The Philippines: You can check out but you can never leave

[Tommy T.]

8 hours ago, Mark Berkowitz said:

My Pinay wife still likes to get something for free.  Even if we don’t really need it right now (or never), she loves the ‘buy one, get one’ deals, just as much as the ‘buy one, take one’ deals in the Philippines.

 

My partner goes nuts whenever she sees the word, "Sale!" I keep trying to tell her to be careful because so often that word is part of a gimmick by reducing already super overpriced items to just overpriced. But, yes, I do know there are real deals out there too. She just needs to be selective in her shopping. Her main problem is her very poor memory - she usually can't recall the price of something before it went on sale. And like your wife, she can't resist the lure of something cheap or free and also buys things she doesn't need and may rarely, if ever, use...

[Jack Peterson]

44 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

she can't resist the lure of something cheap or free and also buys things she doesn't need and may rarely, if ever, use...

 As they all seem to Do Tom 

[Tommy T.]

Just now, Jack Peterson said:

 As they all seem to Do Tom 

Yeah...so I am learning. More on my steep learning curve...

[Jollygoodfellow]

On 6/26/2019 at 11:23 PM, Mark Berkowitz said:

 

 

Well hope she read the date on that offer.

[Mark Berkowitz]

I just realized that I have somehow adopted another Filipino custom - i.e., never paying a bill until the day that it's actually due.

Back in my pre-Philippines life, I would pay my electric, internet, and other bills 2 weeks before the due date... but now, I actually wait until the day that the bill is due.

Why or how has this happened?... I have the money right now to pay all of my bills, so what is wrong with me?

Have I actually become a kuripot? 

 

Edited June 30, 2019 by Mark Berkowitz
still learning English again

[Hobbit112]

7 hours ago, Mark Berkowitz said:

I just realized that I have somehow adopted another Filipino custom - i.e., never paying a bill until the day that it's actually due.

Back in my pre-Philippines life, I would pay my electric, internet, and other bills 2 weeks before the due date... but now, I actually wait until the day that the bill is due.

Why or how has this happened?... I have the money right now to pay all of my bills, so what is wrong with me?

Have I actually become a kuripot? 

 

Do you now pay in person instead of mailing in? 

[Mark Berkowitz]

27 minutes ago, Hobbit112 said:

Do you now pay in person instead of mailing in? 

Actually, I still pay online, just like I did before I ever lived in the Phils, but I don't ever pay online early anymore.

Now, I just wait until the actual day that the payment is due before making my payment online.

[earthdome]

19 hours ago, Mark Berkowitz said:

Actually, I still pay online, just like I did before I ever lived in the Phils, but I don't ever pay online early anymore.

I pay as much as I can online also. Everything except my credit card payments are paid by a 1.5% cashback visa card. I just wait until the new billing cycle starts on the visa then do the payments. Doesn't matter what day since it is on the new billing cycle and since I always pay my credit card in full each month, there are no fees.

[Mark Berkowitz]

2 hours ago, earthdome said:

Doesn't matter what day

I used to pay all of my bills online early before I lived in the Phils.  For example, when I lived in the US several years ago, I would go online to pay a bill with a due date of July 1st on June 15.

However, while in the Philippines, if a bill was due on July 1st, my wife and I would wait until July 1st to actually pay it.  Now that my wife and I are now living in the US together, I've become reluctant to pay any of my bills before the actual due date.

I'm still paying all of my bills online, just as I did before, but never before the actual due dates of each of the bills.  In other words, I've been changed (possibly forever) by living in the Philippines.

[earthdome]

40 minutes ago, Mark Berkowitz said:

I used to pay all of my bills online early before I lived in the Phils.  For example, when I lived in the US several years ago, I would go online to pay a bill with a due date of July 1st on June 15.

However, while in the Philippines, if a bill was due on July 1st, my wife and I would wait until July 1st to actually pay it.  Now that my wife and I are now living in the US together, I've become reluctant to pay any of my bills before the actual due date.

I'm still paying all of my bills online, just as I did before, but never before the actual due dates of each of the bills.  In other words, I've been changed (possibly forever) by living in the Philippines.

That works great until the one time when there is a glitch and the payment can't be made resulting in late fee's, etc. I like to pay at least 2-3 business days before a bill is due just to ensure I have time to resolve any payment issues if there is a glitch.