Mommyhood

Just stories about the joys and trials of a full time working mom with 2 babies.

Oh, the places you'll go!

Just another travel stories but from a different perspective - mine :)

Thinking out loud.

Musings, randomness and anything in between, a few decibels louder.

DIY

An attempt to creative-ness.

Back to where you started.

You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you and change the ending. Thanks for stopping by.

Monday, December 30, 2019

Project: Rewind

sometimes i would hear a song.
or smell something.
or taste something.
or the breeze felt familiar.

sometimes the angle of sunlight entering our kitchen window suddenly feels relevant.

the sound of rain suddenly takes me back in time.
a memory.

sometimes it will make me smile.
sometimes sad.
sometimes mad.

but sometimes.

sometimes.

i just don’t know how or what to feel.
it’s like watching a very old movie starring you but is not stirring anything. just random fragments of memory.

i’d like to put them in writing as i feel them, hear them. taste them. remember them.

and maybe i’ll give it to my kids.
it will be like looking into the magic pensieve. 
but instead of getting my memory via a wand into a pensieve, it will be “that” notebook.

notebook.
in the era of internet.
notebook?!

why not.
it’s more personal that way.
atleast that’s how i feel.

Project: Rewind

i like the sound of it.

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1_IJwkVxese7YwHeIt38B8Teakw8LNUVc

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

1..2..3..4...5-2-9!

I got my degree of Bachelor of Science in Information and Computer Science in St. Paul College Manila (it's currently renamed to St. Paul University). It's a 4 1/2 years course. The 1/2 is because of the additional courses/OJT we need to take during summer and some Saturdays (Paulthenics anyone?). 

My husband got his Bachelor's degree (major in Physics and minor in Economics) in New York University.



With this background information, it's sort of a given that we want our kids to go to college as well (if they want to, hopefully they do) and that's when this story about 529 comes in.

We started saving money, every payday (which is 2x a month) for Keith's college fund when he was still in my tummy. The husband and I agreed on a certain amount that we set aside every payday and put it in a Savings Account. When I was pregnant with Priya, we did the same thing. We also started saving for her college fund while she's still in my tummy. That means the money we need to set aside for college fund doubled because we now have 2 kids to save for (we set aside the same amount, every payday, for both kids).

image from google


Then, last year, 2018, we decided we have saved enough to open a 529 (thru Vanguard).

So what is 529?  It's a college savings fund. It’s a tax-advantaged investment account that works like a Roth IRA, offering tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals (also see: 5 Reasons to Start a 529 Plan). Want an example? Here's an excerpt from how-much-to-save-for-your-childs-college/ :|
"If you have a 4-year-old child targeting a private university, your monthly savings goal might be $700/month using a savings account versus $400/month with a 529 college savings plan. That’s a big difference!"

image from montco.today