The “Secretary” in Me

It’s been a few days since I published my last post and I missed this blog. A lot of things happened. I hadn’t been feeling well in the past few days due to flu, my baby and I had a short staycation at my sister’s place (previously mine) to catch up with my mom who had just arrived from the province, and I ran a couple of errands mostly for my family.

I consider myself as the secretary for both sides of my family. Actually, my husband used to call me “sexy-tary”.  But now, he calls me “taba-tary” and I guess there’s no need to explain why. You should know by now. 🙂

Anyways, as a secretary, I take care of different things from the simplest to the most complex kind of stuff, and from my personal accounts to other people’s businesses.

On the personal account side, I take responsibility for the proper budgeting of our limited resources, I manage our small investment, and I make sure that our small savings in the bank don’t fall below the maintaining balance or at least recover in no time if it does to avoid penalties and account closure. I also make it a point to pay our credit card bills in full and on time to avoid interest charges.

Managing other people’s accounts is supposed to be none of my business but because I like being the “secretary” and it’s fulfilling when I’m able to help others in my own little ways, I continue to extend a helping hand whenever they need my assistance.

In the week that passed, I’ve ran a couple of errands for some members of the family. Aside from the usual budgeting 101 session with my youngest sister, I also helped with her credit card application – from completing the forms, sending email requests to her employer for COE, ITR and other requirements, and finally submitting her application online. I also helped her and the rest of the family with their SSS Online Registration and now they’re all able to view their contributions without having to go to the branch anymore.

I also take care of my OFW brother’s SSS and Pag-ibig contributions. When he has issues accessing his online accounts, I’m the one who makes email requests to have it reset and reactivated. When he can’t do it, I do it. He and his fiancée are planning to get married next year and because they’re not in the country right now, I take responsibility for some of their needed documents like their Cenomar, marriage applications forms, seminar schedules, and even the wedding preparation itself like the search for the venue, caterer, and a whole lot more.

I do all sorts of admin tasks at home. I make appointments for visa application and passport renewal. I book flights and buy stuff online for other people. I look out for promos and discounts for products and services. I keep receipts and mails. In short, I try to make things easy and organized for myself and for others. And though I receive “tips and treats” at times, I don’t get paid for doing this. But it really doesn’t matter to me. What matters most is that I’m able to help others and hearing them say “thank you” and “good job” is more than enough to make me happy and satisfied.