It was last December 2020 when I started to have my goals for 2021. After making my financial, personal and social media goals that month, it was followed by a monthly review of my progress. By doing this I learned to push myself more in making my goals possible and at the same time make most out of my everyday life. You can check my previous blog about my goal by clicking the link below.
My 2021 Goals
From the challenges that we faced starting 2019 up to this day, it is indeed very hard for everyone to come up with their goals since all are still in the stage of recovery. Some just started their new job, others start their own business, some are still receiving rejections, while the rest are still looking for opportunity somewhere. It was really challenging but with that period, I realized the importance of being grateful for we have in the moment. We should not take for granted the things that helps us, but use it as a source of motivation to make our goals possible. To look back what I experienced here below are the things I’d been through in the period of pandemic:
- I lost my job.
- I lost some of my relatives.
- I lost some of my colleagues.
- I lost one of my friends.
- I saw how my colleagues desperately looked for a job.
- I saw how my fellow countrymen fight to survive from pandemic to typhoons.
- I experienced a lot of rejections.
- I was stuck for half a year without a job and with less money!
Thinking all of those challenges, I feel so proud on where I am now. I was able to survived and came back stronger than who I am before. Those challenging period help me in so many ways especially in developing my mindset. It became a turning point of my life and even though I started all over again, I feel more dedicated and confident now. By setting up my goals, it helped me to look forward positively. It became my driving force to be ok and continue what I started. The beginning was really hard and there’s a lot of moments of giving up, but gladly with the help of the right people around me, I was able to believe in myself once again.
The environment that I chose for myself helped me to achieve the goals that I planned. I learned that the only way for you to work on something with a clear mind is to set up an ideal environment where you can nurture yourself. Although you need to get rid of something that negatively affects just you to achieve an ideal environment that is best for you, you don’t need to feel bad about it. Oftentimes, some sacrifices are predestined to happen. Even if you don’t plan to do it, there will be a time that those things will be over. You just need to carefully decide things that are worth to keep and for those you need to get rid of.
Now for us to have a glimpse of my goals for the year 2021, here below the targets that I planned for each goal:
Investment/Insurance Fund
Last year I successfully settled my payment for my 1st insurance and also sent an advance one-year payment for my 2nd insurance account last July 2021. Although it didn’t reach my target which is to secure a two years payment, I can still consider this as an achievement since I still successfully paid it. Since my 1st insurance is still not in auto debit payment, it is still hard for me to settle my investment separately. So, all I need to is to focus on whatever I can do in the present and once it’s settled, that’s when the time I can secure an advance payment for both of my Insurance/Investment.
Another thing that I’ll add up for this fund is my SSS account. Since I’d been only active for two years (2019-2020), I decided to officially start again my payment by this year 2022. I planned to settle it in a one-time payment (yearly) by September 2022. Now to assess every investment/insurance fund that I have, here below is the details of each:
1st Insurance. Last August 2018, I successfully applied for an insurance. I took it when I had my first vacation after working overseas. The sole purpose of this insurance is for my health emergency and my family security. Unlike any other insurance which is only payable for a certain year, this one, is a lifetime payment until the age that I am covered which is until 100. What I planned is to pay for at least 10-15 years so that I can secure myself first and withdraw it so I can reinvest again. I also planned to enroll it in an auto debit set up like my 2nd insurance/investment so that it will be easy for me to pay it.
2nd Insurance + Investment. I had this second insurance last 2019 when I had my second vacation in the Philippines. The purpose of this insurance is for me and my partner’s business in the future. Since this is only payable for 10 years and I only have seven more years to pay it, I believe that I can make it through if only I will be consistent in securing advance payment for this fund. This insurance is enrolled in an auto debit set up so it is very easy for me to pay it.
3rd SSS- Retirement Fund. This fund is what I added for this upcoming year. The reason why I continue this is for my retirement. As long as I reach the minimum requirement of payments which is 120 months, I can be at ease that I can have this government retirement benefits.
Business Fund–P160,000 ACHIEVE!
Last year, I planned to have a P185,000 target for my business fund. This is because I wanted to purchase my own rental house for the year 2022. After carefully considering the resources that my family currently have, I decided to just renovate our existing rental house. By doing this, it will save me more fund and time since there’s already an existing property present. All we need to do is to renovate the property and put it in a rental price of P5,000-P6,000 per month.
The set up for this rental house income is 33% of it will be intended for my SSS insurance while the rest is for my family. If I’ll be able to save up more in this coming year, I planned to renovate also the other rental house that we own and with the same income set-up.
Once this planned will be successful, I can have a total of P4,000 monthly passive income that will help me for my insurance/investment fund. I just need to double my effort in saving so that I can invest in my target business which is real estate. As of this month, we are in the process of getting a contractor for the first house that will be renovated. Hopefully we can start it on January next year!
Emergency Fund–P60,000 ACHIEVE!
In this year, I had a lot of extra expenses due to my family needs. Since I started to have a tracker of my savings and expenses, it helped me to identify where my money goes this year. In terms of expenses, I failed to follow my target budget for my family since there’s a lot of financial emergencies happened. Gladly I prepared an emergency fund beforehand and that helped me to keep my savings safe from deductions.
In the last four months of the year 2021, I was able to rebuilt again my emergency fund. Because of this, I failed to work on the target amount for my local bank. Even though I need to save up again for my emergency fund, I made it as one of my priorities since it really helped me to secure my others savings fund during emergency situations. Now, I planned to double that amount for this fund so I can be more secured especially now that I need to focus as well in my real estate business.
Joint Account Fund.P45,000 ACHIEVE!
One thing that I settled for this year is my target amount for me and my partner’s joint account. What I did is to send a one-time amount so that I can early secure my savings for this. As you observe, I’m a fan of a one-time payment scheme. This is for me to effectively secure the amount that I target for each fund. Rather than doing everything on a monthly basis, I decided to settle the ones that I can as early as possible. This is for me to prevent my money to pool around in one account which can be prone to use in unnecessary expenses. For this upcoming year, I planned to secure it again same way like I did this year so I can rest assured that I’ll achieve my target goal for this fund.
Even though me and my partner are not yet officially married, we started this savings for us to at least start whatever we can do today. Since we’re both single with less responsibility, it helps us to maximize our savings capacity. We also both know how lifestyle changes through time, and being ready earlier is the best way for anyone to be prepared for their future.
Just take a note that it should not be a one-man goal. Both of you should have the same visions and target in life for you to make this thing possible. Have a time to talk about the plans that you have and how you’ll both make it happen. Once you both decided about your future plans, slowly plan things that you can do in the present. Assess your current situations and your capacity to save for that plan. The more you are open to each other, the more you can come up with a good decision.
Local Bank Account ACHIEVED
For my Local Bank, I successfully paid my 1st insurance and save up again for my emergency fund. Although it seems like the only amount that I have right now in my current account is my emergency fund amount, it is all because that I already used up the intended amount for my expenses and insurance for this year. What I planned in this upcoming year is to save up more in my local bank while regulating my expenses so that I can secure my leisure fund for vacation.
As I work on my budget for next year, I will make sure that I can reach all of my target amounts. Hopefully a blessing will come this year that will help me to save more. LET’S CLAIM IT!
One of the things that I am very proud to accomplished this year is the training and diploma’s I finished. I started working on it in January and made a monthly target training/seminar that I need to achieved. For this year, I focused on hospitality management certification that I can add in my credentials. Since I’m also rooting for a managerial role, I need to focus in building myself and use the opportunities around me. With the help of online leaning websites, I was able to have an access of different free trainings in hospitality. For this year, I successfully accomplished the following:
- Food Safety and Hygiene in the Catering Industry
- Hospitality Management – Health and Safety in Food Service – Revised
- ISO 22000:2018 – Elements of Food Safety Management System (FSMS)
- Diploma in Events Management
- Micros Opera- Reservation
- Diploma in Operations Management
As you can see, I finished a total of six certification this year which is double of the number that I planned. After seeing all of this, I feel so proud and happy that I was able to push myself to make time for it in this year. Since I started to build my career this year, I will continuously do this to strengthen my credentials to reach the dream position that I am aiming. This upcoming year, I will focus on things that I can control and continue to nurture myself. I will not restrict myself to aim high and continue to strive hard while inspiring other people around me.
Due to the long lockdown that was imposed by our company, I failed to look for the books that I planned to read this year. I also minimized my digital screen time this year that’s why I failed to work on that. Even though I failed to do this task, I was able to start my own workout journey which really made this year special for me. As you all know, I’d been stuck for six months unemployed, due to that I gained almost 6 kg weight. That made me feel so insecure about my body and there comes a point that I don’t want to meet anyone fearing they’ll say something about my weight.
It started last March 2021 when me and my colleague started 30 minutes to one hour workout every day. Since we both have the same concern which is we’d gain weight due to the lockdown, we decided to work on ourselves and incorporate workouts in our daily routine. That routine last long up to this day. We tried Zumba, Cardio, Yoga, Meditation and even the high intensity interval training.
After doing those activities consistently, we both achieved our ideal weight that we both target. As of now, we are maintaining our weight by having a healthy lifestyle and engaging in physical activities. Here below are some pictures of my progress throughout the year 2021:
Even though I failed to do this goal for 2021, I planned to continue it in this upcoming year. Once I’ll be settled in a new home (hopefully), I can slowly make time for the things that I failed to do in this year. Year 2022 will surely be a very busy year but one thing I know is it will be filled with a lot of blessings.
One thing that I’d been dreaming to do is to be a volunteer. Due to the pandemic, I find it hard to look for a private and government groups that is suitable for my free days. What I did this year is I’d been taking notes for their requirements and check the scope of their works. I saw some of my fellow Filipinos who had joined also in volunteering activities and that made me very motivated to try it. One challenge that inhibit me to participate is because of my current company requirements. Since it’s a semi government company, confidentiality is a must for every staff and we are not allowed to share any information about it.
Even though I wasn’t able to pursue this goal for this year, I’m looking forward that I can still do humanitarian works in the right time. Who knows maybe this year I can finally do it?
Rather than making beverage recipe’s only, I did some simple recipes that I also shared in my blog. I started with a simple and healthy meals suitable for working individuals like me. What I originally planned is to focus on lunch box meals, but due to some challenges in our accommodation, I find it hard to work on the recipes. You can check the recipes by clicking the links below:
HEALTHY MEAL: Breakfast Muesli
For those who are busy individuals who usually skipped their breakfast, this ready to eat meal is the best for you. You only need to do is to chill it overnight and you can simply take is as your breakfast. This is a very healthy option since most of the ingredients are carefully selected and…
STARTER RECIPES 1: Stuffed Potato Bomb!
If you’re looking for a dish for your movie marathon tonight, this will be the best one for you! This is a simple recipe where almost all of the ingredients can be readily available in your kitchen. You will see a same recipe of this wherein they put bacon, gravy meat and etc., but this…
INFUSE DRINKS: Homemade Green Apple Juice Infuse w/ Orange, Kiwi, Hibiscus and Cinnamon
If you’re having a lot fruits balance from holidays and your not sure on how to finish it, this idea is for you! If you wanted to make a drink suitable for different occasion, but don’t have the necessary equipment to use (Juicer/Blender), this recipe is for you. It’s so simple to do and at…
Now, even though I didn’t reach the ideal numbers of post for my recipe blog, I can still consider this an achievement since I was able to start it despite of the challenges in our villa. For this year, I will slowly work on things that I can do and also incorporate it in our You Tube Account. I will also start in investing for my cooking utensils so that I can be able to work on it for the next year.
Maldives Unveiled: 10 Essential Insights for First-Time Visitors
From navigating airports to immersing oneself in unfamiliar cultures, first-time travel demands adaptability and a willingness to embrace the unexpected. It’s a chance to break free from routines, challenge preconceptions, and discover the beauty of spontaneity.
Paradise Unfold: Embark on a Magnificent Maldives Getaway
If you’re a travel enthusiast who loves beaches, the Maldives is an absolute must-visit destination that will leave you in awe of its beauty and leave you longing to return.
EXPLORE PHILIPPINES: Surigao del Sur
To give you a summary of Surigao de Sur History, it all started fromm its natives which are Mamanua and Manobo. So even before the Spaniards came in the Philippines, there are few settlements already done by our natives living there. Later on, Malay from Visayas region settle together with the natives staying there. From…
Due to the long lockdown that was imposed by our company, it was just recently when they decided to lift all the restrictions. Given that opportunity, I was able to go around and blog two famous destinations here in Qatar. Since this is my first time to blog about my travels, it took me awhile to take note of the things that I need to share for my blogs. Before I derived from a specific format for that, I did my research first from the famous travel bloggers I found in YouTube.
By doing that, it helped me to gain idea on the important things that I need to share like how to get there, things to do, restaurants/malls, availability of transportation and nearby accommodation. As of today, I only shared two travel destinations in this blog and although this is far from what I target for this year, I’ll see to it that I can achieve it by this upcoming year.
As long as I’m here in Qatar, I can still have a lot of chances to do it. I just need to make sure that I have allotted budget for that leisure activity so that my saving won’t be compromised.
For this year 2021, I had an increase of Instagram followers due to the new features of it which is the “REELS”. By uploading more reels, it helps me to boost my engagements and follows. Even though I didn’t reach my target followers this year which is 2000, I can still see the growth of my Instagram account due to the increase of my views and audience. In the course of reviewing the trend of my account engagement, I came to know the importance of consistency and quality post. As long as I can put my efforts in uploading quality post and also with the right hashtags, I can slowly achieve my target followers. For this year, here’s the current status of my account together with-it insights:
ILLUSTRATION Instagram 1 year progress
You can check my Instagram account below:
Despite of the consistent post in my Facebook account, I failed to reached the target likes that I need to achieve this 2021. I can see that this is due to the long period of not updating it during my chef years (when sleep is my only rest). It took me a while to go back on it (but of course the engagement will not the same anymore). Now, I planned to work on myself first and make quality post to bring back the same engagements that I had before. I’m also guilty that in these past few months, the only updates that I did in these social media accounts are from my blogs. Because of this, I received only few feedbacks from my followers and at the same time gradually decrease the responses from any of my post. I also conclude that sharing blogs in my Facebook account is not that effective anymore since there’s no outbound clicks from Facebook that were recorded in these past few months.
Upon considering all the insights records, I really need to double my efforts so that I can attract engagements and at the same time to have that opportunity to drive views for my blogs. What I have in mind is to make a Facebook page for my blogs and vlogs, so that my own Facebook account will entirely be my personal account only. It is still a plan for 2022 since I need to consider the pros and cons of all of my goals and determine what’s attainable for this year.
As this year end, I feel so happy that I officially achieved the number of posts that I need to reach for the year 2021 and at the same time exceed my target views of 5000! Amazing right? At first, I never imagined that I can reached those numbers. I just planned to set a target view for me to be more motivated in writing. After setting a target, I reviewed some lifestyle blogs that helped me to improve my skills in blogging. I slowly incorporate visuals and graphic support which I also share in my Pinterest account. Now, there’s a growing outbound click from the pins I made from my blogs!
This year is indeed a successful year for my blog. The response I got, really made me feel more motivated to share my life story and at the same time inspire others with my self-care and financial tips. This blog serves as my digital story that I can always look back until I grow old. Regardless of the reviews and insight of this blog will get, I will continue to right down all of my experiences here hoping that at least one person can be inspired to do the same.
For this year, I made a new Pinterest account since I failed to secure the previous password of the account that I had. Even though it was a big risk since I need to start from zero again, I gained a positive response from all of my pins and a 4,000 monthly profile views! Now, I planned to continue what I started and focus on being consistent with it. I also need to ush myself on sharing photos from my other social media accounts so that I can also drive visits from those.
As this year comes to end, assessing our goals is one of the best way to officially start another year. From all the goals that we planned before this year started, we should carefully review the status of each so that we’ll be able to know where we left and how can we work on that in this upcoming year.
By doing this blog, I came to know the things that I failed to do and at the same time the goals that I achieved. Given the challenges that are present in this year, I feel so proud that I was able to overcome it and continuously focus on the things that I must do. I can say that this year became the most productive year of my life and it really help me big time in nurturing myself. Although there’s a lot of failures, mistakes and negativity that I encounter this year, the things I learned out from it became my motivation not to lose hope.
There’s a lot of things that I’m very thankful for in this year. Words will not be enough to express how grateful I am for all the experiences I gained. Because of this year, I became more positive and mature in taking my decisions. I learned the importance of taking care of yourself and investing on it. 2021 is indeed a good start of a beautiful journey towards my goals. With this, I will continue what I had started and see to it that this upcoming year I’ll be able to reach the rest of my goals.
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