MONEY TALK: 5 steps that may help students (actually anyone) become rich (Part 1)

So, last night I saw this post by a member of investment-related discussion facebook group Investing in the Philippine Stock Market - Tips and Tricks about the 5 S's to a successful, wealthy life. 

There's no guarantee that by following these you'd get rich like Manny Pacquiao (mag-boksing ka na lang hehe) or Mark Zuckerberg (learn to do programming or code!) but being a living proof of someone who's been observing and doing these 5 S's since I was in elementary, I think I can say that these 5 S's MAY help students - struggling financially or simply born with golden spoons - achieve a wealthy life in the future.

I may not entirely agree that doing these 5 's will lead you to success, as success is not wholly about money. Yes, money is important in this world, but it does not equate to success. 

Success, as I quote Jenny Garrison from the movie Fame, is:

There are some things success is not. It's not fame. It's not money or power. Success is waking up in the morning so excited about what you have to do that you literally fly out the door. It's getting to work with people you love. Success is connecting with the world and making people feel. It's finding a way to bind together people who have nothing in common but a dream. It's falling asleep at night knowing you did the best job you could. Success is joy and freedom and friendship. And success is love.

Now, back to the 5 S's of getting rich - err, richer than what you have in the past. :) It's funny because I had done these already when I was young and I am still continuing doing these up to now.

1. SAVE HARD. STUDY HARDER.

It's important that you save. Just think about this. Life is very fragile; you'll never know when something bad will happen to you or to someone close to you. 

Would you want that by the time you get admitted for dengue fever because of too many lamok in school, all your parents' savings have already been used up for hospital bills and medications? Would you want your parents to go approach their relatives and even resort to appealing to Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office or to corrupt government officials, begging for financial support? Would you want to have to let go of someone because you can't afford the meds needed? Diba ayaw mo nun? 

Image Source: Trading Pub

Because seriously shit happens (in some place, at some time, a mother has lost her newborn child to sepsis/malnutrition because she didn't have enough money to bring her to the hospital or she didn't have enough to provide for her needs as a child-bearing woman), and this shit can happen to anyone. Diba ayaw mo ng shit?

Then why not join your parents in saving; or at least, if  they're not into saving, start from yourself? Start saving.

When I was young, a lot of health disasters have happened. My sibling was brought to the hospital for dengue; my papa had heart and respiratory problems. My mom turned out to be hypertensive. My brother had a skin disease.

These events scared the hell out of me; I was scared to lose them. I was scared that I won't see them when I become successful as a person. So, I did start saving - kahit piso-piso lang.

Starting to save is hard, lalo na maraming gadgets at lakwatsa hotspots ang uso ngayon, but mind you, these are just temptations. There will be time for gadgets (mabilis bumagsak presyo ng gadgets hehe) and lakwatsa; it's just there! In fact, it took me 7 years to finally get a  DSLR and pursue photography.

Just think, you are running out of time to save your loved ones from any bad thing that may happen. This is not about embracing the pessimistic  view of everything, but it's about doing your best to prevent what can be prevented and mitigate any untoward damages.

For now, save hard and study harder!

BUT, I'm not saying that you'd have to miss opportunities to bond with your friends. You can! Of course, it's important to socialize and meet new people, and maintain contact with them, 'cause we are social animals; we'll need someone, at some point in our lives. We need friends. So, enjoy hanging out with friends! Splurge into yummy cuisine every once in a while. Don't forget to continue saving. And of course, continue studying.

It's the best thing we can give our parents right now. Graduate, with or without flying colors, while having saved money, just in case of emergency. Siyempre, it's better din if we graduate with flying colors diba?

Teka ang haba na pala, I continued with Part 2 HERE (wala pa) hehe.

P.S. If you're interested in reading more life-based money stories, here are some of them:
Two financial lessons I learned from Mama and Papa when I was a kid
5 Awesome Tips to Help your Parents in your Finances

MONEY TALK: 5 steps that may help students (actually anyone) become rich (Part 2)

This is part 2 of my article "MONEY TALK: 5 ways that may help students (actually anyone) become rich". PART 1 (the shorter one) of the article is found HERE po.  I felt tired last night writing down my thoughts (I fell asleep ahaha, and continued when I woke up); they were rushing at lightning speeds I wasn't able to keep the pace.

So, aside from saving, ano pa nga ba ang pwede mong gawin bilang estudyante o di kaya'y nasa 20s or 30s gaya ko? Heto ang ilan pa sa mga S na pwede nating gawin para maging mas mayaman o makaahon sa hirap. Tandaan, mas okay na naghihirap ngayon kesa naman sa naghihirap pa din sa hinaharap (lalo na mas okay mga gadgets nun at mas cool ang mga lakwatsa areas hehe).

2. SETTLE YOUR DEBT (UTANG). OR DON'T MAKE UTANG (OWE SOMEONE) AT ALL!

In the world of finance, debt or utang is something, usually money or pera, that is owed or due. It means it's something that needs to be paid in time. So, in short, responsibilidad natng bayaran yun!

Hence, as early as possible, unless in case of emergencies should you owe money to someone, pay them, kasi 'pag nakakalimutan, dun talaga nagkakaproblema. Promise.

Settle your debt so that in the future, when the rich/er you meets your creditor (pinagkakautangan mo), di na mababawasan naipon mo (or mayaman ka na, you can throw  away money at his/her face, lol). Again, I'm reminding you; money is not everything. It could buy mansions, cars, jewelry, but not friends, not relatives, and not love.

As for me, I always made sure that I don't owe money from someone unless I really needed the money; I don't use credit cards because sometimes the interests when payment time's up are really cash-strapping. Sino ba pinayaman mo because of credit? Edi yung mga banks.

3. START YOUR OWN BUSINESS.

You may be young, or naive, but there's no excuse for you to begin this journey - starting your own business. Kahit gaano pa yan kaliit, basta you know how it's run. Printing business? Blogging? Mini sari-sari store? Pwede yan!! Baking? Selling old stuff  (Sulit lang?)? Repairing laptops/desktop computers? Push mo yan!

Anything that would help you earn money is better than doing nothing! Just make sure you know what you're doing and that you won't be put to danger by doing it.

I've read experiences of young people failing in their ventures or businesses; that's the reason for starting - to learn as early as you can, as fast as it  could be, and as much as you want. But, I've also heard of very successful young people, e.g. Mark Zuckerberg, who started from scratch and continued learning and committing mistakes until they mastered their craft, and where are they now? They're the biggest success stories of the decade. :D

The more money you have, the higher the possible returns! So, uulitin ko, start saving now hehe. A saving of piso a day or 365 pesos a year is better than having none at all, by December 31, right?

4. START INVESTING.

Investing has helped me managed my time wisely and do really intense research (of company stocks I wanted to own). Again, investing is never easy, but once you've learned a lot and made mistakes,

How do you start investing? Well, first you gotta have a lot of money - at least 5k PHP. Once you already have such amount, kindly message me thru spotlightphilippines@yahoo.com.ph and I'll teach you how. Or watch Pesos and Sense, before you join the stock market via COL Financial. As of this moment, you can choose your stocks on your own online or let a fund manager choose stocks for you (via mutual fund). :)

Or, or, or. You may search google, and type "how to invest in PH stock exchange". The steps are really easy. You just have to fill up some form, prepare the money, get a TIN (tax identification number) from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) office nearest you, deposit the minimum 5k to your account, and voila, you may start RESEARCHING your ideal stocks and INVEST. :)

At an early age, you can also protect your family from income loss by insuring your health so that when something bad happens to you, your dependents in the future won't have to suffer hard.

5. SHARE. GIVE BACK.

You may have all the money in the world, but what purpose does it serve if you're unable to help people or the younger ones reach their dreams right? I cannot say I'm already successful right now. I cannot say I am rich right now, because to be honest I am not; I'm still relying on my parents but at a very minimal cost. And I am continuously, with perseverance, doing the 5 simple steps to get to the path that only a few realize - the path to financial freedom.

By blogging about this post, I'm able to share my ideas and my realizations in the past. Money is important, but again, it's not all there is in this world. There's happiness, freedom, and again, love. However, the feeling is way better when you get the best of both worlds (material things and intangible memories hehe).

Apart from blogging, I also give back on my birthday by providing meals to street children. Shhh, now you know. But you don't know me, hehe. So, let's just say na may mga tao pa rin palang ganun; and mind you, maraming ganito ka kind na mga tao! Yes, you're right, faith in humanity is restored. :))

P.S. If you're interested in reading more life-based money stories, here are some of them:
Two financial lessons I learned from Mama and Papa when I was a kid
5 Awesome Tips to Help your Parents in your Finances

Repost: Ranks of poor workers rising in Philippines - while dwindling in China, Vietnam

MANILA - Poor workers in other Asian countries are escaping poverty with greater success than their counterparts in the Philippines, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board.

"It is really not enough that we provide jobs to Filipinos, but more importantly, these should be quality jobs to ensure that they have enough income to eventually move out of poverty. Ang hirap naman na nagtatrabaho ka na nga, tapos mahirap ka pa rin!" said Jose Ramon G. Albert, NSCB secretary general.

According to Albert, the proportion of employed Filipinos living on less than $1 per day stood at 27.2 percent in 2006, higher than the 18.7 percent in 2003. In 1991, the country's working poor comprised 37.1 percent of the population.

The Philippines has more poor workers than Vietnam, where 20.4 percent were considered in the same situation in 2006, down from 22.7 percent in 2004 and 71.5 percent in 1995. China’s working poor comprised 73.1 percent of the population in 1992, then went down to 18.3 percent in 2005. 

"In both these countries, the share of employed persons in agriculture, forestry, and hunting has been decreasing while the share of those in manufacturing has been increasing. In other words, the poor (from agriculture) managed to exit from poverty by getting better employment," Albert said, referring to the situations in Vietnam and China.

The Philippine manufacturing sector has suffered a declining share of total employment, with the services sector taking up the slack, Albert said.

Where are the Filipino working poor employed? According to Albert, poor Filipinos were still working in agriculture, forestry and hunting as of 2006 and 2009.

"Our country’s poor, largely in the agriculture sector, need to improve their incomes, perhaps by getting non-farm incomes," Albert said, adding that 59.3 percent of the working poor had finished only primary school at the most. 

"However, we would still think that they could get absorbed into manufacturing which may give them better wages, or, get engaged in trade," Albert said.

The NSCB chief said the Philippines’ unemployment rate of 7 percent in 2011 is the highest among neighboring countries: Thailand, 0.7 percent; Vietnam, 2 percent; Malaysia, 3.1 percent; China, 4.1 percent; and Indonesia, 6.6 percent.

"Further, there is a remarkable transition of employment structure among the six Asian countries above from agriculture sector to manufacturing and other sectors between 1994 and 2011," Albert said. 

He said poverty incidence in Vietnam went down to 16.9 percent in 2008 from 63.7 percent in 1993, while China's slid to 13.1 percent in 2008 from 60.2 percent in 1990.

"Specifically, the poor are concerned about looking for jobs (if they don’t have jobs) or better paying ones (if they do). They want higher income, and certainly, they look forward to lower prices of commodities to improve their living conditions. The government recognizes this, and has thus decide to focus its development thrust for 2011-2016 on inclusive growth, characterized by sustained high growth, mass employment, and poverty reduction. This includes the promotion of full employment and decent work for all," Albert said.

"However, this thrust of ‘development for all’ continues to be a big challenge. Despite socioeconomic gains and positive growth in the Philippines’ gross domestic product, the headcount poverty rate and other indicators of poverty have almost remained unchanged for almost a decade – poverty incidence among the Filipino population ranged between 24.9 to 26.5 percent during the 2006 to 2009 period," he added.

The Philippine economic growth averaged 4.7 percent since 2000. In the first half of this year, the economy grew by 6.1 percent, at the high end of the government's 5-6 percent full-year target.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Baliscan had said the "big challenge" for the Philippines is to address the quality issue because underemployment has remained “quite high.”

"The manufacturing sector really has to be revived because that's where a lot of quality employment [can be created]," he said.

Article Source: Darwin G. Amojelar, InterAksyon