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Showing posts from 2012

14 Call Center Interview Questions & Answers

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The call center industry is one of the fastest growing in the country these days. As recently as ten years ago, there were only a few call center agents and the word call center was hardly ever used in the country. Today, almost every family has at least one member working in the call center industry. The reason for this boom is partly economics. In the Philippines, low paying jobs are very notorious and while call centers set up shop here because of the low labor costs, Filipinos decide to work for the call center industry because it pays higher than average wages. Consider this: if you are an average worker with an entry level position, you probably are getting paid seven to ten thousand a month; meanwhile, an average employee in the call center industry with an entry level position will get around fifteen thousand pesos a month, plus free dental and health benefits (HMO). Call centers also will pay your SSS (Social Security), PAGIBIG (home building fund), and PhilHealth (health ins...
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Alindahaw Lakeview Resort Review and Travel Itinerary Guide

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It was already late in September and it has been more than five months since I last had a vacation. My body was practically screaming at me for a break. It was then that I decided to head to Pagadian city where my parents currently live. I discovered the Alindahaw Lake View Resort online when I was trying to search for places to visit in Pagadian city. I learned later on though that the resort was located in a municipality called Lakewood. From the Pagadian city airport, the Alindahaw Lakeview Resort is approximately three hours away. The Alindahaw Hotel in Pagadian city (which is affiliated with the resort) offers a shuttle service for 1500 pesos * each way* (good for 15 persons). My mom and I (since there was just the two of us) had to take public transportation which plies the Lakewood to Pagadian route. The van that we rode in was very uncomfortable. It was also old and rickety. To top it all off, there were no air-conditioned vans available. The van also stopped not just to...
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Secret Recipe Cream Cake Review

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I swore never to purchase anything from a group on website anymore when the Legends of India fiasco happened last year. However, as fate would have it, I will be giving the group on experience another chance. It was a few weeks ago when I was browsing the Cash Cash Pinoy website when I saw a really good deal that stood out among the others. A lot of the deals on group on websites are usually offered by unknown business groups that you just have to wonder about their products but the one which I saw was offered by a well-known restaurant called Secret Recipe. To clarify, Cash Cash Pinoy is not among the bad group on websites with their bad customer service. When I referred to my Legends of India experience (courtesy of Cash Cash Pinoy) as a fiasco, I meant that the restaurant food was not really good. And because of this, I felt like Legends of India was offering lousy food to us simply because we dined there at a discounted rate. It is sort of like some hotel guests feeling like t...
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Retirement Planning for People in Their 50s

My friend is a time bomb waiting to explode. This friend has gone through life living like a twenty five year old, never saving for retirement. Now, she is approaching fifty and thankfully, has realized that she is a retirement disaster time bomb waiting to explode. Ideally, you should begin to start saving for retirement at 25. People however delay saving for retirement until it is already too late. My friend, at the age of 48, still has a chance to a comfortable retirement. She however has to radically change her ways and put aside more than fifty percent of her income every month for fifteen years. Here is my action plan for my friend: -Minimize eating out to once a month -Bring packed lunch to work -Buy fresh produce and fruit from the wet market instead of sliced packed ones from the grocery -Stop riding taxis in favor of buses, trains and jeepneys -Before buying something: ask yourself if you really need it and if there is a cheaper alternative -Do not give one more...
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6 Ideas on How to Invest

This post will tackle how to become rich as a saver/ investor. I believe that there are three steps to becoming rich. The first one is to acquire consciously a desire to live a frugal lifestyle and thus become a saver. After you become a saver, you now have to look for ways on how to grow your wealth. Remember the parable of the talents? God doesn't give us financial blessings for us to hide the money underneath our mattresses. He wants us to invest our money and grow our wealth. After growing your wealth, the next phase is maintaining your wealth. In this blog post, I will discuss several ways on how you can invest and grow your money. Business If you know anyone who has a great business idea and which you believe in; then you have a great opportunity to become an angel investor. Just remember though that this type of investing is very risky (as most start-up businesses fail during their first year) so be prepared to lose all your money if you decide to put money into a bu...
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13 Tips on How to Save Money

If you’re reading this, you’re probably one of the many office workers who earn a lot but can’t seem to save money. After working for so many years, you still find yourself living from paycheck to paycheck. This article focuses on ways for non savers to become savers. # 1 Tip on How to Save Money- List All Your Expenses While I live very frugally, there are moments in my life when I stumble or experience bouts of overspending. When this happens, I don’t budget, and I don’t do any accounting for my expenses. I discovered however that one good technique which snaps me out of an overspending spell is starting to list all my expenses again. I recommend listing your expenses every thirty days or every two payroll periods. Do this for at least two months. During this period, bring a small notebook and a pen with you so that you can record expenses real time and won’t forget to record any purchase no matter how small it may be. Please remember to record every single expense including M...
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Pork and Beans with Pata Recipe

I was missing my dad’s Pork and Beans with Pata, and so I decided to cook this dish myself one Saturday night. My dad cooks extremely well that when my classmates eat at my house, they would think that our food was restaurant-bought. I also remember being very surprised when I ate at a different house for the first time and realizing that not everyone eats well like me and that not all dads cook well like mine does. The first thing I bought for my Pork and Beans with Pata was the Pata. I bought three pieces of pata slices from Robinson’s, and it cost about a hundred pesos. This was my first time in buying pata so I didn’t know that it would cost this much. Next I bought two pouches of Hunt’s Pork and Beans. I noticed that the Hunt’s Pork and Beans pouch was cheaper than the one in cans. I guess tin costs a lot. Anyway, frugal me likes this a lot. Then I bought some garlic, onion, potatoes, and tomatoes. The recipe handed down to me called for some sweet pepper, but forgetful me f...
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Peri Peri Charcoal Chicken Restaurant Review

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When my sister in law arrived from the US, I met up with her and my brother at SM MegaMall. As it turned out, they were having lunch at Peri Peri MegaMall branch when I saw them. Even though I wasn’t really hungry, I decided to try Peri Peri out. The first thing I noticed upon walking in at Peri Peri was the greeting of the staff which went like ola senhor . Apparently, the restaurant is Portuguese themed. The restaurant was so crowded as it was a weekend. The service was fast though and the employees were friendly. The prices were a bit exorbitant though if you ask me. I ordered the chicken and some pasta. The chicken was grilled and tasted a bit similar to the chicken at pollo loco . The pasta was a bit too bland. I also took their offer of drinks and soup all you can at 49 pesos. I never tried the soup (which was pumpkin soup according to m brother) and only drank two glasses of Pepsi since I didn’t like to drink juice and the coffee offered came out of a Nescafe vendo which is pr...
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How to Borrow Load from Globe Through Globe's GTSOS 3733

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Have you ever wanted to borrow load from Globe? This post will tech you how to borrow load from Globe. This is how Globe's text message introducing their new service began. It continues: With Globe's Text Emergency Service, send an important text when you need it! Here's how it works: Borrow 3 texts to Globe/TM valid for 1 day + P1 load. Register by texting GTSOS to 3733. P4.00 will automatically be deducted upon your next reload. When I got this message, I got very excited. A lot of times I find myself without any load (cellphone credits) and needing to send an emergency text. Yes, I'm one of those people who wait until I have zero cellphone credit before reloading my phone. Imagine you didn't track your cellphone usage and suddenly find yourself without any load. You could text your mom or friend to "load" your phone but you realize that you don't have a single peso left on your phone. Wouldn't this service be very helpful in a si...
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Something Fishy Eastwood Review

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Do you remember how my friend and I ate at a buffet at Chef Laudico’s Bfast last weekend? Well, I think I may be on a roll here. This week it was my brother and I who went to a buffet at Something Fishy Eastwood. It was my brother who suggested the place. I said yes immediately when I found out that it only costs 199 pesos. The reviews that I found online of the Something Fishy Midnight to Morning Buffet only helped me feel more excited about the buffet. I also liked the idea of eating at midnight since working the graveyard shift; this was my usual lunch schedule. I arrived at my brother’s place at around 1 AM. We took a jeepney from where Pure Gold used to be in Cubao (which is now an SM). The jeepney sign board said Rosario Pasig. You can also just ask around where the jeepney going to Libis is if you’re looking for directions. From Cubao, it is about 15 minutes to get to Something Fishy EastWood on a Monday mornight. The jeepney ride was excruciating because we had to wai...
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Chef Laudicos Bfast Restaurant Buffet Review

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NOTE: THIS RESTAURANT IS ALREADY CLOSED I was about to abandon this old blog of mine because as you may have noticed, everything that I write here is all about Chabacano and I now have a new home for my Chabacano blog posts . Last Wednesday however, I read this article on Spot.ph about buffets in Manila with a price tag of less than six hundred pesos . This was how I discovered Chef Laudico’s Bfast buffet at only 288 pesos. As with anything new, my first thought was to google Chef Laudico’s Bfast. The reviews that I found on Chef Laudico’s Bfast weren’t very nice. There was talk of greasy foods, and etc. But because of the 288 price tag, I still decided to give it a go like I haven’t learned anything from the Legends of India Fiasco . The journalist inside me though would like to think that I wanted to find out the truth about Chef Laudico’s  Bfast and erase the negative impressions that people have on it and thus this blog post was born. My story starts from the time tha...
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