Intricate Taste - Intricate Taste | Blog

Intricate Taste

Plan Your Way to Financial Freedom

6/26/2017

Who doesn't want be free from living off paycheck to paycheck? Here are a few steps I've taken to get a good start on my way to financial freedom

1. Get a reality check and figure out where you're at.

Where else will you start? It's important to know exactly where your finances stand and how much more losses can you tolerate before you sink in debt and never be able to get up. Getting a better picture of your financial status will guide you in establishing your goals and achieve financial freedom.

On my previous post, Going Through Lifestyle Inflation, I mentioned that I have a negative net worth but looking into it closely, I still have a few bucks in my name. It can't wipe off my long term debt, of course, but I can use it to pay for the current ones without touching the money I'm saving for my operation.

Basically, I'm broke but people wont notice; not even the merchants I owe to. That's a good start.

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

6/22/2017

Living a busy life in the city as a career woman, you might also be dreaming of a long paid vacation somewhere or live a life where no one expects you to be anything. I know I did until I left that busy industry. That was actually the basis when I chose this book.

Samantha Sweeting is one of London's top lawyers awaiting partnership after seven years of hard work. On the night she was to be declared partner, she realized she had made a little mistake due to carelessness that hugely implicated an important client and ran away to be a housekeeper somewhere.

Well, of course that's not how I imagined my getaway will be but you get the gist.

Money 101 | Going Through Lifestyle Inflation

6/21/2017

Lifestyle inflation happens when your increase in income is followed by increase in expenses. Others write articles on how to avoid it but in my opinion, it's inevitable. Changes in work and family conditions will cause it to inflate in a way, like buying a family car or moving to a bigger house. Besides don't we all work hard to elevate our standard of living?

After college, I landed my first job as a purchasing staff in a manufacturing company and believe it or not, I only earn between P6,000 - P10,000 a month including overtime. Now I'm earning roughly three times more than that but I have no investment and P20,000 behind my targeted personal savings plus a personal loan.

So where does my money go? How was I able to manage living with only that much in the past?

I chelked my credit card billings, some receipts and here's what I found.

Bobbie Nail Creme | Supah - GEL Collection

6/20/2017

The thing I love about Bobbie Nail Creme is its variety of unique finishes. Their latest, Supah - GEL Collection, promises to "give your mani a voluminous, gel-lific finish" and "long - lasting gleam of a salon gel manicure sans UV light".

What: Bobbie Nail Creme Supah - GEL Collection
Where to buy: Watsons (Exclusive)
Price: P79.75 each

The Office | Money Matters

6/19/2017

I recently purchased a couple of shelves from Pure Gold the other day for my room so I had to transfer everything that's in my old book shelf to the new one.

I was cleaning up when I found a pile of old magazines. Now, I don't normally keep them unless I really like the articles in it so I browsed it for awhile before deciding whether I want to throw it or not.

In an article, I read that an average cosmo girl earns P20,000 monthly gross. Thinking about it, I earn way more than that net of all deductions in a small city at the north side of the country without a heavy financial responsibility for over five years. On the same day, I checked my bank balance and realized I'm actually twenty grand short for that minimum amount of personal savings plus I have a loan I made out for the house renovation. Technically, my net worth is negative.

Pink and Lilac Dotted Nail Art

6/16/2017

Crumptes Nail Art has an ongoing challenge due every two weeks. This was my entry for the pink, lilac and gold color concept last May 26. It's ordinay so it'll be easy to do on both hands.

The products I used are as follows:

Bobbie Nails: Xtreme Gel Nail Gloss
Bobbie Nails: Yin Yang (Nail Twinsies 1st Collection)
BYS: Spring Blossom (Scented Nail Polish Collection)
Caronia: Cashmere
Chic: Fandom (Fangirl Collection)
Colortrends: Fancy (Shopaholic Collection)

Bornprettystore.com

6/14/2017

After waiting for almost a month, my order from Bornpretty has arrived. The store has been online for a long time now but this is the first time I was able to try their service. The main reason why I can't was that I don't have a credit card before and although there's Paypal, I was a bit scared to connect my debit card online. I usually choose COD as mode of payment on my other transactions just to be safe.

Anyway, I only bought the essentials, nail tips, fine tip nail art brushes and nail display stand for practice costing $11.54. I didn't have to pay for shipping but I wanted to keep track of my order so I paid additional $3.

Audible

6/9/2017

It's been five years since I first heard about Audible but I wasn't really that interested in it until recently, I found a textbook reviewer which comes handy.

I downloaded the app and signed up for free for one month so I could download the Vango notes. A month later, I was billed around $14.95 for the subscription and received one credit. You can use it to buy any book of your choice no matter what the price.

I chose Sophie Kinsella's "The Undomestic Godess". A book published in 2005 from the same author of "The Confessions of a Shopaholic". I'll tell more about it on my next post.

2nd Love Jet Setter Makeup Kit

6/7/2017

I was simply browsing for a new lipstick at the mall when a sales representative from LA Girl Cosmetics offered this kit to me. At first I thought it was from the same company until I was able to check it out when I got home.

What: 2nd Love Jet Setter Make up Kit
Where: Watsons
Price: P600+

2nd Love is distributed by Jet Cosmetics located in Los Angeles, California USA but made in China. This particular collection, as stated at the back of the box, is cruelty free and will be expiring on September 2021.

Chic Fangirl Collection

6/5/2017

I've been busy reviewing recently for my exam so I hardly had time for other things. I recently got these but this isn't anything new since I've been seeing some of it in the shelf for awhile. I went ahead and bought it anyways since I don't have any substitute in most of the colors in the collection and I'd be using it for the nail art challenge I joined.

What: Chic Fangirl Collection
Where: Watsons and SM Department Store
Price: P35 each