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Life Lessons

20 Lessons I Learned in 2020

Today is December 31, 2020. It’s almost midnight. This year 2020 is about to come to an end.

This has been a roller coaster ride kind-of-a-year. The COVID19 Pandemic happened. Lockdown started in March. It got extended. Again. and again. Now the year is ending and we are still on General Community Quarantine in the Philippines.

Many people lost their jobs. Many people struggled financially. Many people lost their loved ones. Many people have suffered and continue to suffer.

Of course, there are also blessings to be thankful for. The phrase “health is wealth” holds a deeper meaning these days. Being able to celebrate New Year’s eve with your loved ones is a blessing in itself. It means you survived the challenges of 2020.

This year gave me a lot of lessons to remember. I want to share them with you.

Lesson #1 – Cashflow is very important.

Having an emergency fund is great. But what’s even better than emergency fund? It’s having a cashflow that puts money into your pocket. That means having income that is greater than your expenses.

What happens when you suddenly lose your job? Your income stops. Your cashflow suddenly turns to negative.

In 2018, I learned this the hard way. I had a lot of liabilities that was eating up the profits from my business. So when the business suddenly turned sour, the income from the business was no longer enough to sustain the outflow of cash needed to pay for these liabilities.

I had to turn to credit cards. The problem turned worse. Not until I gave up some of the liabilities I had at that time that I was able to breathe. It was a painful decision. But I knew it was the right thing to do.

The only thing getting in the way was my PRIDE. I was afraid of what other people will say. I cared too much about what other people think. When I let it all go, it was as if a HUGE burden was suddenly got lifted from my life. I was able to breathe again. I was still not yet ouf of the woods, but what helped me was the thought that at least we are on a positive cashflow territory. Even if I was till in debt, even if the business still has not picked up, one day all these challenges will come to an end.

If cash is king in a crisis. I think cashflow is queen. You don’t get extra cash unless you control where the cash is flowing. Whether cash flows out of your pocket or into your pocket dictates whether you will survive the crisis or not.

Lesson #2 – You don’t need a lot to survive.

When the lockdown started, it was hard to get out of the house. You are only permitted to shop for essential items. You stayed in the house. You minimized socializing with other people.

That also meant forgoing a lot of things that you were accustomed to spending on before.

No more eating out. No more going to the movies. No more coffee with friends at Starbucks or Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. No more entertaining yourselves in Timezone or videoke.

At first, I thought it will be hard. But I realized I can actually live even without all these things. A lot of things in my life were actually just clutter. When push comes to shove, you can actually forego all of them.

Lesson #3 – Fix the broken instead of buying a new one.


 

 

The crisis forced me to think in survival mode. That means having a mindset of fixing instead of buying. If something gets broken, you fix it. Don’t buy a new one.

Because I had a lot of time in my hands, I was mostly staying at home with the boys. I focused on fixing a lot of things that were broken. I fixed the kitchen. I fixed the cabinet. For other things that I could not do, I asked the maintenance guy to fix it for me. I just paid him accordingly.

Of course, it’s not always practical to fix stuffs. For example when our washing machine broke down for the 2nd time, I decided to just buy a new one. When our air conditioning broke down, I also bought a new one. Why? It’s because it is more expensive to have it repaired than buying a new one.

Lesson #4 – You can do it yourself.

When our house helper resigned in the middle of the year, I decided to do the house chores. I was surprised, I could actually enjoy washing dishes. I liked creating a system to make it more efficient. I also got to enjoy cooking new recipes by watching youtube videos. It’s been fun.

When school started and most people were forced into online schooling, my wife and I decided to homeschool our 2 boys. It is a challenging but also very rewarding experience.

You can do a lot of things yourself. You will be surprised how much you can do when you are forced to do it to survive.

Lesson #5 – You don’t need a lot of clothes.

At the start of the pandemic, I was trying to clean up the house. I even went Marie-Kondo style of folding clothes. In the end, after going through all the clothes I have, I realized one thing. I was only using maybe 3% of my clothes the whole time. Most days, I was just wearing shorts and shirt.

Occassionally, when I get out of the house to do some errands, I would wear my rubber shoes and put on some pants. But that only happens once a week.

Where’s my coat? Long sleeves? Neck tie? Formal shoes? There in the closet, gathering dusts. I haven’t worn them for almost a year.

Of course, that may not always be the case for most people. But if you’re always staying in the house, you don’t need much clothing.

One of the things that I realized is that it might be even more economical to buy the same shirt or wardrobe. Same size. Same style. Same color. Wear that everyday. I think that’s why Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg are doing that. It’s to get over the decision fatigue. But also it saves you a lot of time, money and energy.

Lesson #6 – You don’t need a car when you are mostly staying at home.

During the lockdown, the price of gasoline went down. I wanted to get out. Go somewhere. But the inconvenience of needing to request for travel permits and all was enough hassle to prevent me from going out at all.

I was using the car only once or twice a month. Only for short distances.
What’s the use of having inexpensive gasoline when you can’t even use your car to drive?

Lesson #7 – Focus on the important things.

When you are in survival mode, you are forced to retain only the essential things in your life.

This was huge for me.

What’s more important? Get out of the house and possibly get infected? Or just stay at home with your family. There’s no amount of additional income that can justify the risk you put your family into.

Of course, this was during the first few months of the lockdown when there’s not much we know about the virus.

I realized what are the most important things for me. Family. My kids. My wife. My parents. My in-laws.
Finances. A way to have the cash flowing into my life and sustain my family’s needs. Your relationship with God.

Lesson # 8 – You have everything that you need.

When you focus on what’s missing, you tend to miss the important blessings that are right in front of your eyes.

When I was going through financial difficulties, one of the things that helped me get through was the thought that I am still blessed because I have my kids and wife with me. They bring me joy. Their mere presence is a delight to my eyes. Even though financially I was struggling, I still had everything else working in my life. When you are going through difficulty, there’s a tendency to focus on what’s missing. When in reality, that may only be 5% of your life. The rest of the 95% are all blessings.

Lesson #9 – Nothing is permanent. Even crisis.

One of the things I learned over the years is that nothing is permanent. Everything comes and goes. That goes for friendships, money and life in general. Some people you are meant to meet for only awhile. Some stay with you for a long time. But their memories stay with you forever.

That’s true also for business. It goes through cycles of ups and downs. One moment you are on top of the world. The next moment, you are at the bottom and struggling. And then surprisingly, problems get resolved and once again business is booming.

If you’re struggling right now, know that it will not be forever. One day, your struggles will end. Your business goes up. You’ll finally get the rewards you’ve been looking for all this time.

If business is great, then know also that it will not last. Challenges will come. That’s guaranteed. What you do with your blessings today will determine whether you will survive when challenges come again.

I was fortunate to have experienced financial struggles way before the pandemic. Because of that, I had to let go of things in order to survive. Surprisingly, when the pandemic hit this year, even without my active involvement, problems seemed to resolve by themselves. I could only attribute that to the grace of God. It is indeed a blessing from up above that when the pandemic happened, my business did not only survive but thrived. Thank You Lord!

Lesson #10 – When crisis hit, it reveals your weaknesses

One of the things that I learned when I was financially struggling a few years ago was that it revealed a lot of my weaknesses. When everything is great, it is often hard to identify areas where you can improve. But when everything is going wrong, there’s a lot of blame to go around. You blame other people. You blame the circumstances. You blame yourself for the wrong decisions.

When I had the chance to step back and see everything for what they are, it revealed a lot of things that I am not proud of. Weak leadership skills. Pride. Ego. Selfishness. I felt like a headless chicken running around, not knowing what to do. When this happens, you forget what you were doing, and why you were doing things in the first place. The harder part is sometimes, you are so hard on youself it takes time for you to forgive youself. But eventually, by the grace of God, pick up the pieces and lift everything to God. You learn the lesson and move on.

Lesson #11 – Rediscover the joy within you

When you hit rock bottom, it is sometimes hard to motivate yourself to do anything. It’s like being exhausted from a long long travel. You don’t have the energy to even be angry at yourself or anyone else.

One of my mentors often say, you take it one day at a time. Take the first step. Do things you enjoy. If you’re not sure if you enjoy it, do it anyway. Go back to your childhood. When you were a kid, what did you like to do? Play computer games. Permit yourself to be young again. Be excited not because you need to sell something, but be truly excited like a child who just got his favorite toy on Christmas day.

You can’t fake it. You either feel joy or you don’t feel anything at all. If that’ the case, do the next thing that comes to your mind. If you’re bored playing that game. Stop. Play another game. Or do something else. Go outside. Take a walk. Yes, you can. You don’t have to take on the responsibility of being the mature one for everyone around you. You can be happy. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to feel joy.

Lesson #12 – Money is just a tool, just like your gadgets.

One of the things I am grateful for this year was that I was able to focus on myself and my family. My business was able to support us throughout the year.

When I started this journey, I dreamed of a day where money is still coming in whether I am working or not. For at least a year, I can say that dream has come true for me. That’s only been made possible by the grace of God. Of course, it required hardwork and help from a lot of people to set it up. I am grateful for all of them.

It’s been more than 9 years since I last held a job. I remember the day when I finally had nothing to do. I was so happy. But I felt so exhausted as well. I got sick for 2 weeks. It’s as if all the sleepless nights and exhaustion for 9 years of working in the corporate world finally caught up with me.

After that I felt really great. I enjoyed every minute of not having to go to work. But eventually, I got tired of not having to do anything. It’s a huge problem. I realize now why a lot of successful people would consider using illegal drugs, or do harmful stuffs and hurt themselves. Not that I condone it. I don’t. I am simply saying, when you get to a point where you are no longer working for money, you have to dig deeper to discover your reason to work.

Work is good for you. Believe it or not, boredom is worse. Not having to do anything is like a curse. Yes, you are provided financially. But your mind, body and spirit long for something greater where you can express your truest self.

The good news is that when you no longer have to work just to survive, you have the chance to do things for a BIGGER reason. You start to wonder your purpose in life. You start to find the real reasons you are here. And that is an exciting journey of discovery in itself.

Lesson #13 – Be in the moment.

One of the greatest blessings I received this year is that I was able to spend a lot of time teaching my two kids. Because of the pandemic, my wife and I decided to homeschool my 2 boys. Because my wife was working, I was the one teaching them most of the time.

At the start, it was a mixture of excitement and fear. Will I be able to teach them well. Can I really do it? Now, we’re almost done with the 3rd quarter and everything is going smoothly. There were moments when they cried because I got angry when they could not understand what I am teaching. It made me feel really guilty and ashamed afterwards. I wasn’t able to control myself. While they are learning to be homeschooled, I also needed to learn to become not only a parent but a teacher who is patient and loving.

Eventually I learned to take things in stride. I focused instead on enjoying these moments with them. You see my boys are now 8 and 7 years old. I am blessed to have seen all their firsts since the day they were born. I remember the moment I saw them when they came out of their mother’s womb in the operating room. I remember their first walk, their first words, their first time riding a bike, and many many more.

Often times, when I see the “on this day” memories on Facebook and show them a picture or two when they were 2 or 3 years old I’d ask them whether they remember it or not. They say they don’t remember. That’s why I am thankful I got to take those pictures. I want to treasure all those moments with them.

I realize I will not be always by their side all their lives. Now, I am blessed to help them build the foundation for their future. Not only financially, but more to build their character up so they will be able to go through life according to God’s will. That’s a great blessing I will always treasure forever.

Lesson #14 – Don’t take yourself and life too seriously.

There’s this activity in my Psych 101 class back in College. First, me and my classmates formed a circle. next, each of us wrote his name on a paper. We passed around the papers clockwise. Every time a new paper gets to you, you have to write down the first impression you have on that person.

Serious. Intelligent. Silent. Those are the words that they wrote for me. I agree with them. I am like that indeed.

Perhaps growing up independent trained me to take life seriously. I don’t know if it’s because I was the eldest in the family. Or perhaps that’s just the way I learned to live life growing up. You learn that every thing takes hard work.

But over time it takes a toll on you. Being serious is hard. Being able to laugh at yourself. That’s a virtue in itself. I feel like it’s a gift you should give yourself. If you can’t laugh at yourself, you can’t laugh at other people’s jokes.

Expect that life will not always go your way. You go through a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. Your emotions swing form one end to another. So if you take life too seriously, you rob yourself of the joy of living. Life is meant to be enjoyed. Nobody gets out alive anyway. We will all going to die. Might as well enjoy every minute of it while you’re still alive.

Lesson #15 – Eat healthy

During the pandemic, I tried doing intermittent fasting. I was able to lose a few pounds. Initially I thought I could not go without food for 16 hours. But eventually my body adjusted. I would eat my first meal during lunch. Then eat my dinner before 8pm. I felt better physically.

But eventually I got discouraged by the stagnant weight after months of doing intermittent fasting. One meal missed. Then two. Eventually I lost track. and my weight went back up again.

In the middle of December I underwent a 5-day RESET program. I ate 3 meals of Nutrimeal with fruits and veggies as snacks. I lost 8 pounds in 5 days. Now, I am in the middle of the phase 2 of the weight loss program called TRANSFORM phase. But the following days, my weight again stagnated. But I am hopeful because I feel better physically. I am eating more vergetables and fruits and limiting my intake of rice and carbohydrates.

Will I be able to keep it up? I don’t know but so far so good. What’s important is that I am making a decision to eat healthy. How about you? Is this part of your new year’s resolution too?

Lesson #16 – Be patient

This year, I had to discipline myself mentally. Often times, I feel like I am wasting time. I felt miserable doing nothing. I craved doing something with my hands. That’s why I did DIY projects at home. I fixed the kitchen cabinet. I fixed the fan. I re-arranged the funitures, not once but twice. I did Konmarie method with my clothes. I learned to cook by watching youtube videos. It was fun.

Sometimes I catch myself focusing on what’s missing. What I don’t have. What I cannot do. It gets frustrating. Mentally it was a struggle. I have to remind myself constantly to enjoy every moment. Focus on what you have.

Be patient. Stay still. When it’s time to move, you will know.

Lesson #17 – During crisis, cash is king

During crisis, cash is king. That’s why people who suddenly lose their jobs are caught in a dillemma, especially if they have no savings. Cashflow stops. Suddenly they cannot make ends meet. They resort to loans. They use up their credit cards. They get deeper into debts.

If on the other hand, you saved up when times were good, now you have extra cash to tide you over. It’s like having not only an emergency fund, but a calamity fund. One of the trainers told me he calls this as “peace of mind fund,” because it gives you peace of mind.

That’s why I always remind myself to be prudent with my cash. Not to be wasteful.

The good news is, you don’t need a lot to survive. Food to eat. Shelter. Clothers. Water. You can let go of a lot of things.

That’s why people try to sell of their material belongings.

But I feel this is only half of the equation. Selling stuffs can only do so much. You still have to find a way to earn. Starting a side hustle. Making stuffs and selling them online. Build a business. Opportunities are everywhere if you are ready.

We are all dealt with opportunities. But what prevents some people to take advantage of them is that they don’t have the cash to avail of the opportunity in front of them. But not having money is the easiest thing to solve for someone who is resourceful. More failures are due to lack of initiative rather than lack of money.

Lesson #18 – Start with what you have.

One of the ways to survive a pandemic is to start with what you have. List down all the things you see in your house that you are not using. List down all the skills you know how to do. List down all the people you know. You have everything you have to get moving in the right direction. It might not directly give you what you desire right away, but it will bring you a step closer to where you want to be, financially secure and a comfortable life for you and your family. So take that first step. You have everything you need.

Lesson #19 – Crisis is a wakeup call

They say you will encounter 2 crisis in your lifetime. I feel like I have reached my quota. The crisis of 2008 was a wake up call for me. When the bank I was working for was letting go of their employees one by one, I realized that there’s no such things as job security.

That’s why I decided to build a business on the side. That’s the reason why I felt the need to take control of my own financial life. Fortunately, that seemingly simple decision more than 10 years ago paved the way for me to survive this crisis of 2020. I will be forever thankful for that decision.

But that’s all in the past. It’s time to prepare for the upcoming economic boom. Will it happen in 2021? I don’t know. All I know is that it will come. Because nothing is permanent. Even crisis. Eventually, things will get better. Now, I’m preparing for that…as well as the next crisis by learning from the lessons of this year.

Lesson #20 – Be grateful

This year I learned that I am only a steward of the blessings I have in my life. I am blessed that the God up above gave me a chance to experience all the things that happened in 2020. I am grateful for the experience to be a father and spend time with my 2 boys not only as their teacher but also their playmate.

There were a lot of things to be thankful for. I was able to spend a lot of time with my family. My wife worked from home. My kids were home schooled. I got to cook for them and take care of them. We are all healthy. We have everything we need. We have a God who provides and protects. So this year 2020, I want to lift all the good and bad, the blessings and challenges to God almighty.

Thank you for reading this far. I hope this simple list will help you in one way or another. Perhaps to remind you that there is hope at the end of the tunnel. My only wish for you and your family is for God to be with you in 2021 and beyond. Happy New Year!

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Podcast Ep 001: Paano Maka-Survive Sa Financial Crisis Na Dulot Ng Covid19

7.3 Million Filipinos out of a job due to Covid 19. That’s about 17% of the Philippine population.

Paano nga ba maka-survive sa financial crisis na dulot ng Covid19? Pakinggan ang unang episode ng aking podcast. Click mo lang ang play button sa taas. Dito ko ikukuwento ang experience ko dati sa Malaysia noong 2008 sa kalagitnaan ng financial crisis. Paano yun nakatulong para mas maging handa ako sa mga susunod pang crisis ng buhay. At kung ikaw naman ay dumadaan sa isang crisis ngayon, pakinggan mo ang tip ko para makabangon ka kaagad sa iyong sitwasyon.

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How To Tutorials

How to Start a Business While Working As An OFW

In 2007, I went abroad together with my then fiancee (now my wife) to work as IT consultant in Malaysia. My main goal for working abroad then was to save up for our wedding. After 1 year of working we saved enough and were able to get married.

Unfortunately for us, we were also in the middle of recession. It’s 2008. There were mass layoffs all over the world. Working in a bank, our company was no exception. Our friends were let go in a snap of a finger.

One day, one of the bosses asked my officemate for a minute to speak with her. When she came back, she was visibly shaken. Soon after she was already packing her things. She was just fired. It was after all a recession.

When there is a recession nobody is immune to geting fired.
Even if you are the best employee and you just got promoted.
You cannot do anything if the whole department or even the whole office in your country is laid off.

The next few days (weeks and months) was pure terror for us OFWs. I can remember the feeling of UNCERTAINTY. The feeling of not knowing whether it would be your turn next is the worst feeling in the world. Getting fired is one thing, but becoming suddenly unemployed overseas is a disaster. Sleepless nights. Stress. Lots of stress.

For many people, this uncertainty is even more brutal. There are Filipinos overseas who are not documented. They were supposed to work as caregivers only to end up working as a domestic helper. Not that there’s any shame in that. It’s just that they are more at risk for abuse from their employers due to them being undocumented. You can only imagine having your worries and stress shoot up 100x!

Fortunately, the dust soon settled. The company was able to endure the storm. My wife even got absorbed by the company. Our contract was renewed for another year.

Everything was back to normal again.
But experiencing something like that wakes you up llike nothing can.
From that day onwards I promised myself to never put myself in a position like that ever again.

That I would do everything in my power to put myself where no one can suddenly turn off my main source of income. That’s when I started to explore the world of business and entrepreneurship with an extra vigor.

Fortunately, I was able to make it. I want to tell you there is a better way. It can be done. There is help on the other end when you finally decide to change your situation.

They say OFWs are the new heroes. They keep our economy afloat. They remit $2.5 to $2.9 Billion every month. They are the main drivers of our economy, apart from BPO, Electronics exports, Agriculture, the BUILD BUILD BUILD infrastructure spending by the government and of course, our Taxes.

Today, I want to salute the millions of Filipinos working away from their families. It is no easy task, sacrificing every moment away from your loved ones. That’s the price you are paying (and more.) With that sacrifice you are able to send money (and gifts) to your family back home, especially during Christmas season.

I won’t make you cry anymore by sending you a link to the Coca Cola commercial featuring former OFWs who went home for Christmas. Please don’t torture yourself by googling it or going to youtube and watching that video. It’s too personal. Please don’t. You might end up crying the whole night.

I know because I cried when I watched it.
Just know that your family back home miss you so much too. One day, it will soon get better.
There are just so many great things and stories of people who were able to make it.
Perhaps, one day your story will be next.

In the meantime, here are some of my ideas and thoughts that might help you get closer to your dream
of coming back home for good. You can put up a business while working. Or set yourself up so that the transition back home will be as smooth as possible.

A few months ago, I did a VLOG series dedicated to OFWs. This was after doing a 3-day training and workshop on Financial Literacy and How to build a sustainable business to our associates there. Everytime I meet an OFW, my heart bleeds for them. It’s not an easy journey they are taking.

If you are an OFW, I encourage you to watch these videos. Or if you have a family who’s working abroad as an OFW, you can forward this to them. I also have great news for you and free gift I’d like to give you and your family and friends.

Vlog #14. USAPANG OFW Series – Bakit Maraming Naga-abroad na Pinoy

Vlog #15. USAPANG OFW Series: Negosyo Para Sa Mga OFW o Pinoy Na Nasa Abroad
Vlog #16. USAPANG OFW Series – Paano Mag-ipon Ng Mabilis As OFW?
Vlog #17. USAPANG OFW Series: Best Investment Tips Para Sa Mga OFW

Vlog #18. USAPANG OFW Series: OFW Business Ideas – Why Do OFWs Fail in Business?

When I was working abroad, I was so eager to learn more about how I can do business. On weekends, I would go to the bookstore, and read through many business books. Then I would hear some seminars in the Philippines, but unfortunately because of the distance I could not attend, even if I badly wanted to.

Fortunately for me, the Truly Rich Club was launched around that time. It gave me a way to avail of the seminars and learn about business while still working abroad. I was one of the first to enroll. I would eagerly wait for the package (which consisted of some VCDs and audio CDs.) I would listen to it day and night. The rest, as most people would say is history. I can’t even imagine to describe to you how different my story would have been if not for the Truly Rich Club. In fact, this blog would not be where it is today if not for that seamingly simple decision to try it back then.

If you want to avail the same thing, you can CLICK HERE.

In the spirit of transparency, please note that I am an affiliate of the Truly Rich Club. I may earn a little income whenever someone buys anything through the link I provided. If you do sign-up, I would like to say my personal thank you in advance. Drop me a message here and I’ll send you a free gift.

Your simple action helps me support this blog because it does take away some time from me instead of putting the time and resources into other businesses. Unlike other blogs which earn from advertising, this blog is 100% fully supported by my other businesses (and affiliate income from products I highly recommend.)

It’s been 12 years running this blog, thanks to those who have supported me along the way through my businesses. Who would ever thought this blog would stand the test of time?

Also, as my way of saying thank you to all of you my OFW readers (as well as families and friends of my fellow OFWs), here’s another gift just for you.

Simply click here or go to http://bit.ly/OFS2019FreeGiftAllan to claim your free gift.

You will receive a free copy of Sha Nacino’s book “My Money and Me” in e-book format. The hard copy of the book is being sold at around P350 in National Bookstore and at The Feast. Another book is from her brother March Nacino titled “How to work from Anywhere” which I feel is a good fit also for OFWs.

Sha is a very good friend of mine. We met in real-estate as part of a group of aspiring investors back in 2009. We have since moved on to other ventures but I feel what Sha offers is something I can definitely recommed.

In the spirt of total disclosure, please note that these gifts are part of the Overseas Filipinos Summit project of Sha which I am also an affiliate for. Know that I may earn a little income should you decide to buy anything using the link I provided. But if you decide to not buy anything and simply avail of the FREE gifts, that’s perfectly ok as well. 🙂

That’s it for now. Do you have a specific topic or question as an OFW? Simply hit the reply button (if you are receiving this through email) or contact me here. I might feature you in my next article or vlog.

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Uncategorized

7 Credit Card Fees You Need to Manage

Note: In an effort to help you in the area of getting out of debt, this is a guest post from Ricky of Moneymax.ph. There is nothing more frustrating than receiving your credit card statement and seeing a fee that you are not aware of. You feel like being robbed in daylight. In the same way that ignorance of the law excuses no one, making yourself become aware of these fees is a significant step in protecting yourself. Awareness is the first step in taking control of your finances. Read on and enjoy.

7 Credit Card Fees You Need to Manage

By Ricky Publico

It’s a great feeling once you receive your first credit card. But before you go on a swiping spree, take the time to actually understand how a credit card works. For one, using a credit card means spending money you currently don’t have, which also means you will eventually pay for the items you bought.

More importantly, there are credit card fees you should watch out for. Aside from your monthly credit card bill, you have to take note of these fees and learn how to manage them. Taking note of these fees will also help you choose the right credit card for you.

Annual Fee

The annual fee is basically the membership fee you are required to pay for owning a credit card. It usually goes from an affordable PHP 300 to an extravagant PHP 12,000, depending on the type of credit card you have. Premium cards typically have higher annual fees while standard cards typically don’t reach PHP 500, so pick your card wisely.

There are also banks that offer credit cards with no annual fee, either for the first year or for life. Try applying for these banks so you can have one less credit card expense to worry about. If it can’t be helped, opt for a credit card with a lower annual fee or a bank that waives their annual fees for clients with good credit standing. Ask your current bank if they have such an offer.

Cash Advance Fee

Did you know that you can also withdraw money using a credit card? It’s helpful when it comes to emergencies, but it also comes with a price. Cash advance fees usually go from PHP 300 to PHP 600, or 2 percent to 5 percent of the amount borrowed, whichever is higher.

As much as possible, minimize your cash advances. Since this fee doesn’t have a grace period, your bill will continue to accumulate if you don’t manage it properly. If you took out a cash advance, make sure to pay it back in full to avoid snowballing the interest.

Late Payment Fee

As an incentive for cardholders to pay their credit card bills on time, banks began charging a fee for late payments. It usually ranges from PHP 300 to PHP 850, depending on the bank. The late payment fee will then be added to your next bill.

Avoid paying a late payment fee by paying your bills on time. It’s also better if you pay your monthly balance in full, not just the minimum amount due. That’s also another thing about credit cards: you can pay the minimum amount instead of the entire monthly balance. Do the former to avoid further debt.

Balance Transfer Fee

If you’re having trouble paying off your credit card debt, you can choose to apply for a credit card balance transfer. This involves transferring the balance of your old credit card to a new one with a lower interest rate. This makes it easier to pay off your credit card debt. The transfer itself comes with its own fee, ranging from PHP 100 to PHP 250 per approved transfer.

Overlimit Fee

Credit cards come with credit limits, or the amount of money you’re allowed to borrow from your credit card provider during a billing period. Once you go over the limit, they will charge you with an additional fee, usually ranging from PHP 300 to PHP 750 for every overlimit.

Foreign Currency Transaction Fee

You can use your credit card when traveling abroad, but there will be a foreign currency transaction fee worth 0.85 percent to 3.525 percent of the amount spent converted to PHP. Fortunately, there are credit cards with no foreign currency fees. It is advisable to get this type of credit card if you travel a lot.

Pre-Termination Fee

If you can pay back your credit card debt before your loan term ends, that’s great! Just take note of the installment pre-termination fee ranging from PHP 300 to PHP 500 or 2-5% of the remaining balance, whichever is higher. The fee might be a bit steep, but paying for it and freeing yourself from debt is way better than finishing the installment plan.

Hopefully, this list of credit card fees can help you manage your credit card habits. A good rule of thumb is to not swipe on something you can’t afford with cash, so always give every swipe some thought.

Author’s Bio: Ricky Publico is a content writer at Moneymax. Save money on car insurance, credit cards, and loans when you compare and apply at www.moneymax.ph! Visit Moneymax to know more.

 

 

 

 

 

CREDITS: Photo by Ryan Born on Unsplash

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Uncategorized

Survey says…I was surprised to find this out

Last month, I sent out an email to all my subscribers asking for help in a little survey for this blog. I wanted to get to know more of you, my dear readers and how I can help you better.

First of all, THANK YOU to all those who answered the short survey. I appreciate all of you taking some time to give me your inputs inspite of your busy schedule. That’s why I made sure to spend even greater effort in reading each one of your responses individually.

Today, I’d like to share a bit of what I learned from the survey. Obviously, I won’t go into each and every response but will speak in general terms instead.

One thing that surprised me most was that majority of you reading this blog are currently employed full-time (83%.) Only a few are running their own business/es full-time. This came quite a surprise for me because I have been out of the corporate world for more than 8 years. I thought I would attract people who are in a similar situtation as mine. I was mistaken.

With this information, I realized that I will need to focus on topics that are more relevant to your situation. Perhaps, give tips on how to manage your time (and family) while building a business on the side, or what businesses you can start while being employed at the same time, and more.

With that in mind, I’m sharing you here a few of my youtube videos on these same topics. Each one is about 10-minutes long in Taglish (Tagalog-English). My hope is that it gives you a glimpse on how it is to shift your way from being an employee to that of an entrepreneur, or be able to do both at the same time. By the way, if you are not yet subscribed to my youtube channel. You can click the subscribe button and the notification bell while you’re at it so you’ll be first to be notified of future videos.

Vlog #19 Employee vs Entrepreneur Mindset
Vlog #20 Employee vs Entrepreneur Time (Task) Management
Vlog #21 Employee vs Entrepreneur Papaano Magnegosyo Kahit Empleyado Ka
Vlog #22 Employee vs Entrepreneur How to Upgrade Your Psychological Wallet
Vlog #23 Employee vs Entrepreneur Usapang Time Freedom
Vlog #24 Employee vs Entrepreneur Usapang Passive Income

As for financial goals, most of you would like to start a side hustle (38%) and get out of debt (38%.)
This information helps me re-direct my focus in talking about topics related to getting out of debt and starting a side hustle, or feature stories of people who were able to manage to do the same. I already have a few ideas in mind on how to go about this, but if you have some suggestions for specific questions or topics you want me to start with, feel free to contact me.

There are many more things that I learned from your stories and inputs. I wish we had more time and space to talk more about it. But there will be a time for that. We are just beggining.

Again, I would like to say my deepest thanks for helping me with the survey. Thank YOU very much for helping me give a direction to this blog.

Cheers to your financial success!

Your friend,
Allan

P.S. If you’re looking to start a side hustle, you can visit Bo Sanchez’ 4-part video series at www.hustleseries.com As an attendee of The Feast Bay Area AM Session under Bro Audee Villaranza, I was able to attend a couple of sessions from the series. The link contains BONUS videos on top of the main talks. You will be asked to enter your First Name and Email to watch the videos. May the videos bless your financial life.

P.P.S. CREDITS: Photo by Garrhet Sampson on Unsplash

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How To Tutorials

8 Things You Need To Know Before You Quit Your Job

Recently, I celebrated my 8th year being out of the corporate world.
September 30, 2011. That was my last day at work.

It’s amazing how life’s twist and turns can bring you to beautiful experiences and destinations.
It’s easy to look back now and connect the dots. But truth be told, I was scared back then.

I can still remember like yesterday, the self-doubts and sleepless nights I was feeling.

“Kaya ko ba to?”

“Itutuloy ko na ba talaga?”

“Posible ba talagang mabuhay na hindi aasa sa trabaho?’

You see, I turned over my resignation 3 months prior to my last day.
My employer requested to have a 90-day notice because the project we were working on was critical, and they wanted to have more time to look for someone to replace me.

Not wanting to cause too much trouble, I obliged with their condition. I was on a contract anyway, and the last day at work would be exactly the day my contract ends.

Looking back over the past 8 years, I’ve learned so much about the intricacies of deciding to quit your job. To celebrate, I’d like to share the top 8 things you need to know before you quit your job. It might help you decide if you are contemplating about leaving the comforts of your corporate career.

1) Yes, it’s possible.

Yes, it’s possible to live a life without a job.
It’s possible to do it on your own. It’s scary. It’s uncomfotable.
And if you have hesitations, understand, that how you are feeling is very normal.

A month before I was about to render my last day at the office, I learned that my wife and I were expecting our first baby. I was so happy and excited at the same time. But at the back of my mind, I hesitated whether to push through with my resignation or not.

It’s easy to make a decision if you’re only thinking about yourself.
But when you start being responsible for another person’s life? That’s a different story.

I asked my wife one last time whether to push through or not, and she simply answered,

“ikaw? kaya mo pa ba ng isa pang taon na ganon pa rin ang sitwasyon?”

She was referring to the stress and restlessness I was feeling. It’s been years of me contemplating whether to resign or not. I knew I was no longer growing in my IT career. I’ve been doing the same thing for 9 years.

I knew all the ins and outs of the system I was working on. I love the work, but I feel I am no longer learning anything new. On top of that, my stress was mostly due to dealing with bureaucracy and office politics. There were instances where I simply wanted to have more time in my life.

One thing I disliked is the feeling of being bullied. When they say you have to work on a weekend or you have to do overtime work, or increase the workhours to compete with other companies, you simply had no choice but to go with the flow.

What other option could you have?
Complain? Whine? Quit?

I really felt it was now or never. I could no longer stay and endure for another year.
Finally, I did it. And I never looked back.

2) There’s no such thing as a safety net

“When do you know? When do you know you can already quit your job?”

I often get asked this question.

Some recommend having at least 6 months worth of monthly expenses. Others say 3 months.
Some say you have to have a business that’ earning at least your monthly income from your job. Or double that.

In my years of seeing people resign, I learned that there is really no safety net.

It’s only in your mind.

The simple answer to when should you resign is, “WHEN YOU ALREADY HAVE THE GUTS TO DO IT!”

I think that for most people, the problem is not in the amount, but in their thinking.
When you are too afraid to fail, the tendency is that you will always be in a state of half-hearted commitment.

One foot is out of the door. The other stays inside.

Am I saying that you should resign without a safety net? Not really.

But I have seen people without a safety net do it, and still become successful.
I have also seen people who have lots of savings, managed to spend it all and then later on returned to their jobs. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Don’t let anyone else decide for you. Not even me.
Only let someone else decide for you, if they are also willing to pay your bills when you fail.

You see, it’s easy to give advice. But the true test is in realizing that we all have different situations. Different mindsets. Different paradigms when it comes to money. Some are too afraid. Some are reckless. Some overthink and when they finally decide, it only takes a day or two to change their minds.

Be responsible for your own choices. Be it good or bad. Whether it leads to success or failure.

Never explain and never complain. As they say, “SUCCESS REQUIRES NO APOLOGIES. FAILURE PERMITS NO ALIBIS.”

I have tried to live with that mantra and it has allowed me to accept both the good and bad parts of my journey outside of the corporate world.

3) Start small. Fail more. But more importantly, start now.

Can you do business part-time? Of course.

Is it easy? Of course not.
But nothing worthwhile comes easy anyway.

The tragedy for most people is they are always waiting for something.
Some people say, “saka na…” and follow up with their favorite excuse.

“Saka na, pag naging manager na ako.”
“Saka na, pag nanganak na si misis.”
“Saka na, pag nag-aral na mga bata.”
“Saka na, pag tapos na sila pag-aaral”

Before you know it, time has passed. 5 years. 10 years. 20 years.
“Saka na” becomes “Sayang na.”

If you’re going to do it, understand that in the beginning you are probably going to fail. That’s simply the law of life. Before you learned how to walk, you first failed taking your first step so many times. What did you do when you were a baby? You simply dusted yourself off, stood up and tried again. Tried again. Tried again and again, until you finally managed to take a walk and not fall down.

That’s simply how we learn as a human being. So if you are contemplating doing something on the side, the perfect time to try it is when you are still employed. I know. I know. You say, you don’t have time. And that’s certainly true to a certain extent.

You will have to make some choices on how to spend your extra time. Are you going to use it scrolling on your Facebook or Instagram feed? Or spending it working on your side hustle.

I have learned from Carlo Ople, VP of PLDT and sneakerhead Youtuber about the 7-1 principle. He says to work on your job from 9-to-5pm, but do your hustle from 7pm-1am.

Take a moment to think. Last night at 7pm, what were you doing? Perhaps you were in a commute. Were you listening to something worthwhile? An audio book about your side hustle perhaps? Or were you just “waiting” for your time to get home?

You have to trust yourself, that you will learn what you need once you start doing. As they say, “experience is the best teacher.” So get more experiences. Get more failures. Because one day, those lessons will turn your failures into a huge success.

Start now. Don’t wait. Don’t wait for retirement before you make your first mistake. Do it now. Do it while you’re still young.

They say it’s best to fail before you reach 30. Because then, you still have a lot of time to get back up. If you’re a little older like me, just know that people say “life begins at 40.” But if you are still not convinced, simply think of Colonel Sanders of KFC. He failed 1,009 times selling his chicken recipe before succeeding. He started his business at the age of 65. Age doesn’t matter unless you make it one.

4) Apply for loans before you quit your job.

This is one recommendation I learned from Jomar Hilario, the Virtual Career trainer who is also a former IT professional just like me. Get housing loans or car loans before you resign from your job. I realized afterwards why he recommends it.

You see, when you are working for yourself as self-employed or a small business owner, the bank won’t lend you money unless you can give them proof that you can pay it back. To evaluate your credit worthiness, they will ask for you business’ financial statement. Normally it would be about 2 to 3 years worth of financial history of your business. If you are just starting, you might not have this yet.

You can have your loan approved faster if you are still employed. Even if you are earning more income in your business than you do in your job, your loan may still not be approved for the sole reason that business income tends to fluctuate. The bank considers this risky. Being employed for a multinational company is less risky for they are actually betting not on you but on your company’s ability to give you the income to pay the loans.

It’s not fair, but that’s the reality we are living in. Of course, after sometime when your business is already 2 to 3 years old, you will then have the history and financial statements to back you up. I guess, it’s not really a problem when you want to pay in cash because you have a lot of income. But for big ticket items where you need to take out a loan from the bank, this is something you will have to think about.

5) The change is more than the money.

When I resigned, I underestimated the changes that were about to come.

Most people think that when you shift from being an employee to an entrepreneur, that the only thing changed is how you earn money. That maybe the farthest thing from the truth.

Soon you will realize that there’s more to it than meets the eye.

Simple things like when people ask you, “what do you do?” When you are employed, it’s a simple question to answer, you simply reply with your job, “e.g. IT consultant”

But once you are on your own, it gets tricky. In the beginning, it’s hard to explain. There’s a split second of hesitation, not wanting to sound too complicated. Once you finally embrace your new identity, you simply say “I am a businessman.”

To which a new question will probably pop up like, “what’s your business?” and the conversation will go through all the things that is relatively new to you. You grapple with words.

You can no longer introduce yourself as an IT consultant because you are no longer working as such. Much of our identity is tied to what we do. That’s why a lot of people start to have an identity crisis early in their journey.

There’ also the change in emotions you go through once you realize that you are no longer what you used to be. Your social circle will change. You will spend a lot more time with new friends, a lot less (if not totally rare) with your friends who are still employed.

You will observe later on that you no longer concern yourself with the same things as your friends. You no longer care about promotions, politics or tsimis. You simply want to have conversations about life in general.

 

6) The hardest part is dealing with your self-doubts

You start to question whether you made the right decision or not.
You start to question whether you can really make it or not.
Now that you are finally free, you are excited, but afraid at the same time.

Excited because it’s a new world out there waiting for you to explore.
But afraid too because your brain is telling you it’s dangerous outside of your comfort zone.

You are afraid what other people might say.
You are afraid what if you fail.
You are afraid what if you succeed.

Yes, some people are more afraid of success than failures.
You say, “what if I become successful and I will become a bad man?”
You say, “baka maging mayabang na ako”
You say, “baka tama sila, ‘others’ na ako.”

You are starting to get out of the feeling of “security.”
You are starting to move into the feeling of “freedom.”

What’s more important for you? The feeling of comfort and security?
Security. That’s what you feel whenever you earn your monthly paycheck.

Freedom. That’s the feeling you get when you are now finally in control with what you do with your TIME, MONEY and ENERGY.

7) Being on your own means you are 100% responsible.

One of the hardest things you will have to accept is in being 100% responsible for your life.

When you are employed, you can always defer responsibility.
You might say, “that’s not my job.”
Or “kasalanan ni x, kasi pinabayaan niya yan”
Or “si boss kasi, or si ano kasi”

The challenge is that when you are on your own, there’s no one you can defer responsibility to.
The sooner you accept this fact, the sooner you can utilize this great power.

It’s hard at first because you will be the one to decide what to work on, when to work and with whom you want to work with. At times, it can be overwhelming, making so many choices suddenly.

That’s why a lot of entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg have the same wardrobe every day. They call it decision fatigue. Apparently choosing what to wear each day can put a damp into your mental energy. This energy saved can help you make better decisions that matter more, like whether to fire thousands of your people or come up with a solution that does not involve firing people.

8) There is no substitute for hardwork

I can still remember the first day I was finally out of the corporate world.
I thought there will be fireworks. Or it would feel really great.
The truth is, I felt sick. It took me 2 weeks to recover.

It’s as if all of my stress for the past 9 years suddenly came out.
It’s surreal to think that it’s already been 8 years since that day.
But I never regretted that decision.

Yes, there have been moments when I thought of going back.
Yes, there were moments when I did try to go back.
I applied for a job, but it didn’t push through for one reason or another.

Eventually, when I decided to no longer go back, I simply said, “if I am not going back anyway, might as well make whatever I am doing now work.”

I remember a story where a friend of mine, after being in business for a few years went back to visit her former boss. Her boss congratulated her and said, “I am happy that it worked for you.” To which she said, “of course sir, it worked for me because I worked hard for it.”

There is no substitute for hardwork. Whether you work at a job or being your own boss or building your own business, or expanding your sales career, it really does require hard work. Lots of hard work. Hard work that makes you cry at night. Hard work that makes you want to give up. Hard work that makes all worth it in the end. They say, “easy come, easy go.” When you work hard for it, you will keep it.

Be prepared to work hard. But do remember that nothing goes to waste. There will be moments when you question yourself whether what your doing even matters, or making a difference to other people. When that happens, take a moment to breath. Say to yourself, “what I am doing makes a difference.”

Be a difference maker. You will never know until you try. So take a deep breath. Take courage. Pursue your bliss with a heart.

P.S. If you are contemplating building a side hustle or you are working your way out of the corporate world. Let’s connect and explore the idea together. Perhaps my 8 years of experience might be of help to you. CLICK HERE to message me.

P.P.S. When I was working as IT consultant in Malaysia, one of the hardest part was not being able to attend seminars in the Philippines related to business or other side hustles. That’s when I learned about the Truly Rich Club. If you’re based abroad or in the province and want to have access to materials to learn more about building a side hustle, you can join the Truly Rich Club.

 

 

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Truly Rich Club

Truly Rich Club Wealth Conference 2019 Part 4 of 4: Rex Mendoza’s How To Become Rich While Being An Employee

Note: This is the last installment to the 4-part series on the Truly Rich Club Wealth Conference 2019. Here are the links to the first 3 parts of the series:

 

Rex Mendoza’s How To Become Rich While Being An Employee

The last speaker was Rex Mendoza. He made his money in the insurance industry and later moved on to other industries. He talked about becoming rich while being an employee.

Are there employees who are rich? Yes, definitely.

While I agree with this, I certainly had reservations simply because I know for most of employees they cannot imagine becoming rich. I’ve worked in the corporate world for 9 years. I know that there’s a limit to the scalability of your income when you are an employee.

You will have to build a different skillset if you want to climb up the corporate ladder. You have to learn to play the game of office politics and all. You have to learn how to work with a team and become a leader. You have to sacrifice your time for a lot of family occassions. You go through a lot of stress, but the most critical is in having little control on how you want your career to go. Often, you are left with the option to quit your job or stay and suck up even if you don’t like it.

But one thing that struck me about what Rex Mendoza talked was about the MINDSET shift that needs to happen if you ever want to become rich as an employee. He asked the critical question that you need to ask yourself, if you are working as an employee right now. The question is…

…are you getting paid for your TIME?
or are you getting paid for the RESULTS you create?

That’s one of the most classic distinction of an entrepreneur from those working only as an employee. You see, most people are content getting paid on their time. You wake up in the morning. You go to the office. Sit on your desk. Work your way until the office hour ends. You brave the rush hour traffic going back home. And tomorrow, you repeat the same routine again. In return, the company pays you based on how many hours you put in. Nothing more, nothing less.

In the beginning this is all fine and good, until you realize that it is never going to be enough for the long term. We only have 24 hours in a day. So if you are paid based on your hours, your income will always be capped to a certain level no matter what the rate you are getting paid for is.

Until you decide to break this chain where your income is dependent on how much time you have, you will always run out of money and run out of time.

What Rex Mendoza was trying to emphasize was that even if you are working as an employee, it doesn’t prevent you from thinking like an ENTREPRENEUR. Thinking like an entrepreneur allows you to see the bigger picture. It allows you to see that the only limits to your income potential is your own imagination and willingness to be responsible for RESULTS that you create.

But getting paid for RESULTS is HARDER. Why? Because you are now accountable for both the good and bad. That’s why CEO’s are paid more. Not because they work longer hours but because they take responsibility of getting the results for their companies.

If you’re the CEO and you increase your company’s income by P1 Billion. Would giving you an additional monthly income of P1M be justified? Maybe for some it is too high. But If I am the owner of the company, that is cheap! I’d even double that if you can double the company’s income even more. I’ll gladly pay you every cent if you can make that happen.

You see, without you, the CEO, making the right decisions, I would lose the P1Billion in earnings. I would rather pay you P1M/month to get P1Billion income, than not pay you P1M/month and lose the P1Billion.

This happens on a smaller scale in many small businesses. Even the little details like having to hire a household help can create a big impact into your business results.

Do you pay your household help the pay she deserves? Or do you decide to just do it on your own to save? You think you are saving P7K a month by doing it yourself, but if you have the ability to earn P100K in a month, you are actually losing money. You let “saving” P7K rob you off earning the P100K that you would have earned.

Looking at the numbers it’s easy to brush it as common sense. But if I learned anything about money in my years of teaching personal finance to my business associates, it is that money is 80% psychological and 20% technical. When it comes to money, our decisions are often dictated by our emotions rather than our technical know how. This is precisely the reason why I could not agree more on what Mr Edward Lee said in our last article about psychological traumas.

You see it is easy to see the numbers work out. But in reality, we all have our own doubts if we really can make it happen.

What if you fail? What if you can’t earn more than P7K a month?
What if your household help doesn’t do her job well just like how you can do it?

Do you feel the need to be secure? Are you afraid to let go of your fears?

For some people, it is easier said than done. But for the successful people that I know, this is an easy decision to make.

If you are not prepared to take responsibility for the RESULTS, whether it will be good or bad, then you will feel stuck in the moment of indecision. Most people would rather stay where they are, rather than risk the possibility of becoming successful. They are too fearful of what others might say about them. Creating and taking responsibility for your RESULTS, inspite of what others might say takes a little more than numbers. It takes boldness, courage, and willingness to fail.

Are there employees who become successful? Of course, there are.

But usually, these are people who have taken responsibility not only of their own results, but the results of the people they lead. They rise to leadership positions. They have specific skills they were able to develop.

According to Mr. Rex Mendoza, here are the 3 skills you need to develop if you want to become rich as an employee:

  • Harness the talent of your people
  • Extract the experience of the people you lead
  • Steer the whole team in a single direction

As you develop yourself, it is critical to develop your INFLUENCE or POWER in order to better lead your group. When you do this, your team will have the resources to do their best and overcome obstacles. The 3 levels of influence are: 1) Authority, 2) Expertise, and 3) Relationships. You can leverage all these 3 to enhance your ability to lead your team effectively.

At the end of it all, the buck stops with you as the LEADER. You can delegate responsibility, but you can never delegate ACCOUNTABILITY. You are accountable for the RESULTS no matter what.

In a recent video about the state of STARTUPs in the Philippines, it came to my attention that one of the reasons why our country lags compared to other countries in the region like Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, etc. is the lacking entrepreneurial culture in the Philippines. Most people still see themselves as that of an employee. Very few have the courage to venture out on their own, and become entrepreneurs. Yes, there’s the lack of government support, etc. but culturally we are a nation of people who simply wants to earn and willing to work. We understand the value of hardwork. We hardly complain. We are very resilient.

Perhaps in the future, this will change. We have a lot of problems in our country that need solving. However, this might takes some time. As the change is not a simple case of simply flooding the country with more money, but a shift in CULTURE and MINDSET. Succeeding as an employee requires a different skillset than that of an entrepreneur. In the end though, what matters is that you are making a difference in the world.

Becoming rich is not the end goal, it’s only a means to an end. What matters will be what you did with what you have. Did you bless the world with your work? Did your riches blessed more people? Did your story inspire people to make this world a better place? Did you fulfill your divine purpose in this world? Because in the end THIS is what matters. We are all the same after all, both rich and poor, employee or entrepreneur. As they say, “at the end of the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box.”

P.S. I hope you enjoyed this 4-part series we had about the first ever Truly Rich Club Wealth Conference. If you want to get updated on the next events, get wealth strategies, inspirational talks and stocks investment guides, and more, you can join the Truly Rich Club. Simply CLICK HERE to join.

P.P.S. Recently, I was on a 3-day business trip to Tacloban City, the home of the happiest and most resilient people. My day was full-packed with meetings, trainings and coaching on personal finance, building a sustainable business, and more. On the side, I was able to visit the San Juanico bridge, the longest bridge in the Philippines (and 2nd most in Asia?), MacArthur’s famous “I shall return” landing, Sto Nino Shrine, the former president’s grand mansion in Leyte, and more. The food was delicious. The people are very warm and welcoming. I super enjoyed my stay. CLICK HERE to watch my 32nd youtube video to see a glimpse of what I do. If you have not done so, I encourage you to watch the other videos on my channel as well, talking about different topics as millionaire mindset and habits. Please subscribe to my YOUTUBE channel as well while you are at it. Thank you in advance. 🙂

P.P.S. I’m curious to know your story. Feel free to hit reply and message me. I read ALL of your emails to me and respond to each one of them personally. Who knows? I might even feature you here in this blog in the future.

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Truly Rich Club

Truly Rich Club Wealth Conference 2019 Part 3 of 4: Edward Lee’s How Your Psychological Trauma Dictate Your Stocks Investing Decisions

Note: This is the 3rd installment to the 4-part series on the Truly Rich Club Wealth Conference 2019. If you missed the 1st and 2nd parts you can read them here and here, accordingly.

Have you asked yourself why is it that you do what you do, inspite of what you know?

Have you experienced situations where you felt guilty for buying stuffs, or wonder how come you cannot seem to make enough money, even though your working so hard?

Have you ever wondered what differentiates successful stocks investors from those who fail and lost a lot of money in the stock market?

These are hard questions to answer. Most people would simply dismiss the answer as luck. Or tsamba. Or what have you.

Good thing I was able to attend the 3rd session of the Truly Rich Club Wealth Conference because the talk gave me the answer to all these questions.

The speaker is no other than the Chairman of COL Financial, the largest online stocks brokerage firm in the Philippines, Mr. Edward Lee. He is a Billionaire businessman, one of the business mentors of Bo Sanchez.

I first came to know him during one of the Financial Coaching seminars of Bo Sanchez back in 2009. I have since invested in stocks as well. I even shared some of the basic tips in a video shot by my wife in one of my talks in UP Diliman back in the day. From what I remember, he’s a humorous speaker with lots of stories to tell and I can still remember some of the stories he shared back then.

This time though, I felt he was a bit more serious. I don’t know if it’s because his talk was done in pure english, or perhaps his topic was indeed quite serious.

One of my main take aways I got was his talk on PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA. He told stories growing up in a family who supported him emotionally inspite of him having problems in school. He grew up thinking that money is easy to make, and he has the confidence to make money anytime and anywhere.

He said that what most people lack is the FINANCIAL CONFIDENCE to make it.

He shared a quote from Dan Lok which said that defines FINANCIAL CONFIDENCE as “having the confidence that you have the skills and ability to make money anytime, anywhere.”

He said people are driven by 4 main emotions: Hope, Fear, Greed and Desperation. These emotions dictate the markets. All crashes and boom are driven by these emotions.

His advise is, in whatever you do, Be the Best. When you do that, people will find you.

What’s your psychological roadblock?
1) Trauma
2) Parental Pressure
3) High Standards
4) Broken Family
5) Absentee Parent

Over the years of working in my business and dealing with different kinds of people, I can say this is certainly true. Some people have absentee parents or deep issues with their fathers. Growing up, they were looking for validation in everything that they do. They lack the emotional assurance that they badly need. That’s why their decisions financial or otherwise, seems to be beyond logic.

As you know, your decisions are driven mainly by your emotions. Only when you come to know how these deep emotions have built up over the years in someone’s life will you understand why they do what they do. It’s hard sometimes to watch someone with lots of potential, making wrong decisions over and over again, simply because he was programmed at an early age to seek for validation, rather than focus on doing the right thing.

So what can you do?

The first step according to Mr. Edward Lee is ACCEPTANCE. Accept that life is not fair. Surrender all your traumas to God.

Realize that we have built internal programs over the years. It will take more than an overnight or single day of training to unlearn all those things. The good news is that it can be done. Constant exposure to more empowering beliefs will allow you to replace the dark programming of the past. Your habits can change when you change your environment and the people you spend time with. You can change your life. But it’s going to take daily discipline in building your mind into a new you.

Mr. Edward Lee also shared the 3 basic laws of money:
1) Save 10-20% of your income
2) Invest it
3) Re-invest to benefit from the power of compounding

He recommends starting your investing program and believing in the Philippine growth story.
Above all, find your purpose. Be grateful for all the opportunities and experiences. Be compassionate. Be generous.

 

P.S. Be part of our business community of professionals and entrepreneurs. Let’s connect on Instagram @allaninocente.

P.P.S. Do you want to be part of the Truly Rich Club? CLICK HERE.

P.P.S. I am curious to know your story. How’s your financial journey so far? What have you tried and what are the #1 challenge you have in building money habits to make you rich? Simply hit reply and email me back. I read all the messages you are sending me. Cheers! 🙂

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Truly Rich Club

Truly Rich Club Wealth Conference 2019 Part 2 of 4: Dean Pax Lapid’s Building Your House of Entrepreneur

This is the 2nd installment to the 4-part series on the Truly Rich Club Wealth Conference 2019. If you missed the 1st part, you can read it here.

Dean Pax Lapid’s Building Your House of Entrepreneur

The second speaker during the Truly Wealth Conference was Dean Pax Lapid. I first came to know him when I attended the Truly Rich Entrepreneur’s Workshop back in 2009. He has started and grown a lot of businesses in different industries and he teaches entrepreneurship in one of the biggest business schools in the country, the Asian Instute of Management. He also wrote books on entrepreneurship including the book “Go Negosyo: 21 Steps on How to Start Your Own Business.”

Dean Pax is a lively speaker. He is a teacher by heart and you can really see it on his slide presentations. They are full of details, almost like that of a textbook.

During his talk, Dean Pax told some personal stories that really caught my attention. One story he shared is about the time when he was deeply in debt. He was so depressed he was about to end his life. But God had better plans for him. He was saved from that situation and he never looked back. Imagine the number of people who would not have learned from Dean Pax and got inspired from his stories if he decided to end it right there and then.

Another story he shared was when he wanted to pass down his business to his son, but his son didn’t want it. His son wanted to work as a corporate employee. He knows fully well that the income from a job offer his son can get will pale in comparison to running their own business, but he had to accept his son’s decision amidst his own frustrations and emotional pain.

As a parent, I can only imagine how painful that might have felt like. I know I always want to do the best for my two sons. I want to provide for them financially. But Dean Pax’s story reminded me of a fundamental truth that a lot of Billionaires know. Warren Buffet, one of the world’s richest man, is donating most of his wealth to charity. I wondered why he doesn’t want to give it to his children until I realized that doing so will only hinder their children’s growth. It’s like crippling them.

Now, I work hard to provide for my kids. But I understand that ultimately, they are their own individual beings. They have their own journey here on earth and personal decisions to make. I am not about to hinder their character sculpting experiences by putting them in a situation where it becomes a hindrance instead of a blessing.

These two stories made me realize that no one is immune to having challenges in business. When you see Dean Pax with his lively antics and cheerful demeanor you would think everything was smooth sailing for him in his entrepreneurial journey. That’s why it was a surprise to me that even with these huge challenges he had to overcome he still maintains a cheerful spirit.

Perhaps, this is all part of the journey we have to make in life. Otherwise, our stories would all be boring. Nobody gets inspired by a boring story. So if you are going through a challenging situation right now, just imagine the inspiration you will share to people once you are able to overcome it. You will definitely bless many.

LIFE CYCLE OF A BUSINESS

Dean Pax also shared the life cycle of a business. The ups and downs from conceptualization of a business idea to eventually selling the business or having your own exit strategy. He shared about the challenges that a typical business goes through during the startup stages and what he calls the valley of debt. When I learned about this, I could not agree more.

I can certainly relate because I too went through similar stages while putting up my business and getting it off the ground.

It is pure hard work. I experienced having little sleep. You work so hard, you ask yourself if it’s really worth it. Then the next day, you muster enough courage and strength and go through it again…and again…and again. Inspite of all the challenges, you go at it day in and day out. You have to be a little bit insane to endure those kinds of pain.

You cling on to the idea that one day, it will all be worth it. As they say, as an employee you are overpaid in the beginning but underpaid for the rest of your life, but as an entrepreneur you are underpaid in the begininng but overpaid for the rest of your life. Most people are not able to get past through the emotions of being underpaid for a long long time..

You battle with your own self confidence and self-worth. You get frustrated with your dismal results. You go through so many ups and downs you question whether it will ever going to end.

Eventually you will learn to take everything in stride, both the good and bad. The bad times are not meant to make you fall. They are meant to sculpt your character.

Good times do come. But the challenges never end. It’s just evolves into a different one. Each stage brings about a different situation which requires a different skill to solve. You must evolve if you want to survive.

Here is a picture from Dean Pax’s talk about getting from “NOWHERE” to “NOW HERE.” It depicts the different stages you have to go through being the entrepreneur that you are.

 

You start from your COMFORT ZONE. You know you are in your comfort zone when you are feeling bored. Perhaps you are in comfortable situation. But one day you realize that you want something more. It’s normal human instinct to desire for something more. More money. More time. More happiness. Eventually, something within you is stirred up and you can no longer accept the reality of your situation. You decide to take action.

Once you realize this, you start to move into your FEAR ZONE. This is the hardest part for most people to overcome. Everyone has a deep-seated need to feel accepted. That’s why you care so much about what other people say about you. At this stage you have to face those fears upfront. When you are able to overcome your own personal insecurities, and you muster enough courage inspite of your fears, you will soon level up to your COURAGE ZONE. The good book even says that when you have faith as little as a mustard seed, you can move mountains. You are more than what you think you are. Once you start believing in yourself, you will learn new skills, you will develop a new perspective about your business, you become a master of your craft and eventually you will elevate to your GROWTH ZONE, where all your dreams can come true.

Eventually your current growth zone will become your new comfort zone. With the new comfort zone comes boredom. Eventually, you will start to dream again or desire a new level of growth. In order to grow, you once again have to ask yourself what is it that you really want. You decide to take action. You ask yourself what is it that you fear the most. You decide to overcome your deepest fear by facing it head on and taking action. Because you understand that on the other side of fear, is your dreams waiting for you…and the cycle again begins.

P.S. Watch out for the 3rd and 4th installment of this series. We will talk about stocks and investing, as well as maximizing your potential while working for other people as an employee.

P.P.S. Do you want to learn about financial literacy? Want to be part of a community where you can learn to explore the different financial vehicles without the huge risk of doing it on your own? Join the Truly Rich Club. Click here.

P.P.S. Do you want to be mentored personally by me? Visit www.allaninocente.com/work-with-allan/ and follow the instructions listed accordingly. Many of those who worked with me have gone on to earn from $100 in a week part-time up to $8,000 a month full-time. You can read and watch the videos of their success stories here.

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Truly Rich Club

Truly Rich Club Wealth Conference 2019 Part 1 of 4: Bo Sanchez’ How to Increase Your Psychological Wallet

A few weeks ago, my wife and I attended the Truly Rich Club Wealth Conference 2019 along with some friends. Since the early days of the Truly Rich Club, my wife and I were already members. We were still living in Malaysia that time, around 2007. I can still remember receiving CDs on the mailbox and excitedly opening them. It’s amazing that it’s been 12 years since then and up until now we are still blessed by the Truly Rich Club.

Today, I’d like to share a little bit about what I learned during the event. My wife and I arrived a little late. Once we sat down, the first speaker was already in the middle of his talk. It was brother Bo Sanchez. He is the founder of Truly Rich Club, a missionary preacher who has blessed a lot of people.

Bo Sanchez – How to Increase Your Psychological Wallet

The topic of his talk from what I understood was the value of upgrading your PSYCHOLOGICAL WALLET.

He mentioned the feeling of being conflicted when it comes to your finances. Perhaps you were raised in the idea that money is the root of evil. Or perhaps you think only criminals of bad people become rich. You are blinded by the misconceptions or wrong theology of money. You were raised to despise the rich. That’s why they are called filthy rich. Who wants to be filthy? Of course, no one wants to be that guy.

He narrated a story of him and a friend. They were driving in a rich neighborhood. They passed by a big house with lots of cars inside. Upon seeing the house and the car, his friend blurted. “siguro, carnapper ang may ari ng bahay na yan.” Bewildered, brother Bo said. “how did you know?” of course, it was only a small talk. Which brings the point across. How do you know? You don’t know the person. You assumed he was a bad guy by merely seeing the cars. What if he has a car rental business? and the cars are for rent.

Brother Bo Sanchez, said that some of the rich people he met were the most generous, loving people he knows.

This talk reminded me of the times I also had conflicted feelings of being rich. I am a simple kid. I was raised in the province of Ilocos, where farming is the main industry to be in. If you work hard, you can live by planting vegetables in your garden. Or you can ask malunggay leaves from your neighbour. It’s a simple life. I had no grand illusion to become a billionare or anything like that. I simply enjoyed life. But the harsh reality really sank in when I started working. After many years, I still didn’t have anything saved up. So began my curiousity about money. And as they say, the rest is histroy.

But this is not about me. It’s about the countless people who day in and day out have the same internal conflict within them. Money is behavioural. It is not technical. It is easy to make money. Most of the battles you need to overcome though are your own ways of thinking.

In this day and age of overwhelming information, most of the learning that we need is in unlearning the things we were thought growing up. You have to update the information so that your outer world of finances reflect the same inner world you have.

He also narrated about his driver who was able to save up P15,000 and was so happy. He felt rich. He felt the effect on him and his relationships. He felt like “others” now. He felt conflicted. Because becoming richer meant he had to let go of relationships that are no longer aligned to his new ways of thinking. It’s quite funny to think that having P15,000 makes you feel rich at this day and age of high prices. But the reality is that it is the same thing for most people. The amount may vary. But everyone who’s trying to change undergo the same experience. It maybe earning your first million. It maybe when you decide to put up a side hustle. Work part-time. Sell anything. Or simple attending seminars. It is one of the strangest things that sooner or later you will need to learn to accept,

Because we care so much about how other thinks of us. This is one of the hardest battles to overcome. It is really not because people change around you. It is you who is already shifted your mindset inside. You are no longer contented talking about gossips at work. You would rather watch videos about stocks or business in youtube. In fact, you are no longer entertained by the constant tele drama on TV. You are starting to feel aligned to the new you.

I felt the same when I started my business part-time. There were moments when I had to stand up and leave the office at exactly 5.30PM. In front of 200 people, I walk down the corridor and exit the office. It’s time to go and work on my business. I came early to finish my work, so it’s not like I was not doing my job. I still had to be professional enough to do my business outside my work hours.

Even though no one complained, I still felt really conflicted initially. You see, most people in my office would leave at 7.30PM or 8PM. It is just one of those things that is not said but understood by everyone else, that leaving earlier than that means you are not working hard on your job.

Eventually, I learned to overcome this feeling of being conflicted. When you are clear about your goals and what you want to do with your life, suddenly decisions are easy to make. You just have to have the emotionaly fortitude to simply stand by your own truth. And the truth to me during that time was that I was already drained, exhausted, frustrated and soulless working on my job. It was time for me to explore outside for a new career. I could no longer stay for another year without doing anything.

After 6 months of hard work, I finally decided to let go of my corporate career and go full-time in business. It is one of the scariest thing I’ve ever done. It is not easy to let go of a job paying you 6-figures a month. Even when I already resigned, I still had second thoughts whether I made the right decision or not. Later on I realized, you decide and make it right. If it is to be, it is up to me.

Brother Bo Sanchez offered 4 ways to increase your psychological wallet:
1. Dream Reminders – write your dreams. Novena to God’s love when you attend The Feast for the 1st time as a free gift. I wrote my dreams there a long time ago. Most of my dreams already came true.
2. Dream Role Models – to have a mentor. to look up to someone and pattern your life to that person until you become your own.
3. Dream Resources – join the truly rich club. read about wealth strategies. get audio books, free books, stocks updates and recommendations, etc
4. Dream Reasons – remove subconscious conflicts

Action is the best expression of your faith. Faith without action is nothing. Take small steps. Mustard seed faith + mustart seed work = unstoppable. Are you a miracle waiter or a miracle worker?

P.S. Do you want to learn the psychology of money and discover the wealth strategies of the truly rich? Do you want someone to guide you in your stocks investments? Do you want to overcome your wrong theology of money? Join the TRULY RICH CLUB? CLICK HERE to find out more.

P.P.S. Do you want to discover the secrets on how to manage your own money effectively? Join us this September 2 at Santolan Town Plaza to Francis Kong’s event on PRACTICAL MONEY MANAGEMENT. Simply hit REPLY to this email if you’re interested. Or call/text me at +63-9178034015 for more details.

 

P.P.S. Do you want to be part of a business community where you can meet other aspiring entrepreneurs? I am always on the lookout for highly driven people who share the same eagerness to learn entrepreneurial skills, business mindset and success philosophies. If you’d like to be part of my team, simply read the details on my website at http://www.allaninocente.com/work-with-allan/ and follow the instructions for the next step.