OFW Corner : It’s Hard To Earn Money

September 18, 2012 Leave a comment


“It’s hard to earn a money even you are working abroad.”

I always hear this phrase from my fellow OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers).

Normally, when I ask my fellow OFW why they’re working abroad, their answers will always be like this “ang hirap kumita ng pera sa pilipinas, kaya ako nag-abroad”  (english translation –>  it’s hard to earn money in the philippines that’s why I’m working abroad).

And, if I’m going to ask them back if it’s easy to earn money working abroad they will say “ang hirap kumita ng pera sa abroad, nagtitiyaga lang ako dahil malaki ang sahod” (english translation –> it’s hard to earn money abroad, but it’s worth the sacrifice because the compensation is good).

So let us analyze our situation as an OFW, it’s hard to earn money in the Philippines and abroad, but the level of compensation is higher when working abroad.

What is the conclusion?

Where ever part of the world we are working, a good money is hard to earn…

Actually, we (I am not an exemption to this) always think that those who are working abroad has found the goose who laid a golden egg and their deep pocket has a perpetual source of ca$h. That’s why every time a remittance was sent to our relatives/family back home it was easily spend without discipline.

I guess many recipient of the OFW remittance will crucify me for this remarks.

But the message that I want to deliver to many Filipinos with relatives working abroad is to spend the remittance they received wisely.  Set aside a certain amount of the remittance for savings and investments.

Right now, the debt crisis in Euro nations and the stagnant US economy is threatening the jobs of many OFW’s. This kind of macro-economic always put the jobs of every migrant workers hanging on a thread.

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Planting Money

August 13, 2012 Leave a comment


Out of frustration, there are times I was thinking what if I discover a plant that bears money as it fruits. Anyway, if this will become a reality the most indemand profession will be a farmer. (Also, imagine if money will just be planted, I think all the business district in the world will be located in the agricultural area.)

Suddenly, I realized that I already did planting money. Every little amount that I invest every time I get my paycheck is the money that I have planted. And when the time is ripe, it is an abundant financial harvest.

As I said before, every single peso that we hold is a seed to our financial future. Start planting money now to have a strong financial foundation in the future.

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Simple but not Easy

February 26, 2012 1 Comment


Just come to my senses, and realized that  Investing and Saving is simple but not easy.

In my quest for encouraging my fellow OFW to invest and save, I always say that investing and saving is simple but it never came to my senses and forgot to tell them that is not easy.

Actually, there is a big difference between simple and easy. When I say simple, it’s not really mean that it is easy.

Let’s say you are planning to invest an amount of 5000php every month. This plan sounds very simple, isn’t it?

But having the discipline of setting aside 5000php every month for investment is not that easy  because, putting this plan into work will require great discipline. I think no one will argue about it, actually it is easy to spend the 5000php for shopping rather than investing it.

I think this is the reason why only few people  are keen to investing and saving.

Anyway, every choice we make has an end result, and if we have a discipline to save and invest, the road to financial freedom is within our reach.

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Quote:

If you want to reach a goal, you must “see the reaching” in your own mind before you actually arrive at your goal.  – Zig Ziglar

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Mr. OWEsome to Mr. Awesome

February 22, 2012 1 Comment


Every week days, waking up early and going to work is like a heavy burden. Actually, the one big reason that keeps me going or inspires me to go to work is the fact that I have to pay something. I have to pay for my house loan, for my kids school, for utility bills, insurance, foods, entertainment etc. etc.

Sometimes I called myself Mr. OWEsome. Why Mr. OWEsome?

I am Mr. OWEsome because, every time I get my paycheck I have to pay some that I owed.  Hate to admit it but it is true, and I think that I am not the only one living on a paycheck to paycheck scenario.

And with my 8 hours fixed income job as primary source of income, there is no other option but to work hard (even harder sometimes). Actually there is a huge difference between working because you need it, than working because you love it. But most of the time, we have to work because we need it.

Of course, I don’t want to live as Mr. OWEsome for the rest of my life, and I wanted to be free from my wage slave job.

I promised myself that few years from now my identity will change from being Mr. OWEsome to Mr. Awesome. (To give a short description of Mr. Awesome, he is a financially free person, who don’t work for money because money is already working for him.)

Easier said than done, but being Mr. Awesome takes a long and sometimes a painful process.

And how will I become Mr. Awesome?

By regularly investing mixed with disciplined spending, I am very optimistic that few years from now I could buy myself a freedom from my wage slave job and financial bondage.

Every time I imagine myself being free from a stressful corporate job , because I have an investment that can handle all my financial obligation is awesome.

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The Budget

January 9, 2012 Leave a comment


Wikipedia defines Budget as a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues.

From the definition above, the word budget simply restrict us from spending our money freely. However, for those who have a large income they generally assume that it is not necessary to have a budget plan since, the household expenses easily fits in. People with healthy income flows only do a budgeting when they are planning to buy or start something that needs huge amount of money.

For me, the right attitude about budgeting will lead us towards financial freedom. Actually, budget has only 2 elements, Income and Expenses. Easier said than done, but sticking to ones budget plan needs a hard discipline.

To create a budget plan, every source of income should be write down so that we can have an idea of the exact earnings coming every month.

The next step is to write down all expenses made. These expenses should arrange according to priority to get a clear picture on where the income is going. Essential expenses like foods, house rentals, children school fees, clothes, insurance etc. should not be compromise in any situation. Less priority expenses like dining, shopping, vacation, entertainment was also a part of our household, but in case that income inflow is low we can completely remove them from the list. Normally, this kind of expenses mess up our budget plan if not kept under control.

A simple budget plan will help us see the clear picture of our finances. In the Philippines, the husband is the bread winner and the wife manages the household budget, so it is important that they both understand their income flow and overall expense.

Of course, any amount left from this financial planning can be put into a savings or investment. As I said before, every amount we save or invest will serve as a stone foundation to our financial freedom.

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Invest With Less Worry

October 18, 2011 Leave a comment


Do you know why there are lots of people afraid to invest in the stock or bond market? I think the best answer for this question is that they worry too much. Think of this, rich people become wealthy because they owned something that creates wealth. This wealth creating instrument were maybe in form of investment, business or other source of passive income.

If this wealthy people worries too much by asking themselves “What if the companies that I invested goes bankrupt” or “What if bad economic condition comes and wipes out the price of the stocks I hold.” Would you think they will achieved their goal of becoming rich.

Actually, these “what if” mindset holds back our potential success story. We are living in the world of uncertainty and we don’t know it, yesterday was uncertain, today is uncertain, and tomorrow for sure will be uncertain. But if we are going to succumb to these daily worries, we will not move on.

So I think you got the logic now, if you are too worried or afraid to get your feet wet on investing, you are also afraid to walk through the path of wealth. Investment is not only for tough people with huge wealth and exceptional intelligence, it is for every body with dreams of becoming free from their financial bondage or from their wage slave job.

Just think of this, every amount that passes through our hands is a seed to our financial future. However, if we will not plant this seed it will not yield anything. We should not give second thought “to failure or worries”, once we made our choice we should take control of it, and soon we will realize that we are getting closer and closer to our ultimate goal.

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Quotes:

It doesn’t matter where you are, it matters where you are going. – Anonymous

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Retire Young and Wealthy

October 15, 2011 6 Comments


The reason why I venture the world of Investment and other passive income generating instruments is because I want to retire at a not so old age. Actually, I want to retire at an age of 50 (if god willing). Sounds an early age for retirement but I guess this is the right age to retire. Just imagined if you retired at age of 65, what else could you do at this age? I know there are some people that are still active even at the age of 65, however, would it be more meaningful if we enjoy our retirement doing something like traveling the world, snorkeling, hiking, and doing other things that needs a little amount of youthful energy. Actually, I hate the concept of retiring because you couldn’t work anymore or you are near the age of expiration. How could you enjoy your retirement if you are catching your breath by just walking a few meters or sitting on a chair with wheels?

The 2nd reason why I want to retire early is, I found my corporate job too stressful that I always think that it will rob me of my sanity if I am going to stay here for another 20 years. Sometimes, I was thinking that I was paid to lose my mind so that others could keep their sanity.

I like my job as an engineer,  but being an engineer you need to solve a lot of problem on a day to day basis. And although my salary is good, I find it not worthy to trade my sanity for this healthy compensation.  I feel like this stress is shortened my life. I think there are some other ways to earn a living without putting yourself into too much stress.  So while I am still working, I always keep aside a certain amount for my retirement.

Of course everybody can retire early but, it will not make any sense if I retire with only a penny in my purse. I need a reasonable amount of wealth that could earn and sustain my day to day expenses and to finance all those in my bucket list.

My best plan to achieve this goal is to keep on investing, and create wealth through it.

Actually, it was quite tough achieving this ambitious retirement age of 50. And in case I missed this goal, I am still happy to retire at an age of 51.

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Quotes:

Retirement has been a discovery of beauty for me.  I never had the time before to notice the beauty of my grandkids, my wife, and the tree outside my very own front door.  And, the beauty of time itself.  ~ Hartman Jule

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Higher Wage Is Not The Answer

October 9, 2011 2 Comments


Do you think a better compensation will make us rich if we will not properly manage our finances?

We must realize that higher wage will not likely make us wealthy. You might say that bigger pay check means more cash, but most of the time this will not solve our money or financial problem.

Actually, the money we get from our slave wage job is like a magnifying glass, the higher we get paid, it also brings brighter light to our spending habit. Think of this, if you are not financially capable of handling a job that pay 5 digits (assumed 50,000php per month), the worst possible thing that could happen to you are to look for a new job that pays 6 digits. With higher wage but low on financial literacy, higher compensation will not bring you wealth.

Maybe you know some person earning 100,000php per month but are living paycheck to paycheck. Actually, the real problem is not the size of their paycheck but instead it is the way how they taught to use the money.

By properly managing our expense and controlling our spending habits, rest assured that financial prosperity will soon follow.

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About Money, Investing, and Financial Freedom

October 5, 2011 Leave a comment


It is a fact that the many people wants to become rich. However, most of this people who are dreaming to be wealthy someday never have an idea of getting there.

Actually, the general population has a love and hate relationship with money. And for those who don’t have it, they resent the wealthy people, but spent their entire lives just to earn it. I guess the main reason why majority of them never owns a substantial amount of wealth is because they don’t understand the nature of money and how it works.

One of the common mistakes most people made is that they need a huge amount of wage or salary before committing themselves into investing. If they aren’t able to come up with a big amount to start their investment, they will not likely become rich. This “Not Enough” mentality serves as hindrance in creating a wealth. We need to develop an understanding about the power of small amounts, it won’t take a genius to realize that a 1million peso were built 1 peso at a time.

Also, we can make money as our employee. Each amount we invest is like an employee. By investing regularly over a course of time, you will likely make more and more workers of money. And time will come that you can live alone from the income it will generate.

And just think of this, every amount we save and invest is buying us a freedom. These might be a freedom to quit our 8 hour wage slave job, freedom to retire an early age, or freedom to stay home with our loved ones. Any amount that we save and invest will be a good foundation of our financial freedom.

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Losing Your Money on Savings Account

October 3, 2011 1 Comment


You might be thinking that I was crazy when I tell you that you are losing your hard earned money in your savings account. Literally speaking, you are not losing any amount of money in your savings, but instead you are losing its purchasing power.

Actually, the silent inflation slowly crippled the buying power of your money in savings account. And, what is this so called inflation? In economics, Inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services.

How does inflation affect the purchasing power of your money?

Example:

You have put 1000php on your bank savings account with an awesome interest of 1% per year. And let’s say this same amount could buy a sack of rice.

After 1 year, your savings account yields 1% interest and you are happy to see that it grows from 1000ph to 1010php. But wait, here’s the 4% inflation coming, and the sack of price is now selling from 1000php to 1040php.

Do you think your 1010php could still buy a sack of rice? Of course not, right. It’s sad to think that after a year the purchasing power of your money was reduce. Even your savings account yields annual interest, it still could not run neck to neck with the inflation.

So now you might be asking that “Is it wise to put your money in a bank savings account?” Of course, the answer is “YES”. However, we should put only a reasonable amount that we can use in case of emergency.

What is the right amount to keep on your savings account?

For me, it is good to keep at least 6 months of emergency fund to your savings. Then park the rest of your money to any investment vehicles that yields higher than the inflation.

So for those who have a gargantuan amount of money on their savings account, don’t let all you’re hard earned money sleep in the vault. Put some of them into work, isn’t good to think that money is working for you instead of working hard to earned it.

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Quotes:

How many millionaires do you know who have become wealthy by investing in savings accounts? I rest my case. – Robert G. Allen

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