When Investing
Posted by Finance Dude On August 8, 2010

When Investing
(The start of a series of articles when investing)
Before investing….
Know these….
- P/E or (ROI in years)
- ROE in %
- Net worth
- Assets
- Liabilities
- Risks Involved
- Industry
- Company
- Worse case scenarios and how will you handle them
- Effect on you
- Other things not listed.
Simple? Yes!
Easy? No!
Goodluck!
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About the contributor:
Finance Dude
The writer is a financial planner, investor, speaker and a self confessed cheapaholic. (Cheapaholic- a term he invented to mean someone who is addicted to being very cheap). Send in your questions. He will try to answer any questions you might have, preferably on finance and money matters. Although he does not object to questions on love and relationships, he never had one and due to his extreme cheapness, will probably never have one (In case you’ll send it mistakenly, he promised to forward it to HeaRty).
Disclaimer: Advice posted in this portion is merely opinions and views of the writer. It does not constitute formal advice. The writer will not be responsible for any of your gains or losses. If symptoms persist, contact your trusted financial planner.
Nothing But H20
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On August 4, 2010

While I enjoyed most of the stores I visited in Robinsons Galleria specially because of their all-out clearance sale, my favorite would have to be Nothing But H20. Why? Plainly because I love the swimwear I bought, the headbands & the accessories! I think we stayed there for like more than 15 minutes just trying stuff & buying things.
The shop is pleasing to the eye & you could easily spot the beautiful swimwear on display. The ones that are displayed were all on sale, most at 50% off. You can try them out to see if it fits you or if the design suits your taste.


The bikini shown below is the one I purchased. I would have loved to have gotten all the colors (blue, green & pink) but only the pink one has my size. I would suggest that you go to this store & grab this bikini, it sells only at Php747.50! what a steal!

It’s not just the swimsuits that made me so excited while I was at the store. Their accessories are also simply top-notch! I love their high quality headbands, I tried it on before I bought it. Looks nice, wouldn’t you agree? It’s only Php50+.

Last but definitely not the least, my eyes was set on their rings. Yeah it’s not the typical silver/gold rings, it was just made with transparent strings but boy, does it look good. It’s pretty cheap too at Php75 per piece. Check them out, I’m proud to say that it was one of my best finds at the mall.

The sale is ongoing and will end on August 31, 2010. I’m glad I shopped at Robinsons Galleria, I was able to purchase a lot of cheap & hip stuff. You might want to do the same too 🙂 Check their Facebook page for more information about the month-long sale.
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Nothing But H20
2nd Level Robinson’s Galleria, EDSA Corner, Ortigas Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines
(02) 635-3588

Robinsons Malls All-Out Clearance Sale
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On August 3, 2010

I’m not usually the type who goes out of my way and goes to the malls whenever they are on sale. However, this particular event of Robinsons Malls was hard to pass up. It’s Robinsons Malls Annual All-Out Clearance Sale this month of August! Everyone will be enjoying discounts of up to 50% off.
I was pleasantly surprised when we were checking out the stores that some of them actually sell items that are at 70% off! Coolness! I actually spent so much that day, like way too much! How can I resist items that are so worth buying?

So we decided to go to Robinsons Galleria last Sunday. One day is really not enough considering the vast number of stores in the mall. From clothes, shoes, accessories, toys, gadgets, books & a lot more, they have something to offer for everyone (local & premium international brands). Local stores are mostly on the 3rd floor while premium international brands can be found on the 2nd floor. Take your pick & expect to forget about the time 😉
Here are the stores that caught my eye, you might wanna check them out too:
- National Bookstore Bestsellers

One thing most people don’t know about me is that I love reading books! I used to be so addicted that I would spend about 5-10k a year just to buy books at National Bookstore. Now is the best time to buy since they are holding such a huge sale on all their books (except for magazines though).
Outside the store they have books displayed that are really cheap! Would you believe New York bestseller books at less than a Php100? What a great buy! Don’t miss out on it!
Just when you thought that old titles would be the only items on sale, we got it all wrong! Even new titles & top 10 best sellers for fiction & non-fiction are also being sold w/ discount.

One great find for me though is definitely their Lonely Planet Travel Guides. I have been into travelling since last year & I have been buying a lot of Lonely Planet Guides. It’s truly indispensable for me & I’m just glad that w/ Robinsons Malls’ All-Out Clearance Sale, NBS is actually offering it at 20% off! I love it!

You can distinguish how much discount an item is by the color of their sticker. Black is for 10%, White for 20%, Green for 40%, Red for 50% & Yellow for 75%. If you’re a bookworm, you’ll love it there.
- Folded & Hung

Folded & Hung’s own version of Filipino shirts were the ones that caught my eye. The shirts are designed nicely & cool colors available too! They have red, blue, yellow, orange & green. Of course I had to choose yellow as it’s the color of the country, now w/ P-Noy as our president.

2 types of discounts are being offered. Either you buy one piece at Php494 (original price at Php 549) or you buy 1 at Php549 and get the 2nd item at 50% off. It’s always nice to own a Filipino-themed shirt, we’re proud Filipinos, right? 🙂
- Janylin

I am able to resist buying a lot of things, but shoes will always be an exception! If I’m to count the shoes I have at home, it most probably will be around 30-40 pairs. As soon as I saw the word “Sale” in Janylin, I was really positive that I would be able to go out with a happy purchase.

Shoes at Php399, Php599, Php899 & Php1,299. Pretty cheap for a prestigious brand such as Janylin. There was one item that was a SUPER over to the max great buy! Oh, I assure you, it’s well worth your Php1,299! The boots shown below was originally priced at Php 2,295 & now they lowered the price! I dare you to bring your cash or credit card to Janylin and grab that boots for sale. It was a rare find! I was actually raving about it all day.

Do visit the ff. stores as well for great discounts!
Handyman, Odyssey, Levi’s, Topshop/Topman, Celine, CMG, Naturalizer/Florsheim, ResToeRun, Esprit, Warehouse, Geox, Nafnaf, Hotflopz, Lacoste, Schu, Danielle Hechter, Van Heusen, Benetton, Bratpack, Dorothy Perkins, Accessorize, Girbaud, Guess, RDS, Kamiseta, Rockport, She, For Me, Pd & Co, Unica Hija, Space, Bayo, Shoe Salon, Nothing but Water, GBX, Plains & Prints, Maldita, Kisses & Co., What a Girl Wants, Kashieca, People are People, Solo, Penshoppe, Astrovision, Flower Collection, Saizen, Toys R Us & Osh Kosh
There is one store, however, that I haven’t highlighted in this post. It really deserves a dedicated blog post. Watch out tomorrow what store it is & why it is my favorite among all the stores we visited last sunday.
Before I forget, you don’t have to worry if you only discovered this now or if you’ll only have time near the end of the month. That is because new items will be available weekly so you don’t have to worry as you’ll be able to find so many shopping items at great value! For more information about Robinsons Malls & their awesome sale events, you can go to their Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/RobinsonsMalls.
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Robinsons Galleria
EDSA cor. Ortigas Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines
(02) 397-1888

My Favorite World of Warcraft (WoW) Add-Ons
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On August 2, 2010

A year ago, I wrote an entry stating that I had cancelled my World of Warcraft (WoW) subscription. That was because I realized that it had become addicting & I had to stop myself from playing too much.
Well, just last week, when people were raving about Starcraft II, I decided to play WoW again. Just to get a feel of it, and to know if I am still a gamer. Do I still love PC games a lot? And the answer is yes! Hahaha! I’m actually thinking of creating a site dedicated to World of Warcraft LOLz!!
Anyway, in this post, I will share with you the add-ons I use in order to make my WoW gaming experience more enjoyable & less stressful:
- QuestHelper

this is indispensable for me. It helps me finish my quests faster. It provides for me the locations where I can find the monsters or things I need to finish the quest. It’s a huge database considering how big the game already is. Looking at the notes, seems like the creators won’t be updating this further, I hope someone picks it up & continues working on the add-on. It will be a waste if they stop developing QuestHelper. If that happens, I may need to find an alternative.
- TomTom

for WoW maps & minimaps. My main use of this add-on is for 2 things: coordinates a window that can let me see my character’s exact location & an arrow that points out where my character’s corpse is.
- Overachiever

If you’re like me, someone who wants to complete all the achievements in WoW then this add-on is for you. It shows us our progress with our achievements. One thing that I love with this add-on is whenever we need the item or NPC for an achievement, it shows up when you hover your curser over it so you’d know what to do.
- SellJunk

the name says it all. It helps us sort out all the junk in our bags and with just a click, we can automatically sell them all. No need to waste time in clicking the items that we need to sell one by one — wohoo! 🙂
- EveryQuest

I’m OC and I bet a lot of WoW players are too. We want to complete each & every quest available in a faction. EveryQuest can help us track that, plus it lists down all available quests in every area.
- Auctioneer

Very useful when you auction, it gives you complete listings, age of auction & a lot more. A must-have for every WoW player.
- ArkInventory

Once you play WoW, you really need to learn how to act fast, think fast & do a lot of things at the same time. In the game, we are given bag slots. It’s a pain whenever you need to find a certain item and you forget which bag you put it in. You have to open each bag to see where it’s at. With this add-on, it helps organize the items by category. When you click on one bag, you can see your items neatly organized in a single glance.
- Atlas

for some weird reason, WoW does not provide us maps of instances/dungeons. This add-on helps fill this gap. Unless you want to explore blindly, then I would suggest you to download this add-on.
What’s yours?
** I’m currently playing at stormscape server as a blood elf mage. If you play there too, add me up. My horde character’s name is fruitshake. **

Inception Movie Review
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On August 1, 2010

I rarely watch movies these days. Two weeks ago though, I had to find time to watch Inception. Why? Because everyone has been raving about it. Phrases like “mind fuck”, “must watch”, “worth it” are words I’ve seen in my Twitter timeline about the movie. Even in my facebook, everyone has been talking about it. I couldn’t help but wonder why, so I asked my friend Rhona if she was free to watch it with me.
In two words – Totally superb! Everyone should really go out and catch this movie. If it’s not showing anymore then go buy the DVD once it comes out. One of the best movies I’ve watched! Christopher Nolan is just pure genius! He has directed, produced & even written about Inception.
The movie is well-casted as well, here are the stars & their roles:
- Leonardo DiCaprio – Dominic Cobb (extractor)
- Marion Cotillard – Mallorie Cobb (wife)
- Ellen Page – Ariadne (architect)
- Ken Watanabe – Saito (tourist)
- Cillian Murphy – Robert Fischer (the mark)
- Joseph Gordon Levitt – Arthur (the point man)
- Tom Hardy – Eames (forger)
- Dileep Rao – Yusuf (chemist)
If you search the word inception in the dictionary, you would find it to mean start or commencing. In the movie, it has a different meaning, using dreams to implant an idea. That’s basically the core of the movie, Cobb was hired by Saito to perform inception on Fischer. Saito as a corporate rival to Fischer’s father who wanted Fischer to break up his father’s empire.
The project is risky considering that Cobb is known to perform extraction (using dreams to steal ideas) not inception. Cobb forms a team to make the inception successful: Ariadne, Arthur, Eames & Yusuf. Each of which performs a role. They planned it to have multiple dreams within each other thus making it dangerous. If one of them dies in the act, they will then be sent in a limbo dream where their minds will be stuck for an indefinite time.
Some of them did die in the dream and went into limbo. The thing is, at the end of the movie, Cobb was reunited w/ his kids (payment to him by completing the project). We were all left thinking if Cobb was still dreaming or was already in reality. If you already watched Inception, what do you think?
My rating for Inception: 5 out of 5 stars.
