NOVUHAIR Celebrates 10.10

2020 marks the 10th successful year of NOVUHAIR in the Philippines and what a better way to celebrate this milestone by launching the NOVU VIP CLUB.

5 Reasons Why Your Hair Might be Falling Out

Losing up to 100 strands of hair every day is normal. If your hair starts to shed more significant than usual, or if they do not grow back as they should, it can be a source of concern. Once the cause is detected, hair fall remedy or baldness cure for hair loss treatment can be easier.

FREE Extra NOVUHAIR Herbal Shampoo Exclusive at Watsons

 

Along with the ongoing threat of this pandemic health crisis comes, one has to adapt to the new normal that affects everything and everyone. Despite the urgency of reopening businesses for economic reasons, the majority of the Filipinos are still forced to stay at home with uncertainty.

Common Car Problems We Experienced from Our Car

 

We used to have a second-hand car and we were happy because it was our very first family car. I believe it was a Mazda Familia 323 2007 model. My husband was confident he could fix its issues because he used to be an auto mechanic. But there are just some things that even an mechanic couldn't fix by himself. There were plenty of times we needed to bring our car to a repair shop. 

Home Improvement: Benefits of Plants and Flowers in Your Home

Home improvements seems very popular nowadays especially during the pandemic since a lot of people spend most of their time at home. I, myself, am guilty of this because since I am working at home, naturally I would want my home to be pleasant and organized as possible. Amidst the booming of home improvements, house plants became a hit which is why house plants nowadays which explains the higher price.

House Plant Benefits

Photo from Pexels

Aside from making the house look good, house plants do have its benefits. House plants are good for your health simply because of they give off oxygen and they absorb the carbon dioxide that we, humans, exhale. Studies also show that having plants in your home office increases productivity andmakes people happier (probably because of the oxygen). As for me,  I also have small indoor plants on my desk and whenever my eyes get tired from the long hours of looking at the monitor, I just look at my green babies just to relax my eyes.

Flower Benefits

These are flowers I ordered online from a local florist for Mother's Day :)
Flowers never fail to put a smile on your mom's face

Even before house plants became popular, flowers has been popular since the 1800s. When you look around in the city, you’ll find lots and lots of florists. Even now during a pandemic, florists are still visible online. You may just search for the word, “florists” plus your location then you can find the closest florist for you (e.g. new York florist, best Chicago florist, etc. Flowers are a timeless token of appreciation for someone special to you or you can simply put flowers in your home to make it look more beautiful. It is also proven that flowers help improve a person’s mood and aids relaxation. If you’re a beginner or wanted to have a professional decorate your home with flowers and plants, then you are free to do so by contacting florists like PlantShed NYC flowers.

Cactus Benefits

I used to have a cactus at home (a zebra plant) and I placed it in the bathroom. Unfortunately, it died after 2 months because of over-watering so I’ll try to remember that I should probably water it once every 2 or 3 weeks only. That's one lesson for a beginner. Cactus, like other plants, have benefits, too! Aside from making you happy for taking care of a plant, it’s also a good plant of choice to improve air quality in your home. According to an article from Cactusway, “By having cacti plantsinside your house, you could reduce the amount of air impurities by over 50%. Indoor plants can also lower the amount of dust and bacterial buildup in your indoor spaces.” I have to admit after reading that statement, I started looking at cacti online and started browsing for prices (haha!).

I have only written the gist of the benefits of plants and flowers because it might take a whole novel just discussing their benefits. Let me just say that I’m happy that people nowadays are getting back to appreciating plants and flowers even more than ever before because our future  is definitely brighter if we love our plants (and trees) more. 

Shapewear for Working Moms

I have been working at home for years now even before the pandemic happened and that means I sit down on a chair for long hours during the day. Now this kind of lifestyle negatively affects my body and one of the things that I get to notice is that my belly and thighs are getting bigger, as well as back pains. 

Now, I’ve tried buying ergonomic chairs to support my back and it really helped. But still, my belly and my thighs feel like they’re getting bigger every day and my skin on those areas are being stretched.  That’s the time I searched for something that could help remedy the problem (aside from exercise).

In a post from Eyes on Manila blog discussing shapewear and its benefits to plus-size women, it was discussed how it helps curve the body nicely while wearing a dress. But I didn’t realize at that time that we can actually use body shaping lingerie while we work or in my case, when I work from home. I can look for some best shapewear for the tummy and since I also plan on controlling my diet, it wouldn’t hurt if I also start with some waist and thigh trainer also so they can be "trained" stay hopefully in shape even if I’m sitting down.

Among the best shapewear for tummy items or the ones that “trains the tummy”, I really like the picture on the left because I think I can simply wear a long t-shirt and just wear this since underneath since it already has shorts included. I just had to make sure to choose the black one so it may look like I’m just wearing cycling shorts.

Here are some neat features of the product from their website:

• One plastic bone on each side of the waist to prevent curling;
• Three layers are on the abdomen, two-layer mesh fabric, and one lining;
• Hook-and-eye crotch closure for convenience to go to the bathroom;
• The lining is a moisture-wicking breathable fabric, suitable for summer;
• There are removable, adjustable and soft restricted stretch elastic straps;
• Butt enhancing design can lift your hips and create charming curves;
• The shorts trim adopts the epoxy design to prevent the body shaper from sliding up.

Safety Measures in Using Shapewears

Now, keep in mind that the shapewears are not recommended for extended periods of time (e.g. 8 hours a day , every day), so once I get some shapewears for myself, I plan on using them probably 3-4 hours every Tuesday – Thursday- Saturday only. So since I really want a shapewear product to work, it’s best to know what the best Shapellx shapewear there is in the market so you can get best results and maximum comfort. 

Calculating My Travel Budget

As a mom who can still work from home during this COVID-19 pandemic, I still consider myself very lucky to have a job that I can still earn from remotely. A lot of people nowadays are unemployed and are struggling to find work, which is why I'm still very thankful. 

I know that flights are suspended this year especially international flights, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to travel in the future. It may be 2 years from now or 3 years or maybe more since I need to prioritize other expenses since I have kids. So now I really wanted to seriously start saving exclusively for travel or have a travel budget. 

Determining Your Goal

Why are you saving money? What's it for? I think it also helps if you know your goal on why you want to save money. And as early as now, we should be honest with our finances. According to an article from The Balance, a budget only works if you are honest about both your income and expenses. To make an effective budget, you must be willing to work with detailed and accurate information about your earning and spending habits.For me, like I said, my goal is to have a travel budget. Take note that having a travel budget is different from our savings. The two of them must be separate. 

Find a Calculator

So given that I had trouble calculating my finances, using the resources we have today like the internet and Google, I searched for websites that could give me some tips about budgeting. Lo and behold, I found a very useful tool from Pigly.com. I found a very interesting budget calculator that helps me to somehow plan my travel budget and hopefully stick to it.

Pigly has plenty of types of calculator which is one of the reasons why knowing your goal is important. They have a budget planner calculator which is the one I should be using. But for now, I chose the Reaching Your Savings Goal calculator because I do plan on reaching a travel budget of P100,000 (more than $2,000) within 2 years using my current salary. The Savings Goal Calculator is very simple, even kids can easily understand it.

Savings Goal Calculator

When you look at the pic above, I set up my savings goal to 100,000. I put zero (0) to my current savings balance because I actually have zero balance in my savings account (I just live from paycheck to paycheck so please don't judge me). But I plan to change that soon.  The annual percentage rate is the interest rate that can be applied once you have an amount entered in the current savings balance. I chose monthly contribution for 2 years to reach my goal and this is the result after clicking "Calculate:"

Savings Goal Results

Current savings future value is zero because, as mentioned, my current savings is zero. Savings gap is the amount I still need to earn so naturally that's 100,000. So the calculator says that my monthly required deposit to be able to earn 100,000 after 2 years is 4,087.36. When I computed 4,087.36 x 24 months (2 years), it is equal to 98,088 so I'm assuming I will earn the 1,912 through interest from the bank. If I were to use a simple calculator, I wouldn't be able to compute this so thank you, Pigly :) 

Final Question: Can I Do It? 

So the question now is can I save 4,087.36 per month? I think I can if and only if I find a sideline or a part time job to co-finance it. The said amount is a huge chunk out of my current salary. I can only shell out 1,000 for it so for additional 3,000, I would need another sideline for it. That's why I'm currently blogging so I can somehow have a little income from it and save.