Guide to Financial Investing

Every person who is “truly rich” – or strives to be so – most likely knows the importance of saving money. After all, money doesn’t grow on trees, as they say, and every hard-earned centavo saved goes a long way, especially when invested in the right instruments. Bearing this in mind, we share with you 12 practical ways to save on your household expenses: 1. Unplug all your electrical appliances when you’re not using them. This helps you save on your electricity bill. 2. Always switch off the lights when you’re not using them. This simple energy-saving act is not only good for the environment; it’s good for your wallet too. 3. When cooking, cut food into small pieces so that it will cook faster. The premise here is energy saved = money saved on gas (or electricity, if you’re using an electric stove). 4. Limit your water usage as much as possible. E.g. Turn off the faucet when you brush your teeth; instead of showering, use a tabo (dipper) and pail when bathing. 5. Asses...

One day during my financial education talk, a guy named Gary ask me this.. I hear what you’re saying, that I should invest small amounts for the next 20 years, and I’ll be rich. I believe you. But I’m 56 years old now. I don’t want to wait for 20 years. I want to be wealthy in five years. Is that possible?” The crowd applauded him. It was their question too. Gary’s question is very important. I told him the harsh truth. “I’m sorry Gary, you can’t become wealthy through the stock market in the short term. If you try, you’ll get burned— because you’ll be doing foolish things.” I saw his disappointment. But I also saw that the truth liberated him from false expectations. I went on, “Gary, the stock market is here to make you wealthy when you’re in your 70’s. But you know what? People live longer today. My mother is 86 and she still wants to travel. Eighty is the new 60. So you tell me that you’re 56? My gosh, that’s young. Your Stock Market investments is for your retirement. ...

You’ve heard me say that the stock market is the best, easiest, most PROFITABLE investment you can ever make. But there’s one investment that beats the stock market, hands down. Shocked? It’s true. The best investment is investing in YOURSELF. At the beginning, when I started buying books or attending seminars, it hurt. Because they were expensive. At least, in my “poverty-conscious” mind, it was expensive. But as the years went by, I no longer saw buying a book or attending a seminar as expensive. It was cheap considering the PROFIT I will earn when I apply what I learned. In my lifetime, I’ve bought almost a million pesos worth of books. I’ve paid lots of money to attend seminars and workshops all over the world, paying for my plane fares and hotels, forking out millions over my lifetime. Not only that, I’ve paid for “online courses” that have doubled and tripled my income over time too. Yes, I’ve gotten back all my investments to my learning multiplied many, many...

How important is a life insurance? Let me share a story of a couple I know from two years ago. Lucy and Ruben (not their real names) are married with two children, aged 9 and 11. They were happy as a family until a tragic incident happened to Ruben. One afternoon, he complained of a severe headache. Believing that it was just a typical migraine, he ignored it. After a week or so, he lost consciousness and was brought to the hospital. He did not recover from that event and became comatose. It was found out that he had a terminal tumor of the brain and the doctors were unsure when he would be conscious again. To cut the story short, he never recovered and totally gave in and died. It was an indescribably painful experience for Lucy because of Ruben’s sudden death. She told me that it would have been more painful if they did not pursue the life insurance which they bought when Ruben was still undiagnosed. They were actually quite hesitant to obtain one because they did...

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6 Home, being the first school, teaches the very basics of everything about life. It is where the foundation should be well-observed because it is also the place that molds the budding mind of an individual. Parents or guardians, as the first teachers, should be critical enough in selecting between what and what not to teach. The scope of what is taught at home differs from what is taught in school, home being practical and school being academic. One very good example is on the matter of financial literacy to young children. Never have I known any school that includes a subject or course in their curriculum about MONEY. Having said this, parents should take into account teaching the youth about finances at its simplest and practical form for their easy understanding. Here are my 10 basic tips to effectively teach your children about money: 1. Be a role model. Chi...

Photo credit: https://pixabay.com I am a firm believer that there’s always an exception to every rule.  As I strictly adhere to applying my advocacy, which is SAVING, I don’t exclude myself from the majority of the population who often indulge in delicious and fancy food servings – which would mean more spent money.  But, having said this, we can still find ways to economize while doing our eating itinerary.  Here are some of the basics:  1. Make a list. When buying groceries, always plan ahead. Check your shelves what needs to be bought. Making a list prevents you from doubling what you already have in stock. List it!  2. Stick to your list. When in the grocery store, try not to window-shop. Pin your head up and walk ahead. Walk straight!  3. Do couponing. Use coupons/deals with your necessary purchase, but don’t make your coupons an excuse to buy items that you don’t really need. Coupon it!  4. Go sampling and do ...

Photo credit: https://pixabay.com "You become what you repeatedly do." Do you exercise regular and eat healthy foods daily? You become a healthy person. We become what we repeatedly do. Let's now apply this in our topic.. You don't get overweight overnight. You don't eat a gallon of ice cream tonight and then get obese tomorrow. You get obese by eating lots of ice cream over a period of time. Same thing if you want to get rich, you don't get rich overnight. Unless you do illegal thing or win in a lottery. You get rich by doing a rich man habits, you save, you invest, you avoid bad debts.You study how money works. Success doesn't happen overnight it happens bit by bit. If you do the right things consistently over time.

Photo credit: https://pixabay.com Do you know that your money loses its purchasing power? How much? Around 7 percent a year. How? Because of inflation. Inflation is the reason why a bottle of an 8oz coke is now P8 compared to its price P4 a bottle years ago. When you put your hard earned money in the bank's savings account they'll give you 2% interest or put it in a time deposit and they'll give you an 3-5% interest. Still below the 7% inflation. And when you'll withdraw your money savings you wont get it full 100% because of tax deductions.That's the reason saving won't make you rich. Why? Because the banks interest is not enough to fight the inflation. Savings is the foundation of wealth. But, savings is not enough. What should you do now? 1. You can put your money in mutual funds (average 12% interest a year) or the stock market where your money can earn an average of 12% and up interest a year. 2. Another is you need to do is to learn...

Have you met a “Know-It-All”?  I met one the other day. He said he was a businessman for 14 years.  Photo credit: https://pixabay.com But through our 15-minute conversation, I learned that his business was going through hard times.  I asked him, “Do you have a business mentor?” He didn’t even know what the word meant.  So I explained to him, “You need to look for a businessman who is 20 times more successful than you are in your particular business.”  His next statement floored me. He said, “There’s really nothing else I need to know. I’ve been doing this business for 14 years now. It’s just a bad economy, that’s all. That’s why we’re going through a rough time.”  I didn’t tell him what I learned from MY mentors: That great businesses are like surfers who ride whatever economic wave comes to them. The bigger the wave, the higher the surfer goes!  Great businesses can become more profitable during recessions.  I...

My friend Larry is a speaker for corporate seminars. Many years ago, He earned P5,000 for every seminar he gave. Over time, He became more well known. His network expanded and his skills improved. Today, he earns P25,000 per seminar. Pretty good, right?  Photo credit: https://pixabay.com In a month, he can give eight seminars. That’s P200,000 a month. Minus taxes of 30 percent, that’s P140,000. Minus the salary of his full-time secretary and part-time accountant, plus other office expenses, his take home pay is P110,000. Still very nice. But last month, He visited me and asked me how he can earn more. “How much more?” I asked my friend. “I want to earn P500,000 a month,” he said. “That’s a pretty big leap,” I chuckled. “I’ve got big dreams,” he said, “because I’ve been listening to your talks. I really want to give big to God.  I’m sure you’ve thought of some ways you can earn more,” I said. “Can you tell me your ideas?” “Well, I ...

Because salesman don’t have a very good image. Photo credit: https://pixabay.com When you say “salesmen” to people, their minds automatically pull out other words such as “sleazy” and “pushy” and “sneaky” and “devious” and “lying”. Which is sad. Because selling is a wonderful, honorable, and beautiful service you give to humanity. Here’s the truth: People don’t know what to buy. People NEED someone more knowledgeable to guide them on what to buy. Once upon a time, I used to be ashamed of selling. Every time I sell, I feel awful. I’d cringe, because asking money from people is the last thing I want to do on earth. “Gosh, what will people think of me? I’m a money-grabber!” I want to be honest with you. I still struggle with those thoughts once in awhile. But whenever these feelings of shame come over me, I ask myself the question, “Bo, how much do you love these people?” That question hits me like a slap on my face. It stings. It jolts me. I answer,...

Photo credit: https://pixabay.com Many of us have experienced having low salary or earning minimum wage as employees at a certain point in our career. We looked for “sidelines” to augment our income to help pay the bills.  Some sold beauty products or apparel to officemates on a hulugan (installment) payment mode. Others sold cold cuts or merienda to co-workers on a “sa sweldo mo na bayaran” (pay on salary date) agreement. I’m pretty sure each of you has a lot of good stories to tell and experiences to share.  But since many Filipinos have become more internet and social media-savvy, it’s about time to look for more sidelines and work-from-home rakets. Here are the new hit rakets that you can try on weekends or during your free time (not during your official working hours please).  1. Freelance Work  The Philippines has been on top of the call center and BPO industries globally in the past few years. If you have an experience as a call center age...

Once upon a time, I was an employee. My first salary was P800 a month. As the years went by, it continued to grow. From P1000 to P3000 to P8000 to P20,000… It kept growing and growing and growing. I was happy. But for some reason, it was never enough! It was crazy. Don’t get me wrong. My salary was enough for my basic needs. We ate three meals a day (many times five!), had clothes to wear, and was able to pay for our Meralco and water bills. With my salary, I was able to bring out my wife on our weekly dates. You may not think that Jollibee is romantic, but that’s what I could afford, so that’s where we went.  Photo credit: https://pixabay.com And where we went was romantic! Yes, we could go to the movie houses once in awhile, but more likely, we rented VCDs at P15 per movie and watched it at home we would cook popcorn for the kids. We were happy. We were very happy. We may not have been rich, but we were okay.  But I still had pain inside me. What caused my pain...

Just a little bit of definition of terms here… Investors buy stocks and don’t sell for six months to 20 years. Traders buy stocks and sell them after a few hours or days… Photo credit: https://pixabay.com Here’s another difference: Investors buy only the giants we recommend in our list below. Traders buy anything, especially penny stocks, because they’re more volatile, and thus give them more opportunity to earn more money (theoretically). Here are three reasons why you should never become a trader: 1. Traders Pay More Fees Every time you sell stocks, you pay a fee. Yes, the fees are cheap. But still, they do add up. And that’s subtracted from your profits. 2. Traders Need More Expertise Some of my closest friends are fulltime traders. The stock market is their fulltime job. They don’t do anything else. Guess what: A lot of them still lose money! Despite ALL their training. 3. Traders Need More Time How much time a day will you...

I eat out a lot. It’s my investment in relationships. I hold a lot of business lunches and dinners. And I also take out my wife, mom, kids, and siblings on weekly dates. But amazingly, I don’t spend horrendously. Photo credit: https://pixabay.com First, we eat healthy. At every meal, my wife and I share a large bowl of fresh salad. Our main dish could be vegetarian pizza or pasta or fish. Here’s a tip: Vegetarian dishes are 20 percent cheaper than meat dishes—and are healthier for you too! Second, I save on drinks for myself. (Of course, I offer drinks to anyone around the table who wants one.) You see, I believe water is the best beverage in the world. If I eat out 10 times a week, and save P40 per drink, that’s P400 savings a week or P1600 savings a month.  Invested over 20 years at 12 percent interest growth, my “water-is-the-best-drink” lifestyle will make me P1.5 million richer. If I have a breakfast meeting, I don’t even look at the menu. I just...

It’s not easy applying for an OWWA Loan. OWWA wants to make sure that they will extending credit to the most deserving workers where the money will be used for a legitimate purpose. More importantly. OWWA wants OFWs who are not only willing but also capable of paying the loan. Here’s what you need to do to boost your chances of approval: Verify your OWWA and OFW Status One of the requirements for OWWA Loan is that the OFW-borrower must be an active OWWA member, as shown through your proof of contribution. In case you are still working abroad, you can still get your membership certification from OWWA through the Welfare Officer in the Philippine Embassy in the country where you are working. Don’t forget to get your membership certification in OWWA Office once you are back in the Philippines. Complete the documentary requirements Once you verified your status as an OFW, it is time to complete documentary requirements needed by OWWA and Land Bank (partner bank) to determ...