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]]>Nagmula ako sa isang pamilya ng mga magsasaka, payak ang aming pamumuhay ngunit batid ko ang hirap makakain lang kami ng tatlong beses sa isang araw. Wala kaming sariling lupain na binubukid at hindi nakatapos ng pag aaral ang aking mga magulang. Pero nakita ko kung paano sila nagsakripisyo, nagsikap at naging matatag para mapagtapos kaming limang magkakapatid.
Nasaksihan ng aking mga mata na hindi patas ang tingin ng lipunan at ng batas sa mayaman at mahihirap. Pero hindi nangangahulugan na kailangan kong magmumukmok na lang sa isang sulok at magrereklamo sa gobyerno dahil nagkulang sila sa suporta sa tulad naming maralita. Hindi ko rin nakita ang pangangailangan na magalit ako sa mayayaman dahil mayaman sila at mahirap kami.
Natutunan ko na maari tayong maging masaya sa tagumpay ng ibang tao. Hindi natin kailangang pagsabihan ng masama ang isang tao, para maramdaman natin sa sarili natin na pantay lang tayo. Hindi natin kailangan hanapin ng mali ang ibang tao para masabi natin sa sarili natin na tama tayo.
Kung gusto mong magtagumpay, magsikap ka. Kung nakikita mong may na aapi, ipaglaban mo sila. Kung nakita mo na may mga taong nagugutom at naghihirap sa lipunan, gamitin mo itong inspirasyon para magtagumpay ka at maging daan para maiaangat mo sila. Kung nakita mong ang daming tao ang walang trabaho at hindi sapat ang sweldo, gumawa ka ng trabaho para sa kanila.
Totoo na maraming tao na naging mayaman sa masamang gawi pero mas maraming mayaman ang naging mayaman dahil nagsakripisyo sila maabot lang ung mga pangarap nila. Maraming masamang tao sa lipunan pero mas marami ang mabuti. Pumili tayo kung alin ang gusto nating itatak sa ating isipan. Pero hindi nangangahulugan na ipagsawalang bahala na lang natin sila, gawin natin ang tama at hayaan natin manaig ang kabutihan.
Related Topic: How to save your first 100,000 pesos in one year
Ang maging mayaman ay hindi kasalanan. Ito ay isang oportunidad para matulungan mo ang mga maysakit at naghihirap. Pero kung isa ka sa mga taong kumakayod at nagsisikap para maabot ang iyong pangarap, marami ring maliliit na paraan para makatulong.
Ang pera ay hindi destinasyon, ang pera ay paraan para marami kang matulungang tao. Di dapat habambuhay tayong magtatrabaho para sa pera, mag impok tayo at hayaan natin na pera ang magtrabaho para sa atin. Sa ganun, mas marami tayong oras na mailalaan para sa mga mahal natin sa buhay.
Credits to: Freepic for the featured image.
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“Nakapagsapalaran ako sa Maynila at eto na ako ngayon…”
From teleseryes, movies and true to life stories tell us a story of people who took a chance to live in Manila for a better life. Is there a better life ahead for anyone who will choose to make a living here?
Metro Manila is indeed a melting pot with a population of 13,698,889 according to World Population Review. I’ve been living in Manila from my province Oriental Mindoro for almost 4 years now. I’ve seen the best and worst of this place. I can say, a better life depends on every small decision you make, from choosing a place to stay, the job you’re about to take and to your lifestyle.
Here’s why living in Manila is not always the best decision:
IT HAS THE WORST TRAFFIC ON EARTH
The time you should have to spend for side hustle, time with family and time to rest is now wasted. Sometimes instead of commuting to save money, most employees choose a ride on a taxi or Grab since it is more comfortable and faster.
HIGH COST OF LIVING
Renting an apartment and even getting a bedspace is expensive. Everything you see cost fortune. You have to buy drinking water, vegetable, and spices on food that you can get in the backyard if you are in the province. Yes, NCR has a high minimum wage but do you think it’s worth the sacrifice.
THERE IS TOO MUCH POLLUTION
Air pollution, water pollution, and even sound pollution are alarming. Your health is always at stake which is expensive if we get sick. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) our country had the 3rd highest number of deaths due to air pollution.
THERE’S A LOT OF PLACES YOU CAN GO
It looks like it is an advantage because if you are bored, you can go anywhere you want. The problem is, you are tempted to spend money on fast foods, fancy restaurants, theaters, and malls.
CONCLUSION
There’s a lot of opportunities in Metro Manila since most business establishments are located here. No question why most Filipinos chose to live here over living in the province with their families. However, with the increasing population comes with the increasing cost of living. More cars mean a lesser chance of you getting home on time. More houses and establishment means lesser space for people to live in.
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“ Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like. ” .
Will Rogers
We are living in a purchasing driven society. Technology and social media contribute a lot to this. There are now multiple ways to spend our money with just a tap on our screen.
We can easily book a hotel, car, and flights online. We can purchase items like bags, shoes, and appliances. We can make an easy decision about what brand of car we should buy or what house we should purchase.
Without knowing, it affects every decision in our lives and even describes who we are. These are the signs that you are materialistic without knowing it.
1. You are always on the shopping website whenever you feel bored.
2. You already have a plan of what to buy on your payday.
3. The cash value of your material possessions is bigger than your savings.
4. You can always think of what to sell when you run out of budget.
5. You own a car but with no savings.
6. You always have the latest gadget but always runs out of budget.
7. You are obsessed about material things and store them but never really use them.
8. You are always at the shopping malls especially when they are on sale.
It is difficult to admit but it’s part of being self-aware. I also have terrible buying decisions in life but I was able to fix it easily. By being aware of what’s messing my savings and what causing me stress helps me a lot.
Remember, treating yourself doesn’t always mean buying material things. According to research, people who spend money on an experience is happier than buying stuff. However, any spending regardless if it’s for material things or experiences should always be in moderation. Always choose what matters.
Related Post: How to save your first 100,000 pesos in one year
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]]>The Philippines ranked 115th in Standard & Poor’s Global Financial Literacy Survey last 2015.
As a licensed teacher and someone who is practicing a profession in the finance industry, I see the importance of linking these two, education and finance.
Teaching Filipinos about money starting in school will give us the discipline on how to value every peso that is coming in our pocket. There’s a lot of talented and skilled Filipinos but they choose to work abroad because they think there are more opportunities outside and they will be paid well. These individuals can even create their own business based on their skills with proper education and money management.
These are the reasons why money should be taught in school.
We need to know the difference between legal investment and scam. We have recently heard news about people being scammed because of a high return on investment (ROI) which entices them. As a result, people are afraid to invest even in legal investment because they think it is also a scam.
We choose to loan money than to invest. Most of us think that loan is free money but that truth is we are just delaying the payment. We also have to pay it with interest. It is a practice of delayed burden rather than delayed gratification.
Even professionals get broke. It’s not about our income, it’s about how much we save from our income. We were taught that if you study hard and get a good job, you will be financially successful. It’s not always true. Poor spending habit, lack of savings and lack of financial knowledge might cause a financial headache.
Some teachers don’t know how to manage their finances. Government employees are given a lot of privilege to apply for a loan. As a result, most of them take advantage of it but it eats up their monthly income. Teachers should be financially educated so they can be a role model for their students.
We are unaware of government benefits. It should be a part of the curriculum especially for graduating college student to be taught about SSS/GSIS, taxation, PAGIBIG and Philhealth. In that way, people will not only see it as a tool to file a salary loan but a tool that can supplement their daily needs.
We became materialistic. We are wired to acquire and spend on things. All the advertisement online and on television, encourage us to spend our money on them in return for an item or services. It became worst when social media came in, OOTD’s and selfies encourage us to spend so we can post something online and never miss out on anything.
We think rich people are greedy. Having a lot of money doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I know a lot of rich people who spend most of their money on charities. When we have a certain mindset that rich people are bad and greedy, it prevents us from reaching a wealthy and comfortable life as well. Remember, money is not the root of all evil, it is the love of money.
Our country needs a lot of future business owners. The main contributors of Philippines GDP are coming from BPO sectors and remittances abroad. All of these jobs are created by people outside our country. If we can nurture our next generation to start a business, there will be more jobs. More Filipinos will live a happy life spending most of their time with their love once.
Recently, a senator proposes to include financial literacy in school but there’s still a lot of things to do. Other countries like Norway, Sweden and Denmark topped the Standard & Poor’s Global Financial Literacy Survey last 2015 and Philippines only rank 115 out of 144 countries with 25% of adults who are financially free.
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It’s easy to think that there are people who are destined to be successful. People who are rich because they are intelligent, they have a good network, they are good looking or their family is wealthy.
What we don’t know is that the key to achieving anything we want lies within us. Every single thing we do everyday matters. Forming good habits is vital to achieving success in life.
I stumble upon a book by Stephen Covey “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I know that it can also be applied to how we handle our finances.
When we think of habits, it means repetition but it will not be successful until we consider these three things to form a habit.
John: I am living paycheck to paycheck and it’s very stressful going to a job I don’t like but I have to because I don’t want my family to starve. Saving and investing money is the only way.
Peter: My friend taught me before what’s the best strategy in saving money and what’s the best investment tool based on my risk appetite. I won’t be having any issue learning all these skills since he promised he will teach me everything he knows.
Luke: I know why I need to save and invest and how it will help me in the future but I want to enjoy my life too. I think I am taking away the happiness I deserve.
John has the KNOWLEDGE, Peter knows someone who can teach him the SKILL and Luke knows what he needs to do but doesn’t have the DESIRE to do it.
I know most of us to have one or two of these but we all need these three in order to create a habit. Once we incorporate all of these in our habit then our next step is to do this every single day until the habit transferred to our subconscious mind.
According to Dr. Maltz, it takes 21 days to form a habit based on his observation on his patients. On the other hand, Dr. Maltz did his research and observed that it takes 66 days to form a habit. The truth is forming a new habit depends on the complexity of the habit you want to form. The longer, the better.
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As a social media influencer and finance blogger, the most powerful tool I have is my laptop. I bring it anywhere I go and there are times I also get hungry so I have to eat and work at the same time. I am seeing one or two ants going back in forth inside my laptop but I ignore them. One day, the keyboard is not working anymore.
I had to have it repaired and it’s confirmed, it is infected by ants. It is evident that ants are small but undeniably terrible.
Same with the way we budget our money, there are small expenses we ignore that’s adding up and ruins our savings account. Here’s a few of them.
Taxi or Carpool
Compute the average number of times you ride on a taxi or book a carpool ride, multiply by the average fare. Spending 100 pesos adds up to a whopping 500 pesos per working week or 2000 pesos per working month. Commuting may not be comfortable but your savings may buy you a new car in the future.
Coffee or Milk Tea
With the high demand for BPO employees or employees on graveyard shift comes with the increasing number of people who would spend money to stay awake during their work. Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Tim Hortons is the best place to be but expensive. Average drinkers spend around ₱200/day on coffee, what more if you do it every day.
Cigarettes
Despite the increase in the price of cigarettes of 4% every year doesn’t even scare us from spending money on this kind of vices. It does not only destroy our lungs but also our budget. Remember living healthy is cheaper.
Fast food
Everything comes instantaneously these days. Fast food is the best place to be if you are running late, too lazy to cook, or you just want to treat yourself. You don’t have to abandon these tasty meals, but indulging in moderation for your budget’s sake is worth a shot. Try to limit such treats to once a week, or even once a month.
Prepaid Load
Being active in social media just like other forms of entertainment is now a part of our budget and becomes a need for some. An average person spends around 30 pesos a day to stay connected. Try to compute how much it adds up monthly and you will surely be surprised.
It is very important to monitor our everyday expenses as much as possible even a one peso candy you bought at the store. You can use Excel and phone applications. In that way, we can determine what expenses are not important that needs to be minimized or get rid off.
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Do we need to hire professionals outside the school?
We’ve all experienced sitting in a chair where there’s someone on front teaching us the value of X in an equation but how do we know if that person is credible to teach us the value of X in life.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian proposed to include financial literacy to Senior High School Curriculum after followers of Kapa Ministry International in Davao were allegedly defrauded of up to P50 billion. This is good news to reduce victims of scams and improve the quality of life through proper money management. However, how do we make teaching effective? Who will teach financial literacy to them, is it the licensed teacher or licensed financial advisor?
Teaching skills is one of the qualities an instructor should possess. This includes knowledge in saving, budgeting, investments, income protection, and business. But none of these matters if one doesn’t know how to deal with diverse student and making sure that every student is engaged in a discussion.
Most people will talk the talk, few will walk the walk; be amongst those few
Steve Maraboli
Walk the talk. It will be difficult for students to learn financial literacy if a teacher doesn’t apply what he preaches. Having an impressive net worth based on their Statement of Assets and Liabilities should be a requirement.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter what license or title one has. Someone who has read 1000 books about finance may be knowledgable than someone who took 3-day seminar. On the other hand, an undergraduate who’s wealthy is possibly more capable than a financial advisor or a teacher who are broke. The most important thing is that teaching should effective that students can apply to achieve their dreams.
What do you think is the best quality of a financial literacy subject teacher?
He is a licensed financial coach, licensed professional teacher, and an optimist hoping that every Filipino will be financially free.
Armand A. Mañibo, LPT
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]]>In magnetism, opposite attracts and likes repel. This rule is applicable to science and relationship but not in personal development. Dealing who has the opposite belief, principles, religion, interest may cause conflict or influence one or the other.
We may sometimes feel incomplete because we feel we’re not enough. There are days when we feel that we should always get out of our comfort zone when we haven’t exhaust it yet. In the toughest days in our lives, we feel we need to change even our good character just to feel that we belong. The truth is, none of these makes any sense. We should love and accept who we are and other people will do the same towards us.
On the other hand, we should not hate other people for having different belief, principles or interest. It is always good to have an open mind and respect other people for who they are. We can always learn from other people’s experience which is something that we may apply in the future.
You are the average of the five people you spend your time with
Jim Rohn
In the book of Stephen R. Covey “ The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, he asked to imagine yourself going to your own funeral, what would you like your family, friends, co-workers, and community say about you and your life. Yes, it true, we should not live with other’s expectation but people will appreciate you for who are as long as you’re doing the right thing.
We all need people who will accept who we are and especially those people who have the same interest. When investments and personal development got my interest, I look like-minded people. I find a few in my workplace but I find a lot of them during seminars and training. Finding people who will support you, people who will boost your morale and people who will be happy for your success. We are not magnet because for us likes attracts.
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Was there a time when you suddenly think of a good business idea? However, when you search for it online, there’s already someone who executed that same idea you had. Most of us fall on this trap of not executing ideas.
Turning something into reality takes some hard work, late nights, and dedication to making everything possible. How do make it possible?
Ideas don’t make you rich. The correct execution of ideas does.
Felix Dennis
Write down your idea into a paper. Out of nowhere ideas just pop out of our head but disappear on a thin air when we divert our attention to something else. A piece of paper will help you remember things you forget.
Do your research. When I landed on my first job, it so happens that our office was in the Philippine Stock Exchange Building and some of my colleagues inform me that we can earn money from the stock market. Unfortunately, but none of them knows how to do it. I was so desperate to make my money work for me so I grab my computer and look for a tutorial and now I am investing in the stocks.
Execute. It’s the stage where most ideas and plans disappear. To make all things possible, you must have the desire to take action and resilience if something didn’t come out as planned. I created my first blog in January of this year and had some issue with the logo. It didn’t make any progress until I created a different blog. Having a little interest in your idea might affect the process.
Be consistent. You cannot eat an apple with just one bite. Breaking things into pieces will make it easier for us to do a certain task. Alloting one hour a day consistently to execute your idea will help you reduce stress and can help you balance other aspects of your life.
Lastly, look for people who support you. As Peng Joon always say “Environment is stronger than will power”. Remember that you are not alone, there will always be people who will support you when others are pulling you down. However, people who believe in you is not enough if you don’t even believe in yourself.
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Armand Manibo, LPT, is the owner of Kuya Ripot and licensed Financial Adviser. Email Armand for personal finance advice armandmanibo@kuyaripot.com or follow his page on Facebook @kuyaripotofficial
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