Admit it. Spending is more fun than saving. That’s why in these tough times, some techniques to trick ourselves into saving might come in handy.
There’s a television segment that discusses this topic, but the tips are not that applicable to the Philippine setting. Those who are in the US, may however, want to watch it:
Since the Personal Equity Retirement Account (PERA) Bill was signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last August 22, 2008, those who have been conscious savers and investors were fairly bursting at the seams with excitement.
Ah, the joys of tax-free savings and investments. It’s enough to make hearts skip a beat despite the gloomy global environment.
But wait. This news should be something that excites the nation as a whole. Particularly OFWs and their families. I don’t see that happening. Yet. Let’s see what we can do with that.
[Read the rest of this entry »]
Stephanie (not her real name) looked a bit like a lost little girl, no different from her eight-year old daughter who transferred to my son’s school. Turns out that it was her first time to attend a school activity. She has been at sea on cruise ships for the last 15 years, going home only once a year – one of 230,000 sea-based Filipinos working abroad.
We had a lengthy and very interesting discussion about what it was like at sea for the past 15 years, starting from when she was a fresh graduate of Hotel and Restaurant Management from a reputable school here in Metro Manila, up until she decided to get pregnant (but not get married) and now that she is waiting for her call to join the crew of another cruise ship.
Stephanie’s story amazed me, although it was not the first time I had heard of the challenges and experiences of Filipino sea-based workers. She told me how Filipinos earn anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000 a month, bulk of which come from tips from passengers. She also described how Filipinos burn their money buying clothes, bags, laptops that they never get to use, mobile phones and other techie gadgets from different ports even when these could also be bought in the country at the same price or even cheaper.
[Read the rest of this entry »]
With ten short days to go before Landbank of the Philippines ends the offering period for its long-term negotiable certificates of deposit, confused overseas Filipino workers are still at a loss on how to access the offering.
At the heart of the problem are Landbank’s feeble presence overseas and a ticklish issue on documentary requirements. You will find many examples of those concerns from MoneySmart readers in my previous posts on the LTNCDs here and here.
Joey Sale, a senior analyst at Landbank, said the bank has held meetings on these issues Monday afternoon, conscious of the difficulties the OFWs are facing.
State-owned Landbank of the Philippines’s sweet deal for OFWs launched yesterday is described in this article.
An annual interest of 7.0% and a maturity of 5.5 years is not bad for anyone’s portfolio. Experts always tout diversification and to do that properly, the risky part should not overshadow the secure and boring part. How to cut the cake exactly depends on personal risk appetites, of course.
It is a fact of life that stocks are sexy and deposits and bonds are boring. ☺ Most of the times, boring is good.
[Read the rest of this entry »]
(Photo from Agence France-Presse)
Worsening poverty plus rising food prices, and what have you got? More and more households are definitely going to the poor house if this keeps up. There are indicators everywhere that high prices aren’t likely to go back down anytime in the future. I remember what Rico Hizon said during a recent interview: We are importing inflation from the US and China. Everywhere in Asia, prices are going up.
Here are some tips from a MoneySense article on how to make sure you’re not badly affected:
Watch out for the warning signs:
To me, number five would go to number one. An inadequate buffer fund, absence of emergency stash – whatever you want to call it – should make ANYONE stop and take stock of your situation as if it’s the biggest red light on the street of personal finance.
[Read the rest of this entry »]
If this is any indication how many Filipinos in their forties or thereabouts are just starting to save, holy macaroni! ☺
The article’s number one spot on Business Most-Read is particularly telling. But hey! I’m glad people are starting to realize saving for the future is one of those things in life we must NOT take for granted. Better late than later, and better late than never
To read the article on Donna, who was smart enough to ask for help on how to start saving even at age 40, click here.
[Read the rest of this entry »]
(Photo from Agence France-Presse)
No self-flagellation here in MoneySmarts this Holy Week break! Let’s list down all our favorite painless ways to increase savings. I’ll go first:
Banks are marketing special deposit account products more aggressively these days. With the low returns from time deposits and fixed-income instruments, people are looking for more alternatives and I actually witnessed this in a bank branch the other day.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Doris Dumlao reports today that as of February 8, SDAs have sucked in P546 billion of the money in the banking system. Read her article here.
Here are some useful figures to remember from this article:
BY MALAYA LARAYA
I recently conducted a half-day seminar on financial planning for some professionals and it was a rather enlightening experience on the mindsets of people when it comes to financial planning. As always there was an open forum at the end and quite a number of questions were asked – some were the usual and some were rather unusual. So for those of you who may have had some of these questions in mind but didn’t know who or what to ask; here is a small FAQ on financial planning.
What is the best investment? This is definitely the most common question that has been asked and the short answer is this : There is none. More specifically, there is simply no investment tool that is the best for all people all of the time. There are instead, instruments that are best suited to each individual’s particular needs, plans and current financial condition. Simply put, what is good for your friend, spouse, relative, lover, workmate, neighbour or child may not necessarily be good for you due to the undeniable fact that you and your friend, spouse, relative, lover, workmate, neighbor or child are two different individuals. Consequently, the two of you will have different sets of wants and needs at different times and will therefore need different solutions. Therefore, be very wary of anyone who tries to sell you a panacea for all of your investment needs as it simply does not yet exist.
Where can I get information about (x)? Despite the fact that we are very much in the online age, very many people still do not know where to get even the most basic information about financial products. From equities to managed funds to pre-need plans; people seem to be at a loss as to where to go. Here are some websites that you can visit as well as what you can expect to read.
[Read the rest of this entry »]
