PhilHealth

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, or PhilHealth, will be increasing it's premium from 100PHP a month to 200 PHP a month. I called PhilHealth this morning, the increase will be effective July 1. Here's a news article about this from The Philippine Star:

Higher premiums for individual members of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) will take effect on July 1.
PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Eduardo Banzon said the premium of members under the individually paying program (IPP) will increase from P1,200 to P2,400 per year.

The person who spoke to me about this told me that I could pre-pay my premiums for 1 year up to 2 years, I would be paying 1200 to 2400 for those years. Not bad.

Deadline for this is June 30.

Chat Girls

I've seen the ad on craigslist a few times before. I did a bit of research and I think there is a market for this. Japanese men have always been wanting different kinds of entertainment so I wouldn't be surprised with this one:

Welcome at Live Video Chat registration in Japan Online
Chat Girls Wanted!

 We are currently looking for chat girls.

 Become a chat girl and earn money from home.

 Japanese Learners? Earn money by chatting and practicing with Japanese members. (You don't need to be Japanese Learners to start this job.)


Benefits

 Earn money from the comfort of your home

 You set your own hours

 Choose Platonic chat or Adult chat

 Earn money every minute you chat (No free chat for you to waste your time)

 Learn Japanese by earning money
(Japanese is not required)

 Can chat with up to 100 people simultaneously.
Be a star and get Centuple (100) pay 

There is no need to get naked and do "stuff" unless the chat operator wants to. I wonder if there are girls out there who are interested....

Writing Jobs

I was able to collect some sites that are looking for writers:

Quality Gal

WriterBay

iWriter

Homebased Freelancers: A New Breed of Filipino Workers

Interesting read. I am not working for oDesk but I do work for US/Canadian clients. Homebased freelance work is the growing trend everywhere, especially here in the Philippines. Yes, I turn night into day and day into night just to make a living but it's all worth it. 


I'm glad the writer of the blog recognizes how good most Filipino homebased workers are.

So, why do we care that Philippines is awake all the time? The immediate benefit is that getting a team in Philippines can ensure the availability of labor for handling real-time tasks. If you have a human-powered application, you do not want to have any dead periods of time, where the application is slowing down or becomes completely unresponsive. However, by hiring people from Philippines, it is possible to have a "private crowd" available around the clock, by simply asking the Philippines contractors to "show up" at different points during the day/week.

Philippines: The country that never sleeps (or, When is the world working? The oDesk Edition) 

Getting Started with Online Work

Got this from Basta Homebased:


A few tips for those who want to start with online jobs on oDesk, elance, freelancer. (or any other online job portal)

- It takes time to get your first contract. Don't go into online work expecting a full time job immediately. The competition is high - welcome to the global marketplace.

- Always keep your profiles updated. Add in any work experience, finished projects, new skills and training. Linkedin is a great tool for people shifting from regular work to online work because your workmates and superiors in the real world can give you recommendations there.

- The best approach is to hold a regular job then keep bidding on small contracts. Once you've built enough reputation or logged hours, you can try your hand on the full time gigs.

- The more hours and the better reputation you have, the more likely you will be selected for interview.

- It is possible to land a job if you have a unique skill set that's needed by a client. Just make sure you have a way to showcase it. Portfolios, voice recordings and samples of your work should be made available to prospective clients.

- I cannot stress the importance of good equipment, reliable electricity and internet connection. Ideally you should be able to stay connected and productive 98% of the time. So backup power, computers and electricity are a must, especially if you're dealing with very lucrative projects.

- Integrity, professionalism and good work ethics. These are not just buzz words or metrics now. These are basic expectations.

- We do not have 13th month pay, paid vacation and sick leaves. You will need to make sure you have a buffer fund for expenses. I recommend maintaining an amount equal to 3 months of your monthly expenses. This should also be enough to cover expenses during the gap between projects.

- Keep a separate work area. It should be clear of distractions and unnecessary noise. This is very important for people doing voice support.

- You will need to open a paypal account and a local bank account. Union Bank's EON, BDO and BPI (main not the savings) are used by most of the people in the group.

- Use up all your job application slots. Getting a job in these portals is similar to a raffle. The more entries you have, the more chances of winning. Always browse the job listings and have your custom cover letters ready.

- You will need to take care of your own taxes, sss, health and insurance coverage. Health coverage is critical especially if you have a family. Remember " no work , no pay " is the reality for online contractors.

- Its good practice to have multiple contracts at the same time. As long as their schedules don't conflict. This keeps the flow of earnings relatively steady. 1 full time and 1 small project is recommended at the minimum for full time home based workers.

Don't be afraid to ask group, that is why it was created : to share and help each other thrive in this field.

I will continue to update this document with new and useful info. If you have anything to contribute just post a comment and I'll add it in. Grammar and typo corrections appreciated too. :)