I only have admiration for people who try to educate themselves on financial planning or how to manage their money. When I wrote about Mariannet early this week, I was amazed at those who responded – many of you have come from similar (or even worse) but have managed to lift yourselves by your bootstraps and are, in fact, doing well!

One of you who commented on that post was right: you are a testament that poverty does not have to be a widespread problem. The answer lies within each of us.

In fact, Dr. Noet Ravalo’s column yesterday talked of real-life stories of two drivers who were from the similar backgrounds, but have very different strategies on saving money.

Let me take the case of Bert (not his real name). He is a driver at a government agency and takes home roughly P10,000 a month, including overtime. To beat the morning rush from the Las Piñas area, he takes the FX (airconditioned public transportation) in the morning although he takes the jeepney (not airconditioned) at night. He is married with four children, the youngest being eight years old and the eldest is already in high school. Bert has a small loan with a government financial institution, which he faithfully pays on time. Bert’s wife takes care of their modest rented unit.

I have known Bert since he was single, working as a security detail in a government office. I vividly remember our chat over a decade ago: he kept on saying to me, “Gusto ko sanang matuto nagmaneho para naman maka asenso ng konti.” You could see it in his eyes that the ever-present smile was the facade to some dogged determination to move ahead. With the help of friends who literally lent their vehicle, Bert learned to drive through the busy streets of Las Piñas.

Al is a driver just like Bert. Prior to coming to Manila in 1996, his work experience was limited to driving a pick up truck through sugar fields and, according to him, overtaking only carabaos. While he has now been working for the same family for over 10 years, you can just imagine what it was like for him (and his passengers!) driving through EDSA (Manila’s main highway) back then. Al was so new to the city that he opted to take the flight of stairs to carry the bags of his boss rather than be trapped inside that steel contraption he has never ridden before (aka the elevator). Yes, the flight of stairs, 15 floors worth of stairs.

Al now has a take home pay of roughly P14,000 a month. Aside from being a paying member of the Social Security System, Al has two weeks of paid vacation in December, over and above his 13th month. Al is also married, has a son who is about seven years old and an “adopted daughter” who is two years old. Al’s wife is also a full-time homemaker.

Al, unfortunately, has no savings. When the children get sick or there are other needs, Al will ask his boss for an advance. The boss has repeatedly talked to Al about his lack of saving, not just for himself but also for the needs of the children. While Al always says he has learned his lesson, the reality is that nothing is left of his salary. He comes to work in brand new shades, new gloves (ones used by bike racers), trinkets here and there and even a new P6,000 bike. But Al never ever bothers to buy new clothes, doesn’t give you a semblance of a “professional” look and is just as happy to live the “OK na ‘yan” lifestyle. If you ask Al why he bought the shades (instead of say replace his VERY tattered undershirt) his quick answer is “eh sale kasi eh (because it’s on sale).”

Both Bert and Al are gainfully employed, in the same line of work and started under similar circumstances. But Bert is striving while Al is plodding along. Bert has a lower income and a bigger income but he has enough discipline to be granted a bank loan. Al on the other hand is going nowhere and that doesn’t even bother him.

Read the entire article here.

Noet poined out that Bert might be starting small, but if he goes on doing what he is doing, eventually he will learn about mutual funds, stock markets, bonds and maybe even warrants, investing in the real estate and he will do well.

The question the whole discussion begs to be asked is: after you know the technicals, what now? Isn’t it true that many of us have known the technicalities of investing for years and still haven’t gone past the saving stage into the investment stage?

Let me again quote Noet:

Mariannet’s story is a real tragedy. But Al is as much a tragedy and he doesn’t even want to recognize it (shades and biker’s gloves and all). People always talk about “doing the math” to manage ones personal finances but Al is living proof that consideration of the technical details is patently presumptuous. It presumes that the person has foresight and it presumes that the person has a desire to make his tomorrow “better” than his present.

It all goes back to foresight. May we all get a big dose of it today.

(Relatives and sympathizers carry the casket of Mariannet Amper from the family’s tattered shanty house, seen in the background, in Davao city in southern Philippine island of Mindanao, 10 November 2007 to a nearby public cemetery during her burial. Struggling to survive in life of poverty Mariannet,11 hanged herself to death 02 November 2007 leaving a letter and diary depicting a life in rampant poverty. The case put a human face to poverty blighting the Southeast Asian nation, where nearly 14 percent of the 87 million population live on less than a dollar a day even as the government says the economy is on a roll. AFP PHOTO)