Book Review: Sikreto ng Mga Mayayaman by Al Sembrano

One of the best financial literacy book I have ever read. Even if he share his personal experience as a poor young boy from Mindanao. Mr. Sembrano was really keen on learning the long road to financial success where he is right now in being a financial analyst with major banking companies in the United States and eventually retiring early to making a one masterpiece of 10 series books.

The author's objective is to bring back to the basics of financial education and planning to readers with better understanding. It was very practical compared to the other books of Filipino writers. This books empowers everyone who reads it with knowledge from getting a job, creating wealth from small to big proportions and starting business. It also has inspirational wherein the author share his life's experiences that led him to success. This book is applicable to all Filipinos who want to live a prosperous life.

MONEYVANTAGE: Bank Deposits and Personal Savings Accounts

What is the purpose of bank deposit savings? A lot of people ask questions on why save your money on a savings account?

Savings accounts are accounts maintained by retail financial institution that pay interest but can not be used directly as money (by, for example, writing cheque). These accounts let customers set aside a portion of their liquid assets while earning a monetary return (see Wikipedia). A savings account can be in passbook or in Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).

A lot of people underestimate the use of savings account in bank although it only earns about one percent (1%) prevailing rates in the Philippines. Still a savings account is useful in many financial aspects. Saving money may be placed in short term or long term goals still the purpose he/she must undertake in securing his/her future. An example of the uses of this investment tool are raising for a down payment in order to purchase a property (condominium or a house & lot) or an automobile, setting up capital for a future business venture, or can be used as emergency fund, used for transferring fund via mobile banking locally or abroad or a keeping your personal secret stash.

Opening a bank savings account is easy, the purpose of opening a savings account for a smart financial investor is to "contain or temporarily store" some of your money in a bank and at the same time it can be used as a financial statement in acquiring bank loans (housing, automobile and personal loans), buy some other financial investments offered by this financial institution that produce higher yields. An example of this is buying a retail treasury bond in government controlled banks like Development Bank of the Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines wherein it requires an initial deposit of PhP 5,000 on your savings account before buying Retail Treasury Bonds worth PhP 100,000.

For a clearer view, let set an example:

Ramon is a 9 to 5 office worker, he receives a an average of PhP 14,000.00 a month. He is a novice investor and have average knowledge in investments thanks to his peers encouragement in reading financial planning books and attended some free financial literacy seminars. He saves a portion of his salary because his goal is for him to set aside money for emergency fund that is good for six months in case he lost his job (or get sick), set aside a downpayment for his equities on his planned purchase of a PAG-IBIG accredited development (house and lot package) in Cavite and at the same time save for an initial capital for a small time enterprise or business in the sides in by next year.

He maintains five savings account which he manages from different banks, he puts up his goals into action.

BANK
ABC Bank: saves money for Contingency or Emergency fund
XYZ Bank: saves money for a purchase of higher yielding investments (ex. stocks, mutual funds, Value Unit Linked Insurance, etc.)
LEVI Bank: saves money for initial capital of his small business.
EFG Bank: saves money down payment in acquiring a buying a house and lot with an Pag-Ibig accredited property developer in Cavite.
BBB Bank (ATM provided by his employer): Salary and personal expense fund.

When time and money matures they can eventually use the saved money in their specific goals or reinvest it with higher yielding vehicles like equities, mutual funds, money market bond funds, UITFs etc.



Copyright 2008-2009 - PinoyMoneyVantage

Food Security in our Midst!

The Philippine government is beefing up its resources on importing rice in Thailand. It already had talks with the foreign minister of Thailand last month and agreed with the our government's dealing.

Are we hungry now? As of most of the SWS surveys it says YES. They say majority of the urban poor are getting hungrier much less to the countryside are experiencing the same.

I had deep thoughts on this regarding the need for food as we are now experiencing rice shortage with people looking for a much cheaper variant of rice coming from National Food Authority (NFA). Mindanao is experiencing much worst than their Metro Manila counterparts because rice prices of other variants rice to P 50.00 per kilo. Rice hoarding is now rampant in this parts of the Philippine. A lot of people are now experiencing hunger even we tighten our belts to save but somehow inflation is keeping up on us wherein it already peaked at 9.6% as I read yesterday's broadsheet with the tumbling value of Philippine peso to dollar at US$ 1.00 to PhP 44.00 on the foreign exchange rate. Some of the financial and international affairs expert see that inflation can go to double digit in a few months time not only here but around the world.


In the light of the looming rice crisis that the Philippines and other countries experiencing right now. Local provincial government of Oriental Mindoro had taken step in encouraging agriculture to be taken by jobless out of school youth. This program not only provides jobs but also the knowledge and skills for these young folks to take up farming which is essentially important nowadays making Oriental Mindoro the rice capital of region 4. In the first place, our country was based in agriculture but in the past couple of decades it came to a point that industrial and advance technological age is keeping up with our country and less people are taking agriculture as business and settled for a much newer career outside of farming in the rural to the urban cities.

Copyright 2008-2009 - PinoyMoneyVantage

A Millionaire Mind: T. Harv Eker

I was able to glimpse of book on T. Harv Eker's Secret's of a Millionaire Mind. It was a small paperback book on National Bookstore. In my compulsive buying of wealth building books this is a definite gold mine of information for me in achieving that success in life. In the first few pages, the author describes the psychology or way of thinking of some folks on what they say regarding rich people, the middle class and the poor people especially how they describe themselves in a way and also how they perceive money.

Most Pinoys think of money as a thing to dispose immediately, they never think of the long term goal, always the short term due to impatience and the mindset of earning quick buck as they seldom think of their future. Filipinos always blame and make scapegoats of the government, the church, other people etc. They need to think first before blaming everybody. I know that we are not going anywhere if we blame everybody. We assess ourselves, plan and later take immediate action in resolving the problems.

Most Pinoys do not save a portion of their money which is essential for their future. A sample of things essential and necessity are basic life insurance, fruitful retirement fund, allocation and diversification of wealth through passive income and others. The fact is that, we need to change our spending habits, avoiding temptation of compulsive buying or things we do not really need and feel guilty in the end so we need to differentiate the needs from wants.

Financial reprogramming ( Your Money Blueprint) - changing the way of thinking on how we perceive money is the answer if you act on it. Did you know that the rich people are working more hours than the average person is. Rich people are determined to be rich if they work smartly and hard. Did you know that rich people also admire other rich people because they get inspired to be like them on what they are today.

In an article last month on Philippine Star's front page column. There is an article that caught my attention. Does Money buy you happiness? A lot of people say "YES" but isn't this ironic for all that money is not the solution to all of this madness in our world. 85% would still prefer health than money because "in good health you can still create wealth".

As I was reading throughly through its pages, T. Harv Eker included Wealth files in guiding the reader on the things he/she needs to ponder of. Included also are the inspirational story of few of T. Harv Eker's students who attended the seminar on the Millionaire Mind in the United States and Canada. I know there is no Millionaire Mind Intensive Seminar like in the North America but someone would come up with this and bring it to the our shores here in the Philippines. I would definitely would like to attend this seminar.

Copyright 2008-2009 - PinoyMoneyVantage