Category Archives: Personal Financing

How to Eliminate Bad Debt

30 Tuesday Jul 2013

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Elimination of debt is a dreams of many Filipinos buried in debt. Debt can be categorized in to two types, good debt and bad debt. So today let us discuss about the bad debt. Bad debt is commonly accumulated through excessive spending of wants. It is also called consumers Debt. Consumer debt is a big problem in Philippines that needs to be eliminated. people in Debt needs to pay it off before moving to investing. I believed that paying off your loans is already investing, since you can stop the compounded interest of your loan.  I suggest not to invest if you are buried in debt. Commitment, Focus and Discipline shall be the attitude of a person who want to get out of debt.

So here are the 13 steps out of debt as suggested by Rowena Suarez, Registered Financial Planner, in her interview at ANC Money.

  1. Face the problem
  2. Commit to get out of debt
  3. Decide of the time frame.
  4. Make an inventory of your debt
  5. Record your expenses – Getting out of debt is like going on a diet, you need to be aware of everything you eat.
  6. Determine your needs and wants
  7. Let go of your wants
  8. Use your wants money to pay your debt
  9. Choose Debt with the highest interest rate then pay it off.
  10. Work out a payment scheme with your creditors
  11. Pay with Cash
  12. Find other source of income
  13. Learn from your experience and make it your life choice.

Above mentioned steps are really practical ways in order to eliminate debt. This might sound easy but in reality it is not. Again those in debt shall be Committed, Focus and Disciplined.


Learn to Start Investing

17 Monday Jun 2013

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One day when I was discussing about Financial Literacy in one of my colleagues, he told me that he doesn’t want additional insurance or any other investment because he have already invested in a reputable company. When I asked about his policy he cannot tell me anything about his investment in that particular company, what he have told me is that he is pretty sure that he will earn.

The next question I ask him was when did he think that he will earn from that investment and the answer was he did not know all he knew was he will earn because his friend invested in the same company and later earn more than 50% after 2 years.

It is so sad to know that there are lots of sales agent whose mission is just to sale, they don’t care if their client knows the risk that they are going to face. There are lots of sweet talk from different agent.

As an investor we need to know the specific details on how a certain company will make our money become bigger. We also need to know the risk that we might face after investing. We need to understand that there is NO risk free investment.

We need to ask everything from the sales agent, and if he cannot respond it only means that he/she is not the right person to advise you about the particular investment. But still give him a chance to ask his superior maybe his just new, but if he cannot answer it with in one day that means his support is weak.

We need to be wise in investing our hard earned money. Don’t make your friendship, family relationships, and church relationships as your basis of investment. You need decide after knowing the ins and outs of your investment.

In investing we need to have some goals, it is why you need to know the estimated time frame of growth of your investment.

This morning my youngest son, Daniel, 6.5 years old, gave me 1 Saudi Riyal (11 Php), he told me that he want to start investing like his older brother. I asked him about his goal and replied “ What is goal” and after discussing with him the meaning of goal he understood and told me that he want to buy his own Nintendo DS next year.

One Saudi Riyals

I am glad that at a young age my son is starting to understand the idea of investing. He understood that in order for him to get what he wants, he need to sacrifice a portion of his daily “baon” and stop buying some of his wants.

So if my son got the idea and decided to start savings, I challenge you to act and move to start saving for your goals.

Top Insurance Company 2012 Based on Premium Income

12 Wednesday Jun 2013

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First of all, who needs an insurance? And why do you need an insurance?

An insurance is a need for those people whom somebody is depending on their income. An insurance policy can replace one’s income in case of death or disability.

According to investopedia.com, Insurance is defines as contract (policy) in which an individual or entity receives financial protection or reimbursement against losses from an insurance company. The company pools clients’ risks to make payments more affordable for the insured.

One of the method in calculating the amount of insurance is through DIME method. D – Debt, I – Income, M – Mortgage, E – Education.

The Debt shall be equal to the combined credit card, loans and other debts.

Income shall be equal to income replacement for 10 years. Sometimes it is also calculated as (Monthly Salary x 12 / Expected rate of Return), with this calculation it is anticipated that money received from insurance company will go to an investment portfolio and its interest will become the living allowance of the family left behind. Example if you earn Php 20,000 and an expected investment rate of return of 8% per year. Calculation shall be as follows:

Php 20,000 x 12/0.08 = Php 3,000,000, therefore your insurance coverage shall be Php 3,000,000.

There are some financial guru suggesting that a 5 years’ worth of salary is enough to let the remaining partner recover from the loss of their partner. In reality all fathers should have an insurance.

The mortgage shall be the total balance of mortgage to be paid.

Education shall be the amount of money to spend for the education of your children in the future.

Here are the reason why you need insurance:

  • As mortgage protection
  • For income replacement.
  • For college funding
  • Free from the claims of creditors
  • No Tax Estate tax
  • Can be used as payment for Estate Tax

According to the submitted Annual statements of Life Insurance Companies, based on Premium income, a list of top insurance company has been released.

The top 10 companies are as follows:

  1. Sun life
  2. Pru Life
  3. Philam Life & Gen
  4. Phil AXA
  5. BPI Philam
  6. Insular Life
  7. Manulife (Phils)
  8. SunLife Grepa
  9. Manulife Chinabank Life
  10. PNB Life

See the picture for the complete list

top insurance 2012

An insurance could also serves as payment for estate tax which is approximately 20% of the estate left by the deceased person. So if nobody is depending on you but you have lots of estate (land, mutual fund, savings account, UITF and more) it is wise to have insurance, so that your beneficiary will not have any problem taking your estate from the government.

Cost of Ignorance vs Financial Literacy

21 Tuesday May 2013

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They say that Financial Literacy Seminar and Financial Investment is too expensive for people to start and I say it is more expensive to be ignorant than to get Investment portfolio such as Insurance , Mutual Funds and other investment.

Let me explain my point.

Most people when asked about their savings and investment, they will just reply, “I don’t have investment, it is only for the rich”. It is the reason why our society needs to be educated about financial literacy.

Ignorance

Saudi OFW who goes back to Philippine with Final exit normally gets End of Service Benefits (ESB) from his employer. This is worth 50% of his/her monthly salary per year for the first 5 years and 100% of monthly salary for the next year of the total service rendered. The problem; whenever an ofw goes to Philippines without any financial literacy, chances are this money will only last for few months and end up being poor while in Philippines. It is also the reason why many old aged ex Saudi want to go back to Saudi to work again.

I can give you an example, let say an OFW earns 5,000 riyals per month (assuming it is his latest salary), and he stayed on his company for 15 years. This will be his computation:

  • First Step : 5,000 x 0.5 x 5 years = 12,500
  • Second Step : 5,000 x 1 x (15-5) years = 50,000
  • Total take home = SAR 62,500 = approx. Php 675,000

Imagine working for 15 years in Saudi Arabia who have no knowledge in Philippine Business, put his ESB in business and ended up of becoming bank craft.

Financial Literate OFW will definitely think of something on how he can grow his money, taking into consideration different risk that he will face on his venture on investment while,

An OFW without any Financial Literacy Background will definitely spend 10% or more for “Pasalubong”, then after arriving in Philippines “Painom” and more. This is just to tell everybody that he came back from overseas work. His friends will approach him to open a business and gives his money with no proper feasibility study. So what do you think will happen to this OFW? Will he enjoy his retirement?

Financial Literacy is important for all of us. Ignorance is the most expensive things in the earth as well as ignorance can also be equated to gambling. Any business without proper study will have high chances of business failure.

Learning Financial Literacy does not mean you don’t have faith in the Lord. Financial Literacy is preparing for your future and having faith that the Lord will help and guide you in your plan.

I always believe in If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail.

Proverbs 22:3 ESV

The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.

Be wise on your hard earned money.

Suze Orman advises Filipinos to invest in Philippines

15 Wednesday May 2013

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Suze Orman, American author, financial advisor, motivational speaker, and television host, in the United States advises Filipino to invest in the Philippines. She firmly believe in Philippine economy and she even suggest investing through mutual funds. It was also mentioned in the interview that one should not be engage in Credit Card debt bondage, and if ever engage with it you need to get out as soon as possible. She also discuss the importance of having an emergence fund and then investing after reaching the goal of having an emergency fund.

ABS CBN even twitted quoting Suze Orman that she will invest in Philippines.

suze orman

Meanwhile, Philippine Stock Index have again reach an all-time high at 7392.20, today.

You may see the interview of Suze Orman in the embedded YouTube video below.


IMG Now Offers Philam Term Life Insurance for Members

13 Monday May 2013

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Good news for IMG (International marketing Group) members who believes in BTID, IMG now offers Philam Term Life Insurance exclusive for IMG members at an affordable price. Just recently Philam conduct a seminar at IMG office in Manila. I have also been informed that this policy gives triple A protection (Anywhere, Anytime and Any Cause of Death).

About Philam Life

Philam Life is the largest life insurance company in the Philippines and the market leader for over 65 years now.

Philam Life ranks first among life insurance companies in the Philippines in terms of;

  • Assets
  • Investments
  • Net Income
  • Net Worth
  • Paid-up Capital*

Philam Life is a member of the AIA Group Limited, the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group in the world.

The AIA Group Limited has wholly-owned main operating subsidiaries or branches in 16 markets in Asia Pacific – Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Korea, Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, New Zealand, Macau, Brunei and Sri Lanka and a 26 per cent joint venture shareholding in India.

AIA Group Limited is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

What is BTID

Upon reading about different investment article, I believe by now you have encountered the word BTID. BTID means, Buy Term and Invest the difference. This is a common philosophy in investing as opposed to getting whole life insurance or VUL.

What is Term Life Insurance?

According to investopedia.com

A policy with a set duration limit on the coverage period. Once the policy is expired, it is up to the policy owner to decide whether to renew the term life insurance policy or to let the coverage end. This type of insurance policy contrasts with permanent life insurance, in which duration extends until the policy owner reaches 100 years of age (i.e. death).

These types of policies provide a stated benefit upon the death of the policy owner, provided that the death occurs within a specific time period. However, the policy does not provide any returns beyond the stated benefit, unlike permanent life insurance policies, which have a savings component that can be used for wealth accumulation.

As an example if you buy a term life insurance that covers from January 30, 2012 with a Php 1,000,000 insurance coverage,  you will then be protected by insurance for a year up until to January 29, 2013. After those dates what you have paid will not be recovered since it’s a payment for your protection for that year.

Eligibility

  • All bonafide members of IMG;
  • Actively performing the normal chores of life;
  • Ages 18 – 64, renewable up to age 70

What are the Benefits?

  1. Group Yearly Renewable Term Insurance (GYRT)
  2. Accidental Death, Dismemberment & Disablement Benefit (ADD&D) rider
  3. Terminal Illness Benefit (TIB) rider

OPTIONAL RIDER: Critical Illness Benefit (CIB)

How much is the Policy?

The rates provided by Philam to IMG is really affordable, as an example at the age of 36 years old, I only need to pay Php 3,630 for basic insurance + Php 2,900 for Critical Illness Benefits (CIB) with a total of Php 6,530 (This is only for this year, It will be adjusted as I increase my age). There is an insurance package up until 70 years old.

But again, this offer is only applicable to existing IMG member. If you want to be a member and you want to know more about IMG you may fill up your details below and I would be happy to give you more details about the company.

 


How Can I Start Investing if I am in Huge Debt?

25 Thursday Apr 2013

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Debt ManagementThe question mentioned in the title, is a common question from readers of this blog as well as messages from my Facebook Page and personal account.

When people started learning about Financial Literacy, they want to start immediately. NEWS that they are hearing as well as different comments that they are reading in the forums triggers them to do so.

Many want to start immediately but due to their debt they think they cannot start investing.

Did you know that you could start investing indirectly even in debt?

Let me explain what I mean with that statement. Well this is how you start investing even in huge debt.

First Pay off your debt, paying your debt is like investing, just imagine if you have paid off your debt earlier than what you expect, you have already earned those interest that was supposed to be given to whom you are in debt.

You can do this in two ways, either increase your cash flow or decrease your expenses. Know the priority.

When everything goes well. It only means that you have already earned from paying off your debt by not giving more interest.

As an example, if you are in debt of Php 100,000 with 20% interest per year. And you paid the Php 100,000 earlier than 1 year let say 6 months, the effective interest will now only become 10% of the capital (20%/12 * 6). So you save the 10% interest which is supposed to be given as part of the interest for the whole year.

Next, since you have already made a decision to pay your debt chances are, you have change your lifestyle and learn about delayed gratification.

Decide to have a mindset that even you are not in debt you need to continue doing things while you are in debt like delayed gratification, less wants, less social life and more, and now your money that was saved because you have not changed your lifestyle can now be placed in your emergency fund (3 months of your expenses).

Next, after completing your emergency fund, start getting Insurances, Mutual Funds and if you want more, go to the stock market.

Just a friendly advice, don’t start in stock market while in debt, especially if you are in debt, specially in debt with  credit card or debt to people which is commonly know us as “5-6”.

There is a very small chance that your earnings in stock market could beat the compounded interest that is being given by those credit card company.

I know that the steps I mentioned above is not easy to do, but if you have your goal for your family and for your retirement I believe that you can do it.

Remember the following verses:

Proverbs 22:7

“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”

Romans 13:7

Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Paying your debt is not easy, it takes courage and determination. So to avoid being servant of lender, pay off your debt and prioritize your payment. First pay those debt that yield the highest interest.

Creating Life Goals, Know How To Prepare

16 Tuesday Apr 2013

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Once, I heard that Vision should be defined and written so that it could be called Vision and not just a dream. Before investing or going to investment, we need to make sure that we have defined our vision and Life Goals.

There are different types of life goals that we can make, examples as mention below:

  • Wealth
  • Home and Family
  • Health
  • Self-Improvement
  • Philanthropy (Generosity)

Having merely a financial plan is not enough, you need to prioritize your plans. Which should come first? House Fund or the Education Fund of your kids? Your car? Or your vacation?

You need to prioritize each and every goals that you have so that you will be able to know which is the most important and which is the least important.

Remember Habakkuk 2:2

Then the LORD replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.

Another thing that you need to do is to put a present money value to each of your goals. The target time frame, time that you can execute your goals, shall also be defined. The time is important because it will tell you the future value of your dream using the compounded formula and taking into consideration the inflation (How the value of money depreciate over time).

While planning for your future, you need to have a sound foundation and steady growth for your finances.

Life stages are categorized into three steps:

  1. Protect
  2. Build
  3. Transfer

Creating Life Goal (PinoyInvestmentGuide_Page_05

Protection means having an Emergency Fund which is equal to 3 – 6 of your monthly expenses (Very Liquid). Getting an Insurance and Long term Health Care is also suggested. We also need to secure the risk of having a Critical Illness and untimely debt.

Proverbs 27:12 (NLT) ”A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.“

On the Build Stage, You need to go into investment or even business. You can do paper investment like, stocks, mutual Funds, or even VUL (Investment + Insurance). On this stage you accumulate wealth for your future. You are preparing for your retirement age.

On the Transfer stage, you make sure that whenever you die, your family will not have any problem on getting your acquired wealth because you have not prepared for the estate tax or you were not able to make testament to where your finances goes.

More ideas about Goals in Life

  • The Younger You are the cheaper it is to protect
  • You need to avoid procrastination (Act now)
  • Time can help you create more money
  • Some might prefer BTID – Buy Term and Invest the Difference

Our goals should be SMART.

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Attainable
  • Realistic
  • Time Bound

Bible Concepts in Investing and Life Goals

But in everything we plan we need to understand the concept of the bible.

But Jesus also said “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6.

If you set up your goals with God in your heart, you will not have any problem for whatever happen to your investment in the future. You need to trust the Lord on what he can do for you.

We need to be wise in our investment.

Proverbs 21:20 (NIV), The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down. Do you always buy on wants basis? Or need basis?

The Bible also teach us about Diversification. Ecclesiastes 11:1-3 ESV

Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth. If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth, and if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.

So when you study about your goals, you need also to diversify your investment portfolio.

And the most important thing is that we need to be very vigilant when it comes to temptation:

1 Timothy 6:9-10 ESV

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

We want to have a happy retirement and a good life for our family, but we should not be greedy. Remember I teach before on how to increase your giving.


 

 

Mitigating Risk Via Diversification, Mentioned in The Bible

11 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by in Personal Financing, Stock Market

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Ecclesiastes 11:2, clearly says that our investing should be diversified, so whatever happen to one, the other can compensate for the lost. When we do investing, a thorough study should be done in each investment that we make. Research is the main thing. All investment has it’s own risk but if we study it very well, we will be able to see that each investment has different risk. We might find a risk in a type of investment like mutual fund but it is not a risk when it comes to real state.

What a Wise Person Does

11 Invest your money in foreign trade, and one of these days you will make a profit. 2 Put your investments in several places—many places even—because you never know what kind of bad luck you are going to have in this world.

3 No matter which direction a tree falls, it will lie where it fell. When the clouds are full, it rains. 4 If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right, you will never plant anything and never harvest anything. 5 God made everything, and you can no more understand what he does than you understand how new life begins in the womb of a pregnant woman. 6 Do your planting in the morning and in the evening, too. You never know whether it will all grow well or whether one planting will do better than the other.

7 It is good to be able to enjoy the pleasant light of day. 8 Be grateful for every year you live. No matter how long you live, remember that you will be dead much longer. There is nothing at all to look forward to.

As an example doing a diversified portfolio in stock market is the best thing to do, if you want to mitigate some risk. In choosing stock, you need to choose from different sector. As an example, you might have some stock from Banks, Construction, Holdings, Industrial and more. Normally this different sectors will not perform the same. There will be gain in one sector and losses at other.

bible-ecclesiastes

Image Credit : vineyardlifejournal.wordpress.com

 

Ecclesiastes 11:4 says that we should not wait, but we need to act now. Procrastination should not be performed. And Ecclesiastes 11:6 it says that you need to be constant investor. In stock market there is what we called cost averaging. So it only means that you can buy anytime, even low or high it doesn’t matter. But of course this could only be applied to Long term investors and not for traders.

We will all go to the end of our life, we need to be a happy investors and not a stressful investor. Investing aims to make our life better and not to make our life in a misery just because of stress in the stock market.

If people will just follow what was mention in Ecclesiastes and just believe that God can do everything about your plans then be at peace whatever happen to your investment. If diversification fails it only means that the whole economy is going down. So do your part share what you have learn and make people financially literate but not greedy.

Be wise and learn the ins and out of investing. The riskiest thing is when you do not know anything. Happy Investing.

Make sure to join our newsletter to be updated in this blog. Fill up those form at the side.

IMG (International Marketing Group) Review and Reasons in Joining

08 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by in Daily Dose, Personal Financing

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First of all I need to introduce you to IMG which means International Marketing Group. IMG is a marketing company that is dedicated to serving the financial needs of individuals and families from all walks of life. They also conduct FREE Financial Literacy Seminar to educate people on how to manage their money. In Philippines, members can get the full set of FREE seminars in the Head Office.

Even I am in Saudi Arabia, I have completed the 2 FREE Seminars customized for OFW which is being conducted by IMG wealth Academy. I am also being mentored by Fely Santiago, of the IMG – Truly Rich Maker Group.

Yup, IMG also exist in Saudi Arabia.

IMG

IMG helps people makes critical financial decisions that can help move them from where they are to where they want to be. The 2 seminars give details about the importance of 6 steps to Financial Security.

Through the seminar, listener would be able to understand about the importance of financial planning and how your present situation could affect your future.

I have learned through that seminar that, there is a high percentage of OFW, which are not financially literate and ended up working in Saudi Arabia for a long time without any goal in life.

There were also times that an OFW who resign from his work in Saudi Arabia, ended up having a misery life because he was not able to prepare for his future. It is also sad to know that there are some Filipinos who work in Saudi Arabia for a long time, 15 years perhaps, and retiring poor in Philippines. Those OFW did not think about their future but instead, spend all their money on wants and not on needs needs. It is one of the reasons also why I joined IMG, to have a planned financial future.

In IMG they make sure that your practice what you preached.

This is the Common Pinoy Financial Mistake as mentioned in the seminar:

  • Overspending / Not Living Within One’s Means
  • Credit Mismanagement
  • Overly conservative in Investing Money
  • Lack of Financial Education

Our mission is To Make Your Family’s Dream into Reality. We are committed in helping families achieve your dreams, through our business opportunity, as well as our products and concepts.

Actually IMG is a one- stop shop, for every Financial Investment Vehicle that Filipino may need. Ranging from Insurance, Mutual Funds, Stock Market, Real State, Non-life Insurance and more.

You could actually earn form your own investment portfolio.

I could actually see a big business potential with-in this company, members will not only be financially literate, but will also be financial secure during retirement age.

IMG is teaching individual on how to have a strong foundation about financial security.

Perhaps this link could give you more idea about the company – http://img-corp.com/company.php

I know I have lots to learn from the company, but I believe that I have made a step towards my Family Financial Security.

I have been in Saudi Arabia for 10 years, and If I only became financial literate long time ago, I would be probably a millionaire and a big time investor by now.

I always believe in Proverbs 19:21

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails

As well as Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

That is why I know that being financially prepared is the will of the God. God doesn’t want us to be poor during our retirement age.

Do you want to learn more about the IMG and Wealth Academy and how you can attend the FREE Financial Literacy seminars? Then just enter your details below, and I will contact you as soon as possible. If you are not within my vicinity, I will let our IMG associates contact you as soon as possible.

You could be in any part of the world.

 






And as I detailed my journey to Financial Freedom, I will continuously update our readers of my journey to Financial Security.

Invest Through SSS Flexi Fund – Know Its Advantage & Disadvantage (Exclusive for OFW)

01 Monday Apr 2013

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Yesterday, when I was browsing SSS Website, I came to know about the SSS Flexi Fund. Here is an idea about the Fund.

The SSS Flexi-fund is a voluntary provident fund for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). It is an additional of the SSS on top of its regular OFW membership. The program gives OFWs the opportunity to set aside part of their earnings abroad and maximize the return on their Flexi-fund contributions, thus providing good security for their future.

SSS Flexi-fund is a risk free investment that is being invested in government securities, with Interest earnings are computed based on the average 91-day Treasury bill rate, thus ensuring a transparent, high yield and risk-free investment of members’ hard-earned income abroad.

 

Metrobank

Metrobank

It’s a good time to invest through SSS flexi fund due to the fact that we recently have an investment Grade from Fitch.

SSS Flexi Fund, is any amount beyond Php 200 from the maximum monthly SSS payment. As of this time, the maximum payment or contribution for OCW Members is Php 1,560 monthly. So if you pay Php 2,000, the Php 440 will automatically go to SSS Flexi Fund, which could be withdrawn anytime, should you need money.

Here are the list of bank that could receive payments.

  1. Allied Bank
  2. Asiatrust Bank
  3. Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)
  4. Equitable PCI Bank
  5. International Exchange Bank
  6. Land Bank of the Philippines
  7. Metrobank
  8. Philippine National Bank (PNB)
  9. Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC)
  10. Security Bank
  11. Luzon Brokerage Corporation (LBC)

According to the SSS website:

Interest under the SSS Flexi-fund is. . .

  1. Tax-free
  2. Based on prevailing 91-day Treasury bill rates, quoted on a per annum basis
  3. Subject to quarterly re-pricing, to make it more reflective of current market conditions
  4. Computed at actual date of payment of Flexi-fund contributions, and posted to individual accounts at the end of the month.
  5. Compounded monthly, such that earnings at the end of each month are taken into account in the computation and application of earnings in the succeeding months.

I am paying my SSS via Metrobank Online banking System. I have also accessed the SSS Online portal by using the “Host Server Number” that was provided by Metrobank upon online payment in replacement for the SBR number which is a requirement for accessing SSS Online Monitoring System.

Updates : At this time since the prevailing rate of T-Bill is only 0.4%, I am not recommending investing in SSS-Flexi Fund, however keeping your SSS payment up to date is  I belived a necessity for every Filipino.

Red Market Last Week, Is Your Investment Affected?

17 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by in Daily Dose, Personal Financing, Stock Market

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PSEI

It’s Sunday, and no trading day, a day that was agreed by many in the Philippines as the day of worship and is the time to contemplate with our Lord. Remember that we are just a steward of his blessing and whatever the Philippines is experiencing about its great economy is God’s plan for Filipinos.

Last week Philippine stock market have experienced a “Red” mark. (Just for information “Green” means gain and “Red” means lost). According to the news , it was due to the weak banking sector that makes the market “Red” last week. Many have taken their profit due to non-availability of good news as cited in the news. Remember that I have told you that news could affect the price of the stock. So what was your strategy last week?

Many might ask, is this the start of the so called “bear market“? Do I have to sell my MBT? BDO? or other stocks? As always it is still the decision of the stocks holders. Nobody is responsible for your stock but the owner.  Let me also remind all of our readers that stock market is the riskiest investment in the market but also an investment instrument that could give the highest gain. More risk means more possibility of gain. Below is my take in those question.

50% of my portfolio is in banking sector so, my portfolio was affected. But did I sell last week? My answer is “NO”. I believe it is just a correction in the market. But this also reminds me of “diversification”. My portfolio should be diversified so that when 1 sector like banking is affected, my whole portfolio will not be affected.

I also believe in Long Term Investment that is why I am not affected with the ups and down of the market. It’s all about mind setting.

If I had more funds, I would be buying more since I believe that the majority of the blue chips stocks are now on sale. This is a very good opportunity to buy since an investor could buy more stocks with the same amount that he could be spending about 2 weeks ago.

We will see if the market will still have its correction tomorrow.

To those OFW who have not yet started investing, you need to think again and always remember that we need to be prepared for our family future. But first of all you need to have Emergency Fund before investing and control your expenditures buy knowing about Good Debt and Bad Debt. Increase your financial literacy.

God provides, and this is 100% true and God will give His provision to those who have vision.

Proverbs 22:3

The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

To those who have just visited this site, I would recommend you watching the full session of the Pesos and Sense and know how to start investing in the stock market

Image Credit : Philstar.com