UNANG HIRIT

By Lyn Ching – Pascual

Long time no read!

Sorry for the lack of blog posts but lots of things and improvements have happened, particularly on the show, in the last few months that hopefully you’ve noticed and liked.

One being my segment PracticaLYN… where I give practical tips on pretty much anything… from shopping to eating.

So if you’ve got topics that you want discussed , just leave your comments and we will try to get on them right away.

You should know that our given segments are tailor fit to our personalities… it’s basically just showing you, our Kapuso, a side of us hosts which you rarely see.

You see, being practical is a given in my life because that’s what I have always been. And one manifestation of my being practical is being, as has been pointed out time and again by my co-hosts, “kuripot.”

I do not deny it.

In fact it is something I am proud to admit… there is nothing wrong with being so “kuripot.”

For me it just means “matipid” and realistic.

Realistic in the sense that I know money slips through our fingers very fast and if we’re not careful, we can lose everything easily.

I work as hard as I can everyday, just like you.
And I like knowing where every cent of my salary goes, especially now that the global financial crisis is affecting us all.

I wasn’t born rich.

It is a misconception that I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. My parents were typical Chinoys who never owned a home. They rented an apartment in Binondo near the school where I spent half my life… from nursery to high school.

To be clear, though, we were not poor either. My parents always made sure we had food on the table and that both my brother and I got a proper education.

My father worked at a store selling dried fish or “tuyo” and everyday when he’d come home, even before he’d step through the door, I knew he was nearby because I could smell him… literally smell him several feet away!

My mother, on the other hand, worked at my grandmother’s mirror factory… and that factory/house is where I would later grow up with my brother.

Money never overflowed in my life. Every cent counted.

I do remember getting an allowance of P2.00 in my elementary years and spending them all on fishballs and “samalamig” outside school.

When I got to college, my allowance had risen to P500 per week! That was just right considering that I commuted (a tricycle ride, a short jeepney ride and a long LRT ride to school daily) twice-a-day plus, of course, lunch in between classes.

Sometimes, to save some money, I would buy bread and eat that the whole day… much cheaper considering a meal cost more or less half my daily allowance already.

More often than not, I would forego riding the tricycle and jeep, and walk all the way to the nearest LRT station just to save a few pesos… that became my exercise.

Before I even graduated, I started looking for a job and luckily landed my first as a GMA NEWS LIVE anchor back in 1994. I commuted to and from work, this time riding the jeep and bus to GMA for months, before I was able to buy my very first car. It took 3 years for me to pay off the car loan but it was all worth it.

From then till now, things haven’t really changed much with me and money.

I don’t like throwing it away on things that do not matter, except, of course, if it’s for my kids and loved ones… but it pains me when I buy things for myself.

Of course, like any other woman, I have to admit, I do suffer from occasional bouts of extravagance which are far and few between, though.

Haven’t you noticed how much easier it is to buy for people you love and yet when you want something for yourself, you have to think and reconsider it a hundred times?

And sometimes at the cashier, you’re still unsure if you’ll go through with the purchase? All I can say is thank GOD for return and exchange store policies!

But really, it irritates my husband sometimes when I ask him many times about things I want to buy for myself. It frustrates him that he ends up paying instead.

He always says that what I earn is my property and should be spent as I see fit. But that doesn’t stop me from consulting him time and again.

In the end, really, money is still money. It’s like a job. We have it now, but we may not have it tomorrow. And that is a scary thought.

People say you can’t bring money to your grave (obviously you can’t) so enjoy and spend it while you can. Easier said than done.

When you have responsibilities, children you have to save for, to educate and feed, it’s never a done thing.

Spend on yourself and have a great life before you die? Yes, but only up to a certain point. I mean, really, can you feed designer bags and shoes to your kids when they get hungry?

At the moment, my husband and I are paying for our home loan, a car loan, daily utilities, household help, death insurance, life insurance and daily sustenance.

We do set aside money for family fun activities and we travel when we can afford to. Then again, everything has a budget… as there should be.

So my point in sharing this is: it doesn’t hurt to be practical.

A lot of things in our lives can never be planned so it is only realistic to prepare for them. At a certain age we should stop being another person’s burden or responsibility. Save what you can.

But of course, enjoy your life.

If you’re kuripot, all I can say is… congratulations! You’ll probably have a better life than the next person.

So to my fellow kuripots and matipids, let’s celebrate! KKB lang nga, ha-ha-ha.

And if you want tips on how to save and be a wise spender, keep watching Unang Hirit and watch out for PracticaLYN.

BOW.

On a lighter note, allow me a few minutes to brag. My daughter Gaby just graduated last Sunday from her pre-school, the Mind’s Specialist School here in Quezon City.

For her graduation day, she did the welcome remarks… she did it so perfectly that I almost cried!

So congratulations to my little Gaby and her schoolmates… and to all graduates.

Congrats and enjoy your moment!!!

Oh. And my son Matty can finally say airplane… or I think he can… he actually says, “ehhhh-puh,” but it’s close enough, eh?

Have a beautiful day!

Sheh sheh ni mhen!