal serves as a roadmap. When one embarks on a quest, at the end of the year that quest serves as a measure from which a person can gauge whether he has achieved something worthwhile or he has remained immersed in a humdrum state of existence.

Another year is about to commence. I think my next quest would include simple tasks like learning new recipes, improving my newfound writing craft and getting involved in an organization advocating a social cause.

What about you? What could be your own quest for the year 2011?

You can email me at analouisejv@yahoo.com.