What is Robinhood and why it isn't the best investing strategy

First of all, let me clarify that I'm not an expert but the information I am about to share comes from listening and learning to people who have been long time investors, have accumulated wealth, and their experiences, and being an investor myself for the last few years. 

So let's dwell to what really is Robinhood. Basically, it is a brokerage account where you can actively trade for free, including cryptocurrency. No fees. All you have to do is download the app, sign up and start investing. Isn't that easy? Overwhelming ang  magstart investing so Robinhood breaks that barrier. With just few taps on the phone, boom you're in. 

But don't get me wrong. I think Robinhood made a great job attracting people to join the stock market. And some people really made a lot of money from using it.  And yet, this isn't the best medium to invest for the following reasons: 

1. It is not tax advantaged. Ibig sabihin, lahat ng earnings or gains mo in trading is taxable. So basically, it is just a liquid money and you end up cashing out. Compare mo yan sa mga other vehicles for retirement like IRA that are tax advantaged where you can grow your money.

2. Robinhood is active trading, meaning you see everyday yung performance mo on your stock portfolio. But this method is very risky because you could act impulsively. It becomes a game. 

3. Robinhood isnt a quick rich scheme. I'm not saying you shouldn't invest in this account pero what I'm saying is it seems like a lot of people think they could make a lot of money thru this broker account. And yes there have been some people who really made a lot of money but it was a gamble.  In reality, there's no such thing as quick rich scheme unless you really get lucky like winning a lottery. 

4. This isn't for long term. Dahil taxable ang assets mo in this account, hindi siya pang buy and hold talaga, thus short term lang. But if you really want to build wealth, I think the best way is to let your capital gains grow. Unfortunately, Robinhood doesn't have this incentive. 

Thus, Robinhood isn't the best way to optimize money growth so before ka mag invest dito,  I'd suggest maxed out your contributions on IRA and 401k first, Kung saan may potential talaga to grow your money over the long run. 

Baked taco chicken

Baked taco chicken is so easy to make and yummy! 

Ingredients: 

Chili powder

Paprika

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Salt and pepper

Lime juice

Instructions: rub all the ingredients on the chicken and bake for one hour at 420F. To make it crispy, broil for 2-3 minutes

This recipe is perfect with pico de Gallo on the side with chips or tortillas, sour cream, and avocados!  

MENU plan (5/27/20 - 6/2/20)

Over the years since my husband and I started a family of our own and live away with our own families, I learned a lot! One of them is learning and getting better at planning our meals, especially after our son was born. Not only it saved us money but also encouraged us to eat healthy and not to waste food.

Our groceries come in every Thursday so my meal plan starts from Thursday to Wednesday. For this week, from May 27- June2, our meal plan looks like this. Sometimes, hindi nasusunod lahat pero we always try to stick to it. Pero most of the time, we follow it. 

                   Breakfast                                  Lunch/dinner

Thursday       egg and bacon                       slow cooker ramen

Friday            oats and hotdog                      delmonica's deviled chicken

Saturday        waffles and corn beef             dine out + vegetable fried rice

Sunday          hash brown + toast+eggs        steak + corn in a cob

Monday         noodles                                   tortang talong + fried galunggong

Tuesday         egg and bacon                         pad thai + cucumber salad

Wednesday    egg and hotdog                       chicken quesadilla + left over

Ever heard of MVNO?

Have you heard of MVNO? (or mobile virtual network operator) If not, let me guide you what it is, and why it might be a good option to switch, or not.

Ang MVNO basically is a phone service provider that doesn't really own a wireless network. Instead, it buys access to the network of wireless network phone companies (AT&T, T-mobile, Sprint, and other phone service providers) then resells bandwidth to customers. In short parang retail arbitrage siya, where in you buy wholesale products then resell. Example of these companies are MINT and TING.

Ibig sabihin, if you sign up for them, you will only pay the data you need. Because of this syempre, mas mura ang babayaran mo monthly dahil you only pay what you consume. For example sa MINT that we recently subscribed to, ang 3GB is $15/month while 8GB is $20. Kumpera mo yan sa hundreds of dollars monthly for other phone service providers. We had the unlimited data  pero hindi namin talaga nagagamit kasi we always have access to WiFi.

But since the company buys access only to the network, how is the connection? So far, as users for a week now, the signal is as good as when we were with Sprint. Walang pinagkaiba, pero syempre this is just us At syempre since they don't own a wireless infrastructure, you have to own your own phone that is compatible with their sim (check your phone's IMEE number on their website) unlocked, and not leased.

So ang pinakareason talaga to switch to MVNO is save money.

But this might not be a good option for those who rely on mobile data all the time. Plus, if you are still paying for your phone, then it's probably better to pay it off first before deciding to switch.

But anyway, when we got our sims from MINT, we received free sims (a trial sim and a planned sim starting as low as $15/month) from them. Nabuksan ng anak ko yung envelope pero intact pa rin yung SIM cards. If ever you choose to try MINT, we can give the free sim cards to you. Just email me your name and address and I will send them to you. (Don't worry, I will keep your information private) Sayang naman kasi kung itatapon lang namin.

angelicablogger@yahoo.com - email. 

Stir fry pork with oyster sauce!!

Inspired by stir fry Thai dishes, here's my stir fry pork with oyster sauce!

Ingredients
1 lb pork
1 bundle of leek
3-4 mushrooms
Minced garlic
Cooking oil
About 1/4 cup of water
3-4 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp ground ginger
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
1. Saute garlic until light brown
2. Put on pork cut into cubes and fry until golden brown
3. Put on leek then mushroom
4. Put on water, oysters sauce, soy sauce and simmer for 5-10 minutes
5. Adjust water as necessary
6. Salt and pepper to taste

Vichyssoise (potato leek soup)!!

I tried this one today for lunch!! It's a new flavor and complimented well with  my version of baked chicken inasal!  

Ingredients:

2 bundles of leek

6 cups of chicken broth

4 medium sized potatoes 

3 tbsp butter

2 tsp minced garlic 

1 tsp crushed bay leaves 

1 tsp thyme 

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional but recommended: 1 cup milk or half and half 

Instructions: 

1. Slice the leeks and potatoes into small cubes 

2. Saute garlic and leek until soft and wilted

3. Add potatoes and cook for a minute 

4. Add broth, thyme, bay leaves and let it boil

5. Simmer for around 10 minutes

6. Puree after then simmer for another 3-5 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste 

7. Add half and half to make it creamy and simmer for another 2 minutes

Embutido for the first time!!

It's my first time to make embutido and I used ingredients we have home!! I didn't steam but baked it and it turned out just fine! 

So before I throw the ingredients I used and the instructions, did I like it? Or did my husband or son like it? 

For my husband it was soooo good. Ewan ko Lang Kung gutom siya or not! Pero his verdict: yummy! 

For my son: well, he mostly liked the cranberries!! And still ate a good amount. So I guess it was good!

For me: well it was fine but not the way I expected! I used ground Italian sausage Bec it's what we have. And I didn't put on vienna sausages and the boiled eggs! I used cranberries din instead of raisins. 

Anyway, ubos pa rin Yung tatlong balot! 

But I could probably make a better version next time! 

Ingredients: 

1 lb ground Italian sausage

1/2 small onion 

8 baby carrots 

2/3 cup sweet relish

1 green pepper

1 cup cranberries

3 tbsp tomato sauce 

1 egg

1/4 cup bread crumbs 

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions: mix well all ingredients. Form a cylinder wrapped in a foil. Bake for one hour at 350F. 

What is an IRA and why open one??

We all work today and set aside money on the side para by the time we retire we have the money to support us. Maliban sa pension, ang 401k, 403b, TSP are retirement vehicle Kung saan nagcocontribute Tayo out from paycheck for retirement. We own a little piece of the company and thus, the money is invested. I won't go into details on the differences of the three pero Ang max contribution annually is $19500 currently.

So ano ang IRA? Ang IRA is actually an account Kung saan you can put money voluntarily, with a max contribution of $6000 a year. 

You may have heard Roth IRA vs IRA (or traditional IRA). Ang difference is timing of being taxed. Sa ROTH IRA, you are being taxed Everytime you contribute so that by the time you withdraw, Hindi ka na matataxan. Ang IRA or traditional IRA is getting taxed when you withdraw. 

Walang age limit Ang ROTH IRA pero may income restriction and vice versa sa traditional IRA. So while you are not on that income bracket or age restriction, go ahead and maximize your contribution

So what works best for you? Depende Yan sayo at sa mga plans mo for the future. But think of it this way, usually the higher income bracket ka, the higher you get taxed. So by the time you withdraw the money, saan bracket ka? So think about it and decide which suits you best.

Now, paano Ito makakatulong sa retirement if account Lang siya. Ito Ang kahalagan ng pag open ng IRA account- you can build wealth thru linking it to the stock market. There are different kinds of stocks pero I won't go into detail here. Pero investing the money through stocks is better than keeping cash Kasi ang cash nagdedepreciate ang value. Stocks on the other hand, appreciates over the long run. Just be careful Kung among klaseng stocks bibilhin mo.

Now, the earlier you open an account and invest, the more you will gain because of compounding interest. So yeah, that's the very reason you should open an IRA account - to make money work for you.

Now contributing to a 401k at the same time with an IRA might be hard pero you don't have to maximize it right away. Contributing on it is still better than keeping the cash. Now if sobra sobra ang natitira sayo monthly, then look for other way of where to put the money -- real estate or business!

So don't settle on contributing sa 401k/tsp/403b if may extra cash na natitira monthly. Contribute it to an IRA.

Guacamole!!

Ano pwede mong gawin from avocados? In our household , we use it to for quesadillas, tacos, and even make it for dessert. At syempre, sawsawan para sa tortilla chips! So here's my simple recipe to make the tasty guacamole!! There are different ways and versions to make it pero this one is the simplest I know! You can make it in less than 5 minutes! 

Ingredients:

One large avocado

1/2 white onion

1 tomato

2 tbsp lime juice 

2 tbsp garlic powder

1 tsp cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: top it with cilantro 

Instructions: mix all ingredients together. Place in the fridge for at least half an hour. Then ready to eat!! 

Igado!!

So what Filipino recipe can you can make without going to an Asian store? Well there's chicken or pork adobo or chicken or pork curry! Or Igado!

Ingredients: 

1 lb pork

1 lb beef liver

10 tbps soy sauce

8 tbsp vinegar 

2-3 Carrots 

1/2 white onion

1 tsp minced garlic 

1 can of green peas 

1 red bell pepper

Salt and pepper

1 cup of water 

Cooking oil 

Instructions 

1. Saute garlic and onion

2. Add pork and cook until light brown

3. Add water and let pork simmer for 15 minutes

4. Add soy sauce, salt and pepper and cook pork for another 15 min

5. Add beef liver and water and vinegar for another 15 minutes 

6. Throw vegetables and cook for about 5 minutes

7. Salt and pepper or soy sauce or vinegar or water to taste and let it summer for another 3-5 minutes 

Animal action game!

I finally made a compilation of animal actions today! It is very interactive and definitely encourages learning! I have 50 in the list so far and hoping to add more once I get more free time. You can make your own as well! 

How it works: 

Simply tell, "(action word) like a/an (animal)"

ex: Jump like a kangaroo

This kind of game is one of the ways to teach vocabulary, in a fun way! I love watching my son doing the corresponding action whenever we do this activity! Hopefully, one of these days, I will be able to convert them in flash cards!

This is perfect for toddlers! 

For full list, email me and I will send it to you for free! - angelicablogger@yahoo.com

Brownies!!

Allergic ang anak ko sa milk so I've been looking for a great recipe that calls for no milk--- brownies!! Allergic din siya sa egg whites but not so much compared sa milk. So this brownie is perfect for his sweet tooth! 

Yummy and so easy to make!! No need for baking powder! 

For the ingredients: 

1/2 cup melted country crock butter 

2 eggs

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8 tsp salt

2 tbsp vanilla extract 

1/2 all purpose flour 

1 cup white sugar 

Optional: chocolate chips 

Instructions: mix well all ingredients then bake it at 350F for 25 minutes! 

Dahan dahan Lang sa pagbibigay since daming sugar nito!