BLOGGED PHILIPPINES

As a maintenance fee for your card, Credit Card companies will charge you an annual fee. Depending on the card that you have, it can range from few hundreds to a few thousands. But did you know that there are ways to have your credit card annual fees waived? Here are some situations in which you can legitimately request for it. Credit Card companies charge an annual fee for the upkeep of your account. You've spent a lot during the past year.  When you see your latest statement and you notice that you are charged with an annual fee, do not pay immediately. Call them and ask how to have it waived. This is especially acceptable if you've spent a lot in the past year. Depending on the amount and the credit card company, you can have 50% off your annual fee or have it totally waived if you met the spending requirement. The key here is, ask for it.

Update: BPI Trade is back online Monday afternoon. BPI Trade , the online stock trading service of BPI Capital notified their clients Sunday night that they will still be offline until Monday, May 19, 2014. This will be the second trading day that the service will be unavailable. During the weekend, the website is accessible but the stock positions as well as other information are not available. To at least minimise the inconvenience, BPI Trade offers alternative ways to post orders. 1. Call them through these numbers:  816-9189, 816-9192  and  845-5617  (Manila) 2. For those who can't call, you can also post orders via email,  bpitrade@bpi.com.ph BPI Trade says that they will take manual orders as early as 7:30 AM tomorrow.

The previous year has proven to be wonderful for the Philippine economy. The GDP growth figures beat expectations and is estimated to be around 6.5% for the entire 2012. That figure is especially amazing considering the fact the previous year witnessed one of the worst economic crisis in Europe and overall global economic downturn. Yet, the Philippine economy has proven resilient despite the bad economic environment. PSE Index Breaks Boundaries The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is another good story which truly demonstrate how the world views the huge potential of the country. The PSE Composite Index (PSEi), represented by 30 blue-chip companies breached the 5000-point level in mid lad year and as early as January 7 this year, PSEi has already broken the 6000-point mark. Foreign funds keeps the index afloat. How can these developments affect you personally, you may ask? Well, an increased investor confidence will boost P...

Are you an online stock trader? Investing in the Philippine Stock Exchange through online brokerage has been one of the most convenient way of buying and selling stocks. You can do it at home or at work as long as you are connected to the internet. Among the famous online brokers in the country are First Metro Securities of Metro Bank, Citisec Online and BPI Trade of BPI. And you may have known that among the three brokerages, BPI Trade is somewhat lacking in capabilities. First Metro Securities has been improving their service through the years providing interactive chats for "technical" traders. Recently they even launched a mobile app to serve their customers well. Citisec Online on the other hand boosts their customers satisfaction by providing useful research and recommendations. BPI Trade is not excelling even in just one of those. Even their interface looks boring. Now, BPI Trade seems to have awaken and took necessary steps t...

What is a universal bank or unibank? Well, universal banks are licensed to do many kinds banking activities covering both the activities of a commercial bank (loans, time deposits, savings) and an investment bank (underwriting, issuance of securities, assisting companies in mergers and acquisitions). In the Philippines, the Bangko Sentral  or the Central Bank has the sole right to issue licences to banks who wanted to operate as a unibank. As of August 1, 2012, the Philippines has 21 Universal Banks. Here' the list of them. 1. Banco de Oro Unibank, Inc. 2. Bank of the Philippine Islands 3. Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company 4. Land Bank of the Philippines 5. Philippine National Bank 6. Allied Banking Corporation 7. China Banking Corporation 8. Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation 9. Union Bank of the Philippines 10. United Coconut Planters Bank 11. Security Bank Corporation 12. Development Bank of the Philippines 13....

I've been studying for over four years now regarding investments and personal finance but it seems that I don't have the courage to take the first step. Well, it was my brother who told me about it. He started investing in 2006 starting with his company cooperative and then later, he entered into Mutual Funds. English: Phillippine stock market board (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) It Started with F.J. Colayco's Wealth Book My bother showed me a book, written by Francisco J Colayco entitled "Pera Mo Palaguin Mo (Wealth Within Your Reach). It was a best-seller book in personal finance. Actually, when my brother told me to read it, I was a little bit skeptical. You know, I'm not fond of reading books. But when I started reading the first few pages, I was amazed on how simple the words are. Actually, the book is written for OFWs according to the author. That event opened-up my mind to personal finance. But I was still jobless at that time. I am freshly out o...

Image via Wikipedia In line to its mission to be more transparent on how the money of the Filipino people are used and also to be more vigilant against corruption, the Department of Finance launches a website that will provide a feedback mechanisms directly from the citizens. The website is www.perangbayan.com . The name if translated to English is close to “Money of the People”. The website uses social networking strategy to gather the information about graft, improper action, negligence, lavish lifestyle and other illegal practices that involves the Department of Finance and other government agencies attached to it like the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs (BOC). Aside from reporting negative incidents, citizens are also urged to report positive actions from these agencies. To know more about the website and how reporting is done, visit the website at www.perangbayan.com .

Image via Wikipedia If you want information about personal finance , you can easily key in any money related keyword to Google or Yahoo search and the list of result would be astoundingly long. Yes, personal finance advice is one of the most popular topics in the web. And because of its extreme popularity, you will surely find it hard to sort out which ones are credible and which ones were applicable to your situation. Now, with respect to personal finance in context to the Philippine setting, I found this blog really useful and practical. I was referring to the blog by Francisco J Colayco published through GMA news website. For those who don't know Mr. Colayco, he is the author of the bestselling book series " Wealth Within Your Reach - Pera Mo, Palaguin Mo! ” He is also an experienced business man and regularly conducts seminars on personal finance. He is also the chairman of Colayco Foundation for Education which aims to increase Filipinos' literacy regarding person...

1. Definition Inflation is the rise in the prices of goods and services in a country. It is translated to the decrease in the purchasing power of a currency. For example, your 500 pesos now can only buy 80% of what it can buy last year. 2 . You actually lose money when you save with a piggy bank or under your bed sheet. (I mean long term saving here.) Having a piggy bank is what most people do to save money. But unfortunately, your money inside it will be eaten wholly by Philippine’s high inflation rate. Saving for long term in a piggy bank or under your bed sheet is simply outdated and impractical nowadays.