by The Happy WAHM
So okay, like I really have the time to do this today. I don’t, but hey, I’m entitled to play hooky once in a while.
While getting ready to get back to work after a sumptuous lunch of pork sinigang that my hubby prepared for us before leaving for a business trip, I was browsing through Facebook and came across the link to the latest blog post of a Mommy friend, a fellow homeschooling, soon-to-be WAHM, Racquel Guevara. Her post was about teaching her children life skills, one of which is making bank deposits. There was an invitation to comment, and I did. It was kind of kilometric that I thought, hmmm… I have not been posting anything on my blog because I don’t have the time, and yet I had the time to write that long comment. So why not write a quick post, while I’m at it? And the topic is good. Right along the alley of homeschooling moms.
As parents, it is really up to us to teach our children life skills Those that will really matter in their journey through life. Oh yeah, nouns and pronouns are important, but those are things that they will learn anyway, as they trudge along the levels of education.
But what they really need are what can’t be learned inside the fours walls of a classroom. And that’s why we homeschool. Because we want to learn as we live. Not just when we are attending classes or lectures. And while it is true that the best things in life are free, like hugs, and kisses, and laughter; bills still need to get paid. And no matter what the song says, love alone won’t keep us alive. So we show them the value of hard work, we make them understand that money is not something we should take for granted, we teach them how to budget and save and work.
For our 13-year old, we have started to give her a hands-on training on budgeting and saving. Since she already attends a traditional school, she already takes a daily allowance. When she was eleven, we opened a bank account for her, in her name, with her signature. No ATM card, just a passbook that I keep. Then last year, when she started attending a traditional school, I asked her to make a passbook out of the pages of her old notebook. I made her a deal. That I would match whatever amount she could save. She’s really crazy over an electric guitar (forgive my ignorance, but I believe it’s called a Gibson Les Paul, or something with Cherry) and she knows it’s expensive so, the sweet girl that she is, she’s not really pushing it. Such a blessing that our children really understand our economic standing, but this I may write about next time. So I told her that it’s really going to take me some time to raise the funds for that, but if she’ll help, we may find a way to get it sooner. So every afternoon, she would give me whatever amount is left from her day’s allowance, and I would record it on her passbook, and I would sign. By the end of the school year, we were able to deposit Php5,500. Php2,750.00 came from her, plus the matching amount from me. And during the year, too, she was able to buy some of her school project materials without asking from me.
Well, what do you know, but this year, she may end up with a lot bigger amount, since she’s been doing some copy-paste jobs for me on weekends and holidays. Tasks like converting Powerpoint to Text, or taking out data from a PDF file to be put in Excel. And last December, she did not ask for a field trip allowance, instead she used part of her savings to buy souvenirs for us all. And I really appreciate that about her. That while she knows spending on souvenirs could mean less savings for her, she really doesn’t seem to mind. She does know the value of giving, too!
by The Happy WAHM
Captured this picture of my eldest child with my phone right before dinner tonight.
She’s not making a fashion statement or anything. She’s just doing what she does best: being the sweet young lady that she is.
Everyday, upon her arrival from school, she would go directly to me, here at my workstation, on her way to the bedroom she’s sharing with her younger sister. She would kiss me hello, we’d exchange kisses for a few minutes while we go over our routine Q & A: How was school? Do you have assignments? What did you have for lunch? Have you had snack before coming home? Go change and have your snack. Blah, blah, blah.
But about three weeks ago, her brother just came up with this game of annoying his ate. When he hears his ate arrive, he would open the door, and knowing the routine, he would run to me just as his ate is also coming towards me, and he would embrace me so that his ate could not get her kiss. This has been going on for weeks now, like a game of tag. And Xia would always find an opening and still get her kiss. But this afternoon, Xia just had it with Jude.
To annoy Jude back, she intentionally did not come to me, but went straight to the bedroom to change. Well, knowing Xia, she was in there a looooooong time. I started to feel impatient, so I called her to come out. She took her sweet time, and after about 30 minutes finally came out. By that time, I was also getting annoyed. She came to me to get her kiss, but I was not going to give in easy. I expected my kiss the moment she came in, and I expected her not to be bullied by a little boy. So I ignored her. No kiss today. Then we heard the car come in.
Bea and Jude went to open the door for their dad, while Xia went back to the room. When she came out, she had her school bag and her school necktie on, came to me and had her daily dose of kisses.
Oh, well… What can I say? She’s really very sweet. Beautiful, I’d say. Inside and out. And she definitely knows how to warm my heart.
by The Happy WAHM
Well! It’s really not everyday that I have the luxury of reading blogs. It’s just that last night, I launched my new business site, MargeAberásturi.com. Been considering getting my name for a domain, but have been putting it off since I already have a full schedule and really have no time for another baby to take care of. But given the developments that happened right after the WAHMderful Workshop, I decided that it’s time to take action.
So on Friday morning, I finally bought the domain, and launched the new site Saturday evening. It was pretty easy, as I only migrated the content from my old biz site. I used the Weaver II theme, the same theme that I’m using here, and experimented on creating a really simple header. I’m still not a Photoshop expert, so for the short time that I had, I made do with creating a simple font box in a Powerpoint slide, saved it as PNG and uploaded as header. Same thing for the background. I just created a slide and saved it as PNG, then uploaded as background. We VAs find ways! 🙂
Last night, prior to launch, I optimized my pages and my posts, created my meta title, meta tags and meta description, and then went ahead and announced the link on my Facebook account. This morning, I went for a Google search, and what do you know! MargeAberásturi.com appeared #4 on page 1 of 12,300 results!
But what really got me excited, and almost teary-eyed, is what I found on page 5. There’s this blog of Apples and Dumplings about the WAHMderful Workshop. And there, in one of the pictures, was my hideous, unglamorous self, along with the pictures of gorgeous, snazzy WAHMs, in action during the workshop. Well, never mind that I looked like a hag. What really caught me was the caption under the picture. It said: “Marge Aberasturi, a very successful WAHM! WAHM of WAHMs I must say.” Now that will beat Selecta Rocky Road Overload any day, a hundred to zero!
So to you, Apples and Dumplings, thank you very much! I really hope that I can live up to that description. I am trying, I really am! And I do pray, too, that you will finally find your niche in WAHMing. TheTechieMom and I are just here, an email or a post away. Ask your questions, call for help. We’ll be so happy to assist you!
by The Happy WAHM
It has been a bumpy ride, but I can’t complain. Customer service has been great, sans the technical mishaps. I received my card the day after I created my recipient profile in my client’s Ko-Kard account. Was really surprised when the LBC guy called out from the gate and told me I had a package from Ko-Kard. That fast! I must have made it to their cut-off for processing time, so my card was sent out the same day, and delivered by LBC the next. Hurray, too, for LBC!
So that was the other day. I even took photos of my card and posted it on my Facebook account. Just like my other BDO cards, it came attached on a letter, and the letter says the ATM PIN is also enclosed. There was nothing else attached so I read the letter again, hoping that somewhere in the jumble of words I would find that 6-digit PIN. Nothing.
Okay, cool! I was going to the city (we live in the boondocks) in two days anyway so I was just going to swing by the bank and maybe they can help. Meantime, I still needed to wait for the verification of my client’s bank account.
The next day, my other client sent me an email to inform me that he has registered with Ko-Kard, and he wanted to have my KID number. So I sent it on. That afternoon, my main client also sent me his bank verification information, so I was able to log in and attach my KID number to his account.
This morning, I finally made that trip to the city, and sadly, it all went to naught. The BDO staff told me that the default PIN for all their issued cards is 123456, so I should try those. After 15 minutes of waiting for my turn in a pretty long line, I did just that, but the system told me it was incorrect. I again went inside the bank and approached the BDO staff for help. They were really nice. Let me use their phone to call the hotline. The first to take my call was someone from their call center. She didn’t know how she could help me, so I was transferred to another lady. Again, the voice at the other end of the line had no idea why their default PIN would not work with my card. So I was again transferred to the Cash Card Department, coz they are in a better position to help me.
Now, this lady at the Cash Card Department is really something. After relating my problem for the fourth time, all she had to say to me was, “You should contact your card issuer.”
Well, hello! As far as I can understand, the letter came from BDO Remit, on a BDO letterhead, where my BDO Cash Card was attached, so I’m assuming that I can be somehow helped by the BDO staff. And the icing on the cake, she did not even bother to ask for my card number, if only to find out if I indeed have a card in my hands. Some kind of customer assistance you got there, BDO Cash Card!
Now, while I was on the phone with that Cash Card Department lady, the tellers at the bank were already trying to find out the status of my card. They looked for my account in their system, and told me that the status is issued and active. That, at least, was a relief.
So, to make a long, sad story short, I just thanked the lovely BDO ladies and told them that I’d just get in touch with the card issuer. Well, that was after I gave them an overview of what virtual assistance is about and how they, too, can earn from the comfort of their homes. 🙂
Fast forward to now.
I was just on the phone with Joy, a lady with a really sweet voice, who called me after I sent Ko-Kard Support an e-mail asking how I could get a hold of my mysterious PIN. Joy gave me my PIN, telling me that as a precaution, they really don’t send out the PIN with the card, and that the protocol is really to give the PIN over the phone, after the card holder confirms his/her identity by answering a few questions. Now, why didn’t I know that? Apparently, they sent me an e-mail with that information. That I should let them know the moment I received my card, so that they could inform me what the PIN was. And the e-mail was sent to one of my addresses that I don’t frequently use. My bad!
Still with that soft voice, Joy informed me that when using the Ko-Kard, from the main menu of the ATM, I should push on “Withdraw” and choose “Cash Card”. So there’s that special route you have to go to if you’re making withdrawals from your Ko-Kard. Something to keep in mind!
So I now have my PIN, and an email just came in a few seconds ago, informing me that a remittance is on its way.
Birth pains! But all’s well that ends well. And I hope that my VA readers have learned something from my experience.
by The Happy WAHM
I was just on the phone with Ken Sproule, owner of Ko-Kard, and no, that was not a job interview. 🙂
Let me share with you what actually happened…
Last Wednesday, November 14, I received notification from Xoom that one of my clients has sent me money. It usually takes a few minutes before I get another e-mail telling me that the money is ready for pick up. A few more minutes, the client sent me an e-mail to tell me that Xoom denied the transaction. When I clicked on the tracking link, it showed that the transaction has been cancelled. Came Thursday, November 15, and found another notification from Xoom in my folder. I was expecting it, since that one is from my main client and I actually manage his Xoom account and I also pay his other service providers through Xoom. Found out that the payment transaction has been cancelled. Came the invoice from the transcriptionists, so I logged in to Xoom to send out the payment. Instantly, the transaction was cancelled. And then it hit me. Xoom found me out! Xoom’s fine prints state that remittances should not be commercial in nature. So all payments to me are now being blocked.
Sent my clients an e-mail letting them know that we have to find another way they can send payments to me. Direct bank deposit is expensive, and so is Western Union. I shy away from Paypal coz it charges me an arm and a leg on withdrawals. And their conversion rate is almost a peso lower compared to Xoom.
Then my main client, bless him, sends me a link to payments.ph and says: “If that works for you, go ahead and set it up. Just tell me what you need.” So I went ahead and started the registration process. I have all his bank and credit card details so no problem there. After completing the required information on the first page, the system tells me that a confirmation link has been sent to the e-mail address I used in the registration. So I sent my client an e-mail letting him know that he has to click on some link or forward it to me.
Nada. He could not find anything even in his spam folder. Twenty-four hours passed and no link. So I finally sent Ko-Kard’s support staff an e-mail to follow up and requested for another link.
Must have received my e-mail and acted on it, on a Saturday, coz the client forwarded the confirmation e-mail to me. I went ahead and clicked on the link, and was told that the code was not in their system. Tried to log in, crossing my fingers that the client has clicked on the link and therefore it was no longer valid, but account must have been verified so I can log in.
No such luck! The account still needs to be verified.
I was already stressing. I need to pay the subcontractors, and I still don’t have the cash. So I e-mailed support again. And the one who replied was Ken Sproule.
“Please send a contact number so I may call you and get things sorted out.”
So I did.
And that was what the call was about.
The link turned out to be erroneous, so while still on the phone, I was sent another link to click, and it actually worked! So I continued on to page two of the registration, and at the end was told that another e-mail with a link has been dispatched to my client so he can verify his bank account.
It’s past midnight in his part of the world, so I guess I will have to wait ’til late tonight, or early tomorrow morning to find out what comes next with Ko-Kard.
