Question: "Paano po mag invest? Saan po ba okay mag-invest?"

I get this question A LOT. Sometimes, I’m tempted to just tell them, "This is how you open an investment account, these are the requirements, this is the amount, etc etc." That would have been easier for me but I figured that's not the point why I'm a Financial Educator in the first place. Right?

So, why do I always encourage people to learn the basics first? Why do I go through the long process of educating my clients when I can just cut to the chase and sell an investment product? --- I believe that when people understand why they need to invest, they become empowered to make their own decision, and I think that really matters, in the end the how and where will just follow.

A lot of people start investing, then eventually they will stop because most of them do not actually understand what they got themselves into. Madami pa nga, na-force lang kasi. But when we educate ourselves we get a better grasp of our goals, a realistic timeline and the right strategy that we need in order for us to achieve those goals. Here’s the thing though, you won’t really get it in one seating. You need to constantly educate yourself.

My big message for you today is simple, before you get into any "investment", before getting into the “paano mag invest” invest on your financial education first. As Benjamin Franklin said: An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.

​I hope you learned something today! :)

Keep on learning, keep on growing!
Chai

P.S. I hope that you find this article helpful and relevant and if you do please hit the like button below and share this to your friends.
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P.P.S. If you wanna learn more attend our FREE Financial Coaching Class by clicking the register button below.
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Have you been letting fear hold you back from living life to the full?

Many people miss out on great opportunities because of fear. In the past 5 years of being a Financial Coach, I realized that this is also very true when it comes to investing. Many people are still very much afraid to get into investing. Why?

​They fear losing money.
They fear being scammed.
They fear they might get into the wrong kinds of investments.
They fear not knowing a thing or two about investing.
They fear letting their family down.
They fear being judged as “mukhang pera”.
They fear risks.
…and a whole lot of other reasons.

Little do they realize, that because of these fears they also miss out on the great opportunity of growing their wealth through investments which can eventually fund their children’s education, give them the capacity to travel to their dream destination, sustain them during their retirement years, protect their family from sudden loss of income due to death or major illness, help and support charitable organizations, etc.

Because of fear, people miss their chance of having a better future.

Because of fear, you might actually be robbing yourself and family the gift of a more abundant life.

Let’s have a quick reality check: How many 13th month pays, bonuses, incentives, 15th and 30th's, or maybe even weekly commissions have already passed through your fingers, and still you haven't done anything about your plan to invest because you’re just so afraid to do it?

How long has it been like that? Have you tried computing the total amount of money that has come and gone in your bank account?

Here’s the thing, it’s normal to feel fear, scientifically speaking, that’s our brain’s natural reaction to things that are quite unfamiliar to us. But just because it’s natural/normal, doesn’t mean we’ll just let it be. That’s such a lousy excuse. So, how do we reduce our fears about investing?

My one big message: YOU’VE GOT TO LEARN YOUR WAY OUT OF YOUR FEARS. It’s simple, you need to invest on Financial Education, not just one time, but continuously.

Let me liken this to taking an exam. When you take an exam and you know that you’ve studied and you’re prepared for it, chances are, you’re more confident to take it compared to those who did not study at all. Your chances of failing compared to them is much leaner. This is very much the same when it comes to investing. When you educate yourself, you reduce your chances of making mistakes.

The awesome thing about investing is that we don’t necessarily get grades for the choices that we make. There’s no “Perfect Score”, “A+” or “F”. What’s more important is that as we educate ourselves we start to realize what our goals are and then we start looking for options that will help us accomplish or reach those goals. It’s not a one-time big time exam. It’s a lifetime project wherein for every accomplished goal that you reach, you continue to move to the next “project”,

Investing is not as complicated as you think it is, especially if you really make an effort to learn about it. But of course, it’s not enough that we just learn, if we want our learnings to have an impact in our lives we need to apply it. We need to act on the things that we learn, as they say “Experience is the best teacher.” Just do it! Do it afraid. Learn along the way. You’ll never know what could happen if you don’t do something.

Before I end this, let’s just do a quick exercise: I want you to identify one thing that you will already start doing so you can reduce your fears about investing. Perhaps that could be to read a book, or sign up and attend a financial coaching class, or talk to a financial coach, etc. Just make sure you do that one thing. You’ve got to start somewhere.

Remember this: Improving your financial life and achieving your financial goals will not happen overnight, it’s not like instant noodles, just add water and poof. No. It’s a decision that you need to make INTENTIONALLY — NOW. We’ve all heard this, all good things take time, and that includes investing. Kaya, the earlier that you start, the sooner that you can achieve your goals.

I hope you learned something today and I hope you can share this article to your friends and family.

Keep on learning, keep on growing!
Chai

P.S. I hope that you find this article helpful and relevant and if you do please hit the like button below and share this to your friends.
​
P.P.S. If you wanna learn more attend our FREE Financial Coaching Class by clicking the register button below.

Have you ever thought to yourself, "Paano ko ba papalaguin ang pera ko?", or “How do I grow my money -- without becoming a victim of scams and of course without having to wait for eternity?” Let me share with you one of the secrets of the wealthy. We call it: the rule of 72. I tell you, numbers and math have never been this exciting!

The Rule of 72: The Secret of The Truly Rich

I first heard about this concept during a Financial Literacy Class that I attended sponsored by IMG back in 2008. Before I explain to you how it works, here's the definition by Investopedia:

"The 'Rule of 72' is a simplified way to determine how long an investment will take to double, given a fixed annual rate of interest. By dividing 72 by the annual rate of return, investors can get a rough estimate of how many years it will take for the initial investment to duplicate itself."

I’ll illustrate this in a bit, but first let's take a look at the current interest rates:
Savings account: 0.25% ~ 0.2% (less tax)
Time Deposit: 1.00%

Given these interest rates, how long do you think will it take to double your money? Time to use some magic! All you need to do is to divide the number 72 by the interest rate to get the number of years it will take for your money to double. Have a look at the the figures below.