Wondering what best goes with Starbucks Banana Split Mocha Frappuccino and Irish Cream Coffee Pudding Frappuccino, the newest yet Frappuccino flavors, or your perfectly brewed cup of coffee? Well, Starbucks introduces food items to complement them. The new Lime Torte Cake is a symphony of flavors and texture with its sweet and tangy flavor partnered with crunchy and crumbly cake.


The Mango Crunch Cake will surely delight for those looking for traditional Filipino flavors with smooth and creamy mousse with Philippine mangoes layered with crumbly and buttery graham and crunchy white almond. The Chocolate Marshmallow Cake, a moist chocolate layer cake with smooth and creamy chocolate truffle and then frosted with marshmallow icing will surely entice Chocolate lovers.


Looking for a delectable and healthy treat? Starbucks also has two new Greek Yogurt Parfaits, the Blueberry Greek Yogurt Parfait is made with creamy Greek yogurt layered with a sweet and tart blueberry compote and then topped with crunchy oat granola while the Mango Greek Yogurt Parfait is made with sweet mango compote and Greek yogurt finished with a sprinkling of crunchy oat granola.


The Whole Wheat Bagel made with linseeds, rye and soy grits, corn semolina, and oats is another perfect complement to your coffee. The Bagel Bites filled with Cream Cheese, the mini herbed bagels are generously stuffed with cream cheese is a more savory option that will surely satisfy you with every bite.




This month, Starbucks Cards three new designs is now available: the Chill Mini Card, Iced Coffee Card, and the Father's Day Card. The Chill Mini Card and the Father's Day Card are available for a minimum activation fee of 500 pesos. The Iced Coffee Card is available for a minimum activation fee of 1,000 pesos.

New Starbucks Frappuccino Flavors and Food items posted at Cebu Events Blog

IDP Education holds ‘Discover Australia, Canada and New Zealand’, a FREE Study-abroad session at A Space, Crossroads in Banilad, Cebu City from 1 to 5 pm on Saturday, May 27, 2017. IDP Study Abroad Sessions is an in-depth discussions set at IDP Education’s Discover Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Discover Australia, Canada and New Zealand brings a fresh new perspective to the prospect of studying abroad. It includes virtual tours of the country destinations and talks by students who have completed their programs.  Through the experience-sharing sessions, students are offered in-depth information on the lifestyle on- and off-campus.

Free Flowing of Discussion
IDP Education’s Qualified Education Agent Counsellors (QEACs) will be having talks about the admissions and visa application processes which will benefits the participants as well as IDP’s student services discussions. Games and free-flowing of fruitful discussions is also at stake at Discover Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Counselling and Guidance
Students may avail of one-on-one counselling services from the QEACs.  The QEACs are capable of guiding students through the process of choosing the best country and city destination, school, program and provide information on living arrangements.  Through the IDP Student Services, the QEACs dispense expert advice and assistance in student placement free of charge. Students may bring their transcripts of records, passports and IELTS results, if available, for free assessments.

Established by Australian Universities in 1969, IDP now counts over 45 years of experience in international education. IDP Education is an ASX listed company that is 50% owned by 38 Australian universities. It has a network of 89 offices in 30 countries offering student placement and English language testing services. Through its subsidiary IELTS Australia Pty Ltd, IDP is a partner in IELTS, the world’s leading English language proficiency test, delivered at over 450 test locations in 121 countries.

IDP Philippines has been part of IDP Education since 1985. Aside from administering the IELTS, IDP offers free student placement services though partnering with universities and colleges across Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

For more information, students may call IDP Education Cebu Office at 236 2758 for reservations and more information on Discover Australia, Canada and New Zealand. You may also visit www.idp.com/philippines/studyabroad or check out IELTS IDP Education on facebook for more updates.

With Bosch commitment to create quality and competitive products and making your time in the kitchen as pleasant as possible, Bosch opens a deluxe showroom in the Philippines, located at the Design Center Cebu in Mandaue City. This also means a wider audience in the Visayas-Mindanao.

Bosch Visionary appliances such as those in their Series 8 line were showcase, featuring cookware with intuitive control wheel and TFT-touch display. A whole new meaning to the term easy cooking indeed. Bosch cutting-edge technology and timeless displays make Bosch appliances truly a stand out, and at the same time a perfect fit, in you kitchen.

Bosch brand advocates environmental sustainability, several Bosch appliances are denoted with a symbol read as “Green Technology inside" which describe their particularly resource-saving technologies. Technologies that not only protect the environment but also tangibly enhance our quality of everyday’s life.

Bosch has a complete line of small and major domestic kitchen appliances with exclusive two-year warranty, setting the standards in innovation and functionality and inherited as a German-made brand.

Häfele Philippines, Inc. is an authorized retail and project channel partner of Bosch for the Philippine market. Experience for yourself the beauty and sophistication of Bosch kitchen appliances. Visit the Bosch showroom at A.S. Fortuna cor. P. Remedios St.Mandaue City,Cebu and be treated with a 30 percent Discount until June 5, 2017.

Bosch Kitchen Appliances Design Center Cebu Showroom posted at Cebu Events Blog

Philam Life Certified Investment Solicitor Nilo B. Matunog talks about Philam Life's "Live Ready" campaign and Financial Literacy with emphasis on Savings and Education.
Financial stability is a critical factor that parents should take into serious consideration in planning for the education of their children. It is extremely important, therefore, for parents to start making plans for financing the schooling of their children as early as possible. One effective way to do this is to take out an education insurance policy that will greatly help in easing the worries, problems and the mental and emotional stress attendant to fulfilling this parental obligation.

Philam Life's Live Ready Campaign
With a goal to help fellow Filipinos to live longer, healthier, and better lives through better financial planning, Live Ready Financial Literacy Campaign is conceived to communicate to Filipinos the importance of proper financial planning. Live Ready campaign simply want to help create financially literate Filipino families, and build a financially stable nation.

Financial Literacy in the Philippines
Financial literacy in the Philippines is very low. According to a study:

• 96% of Filipinos are concerned about their and their family’s health. However, only 16% are prepared to pay for medical costs in case they are diagnosed with a critical illness. 
• Only 230 out of 1,000 Filipinos who started grade 1 will go to college. This is due to a number of factors, one of which is the lack of funds to support high school and college education. 
• 80% of the workforce plan to retire by 50, but none can even afford to retire at 65.

Importance of Planning and Saving for future Needs
Mr. Nilo Matunog encourages people to start saving and planning as early as possible. Financial planning teaches us to be responsible when it comes to our finances. Aside from that, it builds the discipline one needs in order to stay on track of their goals. If done right, financial planning ensures financial security now and in the future, even if the unexpected happens.

Majority of us belong to what they call as "sandwich generation", where within the family that takes care of their children and support their parents at the same time. This can be a very difficult financial burden to overcome, especially if the children are in school and the costs to maintain the health of older family members are starting to increase. his also prevents current breadwinners to prepare for their own financial needs, especially when they retire. Eventually, they would have to depend on their children for their living and medical expenses. And the cycle continues.

With financial planning, the cycle can be stop and ensure that everyone achieves their goals and dreams.

Differentiate your Goals
Understand the difference among short-term, medium-term and long-term goals or dreams.

• Short-term goals includes monthly living expenses such as food, rent or amortization, transportation, groceries, clothing, utility bills, school fees among others. Emergency fund should also be part of the short-term goals ideally, 3-6 months of living expenses should be set aside in case something unfortunate happens like loss of a job or disability.
• Medium-term goals are those you want to achieve in 1-5 years. Buying a car, owning a house, going on a family vacation are examples of these goals. 
• Long-term goals or dreams are those that can take more than 5 years to achieve like sending a child to college and retiring at age 60.

For every goal or dream, you have to put a monetary value. Then, you have to know your financial position. The ability to achieve your financial goals are defined by your financial position.

Secure a Good Financial Position
There are many ways to secure a good financial position.

• Settle unpaid credit card bills and other loans. These liabilities can decrease one's financial worth. 
• Staying out of unnecessary debts. There are two kinds of debt, the good debt and the unnecessary debt. Good debt helps you manage cash better, for example, run a business. Unnecessary debts are those that lets you buy things you don’t really need.
• Saving before spending. The typical savings mentality is spending and then saving what’s left from their income. This jeopardizes the process because what if nothing was left? Then there will be nothing to save. Set an amount for regular savings and keep one’s expenses within what remains.

How much should we save, exactly?
The widely-accepted formula is 80-20 which  means you have to save 20% of your monthly income and spend the rest on your living and other expenses. But the reality is, more often than not, just saving a part of your income will not be enough. It can take you years and years and build the money you need and still end up not achieving your goals.

Match your goals to the right financial vehicle:

• Short Term Goals - you need to have available cash that you can easily get such as Savings accounts in banks.
• For medium-term and long-term goals however, you can opt for Investments which can give you higher returns. 

The challenge part is that the cost of your goals now will not be the same in 5 or 15 years. In planning you have to consider inflation over 15 years. Its an overwhelming amount and Savings accounts will not be enough to come up with the money you need. That’s where other financial vehicles like Investments come in. There are different types of investments that you can choose from based on your goals, how much time you have to achieve them, among others.

Conclusion
Financial planning is the key to achieve your goals and dreams, and it is important to do it as early as possible. It is also good advice to keep your eye on the goal. This way, you don’t get easily swayed to make unnecessary purchases and the money you have is used for the right purpose to help you achieve your goals.

Finally, talk to an expert. A Financial Advisor can help you help you plan for your future, guide through the process, and provide you with the right financial solutions for your financial goals. Financial planning takes a lot of hard work and a lot of discipline.

Philam Life empower Filipinos achieve financial security and prosperity. Ready to help you plan for and achieve your dreams. Visit Philam Life on the web at www.philamlife.com and know more about how you can Live Ready!

Philam Life's Live Ready Financial Literacy Campaign posted at Cebu Events Blog

Maybank Foundation is the implementing Group for Maybank Group's Corporate Sustainability Programme in Southeast Asia. Its flagship program, R.I.S.E. or Reach Independence & Sustainable Entrepreneurship is designed to create economic independence and financial inclusion. In the Philippines, R.I.S.E. is being implemented through Maybank Foundation’s partner organizations, People Systems Consultancy and the Philippines’ Department of Social Welfare and Development.

In Metro Cebu, they are targeting to build capabilities of 200 people with disabilities (PWDs) via a structured training and mentoring program. 50 selected PWDs are immersed a 3-day Entrepreneurship and Financial Training session at Dohera Hotel in Mandaue City and attended by no other than Shahril Azuar Jimin, Maybank Foundation CEO and Pollie Sim, Maybank International CEO. The 3 day training will be followed by a six-month mentoring period where participants will be trained, coached and mentored to develop their entrepreneurial skills in order to help them achieve higher income levels and improve their overall standard of living. Earlier this year, 117 PWDs has gone through similar training in Metro Manila which form part as the first phase of the program.

This year marks Maybank’s 20th year of operations in the Philippines and timely enough to celebrate their significant milestone with the roll out R.I.S.E. in the Philippines. It presently has 80 branches nationwide where 4 branches are in Cebu.


Their commitment to support and empower the disadvantaged, especially PWDs, is very much in line with Maybank’s mission of humanizing financial services according to Mr. Shahril. They believe that in helping all segments of the community to gain financial independence can contribute to the overall prosperity and sustainability of the society at large. The encouraging outcome of the initial run inspired Maybank Foundation to scale up the R.I.S.E. program to benefit a bigger number of disadvantaged people.


Financial inclusion is still at a relatively low level in ASEAN, especially among the disabled and marginalized, and taking on this advocacy is Maybank’s way of supporting the bigger regional agenda of furthering financial inclusion across ASEAN according to Pollie.

Lunched in January 2017, R.I.S.E has now completed 3 batches of training  in Makati City, Las Piñas and San Juan, after Mandaue City, 2 more training sessions will be conducted in the coming weeks in Cebu City and one in Talisay City. Maybank Foundation is pouring a significant investment in Corporate Social Responsibility, an initial 6 million pesos for the R.I.S.E. entrepreneurship-mentor-ship programme in the Philippines.


On its second phase, R.I.S.E has already trained and impacted a total of 1,900 participants regionally in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. It's aim is to have at least 40 percent of its participants gain an income increase of 100% within three months. R.I.S.E. is presently being run in three countries: Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines.

Maybank Foundation RISE Program for PWDs posted at Cebu Events Blog