GIVEAWAY ALERT: Win bundle of books or Human Nature goodies!

Because I've been winning things on the internet and I've been accepted to different types of applications (conference, a trip abroad, Philippine Model Congress), I decided to put up a giveaway!

Other pictures to follow.

Just enter the Rafflecopter below to join the giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Please comment your name and contact details below so I can contact you when you win.

It's not that much, but I'm giving away two sets of prizes:
1. One winner will receive a bundle of books (new and preloved), plus George R.R. Martin's Fevre Dream graphic novel issue #3.

With George R.R. Martin, Agatha Christie and Isaac Asimov!

2. One winner will receive Human Nature's SUNBLOCK (200 ml) and 100% Natural Night  Moisturizer Night Cream with Plant Collagen (100 ml).

There will be two winners. You will be made to choose between the two prizes in the Rafflecopter. :D 
Entries will be accepted until October 31, 2014.
The winner will be announced on November 1, 2014 in this blog, and will be informed via Facebook or email.
Because the prizes will be delivered free of charge, this giveaway is for Philippine residents only.

*Disclaimer: This giveaway is not affiliated to Human Nature or the books' publishers. All prices come from the blogger's pocket money.



UPDATE: I'm giving away plus points to those who comment to my other blog entries and to those who will share the giveaway in FB, so share/comment away! :) Good luck!

Update on my 52-week money challenge: On residual incomes and more

Update on my 52-week challenge:

Still going on even though I do not have my monthly stipend already. 
Thank gods for my residual incomes. 

I was very fond of attending and trying things to have other sources of income, and this is the gist of what I learned: cut the middle person off, and keep on learning.

Example 1: I am a Sun and Globe load retailer. 
I did it ever since I got my first cellphone. It's advantageous on many levels. 
First, I get to have load discounts. I don't have to pay Php22 whenever I want to load Php20. (I also don't charge like that, so if you're a Sun/Globe user and we're friends, I'm YOUR retailer. :D ) 
Secondly, I don't have to go outside just to have load. I just have to go to a store one time to buy the load wallet. One added step equals many steps deleted. 
Thirdly, I get to have a business. Though the profit is soooo small now (5%) compared to when I started being a retailer (12-13%), I do it still. 
(Note: Thinking on joining the ABSCBN Mobile, for the sake of cutting the monopoly of telcos a bit. This monopoly thing is slowing us down, that's why I bought Sun. But then Sun was bought by Smart. What do you guys think?)

Example 2: I am Human Nature dealer.
Human Nature has a wide variety of home essential products. 

One sweet day - when I had overflowing orders. See one of the bestsellers here.

Being a dealer with a minimum 25% discount (I have 26% as of the moment) up to maximum 30% discount can really help cut down the budget for groceries. (Blogged about actual computations here.)It's also one of my main source of extra income because it has the highest profit and is the most marketable. Thinking of becoming a dealer too? Click here for the dealer terms, and here for their magalogue (aka brochure) now to see their products.

Example 3: Nuffnang and Churpchurp membership

Image from here.

Because I'm almost always online (free wifi at libraries ftw) and I have blogs (this, here and here, not to mention an 'extra' personal blog somewhere lurking in the webs), I signed up to Nuffnang. Even though I haven't gotten monetary gains from it because my blogs are not famous enough to earn much, Nuffnang runs other promos and contests with prizes such as movie passes, GCs and the likes. I won a couple of times already, and I must say, it's worth it, being a Nuffnang member.

Churpchurp, on the other hand, pays the 'sharer' money for every click. The links can be shared almost anywhere. Mostly, I share them at my FB and Twitter accounts, but I've shared some here, too. If you want to be a member, just click here. It's easy! 

Example 4: Signed up for WFMA
For continued learning regarding financial matters, I attended a free seminar on how to build a solid financial foundation. It taught me the basics of how to handle money and where to put it depending on its intended use (yes, it shouldn't be all in the bank). What made me instantly join the association is because the registration has no expiration, I can attend seminars for members anytime I want, and of course, the extra cash. After I get my Insular Wealth Assurance through WFMA, I encouraged my friends and family to attend the seminar, and some of them bought plans for themselves too, having known the advantages of having one. Education is the key, so we're not just selling in WFMA, we make sure that the plans that one buys is the right plan for him/her. The personal financial check up and proposal-making are free too, so I encourage everyone to avail them. (Comment here or contact me at 09222425334 if you want to attend the seminar, too!) As of now, I'm not an active member (because of my acads), but I can go back any time, without any fees to pay. 
*Added perk - I've got to make new friends who are as 'higpit sa pera' as me, so as a bonus, I've got myselfsurrounded by money masters = good influence. 



So, those are my activities to keep my 52-week challenge going. Are you on the challenge too? Share your experiences on keeping it up below!

Human Nature's Balancing Facial Wash

I've been a Human Nature dealer for almost two years, and since then, this product that I'm about to review has been in my bathing essentials and I never use another facial wash.

Human Nature has three facial washes: hydrating, nourishing and balancing.

I tried them all, but I fell in love with the last one.

The product

For oily or combination skin, Balancing Facial Wash with Elemi and Orange is the answer. I have a naturally oily skin (whenever I don't apply powder), so this is a treat for me.

What I love about this is the elemi beads, which make the massaging onto face more enjoyable. It's what's make it a best seller, too - between the 3 variants, this is the only one with 'indicators', the other two are transparent, and that makes it hard to gauge how much they should apply.

Elemi beads as seen in the bottle

Elemi beads as seen in button-sized amount

Spreading the wash (without water)

It's also relieving to know that what I'm putting in my face is 100% no harmful chemicals and 98.5% natural. :)

100% No Harmful Chemicals, cruelty-free, and Made in the Philippines!

It's good for pimples, too. Whenever my period is near and my pimples attack, I just massage the area with pimples with this product a little bit longer.

I will not deny - Pond's (the green and the pink ones) facial foams have done a good job for my skin too, but I chose this Balancing Facial Wash over the former because it's less expensive. Regularly, it costs Php 79.75, but because I'm a Human Nature dealer, I got it for just Php 59. If I can have the same effect in a lower price, why would I buy the more expensive one, right? (Want to be a dealer too? Click here for info.)

Note: Shake before using. This is the one teeny tiny flaw of this product: when left standing for a long time, the beads and other white granules settle down the bottle, so it must be shaken regularly.

Have you tried this product, too? :)
For more info regarding Human Nature's products, click here. For orders and dealership assistance, click here, or comment in this blog :D.

DISCOUNT ALERT! Get free discount vouchers from Human Nature!

Human Nature, a social enterprise in the Philippines known for its natural products, is giving us 15% discount vouchers!

Here's the link to the voucher! Image from

If you're wanting to try their products, here is your chance!
I promise you, you won't be disappointed. :)

Check out their products here!

Discount vouchers are valid until September 12, 2014 only, so shop now! :)

Money Talks: Financial advantage of being a Human Nature dealer

Hola blogfriends! 
I've been a Human Nature dealer for almost two years now - and I've never been inactive. Now I ask myself why - what did I sign up for? What are my benefits?

I did a little research and some calculations, and voila!  Here's a table of product prices from Human Nature, compared to the usual products that we use(d) at home:

While there's less discount at some products like shampoo and soap, we could still get discounts overall. Plus, if you're a diligent dealer, you can get higher discount (up to 30%). I had up to 27.5% discount once. 
It just means that it pays off that I cut the middleman (like supermarkets) and become a dealer, because I save lots.

It's a good feeling to save, y'all.

Not only that, there are lots of plus points on why it's good to switch to Human Nature. Here are some of the reasons (coming from their website):

• Here's the company's mision: '...sustainably build a global company which will showcase the best of the Philippines and uplift all our people, especially the poor through providing affordable, quality, natural products.'
• They have partnerships with Gawad Kalinga to build homes and help farmers to be more efficient in their craft by having products in which 100% of the profit that come from it will be for the benefit of GK (e.g. Bug Shield)
• The products are ORGANIC. Great way to have a healthier lifestyle. :)

Want to become a dealer, too? Here's the link to the form. :) 

(Shameless link, I know. But I need to do it. :D)

Dealer terms are here.

Still have questions? Don't hesitate to ask by commenting below. :)

Human Nature's Sunscreen: SAFEBLOCK

It’s summer time, lovelies!

The kids and I had our first summer beach swim for this year at our dear Ilijan shore because 

we can’t afford (time- and money- wise) to go to a resort yet. 

And because the heat was scorching as ever, we had to protect our skin.

We used Human Nature’s SAFEBLOCK, a 100% natural sunscreen which not only protects 

our skin, but also protects the coral reefs from the chemical products that an ordinary 

sunscreen has, like BP-2.

While applying, I noticed that it didn’t smell like other sunscreen that I used before. It has a light sweet smell that didn’t irritate my allergic nose.

Texture/Viscosity	Flowing; squeezing should be gentle to get the amount you need
Packaging	50 ml – easy to handle/pack for travel 200 ml –too big, even for a family. I think 100 ml would be just right
Application	Leaves white marks that were characteristic of the product. Should be applied thinly.

We spent an hour staying under the sun and pseudo-swimming. We felt the effects of using sunblock because we didn’t have sun burn or felt our skin redden. It’s amazing! We didn’t even reapply. 

Here are the ABCs of Safeblock:

Know more about the product here.

EDIT:
I've been using SAFEBLOCK for my face everyday, and it's effective!

I recommend this sunscreen to everyone! :)

On Sale: Human Nature

They're on sale!

Message or text me for orders (HN dealer here). :)

Humanity Fair Photos

Last February 3, 2013, I attended Human Nature's Humanity Fair at GK Enchanted Farm, Encanto, Angat, Bulacan.
The fair consisted of stops/stations that had cool activities that everyone could join into.

This is a stop where kids drew or wrote their aspirations.
Their works were hung in the Tree of Hope. :)
Pretty cool station.

The family that 'adopted' me. Thank you, Ate Tina! :)

Bridge made up of recycled drums. 

Pottery stop! 

Pottery stop product :)

Colorful playground made of old tires. Children loved this place!

Exotic pets stop.

Scorpion!

I want to have one like this when I become rich. (Herb House)

Different kinds of cheese

One of the organic products for sale

Pineapple + wheatgrass shake (instead of sugar, watermelon was added). 

The bamboo house. 

Social entreps' tent. 

Cutsie fruit stuffed toys for sale!
I want to buy my nephew some day! (didn't have enough money when I went there. But HN Commonwealth branch has these too so I could buy them from there.) 

Risque shoes. Can someone give me one of these for Christmas? They're too pretty! As pretty as the owner, Tal. ;)

No shoes and slippers upstairs. (At bamboo place)

View from the bamboo place's second floor.

Picturesque farm. Added this to my panoramio collection and entered it for panoramio's June contest: http://adf.ly/3810780/panojune

They have chilli too!

Heart-shaped pool.

I'm proud of this picture because in won an Earthian photo contest. (Though no cash or anythign was given  :( LOL)

I didn't go to every station because I thought I did already. :( That mean I have a reason to go there again, yay! Til the next Humanity Fair!