Hot money, hot Pinoy seafarers (were you thinking of hot Pinoy hunks? Tsk tsk), hot business opportunities in medical tourism – everything’s hot today except the weather. We are expecting another typhoon…sigh. It’s always like that before or after my birthday. EVER since I was born 21 years ago. (Did you just do a double take?)

The Philippines attracted $274 million net “hot money” last October, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported today. That’s quite a huge jump from $35.8 million in September, and totally deserves a blog post.

In this post,  I wrote that hot money refers to short-term investments by foreign investors in local stocks, bonds and money market instruments. While they influence the local financial market, we need to remember that they are very speculative and can leave our shores at the touch of a button. The long-term growth of our stock and bond markets, in fact, will depend on whether domestic investors (that’s you, me and our OFW friends and relatives abroad) will begin to invest in the domestic market. Policy-makers hope a wider base of domestic investors will not be as jumpy as foreigners.

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When I was in my early 20s, I longed to retire at 30. Now that I have reached that marvelous age (plus several years), I realize I need more time. Besides, I can’t imagine not doing what I’m doing now. I would probably be lost without my writing that constantly defines and affirms every day who I am and what are the little things I can do to leave my little mark in this world.

A retirement survey by HSBC called The Future of Retirement in fact showed that many Filipinos would like to work even after they retire.

Boy Javier, an advertising executive, on the other hand, decided to get off the train early. And he is having the time of his life, according to this MoneySense article in the personal finance section of INQUIRER.net.

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When it comes to saving and investing money, people are drawn towards figures that measure returns in cold, hard figures. Returns become some sort of Holy Grail that indicates whether an investment is any good, regardless of volatility and default risk.

In this exclusive interview with Karen Liza M. Roa, president and chief executive officer of Philam Asset Management, Inc. (PAMI), Roa says stability of the company and a well-defined investment process should also be topmost consideration for serious investors.

PAMI is one of the top three players in the mutual fund industry in terms of size. Learn about several sticky issues about mutual fund investing in this interview, like costs of investing, clues on upcoming new funds, the difference between mutual funds and UITFs, and what is the best strategy if you decide to invest in this instrument. MoneySmarts asks the hard questions so that you will be an informed investor. Happy reading!

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Only a few months to go before the wedding season begins to heat up. By this time, I can imagine a lot of prospective brides and grooms starting to feel that white-hot feeling of panic as expenses start coming in and as the reality of the entire things sinks in.

A lot of marriages are destroyed by poor financial management, so this is not the time to enter that holy agreement all wide-eyed and unprepared. Love can do a lot of things to finances – both good and bad.

Reader Jay, for example, emailed us asking for advice on how to make his money grow more. He intends to get married and settle down in the Philippines in two years. Jay says he understands the concept of high risk/high return, and wonders what options are available after deposits, stocks and mutual funds.
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Before I die, I want to see a polar bear in its real environment, play with penguins, explore Scotland, stand on the spot where Jesus likely gave his sermon on Beatitudes, experience backpacking across Europe with my only daughter and intimately know the beauty of the Philippines’ unexplored beaches, mountains and waterfalls.

You all have a sacred list of what you want to do before you hit the bucket. Have you figured out how much money you need to save so that you can retire well and do everything on that list?

Andrew Ferrer, a Fil-Am living in the US with his wife, is planning to retire in the Philippines to maximize their dollar savings. He asks:

How much income do you think we need to have per month for us to survive a pretty decent lifestyle?”

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