Whoever thought of the idiom “Save it for a rainy day” was most probably not Filipino. If we take it literally, given the stormy weather these past weeks, there may not be any savings left!
It’s important to set aside money, not only for emergencies, but also for major expenses, like education, a home, a car and retirement.
I’m not an expert financial advisor but it’s good practice to have at least enough savings to cover three months’ worth of rent and living expenses.
Glenda Mercado, my Sun Life Financial agent, said it’s best to start saving a little money at a time and invest in a Sun Life package that suits you.
But this can be difficult, as it conflicts with my tendency to overspend on shopping and travel! Fortunately, there are many travel fairs and expos that offer amazing deals for airfare and tour packages.
Travel Madness Expo
At last week’s Travel Madness Expo at SMX Convention Center, Corporate International Travel & Tours (Instagram @cittiexperience) offered exciting destinations up for grabs, including the “Game of Thrones: Balkans” package, which we toured early this year.
Our #GoTyaBalkan2018 gang was reunited at the recently held reception to celebrate National Day of the Republic of Slovenia and the 25th anniversary of Philippines-Slovenia at the ballroom of Makati Shangri-La.
Felix Ang, honorary consul of the Republic of Slovenia, invited us to the grand celebration where we met other diplomats who love and support Slovenia.
Wilcon raffle
Last weekend was busy with many events and celebrations. Friday the 13th was not an unlucky day for winners of the recently concluded “Wilcon Win-A-Ride is Back!” promo.
Home improvement and construction supply retailer Wilcon Depot gave away six brand-new Toyota Fortuners. A minimum of P5,000 worth of purchases at Wilcon Depot was equivalent to one raffle ticket.
At the grand draw at Edsa Shangri-La, event host Johnny Litton assisted Wilcon SEVP-COO Rosemarie Ong and president/CEO Lorraine Belo-Cincochan to draw the lucky winners from entries all over the country. Year after year, Wilcon Depot provides better promo offerings to its valued customers.
Anya honeymoon
The next day, my hubby Dennis and I had a weekend honeymoon at Anya Resort Tagaytay. This charming resort in a pineapple plantation is celebrating its first anniversary.
It hosted a one-night only “Hola!” dinner collaboration. Anya chefs Ruben Beltran of Rambla and Jonathan Bouthiaux teamed up to create specialties from Barcelona’s famous Las Ramblas strip.
Guests enjoyed a fusion of spices and flavors. Rambla’s paella negra with fresh mussels and clams with flavorful saffron aioli was paired with juicy pork jowl and chipotle dressing.
This Spanish feast was about making the most of the best local produce found in Anya Resort Tagaytay.
Santiago Roxas Elizalde, president of Roxaco, which owns Anya, expressed his gratitude to investors and loyal clients for their continuous support. Also in attendance were Alfredo Roca, managing director of Anya Hospitality Corp., and Mikel Arriet, general manager of Anya Resort Tagaytay.
Anya is a project of Roxaco Land Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Roxas and Company. The resort is located on Buenavista Hills Road, Barangay Mag-asawang Ilat, Tagaytay City; call tel. no. 6571640; e-mail resv.tagaytay@anyaresorts.com.
IWC Schaffhausen watches
Last week was also the big celebration of Lucerne, one of the generous sponsors of the upcoming Red Charity Gala.
Lucerne, top retailer of luxury watches, hosted a grand VIP cocktail party at Salvatore Cuomo at The Fort to celebrate the 150th anniversary of IWC Schaffhausen and the debut of its new limited-edition Jubilee collection in the Philippines.
From Singapore to Malaysia and, most recently, Thailand, IWC has pulled out all the stops to mark its 150th birthday in Southeast Asia before heading to the Philippines.
Schaffhausen’s Jubilee celebrations made its stop in Manila, where more than 80 of the company’s clients, members of the local press and Friend of IWC Southeast Asia Erwan Heussaff gathered to mark IWC’s impressive legacy in engineering first-class time machines.
Emceed by Joey Mead King, the VIP cocktail party also marked 23 years of IWC’s long-standing partnership with Lucerne.
“With more than two decades of retail partnership in the Philippines, IWC is now among the most coveted brands by local watch collectors and aficionados,” said Lucerne managing director Emerson Yao.
“Lucerne is proud to have IWC as one of its anchor brands and to have the opportunity to operate two IWC flagship boutiques in the country,” he added.
The star of the night came in the form of IWC’s new limited- edition Jubilee collection, which is designed and developed as a tribute to the innovative, bold and adventurous spirit of its founder Florentine Ariosto Jones.
As they tucked into the gourmet canapes whipped up by Salvatore Cuomo and handcrafted IWC-inspired cocktails designed by Heussaff, guests and journalists had the opportunity to discover technical and artistic highlights from the Jubilee collection, such as the IWC Tribute to Pallweber Edition “150 Years,” the Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Edition “150 Years” and the Portofino Hand-Wound Moon Phase Edition “150 Years.”
If you have savings left from the rainy days, think of IWC!
For more photos, visit @seaprincess888 on Instagram.