Kalesa ni Maria

With the recent news that two latest financial companies - Lehman Brothers and Merril Lynch - facing financial troubles (Lehman is set to file for bankcruptcy protection while Merril is hastily being sold to Bank Of America), consumers are getting more jittery and worried about their financial future including Filipinos in the US.

The crisis is not over yet, even as the government rescues Freddie Mac and Fannie May (two financial giants holding what amounts to half of the US mortgage debt), a lot more restructuring are going to happen before the mortgage and credit crisis that hit the US subsides. And analysts say it could be years to come.

So it is ever more important to be financially responsible and track where your money is going. It’s gonna be a rough ride for a some time to come yet.

While most Filipinos who’ve come to the US have been successful and are able to plant roots and invest wisely, most are still sucked into the American consumerism way of life - i.e., swipe the plastic as much and as fast as you can.

I was just hearing that Las Vegas is the new foreclosure capital in the US with record number of properties being foreclosed. I’ve also heard talk of Filipinos letting their houses go on foreclosure instead of trying to pay off their loans with non-fixed rates. They instead choose to invest that money in getting a new property or going towards a more stable rental agreement instead of struggling to pay off a debt that they don’t know if they can keep up.

As like other US consumers, Filipinos also have a high share of credit card debts eating away at their household income. At times it seems like it’s a never ending cycle - swiping plastic to use cash to pay off other debts and ending deeper still in debt.

It IS possible to get out of debt, though it means lowering standards of living and really watching what you spend. There’s also help all around. I know it’s very important for Filipinos to keep up with appearances and not to let others know you’re suffering financially.

So, it might be a good idea to check out this site, it has all kinds of information to help consolidate debt and direct you to different options you can choose from.

Bills.com offers information on how to get out of debt, a debt relief boot camp. And even though you have good credit it doesn’t hurt to protect yourself from getting in a situation where you will be end up with bad credit.

This web site has a walth of information on debt management, budgeting your cashflow and credit cards so you can decrease your debt and even eliminate it over time.

Filipinos reading this would know what I’m talking about in a heartbeat. For other nationalities, this may just be the answer to lingering questions after you’ve visited with a Filipino family and used their bath or powder room.

Typically, the tabo looks like this:

But it can very well be any kind of bowl if such a specialized container cannot be found. They usually rest on top, next to or conspicuously hiding behind the toilet seat.

So you ask, what do Filipinos do with it?

Why, we clean our bums with it! Yep. We ARE a clean nation. We just don’t take a dump, we clean up after ourselves too! (Oh boy, if the same can be said about Philippine politics) And clean up good we do. While most westerners were still busy scraping newspaper and wrappers to wipe their a*s (ouch! ouch!), Filipinos have had the brilliant idea to actually wash with soap and water.

Voila, no smelly paper waste and with the added bonus of actually feeling fresh and refreshed. Believe me, it’s even better than using one of those Cottonelle wet ones. It’s like having your own personal bidet.

For the uninitiated, washing with the “tabo” requires a certain skill. First, fill the tabo with water (warm, cold, lukewarm, it’s your preference), pour it on your behind for  a first wash off. Then with your other hand, reach for the soap and soap your hand while filling up your tabo for the second time. Next, soap your bun bun and wash using your water-filled tabo, making sure you get every nook and cranny under there.

Now, your behind is clean enough to be wiped with a towel.

I came across the tabo project in Multiply (social networking) and I thought it’s a brilliant concept. Can anyone let me know a way to contact the person who started this?

So you arrived in the US … and of course you’ll be raring to visit Disney World in Orlando. That is, if you’re nearer the East coast than the West, otherwise it will be the whole works — Disneyland, Hollywood, Universal Studios, etc etc …

Anyway, so you made it to Orlando … ooooh weee! Set aside time for picking Florida oranges. There’s more to visiting Disney World in Orlando, there’s also a very interesting and educational trip for the family (specially kids and the kids at heart) over there, which is the Kennedy Space Center.

I haven’t been to Orlando .. yet, but I’ve been to Florida … and I’m telling you .. if you ever go there in December after visiting relatives in whatever freezing, icy cold state they may live, Floridians think December is cool enough to wear a sweater at night. Which of course I didn’t know until I was like dressed for summer - short shorts and sleeveless tank top - strolling down the beach at 6 PM and telling my friend it’s nice and warm out … people were giving me the “looks” as if to say, call Human Services, somebody needs a lift to the “ward”.

I’m getting sidetracked.To the Kennedy Space Center.

So what can you do at the visitor’s complex? Apart from pretending to be NASA astronauts, you can actually get on rides and well, simulate the experience of being an astronaut. As well as watch IMAX movies of NASA endeavors, view ten-story high rockets from space explorations in the Rocket Garden, meet an actual astronaut (ooooh your children are going to think you’re oh-so cool) and then of course you’ll have the requisite space shop. Hey, you can’t beat buying a rocket replica from the rocket space center itself.

And what’s better than visiting the Kennedy Space center? A Kennedy space center discount. Zing! Oh and if you want to stay in the know about great deals and interesting ideas for next year’s travel, sign up for a Trusted Tours newsletter, it’s an online travel guide thing. Never hurts to be prepared and have options.