13 Tips For A Fuel Efficient Driving

Gas price is on its highest again since 2008 and no one could guess when this situation ends. Somebody out there is controlling the price of this very useful commodity. If someone could only get our acts together and put an end to this. I am a woman, who happens to work in the medical field, just trying to live simple enough to save for my family, and I don’t really much have the techno and the mechanism of an automobile. Oh yes, good enough for my family to understand the expense of driving a car. To drive you need to buy a car, and that is one big expense. To go from point A to B you need to put a gas on it, and the list goes on. All I know is whenever I have the urge to go somewhere, I click the remote, sit in the car, turn on the engine, shift the gear and drive. I didn’t even know how to fill up the gas tank until recently my husband taught me.

Let me summarized one more time, to have the luxury going anywhere you need the ff:

1) Drivers license - cost P2000/3yrs
2) Buy a car – decent price of P300,00
3) Car registration/ insurance – P4000/yr
4) Gas – with my average daily needs P100/month
5) Maintenance – P300 per month including car wash, oil and filter change,

I have tried to gather all the information (not only from my own experience) from friends and from you the internet users and here’s what I got. I hope it helps you in some other ways saving those hard earned money and most of all, less polluting on the environment.

1. Drive less, take public transportation. Exercise if you can by walking or riding a bike, it’s also good for the environment
2. Drive during less busy times if possible ( a vehicle in motion burns less fuel compared to one sitting in traffic)
3. Don't spend more than 45 seconds warming up your car. Or you can slow start moving the car while warming up
4. Do not use air conditioning unless it is needed. Use of AC can lower your fuel economy by 10 percent
5. Fill up tank slowly - you get less air and more gas
6. Fill up in the morning or evening and not during the daytime. Gas is usually more dense when it's cold. . .and therefore you get more bang for your money
7. Only half fill your tank to save weight, less weight will be less harder for the engine
8. Keep your tires properly inflated. They said inflating your tires a little over is good, less friction between the tire and the road but it sacrifices your safety
9. Remove all excess items from your car or trunk area. The extra weight will cause you to get worse gas mileage
10. Do not make sudden stops or start your engine quickly. Gradual acceleration and deceleration makes your engine run better and consume less fuel and save money. Keep a distance and maintain a certain speed without braking too much.
11. Watch your speed. Driving at 120 kph on expressway rather than 90 kph will save you money by improving your fuel economy
12. Know your area well, find good gas prices where you can get the best return for your money
13. Apply for a credit card which offers gas savings when you use the card for purchases

Absolute Deed of Sale - Individual

Absolute Deed of Sale prepared by the owner when we purchased their property. This is a good reference for those who are preparing for one. To copy, right click to save it as a picture, print it in a legal 8 x 14 paper. Pertinent informations has been changed to protect their privacy.

Absolute Deed of Sale - bank issued

Absolute Deed of Sale issued by the Bank when we purchased the property. Pertinent informations has been changed to protect their privacy.

Buying rental property, is it a good buy?

On buying such rental property, how do I know really if it’s a good buy or not? How much is it going to hurt my budget? Is it going to have a big impact in my lifestyle? There are lots of things I need to know. To narrow them down, I made a lists that I think I need to consider:

Economic values

• affordability, first thing first, will I be able to afford it, downpayment, monthly mortgage, to be safe, allow an emergency fund of 3 months vacancy, meaning not being rented for the months
• market value, do search for comparable properties for sale or recently sold in the area, search from local newspapers, internet, the real estate agent
• appraised value? (get appraisal report from bank or appraiser, this cost around P3k)
• zonal value as dictated by BIR Zonal Values
• comparable rentals in the targeted area? (to get a ballpark figure how much you'll charge for the rent
• how much is my target profit? determine if the property is worth investing on

Property condition

• age of the building, how structurally sound it is, will this last for another ?? years enough to recoup my lost
• curb appeal, as what most realtors say, location, location, location
• exterior, paint, more often than not, you'll have to repaint, consider how tough if it has the second floor, third, etc
• cracked walls, you may want to get a second opinion from carpenters, builders
• watermarks, leaking roof
• termites, especially for a structure made of wood

Location

• accessibility, most tenants wants closer to public transportation, convenient stores, markets, mall
• security, you may want to do an unscheduled visit especially at night to look for any illegal activities, crimes about to happen
• water, there are areas now where water supply may it be from water company or natural ground supply
• rentability, comparable rental charges within the vicinity
• squatters, for sure this will affect the property value, rental charges, prospective tenants will get this first impression

Buying Our First Property

Buying property is stressful and takes a lot of time and research. With the hard earned money that we’ve been saving through our entire life, who would want to take that risk and have it land in the hands of the manloloko?

Since this is our first investment property, our goals in acquiring passive income, me and my husband took awhile to decide if we should go through this type of real estate investment. Part of this learning process is taking advice from our friends and relatives, surfing the internet, attending meetings with real estate gurus. Once we established our ideal location (yes location) and found our deal, we did our homework.

We checked the physical location of the property, ensuring that no one is squatting in the area, and no other structures. We made sure that the sellers are the real owners. If you are buying from an individual property owner, ask for identification papers like passport or driver's license. It is also a good idea to talk to the neighbors or the Barangay Captain to confirm the identity of the sellers. You might as well ask some history, the reasons why such property is up for sale. There was a time when we had to drove by at night just to get acquainted with the location and observed for illegal activities around.

To ensure that the Transfer Certificate of Title is authentic I asked the seller for a photocopy. I went to Register of Deeds to search and requested a stamped Certified True Copy of the Title. In my case, this was in Trece Martirez City, the capital of Cavite.

To confirm that Title is very clean, that the property is not mortgaged, no liens and encumbrances on the property, see the back of the Title with the heading "Encumbrances". This page must be empty if you are told that the title is "clean". But sometimes the space for the technical description of the property on the front page of the title is not enough and the description of the property is continued on the "Encumbrances" page, this should be fine.

Make sure that the land described on the Title is really the land that you are buying. Have it validated at the Register of Deeds or by hiring a private land surveyor or a geodetic engineer. Land titles don't have any street name and number to pin point a property. It is a must to confirm that the actual property you are buying matches the technical description on the Transfer Certificate of Title.

The yearly real estate taxes are paid. Ask for certified true copies of the Tax Declaration and original Tax Receipts to confirm that real estate tax payments are up to date.

Once we agreed on the payment of the property, the payment for the capital gains tax (usually the seller shoulder this), and the agent’s commission (if there is one involved), the owner then prepares the Deed of Sale. Our residence tax certificate or cedula or driver’s license, and tax id number are needed to prepare this document.

The "Deed of Sale" or "Deed of Absolute Sale" is the document showing legal transfer of real estate property ownership. The deed of sale is then taken to the Registry of Deeds to be officially recorded after paying the documentary stamp, transfer tax and registration fees. Always verify from the Registry of Deeds the authenticity of a Transfer Certificate of Title before buying a property. If the seller only has a tax declaration, be extra cautious and check with neighbors, the Barangay captain or anyone in the know in the community to verify the seller/owner's true identity and the property's history. When in doubt and be safe, hold on to this transaction until documents are cleared.

7 Simple Steps To Get Out Of Debt

As part of rehabilitating myself and looking forward to live frugally and become self reliance, I intend to get rid of my debt. Debts I accumulated during my college days up to these current timet. I was reading a famous financial magazine when I stumbled on this subject matter. As I read through it, and hmmm, why not try it and see. So I am adding this to my blog as my daily go by hoping to somehow change my habit with this 7 simple steps to dropping off my debts.
Live below your means. You cannot become debt-free if you spend more than you earn. It’s that simple! Financial stress relief is called money in the bank or positive cash flow.
Decide where you want to spend your money. Don’t let others decide for you. Know how much money you are bringing in, how much goes out and to where it goes. If you are not satisfied with the answers you get from this exercise, now is the time change your spending habits. You (and your significant other) are ultimately responsible for how your money is spent.
Pay your bills on time, every time. Managing monthly bills is an essential part of saying debt free and maintaining a good credit rating. If you find this difficult, come up with a system to ensure that bills are not paid late.
Set financial goals, both short and long term. Having goals in place makes it easier to make the necessary spending cuts to get what you really want. Without reasons to cut spending and save, you will constantly be under pressure to spend money you don’t have for things you don’t need.
Use credit only as a tool and with a plan. Figure out how and when you will pay the balance. Imagine building a house without a plan or blueprints. That’s why your financial house will look like, too, without a plan. Your goal should be to pay for credit card purchases within three months. Remember, unlike wine, cheese or my wife, debts do not improve with age.
Have an adequate emergency savings fund. Life will throw curveballs at you, ranging from the need to replace a worn out washing machine to a temporary job loss. Three to six months worth of bare-bones living expenses should shield you from most of these problems. Can’t do three months worth? Start with three days worth and watch it grow as saving becomes a habit.
Learn how to invest your savings. Your money has to earn more money to keep you out of debt, especially in your later years. Take a class, find a referral to a great adviser or just start reading.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. The other half of my storage. May it be storage of my files, memory, my goals, my wants, or what I do. I welcome everyone and happy to share it with you.