Whether you’re still in school, in your prime or about to retire,
You need financial peace to live a happy life.
And there is no time to begin but NOW.
Highly sought-after financial planning consultant, Randell Tiongson, who also happens to be a dear friend, invited me to his workshop recently, Steps to Financial Peace. The opportunity to attend and listen to the counsel of someone known for his know-how in investments was too good to pass up. And truth to tell, there was a little voice inside me saying that maybe blogging was another way to share stored-up knowledge from almost two decades in the corporate world.
Some Things to Keep in Mind
When you invest, your goal is to earn at a rate higher than inflationary trends. If all of one’s extra money is in savings or time deposit, which at the moment hovers in the range of less than 1% to 2%, depending on which bank you use, your money is really losing value while it is sitting there because your purchasing power is being eroded by an inflation rate that is higher than the interest rate you get.
80% of what is needed for investing is BEHAVIORAL. People need to get into an investment mindset. Randell mentioned that even those who are themselves in the financial industry are not spared from financial woes. Many know how to preach but do not apply the principles to themselves.
There is what is known as a Filipino vicious cycle — the parents spend everything they have on the kids, ending up with no savings of their own. Then when they are old and medical issues begin to crop up, they become fully dependent on the children to support them. And the cycle continues. Some will say but that is because we are family-oriented and that supporting elders is a natural obligation. This mindset, however, results in generations of people who have no financial peace.
55% of families in the Philippines do not own their own homes. Many have been renting for decades with nothing to show for the money spent.