It was in April 2018 when Kris Bernal reached a milestone: owning a home in the United States
It was a big move for the 29-year-old Kapuso actress, who is also a restaurateur.
She purchased the multi-million-peso property in West Covina, California, not just as a vacation home for her family, but also for her sister Katie who is working there as a registered nurse.
"Kasi ang sister ko nagtatrabaho sa U.S. for two years na," Kris told PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal).
"So nagkaroon ng time na parang nagkasakit siya. There was a time na parang she had a critical condition so parang niregalo ko yun sa kanya. Para maging comfortable na siya in the U.S., alam mo yun?
"Para may inuuwian na siya, may lagayan na siya ng gamit niya. Free to do siya whatever. And since andun na rin siya at least pag may bumibisita din na family member from the Philippines, may bahay na."
The Kapuso actress in fact plans to come back to the States for a three-week vacation to celebrate Katie's birthday.
Kris's modern-minimalist home has a lot size of 3,750 square feet and a floor area of 2,022 square feet. It also has five bedrooms and a loft.
READ Kris Bernal buys a house in California, U.S.A.
Asked about the price of the property, Kris answered with a laugh, "Grabe, sabihin ko ba talaga? Huwag na baka habulin pa ako [ng BIR]…"
Kris indulged us and answered how she was able to save up for a huge investment.
She said, "E, di siguro, nagtitipid talaga ako. For so long, tinipid ko yung sarili ko from having my own driver, having my own glam team, makeup artist and all... stylist."
In the case of Kris who has tapings as many as three times a week when she has a teleserye, having her own driver and glam team can be considered a necessity. But adding up the cost gave Kris pause.
She reasoned, "Pag inipon mo kasi yun, its very expensive, e."
As an example, Kris said if a driver's salary in a month costs PHP10,000, that adds up to PHP600,000 for five years. Add to that the salary of a stylist and a hair and makeup artist.
Kris also allotted money in a time deposit account, which earns money for a certain period as long as no withdrawals are made.
Kris continued, "Hindi ko talaga ginagalaw, kung ano lang yung… siguro nakatulong yung time deposit. Sinave ko talaga. Nung nakaipon, dun ko na naisip na mag-invest na talaga."
The actress has just opened House of Gogi, an unlimited Korean BBQ place at 55 Dapitan Street, Sta. Mesa Heights, Banawe, Quezon City, where this interview with PEP.ph Lead Correspondent Arniel Serato took place.
Kris said it took restraint on her part to build her savings for more than a decade.
"Hindi siya ano, na bigla na lang dumami ang pera ko. Hindi nila alam na sobrang tipid ko, as in ang dami kong tinipid at tiniis para lang mabili ko itong bahay, mapatayo ko itong House of Gogi, yung ganun."