The peso has risen more than 12% this year to the dollar. From Php 49 at the start of the year, the peso is now in the mid Php 43. What this means for our OFW’s is the weakening of their purchasing power.

The GMA government boasts that the economy is improving and thus, the peso is appreciating. Fact is, the dollar is weak against most currencies. Normally, prices should go down when the pesos appreciates. Unfortunately, since it is the dollar that is just weak, price of imports from all other countries remain the same or have risen.

I was talking to an importer friend who told me that majority of China exporters have raised their prices. Their common reason is the weakening of the dollar.  Since most of our goods are China made, we can’t expect prices to go down.

The peso is seen to strengthen to Php 41 next year. This is more bad news to our exporters and OFW families.

Forbes has released their Philippines 40 Richest ranking. Topping the list are the usual, Zobel de Ayala Family, Henry Sy and Lucio Tan. Surprisingly, ranking 4th and 5th is Andrew Tan and  Manny Villar.

Both Andrew Tan and Manny Villar made their billions in real estate. Andrew Tan owns Megaworld and Empire East. He also owns a big share of McDonalds Philippines. Manny Villar on the other hand owns Vista Land, the mother company of various real estate company catering to various market segments.

What made Tan and Villar jumped to higher ranking is the value of their company holdings. Since their companies are public, the rise in stock prices have made their wealth multiply.

Interestingly, John Gokongwei is only at number 15. His fall in ranking can probably be attributed to the donation of half of his wealth to charity.

ATM cards are very convenient. It allows us to do various banking transactions anytime, anywhere. But do you know that using your ATM card from other bank’s machine are charged with service fees? Banks now charges up to Php 11 per withdrawal using other bank’s ATM and Php 1 per balance inquiry. 

The best way to save money is to use your own bank’s ATM machine. BPI has the most number of ATM machines installed and it woudn’t be difficult to find one. Note though that BPI charges $3 for withdrawals made from the Cirrus/Maestro network using other bank’s ATM.

If you frequent SM malls, BDO and Equitable bank’s ATM is ideal. BDO and Equitable customers can withdraw from each others ATM without charge. Both banks have merged recently.

If you withdraw several times a month, the Php 11 charge can easily add up. Be wise and withdraw only from your own banks ATM as much as possible. Better yet, choose a bank with the most number of branches and ATM’s.

Everyone using a printer knows that the biggest cost of using a printer is in the ink. You can buy an entry level printer for Php 2,000 and spend Php 1,000 everytimg your ink runs out.

Printer manufacturers such as HP, Canon and Epson makes money not on the printer but on the consumables. In my experience, it is worth buying re-manufactured or replacement ink rather than using originals. I try to avoid refilling ink cartridges as this is messy.

If you are a heavy printer user, consider buying bulk ink cartriages. The one time purchase may be costly but the printing cost in the long run is worth the investment.

For laser printers, I’ve tried both refilled and re-manufactured toners. I find the toner refill more reliable than buying re-manufactured ones.

Consistency is the key in finding a good ink replacement. If you are satisfied with the ink you bought, consider using the same brand the next time around.

Oh, by the way, don’t throw that defective printer. Printer manufacturer have trade-in promos yearly and you can save thousands by trading-in your old defective printer.