There was a point in my life when adulting hit me hard: my romantic relationship suddenly ended, which coincided with my resignation from my full-time job of three years. The thing is, I had a plan before everything happened, but life is indeed full of unexpected moments.

I decided to take a rest first to clear my overwhelmed mind. I ended up doing what most young adults like me would do: travelled to different places, went out with friends, volunteered for several causes, and spoiled myself with my favorite things and experiences — everything that involved doing what I love and seizing life’s great moments.

I was busy indulging myself in this idea of “self-love” until I realized that my bank account was draining every single week, and I was close to maxing out my credit card limit. That’s when it hit me: I wasn’t financially prepared to sustain this kind of lifestyle. 

Self-love is more than just showering yourself with pretty things

We all have this idea that “self-love” is about indulging in life’s best comforts, and doing whatever sets our soul on fire. Newsflash: real life is much trickier than these scenarios we see in rom-com films.

For me, I had to take more extra work to do these things I love, while still being able to pay bills. I regretted not being able to save up more and use my money wisely. I eventually found myself living life from paycheck to paycheck, and I realized that this is not the life I wanted to live. I couldn’t fully enjoy life’s moments, since my financial restrictions were always at the back of my mind. 

I have come to understand the real concept of self-love — that it is actually about creating a life that is prepared for whatever life’s challenges throw at us. Instead of treating ourselves to short-lived thrills, it’s much better to manage our finances first so we’re always ready for the next big thing. Being smart with our finances is indeed a great form of self-care. 

Seize life’s moments by being financially fit

CIMB Bank, the “Best Digital Bank” in the Philippines is a great choice for people like me who want to save up for life’s next moments. The best thing about it is I can open an account seamlessly in just 10 minutes — no need to personally enroll in a branch and wait for weeks to secure an account. No wonder they have been recently awarded as the “Fastest Growing Digital Bank” as well.

Through the CIMB Bank PH mobile app (iOS/ Android), managing and accessing my money is also much easier compared to other banks. They offer great perks and services such as transacting with other banks for free, withdrawing in over 25,000 ATM machines nationwide without penalty charges via Visa pay, wave debit card, and not be bothered by maintaining balances.

I can also access my cash 24/7 in just a few taps, and it’s connected to other local payment gateways I frequently use like GCash and dragonpay, so it greatly fits my flexible lifestyle.

True to its commitment to helping Filipinos achieve financial inclusion and freedom, this all-digital, mobile-first bank offers an interest rate of four percent (4%) per annum available all year round, with no restrictions, via its UpSave account offering. It’s the best-in-market savings rate, which makes me save more money without worrying about security. They also offer up to Php 2 million worth of life insurance coverage!

With CIMB Bank, I can track my savings easily and invest my money in experiences that will allow me to feed my passions. When the time comes that life throws more unexpected moments, I know I’m financially secured to handle it. And that is one of the best forms of love I can give to myself.

To know more about CIMB Bank PH, click here.

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This feature was produced in collaboration with Her GadgetMatch and CIMB Philippines.

Alright, seeing as everyone and their mother is talking about the award-winning film, “Parasite (기생충),” we need to figure out something very very important. How do we all make that fancy Jjapaguri and can we make it at home?

Stunning Movie

Kidding aside, I saw Parasite months ago and it clearly did not fall short of stunning everyone to their core. Every detail in the film fixates on depicting the painful gap between social classes. This leaves everyone watching with an almost haunting juxtaposition between two very different families. But, back to the most important thing at hand: jjapaguri. What, how and where can I have it?

Before we deep dive into recipe iterations people have posted online, we need to figure out what jjapaguri actually is. Jjapaguri or Chapaguri (짜파구리) is actually a combination of two different Korean instant noodles “Jjapaghetti (짜파게티)” and “Neoguri (너구리).” In the movie though, they make these two cheap packets of instant noodles into a fancy dish with Hanwoo or Hanu (한우) beef tossed into the mix—another homage to the film’s overarching social commentary.

Jjapaguri: how it’s made

The process is simple:

1. Cook both noodles and their vegetable flakes in boiling water for 2-3 minutes.
2. Then, you’ll need to strain most of the liquid until you have about 6-7 tablespoons of water left. You then dump the entire packet of black bean paste from the Jjapaghetti and half of the Neoguri into the noodles.
3. After that, you need to mix well. That’s how you typically make Jjapaguri.

For the Jjapaguri in Parasite, you might need to fancy it up with more than just a pinkie raise.  You need to cook thinly sliced steak, season the steak to taste and top the Jjapaguri with it.

Now, you can obviously buy the instant noodles and get yourself some fancy Hanwoo beef. But, if you want to really take it to the next level, you can make your own ramen and udon from scratch.

Here’s where a Joyoung’s noodle maker comes in handy. The Joyoung noodle maker let’s you whip up homemade noodles without as much fuss as you’d normally go through. This noodle maker comes with five molds: thin noodle; thick noodle; macaroni, linguine, and fettuccine. It promises to make your noodles in just four simple steps:

1. Pour in the required amount of flour
2. Select the desired pasta mold
3. Add in the required amount of liquid ingredients (be it water, vegetable juice, or egg)
4. Let the noodle maker do its thing and the noodles will be ready in 18 minutes!

If you want to be able to make homemade pasta and ultimately have more control over the ingredients in your Jjapaguri–just minus the fuss, consider getting yourself a Joyoung noodle maker. It’ll have no preservatives and it’ll drastically improve the Jjapaguri you get to try out!

The Joyoung noodle maker is available for only SG$168 (Usual Price: SG$328) and is available on Lazada, Qoo10 and the Turbo Italia’s Website.

All curly-haired women have been in the same situation at some point. Putting out a ton of effort in the morning when it comes to styling. Saying a morning prayer where you ask the universe to cooperate, begging for a good hair day. All these only to be messed with by the elements come lunchtime. With the right hair tool and some products that will ensure your curls stay intact, you can preserve your locks and keep them looking neat for much longer. Let us show you how.

Special thanks to Hotel Bristol Berlin for the venue
Makeup by Mel Montajes