by The Happy WAHM
How sweet it is to be loved by you! Thank you, The Learning Basket duo!
I am beyond thrilled when I received this email yesterday from Sanne of The Learning Basket.
Here’s the full email, no edits.
Dear Marge,
Mariel and I would just like to thank you for all the help that you gave us from the setting up of The Learning Basket Shop to the integration of the Affiliate Program. Working with you was such a breeze. You knew exactly what we wanted and you were able to follow through. To say that you work quickly is an understatement. We look forward to more projects with you! From (former haha) IT folks who could’ve just done it themselves, we are happy that we chose you for these projects. Thank you! Thank you!
Sanne
www.thelearningbasket.com
Inspiring you to be your child’s first and best teacher
Shop pre-loved children’s books by the best authors and illustrators
In case you’re wondering what the fuzz is all about… well, I set up The Learning Basket’s shop back in May last year. And like any other shop I created in the past, there was no fanfare. But I do love these ladies. I just don’t post much about my projects in particular. I just talk about my glorious WAHMlife all the time. 🙂 I love working with clients who simply tell me what they need, and give me the freedom to go about fulfilling that need.
Then again last month, they wanted to know if I could help them set up an affiliate program for their shop. Just at that period in my VA life that I was seriously considering giving more focus on doing affiliate marketing and helping others do it, too. I’ve been immersed in it for years, and so many business owners in the Philippines are still not taking advantage of having their market reach multiplied a thousand-fold by simply setting up an affiliate marketing program.
So I set up their program, and ta-da!
You can read more about their affiliate program here. This is an opportunity to spread the word on the importance of reading, of being our children’s first ad best teacher, and top it with an opportunity to earn extra by simply talking about it. If you’re someone who’s active on social media, by all means, sign up and be an advocate of reading. I promise, this is something that you will be proud to share.
And on another note, if you are a business owner who wants to bring your business to the next level, do let me know! I can set up your affiliate marketing program, too!
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by The Happy WAHM
26/365Challenge: Today’s a happy day! Never thought much about Valentine’s day. It’s not a day I got used to celebrating, but my son changed that for me.
Three days ago, he asked me if we still have origami paper. But unfortunately, we’ve run out. So next he asked If I have colored papers. And I gave him what’s left in the ream that I bought last year. I knew there’s something he’s trying to follow on YouTube, but I’m not one to go where I’m not invited, so I just let him be. I would hear him getting frustrated. And I would just shush him and say, “Patience, Jude.”
Then yesterday, he finally admitted that he could not finish it all by himself. He needed someone to hold the folded paper with two hands, while he used his hands turning the paper to its shape. When I commented that it’s looking good, he said, “It’s for you, Mommy.”
By afternoon, he asked me if he could borrow my glue gun. He needed it to attach the wire stem to the leaves and the flower.
Again, he was frustrated. He’s not used to using a glue gun, and it hardens before he could attach. So his dad finally offered to help him. We don’t normally offer to help. We have to be asked. That’s what we teach them. Figure things out by themselves, and ask for help when they can no longer do it on their own.
So Daddy showed him how to simply use the white glue and roll the paper around the wire.
This was the photo I posted on Instagram.
And this is where it is now, holding that special space on my lap table which also serves as my crochet project table. The crane is from my middlechild. I wonder what our firstborn will have for me this Valentine?
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by The Happy WAHM
After addressing the short-term decisions, then it’s time to make long-term ones.
So what are the considerations that are considered as long-term?
Your house… Are you still renting, or are you paying a mortgage for your own home like we were then, or are you one of the fortunate ones who already have their own home before the need to plunge into a one-income household came? If you are renting, can you still afford the rent with just one income? Maybe you should also consider moving to a more affordable place to cut on rent expense.
Your children’s college fund… Do you have enough savings, or already paying up for a pre-need college fund? In our case, we already completed our first child’s educational funds, and still paying for two, when the “tragedy” at Prudential Life struck. Fortunately for us, I have a cousin who was working there, and she was able to give me sound advice to withdraw. We were able to withdraw, at a loss on the two that we were still actively paying for, and a break-even on the one that we have finished paying for. (Maybe in another post, I will share what we did with the money we were able to get back from Prudential, but suffice it to say that we did not spend that money, nor did we even think of making it part of our disposable cash.)
Your retirement fund… Have you started investing on a retirement plan? Can you continue to save up for your retirement with just one income?
Those were the three major items that we focused on when we became a one-income family. We had to weigh our immediate needs against what we need to prepare for in the future.
Giving up one income means a big cut on your old budget. But giving up some expenses, like househelp, lunches out, designer clothes and such, and managing your utilities expense, like going for a lower postpaid plan on your phone, or maybe switching to prepaid, may not be enough to address your long-term plans, like college education and retirement. You will need to save up for those.
So here’s what worked for me in terms of savings…
You see those ATM card plastic jackets? I have several of those, and each one is labeled with “phone/internet”, “electricity”, “grocery”, “gas”, “doctor”, “allowance”, “emergency”, “savings”. etc, and each payday, I would put in the budget for each expense there, so that when the utilities fall due, I have the cash. Notice that I have a jacket for savings. Some see savings as what’s left after all the bills have been paid just before the next payday. Not for us. Savings should be taken out of the total take home pay before you even start budgeting what’s left for your household expenses. However small, savings should be constant. If you can afford to save 20% of your take home pay, go ahead and do so, then watch your spending to make the 80% work for the rest of the expense. But of course, again, you should only decide on the lifestyle that you are willing to live, so maybe 20% is too much. Try 15%, and if still it won’t work go for 10%. The important thing is that you commit to that 10% no matter what. Make it a regular thing. Like in my case, I didn’t even think about my husband’s full take home pay anymore. My mind was set to receiving just the net of the amount we have agreed to put on savings.
And speaking of husbands…
If your one-income family has the husband as the one going out to work, please don’t forget that the husband has to receive an allowance, too. Agree on an amount that he will receive from the take home pay. I used to give my husband his allowance at the beginning of the month, before the next payday cycle, and I’m proud to say that at the end of each month he would always have some amount left that he gives to me to be added to either our savings or to the emergency fund.
About savings…
It pays to have your money put in an account that you have no immediate access to. In our case, I put it in an account with higher yield than a regular savings, like a time deposit, but allows for up to three withdrawals per month. And then there’s what they call the maxi saver, where you get a yield much higher than a savings account for as long as you don’t make any withdrawals. If you ever need to withdraw, then your account will be put on a regular savings rate, but leave it another full cycle without any withdrawal and you’ll be back to having that high interest rate.
Once you are comfortable with what you have in your savings account, meaning you have an amount that can cover an emergency, consider putting some amount in mutual funds. In building a retirement fund, it pays to start an investment portfolio early, however small, because in growing money, time is your best friend. Time, and compounding interest.
Until my next update on this series!
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by The Happy WAHM
24/365Challenge: Buying house slippers for our kids have become a problem lately. So the idea of making crocheted slippers came to mind.
We had two scheduled power interruptions in our area, so I was able to plan what I would do during my downtime from work. I was working on our daughter’s hooded cowl, but I’ve been stressing over her house slippers that are again due for replacement. Sometimes I think metal slippers should be invented just for her, to make them last longer. But then I thought maybe something that really hugs the skin would be better.
So I thought of crocheted slippers.
Problem is, I’m still not good at making rounds. So the hours that I could not do any office work due to the power interruption were spent experimenting on crocheting in rounds. The one beanie I tried to make before was a disaster. And so were my glass covers. They are okay to look at, but I know that I’ve been doing something wrong in making the rounds.
After hours of experimenting, and yards of wasted yarn, I finally figured it out. Good thing I have lots of yarns from Sugar Free. 🙂
So here’s how I did it…
I made a magic ring, then made 8 SCs on the ring. Slip stitch to the first SC then Ch 1 to go to the second round.
For the second round, I made the first increase. That’s SC on the first stitch, then 2SC on the next stitch and repeat until the end of the round. Slip stitch to the first SC on the round, then Ch 1 to go up the third round.
For the third round, I made the second increase. That’s SC in the first stitch, SC on the second stitch, then 2SC on the third stitch. Repeat until end of round, then slip stitch, Ch 1 to go up the next round.
I kept on increasing until the sixth round. By the end of the sixth round, I had 32 stitches on the round. After that, I made 16 rounds with 32 stitches. Then I fastened off.
Then I marked the center of the project with stitch markers, and estimated where I should attach the yarn to work on the sides. I left the middle 8 stitches free. Then went on to work on 18 rows, before I connected the ends.
And here’s my finished DIY crocheted slippers!
You are welcome to make your own out of the process I shared, or you can just order from me. 🙂
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Send me a topic that you want me to talk about.
