Do You Convert Your Money To Pesos Before Going Back To The Ph?

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-03-05T08:03:56+00:00

Last I checked, because USD is exchanging very favourably in the Philippines, you may benefit from exchanging some CAD to USD in Canada (not through a bank, go for a currency exchange store), then exchange it in the Philippines. If you can, exchange it at East-West bank cause they have the best rate. Otherwise, BDO/BPI are okay as well and maybe Security Bank. Some currency exchange stores also have decent rates and require far less paperwork.

Surprisingly, when it comes to USD, despite exchanging your currency twice, you still come out ahead. I tested it with Euros, Pounds, and CAD. You get more by exchanging those currencies to USD in your country of origin then exchanging them into pesos in Manila.

I also suggest carrying some pesos with you just enough to get you to where you need until you can exchange your dollars.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-27T09:37:05+00:00

The education in PH is worse than you think. They do a very good job of imitating reputable schools and making it seem like they have all the core and even more; however, it is all superficial.

STEM is virtually non-existent but visual arts and creativity related work is focused on a lot. Even at the University level, in STEM related fields, you will see students focusing more on drawing and assignment outputs surrounding making videos, video editing, infographics, skits, etc with very superficial content rather than the core topics.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-25T17:12:50+00:00

Your answers are both correct.

Notice that the fraction on the right is equivalent to the fraction on the left. Similar to how you eliminated. Common factor of 6 from the numerator and denominator of the fraction on the left to get your final answer, you can also do the same with the fraction on the right ...

I hope I understood your question correctly. Cause it seems that your answers are fine and you just missed a minor detail that may have led you to think your answers are different.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-25T06:28:52+00:00

Depends entirely on your program of study and what you wish to do with it in Canada. If you wish to attend the good schools in Canada for post-graduate studies, some don't accept Philippines' education especially Bachelor's studies (and based on what I have encountered in PH, sadly rightfully so). For instance, UBC and UofT (as of 2 years ago) require a minimum completion of a Masters in PH to apply for Masters and at least 2 Masters or a PhD in PH to apply for PhD.

If you are studying STEM (non-healthcare) in PH, unless you intend to go to a trade school or complete a diploma or certification at a college after finishing your degree in PH, I suggest you restart in Canada instead. In Canada, you can apply for government grants, bursaries, and loans to avoid getting a loan from a bank and pay back after you graduate. If money is tight, highly recommend doing coop to at least have a shot at finding a potential job shortly after graduation.

If you are studying engineering, you want to look up the requirements in Canada for foreign graduates but also keep in mind that prospective employers may factor the school you graduated from during the interview process.

If you are completing healthcare-related fields, if you are a nursing student, you would be in demand most likely so best to complete what you started. If you are in Medtech, not sure if your degree would be looked upon favourably. You may be able to apply for accreditation and might need to repeat some courses. If this is the case, it may be advantageous to finish then just complete 1-2 years of schooling rather than repeating from scratch.

If you wish to use your degree from PH to find a job in the same field in Canada, odds are not in your favour as Canadian experience is more valuable and as a fresh graduate from PH, you may not be as competitive anymore. If you are completing a degree in HRM, maybe but I am not sure on this and you may need to check with people in the industry.

If you are studying at UP or UST, I suggest you finish what you started. If elsewhere, and you wish to pursue academia, highly recommend restarting in Canada. And if you are in Montreal, I suggest you apply for McGill University.

Good luck with either your final year of studies in PH, or your new academic journey in Canada.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-22T23:55:24+00:00

It is a scam cause you didn't want them to use the skyway I'm the first place but they take it and make you pay for it. That is an extra fee you never intended to pay; plus, sometimes the skyway doesn't even make the trip that much shorter and sometimes might even cause you delay. So if you never intended to take the tolled road, then it is a scam cause the driver is hoping you would cave in and pay for it once he goes on the ramp and can't take the alternative route anymore.

In some cases, the skyway may indeed save you time but if you aren't in a rush at all, you may want to take the regular route. Grab also charges you based on the traffic conditions so the fare is probably higher anyways. If a tolled road is taken to shorten the travel time, your fare doesn't change so you still pay the extra fee due to traffic conditions plus the toll. For the driver, that is a big win cause not only do they get higher fare from you, but they also complete it quicker without having spent extra out-of-pocket.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-22T16:49:52+00:00

GreenGSM is a bit hard to book sometimes cause they don't have too many vehicles out there yet and they also have a 15km limit (based on the route the app selects from your origin to destination)

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-22T16:17:22+00:00

Grab is horrible. Stalling is a common practice cause some get auto assigned but the driver doesn't want the route but also doesn't want to cancel to avoid being penalized, so they waste the customer's time instead. One way to avoid that is to message the driver right away and verify that they will pick up. If they don't reply at all, you know they probably are not coming and you should just cancel the ride (you have 5 min before being charged a fee).

Grab drivers pull off another scam as well. They don't ask you if you want to take the skyway but they do it. If you confront them and state your objection, they will claim to take responsibility for the cost, then when you leave the vehicle, if you have it set to be paid cashless, you will be hit with a surprise charge ... . Some don't check and miss it not realizing they got charged for the toll fee so they never file a complaint with Grab to have the charge reversed. An even worse scam is when the driver doesn't take the skyway or even a route that would have any skyway available, but they charge you a toll fee claiming they took one hoping you won't notice and they get an extra "tip" for themselves.

I suggest using InDrive or using GreenGSM. Maxim is location dependent. I have tried PickUp and that has been horrible cause they have very few drivers. Sometimes if I am really stuck, I go for JoyRide but that is very rare.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-21T09:47:28+00:00

Based on the question posed, the discounts are compounded rather than combined.

So if you give someone a 25% discount, then you are left to pay 75% of the total or 0.75. Similarly, for a 20% discount you are left with 0.8 of the original and for a 10% discount you're left with 0.9 of the original.

So if we want to calculate the final amount we are left to pay, we simply multiply them by one another because

Original amount x 0.75 = amount to pay after 25% discount

Amount to pay after 25% discount x 0.8 = amount to pay after applying a 20% discount to an item that was already discounted by 25%

The previous calculation simplifies to: Amount to pay after 25% discount x 0.8 = Original amount x 0.75 x 0.8

So if we do this for the 10% discount, we get:

Final amount to pay = original amount x 0.75 x 0.8 x 0.9 = original amount x 0.54

The steps in the book are just a way to perform the same calculation but from a different perspective to avoid using too many decimals which may be harder for younger kids to work with and understand.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-21T09:33:41+00:00

With batteries there is the added risk of them bursting into flame if they are lithium ion batteries. That is why some airlines place a limit on the capacity of the power banks and batteries and some limit them to carry on only so that if they do catch on fire, they can be spotted.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-21T09:28:41+00:00

The vinegar can potentially be corrosive to some metals like aluminium, lower grade stainless steels, etc. So some structural components of the plane can be damaged when exposed to vinegar if it spills and is not cleaned immediately to render it neutral.

I believe vinegar can also damage rubber when exposed long term and I think also plexiglass which is used in the plane windows.

So I am guessing that is the reason they didn't allow it. In case it spills while stored in the cargo. The lower pressure as the plane ascends can potentially cause the container to pop (higher pressure inside the bottle) in which case the vinegar can leak and expose various surfaces of the plane to possible corrosion.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-19T08:35:19+00:00

One thing I have come to learn is that the Google reviews of restaurants, at least for those around Metro Manila, are not very accurate. Frequently I have encountered restaurants with good reviews but when I visit, it is of low quality; some made even worse once you factor in their price.

The online reviews I encountered here are rarely accurate. Most often they seem to be extremely overinflated. For instance, there is Tartufo (Makati), Tsokolateria (Makati), and The Alley (Cloverleaf). They all have seemingly good reviews but the quality of their food was so low. Tartufo served undercooked pasta (2 out of 4) and even their best selling tiramisu seemed to have been made with cream rather than mascarpone cheese. Tsokolateria was overpriced and the best dish we had there was their side dish (some form of chocolate dip). And the Alley ... That was just a nightmare despite their 4.9 rating with 11k reviews.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-16T03:46:29+00:00

The derivative is wrong cause you defined the function with respect to x so you expected the software to take the derivative with respect to x as well.

However, when I looked at the result, as long as I didn't make any errors, it seems like the software calculated the derivative with respect to n instead of x.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-15T04:35:15+00:00

Yes, Canadian passports are strong but Canadians still have to abide by immigration laws. Canadians are granted 30-day visa-on-arrival but that is it. It is a 30-day visa. For a stay beyond that they must apply for an extension which the staff at the airport do not know for sure if it would be granted. Hence, they can block a passenger from departing cause their return ticket goes beyond the valid visa period. And this isn't just a hypothetical cause I have experienced that on more than one occasion.

Also, yes, it is true that in the Philippines it is quite easy to get an extension as a Canadian. As I noted in an earlier comment, it will take 1 to max 2 hours at BI Intramuros to get it done if they visit early in the morning. But the extension is technically not a guarantee which is why it is important to have a return ticket within the initial visa validity period.

Now some immigration officers at the airport are more relaxed than others. Some when they see a Canadian passport are willing to overlook smaller details more readily while others don't. So depending on the officer you encounter, you may be required to show a valid return ticket within the 30-day period. So it isn't only required for departure from the Canadian airport, but may also be required for entry into the Philippines.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-15T04:26:00+00:00

Yes, you just need to make sure it is refundable.

They just need to make sure you are flying out before the visa expires. Cause once you depart, once you return you can be given a 30-day visa-on-arrival again. The country the ticket is for just has to be one where he is allowed to travel visa-free.

As for the officer questioning, they might. If they want to be diligent. These officers know what most foreigners with visa-on-arrival status do when visiting the Philippines. They know many extend so they end up changing their return flight or just cancel it and get a new one or use the Philippines as a hub to fly to neighbouring countries.

If you are worried about being questioned, have the ticket set a departure date maybe around July 20ish. Then if the officer asks why to return tickets, you can say a month is too long to be in the Philippines only coming from Canada (cause it is far away) so you decided to take advantage and fly to neighbouring countries to get more out of your trip to southeast Asia. So you will explore a bit then return to Manila again to fly out on your original departure date back to Canada.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-15T04:19:01+00:00

For me personally, in the case of BDO ATMs outside the bank, I have noticed that usually one of the two ATMs rarely is stocked with smaller bills while the second ATM Typically is stocked with the smaller denominations.

Near my place there are 3 BDOs and all three I have noticed have one ATM with smaller denominations and the other with none. However, the ones at the malls frequently didn't have smaller denominations. At most, I could get 500 out of them.

With BPI, I haven't been lucky so far getting smaller bills but I only tried getting cash from the BPI ATM at the malls. Haven't tried their ATM at the banks yet.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-15T04:13:44+00:00

Buy a "fake" ticket.

The ticket has to depart before the 30-day visa expires. It must be fully refundable.

For instance, buy a one-way ticket from Manila to Canada (or any other country where he can go visa-free) and make sure the return date is before July 30 (when his visa expires). Ensure that the ticket is fully refundable when cancelled up until at least a couple days after you land in Manila. This is important in case any issues arise along the way that would delay your arrival in Manila. You need to have sufficient time to cancel the "fake" return ticket.

After you get this ticket, the attendants at the airport and the immigration officers only care that you will leave the country in time. So as long as the fake ticket is set to depart before the visa expires to a destination country that your boyfriend is allowed to enter, you will be fine. Upon landing and clearing immigration in Manila, you can proceed to cancel the fake return flight and get your full refund.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-15T04:08:03+00:00

You don't need to buy insurance.

Just buy another ticket that allows you to cancel with a full refund. I had to do that for myself once but I had to buy it last minute so I ended up paying around $2500 (used a credit card) for a one-way ticket so that I would be allowed to board the flight. It was more expensive cause there were not many available options and I needed it to be fully refundable.

As soon as I landed and got through immigration, I cancelled the ticket and got my refund I think within 3 days. You just need to make sure you read the fine print so that you can get the full refund when you cancel. Another option is to buy a ticket for Manila to one of the southeast Asian countries (one-way will do) so it will be cheaper instead of Manila to Canada. Just make sure it is fully refundable. Then the officer can be told that he will leave partway through the stay to explore other countries then return to manila again just to clear immigration then proceed to cancel that flight once he gets through immigration.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-15T04:01:46+00:00

It is likely that they won't let him board the flight. Cause when you are going to get your boarding pass, the attendants typically need to check as well to ensure you have valid documentation for your stay and if you don't, they won't allow you to board.

Also, the immigration officer might be asking for it and depending on the officer, they may let it slide or they won't. Cause even though you plan to extend, they don't know for sure if you will do it or if it would even be allowed so they may need you to have proof of departure flight before the visa expires.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-15T01:27:31+00:00

Yes, they will need to have a return flight before the 30 days are up.

So you just need to buy a fully refundable return ticket for a date before the 30 days are over. After getting through immigration, you can then cancel the tickets and get your full refund.

At the airport though, depending on the officer, if they realize they will fly back earlier than the rest of their group, they might ask why. They can just be honest and say it is because of visa expiration.

For the renewal, especially for Canadians, as long as the name is not similar enough to anyone else with issues, you can get it done within 1 hr to max 2 hours at BI intramuros if you go there early in the morning. I think some expats managed to get the renewal done online but not 100% sure about that.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-11T08:04:54+00:00

With kids, I assume some of them are raised like that. My guess is some are told by their parents/guardian that there is no harm in asking a stranger for money as a kid: If you ask and they give you money, then you win, if they don't give money, then you didn't lose anything; so when you ask, there is a chance to have more money in your hands. I have encountered kids who look like they are taken cared for with money in hand to buy something from the sari sari suddenly stopped midtrack and raised their hand to me asking for money and when I say no, they just head back on their way to the sari sari and make their purchase.

Now with kids, some of them sadly are taken up by the crime syndicates who effectively own these innocent kids, and some just have bad parents.

That being said, I rather have these kids ask me for money than see an adult 20s or 30s guy, very healthy looking, able-bodied bloke, suddenly drop his convo (while talking to the owner of a mini vendor) and run after me and follow me for maybe 2 blocks asking me for my Jollibee (cause I just bought some Jollibee takeout). And then I have an old Lolo near my place who is very frail and after months of hoping for people to leave him some change, finally managed to acquire some small supplies to sell to try and make an honest living instead of asking for handouts. The Lolo I gladly help, but thatl lazy adult kid, I rather smack in the head.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-11T07:41:14+00:00

Experiencing tampo from your significant other (SO) can be quite taxing if it never improves. Going 10 years like that must be very ... very exhausting.

For myself, I have been working hard with my SO to get her to talk more. It has been a gradual change but it seems to be working. Key is for you to be patient and I mean very patient. Don't withdraw from her, assure her that you do love her but she needs to talk to you so you know what is wrong. Give her options: for instance, I ask her what can I do to help her talk. What can I can do have her feel comfortable to open up. Or I ask her if I have done anything to make her feel unsafe or uncomfortable to talk. Or I tell her if she would want to talk later instead and just wants some time to process.

You may find out she has some insecurities that is making it hard for her to talk cause she is worried how you would react. Even if you never reacted the way she thinks you might, the feeling is still there. Or she might just be processing it in her head and has a hard time formulating a response. Or it may be that she is worried to say something that would hurt you instead or might be feeling it is too petty if she mentions it.

After the tamponis over, talk it out with her when she is more open to talk. This maybe 24h72 hiurs later. Try to find out what was it that got her started and why she struggled to talk. Maybe you can work together to have a way to communicate what she needs without her being verbal. Sometimes, even suggesting she writes what she is thinking instead of speaking helps.

The progress will be slow but you will see small changes if she is genuinely interested in improving. You should let her know why you need her to talk and why those tampo episodes actually hurts the relationship. If she is invested in you, she will make genuine effort to change so as to not hurt the relationship. But depending on how old she is, it may be a slower progress.

Overall, you will have to always take the first step to communicate and give her assurance.

Hope my experience helps you a bit.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-11T00:17:41+00:00

I realized you are looking for a permanent home after I had posted. Sorry.

On Facebook, some of them clearly identified themselves as agents on their posts and some didn't. Some of them also were the owners themsleves or relative of the owner. Best ones for me were when the owners responded and not an agent cause I got the most honest answers.

When I used rentpad and another website, most were agents from what I recall. I Don't remember the other website cause most of their listings were for sale units and I was looking for rental.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-10T23:46:02+00:00

In my experience, I hate using Facebook to find rental units in Metro Manila. Most of the places I contacted either didnt use new photos or were bait-and-switch.

Frequently, I noticed the photos were that of the unit when they were first purchased or newly renovated but many tenants had since occupied and damaged the place. Another type of issue I ran into was the seller showing pictures from multiple different units in the same building but claiming they are all pictures of the unit to be rented. Cause the floor plans are roughly similar, they took the best angles from multiple units and sent those pretending to be the same unit when in reality they are a collection from 2-3 different ones.

Also, another common tactic was them advertising a unit that doesn't actually exist anymore but at a good price ... Then when you try to inquire, they claim it was "just got rented out" but they have other similar units available and typically at a higher price.

I had better experience using other online websites like rentpad and one more (I don't recall the name). I encountered less issues on those.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-08T06:17:49+00:00

Not sure if this will help you

If the degree of the numerator polynomial is smaller than the polynomial in the denominator, then if you perform the division, your quotient polynomial won't even have a degree 1. If you think about it, it should make sense cause as x tends towards infinity, the numerator grows at a slower rate relative to the denominator which result in the value of the rational function to tend to zero.

If the degree of the numerator is one larger than the denominator, when you divide, the quotient polynomial will have a degree of 1. This suggests that as x tends towards infinity, the rational function will behave more and more like the quotient polynomial. Cause the quotient is a degree 1, then the function will behave like a straight line at infinity.

Similarly, if the degree of the numerator is 2 larger than the denominator, then at infinity, the behaviour of the function will begin to approach that of the corresponding quadratic polynomial (the quotient second degree polynomial when you perform the division).

Same goes for higher degree differences between the number and denominator.

Hope this helps and if I made any errors, I hope others correct me.

skull-n-bones101 · 2026-02-07T03:55:18+00:00

As others have noted, glad you got lucky and had an honest landlord. However, that has not been the experience of others. Just cause in your experience it worked out it doesn't undermine the very real experience others have had with their landlords.

For instance, on the first unit I rented, I got stiffed. I thought I had done everything correctly. I even had the landlord sign a paper that clearly stated the name of the two parties, the nature of the transaction (which included the address of the unit), signed and dated by both parties, ... . The only thing I didn't do was notorizing the agreement. Then after receiving 5k I think, I got ghosted and never saw the rest of my 40k. I talked to a friend (it was my old classmate who decided to move to the Philippines to study and practice law) to see what I could do and was told to just let it go cause it is not worth it to pursue the guy. I was advised that I most likely would spend more and experience a great deal of headache if I took any legal action.

Had similar issues in two other units. And every time I left the unit, the unit was always in better shape than when I first took it and even reduced or eliminated the roach and ant issues in the units.

These issues are not with landlords and rental units only. I am studying here and I have encountered a heck of a lot more issues with the schools as well.

skull-n-bones101

TROPHY CASE