Hello, it's me, Mhownai, your millennial nanay!

Just like you, I'm also stressed, pressured and slowly losing my sanity with this COVID-19. It's normal but we cannot surpass this challenge if we will let stress consume us. Haven't you noticed when you are stressed, you cannot think straight and worse, you tend to feel tedious, irritated and lose connection with our family.

So take it easy, calm yourself down and know that we will all surpass this together.

Be cautious, be alert, prepare for the worse

This may not sound healthy but know this if you have already set a plan for your family, then you don't have to think about what you need to do if the worst-case scenario occurs- if enhance community quarantine will be prolonged if the government won't be giving any relief regardless where you live if your employers of clients won't pay you on time. It's better to know what to do in times like this.


I know moms, we are really good when it comes to advance thinking, we are so cautious; this skill will be beneficial in times like this.

Prepare your family's budget

For me, the best thing we can do is be wise when buying basic needs. It's very important to also have a budget plan in order to make ends meet. In my personal experience, as a freelancer, to be honest, my clients haven't paid me yet. I'm fortunate enough to still live with my parents so we tend to combine all our salaries and savings in order to suffice our food supply good for at least a month.


Here's my personal thing when it comes to budgeting at this point of time: 

I separate my budget into 6 different envelopes. Half of the entire salary will go to the daily needs and the remaining 50 percent will be divided into 10% and will be placed on 5 envelopes. Each envelope corresponds to a specific need for our family:

• Everyday needs: Daily food, Load Allowance for every day, snacks and all. At this point in time, we spend the 'everyday envelope' every other week since we limit ourselves going outside so weekly market visits became every other week- this is in terms of meat and vegetables which is very important since we need to be healthier as ever.
• Emergency funds: This is one of the things I tend to do regardless if there's a pandemic virus or not, this is for unforeseen circumstances in our lives such as house and car repairs, accidents and sudden death. Since panic buying happened before the community quarantine, I spent some of it in order to supply our needs for the entire month (I bought tons of diapers, milk, canned goods, and cleaning supplies). This envelope will be consumed once the everyday needs run out or if my clients haven't paid me yet and we need to do restocking.
• Celebration: Think of this, what you will do after the COVID-19 will be eliminated? Of course, it's better to celebrate. My partner, Jerico and I planned that when the government declared that the Philippines is COVID-19 free our first agenda is to have a staycation. So despite our financial struggles now, we tend to keep a part of our budget in our future staycation. It also keeps me going and it gives me hope that all of this will soon end.
• For the Business: Little did you know that my partner and I have 3 micro businesses on IG and I am an owner of a digital marketing agency. Now that most of the businesses are affected, I tend to keep a part of my salary for my upcoming marketing campaigns as soon as this pandemic virus is over. We business owners need to prepare and tune up our game and turn things around for our business.
• For Payments: This will be allotted for my employees and for the bills payment which tends to be used every month. Before the community quarantine, I manage to pay all my employees their salary and half of their 13th month. It was an amazing feeling- helping other people despite your own struggle and this will make them feel that they're special. Now that we are on enhanced community quarantine, I am forecasting that some of my employees will be asking for a cash advance and although they haven't asked one yet, it's better to be prepared right?
• For my Personal Savings: What's working when you don't have any savings, right? Although everyone is stressed right now when it comes to their income, it's better to have your own personal savings so that when you want to buy something luxurious for yourself, you won't go on a guilt trip for buying it for you- and that is the purpose of this envelope for me. I tend to disregard myself after working so hard and providing for my son and helping in the household which is definitely wrong, this pandemic virus made me realize that it's also beneficial to treat yourself every once in a while because you definitely need it! Although this purpose can also go for the Celebration envelope, it's no harm to save one for yourself, right?

Hi, it;'s me, Mhownai!

Do you have an Emergency Fund? 

As mommies, we really need to have this but if you don't have yet, that's okay. I was in the same situation as you a few years back. I don't really know that this is important not until I experienced being broke, jobless and my son was sick ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Imagine, as a single mom who also is a student- how can I surpass this.

So let me share with you my personal experiences but before anything else, let us talk about how important having an Emergency Fund is whether you're earning more or just enough for your daily living.


Financial emergencies are unforeseen events in your life that require you to use your money immediately. However, these types of emergencies should be related to your health, your family's health, your family's future and/or assets.

Hindi kasama yung kelangan mo bumili ng TV kasi sobrang liit ng TV mo hindi mo mapanuod yung paborito mong Teleserye sa hapon. Hindi rin kasama yung pagpaparebond mo ng buhok dahil mukha ka nang haggard ha? 

Emergency Situations such as Job Loss, Health Issues, Accidents, Fire, Home Repair, Auto Repairs and more. These events should be spent using your emergency fund.

Now that we have understand where and when should we use our Emergency Fund, now, we should know why we need to acquire a good enough amount of Emergency Fund.


In Case You Lose Your Job

As we all know, we can never can tell as to when we will lose our job, most especially if you are a Freelancer like me, I must say, I'm not as fortunate as some of the high paid freelancers who earn so much and/or find more clients so when they lose one, they can easily find a replacement. So it's very important to save for a rainy day for these sudden situations in order to still provide for our family while we are looking for a job.

Same goes for our husband and corporate mommies, we may never know when we will be laid off from work and still, even though you have been with a member of the organization for a very long time, there's no guarantee that you will stay forever in that company. Put it this way- if you will be laid off, then you have enough money to get updated requirements, money to support the family, and most importantly, you have enough money to find another job.

Health is Unpredictable

This is the primary reason why I decided to start an Emergency Fund. Let's be real, fewer Filipinos own a health card and that is purely understandable: Filipinos, in general, opt for survival than security. As a single mom, I more focus on my son's needs rather than saving for a rainy day. But this is so wrong!

If our little one or our husband got sick, where will you get your funds? When will you take them to the hospital? As we all say, prevention is better than cure. So it's better to bring them to the doctor to take urgent care rather than take them to the hospital when the situation is worse. Trust me, I'm always seeing myself in the Emergency Room because I hate going to the hospital to have myself checked.

It's really important to have enough money for any health, dental issue.

Sudden Death and Accidents

This is one of the most terrible situations that will happen to our family yet, unfortunately, we cannot control it. This is why for these situations, it's very important for you to have the funds for it. Lucky if we don't use it but if we do, at least we have money to use.

I remember when our house helper's son died unexpectedly, she didn't have that money to use in order to go to his son's location nor to spend for the burial. With my Emergency Fund, I was able to give her some cash to bring with her to support her transport fee and support some of the burial expenses.

Lowers Down Stress and Financial

Imagine if we have enough money, how does this feel? Of course, we can achieve peace of mind and clarity in our hearts. When I accumulated some Emergency Fund, I am not bothered to go to the hospital or face unexpected scenarios because I know I can carry on with our life.

Now there's a COVID-19, this is where we spend most of our Emergency Fund goes. Most of the people don't have that money to do panic buying which is why we can use this fund to supply our family's needs what's more, now that there are more clients pulling out because their income will also be affected due to the fact that most businesses are closed; some Filipinos are either work from home or no work, no pay at all. Having that emergency fund will give you peace of mind and we won't have so much stress as to asking ourselves where we can gather enough funds to support this long-time quarantine which can be prolonged depending on the situation.

Keeps You On A Budget

As homemakers, we mostly do the budgeting, if we also know how to allocate our money, we have enough cash that we can use on a daily basis. With this method as well, we avoid overspending and go beyond our target budget because our funds are already assigned to a specific category.

Stay tuned in my upcoming blogs as to how we can budget our money more with a minimal income and build our emergency fund little by little.

Hello, It's me, Mhownai, Your Millennial Nanay, 

As of writing, the number of cases of COVID-19 virus had already reached 49 as confirmed by the Department of Health (DOH).

As a mom, it really bothers me that we are not really safe wherever we go and in reality, the healthcare system in the Philippines is really expensive so it really makes me wonder how can the less fortunate have themselves tested for the said virus even though the Philhealth recently announced that testing for COVID-19 is already free.

Would people put attention their health first before putting food into their family's table? I don't think so.

Which is why, we, moms and superwoman of our household really need to take in action to fight this virus. We need to do it right now!


1. Get yourself tested if you seem to show symptoms of the virus

One of the most common connotations of Filipinos are "Wala akong pera pampa-hospital" just so you know the DOH declared recently that tests for COVID-19 are free for all, it is necessary for people who are less fortunate and have the mindset of 'food for the family now, health later'.

Go to the nearest hospital and ask if they are offering COVID-19 tests and have yourself checked before you feel sorry. If ever the results will be positive, you don't also have to worry because the quarantine fee is also free.

2. Avoid crowded places

This is one of the toughest things to do most especially if your workforce required you to report to the office every day. If this occurs, do not go anywhere else, go straight at work and home immediately. Avoid yourself to be more exposed to the virus more than ever.

3. Sanitize and maintain good hygiene

Equip yourself with the alcohol, hand sanitizers at all time most especially when you are going to other places. Wearing face masks and bringing a tissue with you is also ideal for you to bring because it also keeps yourself germ-free at all times.

Your Millennial Nanay advises bringing a pouch with you that consists of all these essentials in order for you to bring it with you all the time, packed and easy to access.

4. Never touch your face

If you feel like coughing or sneezing most especially when you are in a public place, sneeze or cough behind your elbows instead of covering your face with your hands or a tissue in this way, the disease, dirt, and germs won't be contaminated to your hands which is quite easy for the germs to be transferred as we use our hands all the time.

After sneezing or coughing, it's also recommended for you to wash your hands if water and soap are accessible or use a hand sanitizer or alcohol to remove the germs of your body.

5. Make your immune system stronger than ever

Let you and your family eat regular vegetables, vitamins, and minerals in this way, your body has enough protection to fight the disease.

6. Make your environment as clean as possible

What's the point of making our selves clean if our environment is messy? Right?

It's very important that we also take advantage of the suspension of classes to clean our surroundings and ensure that our household is also free from the virus. Use the necessary products that kill bacteria and focus on the parts of your house wherein most people are gathering such as living room, dining room, kitchen, and other common areas.

Also, regularly change your bedsheets to avoid possible virus to be directly transferred in your body.

After the general cleaning, make sure to clean yourself after.


Have a healthy diet and make yourself healthy as much as possible, regular exercise can be helpful.

We can all fight this virus! Stay healthy and safe, everyone.

Image: Unsplash

Hi, it's me, Mhownai, your millennial nanay.

And just like you, I'm also stressed. Back in 2018, I was diagnosed with clinical depression and severe anxiety; I was taking up medications to improve my mind's being but then I realized that NONE OF IT HELPED ME.

So I was stuck!

Days turned into months, months turned into years- I lead me to my rock-bottom. It was horrible and I realized that the only way for me to cope with this situation is to work, work and work. I don't address my mental state nor recognize my emotions because at that time my mindset is "I'm a single mom, I have no time for this" but this leads me to frustrations and leads me to feel not motivated to do anything. I came to a point wherein I wake up feeling pumped up and when I'm trying to do it seems like all motivations and inspirations were gone in thin air.

That also made me realize that it's time to finally press the pause button and reflect, heal and go back to my roots so that I can show more of myself.

There are so many things I did in order to achieve a healthier mind, but I broke it down to these 6 simple steps which are doable and achievable.

Image: Unsplash

Hello there!

It's me, Mhownai.

First and foremost, Congratulations! 

You were able to keep up and juggle two responsibilities, you are maintaining your composure while on the edge of giving up, you are healing while making yourself stronger than ever.

I'm so proud of you.

You may feel burdened and maybe you think that your kid is just another thing that holds you back with the things you wanted to do or the goals you are wanting to achieve but eventually, you will realize that you are made for this role- a mom.

Just like you, I'm also feeling the same thing when I just broke up with my ex and I felt like my son was something that causes me to stress and feel burden but after learning from what I have experienced and all the pains, hurts and trauma, I realized that there is something more than that.

• I realized that if I didn't have my son, I wouldn't be able to have a stronger relationship with my parents
• If I didn't have my son, I wouldn't be able to finish college, have a business and work as a freelancer
• If I didn't have my son, I will still stay on the toxic, abusive and terrible relationship
• If I didn't have my son, I wouldn't be able to know that I am more than what I think I am 
• If I didn't have my son, I wouldn't be able to make myself believe that I DESERVE MORE! 
• If I didn't have my son, I won't use my voice, my platform and my talent to inspire, empower and nurture single moms like me. 

After months of hiatus on the online surface, I have realized so much. The time I have given for myself is just so empowering that I was able to give myself the chance to reframe my priorities and be able to work my way through my success.


Yes, it may be a long shot but I know that these things are really the way for me to achieve my growth.

After so many years of writing, I never questioned myself "What am I doing this" "What is God's plan for me?" and then after attending an NLP seminar, it gave me clarity and peace to figure out my true passion- to reach people's lives. The things happened in my past are my stepping stone of what I will become and because of this, I have nothing to hold grudges for.

I'm so ready for you, March! I'm really excited to see and reveal my true capabilities.

See you in my next post!