Lost BPI Direct card: What to do? My DISAPPOINTING experience

Lost BPI Direct card: What to do? My DISAPPOINTING experience

I know that I might be messy at times but I rarely lost things. Imagine my anguish when I was suppose to withdraw some cash to buy some things and then when I checked my card holder pouch, it wasn't there. Sometimes I use that card for debit purposes so as to have a record on my purchases which can be helpful in tracking your expenses. I had a hunch that it wasn't in the bag I was usually using and how right I was when it wasn't so I came to the notion that the card fell along the way (or.....). The lesson I learned with that incident is not to bring your card or if really necessary, put it somewhere safe. My card holder pouch is new and I wasn't expecting that it was a bit loose. My mistake was to just put it in between the plastics. But one good thing about this is that I had a spare cash which can hopefully get me by until the next payday. The power of not putting all of your eggs in one basket!

If you encountered like this (either lost or stolen), I strongly suggest that you report it immediately by calling 89-100 and talk to a phone banker in order to block the card. You should also know your account number and he/she will do some verification to know if you are really the owner of the account. Card replacement is 150 pesos and is auto-debited which can be nice since I don't have extra money. You can also request where you can get your card. According to the phone banker that I talked to, you can get the new card within 5-7 banking days and present 2 valid identification cards.

Update: After 5 days, I went to the branch where I requested my card replacement to be claimed to inquire. Unfortunately, I was advised to follow up after a week. According to the person I talked to, card replacement request from their branch usually takes more that a month and the earliest that the card replacement can be made available is one month. She don't know if how long will it take time. I'll update you again on the next.

Update: After a week AGAIN, my new BPI Direct ATM card was now released but then AGAIN, I was unfortunately advised that I won't be able to use it as I will still be needing the PIN mailer or something I think that would enable me to change PIN and they will request it with BPI Direct which will take another 2 weeks. For me, this is such a hassle not be able to access my funds thru ATM. One wise thing I did before is that I was able to enroll it online. That way, I would be able to pay my bills or make transactions via online banking. I was made aware before that usually BPI Direct clients are not priority in BPI branches but this is very disappointing to say. I've been a holder for more than a decade as I've gotten this when I was still studying. But with this, I've been thinking of shifting to other banks.

Update on Sept 13, 2019: After 2 grueling weeks, I am expecting that I would be able to use my new BPI Direct card. BUT. HELL. NO. I was starting to get irritated not only because of this current problem but also because of BPI's customer service. With the two branches I've gone through regarding this issue, I wish they could improve more of their customer service. Be more approachable. Imagine yourself waiting for at least 30 minutes and then when you get your turn, you left disappointed. I've been inquiring for a couple of times now so I think it is safe to say that it is normal to feel irritated by this inconvenience.

Anyway, after I got my PIN Mailer, which for those of you who do not know yet is the temporary password for the NEW/REPLACED ATM, I tried to change PIN but transactions always turn into error. Transaction is cancelled and the receipt says DO NOT HONOR CAP. I was advised to try it out later as the system is sometimes down.

I tried again on another branch but the same error persisted. So I went to their customer service. Luckily, someone on that branch had an inkling on what might have happened. I was informed that they would still be requesting the BPI Direct to activate the card as the card is deactivated. They will inform me through text if I can change the PIN. And I don't know if when is that.

Update on Sept 20, 2019: I haven't received a text message from the other BPI branch that I went through but on a Monday, I have missed a call so I don't know if the call is from BPI. So in a Friday, I tried again to change PIN in the ATM but the error in the receipt now says PIN CHANGE REQUIRED. I inquired on that branch and I was again informed that they will still be waiting for the reply of BPI Direct and they don't know when will I be informed. I filled out again the form for I think 5 times now so I don't think the people are knowledgeable on my concern. It's like you're left stucked hanging in the air without a solution. Later that day, I was informed through text that my card is deactivated and would need a new card with a fee. I thought, what?! I haven't even use the card and then another fee again? 

I was thinking of emailing BPI Direct directly but I thought why not through a phone banker again? I called up their hotline 89-100 and relayed my concern to Ms. Shannon. Thank God she was able find out why it was deactivated. The cause was that the BPI branch where I requested my new card had released my card in their system without the PIN mailer. When a new card is released, you should change your PIN with the PIN mailer within 2 days or else it would be deactivated which had unfortunately happened to me. I rant out that the BPI branch released it to me without the PIN mailer and let me wait for 2 weeks for it. Ms. Shannon offered to waived the fee and from our conversation I would wait another two weeks then I could get the new card again in my preferred branch which is in another as I am disappointed in the first BPI branch. Hopefully, PIN change would be successful and I could use my ATM card again.

Netflix Documentary: Happy Jail

Netflix Documentary: Happy Jail

Happy Jail is a five episode Netflix's original documentary series about Cebu's dancing inmates. If you haven't heard of them yet, they are the inmates from Cebu, Philippines dancing to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" in the video whose gone viral in YouTube some time in 2008. It also depicts the life inside, how they cope and how they make their lives more bearable even when inside the prison. The documentary also tells revolves around Marco Toral, an ex-convict, who was made a consultant for CPDRC.

I highly recommend the film and I know that there are more stories to tell beyond the 5 episode but I enjoyed it a lot. Kudos to Michele Josue for creating this kind of film. 

Life Hack: How To Do Laundry (With washing machine)

Life Hack: How To Do Laundry (With washing machine)

I learned how to do laundry when I was a sixth grader. It was the first time that I used the washing machine. In the second or third year of my high school life, my mother decided not to hire a helper and we were tasked to wash our clothes. Though I had help from my mom from a time, I usually am the one washing my own. I was fond of hand washing the clothes even though we had a washing machine. It was gentler on the clothes but it was tedious of course. Based on my experience, the clothes tend to last more when you hand wash your clothes. Typically, I use only the dryer on the washing machine and rarely the spinner. For your information, at this time, the washing machine we use is a twin tub type. This habit of mine lasted even after I graduated in college. When we were deployed in a rural area for our immersion, we were instructed not to use washing machines just to experience the rural life but I was thinking that it will not pose as a problem for me as I usually prefer hand washing than washing machine.

Maybe it was a good thing that our washing machine of one to two decades old broke down that we had to resort to hand washing. But after some time, one day I realized that I'd had enough. Maybe I just got lazier and just want to make my life more easier after all these years. 

We bought a newer type of automatic washing machine where you just dump them inside and it would automatically wash, rinse and dry it based on how you program it. I usually use the enery saver mode. It takes about 26 minutes total.

Let's face it: using the automatic washing machine takes more water and consumes more electricity. So as much as possible, I refrain from using it if I had less clothes to wash.

So how do I do my laundry? You can scroll down below for some tips.

-SORT

This is one important step you need to take. Separate the whites and the colored ones clothes. I separate them also based if you're wearing it at home and outside your home. Separate the towels with the covers on the mattress and with the curtains. Separate your underwear and bras. One tip is to purchase laundry storage for underwears, socks, bras, white clothes and colored clothes so that you can sort it out as you go. It saves time and effort.

-SOAK

I cannot stress the importance of soaking your clothes with a bit of detergent even for just 15-30 minutes. There was a time that I just dumped my clothes on the washing machine. The end result turned sometimes okay but sometimes clothes tend to smell still which you don't want. I soak the clothes up based from what I sorted it out and then for the white clothes, I let out in the sun. I found out that the sun helps to whiten out more the clothes and feel that clothes are more sanitize this way because of the heat (so no more smelly clothes later on). What I do on a rainy day is that instead of letting it out, I use hot water instead.

First things first. I am not sponsored by any products that I say in this blog article but for white clothes, I turn to Breeze ActiveBleach by Unilever. One twin sachet is usually enough for me but if I want to make the clothes more cleaner, I add a half sachet. For the colored ones, I love to use Wings Active Guard. A sachet goes a long way on removing the smell from your clothes even on a rainy day. Too bad Wings ActiveGuard is not readily available in all supermarkets.

-RINSE

Yes. Rinse out that grime and smell. But before that, you can try rubbing out the clothes by your hands just to aid in disentangling the stains that the washing machine cannot do.

-WASH, RINSE, DRY

Finally, the easiest part of them all: dumping them into the washing machine. Again, I wash the clothes based on sort. If you can, refrain from using the washing machine with your underwear, bra or socks. If you can't, use a laundry net.

-DRY

Dry out your clothes using the hanger.

And that's it folks! I hope that it helps with your laundry woes! :-) 

Netflix: Kakegurui Live Action

Netflix: Kakegurui Live Action

credits for Kakegurui's Live Action official poster goes to:
 https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/kakegurui/images/a/a9/Liveaction.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20190214172615

I was browsing Netflix and came across this show Kakegurui Live Action. I thought it was interesting to binge so I watched this. Every episode is around 30 minutes less. The story revolves around the characters on an elite academy where basically gambling skills matter. Season 1 is around 10 episodes. Season 2 is 6 episodes I think.

By the way, I was shocked to learn that the actress (Minami Hamabe) which portrays the main heroine is too young. She looks mature in the show while she looks different in her usual pictures.

Cooking Kitchen Cook

Cooking Kitchen Cook

Almost every woman must know how to cook. It is actually an expectation when it comes to Filipinas. Filipino men are usually exempted from this expectation which is kind of biased in my opinion. Well, maybe because it is part of the Filipino culture before that women are usually at home and domesticated. But luckily, times are changing for the better. It's not bad to learn how to cook yourself because I consider this as a life skill.

If I remembered it correctly, I was duped by my mom into cooking pinakbet when I was in Grade 6. It was sauteing and mixing the vegetables in the pan. I learned how to fry an egg in my first year of high school (by the way, at that time we don't have the k-12 program which makes me realize that I'm old :-O). Then eventually, I discovered on my own how to cook the perfect sunny side up. Oh, I remembered just now: I was frying hotdogs when I was 9 or 10 years old! Hah! At that time, I was proud that I can cook for my cousin even it's just a hotdog! So basically I came to the realization that my life revolves around cooking! Yeah!

So I might like to inform you all that for some time, I might add some recipes or posts about cooking here later hoping it can help you. :-)

Stock question: If I sell on the Ex-dividend date, who will receive the dividend?

Stock question: If I sell on the Ex-dividend date, who will receive the dividend?

Hello people! I'm updating out my income and expenses (in short my finances) so I was able to check out where I am at currently when it comes to stocks.

Speaking of the topic, I still consider myself a beginner when it comes to it. And I became interested to know along the way regarding the question: "If I sell on the Ex-dividend date, who will receive the dividend?". So for the sake of learning, I tried to test out my hypothesis in which I was the seller of the stock.

I also searched the internet and used Google. From what I understood based on the answers posted in the cyberspace, if you are going to buy before the ex-dividend date, you are entitled to the dividend. However, if you purchased the stock on or after the ex-dividend date, the seller of the stock gets the dividend.

Just as I said a while ago, in order to test out what really is the truth, I sold out my stock on the ex-dividend date. I'm still waiting on the payout date so I'll update you later on.

UPDATE as of Aug 19, 2019: The payout date came and as of this day, I can now therefore conclude that even if you sell at the ex-dividend date of the stock, you can still get the dividend.

Life Simulation Game: Gameka's Nettworth

Life Simulation Game: Gameka's Nettworth

If you're looking for a way to spend time because you are bored, why not spend it wisely where you can learn? If you'll ask me, I would recommend you to try the Nettworth - a life simulation game which was developed by Gameka, a Malaysian game development company. You can download it at Google Playstore for Android phones or AppStore if you are using iPhone.

Why should you play Nettworth? Because aside from the pleasing aesthetics that it gives and which even the young ones can enjoy, the game can be a mode of learning on financial management which I rarely see on games.

In the game, you get to work (a tapping game) and be paid of course based on your occupation. You can study in the university and increase your work income. You can save the hard earned money you worked for in the bank and get interest for it, too! You can buy as much as you can with stocks which has 5 markets or pool it into the unit trust funds which can or can't make money. Or, if you have the cash, you can invest in the real estate which can provide you a hefty side earnings through rental income. You can also loan in the bank (but be sure to pay it all or pay the price!) or buy life insurance so that you can pass on some cash on to the next life. There is also a hospital in the game, so be sure to take care of your health too so the medical bills won't accumulate. You can buy food in the mall, or do some exercises for prevention of diseases. There's so much to do in the game and it teaches you how to manage money.

The bummer about this is that your device should have at least more than 2GB of RAM and you should have internet connection for it to work.

I tested it in a Lenovo phone of 2GB ram. The installation turned out to be a success. However, when I try to open the application, I can just access up to when you are at the start (you pick out whether you are a boy or a girl and name your character) and then automatically the application closes down. I tried but the succeeding attempts were a fail.

Next, I tried it on a Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro (it has 1.5 GB of RAM) which was weird because the game works on it but there are number of times that the game is lagging. So I thought, maybe it's the display? Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro has SUPER AMOLED display.

I asked my brother to install it on his Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 in order to test out my hypothesis. It has IPS LCD display which was the same as that of the Lenovo phone that I used only that it has 4GB of ram. My hypothesis was incorrect as the game is working out just fine on his phone.

But overall, I would still recommend that you try out this game as I liked it. And no, I'm not paid by Gameka. I just liked their Nettworth game. :)