Sharing Thoughts, Inspiring People

 Around this time last year, I spent a full day of baking sweet goodies that friends, relatives and office mates ordered for their holiday treats. I told myself then I'm not gonna do it again.  Today, history repeats itself. As I am writing this, I still have 6 sets of leche flan (caramel custard) baking in the oven and another batch waiting to be popped into the oven. My day started early and I am sure it will end late.  The sole of my feet hurt, my hands are sore from all the mixing, beating and dishwashing, I am exhausted. And now, I am telling myself again, no more of this next year. But I doubt myself there.  I love doing side hustle. The extra money I get doesn't really equate to the hard work I put in and the exhaustion I feel after but the thought that I am able to sell and get an extra cash out of something I made gives me that sense of accomplishment. After all, what will I do with all the free time I had? So today, I am grateful for a lot of things: For th...

I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Our father was a below average wage-earner while our mother stayed home handling our finances. Growing up, I witnessed how she stretched out our father's hard earned money to maximize purchases while having side hustle just to make ends meet. She'd never lectured me on how to spend wisely but seeing how she did things and all the hardships that came with it, I knew back then that money doesn't grow on trees. This here was the truth that drove me to be frugal. When I was a kid, whenever I see a rich person, the usual thought was they were from a well off family. Now, the rich people I knew were actually not born rich, they were self made. They may not be millionaires (yet) but they are enjoying the financial freedom which is a goal for many of us. Financial freedom means having enough savings, investments, and cash on hand to afford the lifestyle we want for ourselves and our family - while having a passive, re-generating in...