marriage, Practical Advice, Practical Living

My Husband, the Financial Advisor

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Look at my husband’s big, wide smile after finishing his training and starting his new career. This is something he’s so passionate about–helping people with their finances by teaching them, walking with them and providing them with solutions so they can reach their financial goals.
One of the things the Lord amazingly considered when He brought me & my husband together is the value of proper financial management & stewardship. Having experienced how poor financial decisions and bad spending habits can affect a family, I remember praying to God for a job that would pay me well enough so I wouldn’t have to resort to taking loans. If that meant that I’d skip eating out and just make my own baon everyday, so be it. If that meant that I couldn’t buy my wants immediately, then I was willing to wait it out. It was important that my basic needs were covered and that I didn’t have to go into debt just because I overspent. Hearing Dave talk about similar financial viewpoints while we were dating admittedly caught my attention (aside from our shared interest in Biblical exegesis). He didn’t brag about cars, gadgets or a luxurious lifestyle. I remember trying to hide my kilig when we were talking about life insurance and investments during our dinner date at The Happy Garden Cafe. In my head I was screaming “SHOOOOCKS. A GUY WHO TOTALLY GETS IT AND DOES NOT FIND ME WEIRD FOR BRINGING THESE UP!” He actually had a lot to say about the topics too and I knew that he wasn’t faking it. It was something that he believed in and was in his system.

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We’ve been doing budgeting and financial tracking since we started planning our wedding. Our spreadsheets are certainly different now that we’re married and living on our own but we find that recording our income, expenses, investments, savings and bills (although tedious) helps us plan, project and adjust our finances better.
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Hindi ba nakakaloka na na-eexcite siyang gawin to? “Na-challenge yung brain ko, sandali.” Tapos uupuan niya yan, magcocompute just to show what’s more practical.

Since we got married, we have long been praying for God to give him a new job opportunity. He’s certainly learned a lot and has gone through massive character building while he was working in the government but he eventually reached his threshold. He’s been sending out applications since last year, some got back to him, some invited him for interviews but things just did not move forward. Though it did make us sad, we continued to pray and trust God that He knew better. When the opportunity finally came this year, we were both taken aback by the order of circumstances. No amount of human manipulation could make the timing so smooth. Clearly, God was on it.
We know that this job won’t be 100% stress free. It does come with it’s own set of challenges and areas of growth. I’m just happy to see my husband do something he is so passionate about and flourish in the midst of a motivating team. I’m happy that his job allows him to help people plan and protect their finances (and loved-ones), prepare for the future and unforeseen circumstances.
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If you are interested to talk about finances, capital/wealth protection, retirement planning and investments, you may get in touch with my husband via email: davidingridpagulayan@gmail.com or send him a PM on Facebook. 😀

marriage, Practical Advice, Practical Living, Relationships, Spiritual Reflections, wedding

Post-Wedding Reflections

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If you asked Ingrid three years ago if she envisioned herself tying the knot, she would outright tell you–NO. It’s been an interesting journey from being a lovestruck teenager who couldn’t wait to find true love, getting my heart broken, being made to hope and then finally surrendering to God in the area of relationships. I settled into my single life, enjoying and living every moment of it. I wore the NBSB (No Boyfriend Since Birth) tag like a badge of honor, thinking “No man has ever come close and all the others who tried were just not serious.” I envisioned myself devoting my life to media and ministry, traveling the world and just living the single life to the hilt AND THEN DAVE HAPPENED. If you watched these videos, I talked about how I came to a point of confusion. How I was already happy as a single but then I began developing feelings for Dave. I asked God if I was sinning and during my plane ride to Singapore then, I felt the Lord assure me that it was okay. That Dave was from Him. Some people thought our romance was a whirlwind: We became a couple in October 2017, Dave proposed in January and we tied the knot on the exact day of our first year together.

Looking back, I really saw God’s involvement in everything: from the schedules, to the suppliers, the venue, financial provision and the availability of people we chose to be a part of our wedding day. The wedding planning was also an avenue for God to teach us about the essentials of the covenant of marriage. See, we had a very intimate wedding of just 80 guests. Of course it was daunting to put the guest list together. “Baka sumama loob nito pag di natin siya ininvite.” “Should we include him/her? Kilala ba niya tayo talaga or baka acquaintance lang?” Dave and I both are practical with our finances. We could have gone with a 250-person guest list but how would that affect our life after the celebration was over? We wanted to cover our bases, meaning after ng wedding, kailangan sigurado na may pambayad kami ng housing and utilities namin, our transportation, basic needs and the other things for us to build our home. There is nothing wrong with those who choose to splurge on their wedding day–that is your wedding, this is ours. That is your budget, we also have ours. 🙂

I guess through this whole process, one thing I can impart to fellow brides (and grooms) is to not be pressured to mount an extravagant wedding just because someone you know did so. Do not be pressured to avail of all the wedding trends just because a lot of couples have been getting them too. One question that I found very helpful every time I was tempted to avail of a wedding add-on was this: “Will the wedding not push through, if this were not included?” (Hindi ba matutuloy ang kasal kung wala yan?)

It’s been several weeks since we said our vows. As we joyfully build our home together, we’ve been affirmed that we made the right choice to prioritize our life after the wedding day, without any fear of huge debts or the fear of not having enough to sustain our daily living.

 

Practical Advice, Spiritual Reflections

Throwback Blog: I received another credit card?!

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REMEMBER THAT I CLOSED MY GOLD CREDIT CARD LAST MONTH?

This morning I was surprised to receive a packet from the bank. The messenger asked for my ID so I thought “This is legit and not some random letter. But wait, didn’t I close my card last month? What’s this then? I don’t remember applying for anything!!!” So I asked the messenger and he told me that it’s a credit card inside the envelope.

I ran back to my room and opened the packet. TADAAAA! An American Express card! Shopaholics would usually jump for joy if they receive such a thing, but my initial reaction was PUZZLEMENT. I don’t remember applying for anything! And then the letter goes “the card is active…membership fee is waived for the first year.”

Continue reading “Throwback Blog: I received another credit card?!”