I used to dislike working from home because I always ended up falling asleep in the afternoons. I used to think that I liked the structure that going to a physical office gives me, not to mention being able to socialize with workmates-turned-friends. But now that I have been working from home for more than a year now, I realize that if there is an option to work from home, I would always choose this, mostly because I cannot imagine going through my everyday commute again. Heh. I am blessed to be employed by a company that has a work from home setup, even before the pandemic.

Working from home is a great way to save money, but if you're like who always adds to cart, it can also be expensive. How do you work from home without spending too much? Here are some tips that will help keep our working-from-home costs low.

#1 Skip the commute

By working from home, you can save on your transportation costs. One doesn't realize how much money you spend on gas just going to and from work every day, and how much other things you can do with that money instead! Also, by using your car less, you'll probably save a few bucks on your car insurance as well, seeing as you won't be putting yourself and your vehicle at risk as much as you would've if you had to drive on the freeway twice a day, every day.

#2 Consolidate errands

I really avoid going out as much as possible in that even my groceries, I do online, but if you do happen to need to leave your house during the day, try and consolidate errands into one trip. Not only will this help save gas, but it'll also allow you more time at home! For example, if there's a centre close by that has all the stores you need to do your monthly grocery shopping, try and set aside enough time to slip away for a while and buy everything you need in one outing? The less time spent outside of your working space means fewer distractions and more hours to complete tasks that contribute to earning money.

#3 Free lunch

Who doesn't love free food? If you have a fridge, microwave, and some water to boil things in, there are plenty of recipes that allow for healthy meals at little-to-no cost. Some people buy lunch every day of their lives, whether it be at a nearby food truck that's conveniently located next to the office or even at a coffee shop. Unfortunately, these small expenses add up to quite a bill at the end of each month because it's not as if you can run home to your fridge at lunchtime and have a quick snack. By working from home, you'll be saving on all those coffee and lunch bills, ensuring you have even more money saved each month that you can use to buy other things!

#4 Save on utilities

You may be wondering how you can save on utilities when you're at home more often and use more electricity to work and get everything that's needed done? Well, that's where technology and innovation come in. Now, you can utilize the cost-effective option of solar power to cut your utility bills in half and save tons! Sure, you don't want to spend a bucket load of money on solar panel installations and only start saving a few years down the road when the installation has paid for itself through savings, but that's where this gets even better. You can learn more at www.choosesolar.com and find out how you can reap the fruits of solar energy without needing any solar panels! This is one of my dreams for my future home, too.

By utilizing the above steps, you’ll be saving a ton of money while working from home and amping up your productivity at the same time - it’s a win-win situation! 

Do you have any more work from home tips? Let me know! :)

So much has happened since I last wrote a post here, but if we are friends in any of my social media pages, you would know that my almost nine year-stay with MullenLowe MARC (formerly ARC Public Relations, Inc.) ended last Friday, July 16.

Yesterday was my first day at my new position as the Senior Campaign Manager of the Clozette PH team ♡ 

I find it funny that I stressed myself so much in trying to look for a new job but when I stopped looking and just quit without a new job waiting for me (this is unwise, BTW, I would not recommend it unless you have emergency savings stashed away), that's when this opportunity found me. 

Words are not enough to encapsulate my full ARC PR/ MullenLowe MARC experience, but know that I am truly grateful for the time I spent there, the lessons I learned, and the people I met. My formative years in my career were with them so wherever I may find myself in the future, know that my stay there helped shape the course of my professional life.

It's really been a lot of fun.

Now let's go have more fun. ;)

On March 2 of this year, our then company President and CCO Leigh Reyes sent an agency-wide email that we would be undergoing a preparedness simulation from March 11 to March 13 to make sure we could keep the business going even if we couldn’t come in to work for an extended period of time, following news reports of other agency offices having to enforce work-from-home because of COVID-19. The supposed simulation then extended into real life work-from-home scenario that we thought would be back to normal come April. April came, and then May, June, July, August... Days have blended into each other and turned to weeks, to months. October is almost here, and we are nowhere near the end.

When things were still normal, we had Work Anywhere Wednesdays where we were free to, well, work anywhere, so long as we finish our deliverables for the day and we didn't have scheduled face-to-face meetings to go to. I didn't like that set-up at that much because I always ended up taking a nap, having deluded myself into thinking that I needed an office set-up to motivate me to work. Now that we have been doing this for more than six months now, I realized that all I needed were discipline and deadlines I set myself.

I had to let go of the place I was renting in Makati and move back in with my family. I liked that I didn't have to torment myself in deciding what to eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, but at the same time I miss the way I used to spend my me-time eating alone at my spot at The Sandwich Guy in Century City Mall or Tien Ma's. I love that my support system a.k.a. my family is always readily available but hate that my other support system a.k.a. my boyfriend is living in the other side of Metro Manila, two expressways/ toll gates away from me. 

I miss my office desk and all the little accoutrements and knick knacks it has accumulated throughout the years, but there is no sense crying over spilled milk. It's a sh*tty situation we'd been thrusted into, and we got dealt some pretty sh*tty cards. Anyway, seeing that my back had been aching and my legs had been riddled with bed bug bites from my old chair, my boyfriend, the wonderful human that he is, got me a new chair. It is pink and pretty, and I love it very much.

Yes, I put lipstick on for these photos. I miss putting makeup on and dressing up, so I compensate with cute and colorful pajama sets or coordinates as well as my fluffy house slippers. 

My work-from-home desk is a bit neater than usual here, but it always contains the following: my laptop and bamboo laptop table, my Essentials notebook and colorful pens for jotting down and crossing off my to do lists, my hydro flask so I don't have to keep on getting up to get water, and my Nintendo Switch Lite so I can squeeze in some gameplay during breaks.