Vacationing in Boracay on a Limited Budget

It’s not cheap going to Boracay so you have to know where you can get free grub. So don’t pass up on hotel presentation invites. The come on: a buffet lunch or dinner in exchange for a 90 minute presentation. Well, we got two invites so me and my wife got free buffet lunch and buffet dinner at the Astoria Boracay and the Canyon de Boracay, respectively. Not a bad deal, right?

I’ve heard everything about the hotel pitch countless times already that I was the one leading the presentation just to hasten things up. Unfortunately, his presentation will need to be no less than 90 minutes and his notes fully filled up for him to earn his keep for the night. So we kinda cheated on time a bit and talked more of the other good stuff to be done in Boracay.

My free Starbucks coffee from HSBC also helped get us going with all the sight seeing and walking that we were doing.

Unfortunately, our free accomodations I got from a car show did not pan out.  I'll reserve that for next time.

The Credit Card Wars

Buy now, pay later." That's the mindset that makes credit cards very enticing to many. Not only that you pay later, normally around 21 days after cut off and without being charged the 3.5% finance charge, you also have the option of paying on a staggered basis. For the more liquid customer the advantage is that you earn points everytime you use the card. For the cash deficient ones it's purchasing power on a rainy day. For the unscrupulous buyer---it's hell on earth!

Anyway, whichever buyer you are, the main consideration of using a card is what additional perks do I get out of using it. I normally use 2 cards at any given time but due to the continuous bugging of credit card agents I have a multitude of them in my spare wallet. No more requirements. No more forms to fill out. Just a phone call from them and a "yes" from you and you get a credit card delivered to your doorsteps!

Before it was just a matter of whose got the lowest finance charge in terms of personal loan or balance transfer and rebates; now, for a minimum of "x" purchase you get freebess from the different partner clients that each company has.

I use my credit card to pay for the weekly grocery so it's a matter of choosing what freebee I want to splurge on at the moment.

I'm a coffee lover so I use my Standard Chartered credit card to get me a tall java fix at Seattle's Best Coffee. Minimum purchase at Php 1,500. And then there's Metrobank's tie up with Red Ribbon. For a minimum of Php 2,000 purchase you get to choose from a variety of free food options that fit you fancy. Hmmm...I guess me and my wife will have that Red Ribbon Crispy Chicken+Cake Slice of the Day and 12oz drink on my next shopping day!

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