Pay yourself first

Bank is the first destination of most of OFWs the moment we receive our paychecks. It's not to save but to send money to our love ones back home. Then, we go to the nearest supermarket for our weekly or monthly groceries and then pay our bills. If there is something left, then we buy something for ourselves like new clothes and shoes. For some, shopping may be the first thing they do and then other thing follows. But no matter in what order we do things, we do the same thing.  We practice this formula:

SALARY - EXPENSES = SAVINGS

But what if there is nothing left? We then tend to procrastinate. We will delay savings and plan to start doing it the next month. And next month comes, following the same formula of spending first, then be left with nothing again and the cycle goes on. Then after years of working, check our bank accounts and we realize that we have not accumulated anything. We then feel tired and feels like our years of hard work just went to nothing. So, what should we do then?

If we want a different result, then we should do something different. Change our mindset and practices. The moment we receive our paychecks, PAY OURSELVES FIRST and use this formula instead:

 SALARY - SAVINGS = EXPENSES

Paying yourself first is best done through setting aside a part of your monthly income as a saving. Spend only what is left after saving and not the other way around. And make sure to live with what is left and not to steal from your savings.

5 Paraan Para Yumaman

Ayon kay Francisco Colayco, isang manunulat, negosyante at financial advisor sa isang pakikipanayam kasama si Mel Tiangco, mayroon raw na 5 paraan para yumaman ang isang tao. 

Alam ko marami ang interesadong malaman anu-ano ang mga paraang ito. Isa-isahin natin.

Una: MANAHIN MO..

Kung isa ka nga naman sa mapalad na nagkaroon ng mayamang magulang eh di swerte mo.. Paampon ka na kaya kay Vilma Santos at Edu Manzano, ikaw kasi ay matatawag na "LUCKY".. (Note: Sa hindi pinalad, wag na magreklamo at maghangad na sana mayaman nalang mga magulang mo.. may 4 na paraan pa..)

Pangalawa: PAKASALAN MO..

Ayun oh.. pwede!!!! Maghanap ka ng 4M (matandang, mayamang, madaling mamatay). Pero kung mayroon namang batang mayaman na gwapo pa, why not di bah? Ano, choosy ka pa? (Note: Pero mga teh, A marriage without love is doomed to failure. And love for money should never be a reason for marriage. I DISCOURAGE you to take this course.) Let's try the next one then.

Pangatlo: PANALUNAN MO.. 

Sa pamamaraang ito ay tiyak na mapapasigaw ka nang "MAY HIMALA". One in a million ang mga ganitong kwento. Pero umasa pa rin tayo, malay natin, tayo pala ang "one" na iyon di ba? Hindi naman masama ang paraang ito, di naman kasi lahat ng pagkapanalo ng limpak-limpak na salapi ay masama. Tulad sa singing contest o mga talent search competition, who wants to be a millionaire, you've got a minute to win it, deal or no deal, pera o bayong, pa raffle sa barangay at iba pa. Basta ba di sugal o kaya naman ay labag sa batas, eh why not? Kung halimbawa nga naman na ikaw ung "one in a million" na un, siguraduhin mong gamitin mo sa maayos at galingan ang paghawak ng swerte mo.. Kasi kadalasan, ang perang nakamit sa madali at walang kahirap-hirap na paraan ay nawawala rin sa ganoong paraan..(Note: Do some math.. Baka naman mas malaki pa ang nagastos mo para manalo kaysa sa napanalunan mo. Also, wag magbuwis ng buhay para lang sa pagkakataong manalo, hindi rin ikaw ang makikinabang rito.) Malabo rin to.. Next please..

Pang-apat: NAKAWIN MO..

Eto na... Sa paraang ito, ikaw ay pwedeng magdecide kung gaano karami ang kayamanang gusto mo. Sky is the limit. Kung gusto mong mapabilang sa listahan ng "Philippines Richest People 2013, aba eh kumayod na. (Note: Walang STARBUCKS o MOA sa loob ng kulungan. Aanhin mo pa ang kayamanan kung wala ka namang kalayaang gastahin ito. Dudungisan mo lang ang pangalan mo at ng pamilya mo. It's not worth it.) Eh ang pang-lima kaya? Continue reading....

Pang-lima: PAGSIKAPAN MO.. 

Effort? Uu mga teh, EFFORT... Aanhin pa ang airplane kung wala namang effort? este airport.. Anong connect nyan sa usapan? Actually wala.. So let's continue.. Among the 5 ways, this may be the hardest and may also take the most time to get to your goal. But it is worth it. Mas magagawa mong pahalagahan ang tagumpay na iyong nakamit kasi ito ay pinaghirapan. Walang impossible. Magtiwala  sa sarili at tiyak malayo ang mararating mo. Sa tuwing nahihirapan ka, isipin mo nalang na ang pag-akyat sa tuktok ng tagumpay ay sadyang mahirap. (Note: This is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED... )


The choice is yours!!! Choose wisely!!!

Can Money and Spirituality co-exist?

We all do know as what was written in the Bible that "the love of money is the root cause of all kinds of evil" but let us not also be blinded by the fact that the lack of  money has also contributed to the rising of crimes committed like robbery, kidnapping, even murder and etc. So, should we acquire it, or should we walk away from it?

Confronted with the same question years back. So I searched for answer. And I just thought that the video below of the ANC On the Money tv program will give us a clear picture of the relation between Money and Spirituality and if both can co-exist or are they mutually exclusive.

"Money is neither good or bad in itself. It all depends on what you do with your money. Money and spirituality are not mutually exclusive. There is a very strong connection between our true spiritual condition in the way we view and manage money and possessions. The way we spend our money, the way we manage our finances is a direct reflection of your inner spirituality." - Arlene Dayrit

Financial Literacy, what is it?

Most probably you've already heard stories of people winning the lotto, sweepstakes, game shows and all those others who from having nothing gained wealth in an instant but went bank to scratch in just a short span of time. That is one good example that proves that more money is not the solution to money problems but financial literacy is. But what is financial literacy?

If we are to consult Wikipedia, FINANCIAL LITERACY  is the ability to understand how money works in the world, how someone manages to earn or make it, how that person manages it, how he/she invests it (turn it into more) and how that person donates it to help others. More specifically, it refers to the set of skills and knowledge that allows an individual to make informed and effective decisions with all of their financial resources.

How financially literate are you? Are you aware how much exactly you gain each month? Is it a passive or active income?  How much did you spend for needs? for wants? How many percent did you allocate for savings? Investments? Where did you save/ invest it? What was that for? How much will you gain? Will the yield beat inflation? If tomorrow you become jobless, how long will you survive with what you have at hand?

Again, how financially literate are you?

"YOU are responsible for your own financial education." - Robert Kiyosaki

Is having more money the answer?

For most of us who are troubled financially, the first solution that comes to mind is to acquire more money. So we resulted to having sidelines, additional workload, engaging into business or even leaving our family behind and work overseas in search for what we believe to be a greener pasture. But after doing such, were your troubles solved? Did you really turn out to be financially free? For those who answered yes, congratulations!... For those left with sad faces, have you asked yourself, why? Why is it that despite having additional income, it is still not enough?

I myself had asked the same questions few years ago, luckily, I found an answer and let me share that with you. According to Francisco Colayco in one of his books I have read 2 years ago (I forgot the title though) "more money is not the solution to one's money problems".. What is the solution then? Simple.. It is FINANCIAL LITERACY!! I'll talk more about it in the next blog entries..