(This is a guest post by my little brother, LJ. LJ currently has a VUL account, a mutual fund account, a sizable emergency fund and a “gulaman” business. So proud of him! He’s currently saving up for an entrepreneurial venture in the future.)
Hi there, friend! My name is Lander John M. Laroya.
Understand that I have no right to tell you what to do with your lives; I’m just here to point out the things that I’ve learned from my sister and from her mentors. I’ll be pointing out the experiences and situations that have brought me to where I am now.
The secret of being financial free is not that hard as you think:
1. Overcome your blindness about money.
What is money?
Well, to me, money is a tool to bring goodness to yourself and to other people. You see, in the financial world, we have the choices to earn, save, spend, and donate money. We could also make a plan to become wise with our money, separating the wants and the needs.
Unfortunately, before I knew this, I had to experience this lesson and learn the hard way. When I was a bit younger, I spent all my allowance to purchase useless things: video games, cards, and even figurines! I had nothing left at the end of the month.
Here are some tips to overcome your blindness:
Make a plan for what are going to buy. Remember, planning is the key to have better choices. Have your own budget from the start.
Be happy with what you have. Other people sometimes neglect the things they have without realizing how lucky they are.
“Life is about saving and investing for success;” We are living in an ecosystem where we need to save money so that we’ll have some for our investments in order for us to survive now and in the future.
Escape from the chains of work to get some income. Make a machine (not literally, it could be a business or a carrier that will last longer for your retirement) so that you can still earn money passively.
2. Start investing in the Philippines as early as now.
Philippines was always named as the “Sick man of Asia” because of its weak performance in the economy. Today, the Philippines is now the “New Rising Tiger of Asia” because the economy is now booming. How can this improvement affect you?
Start investing right now while you’re still young and able:
Start your own business as early as now. With this, you will not only help yourself, you will also help other people to have jobs.
Invest in mutual funds or get a variable unit-linked product now. The compound interest will help your money grow and multiply!
3. Spend wisely.
Be frugal. Buy brands that have high quality that will last longer. Never choose quality over quantity.
Look for something that is similar for what are you buying.
Don’t spend it all at once place: you can get more value with your money if you look into different stores that have the same merchandise but lower prices.
4. Save wisely for short-term and invest for long-term.
Learn to save for the stormy days: you could thank yourself later by knowing that you have planned a head of time.
Save early. My sister told me to start with saving 5% of my allowance when I was just 14 years old. Now, I’m saving 20% of it because I increased the percentage slowly and steadily.
Save now so that you can have money to invest for the long-term. Remember, time is gold: the best way to ally with it is to get compound interest. The more time you let your money accumulate interest, the more return you’ll have.
Don’t just save for wants: inflation will always increase so it’s better save for the necessity also.
The most important thing to do is never stop saving, even if a lot of people are already making fun of you.
5. Aim to be financially free.
Always live below your means. You don’t need expensive stuff to be happy: having to sleep, eat, and exercise without worrying is the greatest living pleasure you will have.
Get a life insurance product with investment perks. It will not just protect you and your family. it will also make your money earn more money too.
Place your money in different funds like in the stock market, in your bank account’s time deposit account and in mutual funds.
Make an emergency fund and call it your “just in case” fund. You never know when conflicts and disaster may come.
Don’t love money! Money is just a tool so that you could live in prosperity with your love ones. Don’t love the money, love the people in your life and cherish them instead.
(You can always earn back spent money, but you can’t earn back the time spent with your loved ones.)
Did you find this post insightful? Give LJ some love by commenting below!
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Get a FREE VUL proposal (life insurance with investment benefits) – personalized and made especially for you or open a mutual fund account now. Simply fill out this form.
Get a FREE VUL proposal (life insurance with investment benefits) – personalized and made especially for you or open a mutual fund account now. Simply fill out this form.
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Want to get started managing your money/budgeting/investing? Contact me, your trusted financial advisor, through the following:
Email: liannemarthamlaroya@gmail.com
Twitter: @MsLianneLaroya
Mobile: 0916 737 8741
And we can even meet personally for a FREE financial planning session! Let me know so we can finalize a schedule that works.
If you find this post helpful, please SHARE it to your friends. Who knows, you might help them by educating them. 🙂 Thank you, wonderful people!
Live wisely,
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