Guess what? I’m already planning the long weekend holiday breaks in December and where the family will go when summer break comes. I know, I know, that’s like four months and eight months away, but planning hammers down costs compared with flying on a whim!
Bohol looks promising…
Of course, we are Boracay babies so that’s definitely still on the list…
If you’re a small guy in the investment arena, you can’t expect the lead manager of your mutual fund to pick up the phone and ring you up when stocks started tumbling. But at least you should have received a text message or email from the sales guy who made you sign on the dotted line, right?
From reader feedbacks INQUURER.net has been getting, it seems like most brokers, investment managers, bankers and sales agents have forgotten their clients in the midst of the market uncertainty. If you’re one of the few who received at least a group text message or email explaining what is happening, consider yourself lucky (and smart) for choosing the right company. Otherwise, you’re just like the rest of the small guys who are left holding the bag.
From a macro perspective, this can be alarming. Many mutual fund investors, for example, are first-timers attracted by the fantastic returns the industry reported last year. Worse, if they were enticed to invest to chase those returns, they are probably the ones now making a beeline towards the exit.
You’ve all heard of the expression “know yourself.” Experts believe this should be the first baby step of people who want to successfully get off their little gerbil wheel of consumerism, where it is custumary to work like horses the whole week and spend everything on weekends. No matter what investing prowess we have achieved, or what superior knowledge about wealth accumulation we have attained, if we skip this process, there’s a likelihood we may crash and burn and perhaps question whether financial independence is really an achievable goal.
Thing is, facing reality is tough. Nevertheless, knowing our inner financial blueprint could bring us closer to financial happiness or hinder us from getting there.
From the perspective of the financial planning professional, taking this route requires more work and dedication. Cookie-cutter financial plans will not work. A financial plan that folds in clients’ money personalities addresses their inner money demons and strengths, and hopefully builds on those strengths to create a more financially responsible and happy person.
A very wise man wrote that money is more about the mind, more than the math. I tend to agree, considering the results of recent Money Makeover sessions with volunteers Diego and Bianca, and Sheldon.
As I recounted in this post, financial planner Augustus J.V. Ferreria began his Money Makeover sessions by asking our three volunteers about their childhood, parents, siblings and major milestones in their lives. During that meeting, several initial analyses came out.
Diego was deprived as a child, having grown up in poverty as the eldest among his siblings. His father’s sudden business success during his teen years flipped the situation over and allowed him to enjoy the comforts of financial security – a generous allowance, a good car, and an expensive course (Fine Arts in UP Diliman).
The initial analysis: Diego may have difficulty curbing his spending appetite because of his past. A history of deprivation raises the risk of splurging and uncontrolled spending to feed unresolved longings.
It’s a tag party and I’ve been invited “PF” style 
. Thanks Digerati Life for including me in your tag list. What a great community of personal finance bloggers! I’ve found quite a number that should be included in my daily reading regimen.
It’s comical how this question has hounded me over the weekend. I thought about it while writing about other things, while walking to the mall, while preparing lessons for kids, while I was getting ready for bed! If I were asked to give just one — just one personal finance advice — what would it be?
Here goes: Enjoy your money! But use a plan and stick to it.
Augustus “Joe” Ferreria (Joe F. in this article) has all the trappings of a high-profile job. A big corner office in the Makati financial district, a nationwide sales team, and the solid name of the SM Group of Companies and Generali Pilipinas behind him.
As senior executive vice-president of Generali Pilipinas, Joe F. is the revenue guy. In the first five months of 2007 alone, sales clocked in a 75% growth compared with the same period a year ago to P974 million.
That amount may seem tiny compared with Philamlife’s P14.5 billion in 2006, but not if you realize that Generali began operations in the Philippines only in 2000. Joe grew the company from a P400 million company to P2 billion in one year after he joined the firm in 2004. As an upstart in the insurance industry, Generali is playing a quick catch-up game.
Today, Noet Ravalo answers a greenie in stock market investing who wondered what would happen to the IPO shares he bought earlier this year when everything was bright and sunny in the stock market and talks of it reaching the 4,400 level next year was rife. The reader asked:
At what point will my shares be considered of no value. Say if bought at P5 per share and value goes down, at what price level will my share be considered lost and gone?
Answer: Look inside yourself to find out. How’s that for an answer?
I don’t know if keeping money matters among adults is unique to Filipinos, or even Asians. Time and again, I have seen parents send children away when talking about financial matters. It’s not just that we don’t want our children to worry. It’s just that not many Filipino parents are comfortable telling their children how much they really earn.
However, trusting children with cash is at the heart of teaching financial literacy in the home. If we want them to understand money, we have to let them handle money. More importantly, we have to truly empower them to decide, after we have taught them the right principles behind money management.
I know of a mother who was widowed and had to feed and clothe four children alone. Gainful employment was hard to find because she was a homemaker before her husband died. It was very tough for the whole family.
The Philippines’ main stock market index closed sharply higher today, ending at its biggest single-day gain in seven years. The same relief rally is seen all over Asia, and even the dollar firmed against the yen in Asian markets. The central bank is probably saying “I told you so” since it predicted a market relief after the Fed’s 50 basis point surprise cut in its discount rate on Friday.
Is the stock market rout finally over? There’s a little bit of a Greek theater-like drama playing here.
At its core, the economy hasn’t really changed and yet Philippine financial markets gyrated wildly after the subprime mortgage problem in the US blew up in recent weeks. Now, the problem hasn’t really gone away and might take even up to 2008 to pan out and yet the market scores a huge single-day gain.
Most financial planning experts agree that it’s best to start early when teaching children about money. If there’s one thing that Filipinos can do now to raise the country’s savings rate in the future, this is it. One child at a time.
Allowance appears to be the most popular tool to do this. INQUIRER.net’s personal finance article today says money management is conspicuously absent from most school curricula, which means lessons on financial literacy should begin at home. Citibank answers this question from a reader:
My husband and I set the allowance for our eldest child, now in 2nd year high school. We wanted her to have enough money so she won’t go hungry during the day, but not too much that she can buy anything on sight. Just one month after school started, our daughter is complaining that her allowance is “too small”. Now, we’re thinking maybe she should just bring “baon” and we’ll cut her allowance. What do you suggest? – Benny C.
