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Tales of the Cashflow 101 Games Part 2 – Lessons Learned

Last April 3, I had the priviledge of hosting our second session of Rich Money Habits’ Cashflow 101 games.  This time, at The Old Spaghetti House (TOSH) Restaurant at Robinsons Forum, EDSA Pioneer, Mandaluyong City.

There were two great news in this session of Cashflow 101 game compared to last time —

First and foremost, all participants got out of the rat race.  Congratulations to the participants!  Yehey!  Granted, it took some time for some of the participants to get out.  In the end, however, when one of them finally got out, like magic, everyone followed suit and got out in no time at all.  It could be because they saw that getting out of the rat race is indeed possible.  Everyone focused on making more passive income from then on so they too can also get out of the rat race.  In hindsight, I realized that this is also true in real life.  The more like-minded people you surround yourself with, the more people will support you and cheer you on as you go for your dream of financial freedom.

Second, we had the luxury of time and we were able to enjoy the game without getting kicked out of the restaurant.  The first time I hosted a Cashflow 101 game in Tapa King Edsa Central, we were kicked out because apparently playing cashflow boardgame is prohibited inside the restaurant.  We were lucky the caretaker still allowed us to play the game if only for a couple of hours.  But when the guard saw us, the caretaker didn’t have any other choice than to request us to stop playing, even though we weren’t done yet…just when the participants were now beginning to see how the cashflow 101 game works.  I felt really bad for the participants and promised myself never to allow a similar experience to happen again.

Hosting the second cashflow 101 session had its own challenges but the fact that everyone got out of the rat race was a reward in itself.  It was a gratifying experience witnessing the participants get out of the rat race and cross over to the fast track.  Seeing their spirits come alive and become animated as they celebrate their personal victory is truly an amazing experience.

After the game, I asked the participants what realizations they’ve had while playing the game.  Here are 5 lessons they’ve willingly shared that I am now passing on to you so you too can learn from them as well.

1) It’s OK to start all over again. 

One of the players over leveraged and got into debt so much so that he was already paying more money than what he was able to earn.  In short, his expenses was greater than his income.  Whenever he passes by the “Paycheck” cell, instead of receiving income, he now shells out extra cash to pay out his debts.

Needless to say, this led to his downfall as he eventually filed for BANKRUPTCY.  After declaring bankruptcy, he had to sell off all his assets for half the price.  After selling his “assets” off and paying his debts, he finally got into a positive cashflow situation.

That means, he had extra money at the end of the month again.  The surprising thing was, after getting rid of his “asset” he was actually better off.  He had lots of cash and he didn’t have to pay every month for his “asset”.  What he considered to be an asset was actually eating him alive because of the HUGE loans, causing him to file for bankruptcy.

Does this sound familiar?  I think this is very similar to the housing crisis a couple of years back, and still being felt up to this day.

2) It’s OK to borrow money as long as your asset is paying for it.

One of the most popular advise you will get is to NEVER borrow money.  And it certainly is a wise advise, especially if you are still learning your way to financial literacy and you don’t have the discipline to pay off what you owe.

The surprising thing was, because of the law of leverage, those who bought assets turned out to be in better position to take advantage of opportunities when the market changed.  For example, in the game when someone draws out a market card, it could turn out positive changes to the players.  Someone may be looking to buy for a new house.  And because you have the property, you get to sell it to him.

Of course, it is not always as rosy as it sounds.  One time during the game, someone drew a catastrophic market card — a financial crisis, if you may.  Tenants could no longer pay rent.  Everyone who had 3 bedroom/ 2 bath houses was affected and the owner had to let go of their properties.  Ouch.

3) It’s OK if you want to play it safe, you can still get out of the rat race

One of the players was very conscious about getting into debt, even though it was only a game.  At first, she was focusing on the paycheck and wanted to earn more, feeling safe with the money that she had.  She avoided debts as much as possible and ensured she always had extra cash at hand.  She occassionally invested in mutual funds and stocks throughout the game.

In the end, even she was able to get out of the rat race.  She didn’t have to quit her job.  In fact, after getting out of the rat race, she now has the option to still do what she’s always done.  But the good thing is, she’s no longer tied to her job anymore.  She can quit anytime she wants, and the passive income will still be able to cover her monthly expenses.  Isn’t that great?

The lesson? You can still get out of the rat race even if you’re afraid of debts.  You don’t have to despair if you find out you’re afraid of risks.  You can still get out of the rat race.

Of course, while the game went on, she had to shift her focus from paycheck to opportunities.  One time, she was even complaining why she landed on paycheck instead of opportunity.  At the time, she was almost out of the rat race.  One small deal was enough for her to become financially free.  In that context, it’s understandable why she wanted to land on another opportunity instead of a paycheck.

4) It’s OK to give away what you seek the most

It is sometimes counterintuitive to give away what you seek most.  Your tendency is to keep what you have for as long as you can.  In reality, however, keeping it to yourself does more damage to you because of the feeling of scarcity that you’re telling your mind.  Instead, do what one of the players did.  Here’s how.

The same player who went into bankruptcy had the habit of donating to charities, even when he was financially struggling. The surprising thing was, he eventually managed to get up and get out of the rat race even with the bankruptcy.  The fact is, he even surpassed and got out ahead of some of the other players. 🙂

He mastered the flow of money by starting to be generous with what he had. It is truly mind boggling how things fall into place when you set your priorities straight.

5) It’s OK to be the last one to get out of the rat race

It doesn’t matter whether all other players are already out of the rat race, although I might say, it can be demoralizing sometimes.  When that happens, know that we all start out somewhere.  Perhaps, one was able to get out of the rat race faster because she had only minimal expenses.  Or perhaps, she took advantage an opportunity and the market rewarded her investments.  The important thing is YOU are able to get out of the rat race.  It is your personal victory.

It’s inevitable to compare your results with other people.  It’s just what we normal humans do.  But instead of living your life in despair, use that motivation to be inspired instead.  You can say, “if they can get out the rat race, it only means, I too can get out as well!”.  Keep the positive attitude up, and sooner than later, you too will celebrate your day of financial freedom. Cheers!

Readers, have you played Cashflow 101 game board?  What other lessons can you add into the above list?

P.S.  Ready to play cashflow 101 in real-life?  CLICK HERE to email me.

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10 Real-Life Money Tips From Playing Cashflow 101 Gameboard

A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I played Cashflow 101 game board as a special bonus to the first 10 who bought my ebook guide Rich Money Habits – 8 Ways To Shift Your Money Habits and Be Rich. I was excited because I haven’t done anything like this before in my life.  I first learned about the Cashflow 101 boardgame around 2005 when I read Rich Dad Poor Dad book of Robert Kiyosaki.  Ever since reading the book and finding out about the boardgame, I had a yearning to play Casflow 101.  The only problem — the boardgame costs quite a bit, around PhP 10,000.  And being a struggling employee facing credit card debts, I didn’t have that amount of money then.

One day, while reading through the Entreprenuer’s forum, I learned that someone is holding cashflow 101 games at AIM Makati City.  Even though the price is quite expensive (at that time) at PhP 800 for a 4-hr workshop, I grabbed the opportunity right away.  I enjoyed the game so much I played again (and paid another PhP 800).  It was a real learning experience, realizing that there’s a different world of money out there I’ve never recognized before.

When I went to the US a year after, buying a Cashflow 101 board game for myself was one of my main goals.  So when I got back from my 6-month stint in the US, I didn’t hesitate to buy the game and bring it home with me to the Philippines.  I immediately played the game with my family and friends.  Everytime I play, I learn something new —  how to analyze a deal, how the cash flows for every event that happens in your life, etc.  The most important realization I got was recognizing my own attitude about money.  Am I generally conservative?  Or agressive? Am I the type who goes into debt and takes advantage of the power of leverage? Or am I contented just watching other players enjoying making deals left and right while I am still afraid to take advantage of the small deals even though it is only play money.

It’s been months since the last time I played Cashflow 101 game. While playing the game this time around, there were many real-life lessons that came flashing through my mind that I wanted to share with you.

Here are the top 10 real-life tips I’ve re-learned while playing Cashflow 101 again.

1) Having a High Income Does Not Mean You Are Wealthy

One of the players had a profession of a doctor.  He had a hard time getting out of the rat race because of the high expense.  He had to be really be creative and financially savvy to generate a lot of cashflow to cover the high expense.  Contrary to popular belief, high income doesn’t necessarily mean you are wealthy.  Even with your high income, a high expense will leave you little cashflow (aka Paycheck) at the end of the month. Unless you turn that casfhlow into income producing assets, you will have a hard time getting out of the rat race.   What does it mean?  You need to manage your expenses and be creative if you want to achieve financial freedom.  You cannot rely only with your high income.

2) Being Creative Is More Important Than Being Knowledgable

In real-life, what you know is only potential asset unless you apply it.  And the only way to apply what you know is by being creative in using the knowledge that you have to find solutions to other people’s problems.  Getting into good debts to buy a real-estate property can be a good strategy, provided you know how to manage that property so it gives you extra cash at the end of the month.  For that to work, you need to understand your market, your cash flow and equip yourself with the necessary financial intelligence to make the deal work.  Good deals are everywhere.  However, those with creative minds have an easier time recognizing those deals because they invested the time to learn to spot those deals.  To be creative, you need time and effort.  Time to feed your mind data to recognize good deals from bad, and effort to battle through the emotional learning to make it work.

3)  You Can Be An Ordinary Teacher and Beat A Doctor From Getting Out of the Rat Race.

Sometimes, having a lower income can be an advantage, provided you also have lower expenses.  And because you have lower expenses, the less passive income you need to generate to get out of the rat race.  In real life, this is easier said than done.  One because, sometimes, even with the low income, the expenses are even higher.  You end up borrowing money from other people just to pay for the food you eat.  Other times, you are discouraged with living each day from paycheck to paycheck.  If you play the cashflow 101 boardgame, realizing this important lesson will give you hope.  If only you know how to manage what you have, you have the power to get out the rat race sooner than you think.

4) Be Careful What You Focus On

What you focus on expands.  If you focus on problems, you will see problems.  If you focus on opportunities, you will see opportunitites.  In playing Cashflow 101 board game, there’s a trap that a lot of beginners frequently fall into — i.e. focusing on your paycheck.   When you receive your paycheck, you glee in delight as you bring your token over the yellow cell.  As you accumulate more and more money, however, you begin to hunger for more opportunities instead, to the point where you no longer want to fall into a yellow cell (paycheck)…You now want to land on an opportunity everytime! When this happens, celebrate because you have just started to shift one of your core money habits. You are now focusing on opportunities and going beyong just receiving a monthly paycheck.  You are no longer a slave of the 15th or 30th days of the month.  Now, you are looking for small deals and big deals so you can build those assets that produces income.  Keep it up and soon financial freedom will be yours.

5) Every Event In Your Life Impacts Your Cash Flow

Lose your job.  Have a baby.  Go on a shopping spree.  Buy an opportunity.  Donate to charities.  They all impact your cash flow.  They either add in to your expenses, or to your income.   However, they don’t have to stop you from building your asset and minimizing your liabilities.  You still have the power to determine how it impacts you.  At the start, I pulled up a doodad card where I had to pay more than what I have in savings.  I had to borrow money from the bank just to pay for the “vacation”.  When you get in this situation during a game, it’s a bit discouraging because you don’t have any money left and you don’t have anything to invest.  You have to wait for your next paycheck to get back into the game.  The reality is that a lot of people live this kind of lifestyle in real-life but they don’t have a clue that one false move (a.k.a. losing your job) can lead them into financial disaster.

6) The More You Play The Game of Money, The More You Recognize Opportunities Around You

I’ve played the game many times, and because I’ve read and re-read the cards on deck, I know what small deals and big deal opportunity cards are out there.  I know what’s possible in terms of market going frenzy over houses, stocks or businesses.  I do believe the same applies to real-life.  The more you learn about what’s possible, the more you are able to expand your consciousness and focus on those opportunities.  By taking advantage of those opportunities, you give your self a chance to gain your own financial freedom.

7) Take Action and Take Advantage of Opportunities 

Watching others make a move doesn’t do you any good.  Take action.  No matter how small.  Each baby step is a giant leap to your dreams.  You never know when the next wave is going to hit and carry you to your goals.  I’ve played the game since 2005, and yet I am still learning.  The only reason I learned what I know is by taking advantage of the opportunities that life gives me.  I don’t always make money, sometimes I even lose some.  But the more I go through all those experience, the more I gain the confidence to move forward.

8) Luck Favors the Prepared Mind 

Opportunities are flashing before your eyes every second of every day.  You only need to train your mind to see those opportunites.  The reality is that it takes time to build your mindset to see those opportunities.  It took me years to finally see that earning money aside from your job is indeed possible.  But without the constant exposure to financial lessons, I doubt if I even had the courage to start the Rich Money Habits blog.

9)  Money Attracts Its Own Kind

Even the smallest passive income can turn into big amount if you put your heart and soul into it.  In reality, there’s only one asset you actually have – YOU.  You are the asset.  You determine whether something becomes an asset or a liability.  A perfectly viable business like Mang Inasal can be profitable if the owner knows how to turn it into an asset.  If the same asset is transferred to someone who doesn’t know how to manage a food business, and doesn’t have an inkling of an experience running a business even as small as a food cart, the same asset can turn into a liability.

10) YOU are the asset

Even the smallest passive income can turn into big amount if you put your heart and soul into it.  In reality, there’s only one asset you actuall have – YOU.  You are the asset.  You determine whether something becomes an asset or a liability.  A liability can turn into an asset, and vice-versa.  A perfectly viable business like Mang Inasal can be profitable if the owner like Edgar Siap knows how to turn it into an asset.  If the same asset is transferred to someone else who doesn’t know how to manage a food business, and doesn’t have an inkling of an experience running a business even as small as a food cart, the same asset can turn into a liability.

Keep on dreaming. Keep on learning. Keep on Believing.

Cheers!

Allan

P.S. If you’re searching for ways to practice what you learned in Cashflow 101 in real-life, CLICK HERE to email me.

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Reader Question: Where do I start?

Recently, I received this very interesting email from a reader of this blog.  While reading through it, I realized you may also be facing the same questions, doubts and fears, so I decided to share her questions (with her permission, of course) and my answers with you so you can benefit from it as well.

Sir,

Good day! I’m Jane Doe (obviously not her real name…I changed it to protect her privacy), 27, working as an accounting staff for a Pharmaceutical Company.

I have heard alot about investing and I have always wanted to give it a try. It’s just that I’m still a bit scared. It’s not as if I have tons of money to just invest on something Im not 100% sure of. I would like to earn more before I start..

Where do I start Sir? Can you give me suggestions? Do I have to join the TrulyRichClub of Mr.Bo Sanchez to know everything I have to know? Won’t I be able to make it good without joining the club? Because honestly, I’m thinking of how much I would save from the monthly membership fee. I am not rich, I would love to be though, it’s the very reason I work hard each day for me and my family.

I really hope you can give me an idea on where I should start..

Thank you so much.. 🙂

Jane Doe

Here’s my response to Jane’s questions:

Hi Jane,

I really admire your enthusiasm and your willingness to learn to start investing in spite of your doubts and fears.

And I totally agree with you. It can be scary sometimes especially if you’re starting on something you’ve never done before. What if you lose the money? What if you make a mistake? What will others say about you? How do you get started?  All these are valid concerns and definitely worth noting.

To tell you the truth, I still feel the same fears whenever I start something new. What keeps me going is the belief that in the end, everything will turn out alright.

1) Where do I start?

For a moment, a list of suggestions went through my head in a flash…until I re-read your question and noticed this — “…I would like to earn more before I start.” It made me re-think my assumptions…and realized, perhaps you already know the answer to your own question. You just need a little bit of encouragement. 🙂

It goes without saying that everybody starts out from different places. And for illustration purposes, I assume your work as an accountant is your major source of income. And you have at least a few good ideas on how you can save money by reducing your expenses or increasing your income. If that’s the case, then here are some simple ideas that may help you get started by utilizing that extra money you save each month.

1) Payoff your debts (if you have any). If you have debts, try to pay it off as soon as possible. There are different kinds of debts both good and bad, which is an entirely different discussion. But if you’re just starting out, all debts are very risky and can turn into really bad debts. So for now, just avoid any debts while you’re still trying to learn to manage your own money.

2) Save for emergency fund. If you have not saved for emergency fund yet, start saving for an amount equal to at least 3 to 6 times your monthly salary. Why 6 months? The idea is that if you lose your job or your only stream of income, it will normally take you around 6 months at the most to find another job. Your emergency fund will NOT make you rich but it will feed you and your family if something unexpected happens, like losing your job. Never use your emergency fund for investing. Just save it in a bank so you can withdraw it quickly in case of emergency.

3) Start investing, but take it one baby step at a time. Once you’ve saved for emergency fund, don’t stop. Continue saving. But now, put you savings into your investing account instead of your emergency fund. This money will only be used for investing. Learn how to invest effectively. The key is to invest only up to the amount you’re (almost) comfortable with. I say almost because if you are only investing in what you are comfortable with, you miss the opportunity to expand yourself to learn not only intellectually but emotionally as well.

It is really important to start with a good strong foundation by learning to manage your own money. The sooner you save, the more money you can use to pay off debts and save emergency fund, and the sooner you will have money to invest.

2) It’s not as if I have tons of money to just invest on something Im not 100% sure of.

This is a 2 part question — 1) not enough money and 2) not 100% sure

For the first one on not having enough money, I would say we all start somewhere. The important thing is to manage what you currently have and every income that comes to you and pass through your hands. Learn how to better manage your money. Even Henry Sy had to make do with selling shoes in a small retail store in the beginning.  I also don’t have a ton of money to invest. But I take action because I know that’s the only way I will be able to learn how to invest…and every lesson I learn will pay off big in the long run.

For the second part on not being 100% sure, the reality is that you can never be 100% sure. Even your savings account is not 100% risk free. You can only claim for up to the amount insured by the PDIC which is PhP 500,000.  Of course, if you saved less than PhP 500,000, you will still be able to get your money (after going through a tedious process). But imagine for a moment that you saved PhP 600,000. You will lose the PhP100,000 if your bank folds up. It’s not millions but it’s definitely money you cannot just throw away. It is already a BIG money for a lot of people.

The first investment my wife and I invested in is on RTBs (Retail Treasury Bonds). There’s a reason why we chose RTBs instead of stocks or real-estate. We were afraid. And we thought RTBs was the next financial instrument with the least amount of risk involved, next to savings accounts. Retail Treasury Bonds are debt papers issued by the government. In simplest of terms, it’s the government’s way of borrowing money from you. When you buy RTBs, you are essentially lending money to the Philippine government. The gov’t has to pay you the interest (quarterly) for the duration of the term specified in the bonds (e.g. 7% per year in 7 years). As you might have noticed, the interest is not that big, but it is certainly better than your savings accounts in your bank which gives less than 1%. More than the passive income we got from investing in RTBs, the really important benefit is gaining the confidence after actually investing our hard earned money. When you actually do something, you not only learn in your mind, but with your emotions as well and the experience gives you a more powerful belief that you can actually do it, something you cannot get from just reading a book.

If you’re interested in investing on RTBs, you can ask your bank’s local branch. I read in the newspaper that the gov’t issued RTBs just this week and the 10-year tenor bonds fetch around 7.37%. RTBs usually run out fast, and may already be gone after 1 or 2 weeks.  So if you’re really interested, you need to act fast.

3) Do I have to join the Truly Rich Club of Mr. Bo Sanchez to know everything I have to know?

The short answer is no. I do believe joining the truly rich club is a great help (because it helped me), but you certainly don’t have to join if your savings doesn’t allow it at the moment. You certainly don’t want to get into debts just to join the truly rich club. 🙂 The thing is, you can actually get the same financial lessons for FREE if you attend the Feast by Bo Sanchez every Sunday at the PICC. In the weekly Feast this month of February, Bo has discussed about making more money, investing in your 10% and multiplying your 20%. Last Sunday, he also gave a talk about managing your 70%. These are financial lessons that will go a long way in helping you in your financial journey…and it’s FREE. 🙂

Lastly, you have to do something to actually learn. In one of Bo’s talks, he mentioned about allowing yourself to be exposed to the same ideas over and over again, until you are moved to take action. The important part is to take action. For only when you take action will true learning begins. It doesn’t matter how many books you’ve read or financial seminars you’ve attended, the fear will always be there. And the only way to beat that fear is to take action. Push your boundaries bit by bit, until you expand yourself to become comfortable into your new situation.

Hope the above ideas help you in your financial journey.

God bless you!

Best Regards,

Allan

While the above tips may seem simple at first, they are nevertheless very valuable lessons that will help you lay a good foundation for your financial journey.  Before you can run, you need to start walking, Before you can walk, you need to start crawling.  Like a little child taking its first step you may fail many times in the beginning.  But once you start learning and applying what you learned, you will soon be running around all they long, so happy with the many places your dreams have taken you to.

Dear Readers, what are your greatest doubts and fears in starting your journey to financial freedom?   How were you able to overcome them?

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Interview with Foreclosure Investing Expert — Jay Castillo

In my continuing effort to address your overwhelming request to feature true-to-life success stories to help inspire you in your journey to financial freedom, I am very honored to share with you my interview with one of the most influential foreclosure investing experts in the Philippines, my good friend Jay Castillo.

Jay Castillo, made his dreams happen – to become financially free. A few years ago, he was a busy IT manager working his way up to the corporate ladder. At one point in his life, he was really frustrated spending hours and hours working at the office and going through the frustrations faced by employees. He realized that the stress from his job was literally killing him.  That’s when he decided to do something about it for the sake of his loved ones. After reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, he was inspired to learn how to do real-estate investing.

He attended seminars, seek out mentors and built his now very popular blog Foreclosure Investing Philippines at foreclosurephilippines.com. After only a few years, he is already financially free. He was able to quit his job and work full-time on his real-estate business, that is investing in foreclosed properties. Without further ado, here’s my interview with Foreclosure Investing Expert — Jay Castillo.

1) Can you give us some background on what you did for a living before you got involved with real-estate?

I was the MIS department head for a multinational company. I have been in the IT field for more than 13 years and I worked my way up the corporate ladder from being an IT staff, to DBA, to Network specialist, supervisor, and to Manager.

2) What made you decide to pursue financial freedom by investing in foreclosed properties?

It just made perfect sense to invest in real estate and foreclosed properties appeared to be the niche with the most number of properties available out there. As to why I decided to pursue financial freedom, this article pretty much covers everything: http://www.foreclosurephilippines.com/2009/04/foreclosure-investing-is-not-really.html

3) What were the 3 biggest obstacles you had to overcome when you decided to pursue real-estate investing?

1. Lack of financial literacy – Some would say it would be lack of money but I would say it really is just lack of financial literacy. After I started to manage my finances, I started to have a positive cashflow, even though I only had income coming from my job. This is where I got money to invest not just in foreclosed properties, but also for my education.

2. Lack of time – It’s funny that we all have this excuse of lack of time, but when something drastic happens, like when I had to go to be rushed to the hospital, and eventually got diagnosed with hypertension at such a young age, I suddenly realized what things are more important to me, and I MADE TIME to for them. I stopped wasting time on unimportant things like TV, unproductive use of the computer for gaming, I no longer did overtime at the office where I focused instead on getting things done through automation, delegation, etc. I was able to set aside time to learn and do real estate investing.

3. Distractions – There were so many distractions like negativity, doubts, and fears, not just from the people around me, but also from myself. It really helps to have people who have the same goals in life to be around you as they help cancel out the negativity form “well meaning” people who really don’t have a clue what you are doing, and why you do it. Another form of distraction are those unproductive things like watching TV, reading too much newspapers, and a lot of those things that can be delegated or outsourced. For example, we hired a maid to take care of household chores, this alone freed up so much of my time and helped me focus on things that are more important.

4) Can share with us the story on how you finally achieved financial independence?

It was really just a combination of getting other income streams from real estate investing and internet marketing, learning how to manage my finances and stop spending on liabilities, and also practicing “delayed gratification”. It is also very important to “simplify” and lower one’s expenses. It just came to a point where I realized that my expenses can already be covered by income other than that from my job, and that gave me the means to quit my job, and go full time with real estate investing, and internet marketing.

5) How did you get started with internet marketing?

I started to take internet marketing seriously with my blog http://www.foreclosurephilippines.com . Initially, it was just an experiment, as I was looking for a way to have all my foreclosed property listings accessible from anywhere, through the internet, from my PDA, eliminating the need to bring the actual classified ads with me. I remember that during that time, I have just finished helping facilitate an internet marketing workshop of Jomar Hilario in Cubao, courtesy of an invitation from Thea Santos (Thea was the one in charge of Think Rich Pinoy Club Marikina, where I was a member back then), and I said to myself I might as well create a blog for this purpose. Aside from listings, my wife and I started to document lessons learned (our very first was about the auction of tax delinquent properties in Marikina), and people started to follow the blog and I guess the rest is history.

6) Which is better, real-estate investing or internet marketing? And why?

Personally, I am becoming more biased towards internet marketing because the passive income potential is so much more because of the global reach, physical boundaries are virtually non-existent. In contrast, with real estate investing, I prefer to invest in properties that are nearby, and that somewhat puts a limit on where I can invest. Of course there are ways for me to expand my real estate investing like partnering with other real estate investors, but this is turning out to be more complicated as compared to internet marketing. Furthermore, even if one invests in rental properties, I believe hiring a property manager at a certain point is needed for it to remain as truly passive income, I guess I’ll cross the bridge when I get there, so to speak. Nevertheless, I truly believe that internet marketing and real estate investing can have synergy. In fact that’s exactly what I am doing right now.

7) What is the most important habit you’ve learned that has really helped you in your journey to financial freedom?

One needs to have a big enough why that would help sustain one’s drive to be financially free, and I suppose one of my habits in relation to this is I ensure that I always remember why and for who I am actually doing all of this. I try my best to make all my decisions with this in mind. This habit also helps me become very disciplined in just about everything that I do, and this has made a world of a difference.

8) What 3 tips can you give to our readers who are also dreaming of someday being able to leave the rat race and achieve financial freedom just like you?

1. Start with a plan. In it you write your objectives(your vision), your purpose(or mission), your roles and goals, your principles (the non-negotiable’s), and your values. You also need to include the actions you need to do in order to accomplish your goals, make sure these are broken down into “S.M.A.R.T.” tasks (Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Timebound). This may sound daunting at first. Looking back, I am very thankful that I did make a plan like this using an excel sheet and it was specific enough that it was like a checklist where each task accomplished will lead me closer and closer to my goals. This is very much like creating a business plan and I created mine early 2007!

2.  It’s all in the mind. You need to believe that it is possible. Think of it this way, what if your life or the lives of those you love depended on it, don’t you think you can actually do it?! It was like this for me, I strengthened my belief that it really is possible and there is a better way, especially after realizing my work(too much stress doing the work of 3 people) was killing me and I always had a choice what to do. I also believe in the following: “Whether you think you can or you can’t, either way, you are right” – Henry Ford

3.  Just do it. No one learns how to swim just by reading about it, etc, you really need to get into the water and start swimming. Sure you may swallow some water along the way, but that’s part of learning, just make sure you don’t drown. No one learns how to ride a bicycle by reading about it, etc, you really need to get on that bicycle and get your feet on the pedals and start riding. Sure you may fall many times, but that’s part of learning. Just make sure you don’t get hit by a car. No one learns how to drive by reading about it, etc,you really need to get behind the steering wheel and start driving. Sure your engine may stall at times and die, but that’s part of learning, just make sure you don’t crash and get killed. The same goes for striving to be financially free, you can’t just read about it, you really need to do it! Sure there will be problems along the way, but that’s part of the journey. Just make sure you apply what you have learned from others, fo llow your principles, values, and have good old common sense!

 

Cheers!

Allan

P.S.   Dear Readers, I hope you learned something new today and realized that financial freedom is indeed possible.  My hope is that you get closer and closer to it every day.

P.P.S.   Quick update on the launching of my Rich Money Habits guide ebook — I have both good news and bad news for you.  Bad news — all 10 slots for my special bonus to get a chance to play Cashflow 101 board game with me and my wife live have already been taken.  If you’re one of the lucky 10, you will receive an email invitation from me in the next few days with the event details.  The good news — I’m extending the 50% special introductory price discount to those of you who haven’t claimed your discounts yet.  This extension is available until end of this week only.  After this week, the price will now go up.  Hurry, get your copy of my guide now!

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Business Life Updates Make Money Online Money Mindset Personal Finance

Rich Money Habits Ebook Guide is Now Live!

Just a super-quick update.  My very first ebook guide Rich Money Habits – 8 Ways To Shift Your Money Habits and Be Rich is now available.  You can check it out at this link:

http://www.richmoneyhabits.com

WARNING: There’s a time-sensitive early-bird bonus for the first 10
who buy the ebook.  Special introductory price is only available in
the next 72 hours.

To your success!
Allan

P.S. If for any reason, you are unable to access the link above,
you can go directly to the following link:

http://www.richmoneyhabits.com/rich-money-habits-8-ways-to-shift-your-money-habits-and-be-rich/

Categories
Investing Personal Finance real-estate Story

Interview With Millionaire Real-Estate Investor Eden April Alemania-Dayrit

Hey guys! First off, I’d like say THANK YOU SO MUCH for the overwhelming response to the recent Rich Money Habits survey.  I am learning a lot from your feedbacks. Rest assured, I am going through each and every one of your responses.  This way, I get to understand what kind of financial information you are looking for so I know how best to help you. So keep them coming! 🙂

In fact, I have already gone through some of your feedbacks and a lot of them are requests to have more features on real-life inspirational people or leaders who set good examples in building wealth. 

To give you an idea, here are some of the responses to the survey question “What improvements would you like to see in the Rich Money Habits Series?”

“I would like to read about real life experiences of those who have successfully implemented the habits to wealth”
                                              – from Rod of Gensan, Philippines

“More examples of true to life stories. Testimonies.”
                                              – from Leo of Manama, Bahrain

The really great news is we have a very timely feature for your today to address this overwhelming request from our readers.  Lucky for you, I managed to get hold of the young real-estate investor millionaire, Eden April Alemania-Dayrit for an interview here at Rich Money Habits. 

I met Eden last year when my wife and I tried to invest in a private-lending deal for a real-estate property.  We partnered with Eden on that deal.  We have since gotten back our investment with the agreed upon interest income and we are very very happy with the outcome.  Through that deal, I have known how trustworthy Eden is, and that’s why I am very happy to have Eden featured here at Rich Money Habits. 

Without further ado, here’s my interview with Eden April Alemania-Dayrit.

1)  Tell us a little bit about yourself.  What were you busy with before you discovered real-estate investing?

I am a chemical engineer by profession who worked for semiconductor companies handling sustaining operations in manufacturing lines. Thinking that I will be an employee in the long run, I took up a master’s degree in Electronics Engineering. But on the last semester of the course, I decided not to finish it because that was when I began investing in real estate.

2)  What made you decide to get into real-estate investing and how did you get started? 

I got into the stock market and got burned in the mid-2007 market crash and hadn’t recovered. My boyfriend then (now my husband) and I partnered in a dimsum food stall in the place of his employment that later on included a waffle cart. It lasted for 6 months and we realized that food business is not our forte.

While still employed, I read books like Rich Dad Poor Dad and Think Rich Pinoy. These books inspired me to look beyond employment and pursue the path of entrepreneurship. We bought our first piece of real estate — a condominium unit in Taguig where we now live in. To save on acquisition cost, I applied as an agent. Little did we know that it was our spring board in our real estate career.

If I didn’t know how to cut my losses on other businesses early on, I wouldn’t have been in real estate investing.

3)  Can you share with us the story of your first real-estate investment property?

It was a Quezon City townhouse. We bought it from a bank at 50% off market value through an auction and paid a downpayment of 20%. It was then sold at 70% market value on a flexible term scheme (rent-to-own) after 7 weeks of acquisition.

4)  Can you give us an idea about the process you go through before you decide to invest in a real-estate property?

The real estate investing process is actually very simple. Find, fund, fix, sell then profit. But the real issue that most people have a hard time on is the thought process and deciding when to actually jump. I did the unthinkable — I quit my stable job. And that made it easy for me to decide to pursue the first property because I basically put everything at stake. It was a "now or never" decision that pushed me to do well. (Though I don’t advise people to do the same because that decision also had repercussions like I couldn’t take on a loan because I didn’t have a job that the bank requires to have that forced me to take on investors at the very beginning.)

5)  What’s the most important habit you’ve learned so far that really helped you in your real-estate investing?

I learned to listen to mentors. I am a stubbornly independent person and I find it hard to do things if I don’t do them my way. But when I agreed to be under my mentors’ wing, I had no choice but to follow because I believed in what they taught me. I listened intently until I learned the ropes in real estate investing. Until I learned it well, I then improvised. I still am stubborn, but I use that trait to stubbornly pursue the deals that I am getting into.

6)  If you can start your real-estate investing all over again, how would you do it differently, and why?

I’ve made a few mistakes along the way. Sometimes I wished that I could’ve asked for a higher price for a property or wished I didn’t buy a certain property. I sometimes thought that I should’ve set my criteria higher in selecting tenants. But these things were easily remedied and didn’t hurt a lot because I’ve set contingencies too. So if I could’ve done it all over again, I will still do what I’ve done because the small mistakes made me a better real estate investor now.

7)  Why do you think you’ve succeeded in real-estate investing at such a young age while many others struggle to even get started?

I’d say that age doesn’t have to do with it. It just so happened that I started earlier.

The main factor that hinders a lot of people from succeeding is one’s mindset. I always say that every basic thing that you need to know about real estate investing are all in the books. And you will learn along the way some techniques that will be useful. But all these will go to waste if one’s mindset is not on the right track.

This may sound funny but believe me, work on your mindset, get educated on the business and everything will fall into place.

8)  What advice can you give to our dear readers who want to get into real-estate investing?

I get a few questions like, “We are looking at the same lists in banks and newspapers, how do you spot good deals?” I’d always say, start by familiarizing yourself with the prices of properties for sale or sold in your own area or the area you want to focus on. Walk around the neighborhood and ask around, network with brokers and look at online sites where these properties are posted. Naturally, the opportunity will present itself in the form
of undervalued properties for sale or of neighbors seeking your help in selling their property.

I describe myself as a perennial student because I continually enroll in classes for self improvement. Invest on yourself by attending courses or seminars specific or supplementary to real estate investing.

Seek mentors. Accelerate your learning curve by asking questions or partnering with someone who have done what you want to do.

Lastly, be persistent. Do not stop at the first sight of failure. At 24, I overcame barriers and accomplished a feat that I haven’t even dreamed of myself–all because of my persistence, and I’m sure you can too.

 

More about Eden: Eden specializes in real-estate investing through rent to own properties and dreams of helping create 1 million millionaires by 2020.  You can checkout her website at http://renttoownproperties.blogspot.com/ to find out her growing list investment properties.  If you’re searching for a house you want to invest in, Eden highly recommends checking out http://www.bahayatbp.com.

 

P.S.  Dear readers, I hope you enjoyed Eden’s story as much as I did and learned something that you can apply into your own situation.  Have you tried investing in real-estate?  How was it?  What other tips can you share based on your experience?

Categories
Business Credit Card Investing Life Updates Money Mindset Personal Finance Personal Growth

Looking ahead to 2011

Last week, I shared my reflections of the past year 2010.  Today, I’d like to share with you my personal financial goals for the coming year 2011.  This is actually my way of challenging myself by publicly declaring my goals for the coming year.

My 3 major financial goals this year 2011

1) Create at least 3 new streams of income earning at least $100 per month each

Right now, I am still working full time at my current job as an IT consultant for a credit card company.  While I do enjoy my job, I still want to have more options.  I want to be able to one day control my income streams.  Having a job is good.  However, it is only a temporary solution to a permanent financial problem — not having enough money.

I’ve been fortunate to earn quite enough to be able to sustain me and my family and have some extra money saved every month.  The big challenge for me this year, just like in the past year, is to learn how to invest a portion of that money for my family’s future.

I don’t exactly know what the 3 income streams will be.  One thing is for sure — for this year, I’d like to focus on investing to generate more cashflow.  Last year, most of my investments had pretty good returns.  The only problem is, they were only capital gains. There’s no monthly cash flow.  This year, my goal is to learn to invest for cash flow and capital gains.  I’m considering putting up a business.  Or perhaps finally invest in a property and rent it out.  Or may be I can explore going into franchising.  I will share more to you as I get clearer on how to achieve this goal.

2) Go somewhere I’ve never been to for a week, every quarter of the year.

This is my way of growing myself.  I feel I haven’t grown that much personally and haven’t widen my horizon for the past year.  This year, I want to go somewhere I’ve never been to. Either in the Philippines or outside.  I’d like to experience and learn new things to keep my hunger alive.  I’d like be able to share exciting stories.  I’d like to be able to know what it feels like to discover and be amazed again.

As I shared last week, I was able to travel to Bohol with my wife last December.  It realy felt good just doing nothing, hearing the soothing sound of the waves while trying to relax in a hammock by the beach.  Working in a fast-paced IT and financial services industry sometimes takes its toll on my mind and body.  I feel I need to freshen up every once in a while to stay sharp and energized.

3) Weigh no more than 85kg at any time of the year.

It’s been one of my greatest struggles every year to keep my weight down.  I am getting sick quite often the past year.  I can’t go on and blame my work or my lack of time for exercise.  I know that it’s just a matter of building new habits in terms of my overall health.  Eat right. Get some exercise.

So this year, I want to be able to maintain my weight to a more manageable level — no more than 85 kgs.  It will take some time, but I’m ready for it. Let’s bring it on! 🙂

I know goals #2 and #3 don’t look like a financial goal at all.  They seem more to do with personal development than money.  I totally agree, it looks that way.  And it’s the way I prefer it.  I personally think it is very important to take care of my mind and body in my journey to financial freedom.  As I’ve described in one of my articles, your health is more important than your money.  Without it, none of your other financial riches really matter.

2011 Goals for Rich Money Habits

My goal for Rich Money Habits is to be more consistent in posting new articles — at least one per week.  As I share my thoughts to you, I gain more clarity.  The clearer I am with the things I want, the nearer I am to my goals.

Here are some of the things I’ve been thinking as I was doing some planning for Rich Money Habits this year.

– create more useful articles
– find more ways to reach out to more people
– find more ways to help you in your financial goals
– launch a product that helps you manage your money better
– redesign blog so you can navigate it easily

As you might have probably guessed, most of my goals above are still in the works.  And quite general, if you might add.  I still don’t know what exactly I am going to do.  But I think the important thing is to use these goals to remind myself what I need to focus on — helping you.  Everything else is secondary.

Cheers to an exciting year ahead!

Categories
Life Updates Personal Finance

Looking back

It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted something here at Rich Money Habits.  To begin the year right, I thought it would be a good idea to look back and share with you my reflections of the past year 2010.

Overall, last year was an exciting adventure with a lot of ups and downs, unforgettable experiences, new friends met and lessons learned. 

For now, however, I’d like to focus on how I did with my financial goals last year.  There were 3 main financial goals I listed at the start of the year: 1) Buy a house,  2) Invest 20% of my income, and 3) Be physically fit (i.e. weigh 80 kgs by end of the year).

Buy a house

 

Ever since we got back from our 2 and half year stint in Malaysia as an OFW, my wife and I have been searching for our own house.  We searched…and searched…and searched for months and months, but with no luck.  The single-detached house we are dreaming of seem too far out of reach.  The only houses that we like are either so far away from our place of work or just too pricey for our budget.

We also like a clean and peaceful neighborhood where we can walk around at night after having dinner, holding hands, reflecting about life and the blessings you received throughout the day.

One Sunday, my wife and I along with my in-laws checked out Rosewood Pointe in Taguig City, a few minutes from Bonifacio Global City.  After we looked at Rosewood Pointe in Taguig, our interest was picked.  It looked like a really nice resort!

No, we didn’t buy a condo in Rosewood Pointe. 

Better, a new project was being launched that time, a nearby mid-rise condo similar to Rosewood Pointe.  It looked promising.  We asked for a quotation on a 2-bedroom unit. It was nice and the model unit looked really great.  Of course, this is expected since it is staged but it really felt a lot like our dream house. 

Yes, it is not single detached but the ambiance felt really good.  The clean air, the playground, the walkways.  It feels great just being able to enjoy the simple things in life. Everything is relaxing and it’s not too far away from our place of work.

The rest, as they say, is history.  We finally decided to buy and pay the down payment.  Unfortunately, the unit won’t be ready until April 2012.  I know, it’s still a long time before we get to enjoy it.  But it’s ok, we’re not in a hurry.

Invest 20%

Ever since I had extra money, one of the financial challenges I’ve faced has been to learn how to invest more of the money I have.  My wife and I initially targeted 20% of our income to be invested for our future. 

Stocks

I started investing in the Philippine Stock Market February last year after opening an account with CitisecOnline.  The gains have been extraordinary so far.  My stocks are all up at an average of 22%.  Some even went high up to 55%.  I admit, this is NOT because of my investing genius.  It’s more a matter of luck than anything else. As you may have heard, the Philippine Stock Market has been in upward trend and breached all time highs last year.  It looks like this will continue on this year, so this is something I am looking forward to in the coming year.

Real-Estate

This is something I tried to get into last year.  The first deal my wife and I went into was a private lending deal on a 2-bedroom property.  My wife and I were very lucky that we partnered with a very trustworthy investor.   Our money earned quite a bit @ 1% per month for 4 months.  It’s actually a great deal compared to it sitting idly in the bank.  We would have preferred something that generated additional cashflow but getting the extra cash is nothing to complain about.  In the process, I also met a lot of great people doing real-estate investing and I hope to continue learning more on this area again next year.

Internet Marketing

Last year, I learned the intricacies of internet marketing through Jomar Hilario’s Online Mentoring Club.  This has been an eye opener for me precisely because it’s something I am comfortable with (at least the internet part).  I’ve been working in the IT industry for the last 8 years so I am comfortable with the technology side of this business. However, I practically had zero knowledge about the marketing part. 

Good thing I chanced upon Jomar Hilario’s 1 Year Online Mentoring Club.  It literally took my blog to the next level. This blog finally got an audience after applying what I learned from the mentoring club.  The great part is hearing your warm and kind appreciation to the articles.  It’s one of the reasons I decided to get back to blogging after 3 months of not posting a single article.  So, thank YOU for inspiring me to keep on blogging!

Be physically fit – weigh 80 kgs by Dec 2010.

I failed. Miserably.  I not only missed the weight goal.  I even went heavier. Ouch!  No, I won’t tell you how much I weigh now.  It’s too embarassing. 🙂

Worse, I again got sick at the end of the year.  Just when I am supposed to be enjoying my vacation.  Because my body has not been getting the rest, exercise and nutrition it needs, I suffered another attack of colds during the holidays. 

The sad thing is not being able to enjoy and celebrate with your loved ones because you are sick. 

Last month, my wife and I went to Bohol to celebrate our wedding anniversary.  Instead of enjoying the great outdoors with my wife, I was at the hotel  nursing my worsening colds most of the time.  I tried very hard to get out of bed and enjoy the Bohol tour and island hopping for my wife’s sake but it seemed it worsened my sickness even more.

A week after, I still have that nasty cold.  I know I should have gone to the doctor.  Instead, I went on a long 10-hour trip to my hometown in Ilocos.  There’s no time to rest.  I have to be home to celebrate Christmas with my parents and siblings. 

With only a few days to spare, I also had to be back again in Manila to celebrate New Year with my in-laws.  It felt like going to a mini-Amazing Race while nursing a stubborn cold that won’t go away.

My mom even kidded me that I was allergic to vacation, because as soon as I left work and went for vacation, I got that nasty cold.

This year, I feel like I really need to put some effort in protecting my overall fitness. The pressure from work won’t go away.  But I need to put in the time to exercise which I rarely did in 2010. I also need to watch out what I am eating. 

Most of the time, my wife and I are too tired to cook after getting off from work.  So we end up eating fast food.  Worse, we even call a delivery in the middle of the night. This added another extra pound into my already bulging stomach.  This has got to stop. There has to be a better way.

Rich Money Habits

Last year was really great for this blog. 
There were a lot of new things that happened. First and foremost, the year was a huge leap from total non-existence to the surge of the number of readers of this blog.  It felt really good being able to reach and help someone you’ve never met before in your life.  Some of you even expressed your appreciation by your kind comments to the articles in this blog.

The Rich Money Habits Newsletter was also born.  The 8-part Rich Money Habits article series is available fore FREE!  If you still haven’t received it, subscribe now! 

It was also the first time that I saw earnings from Google adsense.   This blog has also received affiliate income both from Bo Sanchez’  Truly Rich Club and Jomar Hilario’s workshops. It feels great to receive these blessings however small the amount.  It’s a great start.

The sad this is that I lost steam the last 3 months of the year.  I hardly written any new articles.  It was both a case of getting busy at my full-time work as well as losing motivation due to laziness.  It’s easier to just sit in front of the TV and watch your favorite show.

In a way, the past 3 months was a good thing.  It allowed me to reassess why I am doing what I am doing in this blog.  It gave me time to really focus on the things that really matter – helping you build better money habits. 

 

There were a lot more things that happened during the year but for now, I really just want to let you know that I am back.  And what better way to say that than writing my very first article of the year.

That’s it for now.  Next time I’ll tell you more about my goals for this coming year and what to expect here at Rich Money Habits.  Again, thank you for making year 2010 truly wonderful!

Categories
Life Updates Personal Finance

Happy New Year!

I would like to take this time to wish you and your family a very exciting and happy new year ahead! 

May 2011 be your most fruitful year ever, not only financially, but also in all other areas of your life – healthy mind and body, loving family and friends, rich and happy life full of meaning.

Cheers!

Categories
Life Lessons Money Mindset Personal Finance

How To Budget Your Money Without Feeling Guilty

One of the hardest problem I’ve encountered when I started managing my own money is the idea of budgeting.  I’ve tried to “discipline” myself by not spending more than my budget, but I have never been able to make it work.

When buying stuffs, I would feel really guilty spending the money that I would no longer be able to enjoy what I bought.  When I don’t spend at all, however, I would feel deprived thinking what’s the point of having money if you can’t even allow yourself to buy simple things you can enjoy.

Budgeting Ineffectively

In one of my attempts at budgeting my money, I purchased a mini notebook to jot down my daily expenses, and after the 3rd day, I forgot to bring my notebook with me to the office.  The next couple of weeks, I completely forgotten all about it.  I just went on and attempted to save as much as I can on anything and everything I can get my hands into. 

I also tried to create a spreadsheet to track my expenses but it was too tedious and it always seemed more of a guessing game than anything else.  I would guess how much I spent for this and for that.  And somehow, I would always find a way to tweak the numbers just so it would look good.    

Until finally, I discovered a neat trick that has not only helped me track my expenses but it’s so easy to implement I can do it in just 5 minutes a month.  Yes, that’s per month!  It is based from the Secrets of the Millionaire Mind book by Harv Eker which
was also described quite articulately by my good friend Jay in one of his articles.

How To Budget Without Feeling Guilty

Here’s the idea.  Create 5 separate buckets (or bank accounts if you can).  Each bucket or account would receive a set percentage for all income that comes into your life. 

Here’s what the 5 accounts look like for me.

1) FFA (20%) – Financial Freedom Account  
2) LTS (35%) – Long Term Spending         
3) EXP (20%) – Expenses             
4) FUN (15%) – Fun and Personal Growth           
5) GOD (10%) – Tithes

Whenever I receive any money either through my paycheck, or a gift, or anything, I would distribute it according to the set percentage by doing fund transfers to my other accounts.  Best of all, I can do everything in only a couple of minutes through online banking.  That’s it. 

Here’s the cool part.  After allocating my money to the different accounts, whatever is left in my ATM account would be my EXP (expenses) & FUN (fun & personal growth) for the month.  This money is supposed to be spent.  This fund allows me the freedom to enjoy and not feel guilty about spending.  The funds from my other accounts, serve a different purpose.

A Closer Look On Each Account

Before I proceed, I would like to take this time to explain my budget allocation so you can have some ideas on how you can apply it to your own situation.

FFA is 20%.  This is mostly for investments which my wife and I are not expecting to use in the short term (ie. in the next than 5 years).  Since I don’t have any debts, this fund is accumulating every month until we find a good investment we can invest on.  Once it goes in, this money will only be spent to be invested for future earnings.  It will NOT be spent away for any other reason whatsoever.

LTS is 35%.  This percentage is quite high because my wife and I are preparing to purchase our own home in the next 1 to 3 years.  We know that we would need a huge amount of money to pay for it.  The amount also includes money to pay for a car in the near horizon.  Note that this is separate from our FFA or investment accounts since our home is NOT necessarily an investment vehicle that give us a monthly cashflow, unless we decide to rent it out.

EXP is 20%.  This is where my wife and I are very fortunate. Our transportation expense is practically negligible since we just walk our way from our home to the office.  Our water expense is also not that much considering it’s just the two of us using the water.  The most we use it for is in doing the laundry.  We’ve also been able to bring down our electricity cost after limiting the use of our air conditioner. It turns out, we can actually make do with just the fan at night. I know these are just little things, but when you realize that we are saving a little amount each day, it translates to a relatively significant amount at the end of the year. 

FUN is 15%.  This is where the exciting part begins.  This is the solution to the feeling guilty part.  This fund is supposed to be spent for pleasure.  Take a vacation.  Go for a spa.  Buy a good book to read.  Attend a personal growth seminar.  Buy that cool phone you’ve always wanted.  The possibility is endless. And YOU CAN have it as long as it is from this fund.  Having been accustomed to saving for quite some time, my wife and I sometimes struggle to spend the money away.  Strange I know.  But sometimes, it feels like you want to get more out of it.  It’s no longer the material product that you want, but the experience.  That’s why my wife and I have been planning more vacations lately to go to places we’ve never been to before.  Nothing too fancy or expensive. Just the thought of learning new things to keep the hunger alive.

GOD is 10%.  This is one area I am still working on.  I’d be honest.  I sometimes feel like 10% is too much.  Other times, I feel I am not giving more.  At this point, the fund is still accumulating.  This is actually one part I’ve been wanting to put some time planning on.  Maybe I’ll throw everything in in one go someday.  I need practice to give more.  Maybe I’ll just take one day at a time.  Being generous with my money is still something
I’m relatively new at.

This budgeting strategy is really simple and easy to do.  However, keep in mind that this is just a guide.  You can change the allocation to cater to your own situation.  For example, if you have some debts, you use all your FFA savings to pay for your debt.  Your freedom day would be the day you completely pay off all your debts.  If you haven’t saved for emergency fund yet, you can also use the FFA to fund it for you.  Note that it is money that should NOT be spent any other way.

If you are living on 110% of your income, try to make more money so you can save some.  Or save on things you would not necessarily need so you could at least bring your expenses down to 90% and allocate the 10% to your other accounts.  In any case, start with something.  There’s nothing stopping you to make your dreams a reality.  But you do have to take action.

That’s all for now.  Enjoy budgeting your money without feeling guilty. 🙂