What will you do if you have Php 14 Million?

I accidentally got into the Manila Bulletin website and read about the Lotto Winner who spent P14M in just 3 months. I can't blaim the guy because he is not an isolated case. There are a lot of them. The question is why they end up with nothing after having a huge amount of money.

From the books I read, they were saying that the problem is internal. It has something to do with their past experiences, wrong beliefs and psychological wallet.

Our family plays a big part in our attitude towards money. It could be good or bad. Too much frugality in the family can produce a child with overspending attitude because of the feeling of deprivation during her younger years. Other examples of how our past experiences affect our attitude towards money can be read in the Secrets of the Millionaire Mind Book.

Aside from our family, our religious beliefs plays an important part on how we manage our money. One of the wrong beliefs we have is:

Wrong Verse: " Money is the root of all evil."

The correct verse is: " “The love of money is the root of evil.” ~ (1 Timothy 6: 10)

We must be reminded that Money itself is not evil. It is the love of money. If we believe that money is evil, subconsciously, we will try to avoid money. If we have money, we will do our best to spend it all as fast as we can.

Aside from the wrong beliefs, we also need to change our psychological wallet. We need to be comfortable with the amount of money we wished to have. Wishing and working for the money are different. If we wished to be a millionaire, we must try to imagine ourselves having this millions on our hands. And start planning how are you going to handle it. After visualization, it is advisable that we pray for it. Then, work for it and one you got it, do what you've plan.

I am not a lotto fan. But imagining having that P14M already excites me.  My plan is to give the first fruit to God, invest most of it and share part of it to my family and community.

How about you? What will you do with your Php14M?

To our Financial Freedom!

Think Rich Pinoy Wealth Seminar Last March 17,2012

The Last Think Rich Pinoy Wealth Seminar was held is the Citisec Training Room 24th Floor East Tower Tektite Building last March 17,2012.

Yours truly was invited to be one of the speakers. Other Speakers aside from Larry Gamboa were:


1. Bro. Alvin Barcelona
* Feast Builder of Light of Jesus Community.
* Rock-Preacher
* Enterprenuer. Owns a School and other mico businesses.


2. Jay Castillo
* Owner of www.foreclosurephilippines.com
* Real Estate Investor and Licensed Real Estate Broker



3. Aya Laraya
* Realtor
* Writer
* TV Host
* Certified Securities Representative
* Certified Investment Company Representative

3. Marivic Salva-Angeles
* Real Estate Investor
* Licensed Real Estate Broker
* President of Happy Homes Realty
* Marketing Consultant of Think Rich Pinoy Realty

4. Grace Lucker
* Interior Designer
* Handy Woman
* Owner of Urban Dweller Management Creative Solutions



5. Eden Alemania-Dayrit
* Chemical Engineer turned into a successful Real Estate Investor.
* Bought, Renovated, Leased and Sold more than 28 Real Estate Properties.


6. Ronald Cagape
* Real Estate Investor
* Licensed Real Estate Broker
* Resident Cashflow Game Master of the TRP Wealth Seminar
* Publisher of www.livingcashflow101.com and www.smalldealblueprint.com


Each Speaker discussed different topics related to Real Estate.

Bro. Alvin was the first speaker. He discussed the Theology of Money. It sets the mood and mindset of the attendees on the purpose of wealth. He also discussed the strategy he used in acquiring the real estate property where his school is now operating which is the FIND > FUND > FIX > KEEP strategy.

Sir Larry Gamboa was the second speaker. He talked about how he got into real estate and how everyone can be a MAVEN or Expert in REAL ESTATE. He said that ACTION Brings CLARITY. We need to act to get things together.

I was the 3rd Speaker. I related Stock Market and Real Estate. I mentioned why we need to invest in both vehicles. I compared the two side by side based on nine criteria. I also discussed WHAT strategy I used, WHY and HOW I DO IT as shown below.

The fourth speaker was Jay Castillo. His topic is doing the numbers in Real Estate. He gave a CASE STUDY and also showed how to compute the ROI in real life as shown below:

Next was Aya Laraya. He discussed more about Building Wealth in the Stock Market and Citisec's EIP Program which is the better way to go in the stock market than doing market timing.

Maves Angeles was the next speaker. She discussed the Five Ways to Prosper in Real Estate as shown below.

Grace Lucker spoke after Maves and discussed how to stage and rehab an ugly property. She mentioned that a real estate investor shouldn't be afraid to buy ugly houses because it is easy to make them pretty. She also showed pictures of some of her great projects. She also mentioned that looking for a great property, we need to look for the Triple D:

Eden Dayrit spoke next to Grace. She shared her background and how she got into real estate. She mentioned that she went into hiatus for a year to work on some important matter but now that it everything is running smoothly again, she will be back into real estate investing. It was noted that even though Eden went into hiatus for a year, she was able to get by because of the passive income she's getting from her previous real estate investments.

The last part of the Seminar is the Cashlow Board Game which was spearheaded by Ronald Cagape. All the attendees enjoyed the game. I was blessed to be one of the facilitators and also learn strategies from the players. Ronald also announced the launching of his new site (www.SmallDealBlueprint.com).

Without being biased, I can say that the attendees were happy after the seminar based on their written feedback. Being a servant in the TRP seminar for the past few months changed my life. Every now and then, I learned new things. I attended the TRP Seminar May of 2010. It's been almost two years and I am still learning by serving. Every seminar is different not only because of the topics discussed but also because of the people I meet and knowing that in one way or the other we learned from each other. It also gave me a feeling of fulfillment knowing that I was able to be part of the TRP vision of creating millions of Filipinos by 2020. I also want to quote Sir Larry on what he said during the TRP Mastery Academy that " Experts are students first, servant always".

I hope to see you in the Next TRP seminar on June 02,2012. I am not sure if I will be invited to talk again but I am sure that I will still be there to serve by facilitating in the Cashflow Board Game.

May our Dreams Come True!

Book Review: The Turtle Always Wins by Bo Sanchez

Book Review: The Turtle Always Wins
(How to Make Millions in he Stock Market) 
Author: Bo Sanchez

Last March 18,2012 after The Feast in PICC, Bro. Bo Sanchez launched his new book about Investing in the Stock Market. It is a follow-up of his book " My Maids invest in the Stock Market".

As you can read from my previous posts, I am also promoting Investing in the Stock Market.The moment I got hold of the book, I couldn't let it off my hands. I started reading it while in the car and finished it at home.

It was a such a great book. I am happy that there are now books available in bookstores discussing Investing in the Stock Market in Layman's Term. The words and stories used by Bo made Investing in the Stock Market simple and understandable.

The book discussed the need to invest and compared the different people found in the Stock Market. Bro. Bo compared them to 4 different animals such as a squirrel, rabbit, sloth and a turtle.

Chapter 1 of the Book (Plant in the Spring or Beg in the Fall) was successful in setting up the mood to convince Filipinos to invest for our retirement. Bo narrated the story of two grandmothers who had different strategies on handling money during their younger years and how it affected their old age.

Lola Penny was a CPA who worked in a company for 38 years. She saved for big expenses but failed to save for her retirement. She relied on her company's retirement package. After retiring, she got 3M. She was not good in handling it so after 7 years, it was totally wiped out. She started depending on her children who also had problems financially. She even heard her daughter complaining to her "kuya" about the money she spent for their mother's medicines. This one really broke her heart.

On the other hand, Lola Pilar worked as a cashier in a music store for 19 years. She got a separation fee of P2000 which she invested in the stock market in 1966. She also put add'l money in the stock market whenever she had extra. She and her husband only invest in giant companies. They sold portions of the investment little by little for big expenses. At age 85, she withdraw everything and got an oozing P 1.2M. She became a millionaire through the stock market.

Bro. Bo emphasized that God gave us a choice and ability to create wealth. If we retire in poverty, it is not God's fault.

In chapter 2, Bro. Bo said that we can be rich. But it would be better if we can take others along to richness. If we follow the turtle strategy, it is not impossible for us to get rich.

Bro. Bo compared Investing in the stock Market with a RACE. The four different People in the Stock Market are the Animal Runners.

In the Story, the Turtle won first place. The Rabbit got the 2nd place. The sloth was 3rd while the squirrel was a no show. No one really knows what happened to him. Some say, he got lost and was killed by a bear.


Squirrel is the Typical Trader. 

It represents the newbie who gets into the stock market without understanding what he's getting into. It also represents the old-timer in the stock market. He earns some and loses some. It represents the 85% of people who get into the stock market and lose their money.

They want excitement. They look at their stock portfolio everyday. They buy now and sell a few days later or something within the day. They don't follow the rules and try to take a lot of shortcuts.  They are the typical gamblers

Some of them are devious. They fool other traders. They tell their friends to buy a certain hot stock, and when the price goes up, they'll sell and leave their friends an empty bag.

These typical traders can get lost in their trading and get killed by a bear market.


Rabbit is the Trained Trader.

Rabbits are also traders but trained. Trading is their full-time job. They follow very strict rules like:
1. They don't buy penny stocks. Only Giants.
2. They don't put more than 5% of their money in a specific stocks.
3. They never end a trading day with more than 30% of their money in the stock market to avoid surprises. They are still conservative.

Some rabbits break rules once in a while. Temptation is high on the floor. And because of these they only won second place. Because they lose part on their earnings along the way.


Sloth is the Typical Investor.

Sloth is a typical investor who buys and hold. He parks his money in a stock market and forget about it. Usually it's a huge amount of money. One time, Big Time.

According to Bro. Bo, it is a good strategy but not the best. It is recommended but with few conditions mentioned below:
1. You need to have a big chunk of money.
2. You need to buy a basket of great companies that you believe will be great for the next 20 years.
3. You have to buy when the market is down or flat.
4. You got to reinvest the dividends.


Turtle is the Trained Investor.


A Turtle investor does the most boring investment strategy in the world. He invests small amounts of money each month in great companies. He doesn't care is the market is up or down. He invests regularly and puts more money when the market is down.

Their goal is to earn 12% to 20% each year over a 20 year period.


HOW the TURTLE Beats the SLOTH?
- by reinvesting the dividends. Call it compounding.

HOW the TURTLE Beats the RABBIT?
- Rabbits will always be partially invested. Turtles are almost always invested. He can take advantage of the compounding effect.

HOW to FOLLOW the TURTLE?

1. Turtle lives below its means.
- Your expense should grow slower than your income.

2. Turtle builds his farm before his home.
- Secure your livelihood before your lifestyle.
- Establish your income stream before your expense stream.
- The perfect time to invest is when your money is still very scarce.

3. Turtle Invests his windfalls
- Aside from the regular habit of investing 20% of your income, also invest windfalls like bonuses, commissions, cash gifts and profits from side businesses.

4. Turtle Invests when its difficult to invest.
- Build wealth when everyone is afraid.
- Invest even if there are crisis.

5. Turtle Works in Cash Machines, Not Stocks
- You can't invest in the stock market if you don't have a cashflow.
- Spend 99% of your time on your business. Create your cashflow. Increase and Multiply it.
- Then spend 1% of your time investing that cashflow in the stock market.

6. Turtle Believes He'll Win
- You need Wealth Competence but more importantly Wealth Consciousness.
- Mind first then Reality.
         LAW#1 You will gravitate towards what you unconsciously desire.
         LAW#2 What you can see, you can create. What you cannot see, you cannot create.


The TURTLE has a name. We call him SAM.
SAM is an acronym for Strategic Averaging Method.
It is semi-passive investing
SAM is passive investing with a little bit of "cheating" or "timing".


Five Rules of Passive Investing
1. Invest monthly for 20 years or more.
2. Invest even when there's a crisis.
3. Invest only in giants.
4. Invest in many giants.
5. Buy when the price is beneath our "Buy Below Price". Sell when the price is near our "Target Price"


Three Big Advantages of SAM
1. Faster Giants - Lesser Choices
2. Lower Prices - Buying at cheaper price. Make money when you buy. This prevents chasing a rising stocks.
3. Secured Profits - Lock your profits from a company that gone up and reinvest the proceeds to another company that has still room to grow.


At the end of the book, Bro. Bo invited the readers to become a member of the Truly Rich Club to maximize your earning potential in the stock market. Truly Rich Club Members gets Bro. Bo's Stock Update eReport, Wealth Strategies Newsletter and Stock Alerts.

I am a member of the Truly Rich Club for 2 years now. And it was all worth it. The membership fee I pay monthly is very little compared to the profits and gain I got following Bro. Bo Stock Alerts. I do believe (like the Turtle) that We Can Win if we follow these Rules mentioned in the Book.



I highly recommend this book!!!

In Summary:
Price: Php 225 only (got mine for only Php200 during the book launch)
Content: Super Check
Recommended: Super Check

Feast PICC Talk Series: Break Feast with Special Sharing by Edward Lee 030412

The Overflow Series Officially Ended last Sunday with a BREAK Feast. There was no talk but a sharing by Edward Lee.

But Who is Edward Lee???

Back Track:
Edward Lee did not come from a rich family. Her mother was a teacher and her father was an ordinary door-to-door salesman. He is a college drop out because he doesn't like school.


Fast Forward:
Edward Lee is the Chairman of the Board of CitisecOnline.Com Inc. He has held this post since 1999. He is Chairman of the Board of CSI since 1986 and Chairman of the Board of CitisecOnline HK since 2001. He served as Nominee of CSI to Manila Stock Exchange (MSE) and the PSE. In addition, he is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CWC Group of Companies which includes CWC Development, Inc., Barrington Carpets, Inc., Citimex, Inc. and CWC International, Inc.

He shared his Secrets to Success:

1. Have a Purpose

- Write down your Goals

2. Build Relationship

* Build relationship to the people who are critical for the success of your business

- Employess

- Customers

- Suppliers

- Bankers

3. Have Integrity

- Honor what you commit

- Do what you SAY.

4. Financial Literacy

- Know the Principle of Receive, Retain and Reproduce.

5. Generosity / Tithe

* Give Back to God for everything that we have was from Him.

Looking back at who he was to who he is now is so inspiring. But according to him, it was all because of his parents. He is a "Product of Unconditional Love". Even though he was failing at school, he never heard his parents telling bad things on him instead they encouraged him to do good. Thus, he encourages all parents to spend more time with their children and bless them instead of telling them words that will offend and destroy them. He also mentioned that " There were NO Bad Children, Only Bad Parents".

It was a short talk. I think it was less than 15 minutes but Edward was able to deliver the message to becoming successful. Everything must be written. Trust God. Love others. Do the work. Give back to God.

His talk blessed me. I hope this will bless you too!

 

Note:

A Break Feast is not a typical Feast. We have this every end of a Talk Series. A Break Feast is where we spend more time with the Lord, praising, worshiping Him or just being with Him. The Break Feast last Sunday was made special by  the Anointing of the Feast Attendees Hands. This is to receive God's Grace and Bless the works of our Hands. 

Book Review: Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker

I've already been hearing about T. Harv Eker from the seminars I have attended and maybe people I have meet but never really took attention on him. However, few days after finishing the book "Ang Pera na hindi Bitin", I went  to a bookstore looking for another book to read and chanced upon this book of T. Harv Eker. I got curious about the Title and bought it together with another book on Warren Buffet.

I am very glad that I bought this book. It was awakening and very comprehensive. It was divided into 4 parts namely:

a. "Who the Heck is T. Harv Eker and Why Should I Read this Book?"

b. PART ONE: Your Money Blueprint

c. PART TWO: The Wealth Files

d. "So What the Heck Do I Do Now?"

At first, I thought that I gonna be bored reading this book because of the long chapters. But it never happened to me. A had a lot of realization while reading it.

Harv discussed our Money Blueprint, where it came from and how it affects our thoughts, action and attitude towards Money. He also mentioned steps and ways on how can we change our money blueprint for the better. 

He also used some mathematical equations which are:

1. T > F > A = R

Thoughts Leads to Fear

Fear Leads to Action

Action Leads to Result

2. CZ = WZ

Comfort Zone equals Wealth Zone. By expanding your comfort zone, you will expand your income and wealth zone.

On part Two of the Book, Harv discussed the Seventeen (17) Ways Rich People Think Differently from Poor and Middle Class People which are:

1.  Rich people believe “I create my own life”.  Poor people believe “Life happens to me.”

2.  Rich people play the money game to win.  Poor people play the money game not to lose.

3.  Rich people are committed to being rich.  Poor people want to be rich.

4.  Rich people think big.  Poor people think small.

5.  Rich people focus on opportunities.  Poor people focus on obstacles.

6.  Rich people admire other rich and successful people.  Poor people resent rich and successful people.

7.  Rich people associate with positive, successful people.  Poor people associate with negative or unsuccessful people.

8.  Rich people are willing to promote themselves and their value.  Poor people think negatively about selling and promotion.

9.   Rich people are bigger than their problems. Poor people are smaller than their problems.

10. Rich people are excellent receivers.  Poor people are poor receivers.

11. Rich people choose to get paid based on results.  Poor people choose to get paid based on their time.

12. Rich people think “both”.  Poor people think “either/or”.

13. Rich people focus on their net worth.  Poor people focus on their working income.

14. Rich people manage their money well.  Poor people mismanage their money well.

15. Rich people have their money work hard for them.  Poor people work hard for their money.

16. Rich people act in spite of fear.  Poor people let fear stop them.

17. Rich people constantly learn and grow.  Poor people think they already know.

I agree on all of these ways. I haven't mastered all of them but trying my best to correct my thinking. And put into practice all the things I learned because according to Harv, by doing so, we can quickly move to a higher level of life. 

We also need to understand the order to success for the Rich which is:

BE > DO > HAVE ~ If I become a successful person, I will be able to do what I need to do to have what I want, including a lot of Money. 

I believe that this book must be part of the first books for Financial Literacy because Harv was really successful in bringing out the root cause of our money problems and how can we effectively correct it.

Harv also mentioned some of the great investments we can focus on like Stocks and Real Estate. He even mentioned "Don't Wait to Buy Real Estate. Buy Real Estate and Wait".

Aside from the Rich Ways, there are also parts in the book where we make declarations which are listed below:

Place your hand on your heart and say the following declarations…

“My inner world creates my outer world.”

“ What I heard about money isn’t necessarily true. I choose to adopt new ways of thinking that support my happiness and success.”

“What I modeled around money was their way. I choose my way.”

“ I release my nonsupportive money experiences from the past and create a new and rich future.”

“I observe my thoughts and entertain only those that empower me.”

“I create the exact level of my financial success!”

“My goal is to become a millionaire and more!”

“I commit to being rich.”

“I think big! I choose to help thousands and thousands of people!”

“I promote my value to others with passion and enthusiasm.”

“ I am an excellent receiver. I am open and willing to receive massive amounts of money into my life.”

“I choose to get paid based on my results.”

“I always think ‘both.’ ”

“I focus on building my net worth!”

“I am an excellent money manager.”

“My money works hard for me and makes me more and more money.”

“I am committed to constantly learning and growing.”

Touch your head and say… “I have a millionaire mind!”

Harv believes that these declarations are powerful but this would not give us any result until we ACT. Talk is cheap. Our Action is the one that will count.

I highly recommend this book!!!

In Summary:
Price: Php 335 only in NBS
Content: Check
Recommended: Super Check

Feast PICC Talk Series: Talk 3 - Tips vs. Tithes 022612

This is Part 3 of my blog posts about the Feast PICC Overflow Talk Series. If you were not able to read my previous posts, please click these links: Talk 1 and Talk 2.

Malachi 3:10

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me on this, "says the Lord Almighty," and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

Talk 3 is about Tithing. Bro. Bo described Tithe as a starting point of grateful giving. It is like a training wheels of a children bicycle. We need to start with this training wheels before we can go on our own. In the beginning, GOD gave us everything we need and He is only asking for 10%.

Bro. Bo simplified the Topic by telling a story about a beggar and a rich man. Once there was a Beggar who met a Rich Man. The beggar asked for money but the rich man didn't want to just give him money, instead he made an agreement with the beggar that he will give the beggar products to sell and a place where he can sell the product. The beggar can't believe this great blessing and agreed with the rich man to meet after 30days. He only needs to give 10% of the sales to the rich man. The beggar had a good sale and after 30 days he was still awed with the huge money on his hand. While trying to set aside the 10% for the rich man, a part of him felt that it is not fair to give the 10% to the Rich Man because he did all the hard work and he didn't even see the rich man in the past 30 days. 

We are compared to this beggar. And the rich man is God. God asked for only 10% but sometimes we feel that it was not fair to give 10% to God because we did all the hard work. But the truth is, everything we have is from him.

Many people thought that Tithing was an Old Testament thing. But Bro. Bo explained that it is never omitted in the New Testament. The Old Testament says 10% and The New Testament says: give based on how grateful you are.

Malachi 3:9
Dare a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me! And you say, "How do we rob you?" In tithes and in offerings!

The Bible verse above also said that we are robbing God if we don't give our tithes. God is encouraging us to give. Give More so that we may Receive More. Let us allow the flow of blessing because by this, we also allow the flow of generosity.

Tithing is similar to breathing. If we inhale, we have to exhale. If we eat, we need to defecate.

Bro. Bo also sited the difference of the Sea of Galilee, Jordan River and Dead Sea. Life is about giving. Life is present to the Sea of Galilee and Jordan River because they are giving. Sea of Galilee gives water to Jordan Riven while Jordan River gives Water to the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea gives water to no one. This is the reason why no life is seen in the Dead sea.

God encourages us to give big. Be the Best Giver. Not for us but for God because we have a Big and Generous God. 

Bro. Bo also tries to answer three of the most commonly asked questions:

1. Where should we give our Tithes?

It should be given to the community that nourishes us that it may also nourish more people.

2. Should our Tithe be based on Gross or Net?

We need to decide whether we want our blessing to be based on our Gross or Net.

3. Can the financial help we give to our relatives be considered tithes?

No. These are alms.

To summarize, Tithing is a discipline God gave us to test our generosity. The more we empty ourselves, the more we opened ourselves to God's blessings. 

May God continue to shower us with blessings as we learn to give more than 10% of what truly belongs to Him.

Start Early and Be a Billionaire through the Stock Market

Finally, I was able to open a CitisecOnline account for my 3 year old daughter. I was able to buy few company stocks from her savings.

Her savings account was opened few months after her baptism. We put all the money gifts given to her in that savings account including the money we got from selling her old stuffs.

I know you have a lot of questions in your mind. Let me answer them now.

Why invest rather than keep it in the bank?

• Saving in a bank is good for accumulation only but not for appreciation due to very minimal interest that it offers.
• Bank offers a guaranteed interest of 0.5% to 3% p.a. only
• Stock Market doesn't offer any guaranteed interest but money growth is averaging at 10% p.a.
• To generate future purchasing power and keep ahead of inflation which is averaging at 7%.
• My daughter will not be needing the money in the years to come.

Why in Stock Market?

• History has proven that investing in stocks over the long term provides greater returns and protection against inflation compared to other investment vehicles.
• Better gain if done correctly. Investing rather than trading.
• More Control on what company to buy rather than getting a Mutual Funds which are also investing in the stock market.
• Lesser commission charges. Commission is only charged upon buying and selling of stocks. Whereas in the Mutual Funds or other Managed funds, you were charged a certain management fee every year or every month depending on the Company.
• You own a Business without the headache. You share with their success but also share with their losses (Stock Value).
• Aside from the expected gain (capital appreciation), some companies give DIVIDENDS. This is a tiny part of the company's profit.

My husband and I agreed not to get an educational plan for my daughter due to the recent troubles encountered by the customers of Pre-need Companies. According to some report, about 29 other pre-need companies may end up like Prudential Plans Inc. We have already created a plan on how to maximize our investments to cater for both our retirement and educational plan of our daughter. With our computation, we can get her tuition fee from the earnings of her stock investments. Our plan is to invest every month on our daughters account. If in the future, we can manage not to touch our daughter's investment for her tuition fees, she will end up a multimillionaire. And if she continue investing in her account once she is already capable, she will be a billionaire at age 70. That is if she will not increase the amount that we are previously putting in her account. In case she will, she will be a billionaire earlier than 70 years old.

So far, this is our plan. Let's accumulate wealth and be a Blessing to Many!

To our Financial Freedom! Cheers!

PS: 
If you have other questions, please leave a comment and I will try to answer you to the best of my ability.

Feast PICC Talk Series: Talk 2 - Income vs. Wealth 021912

I am sharing to you again what I have noted on  "The Feast OVERFLOW Series Talk 2. If you were not able to read Talk1, check it here.

Bro Bo. started the talk with a short story about the ANAWIM. It is one of his foundations which  is a home for the aged people that provide senior care and home for the less fortunate. This serve as a nursing home for the abandoned elderly plus a few orphans and physically and mentally handicapped persons. He said that many of the visitors were awed by the beauty and peacefulness of the place. Many of them wished to be a resident of it. But Bo told them that for goodness sake, don't wish to be a burden to the foundation but a DONOR even at old age.

His main message is that "We need to CREATE WEALTH for our OLD AGE".

There are Three (3) Steps to Create Wealth namely:
1. RECEIVE - have a regular income (active or passive)
2. RETAIN - have a simple lifestyle
3. REPRODUCE - multiply what God has given to you


RECEIVE
We need to have a "STEADY INCOME" / Positive Cashflow. The Goal is to have BIG WEALTH and making Jesus the Master of our Finances.



RETAIN
Bro. Bo mentioned one of the statements we normally hear "Money does not buy Happiness". Yes it is true. But he also said that " We need a minimum amount of money to make us happy". We need some money to put food in our stomach, to go from one place to another, to travel and bond with our family or relatives, to pay for our utilities. etc He also said that Happiness is not always directly proportional to Possession. There would come a point in our life that the more possessions we have, the lesser happy we become.

Some of the reasons why possessions can lessen our happiness are: more worries, more stress, more concerns and more maintenance cost.

He also pointed out that INCOME is "NOT EQUAL" to WEALTH. No matter how big or small our income is, if we don't live a simple life, we will end up broke in our old age. The key to becoming wealthy even with low income is by living simply. We should not give in to materialism but to simplicity.

We should also practice DELAYED GRATIFICATION to build wealth overtime. Don't be an impulsive buyer especially if you'll be buying using your credit card.

 "If you keep on BUYING things you DON'T NEED, you'll end up SELLING the things you NEED."

The advantage of delaying our gratification is that by the time we have the money to spend, sometimes we'll find out that we don't want it anymore. We can also feel a deeper joy, once we have finally bought that thing we were only dreaming of before.


REPRODUCE
Retaining our wealth is not enough. Same thing with saving our money for long term in a bank. It is like a recipe of poverty because of the risk discussed below.


Two (2) Kinds of Risks
1. Lost of Capital - This happen when a business fall.
2. Lost of Value - This is what happens to the money that is kept in our bank account.

It is okay to put our Emergency Fund in the bank for liquidity but not the money intended for our Long Term Goal. The thing  that cause LOSS of VALUE is Inflation. I can discuss this thing on my next blog posts. But I can give an example of the the effect of inflation. When I was in grade school I can go to school with only 5 pesos because the fare is only 3pesos 2-way. Today, my 5 pesos, can't bring me anywhere because the minimum fare is already 8 pesos.

Bro. Bo said, that to reproduce our wealth, we need to invest.

There are 3 BEST PLACES to INVEST our MONEY namely:

1. Paper Assets - Stock Market
2. Business
3. Real Estate

Among the three, the STOCK MARKET is the easiest, safest , most effective way of building your wealth for your old age. He even compared the population percentage of the investing public in other countries (USA = 70%, China = 60%, Philippines > 1%). Only few people are invested in the Philippine Stock Market because of the negative things we heard from the people who lost or losing in the stock market. But if we only know how to maximize the ways of earning in the stock market, we will never get lost. And can become part of the 15% will are making money in the stock market.

Two Ways of Entering the Stock Market
1. Indirectly - Equity Fund, Mutual Funds (Equity)
2. Directly - get a stock broker like Citiseconline.com.

We will never fear investing in the stock market if we only know the WHAT, WHY, WHEN, WHERE, WHO and HOW. We NEED TO LEARN and invest in Financial Education.

If you want to learn the more on the stock Market, you can join his next seminar:

WHAT: How To Make Millions In The Stock Market  “Live” Seminar 

WHEN: March 17, 2012, 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

WHERE: Mandaluyong CitySEMINAR FEE:  Php 497

I am also a STOCK Market Investor and I have been following Bo's advise to his Truly Rich Club Members. Investing in the stock market for two years already shows an average of 10% per year gain. We can't get this gain if we will just keep our money in our bank accounts. I can truly say that it is one of the great investment vehicles we have in the world.

To summarize, Bro. Bo uses a SIMPLE MAGIC FORMULA for Building Wealth. It is the 10/20/70 rule.

• 10% of your income is a Tithe or Love Offering to God
• 20% of your income is Invested into Paper Assets, Business or Real Estate
• 70% of your income is spent on your daily expenses.

As our income increases, we can adjust the formula to 20/30/50 or even more.

Our prayer is that God will bless us financially  and make us rich that we can bless more people around us.

May all our Dreams Come True!

Note:
Anawim (pronounced ann-a-weem) is a Hebrew word from the Old Testament which describes the “poor ones” who remained faithful to God in times of difficulty. These humble people became known as theanawim or the “faithful remnant.”

STOCK Update: Don't Listen to the Noise

Being a member of the TRULY RICH CLUB, we got to get monthly Stock Updates from Bro. Bo Sanchez and his Stock Market Mentors. Aside from this, we are also able to receive Stock Alerts from time to time depending on market condition. These updates and alerts were very useful for us who are following his advises. We were able to realize a pretty gain on our investments for the past 2 years.

I would just like to share with you an excerpt from the Stock Update that we received yesterday.

“Don’t Listen to the Noise”

The difference between a successful stock investor and an unsuccessful stock investor is this: The unsuccessful stock investor is preoccupied with the market—its ups and its downs. The successful stock investor is focused on fantastic companies.


Warren Buffett, the greatest stock market investor in the world, said that if they closed the stock market for five years, it wouldn’t bother him. Why? Because the ups and downs of the market is noise to him. He doesn’t care about it. He invests in growing businesses, period. Not the stock market.

The key? To invest each month in fantastic stocks.

That’s why Warren Buffett’s investment horizon is 10 years to forever.

For example, when CEB, EDC, and FPH dropped almost 10 percent, that was noise. Peter Lynch, another legendary stock market guru,said: “The key to getting rich in stocks is not getting scared out of them.”

Out of the 10 companies we’re recommending, some companies are like eagles flying high today, such as ALI, MBT, BPI, NIKL. (We predict they’ll go higher.)

Some companies are horses that are galloping nicely, like CEB and SMPH.

Some companies are turtles crawling in the mud, like JGS, AP, EDC, and FPH. We believe that they’ll have their day to shine. We just don’t know when.

But all that is noise. They’re eagles, horses, and turtles now. In the future, they might be exchanging places.

So if you have the money, invest in all of them. Or buy five this month and buy the other five next month.

If your investible funds each month are smaller, then buy two or three different companies each month.

Which should you buy now?

If you’ve been doing SAM for some time, I suggest you buy some or all of our new recommended

companies: BPI, NIKL, JGS, and SMPH.

My other suggestion? Block out the noise.

Remember: Becoming wealthy is simpler than you think.

Happy investing!

May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez

We already bought stocks from the Initial List of Bro. Bo's recommended companies. We haven't bought all the new addition to the list but we are planning to buy some soon. So far we are happy with our stock investments. The image on this side will show you how is it growing. We have one stock that is at a loss (on paper) but we don't listen to noise and thus we are not bothered. We just keep on investing because TODAY is the RIGHT TIME to SOW.

May this bless and convince you to invest in the stock market and be part of the 15% who will make money in the stock market.


Enjoy your Journey to Financial Freedom!!!



PS:
Should you have any question on this post or on stock market investing, please leave a comment or contact me here.

Feast PICC Talk Series: BONUS Talk on Entrepreneurship by Dean Pax Lapid

There was a bonus talk on the OVERFLOW Series about Entrepreneurship. There were a lot of things that we learned and I am sharing them to you. See details below:

Date: February 12,2012
Topic: Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs
Speaker: Dean 'Pax' Lapid
Co-Author of "Go Negosyo 21 Steps on How to Start your Own Business"

Luke 6: 48
"He is like a man who built a house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock."

Three (3) Points from this Bible Verse

1. Build a House - Create Wealth

2. Dig Dip - Work for it

3. Solid Foundation 

"Learning is Effective if enjoyable".

1st Part of the Secrets 
(Most Important)

T - Talent and Time

R - Recognize the moment of Opportunity

U - Understanding the Business Logic

L - Luck is both Preparedness and Opportunity

Y - Why buy from me

T

Talent and Time

We have an overflowing gifts of time and talent that we only need to tap and recognize. Take the example of a Huge elephant being overpowered by little people because they were chained when they were young and when they grew bigger they thought that the rope tied on their feet would also not let them go away. 

R

Recognize the moment of Opportunity

Most of us are guilty of Laziness in mind and action.

**Success Formula of the Masters (3D)**

• Direction (Goals + Actions)
• Determination (Passion and PErseverance)
• Destiny (Success of Life's Dream/Business)

Find your True North

-Julies Bakeshop was created @ her Senior years

- KFC was born when Sanders was already 70 years old

Need to change Mindset

- Success is a function of Good Judgement 

Dream Big. Start Small

U

Understanding the Business Logic

Probing

Who, What, Why, How, Where and When

L

L - Luck is both Preparedness and Opportunity

is the offspring of preparedness and opportunity

Why can't we take advantage of opportunity? Fear of Failure

If you want bigger INCOME, you must COME IN.

Balance Time, Talent and Treasure. Most important is TALENT

Y

Y - Why buy from me

It is "not" the Price.

A business idea is only a successful business if it has to do with "ER" factor.

ex. bigger, faster, nicer except cheaper unless you are the manufacturer.

In Summary (PINAY):

PI -liin ang Hilig or Gusto (Personal Preference)

NA - aral (Education) / gawa (Experience) / galing (Expertise)

Y - why buy from me (Customer Solution)

2nd Part of the Secrets 
(Important to Sustain the Business)

R = Regular Customers

I = Invest in Relationships across the Business (Client, Partners and Employees)

C = Cashflow should be positive (Basic Finance). "Don't plan for BREAKEVEN because you will be BROKEN".

H = His (God) will/plan be done.

He concluded" "Whatever we endeavor, God should always be part of the Equation".

It was a short talk but very comprehensive. The way the topics were delivered is very light and easy to comprehend. I believe many were blessed and changed after the talk. I then also invite you to join us next Sunday in PICC for TALK 2 (Income vs. Wealth) and be blessed! See you there!

May All Our Dreams Come True. :)

Feast PICC Talk Series: Talk 1 - Salary vs. Profit 020512

I just want to share the important things that Bo Sanchez pointed out during his talk in the PICC Feast. For this month of February, we have "OVERFLOW" Series. Talk 1 started last February 05,2012 and below are the things I have noted.

There are many ways to create wealth but the best is to "Answer God's Call for Your Life". It is the easiest and natural way.


There are Two Blocks that Prevent Overflow in our Life

1. Wrong thinking 

• Believe that business is service. 
• Profit is good/sacred. It is encouraged  (Matthew 25: 25-26)

2. Wrong Strategy

• We tend to move away from our core gift. We compare ourselves with others.
• Focus on our strength/gift and learn how to monetize it.

Things to Do

1. Risk your Gold

• We don't know our gift because we don't experiment because we are afraid of rejections
• Take Risk. Experiment.
• Fail Quickly and Try Again
• Don't bury your Gift. Use it. Share it.

2. Reproduce your Gold

• If we don't use our gift, we will lose it. But if we use it, we reproduce it.
• Expand, double, Multiple
• Look for mentors
• Attend Seminars
• Read Books

3. Return the Gold 

• Give to God the "Principal + Interest"
• We're just caretakers. 
• Always ask God on how he wants us to use his wealth entrusted to us.

"Just Serve. The universe will find a way to repay you."

By the way, the talk is about Salary vs. Income because we can be an Employee or an Entrepreneur but at the end of the day, we are will be waiting for income. We can receive the salary and profit that we want if we will be following the things that Bro. Bo shared to us

These are just simple steps but most of us don't know or ignore it. However, if we will really think about it and look at the successful people around us, we will learn that their secrets are not really secrets. We just fail to recognize and see what they see.

Let us pray that our eyes and ears be opened to what God wants us to do. May we become obedient and faithful servants. In Jesus Name. Amen.


Note:
The Feast is a Catholic Weekly Prayer Meeting of the Light of Jesus (LOJ) Family founded by Catholic lay preacher and author Bo Sanchez. It is commonly known as the " Happiest Place on Earth. For schedule and location of Feast near you, please contact: 725-9999.

Parents are Responsible for their Children

As I was reading the Bible this morning, this verse caught my attention.

2 Corinthians 12: 14-15
 "Here for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?"

My reflection on this is we, parents, are responsible for the needs of our children. We need to provide their needs and not oblige them to provide for us when we are old. We need to prepare everything for our retirement so as not to burden them. Because by the time we are old, they will be responsible for their own children.

Book Review: Ang Pera na Hindi Bitin by Eduardo O. Roberto, Jr.

I first heard about this book from the TRP Mastery Academy that I attended to last February 1 and 2. Sir Larry Gamboa used this book as an example of how to target your audience. I got curious about the book but I forgot about it after the seminar.

However, last Friday after a meeting and while waiting for my husband, I decided to go inside National Bookstore. I was trying to look for a book on Warren Buffet when I saw this book on the "Bestseller" Section. I remembered that it was the book that Sir Larry mentioned during our seminar. I didn't think twice of buying it and even got surprised seeing that it is only Php50.

I started reading it the night I bought it and finished the day after. It was a great book from cover to cover. The author was very effective of referencing Bible verses on his every topic. The way the author discussed each strategy on money management was simple and can easily be grasped by ordinary people.

These strategies are:

1. Save – Use the “Automatic Millionaire” savings system. This blog post might also help explain it. He also made this quote:

"Ang taong ipon ng ipon, pera nya'y di lilipad na parang ibon."

This is true because the basic and first step to financial freedom is the art of "Saving".

2. Give – Give to the Lord. He doesn’t need our Money. We have a “Rich and Generous Dad”. But He wants us to do this to help us. The more we empty ourselves, the more blessings he can pour unto us.

3. Get out of Debt and Stop Borrowing – The Borrower is a Slave of the Lender. Set a goal of getting out of debt and never borrow again.

4. Live Simply – Living a simple life can help you get out of debt and help you to save more.  It pays to be frugal. And always remember to “PRAY before you PAY". He discussed in the book why we need to do so.

5. Work Hard and be an Entrepreneur – Develop and Monetize our God given talents.

6. Invest – The best to secure your future is through investments. But he noted that we need to “INVESTigate Before we INVEST. Don’t fall for the “Get Rich Quick” schemes. You can check mutual funds, the stock market, etc.

7. Educate Yourself – Invest in yourself. Attend seminars, read books, etc. “If you think Financial Intelligence is Expensive, TRY Ignorance”.

These strategies when followed will indeed be a very effective way of making our PISO not to be BITIN.

The book is short yet comprehensive, simple and straight to the point which will never bore the readers. The comic illustrations were also effective on bringing humor to the strategies recommended. It was also written  in “Taglish” which made it successful in delivering his message to his target readers.

Another thing I liked about the book was the page where it listed down their Book Recommendations. Some of them I have already read but most will be on my "To Read" List.

In Summary:

Price: Check

Content: Check

Recommended: Super Checck

The Philippines is On the Verge of a Major Economic Boom

This is according to the special report published by Wealth Daily. They said that the Philippines booming economy has greater investment potential than China 10 years ago and it is currently on the Sweet Spot, take off stage or the critical point where fortunes can and will be made.

Also, according to them, the Philippines got what it need for this boom to really escalate: natural resources and solid relationship with foreign companies wanting to mine.

This is good news for all of us Filipinos. This means that there's still hope for the Philippines. It may not take some time but we are going there. We just need to be patient and do our best to be part of this development. We can contribute in our own little way. We can start by these "12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country by Alex "Pinoy" Lacson".

1. Follow traffic rules. Follow the law.

2. Whenever you buy or pay for anything, always ask for an official receipt.

3. Don’t buy smuggled goods. Buy local. Buy Filipino.

4. When you talk to others, especially foreigners, speak positively about us and our country.

5. Respect your traffic officer, policeman and soldier.

6. Do not litter. Dispose your garbage properly. Segregate. Recycle. Conserve.

7. Support your church.

8. During elections, do your solemn duty.

9. Pay your employees well.

10. Pay your taxes.

11. Adopt a scholar or a poor child.

12. Be a good parent. Teach your kids to follow the law and love our country.


PS:
Today is the right Time. Invest in the Philippines through the Stock Market or other investment vehicles. But I am biased to Stock Market. I'll discuss why on my next posts. >;p

New Pages on my Blog

When I revived this blog, I found this new feature of blogger of creating pages. I got excited and used it immediately.

The Pages I added were:

1. About Me .
This is the page where you will know more about me.

2. On Stock Market.
It lists the link where you can know more about the stock market and my recommended stock broker if you already want to start your investment in the stock market.

3. Wealth Seminars
This is the list of my Wealth Seminars that I am recommending you to attend. Most of them, I have already attended and have already given my reviews. While some are in my Target List.

4. Contact Me.
Leave your contact infos on this page as well as you questions and other concerns and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Hope you like the new look of my blog ;)

Boo-Boo # 1: Investment in LBC Bank

I blogged about this good investment find in 2008. It is about the Time Deposit offered by LBC bank. I did my research and was convinced to put some investment in this bank. Then, I forget about it.

However, Q4 of 2011, I learned about the closing of  LBC bank. Oh no!!! What have I done?! It was my first time and I didn't know what to do. I was also busy with other stuffs and forgot about it. I just decided to file my claim early this year as part of my new year's plan.

I realized, it was not that bad after all. My money still earned an interest of 16% for the 3 years it was with them. Thanks to PDIC, I still have a chance of recovering our Investment.


Lessons Learned:

1. Do your own due diligence in investing your hard earned money.
I did mine but I think it was not enough. ;)

2. Stay away with Mañana Habit. 
When a bank closes, file your claim as soon as possible to be included in the 1st release of claims. I was a month delayed in claiming. Depositors in my area was already able to claim their investment by the time I was only filing for mine.

3. Fail Quickly and Try Again.
My failure didn't stopped me. It just made me wiser. Actually, I am already excited to get my claim and invest it in the stock market. As per Bo Sanchez's  advise to the Truly Rich Club Members, "The Philippines Will be One of the Best Performing Stock Markets in the World". And I wanna be part of it. :)

Let's Keep Investing!!!

From DIwK to SIwK

Just to update my status based on this post, from DIwK (Double Income with Kid) we are now slightly SIwK (Single Income with Kid). I say "slightly" because I am still receiving an income. It is not a regular one but it is now based on commission.

Since when?
A year and a half ago.


Why?
Change of priorities and Passion.


Any Major Change in our Financials?
Not much. God is so gracious to us!

Overall Status?
We are still doing good in terms of investments and planning for the future. It is still a long Journey but I know we will get there by his grace and mercy. And I know I will see you all there. ;)

My PISO Dream and Journey Continues...

I haven't update this blog for quite a while. I don't have an intention of abandoning it but some things changed in my life which also changed the manner I update this blog. My personal struggles and stories will be shared in this blog soon. I know you can relate to my stories.

So what made me post again?! We'll I didn't realized I wanted to be an author until I meet this person who inspired me and made me realize that I have the skills in Stock Market Investing that I can hone and use to help other people. Thus, I am striving really hard to improve this skill.  Part of the plan is to regularly update this blog. It can by about the stock market, real estate, funds, interesting investment or  anything that we could relate to "PISO".

Join my in my Journey and let's enjoy the ride and learn from each other. ;)

Blessings!!! :)

To our Financial Freedom and Beyond!