By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
The latest one was our electrical bill at home that was delivered last weekend. It was shocking. We used to pay just P2,000.00 per month, give or take. But what came last Saturday made me almost fall off my seat. It was that amount plus about P3,500.00. That hefty increase can be the monthly budget for one small family in an economically dire situation.
Then there are the high prices of everything which we predicted here the many months ago due to the Middle East war and which will not end anytime soon.
So how can people afford big increases in bills along with the high prices of everything else?
Its either you save even more or have to earn a lot more than what you had been earning the past months. Saving more is beyond us as we have already hit rock bottom. With the pricey medicines for my heart and kidney condition, I am forced to think of the other way, how to earn more from what we have right now.
So arriving at the office, I asked the question, what other business can we operate with our existing office as the main place of business? That means almost no additional overhead cost – or, if ever, very minimal?
That meant I had to dig down memory lane for the kinds of small businesses where I have some expertise. Those that don’t need much capital as I have been sidelined from law practice the past five years by various illnesses. And am still on heavy medication. Which have been, and is still draining, our almost non-existent financial resources. Thank
God though, our almost hand-to-mouth existence haven been reliably consistent over the years despite my condition. Five years of going in and out of the hospital is no joke.
But I digress. Going back to small businesses I can additionally operate, the easiest ones are the usual buy and sell kind. Or the ones where I had been involved in before.
The past months I had been entertaining myself with the adventures and the attendant problems American expats have been facing in Southeast Asia. From what I have learned, they usually come because their pension go a lot further here. Another thing I learned is, in contrast to average Filipinos, they consistently read so they patronize second hand book stores everywhere in order to save.
Eureka! Yes, I once operated a small book shop along Session Road during my student days. I have seen the other day one like that in town whose area of operation is international with the Internet and other communication options.
I can operate again one like that in our office with new come-ons like allowing extended reading plus coffee or tea. These can go along in addition to our usual notarial and legal consultancy services.
While things will be a bit hodge-podge operation by a sick man with chronic kidney and heart issues, it can fetch some more much-needed cash.
How I wish I can go back to full-service law practice, but I have to admit I am not yet well enough for that. Perhaps, some other time.
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