2016 Week 29 Recap: Back to the Real World

July 11-17, 2016

Work

I am so excited! We started deploying some of the components this week. While it will be busy until we complete everything and ensure that there will be no more issues, I am so happy to finally see this project in its completion stage. Hopefully, there will only be few issues. This implementation will affect around 15K PH employees so it's a little intimidating but I know we've all done our best to minimize whatever risks there are. I am confident that all issues will be addressed as quickly as we can. Kaka-excite talaga! :)

Travel

I have started posting my Japan stories. I have most of the narratives completed, as I started writing all about it at the airport while waiting for my friend to refund her ICOCA card (OSAKA IC card). However, I wanted to post with pictures in it and it's taking me longer to sort out/select the pictures hehehehe. Anyway, I'll get there. Matatapos ko rin i-post lahat.

Speaking of travel, another friend is requesting for travel to a beautiful beach daw. Stressed si ateng. Gusto mag-out of town. Hopefully, we can find a reasonably priced place that's near Manila.

Savings and Investments

I'm thankful that the Japan trip is over. While it's exciting to always travel, I would like to pause for a while. I'd like to focus on building up my savings. I'd like to reach my first million in cash and investments, excluding real estate :). Opo, sa tanda kong ito, wala pa akong isang milyon in cash. Napunta lahat sa ibang bagay pero hindi naman lahat nilustay. 

Weekend

I missed malling so I met with my friend yesterday for dinner and to hand her the Japan goodies for her. We met in Glorietta. We went to SM Makati after. I saw that Loreal still has their free hair color application when you buy their hair color. I wanted to avail of it so earlier today, I went back. Unfortunately, I have my hair rebonded last May and they have strict rules that they won't color if rebond session is less than 3 months. So better be safe than sorry hehe. I'll just go back in August. So another malling session for us. She met up with me again because she's supposed to see my new hair color pero dahil di natuloy, ikot ikot na lang hehehe. 

Ahhh, I was also looking for a blouse that I can pair with the skirt I bought around 2 months ago. I am attending a wedding next week and the theme is rock and roll, so casual ang peg. However, medyo kupas na ang mga blouses na meron ako na pwedeng i-terno don sa skirt so I decided to look around. Nakahanap naman ako, and more hehehehe. I was able to buy a dress na parang sinukat lang para sa akin. Di ko na pinakawalan. Bihira kasing mangyari yun sa laki kong 'to. Ok rin sya with Chucks so ito na lang isusuot ko sa wedding hehehe. Hay pero utang na loob Mylene, tama na ang gastos. Wala ka nang kailangan :p.

Ok, that's it for now. Good night and may you all have a great week ahead :).

2016 Goals: Mid-Year Review

I almost forgot about this hehe.

Just like what most companies do where they have regular business reviews, I also like to have at least a mid-year and year-end review of the goals I made early this year, just to check how I am doing and ensure that I am still on track.

This year's focus will be: chill, family, health, wealth.

Statuses:

• On track - met as of time of review
• Not yet started - not yet started as of time of review
• Quite - met but there were deviations
• Not met - target not met 

1. Chill
• Mid: Quite - There were stressful moments but I just kept quiet and pushed myself to just do whatever it is that needs to be done.


2. Buy less, want less
• Mid: On track - All items bought were needed. 


3. Stick with financial budget for 2016
I made a new list specifically for my financial goals after posting my 2016 goals in January. I just feel that it's more effective and more inspiring for me if I track my financial goals separately.

• Mid: Separate update here. 


4. Get an additional income stream
• Mid: Not yet started


5. Spend more time with family  
• Mid: Quite - Spent some time with some siblings last Feb, to support my brother and his family since he lost his mother-in-law. Had a picnic at Burnham Park on Easter Sunday for my birthday celebration with family. No event in Q2.


6. Get down to my ideal weight
I really need to get serious about my health. I want a long life.

• Mid: Negative. Pfffft!


7. Start training for a marathon
• Mid: I am not sure about this anymore.


8. Push with Japan Travel
• Mid: On track. Return tickets bought, accommodations booked.


9. Go back to school
I had to stop when we lost our father in January 2015. I haven't been back since then. I would still want to complete the program. I only have 12 units left!

• Mid: Still undecided


10. Become an early riser
Since I work mid-shift, tendency is to wake up later than usual. By rising earlier, I will have extra hours to work on other personal projects, like decluttering more, cross-stitching, or working for extra income. 

• Mid: Quite - I have been forcing myself to sleep earlier in recent weeks so that I can wake up earlier. I try as much as I can to sleep by 12 AM, 1 AM at the most so that I can wake up at 7 AM, after 6-7 hours of sleep.


11. Journal more
I noticed that my memory is not as sharp as before already, hence this year and moving forward, I will write about all sorts of events, relevant or otherwise so that there is something to read back when I am much older. This is also the reason why I already have have the weekly recap in this blog.

• Mid: On track. My total posts to date are already more than my total posts for the whole year at least for the past 5 years.

That's about it. I'll do a year-end review at the end of the year.

Financial Goals for 2016: Mid-Year Review

And just like that, the first half of the year is almost over! So here's my reality check.

Statuses:

• Completed! - as in done/finished
• On track - met based on budget file
• Not yet started - not yet started based on target start date on budget file
• Quite - met but budget not followed (either there was a decrease/increase)
• Not met - target not met based on budget file

1. Religiously pay SK-LU. 5 months to go! Excited to mark this as completed!
   • Mid: Completed! - Last payment made this month! Ahhhhh, so happy happy!
2. Save 50k for processing of papers for SK-LU. After completing the payment in June, I'll have the same budget reallocated to this.
   • Mid: Not yet started
3. Religiously pay SK-Silang. 2 years to go.
   • Mid: On track - many more months to go :p
4. Save 50k for lot processing of SK-Bgo. 
   • Mid: Quite - too many reallocations
5. Save 35k for CR of SK-Bgo
   • Mid: Quite - too many reallocations
6. Increase EIP allocation to 3k/month
   • Mid: On track - started March 2016
7. Increase MF to 20k (carry over from previous years)
   • Mid: Quite - still catching up with the savings but haven't made any deposits to FAMI yet
8. Add 20k-30k to COL 
   • Mid: On track
9. Save 80k for Project BD (new in my budget file)
   • Mid: On track
10. Religiously save 3k/month for niece's tuition
    • Mid: On track - I can't wait for her to graduate hahaha!
11. Set aside a Tulong fund
    • Mid: Quite - too many reallocations
12. Continue saving for an international travel
    • Mid: On track
13. Set aside 10k for December 2016
• Mid: Quite - too many reallocations

Let's see what the year end update will look like.

Personal Finance: My Credit Card Story

Usapang utang.

I got my very first credit card in 2004, 4 years into the work force. I tried my luck and applied for the Sunlife-Standard Chartered bank card. When you apply for this type of card, your insurance premiums will be charged to the card and I'm guessing I was approved because of my insurance premiums with Sunlife. My first credit limit back then was at Php50,000.00. 

I wish I could say I was a responsible credit card owner, but unfortunately, no. I charged more than what I can pay in full for a month. I did not max out, but the mere fact that my income then did not allow full payment at the end of the month was already a disaster. I can't remember the exact amount but it may be between 10-20k. The items I charged? I think mountaineering gears (bag and shoes). And maybe a few others. So since I can't pay in full, I was paying a monthly interest of not lower than Php500.00. Kaloka.

What was my wake up call? One time I tried to compute how long it would take me to pay my remaining debts if I pay just the minimum amount every month, and if I stopped charging to my card while I was paying for my remaining balance. The result was a shocking 20+ years! And to say that I was shocked was an understatement. I fast forwarded my life to 20 years and I wanted to cry then because I don't want to be paying credit for that long! I also thought I cannot have my own family, or at the very least won't have a boyfriend until I paid for my dues! 

And so from then, I vowed to eliminate my debts as fast as I can. It took me less than a year. All excess amount was geared towards paying the debt. Most of my bonuses and leave conversions in 2005 were used to pay for my debts. I promised myself that my January 2006 bill should have no charges. And I was able to do that, hooray! And I never looked back. And I never put myself in that situation again. Or will I ever do it again. Never.

These days, I still charge everything that I can in my credit card. But I make sure that I already have a budget for these charges, and that I can pay for all charges in full every month. I still charge because of the points and it's more convenient for me since I can pay my bills online. And because I'm no longer a delinquent payer, all my requests for waiving of annual fees are granted.

Since my first credit card, the same bank also issued me the Gold version of their card, so currently I have 2 with the same bank. BDO also issued me a credit card without me applying for it. Maybe because my Payroll account is with them. While I am able to manage 3 cards, I'm now thinking of discontinuing the use of the other card because my insurance premium charges also ended. I don't need as many as 3 cards. Two would be enough so that there's still a backup. We'll see.

My credit card frustration: I really want to have a Citibank credit card. I applied 5 or 6 years ago but was denied. I applied 2 months ago and was also denied. I learned from an HR friend that Citibank does not approve applications of BPO employees. Another friend mentioned that Citibank also don't grant credit cards to lawyers. So, maybe that explains it. But it is still frustrating hehehe.

What's your credit card story?

On Personal Finance and Blog List

What?! June already?! That fast? Why why why? Anyway...

Source

Personal finance is something that I’m very passionate about for the simple reason that I need to closely watch my spending to avoid screwing up my life hahaha. You see, I’m single and I depend on myself alone to support me until my golden years. All my siblings have their own lives and families to deal with. I sometimes need to help some siblings too. I’m not born to rich parents. No inheritance from them. Well, only a small parcel of land just enough for a small house, but which has claims issues since the beginning of time (exaggerated but my first recall of the issue is since elementary days pa at anong petsa na ngayon), so I shouldn’t really depend on that. 

I still have a lot of things to learn, or more aptly, learning should never stop. I fail many times, again and again, but I just try to correct it right away. Sometimes, I get frustrated because I find my progress too slow or when I commit the same mistakes over and over again because it looks like I never learn. I also can’t help but compare myself with my peers but I always need to remember that we have our own timelines and priorities. So push lang ng push.

My list of blogs to read is mostly about personal finance. I love reading about others’ personal finance journey, all encompassing – successes and failures. Also preferably, blogs of ordinary people who are not really in the finance field because I find them more inspiring. I am also in constant search of these types of bloggers. My other set of blog list is US personal finance and frugality bloggers.

I am amazed at how these bloggers openly share their actual finances. I wish I could do that too but I’m not really comfortable for my finances to go public, hence I only limit my personal finance stuff to seminars and the lessons I picked or noted during the sessions. This is easier because it’s just like sharing your notes to everyone in “class” a.k.a. in public. The most revealing I've shared to date would be my yearly financial goals, which started in 2014. But let’s see. Change is the only thing constant. 

By the way, I use feedly mobile app to track/”follow” the blogs I read. Very simple and easy to use.

Personal Finance: Financial Seminar by BDO

I've shared about BDO's seminar previously. Lucky that a friend and I got seats so off we went last Saturday to attend. 

The speaker was Sir Efren Ll. Cruz, a registered financial planner, personal finance coach, and a bestselling author. I have read his book entitled "Pwede Na! The Complete Pinoy Guide to Personal Finance". I loved his book because it was very easy to read and understand so somehow, his name was kept somewhere in my memory. I have also heard of him from a colleague when she shared that she and her husband availed of his service as a financial planner. My friend's friend and his husband also got him as their financial planner. 

The seminar's title was "How to Break The Rules of Thumb in Personal Finance". Here are some of the things I was able to take note of.

1. 100 minus age Rule
According to this rule, the difference when you subtract your age from 100 should be the percentage of your portfolio that is invested in the stock market. However, it is still case to case. For people who just started saving for their retirement few years before they retire, they should be more aggressive in their investments.


2. Diversification Rule
As a rule of thumb, we must diversify but we also need to ensure that we don't over-diversify because in doing so, we may lose our chances of higher gains. According to Sir Efren, stock performance is 92% based on the market performance, 5% by the fund manager, 2% timing and 1% sheer luck.


3. Buy Low, Sell High
This is a little bit tricky because we only know when it is the lowest price or the highest price after the fact. The brain needs something to compare it to before it can conclude that it's the lowest or the highest.

His recommendation is to set a target and look for stocks that can return your target then sell when your target is met. Looking for stocks entails a lot of studying and analysis, he says.


4. 20:20 Retirement Rule
The rule states that if you will retire for 20 years, you should start preparing for your retirement 20 years prior your target retirement age.

On the contrary, we should start planning for our retirement as early as we can so that we can take advantage of time and also the years that we don't have much responsibilities and bills to pay yet. At 20 years prior target retirement age, you may already have started a family so there are more expenses to pay and saving for retirement may become the least priority. So it's better to start as early as you can.


5. Buy Your Own Home Instead of Renting
While there are more affordable properties in the market now, you should really assess first if you are ready to transition to home ownership. You should consider all additional costs that it entails. If you think you are ready, then go ahead. Otherwise, there is nothing wrong with renting while you are saving up for the budget needed for home ownership.

After presenting the above rules, his next question was, "Are you all S.E.T?" where SET was used as an acronym for:

• S - size of fund
• E - expertise in investing
• T - time available in investing

For us to be successful direct investors, we need to have a sizable fund, we need to be experts in investing and to be an experts, it is a full time job, and we should have the time to learn the ropes, do a lot of research, and come up with our own investing strategies.

However, most of us are not really S.E.T. So his recommendation was to hire professionals to do the investing for us. In doing so, we take advantage of the skills of the fund managers for a minimal fee. If we go this route, we can choose from Mutual Funds (MFs, offered by Mutual Fund companies), Unit Investment Trust Funds (UITFs, offered by the Trust arm of banks), or VULs (offered by insurance companies). I won't elaborate on each of the options as there are a lot of resources available online for the differences of the 3 and which companies offer what.

His parting lines were:

• Focus on the life events you want to achieve, not the money. 
• Strongest currency is FAITH.

A speaker from BDO was next and he presented the available UITF options that their bank offers.

Personal note:

Others may or may not agree and that's fine. After all, personal finance is still really just that...PERSONAL. As for me, I am thankful for opportunities such as this. Nothing beats learning for free. With J.Co donuts and coffee for snacks pa. San ka pa. Thanks, BDO! :)

Personal Finance: BDO's Financial Wellness Seminar

BDO is offering a financial wellness seminar for free this Saturday! Since it's free, and a friend and I are suckers for free seminars, we registered the other night. We haven't received the confirmation email yet, but still crossing our fingers. 

You may check this page for more details and to register if you're interested.

Update (03.11.2016): My friend and I received an email confirmation from BDO yesterday. We're in. Yay!

Personal Finance: Insurance Updates

*Image from here*

I've shared previously about my first insurance policy being potentially fully paid up last January. So, yes the agent confirmed that. I already made up my mind about making it fully paid up and divert my budget to another investment vehicle but I became hesitant when I was doing the paper works with the agent's secretary. I told her then that I have some more clarifications that I need to ask my agent. Those clarifications were just answered when I called her last week (yes, I procrastinate a lot and I'm not proud of it). Anyway, end result was for us to meet yesterday to discuss in person.

My agent's recommendation was to make it fully paid up because according to her, dividends are not that big now, as compared to 10 years ago so I am not maximizing my money's worth should I opt to continue just so I have more dividends in the future. And so, I gave her the go signal to make it fully paid up and proceeded to the paper works for my mutual fund account. I will also be receiving part of my dividends but that will go directly to my MF account. 

She also showed me a computation of how much retirement fund I should have, based on the estimated expenses I will have when I retire. I also asked her if she has a sample computation for a child's education and lucky for me she has. We tried punching in estimates based on Manila rates. Would you believe that 7 years from now, you would need almost Php 2M to pay for your child's tuition for elementary (6 years, does not include Nursery or Pre-school or Kinder)? Naloka ako hehe. Baseline for that is Php 95k yearly tuition, with 10% yearly increase in tuition and 4% inflation rate.

In all honesty, the figures are daunting hehehe. And while I do believe and trust in God's divine providence, I also think that it is our responsibility to take care of God's blessings. In short, we also have to do our part in making our lives better and one way is to be responsible with our finances. Sabi nga nila, nasa Dyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa. Walang mangyayari kung wala kang ginagawa talaga. Also, while money is not everything, money is the tool to allow you to pursue your other goals (like full time volunteer work, just because you know you are covered from your sources of income).

Kaya ito, push lang ng push. And I should always go back to my roots where my parents tried their bestest to provide for us with the meager income they made. Yes, meager because they were tax exempt, hence yearly income was less than Php 72k. Until now, I wonder how they managed with the budget and all hehe.

Praying for financial abundance for everyone.

Personal Finance: My Niece's First BDO COP

I was able to get my OFW niece's confirmation of participation from BDO last Thursday. I've shared in one of my posts before that I encouraged her to set up an investment account before leaving for her place of employment, so that she has a facility to put in her savings. 

I'm glad that she listened to my advice and realized the importance of starting early. I am happy that she is still committed to her savings plan for her daughter's college fund. I'm thankful with the technology because she is just a PM away when I want to randomly check on her savings goals. I pray that she will be blessed with a steady source of income so that she can achieve her goals for her family.

On a different note, I have not seen Ms. Joan during my 2 previous visits at the bank. Ms. Joan was the one who helped us open an account for my niece last year. I wonder if she resigned. Good thing that the teller who attended to me last Thursday maybe still remembers me because when I requested for my niece's COP, she did not ask for my ID anymore and she knew which family name to look for. Thank you, Ms. Teller. Note to self - get the teller's name on my next visit.

How about you? Do you have family members abroad? Any tips for OFWs so that their hard earned money won't go to waste?

Metrobank: How to Reactivate a Dormant Account

I did not do any transactions with my Metrobank account for more than 2 years, so it became dormant. Let's just say that the account's purpose was de-prioritized, hence the lack of transactions. 

But this year, I'm using it again so I went to the bank last Thursday to deposit. Of course, the system did not accept my transaction and the teller advised me to go to the teller in charge of new accounts and have my account deactivated. Off I went, and she let me do the following:

1. Filled out a form for reactivation and signature cards
2. Requested for an ID. That time, I only brought my company ID. She was looking for a government ID but I told her I did not bring any. She checked with the manager if the company ID was ok. I'm glad they accepted it. 
3. Asked me if I still know my PIN. Of course I forgot hehe. So she gave me two options: a) change card with a charge of Php 150.00 but I can get the card on the same day or b) change PIN but wait for 3 days. I chose the later since I can wait and I don't want to pay for Php 150.00
4. Deposit any amount. This is required according to the teller.

Unfortunately, it looks like my online account was also deactivated. I already sent an email to their customer care but haven't received any replies yet. Will just check with my branch again once I claim my PIN.

Financial Goals for 2016

While I mentioned in my 2016 goals that I have the same financial goals as last year, I decided to make a separate post about it because it's nice to go back to it by year-end and check whether I was able to make it or not. Besides, it adds a little more pressure in meeting your goals when it's out there for the world to see. 

And so, here it is, basing it from my budget file for 2016.

1. Religiously pay SK-LU. 5 months to go! Excited to mark this as completed!
2. Save 50k for processing of papers for SK-LU. After completing the payment in June, I'll have the same budget reallocated to this.
3. Religiously pay SK-Silang. 2 years to go.
4. Save 50k for lot processing of SK-Bgo. 
5. Save 35k for CR of SK-Bgo
6. Increase EIP allocation to 3k/month
7. Increase MF to 20k (carry over from previous years)
8. Add 20k-30k to COL 
9. Save 80k for Project BD (new in my budget file)
10. Religiously save 3k/month for niece's tuition
11. Set aside a Tulong fund
12. Continue saving for an international travel
13. Set aside 10k for December 2016

I tend to use codes for my financial goals for some level of privacy still. Feel free to email me if you are curious about those hehe. 

I already have 4 months parked for my safety fund. I originally planned for 6 months because of my parents, but since they both are now with Papa God, I'll stop at 4 for now. I'll add when excess funds become available.

No room for luho. Push lang. And just to stay focused, I'll now have quarterly reviews.

Financial Goals for 2015: Year End Review

I have been delaying the reality check for the goals I've set in 2015 mostly because I know I haven't met most of it hehehehe. You see, right after publishing my goals in 2015, life happened.

• A piece of land called my name, the payment terms are easy, and I went ahead and bought one parcel. And this impulse decision impacted my goals early on hehehe.
• As per tradition, we had to do something for mom and it was unexpected, and entailed a big amount. While she still had remaining money after her burial, it was not enough to cover all the expenses so I had to take some from my safety fund.
• A day after the traditional ceremonies for our mother, our father was rushed to the hospital, and then we eventually lost him. Incurred a lot of hospital bills and burial expenses, which was thankfully covered by the donations we've received but it was still not enough so I had to again take some more from my safety fund. 
• Admittedly, I resorted to retail therapy partly to cope with all the stress at the start of last year. I don't regret my purchases though because most are things that I need and still using until now. 

And now, here's my reality check.

1. Complete safety fund (6 months' worth) by June 2015 - FAILED (At 4 months by year end. Reevaluating now, given that I don't have parents to take care of anymore)
2. Religiously pay SK LU. 18 months to go - SUCCESS! (6 months to go!)
3. Save a total of Php 61,500 by end of the year for lot processing/housing fund - FAILED (All funds reallocated to something else)
4. Maintain 2k/month allocation for BDO EIP until June. Increase to 5k/month by July. - FAILED (Had to retain 2k/month until year end)
5. Increase MF to 20k - FAILED
6. Add 10-20k in stock market - SUCCESS! (Added a total of 12k. Small, but every amount counts!)
7. Save a total of Php 40K for continuation of house construction - FAILED (All funds reallocated to something else)
8. Attend at least 2 financial seminars - SUCCESS!
9. Allocate a daily allowance and put all extra in a jar. This will be used for wants. - QUITE (Was able to save some from my allowance. Still not spent and will still be for wants)
10. Continue donation for church construction in my hometown where my mom was active on her last few months with us - FAILED (All funds reallocated to something else)
11. Set aside a Tulong fund for those unexpected expenses. I have been getting surprise requests since my mom died and it screws up my budget and stresses me out most of the time (all my income down to the last centavo is allocated to something so I really don't have any extra fund which I can let go of anytime). Might as well be ready for things like this. QUITE. (Was able to save some on some paydays but still reallocated to other things. I was firmer with my NO this time, without feeling guilty over not being able to lend (aka give) money to borrowing relatives)
12. Start saving for an international travel (planning to do backpacking in Europe as a graduation gift for myself when I complete the MTM program). Will initially set aside 2k/month for this. - QUITE (But for a Japan trip this year. Europe would have to wait but still in the list)

Too many reds, but this year is another chance to be better.

Estimated to be Fully Paid Up By…

*Image from here*

Thirteen years ago, I was convinced by an agent to get an insurance. Back then, all my batch mates were getting one for themselves. Besides, one batch mate was friends with the agent (he was the husband of the batch mate’s officemate). And because everyone was getting, and the agent prepared several proposals for me based on my budget then, plus I already had some hindsight that eventually, I’ll have to support my parents, I also decided to get one. However, I had very limited knowledge on how insurance works and personal finance in general. I know, I know. I should not be getting into something that I don’t fully understand but…I was young and gullible hehehe.

 Anyway, with the thick documentation given to me and all that was written in it, what stuck in my mind was the possibility of my policy being fully paid up on the 13th year, given some conditions (like dividends have not been withdrawn). So earlier today, I just took the chance to ask my new agent’s secretary. Guess what? As per the company’s records, my policy is estimated to be fully paid up by January 3, 2016! Yay!!!! Clap clap clap! She emphasized “estimated” and they will check again in December but I’m crossing my fingers that it will still be the case. While the monthly amount I set aside for this policy is  not that substantial, it would still be a big help especially now that there is a new item I need to save up for. So, I’m claiming that this policy will be fully paid up by January 3, 2016! :)

Financial Goals for 2015

Happy new year!

My 2015 will still be focused on improving my financial status, hence saving as much as I can. And so, here are my goals.

1. Complete safety fund (6 months' worth) by June 2015. 
2. Religiously pay SK LU. 18 months to go!
3. Save a total of Php 61,500 by end of the year for lot processing/housing fund
4. Maintain 2k/month allocation for BDO EIP until June. Increase to 5k/month by July.
5. Increase MF to 20k
6. Add 10-20k in stock market
7. Save a total of Php 40K for continuation of house construction
8. Attend at least 2 financial seminars.
9. Allocate a daily allowance and put all extra in a jar. This will be used for wants.
10. Continue donation for church construction in my hometown where my mom was active on her last few months with us
11. Set aside a Tulong fund for those unexpected expenses. I have been getting surprise requests since my mom died and it screws up my budget and stresses me out most of the time (all my income down to the last centavo is allocated to something so I really don't have any extra fund which I can let go of anytime). Might as well be ready for things like this.
12. Start saving for an international travel (planning to do backpacking in Europe as a graduation gift for myself when I complete the MTM program). Will initially set aside 2k/month for this.

Will update by mid-year on my status.

Financial Goals for 2014: Year End Review

Before the year officially closes, reality check for these goals.

1. Complete payment of bank and personal loan - target end of January - completed personal loan just recently by realigning budget.
2. Religiously pay SK LU - was able to pay required amount for 2014 with no delays. I can't believe I have already completed paying close to 60%. 18 months to go!
3. Maintain 7k savings for lot processing/housing fund
   • Mid Year: Had to adjust last Jan. and Feb. because of other payables. So far, consistent in the succeeding months.
   • Year End: Had to adjust around July because we were transferred to another site, hence transportation expenses increased. I had been taking the cab since the transfer since on the first night I attempted to commute, my bag was slashed. Haven't recovered since then. Besides, there's always the laptop to bring home in case there are emergency calls especially in the mornings when I can't wake up early enough to get to the office on time. Also, I'll be shouldering the tuition fee of a niece so I had to start saving for this as early as I can.
4. Save 35k to add to safety fund (aka emergency fund). Target to accumulate 3 months' worth by end of year.
   • Mid Year: Changed priorities around April so new target is to complete SF (6 months) by end of this year or until Jan. 2015.
   • Year End: Changed decision again around July (all in UITF will only be for retirement fund and not for SF) so new target is to complete SF (6 months) by June 2015. Was able to save around 4.5 month's worth to date.
5. Maintain 2k/month allocation for BDO EIP - on track for 2014 target.
6. Increase MF to 20k
   • Mid Year: Still consistent with the 500/month budget but currently evaluating if I would still continue with this or just switch to UITFs.
   • Year End: Reallocated saved fund to open a BPI account. Also still thinking whether to continue or just focus on UITFs. I have to say the results are not that impressive as compared to the UITFs I placed in late 2013.
7. Add 10-20K in stock market.
   • Mid Year: Still on track. 5K added to date
   • Year End: Total of 16K to date from regular budget. Also reallocated more funds to stocks and decided to delay house project for a while.
8. Complete my version of the 52-week challenge.
   • Mid Year: Missed some weeks and switching to a lower base for the succeeding weeks to make it more realistic
   • Year End: Was not able to complete because of an increase in expenses starting July. Saved amount will be used for a want since this is savings on top of the regular savings that's already part of my budget.
9. Continue donation for church construction in my hometown where my mom was active on her last few months with us - will hand over whatever is saved for this during the New Year mass.

Six out of nine met. Not bad I guess, given the circumstances of why the other goals were not met. Up next, 2015 goals.

Cheers to more savings in 2015!

Personal Finance: PSEi 8000: Push Mo Yan! - My Takeaways

As mentioned in my previous post, I was able to attend BPI's annual conference earlier today. I almost backed out but glad that I still attended. 

My takeaways:

• The stock market is not a one time thing. If you really want to be a stock market investor, you should invest time and effort to learn and practice it until it becomes a part of your system.
• Different strokes for different folks. Each of the speakers have different stock market strategies. There is no one strategy that works for everyone. It took them time and effort to build their own strategies until they got the right mix for it.
• A newbie investor may be overwhelmed to listen to all of them all at the same time because of the different points of view. So again, it all boils down to investing time and effort to learn the stock market if you want to go this route.
• I realized that I am more excited with stock trading. I should devote more time in studying that and find a way to try it.
• Like in everything else, planning is crucial. You have to have an entry and exit strategies, and what's next after exiting in one or more stocks.
• There are a lot of people who are willing to share their knowledge for free. Learn from them. But don't depend on them to make decisions for you. They won't and you shouldn't ask them to decide for you in the first place, so do your homework. Sabi nga nila lagi, aral muna bago invest. 
• I wish they have sessions like this several times a year. From what I know, this is just an annual event. It's worth what I paid for.
• Money is not everything but money is a tool that would empower you to do the things that are important to you. So to have such resources, it is important to know how to make money work for you.

Cheers to everyone who are taking the time to learn about personal finance, especially to the newbies like me :). May we all find that strategy that is best suited with our lifestyle and personal advocacies.

Personal Finance: PSEi 8000: Push Mo Yan!

What better way to spend a school-free Saturday (prof has prior engagement, hence no classes today) than to attend a seminar on stock market. I learned about the event from a friend who has a friend with a BPI Trade account. I think it is exclusive to BPI Trade account holders so I emailed the organizer first to check if a) they accept walk-ins and b) non-BPI trade account holders. Luckily, it was yes for both, however, we were required to open an BPI Trade account, which I really didn't mind because it has already been part of my plan to open one. 

The conference is titled PSEi 8000: Push Mo Yan! They had four guest speakers, each discussing specific topics. 

Some points I remember from each speaker:

Sir Marvin Germo

• The market will not go up forever so it is important to have a plan
• Build your skills, build your strategies, change as needed, refine if not working and do this repeatedly over a period of time
• Make trading and investing based on your lifestyle
• Leave emotions out of the door
• Create a checklist of the parameters of the stocks you want to buy and use this checklist to trim down the stock list before you start buying
• More time should be spent on pre-work while execution only minutes
• Profit is made when you have conviction. You have conviction when you have confidence. You have confidence when you did all your pre-work!
• Trade with an end goal in mind
• Follow where the cash is. Capitalize where people spend their money on
• Timing is everything

His book, Stock Smarts Stock Investing Made Easy, was also available so I was able to grab one. I'll probably read this during commutes to work.

He also has a blog, which I came across when I was searching for references on personal finance.

Sir Mike Oyson

• The party is still on-going at 11 PM (meaning it is still an uptrend in the stock market) but parties don't last forever because earnings will drive performance
• Investing is not a science but an art because Psychology comes into play
• Global flows will dominate market movements in the next 12 months
• Take note of the push (global) and pull (local) factors 
• The stock market is not really correlated to GDP but more correlated with the US market
• We need more domestic investors to drive the PH market. Right now, it is still driven by foreigners
• For long term investors, just be in the market
• For short term investors, easy money has been made but there is still some money left
• Differentiate the company and the stock (he mentioned about liking some companies but not their stocks because it is just too expensive)
• Choose entry points
• It is not about getting it right. It is how much money you put in the stock market when you are right.
• SWAN - sleep well at night
• Distinguish money for investing and trading
• Do not be a battered investor. Know when to get out
• Know what you own
• Learn and practice

Sir Tony Herbosa

• Trading is not just about percentage gains. You have to think out of the box and not linear.
• Trading is an art form-all about intuition, gut feel, instincts, inspiration
• The game is poker, not blackjack
• Bagger strategy: position trading to the max
• Entry strategies: should have a starting point
• His most striking question: When the stock price of some companies were on an upward trend, what did you do?

He had slides about the waves. He also had some slides about the stocks he is or he has invested in. He was generous in sharing his buy and sell transactions.

Sir Tony is the man behind Traders Apprentice Pilipinas FB group, and more of a trader than an investor. 

Ms. Salve Duplito

• Her topic is about value investing which is not popular but this is the strategy used by Warren Buffet.
• There is a difference between an investor and a speculator. An investor studies the company, while a speculator follows what the trends say.
• It is not all about the money. Money should be used as a tool to do more.
• Her advocacy is to help those who have lower levels of income be financially literate so they would also have the chance of making their lives better.

Ms. Salve is a resident financial adviser of the ANC show On the Money (which I regularly watch).

I emailed the organizers again to see if they can share to us the PowerPoint presentations they used today. I'll share more should they send it.

Financial Goals for 2014: Mid-year Review

Before June officially closes, reality check for these goals.

1. Complete payment of bank and personal loan - target end of January - completed personal loan just recently by realigning budget.
2. Religiously pay SK LU - no delays so far.
3. Maintain 7k savings for lot processing/housing fund - had to adjust last Jan. and Feb. because of other payables. So far, consistent in the succeeding months.
4. Save 35k to add to safety fund (aka emergency fund). Target to accumulate 3 months' worth by end of year. - Changed priorities around April so new target is to complete SF (6 months) by end of this year or until Jan. 2015.
5. Maintain 2k/month allocation for BDO EIP - still on track.
6. Increase MF to 20k - still consistent with the 500/month budget but currently evaluating if I would still continue with this or just switch to UITFs.
7. Add 10-20k in stock market - still on track. 5K added to date.
8. Complete my version of the 52-week challenge - missed some weeks and switching to a lower base for the succeeding weeks to make it more realistic
9. Continue donation for church construction in my hometown where my mom was active on her last few months with us - missed some months but will still make it up for a bigger donation by end of year.

Keeping my fingers crossed that I would be able to meet these goals this year. However, I'm expecting something that will again impact my budget but hopefully, it won't cause so much deviation from my goals. MUST complete #4!

Will update by year end.

Financial Goals for 2014

Happy new year!

After all the drama in 2013, and all the realizations when my mom left us to join our Creator, my 2014 will now focus on improving my financial status to become more liquid. And so, here are my goals.

1. Complete payment of bank and personal loan - target end of January
2. Religiously pay SK LU
3. Maintain 7k savings for lot processing/housing fund
4. Save 35k to add to safety fund (aka emergency fund). Target to accumulate 3 months' worth by end of year
5. Maintain 2k/month allocation for BDO EIP
6. Increase MF to 20k
7. Add 10-20k in stock market
8. Complete my version of the 52-week challenge
9. Continue donation for church construction in my hometown where my mom was active on her last few months with us

Will update by mid-year on my status.

Personal Finance: My FAMI Experience

Hi everyone. I just wanted to share my First Metro Asset Management, Inc. (FAMI) experience.

I sent my initial investment last Jan. 11 via one of the Metrobank branches. On Jan. 14, I emailed pictures of the documents I sent them (emailed twice,  both they did not reply to acknowledge but I was not worried :)) On the week of Jan. 14-18, I made a follow up twice via call but did not get to speak to the one receiving the documents nor anyone in charge of processing the placements.

Made another call last Jan. 22 and luckily this time, I was able to talk to the right person :). I was informed that my investment was processed on Jan. 16 and that my Confirmation Receipt (COR) was picked up by Air21 last Jan. 21 :).  I was happy to learn upon checking that NAVPS were lower last Jan. 16 as compared to Jan. 11 when I submitted my docs.

On Jan. 23, my friend informed me that a package for me was delivered to her place. I used my friend's address as my mailing address since I don't have anyone to receive it in my apartment ( I live alone and my neighbours are also renters, no landlady/landlord who can receive it for me) and based from my readings in this forum, looks like the common problems are lost CORs. At least in my friend's place, she's usually at home. I also inquired if I can just pick it up from any Air21 branch closest to me but the guy said that's not an option.

Things I did before my initial investment:

• Read and re-read the Mutual Funds (MF) threads here (I really went back to the old threads, which I have also read 2 or 3 years back :))
• Read some blogs about MF
• I know that I am an aggressive investor simply because my goal for my FAMI investment is long term. But just for the heck of it, I reassessed my investor profile based on BDO's questionnaire for their UITF investments (got it from their website). FAMI's form also has a questionnaire but the grading is not available though
• Browsed through the FAMI site mainly to check on how to invest with them. Honestly, until now, I haven't yet read the Save & Learn Equity Fund (SALEF) prospectus and that's Step 1 of their procedures hihihi. Still in my to-do list :)
• This is out of my budget but since I really wanted to kick off my FAMI journey, I set aside part of my 13th month to fund this and the amount required to open a Metrobank account, which brings me to...
• I opened a Metrobank account so that future top ups will be online (just because I'm a sucker for online transactions as long as I know it is secured hehehe). I'm not sure yet what to send to FAMI if I top up online. I'll share with you after my actual experience :)
• I took my time in filling up the forms (Account Opening Form (AOF), Investment Application Form (IAF), and Signature Cards). I think it took me 3 days before I was at ease with all the information I placed in the forms. I even Googled all terms I did not understand and there were a lot of them because Finance is not my field. Thank you Google hihihi.

My inital investment was just the minimum of Php5K for SALEF. Based on my COR, I was deducted Php100.00 for Sales Load.

Was it hard or complicated? Not really. I just followed the FOUR steps in FAMI's website (there's a mistake in the step numbers so you'll see until Step 5 :D). I did not have an agent but it actually crossed my mind to have one at first. I also did not call FAMI beforehand to inquire because the information I got from the forum and blogs were more than enough for me to go with it. However, this does not work for everyone. As a general rule, it is still best that you do what would make you comfortable before diving into this. But don't wait or delay too long (like what I did) because as Financial advisers would always say---the time to invest is NOW. :)

May I just note (based from experience) that looks like most bank tellers are not familiar with these so you must research well before talking to them because do expect that you'll be the one giving them instructions on simple things such as pouching your documents to FAMI :D.

Happy investing!