3 Things to Include in Your New Year’s Resolution List

How was your Christmas? What happened to your bonus? Have you spent them all for gifts and Noche Buena or movie tickets for “My Bebe Love” or “Beauty and the Bestie”? Were any of you spared a little sum for savings for the year ahead?

Well, after Christmas here comes the New Year, and every New Year we set a list of our New Year’s Resolution. Besides losing weightJ, it will be wise if you also add these three things below in your list to make your wish of a prosperous 2016 in reality

1. Plan Ahead

“He who fails to plan, plans to fail.”

We all have financial goals. We all have something we are looking forward to that needs money. This might be a long awaited vacation, a new car, house, get out of bad debt and have savings, start a business and many more. Whatever that goal is, we will never achieve it without planning the steps to have it.

Plan, Plan, Plan.

Start by making a monthly budget all throughout the year. You can do this in a notebook or in your computer or even in your smart phone. List your sources of income. List your monthly expenses. List your debts. Try very hard to include savings and debt pay off, if you have debts that you are paying, or haven’t started paying yet. 

Planning  your finances ahead for the whole year will give you direction. It helps you to have focus. It shows your priorities. Listing all the things you plan to spend your money on will give you a clear view of things that are more important. You may cut down on some other expenses to add more on savings.

P.S.
Don't forget to give back to the one who gives you blessings. Give back to HIM, offer a part of your earnings to God. If you do this, it helps you clearly appreciate that everything you have is from the Lord.

2. Save

For those who haven’t gotten the chance to save in 2015, the year 2016 is another chance for you to start. Saving is a habit. Form a habit of saving every time you get paid from whatever work you are doing. For employees, this is not hard to do although many complain that their salary is too little, that they have nothing left to save. But I found this reason untrue.

If you list down all the things where your money goes every week or every month, you can always find an item in your expenses that you can cut down so you can put that  in your savings instead.

How many times do you eat out in a week?

How much money do you spend for your mobile phone cash load everyday? Every week?

How many times do you see a movie?

How often do you gimmick with friends after work?

How many bottles of coke do you drink in a week?
How many sticks of cigarettes do you consume everyday? 

Believe me, saving is not hard. If you lessen the amount of money you spend on the sample items I listed above, there is always something left for savings. 

3. Grow your money

I hope that in the year 2016, you will start growing your money. While you are saving every payday, invest on your knowledge. Invest on yourself, first.  You should read materials about personal finance. Educate yourself on the money machines that may help you achieve financial freedom. Be wary though with the quick money making schemes that are advertised everywhere. Otherwise your hard earned money will go down the drain. 

Learn about mutual funds, stock market, UITF, VUL. If you are good at entrepreneurship, study your business of choice, the dos and don’ts. Read and learn about the investment instrument of your choice before engaging yourself into it. 

I hope that by the end of 2016, you have started your steps to your journey to financial independence and be one of the very few Filipino investors.

Happy New Year and I wish you all the best. Have a prosperous 2016!!! Happy Saving and Investing.

P.S. 1 If you liked this post, please feel free to share it with your friends. 

P.S. 2 If you want to know about the stock market, you may avail of my free e-Book by filling in the subscription form below. 

P.S. 3 You may also listen to Bro. Bo Sanchez talk on the importance of investing at the Truly Rich Club website and get his free e-Book My Maid invests in the Stock Market. 

5 Steps to Escape From Poverty For Employees

I hope people are also passionate to discuss about saving money

As when they argue about Roxas, Binay, Santiago or Duterte.  

I wish people are also interested to know more about growing money

Like when they wait for the next episode of Aldub’s kalyeserye.

Filipinos are tired of poverty

But most don’t act to be wealthy.

And if they do, they often fall to a trap

Because many love to be rich in a snap.

Like what they said: “Money don’t discriminate.”

It’s up to you to manage and control it.

Saving and growing money is simple

As long as your knowledge and patience is ample.

Look at some rich people in the country

Sy, Tan, Razon, Gokongwei

It took time for them to grow

That’s a story worthy to know

It’s not too late for you and me

Just give time to financial literacy

Below you find 5 simple ways to do

To help you start your journey, too.

1. Pay off your bad debts

Bad debts are the money you borrowed that is not helping you put money in your pocket. This is the money you borrowed to perhaps pay another bad debt, or buy a new gadget. A borrowed money used as a down payment for a new 50 inches TV, vehicle or a house. Borrowed money that instead of giving you money, it is actually taking more money out of your pocket.

Pay this debt one at a time, little by little. Map a payment strategy to pay it off and be bad debt free. Otherwise this will pull you into the pit of a lifetime poverty.

2. Live within your means

Don’t be jealous of your officemate who wears new clothes everyday, owns a new smartphone every 6 months, and goes out for lunches and dinners every night, drives different cars every week, or goes out of town every weekend. Learn to live within your means at least for now.  Learn the art of delaying gratifications. Learn to budget your money and make sure you include savings. Wait until your money grows, then you can have the wants you’ve been wanting for. Otherwise, you will always be working for money.

3. Open a savings account and start building your emergency fund

According to National Economic Development Authority or NEDA, only 40 out of 100,000 Filipinos have Bank deposit accounts. (www.rappler.com/business/22107-how-many-filipinos-own-a-bank-account) This is sad but true. Some Filipinos open bank accounts because they are required by their company for payroll purposes. Some, for remittances from their OFW family member. Some, for pension purposes only. Only few have voluntarily opened their own bank accounts. It’s time for you to have your own. This will help you train yourself to save regularly. This will be your ally in your journey to financial freedom.  

Once you have a savings account, try your best to deposit regularly every time you receive your salary. Set how much your emergency fund be and start building it.  If it’s too hard for you, start from small amounts; 200, 500, 600 until you form the habit of saving in the bank. You’ll be surprised how much money you have saved in time.

4. Educate yourself on how to make your money work for you

While building your emergency fund, you should also be learning on how to grow your money. The internet is very rich of information. There are free e-books, videos, and articles about saving and investing, and you should grab these free offers. Actually, many free materials on the internet are very informative that you can actually start venturing into some of the investment opportunities in the Philippines like the stock market.  Ask people who are knowledgeable about investments and who are already into it. Don’t ask your friends or family members who know nothing about stock  market or real estate or mutual funds and the like. You will only hear discouragements from them which will only impede you in your journey to financial independence. Do your research. Start investing on knowledge. Buy books about personal finance or attend seminars.  

5. Invest a part of your salary

Once you are out of bad debt, achieved your emergency goal, and have enough knowledge on growing money, you may now start investing a part of your monthly income. You may now choose the best investment instrument that suits your needs and goals. Don’t stop educating yourself though. There will be numerous temptations, frustrations, confusions while investing. So, it is necessary to continue learning. Join some investors’ forums or if you like you can also avail of online mentors from trusted organizations like the Truly Rich Club to guide you in your journey to financial independence.

Your financial independence depends on your hands

It’s up to you to change your fate and have a taste of freedom.

I am not claiming I’m already there but I have started my journey.

Change of mindset about money is always necessary

It’s not yet late, we still have time to escape poverty.  

If you liked this post, please feel free to share it to your friends. 

P.S. 1 You may also avail of my free e-Book. Fill in the Subscription form below. 

P.S. 2 You may click on the link below to also listen to my online mentor explain the importance of  investing and get a free copy of his book "My Maid Invests in the Stock Market and Why You Should Too."

OMG! Where Have All My Money Gone?

While I was dressing up for work today, I was listening to music on YouTube then, this song was played.

Where have all the flowers gone?

Long time lasting...

Where have all the young girls gone?

Gone to young men everyone…

Then I found myself smiling at the mirror singing the song with different lyrics.

Where have all my money gone?

Long time ago…

Where have all my money gone?

Most are wasted anywhere

When will I ever learn?

When will I eever learn?

Then it dawned on me. OMG, absolutely! Where did all my money go? Many years have passed, I’ve been earning money for almost 14 years but where have all my earnings gone? It may be a little better this year because I’ve been introduced to the world of stock market investing, but how about the past 13 years? Where have all my earnings for the past 13 years gone? Answer: Nowhere. Some, to stuff that I thought are assets but actually liabilities. Some? I don't know. Seriously, no joke. 

Few more days left and the year 2015 is over and have you also ever wondered where have all your earnings gone ever since you started working for money? Where have all your salary gone since you started working abroad - away from your love ones? Have you ever asked yourself? Let’s disregard the past years, let’s just take a look at 2015 alone. If we add up our 12 months earnings, how much did we earn this year? From the total amount of our 1 year money, how much did we save? How much did we invest?

a. Much

b. Not much

c. Just a little

d. None of the above

None of the above? It’s ok, let’s continue singing…

When will we ever learn?

When will we eever learn?

But seriously, if it’s none of the above, why don’t we start now? When will we ever learn to save? If it's just a little, why don’t we add more? If not much or much, Congratulations!!! And keep it up.

If you add up all the money you spent for the following this year, 

Mobile phone load, Starbucks, eat outs, movies, collection of gadgets, shoes, bags, signature clothes, wine, small stuffs like accessories for phone, mirrors, arms, legs, neck, eyes, nose oh I’m exaggerating already, but yes, how much could you have saved? If you add up all the money you spent on these wants, how many shares of companies could you have already owned?  Yes, sometimes we need pleasure. We need them. But let’s not forget the future. Have you ever wondered when will you stop working for money but instead let money work for you?

I you are an OFW and probably earning more than what you used to in the Philippines, grab this opportunity to save more and invest more. If you are in the Philippines, you can still save. Remember, “It’s not about how much we receive but it’s how much we keep.”  Let’s make saving and investing one of our goals this coming 2016 so we will be singing a different version of this song by the end of next year.

If you liked this post, please feel free to share it to your friends, and if you want to learn more about how to make your money earn more money for you in the stock market, you can avail of my free e-Book, How Did I Enter Into the Philippine Stock Market by filling in the subscription form below or you may click here to get a free copy of Bro. Bo Sanchez’ book, My Maid Invests in the Stock Market and Why You Should To.  

5 Reasons Why Investing In the Stock Market is Suitable For Me

So, some friends are asking me, “Why stock market? Why not just start my own business? Is the return from stock market really good that I opted to venture into it?”

Well, my answer is, “This is the investment instrument I see fit to my needs and current situation”. It’s not because the return is higher than running my own business, but right now, the stock market is the investment I understand best compared with the other investment instruments in the country. In short, the stock market is the one which is within my reach right now, mentally, emotionally and financially.

In this blog, I will share with you the 5 reasons why I chose to invest in the stock market and why I strongly believe that this is the best investment for me. But before I start, I would like to emphasize that I am an active investor and I am not a trader. There is a great difference between this two. As an investor, I am actively putting my money in the stock market for a long term. For me to become a trader, I have to learn how to analyze complicated graphs and numbers and watch the market intensively to know when to buy and when to sell. I don’t have the skills to do this. I am not trained to trade. I may learn it in a long run but I need to quit my full time day job to watch the market everyday. Like Bro. Bo Sanchez, I too dislike complicated things. I like simplicity. It’s easy and stress free.

So, here are the 5 reasons why I chose to be an investor in the stock market.

Reason Number 5: My SSS Pension alone when I’ll be 60 years old won’t suffice to cover my old age needs

Because I was never a government employee, I am not entitled of the GSIS benefits. Instead, I have the SSS. When my father was still alive, he only used to receive a meager amount from SSS for his monthly pension. So little that it barely buys him his daily medication. I was so curious that I wanted to know the approximate amount I’ll be receiving also once I’ll reach the age of 60. So I visited the SSS website to learn how to compute the members' retirement pension. I was shocked to see the amount that appears on my calculator. I calculated it twice, thrice, many times hoping that I previously pressed the wrong button and that it will give me a bigger amount this time, but unfortunately the calculation was right. The amount is only a little more than 9,000 Pesos. This will be the money I will be receiving monthly after 27 years, and 27 years from now, what can 9,000 Pesos buy?

Investing in the stock market will absolutely give me more chances to take care of myself financially when I can no longer work to earn. If I will continue investing actively, regularly, for 27 years, I will not only have 9,000 pesos a month, but more. Below is a screen shot of a sample computation from the Truly Rich Club Retirement Calculator.  You may also try it by clicking it here.

So, there. That’s my reason number 5.

Reason Number 4. I don’t possess remarkable skills to manage a business

Starting a business is a very interesting topic for me. It may seem easy to begin our own business after watching our neighbor’s business growing or by just looking at the fad businesses around us. We couldn’t help ourselves saying, “Kaya ko rin yan”.  But if you don’t have the skills to run a business, don’t ever try it. Believe me, I tried and I failed.  I am not saying that don’t do business at all. What I am saying is you have to invest on yourself first before embarking on entrepreneurship. Like what Mr. Ernie Baron used to say, “Knowledge is power.”   Learn, do research and devote time.

Two years ago, I was so eager to start a buy and sell business. My Chinese friend and I bought products from China, sent them to my friend in the Philippines. Then, finally my friend, who is based in the Philippines, sold them. I even created a Facebook page to promote our products. Was the business successful? Absolutely NOT. That was two years ago, but we still have unsold products until now. Why? No research done, not enough knowledge and there was no enough time devoted to the business because we are all busy doing our full time day jobs. But again, I’m not giving up on it. But for now, entrepreneurship as a vehicle to wealth is not yet suitable for me.

Reason Number 3: No pressure from due dates

Unlike other investment instruments, stock market investing gives me the freedom to make my own schedule of funding my online stock market account. I no longer need to undergo the pressure of meeting premium due dates. Before I enter into the stock market world, I was only aware of VULs that is offered by many insurance companies, which is actually one of the most expensive investments because of the insurance that is tied to it. To pay for my premiums, I used to borrow money just to meet my Insurance company's set payment schedule which I find it very stressful.

Reason Number 2. Freedom to decide on the amount of money to invest regularly

In connection to reason number 3, directly investing in the stock market provides me freedom to decide how much money I will invest in a particular time. Compared with other investments like my VUL, I have to pay a fixed amount whether I have enough money or not. In my stock market investing, if my budget is tight, I may only invest a little and buy few shares, if there is more cash, I may also invest more and buy more shares. No pressure but or course, I have to bear the sole responsibility of  growing my wealth. 

Reason Number 1: I teach full time

I am an OFW, and I work 8 hours everyday from Monday to Friday which is also the same time the stock market opens. I teach and as a teacher, work does not end in the classrooms. I have to prepare lessons, mark papers, talk to students, and attend meetings and more related and unrelated responsibilities. So, this working setup makes me realize that the best money machine for me to use right now is the stock market. While exchanging my knowledge as a teacher for money here abroad, I can also let a part of my monthly salary earn more money for me.  With stock market, I can have the ability to duplicate myself earning both an active income and a passive income.

So, there. These are the 5 reasons why I think stock market investing is suitable for me. It is within my understanding, within my power, and through the guidance of the Truly Rich Club, I am confident that I will be able to manage it well. If I understand what I’m putting myself into, the chances are, I can minimize risks and maximize returns. As Robert Kiyosaki said, “The stock market is not risky. The investor is risky”. 

If you liked this post, please feel free to share it to your friends. You may also fill in the subscription form below to avail of my free e-book How Did I Enter Into the Philippine Stock Market-My Step by Step Guide or click here to get Bro. Bo's free book My Maid Invests in the Stock Market and Why You Should Too.

Stock Market for Newbies

Is stock market overwhelming to you? Do you want to start investing in it but so confused by the numbers and stock market jargons? Well, it’s time you set aside those worries because I’m assuring you, investing in the stock market is not complicated at all. I used to fear the stock market but after continued reading and listening to my mentor, I developed the courage to try it and I’m glad I did. But before riding into this vehicle of wealth, it is essential to understand what it is.

What is Stock Market?

Imagine yourself entering into a sari-sari store. There you find different products for sale. There may be bread, soda, coffee, shampoo and the like.  Then, you decide which one to buy. After choosing, you give your money to the tindera in exchange for the goods.  

The stock market is not much different from a sari-sari store. In the stock market, see yourself entering into a grocery store. The difference is, this grocery store does not sell bread, nor soda, nor coffee, but it sells COMPANIES. Well, it’s not the whole company but a partial ownership of that company. So, when you go to the stock market to shop, you will choose which company you would like to partially own.  After deciding, you give your money to the company through your broker in exchange of the shares or partial ownership you want to keep.

Example:

You enter into the stock market and you see shares of SM, Ayala, Jollibee, BDO, Meralco and many more companies. You decide which company you would like to share ownership with. Let’s say you will choose Jollibee because this might be your favorite fast food and you know that it is an established company. So, you will buy shares of Jollibee through your stock broker of choice. Then, you now become one of the thousands owners of Jollibee Corporation which means you will share with both the gains and losses of Jollibee.

What is a broker?

Are you familiar with Avon, Sundance, Boardwalk, or Tupperware? The products of these companies are not directly being sold by the company itself to the customers but through an agent who wants to get a commission from every product that he or she will be able to sell.  These agents can be compared to stock brokers. A stock broker or stock sales agent is the bridge between a company and an investor. They buy and sell stocks for you and you pay them for their service.

Why do companies sell shares?

Think of a Turo-turo restaurant owner who wants to upgrade his restaurant. He wants to renovate his restaurant, add more tables and chairs, add more ulams to sell, and buy new pots, but he does not have enough money to finance the expansion of his business. Instead of borrowing money from the Bombay, he convinces his friend, and his classmate to give him some money and they will also become owners of his Turo-turo restaurant business.

Like the Turo-turo restaurant owner, when companies need money for their goals, one of their options to raise capital is to divide the ownership of their business into several shares and sell to interested investors. They then use the collected money to fund the development of their company like buying more equipment or buildings or the like.

How can someone earn in the stock market?

If you have read my e-Book on How Did I enter Into the Philippine Stock Market, I have briefly discussed there how you can earn money from it.

First is through dividends. A part owner of a company shares both with the company’s gains and losses. So, when the company makes profits, the profits will be divided among the shareholders. It may be distributed through cash or additional shares depending on the company’s choice.

Second is through selling shares. When a smart investor buys shares from a particular company, he sets a target selling price. For example an investor bought 100 shares of stocks from company X for 10 Pesos a share, he then sets a target selling price of 15 pesos a share for example. So, when the stocks reach his target price of 15 Pesos/share, that’s the time for him to sell. So his 1000 Pesos (10 Pesos per share x 100) becomes 1500 Pesos (15 Pesos per share x 100).

The stock market is not so complicated at all. Choose a stock broker of your choice, choose blue chip companies (strong companies that will still be in existence after long years), buy shares from them, set an exit strategy and stick to the plan.

If you liked this post and want to be inspired to start your investment in the stock market, you may click here to listen to my online mentor’s inspiring story or fill in the subscription form below to get a free copy of my e-book  How Did I Enter Into the Philippine Stock Market-My Step by Step Guide. 

Be An Adorable Teacher In China

China has become a land of opportunity for expats as it offers a wide range of teaching jobs in different areas particularly in the ESL world. China has also opened its windows to many international education programs bridging aspiring Chinese students for overseas studies to the major English speaking countries in the world. So, many core subjects such as Mathematics, Sciences, Economics and Information Technology are now also being taught by foreign teachers or “Foreign Experts” as the Chinese government so refer.

Although not all foreigners come to China to work for a living, many expatriates who have the difficulty of finding jobs back in their home countries because of several reasons such as: recession, poor economy, underpaid labor, age requirements or professional qualification have been enjoying the generosity of China for years. Every key schools in big cities around China have foreign teachers. Many Middle Schools and High Schools in small cities, and few primary schools require the presence of foreign teachers in their campuses. Authorized Language schools that operate at nights and weekends need to have foreign teachers for them to be marketable. Many Colleges and Universities have hired foreign teachers, too. There are also schools that run without legal documents that still hire foreign teachers. The boom of foreign language teaching in China is on the rise and if you get one, you may consider yourself luckier than your local counterpart. Many foreigners have established and some re-established their lives through their teaching Career in this part of the planet.

However, on the other side of the story, some foreign teachers left China with bitter stories to tell their family and friends back to their countries because of their horrendous experiences due to cultural differences and their inability to adapt and control untoward situations. These issues often lead to students’ complains, unsatisfied parents and unhappy school administrators that finally turns to an unhealthy employee-employer relationship that cuts the string that attaches each other.

Although there are some unsuccessful teaching experiences caused by what is mentioned above, many expats have enjoyed their privileges as teachers in China because they have learned to become adorable.

Many foreign teachers learned how to Nag Nicely because when in China, you should master the art of nagging. When in China, you must know how to wait, and wait, and ask then ask. If your request was not done, ask again and wait again. If it is still undone, nag more and repeat the process until your request finally gets there. This is of course annoying but yelling and throwing tantrums won’t help. China gives importance to face and so you should learn to value yours, too. Others have learned to be instant entertainers. They have realized that to be a likable foreign teacher in China, you should be ready all the time. In classrooms, many have realized to be careful with the class "spies". There are also few who have finally realized that simplicity and sensitivity in some aspects are necessary in adapting to a new culture.

  

If you are planning to come to China and you like this post, and want to know more essential tips of how to be an adorable teacher in China, you may click on the book cover to read some more. 

Emergency Fund - Is It Really Necessary?

Why is it necessary to build your emergency fund before you start investing?

According to financial experts, an emergency fund is an equivalent of our 3 to 6 months monthly salary that should have been accumulated in your savings account. It has also been strongly recommended by these so called financial experts that one must build an emergency fund before venturing into any investments like the stock market.

My Mistake

When I started with my stock market investment, I did not have enough emergency fund. I was so eager that I haven’t listened and followed what I heard, watched and read about the importance of emergency fund before investing. I thought it was that easy. I thought I can manage my investment even without my emergency fund thinking that I am receiving a regular monthly salary for teaching anyway. I thought I can do them both at the same time. But now, I’ve realized my huge mistake.


What Are Emergencies? 

We cannot predict emergencies that’s why they are called emergencies in the first place. Family members will send us a message of a sudden illness, untimely death, tuition, accidents anytime. We may also face termination of contracts ANYTIME particularly to OFWs like me. If you are in the BPO industry, termination of contracts because of closing of accounts or sometimes due to the inability to reach a particular sales quota is also common. 


Risk of Not Having an Emergency Fund

So, if you are already investing in the stock market without an emergency fund, then suddenly you come across with the situations mentioned above, your investment is at risk. You may either sell some or sell all, and the worst is selling your stocks in a down market ruining your future.

My Emergency Fund
Like Before Investing

I have received messages informing me saddening news of illness, death, and some other emergent financial needs within the family while already investing in the Philippine stock market. I could not take the risk of selling my stocks at lost to augment these needs of my family. So even though I did not dare to touch my stock market investment, I succumb to bad debt (loans) and delayed payment of my insurance bills and other lined up financial commitments to come up with the needed amount.  

My monthly budgets often go into ruins because in the absence of my emergency fund, I have to use my monthly salary which is already allotted to my different monthly obligations ahead of time to finance the emergencies that popped out.

There are few times that I have to skip putting money in the stock market because if I do, I may no longer be able to eat. Yes, I am not exaggerating. It’s the truth.


What Should I Do?

After experiencing the same cycle, over and over again, I’ve realized that I should have listened to the experts. I should have listened to one of the Truly Rich Club’s advocacy which is creating emergency funds.

So, although it’s a little late for me, I am now doing my best to get out of my bad debt and start saving for my emergency fund step by step, little by little, so I will be able to continue to build my wealth without the risk of sabotaging it in the future. I won’t wait until I will be forced to sell my stocks in the wrong time because it’s the only option I’ll have. Don’t do the same mistake. Have an emergency fund first before investing. Yes, it is really necessary especially if your only source of income is your monthly salary.