Here’s an article I wrote for my column at the Business Mirror a year ago, just thought of sharing this once more.

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Confession of a Financial Planner

MY wife Mia and I went on a date last night. Since my wife loves to watch movies and since the secret to a happy life is a happy wife, I instinctively knew she would prefer watching a movie.

I thought she would prefer watching the John Lloyd Cruz-Sarah Geronimo movie so I was trying to psyche myself to watching it, but I was so delighted to find out she wanted to watch something else. My wife knew I’m not a big fan of those movies so she wanted to watch something else for my sake. That’s one of the many reasons I love my wife so much—so unselfish! Not wanting to be a total jerk by asking her to watch an action movie, I suggested to meet half-way. As a result, we ended up watching the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic. I was actually intrigued by it because my daughter Gabbie said it was a great movie while another daughter Billie liked the book.

How was the movie? It was awesome! In fact, I urge everyone reading this to watch the movie. Watching it is like attending a financial-literacy seminar, only more amusing, more relevant and actually more effective.

The plot revolves around a character named Rebecca Bloomwood (brilliantly portrayed by Isla Fisher) who has an exaggerated spending problem and ends up being a columnist for a personal-finance magazine. The main character represented many of us, albeit in a humorously exaggerated way. We live in a society that is afflicted with a debilitating disease called “consumerism.” This burden has manifested itself in a “spending problem,” resulting in many of us  living a debt-ridden life—a life that robs us of true freedom and of victory.

As a financial planner myself, I was endeared with the character in the movie. Her column gives out a lot of practical and great personal advice and has a lot of followers, despite her financial life being in complete havoc. Well, I wouldn’t say I’m exactly like Ms. Bloomwood in the sense that I don’t really have a shopping addiction, and I’m not too sure if I do have many followers. While my financial life is not in havoc, it is far from being ideal.

Many times, I find myself “preaching” to myself whenever I write or speak. It’s not very wise for someone like me to say that I don’t have an “ideal” financial life, but I want people to know that I, too, experience the difficulties of putting my financial life in order. I went through a lot of mistakes that I have been trying to rectify. I was also afflicted with a spending problem that nearly left me in ruins. I made so much mistakes I later on regretted, which I wrote about in this column many months ago. But I learned from those mistakes and I am in a very long process of rectification. What is crucial is the realization of one’s problems and the resolution to learn from them, and have a lasting solution for them.

I do not only write or speak from a theoretical point of view. I am writing from painful personal experiences. We can’t “undo” many things we have done, but it doesn’t matter anymore as what’s done is done. Like anything in our lives, we must learn to stand when we fall. In doing so, we become more resilient, stronger and, most important, wiser.

Here’s a wise advice: To really fix a problem, go to the source of the problem. When I found myself with a financial burden, I tried many ways to “fix” it but I noticed that while some of those remedies worked, most of them did not permanently solve the problem. Like the many “solutions” we try, I found myself applying mostly short-term or “Band-Aid” solutions.

If we have a financial problem or a spending problem, we should determine the root cause of the problem. Is it the lack of income or the way we spend? Why do we spend the way we spend? In my case, I got into a financial mess because I had a “want” issue: I wanted this, I wanted that. It wasn’t just with me, it was with my family, too. But it was a “want” problem nonetheless.

Over the years, my “wants” became bigger and bigger and I found myself doing everything just so I can satisfy my “wants.” It didn’t really feel wrong at that time. In fact, some people might even say that it helped motivate me to work harder and harder. In retrospect, I now know it was very foolish of me not to have stopped my insatiable desire to want more and more. I am glad  I came into my senses and was able to curb my “want” issues. I guess those desires are still there as I am only human, but I have developed a strong willpower to overcome them.

How was I able to overcome my weaknesses? Simple. I merely reexamined what is really important in my life. Do I want to impress others because of what I have, or do I want others pleased with me because of my character? Do I want to please my family with a life that I can hardly afford and, as a result, become a preoccupied husband or father? Or do I want my family to be pleased with me because I am a real and approachable head of the family for them, always there when they need me? Do I want people to listen to me because of what I have accomplished, or do I want people to have hope that they can have a good future by learning from the mistakes that I chose not to hide?

In the end, I chose what really was more important. I chose to have a meaningful relationship with what really is important in my life—my family and my savior, Jesus Christ. In doing so, I found a permanent solution to my deeply rooted “want” problems—the cause of my financial fall.

I fell down, I stood up, but I know I’ll fall down again—all these happen because God is molding something that is very important in me: my character. “…But we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”—Romans 5:3-4 (NIV). Our character will determine our future, even our financial future.

This is my confession.

So what’s the problem with the pressures of education? Well, if we put nearly all our resources in it, we tend to neglect other things that are important, such as retirement. Let me use myself as an example. I have four kids. If I opt to send all of them to über-expensive schools at our current income level, I will not only neglect our retirement, I will be broke. My wife and I will not have resources to be able live a quality life after our kids leave the nest. As my youngest graduates, I will be retired. The pressures of financing their education will drain us to a point that as soon as I retire, my wife and I will be dependents. The question is, dependent on whom? Our kids? Isn’t that unfair to them? With the pressures of surviving, it will be severely difficult for them to take care of us while making a life for themselves. Isn’t that very irresponsible of me and my wife, as well?

Solution? Well, priorities and common sense. Yes, education is our priority as parents, but so is preparing for our own future. Let us not sacrifice our future in the guise of education. Look for balance, there are many other practical solutions. Look for schools that offer quality education without the hefty price tag. The success of a child does not come from the school but from the home. One study proved parents, grandparents and other older members of the family are better tutors than those expensive tutors or tutorial schools.

Another practical suggestion: Home School. If done properly, home schooling can help children fare better in life compared with those who went to expensive schools. Both husband and wife need to work to make ends meet; with educational costs taking a drain, it may make more sense if the wife stays home and home- schools the kids. Most mothers I speak to will often tell me that had it not been for financial pressures, they’d rather stay home and take care of their kids. Do the math: If you spend about P300,000 on education for all your kids and the mother makes just about P300,000, it is financially feasible to just home-school the kids.

Moms can take a job from the house or start a home business, as well, while taking care of kids, including their education. Fathers can help too; there are many things husbands should be doing to help wives—taking care of the kids should be up there especially when you decide to try home schooling. There are many good Department of Education-accredited home-school programs around at a fraction of the cost of normal big-school education. I’ve met a lot of home schooled kids who are doing great – smart, grounded, has great values and strong leadership. There are many successful stories around. CCF and Victory Christian Fellowship have really good home-school programs. They also have regular interactive programs that allow home-school kids to interact with each other. Imagine the savings if you home-school your kids. . . better yet, invest the money you saved from education and see it grow. . . . You will have more than enough for your retirement, for health care—with some extra to leave for your kids. Set aside part of the savings for their college education, as well, and invest it well. I guess I’ll do a follow-up article on tips on investing for the education of our kids. You can get many practical tips from http://www.income-tacts.com/ on educational investing.

Well, I did mention that I still have two more kids, Riggs and Chino, my wife and I are now home schooling them. I am sure we will be better teachers to our own children. . . so will you. Our decision to home-school our boys will allow us time to properly take care of our daughters’ college education. . . prepare for the boys’ colleges, save for retirement and hopefully enjoy quality living. It’s not good to worry, but it’s great to plan.

People say that it is quite a challenge to send our kids to school nowadays and I agree 100%!

Just how difficult is it? About 14 years ago, our eldest daughter Billie entered preschool. I can still remember her anxiety. . . how she didn’t want to be left alone in school and how she clung to her mom’s legs so tightly out of fear of her new environment. . . great memories indeed. Two years later, our second daughter Gabbie had a different experience. . . she didn’t have the fears of her ate and entered the school like a very confident little girl.

Aside from their first-day school experiences, I also remembered their tuition. My first child’s Kinder 1 tuition at her school was about P35,000, and my second daughter’s slightly increased to about P38,000. Today, me eldest daughter’s tuition is now about P 195,000 a year while my second daughter’s tuition is about P 105,000 – that’s a whopping 457% and a 176% increase respectively in a span of over a decade. These figures are not inclusive of books, uniforms, etc. — just tuition! By the way, I don’t have just 2 kids, I also have 2 more sons.

Our concern has always been about providing for our children’s educational costs and after sending kids to schools for over a decade, it doesn’t get any easier.

It’s all about priorities. Filipino parents are so admirable that they move heaven and earth just to send their kids to school. They labor, they sacrifice. . . . It is not uncommon to find deserving students in expensive schools even if their parents can’t really afford it. While that is indeed an admirable trait, it is also a big concern. Why? Many parents pour everything they have into their children’s education without really planning for themselves. The result? They will be dependent on their children in the future, an offshoot of putting everything in the education of their kids.

This is a very controversial argument. It is every parent’s concern and priority to provide for their children, education being one of them. I am not saying that parents forfeit this obligation; on the contrary, I often coach parents on how to properly prepare for education costs. But parents must put things in their proper perspective. The ability to provide for their kids’ education is commensurate with their ability to put their financial life in order. We can’t sacrifice quality living and preparation for the future in the name of our kids’ education. When it comes to expensive education, I often say “go!”, but just make sure you can truly afford it. There are preschools today that cost P200,000 or more. The sprouting of “international” schools that charge outrageous tuition is an indication of how we put value on education. I often ask myself if sending my kids to expensive schools is really worth it. Often, our finances are so drained because of education that we tend to sacrifice other areas like retirement planning, investments, etc.

Is expensive tuition really worth it? Is quality education really all about expensive schools? How much money do we spend on private tutors? We live in a culture that encourages sending our kids to schools—at a price we can hardly afford that it puts too much pressure on us parents. Sacrificing for our children’s future is admirable, and I agree with that 100 percent. But I disagree with putting our children’s hopes solely on educational institutions. Being a training professional myself, I know that the ability to teach people is not just about good teachers, materials and facilities. It’s really more than that. Honestly, did we really use what we learned in college when we started to work? Probably for doctors, dentists, lawyers. . . but for the rest of us? Hmm. Did school really prepare us for life? Do expensive, exclusive schools increase the chances of success?

There really is no way for us to validate these arguments, but there is something I am sure about. Not having gone to expensive schools will not prevent a person from being successful. How many successful people did not go to an expensive university? A lot! I often check out many executives and successful entrepreneurs for their educational background. There are just as many successful people who did not go to an expensive school as those who did….

Catch part 2 of this blog soon!

… con’t.

Let me try to quantify the 25 year cost of my subtle addiction on diet sodas. Let us assume that the cost of a can of soda today is P25.00 and on an average and I consume 2 cans a day (I go more than that). Let us also assume that the price of soda goes up by an average of 6% and the cost of money will be also at 6%. For 25 years, my addiction to diet soda will look like this:

“In medical terminology, an addiction is a chronic neurobiologic disorder that has genetic, psychosocial, and environmental dimensions and is characterized by one of the following: the continued use of a substance despite its detrimental effects…”. – Wikipedia. Addiction is often attributed to dangerous abuses such as alcohol, drugs, gambling… even shopping.

Allow me to make a confession of my addiction – diet soda. While some people will not look at drinking soda as an addiction, I still need to get off this stuff for 3 major reasons:

1) My kids – I am not setting a good example for them. We often teach our kids not to drink soft drinks because it’s not good for them. When I drink my diet soda, I am telling them that it’s ok to drink soft drinks. Fathers who smoke cigarettes have a horrible record in preventing their children from smoking. Whether we admit it or not, many of our children’s wrong behaviors were because of us parents and especially us fathers.

2) My health – diet soda or soft drinks are very unhealthy. Caffeine, sugar and sugar substitutes, etc. are clinically proven to be bad for us. Aspartame, the sugar substitute being used in diet sodas can do so much damage to our body. Imagine drinking diet soda for 20 years; it definitely will have some adverse effect on us one way or another. I am 42 now, imagine how many liters of soda I have gulped in my life.

3) My wallet – while a can of soda typically costs us about P20.00 or so (depending on where you take it), the accumulated value of this addiction can be very costly.

Let me try to quantify the 25 year cost of my subtle addiction on diet sodas. Let us assume that the cost of a can of soda today is P25.00 …

Catch part 2 soon!

This appeared in my column at the Business Mirror

A few days ago, I was walking along Orchard Road in Singapore. I was marveling at how the huge department stores on that famous road were adorned with Christmas decorations. In fact, every store in Singapore was well-decorated: Orchard, Raffles, Bugis—all the commercial areas were intricately decorated for the holidays and were all beautiful.

In a few days I’ll be off to Hong Kong. I am pretty sure that like Singapore, Hong Kong will be just as beautifully decorated for Christmas, and by this time, it will be bustling with a lot of shoppers.

Christmas was originally a Christian holiday, commemorating the birth of our Savior, yet Singapore and Hong Kong are not predominantly Christian societies. Christmas has become a holiday everyone celebrates, regardless of religious affiliation.

While walking through the shopping areas at this time of the year can be a visual treat, the density of the shoppers can be an unpleasant encounter. Sifting through department stores, boutiques and all that trying to find the right gift for your loved ones can be challenging, especially for men like me. Don’t forget the many Christmas dinners you either host or attend.

What’s more maddening for me is the price tag this holiday carries. I am sure there are many out there who have no idea how much they spend during the holidays—and this is a perpetual issue year after year. Many times, we find that we overspent for the holidays again and vow to be more prudent the next year around.

Giving gifts to people you care about is a great gesture; kindness in any form is good, in my opinion. However, one must be mindful of the cost. Does this spending hurt the budget?

Worse, do you get in debt just to celebrate Christmas? What’s the real cost of all these? Why has rabid commercialism taken over such a holy celebration? Isn’t Christmas about Christ? Do we not celebrate this season to pay homage to the birth of our Savior who gave His life so we can be saved? What’s the connection between how we celebrate Christmas with our salvation through Christ? Jesus was born with utmost humility, in a manger.

I’m not trying to be a spoilsport; I love Christmas—giving and receiving gifts, attending parties and all that. But let us always remember the true essence of Christmas—that it is about Christ, not Santa.  If we can really understand “real Christmas,” we would not need to be financially strained during the holidays.  We can’t outgive the Lord because He has already given us the best gift we can ever receive; something we just need to take—Jesus Christ. Jesus is truly the reason for the season and we need to be reminded as such year after year.

Merry Christmas to all!

“The virgin will be with Child and will give birth to a Son, and they will call him ‘Immanuel’—which means, ‘God with us.’”
—Matthew 1:23, NIV

Isn’t it great waking up to cold mornings? Lately, I find it more difficult getting up in the morning because the colder temperature makes me feel like sleeping longer than I am used to. Aaah, what a wonderful feeling!

Do you start hearing familiar tunes more and more of late? Yup, those timeless Christmas tunes are back on the airwaves and, despite how many times I have heard them, I still love listening to them. I’m not ashamed to admit it, but I still love these times as much as I did when I was a young boy eons ago.

Not everyone, however, is as cheerful as I am during these times. I was having coffee with my friend when a nice Christmas tune was played, and it made me smile. But hearing the tune had an adverse effect on my friend. Instead of enjoying, he said that whenever he hears Christmas songs, he associates them with a lot of expenses. What made me smile made him frown.

Come to think of it, many adults are not too thrilled of the holidays because of too much expenses that go with it.

Why is this so? When December steps in, many of us suddenly realize that Christmas is approaching and, almost instinctively, start to be on a buying mode and, for some, begin using their credit cards more than they used to. Somehow, the environment begins to be conducive for everyone to buy gifts, and that’s where the madness sets it. Just as Christmas bonuses are released, they get expended faster than a speeding bullet, so to speak.

Here’s my take: CHRISTMAS IS NOT AN EMERGENCY!

Why do most of us feel down during the most joyful time of the year? It’s because Christmas is a very expensive period and, deep inside us, we know that many of our expenses are not really necessary. We don’t feel any post-tuition regrets after we’ve settled our educational expenses, but many of us feel post-Christmas shopping regrets after the realization of spending too much sinks in.

Christmas expenses are not necessary, and yet, nearly every one of us is guilty of overspending year after year. We have let the pressures of society dictate over common sense. We feel that gifts and festivities are obligations, but they never really are.

If Christmas expenses are not an emergency, then what are they? They are just like any other expense that needs to be planned and budgeted. Proper and logical allocation for expenses should prevail over our mindless infatuation of wanting to conform to traditions and social pressures.

Christmas expenses are not bad, but when it starts to consume your budget, it becomes a big problem. We don’t need to equate giving gifts with how we value friends and family; we also shouldn’t equate the cost of our gifts with how much we value them. I always cringe at the idea of people buying really expensive gifts because they feel that it is a testament of how much they love or like the recipient of their gifts.

Let’s all be practical and responsible. Christmas is not an excuse to start spending our hard-earned money, and it is also not a signal for us to start being extravagant. I know people who would start buying expensive clothing during these times, saying, “OK lang, Pasko naman… minsan lang ’to.”

What does Christmas have to do with splurging? The sad thing here is that we are all aware of this madness, yet we feel powerless to prevent this from consuming us. Is that the real spirit of Christmas? Why is Christmas an excuse to buy an expensive branded jeans like Zara when one can get the same quality jeans with a local brand like Bobson?  A pair of Bobson jeans (or other local brands) will cost so much less than imported brands. Why pay more just because it is Christmas?

Why is there Christmas to begin with? Isn’t it because we want to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ? If we want to be true to the real spirit of Christmas, then let’s just be thankful that God already gave the best gift there can ever be, and all we need to do is take it. Romans 11:29 says, “For God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” Why do we need to burden ourselves unnecessarily?

It’s December! Cooler nights and mornings… christmas decors and christmas carols.

When I was a child, I have always loved the Christmas season like every other child. I have often looked forward to the season with joy, excitement and much anticipation.

I have to admit that I still have the childish feeling when it’s the Christmas season and, as a father, I love seeing my children enjoy the same excitement I had decades ago. Buying our daughters a doll house, and my sons their action figures. Reunions and all those wonderful Christmas experiences are memorable moments forever etched in my heart.

While I still have those youthful warm feelings about the Christmas season, there is one thing that us adults always have to contend with: Christmas spending.

After all the Christmas festivities have winded down, have you ever found yourself hoping that you did not have to spend as much as you did? Have you ever vowed that you’ll never spend as much again, yet you find yourself spending more again the following Christmas?

If you do, welcome to the club! But don’t despair because if you really want to curb your Christmas spending, here are some easy tips:

§          Make a priority list. Determine who should be an absolute “must” to receive a gift from you. You can set an order of priority, like spouse, children, parents, siblings, etc. While you may want to be a generous giver, you are not the fictional Santa Claus. Your boss or your officemates will not take it against you if you only give them a simple Christmas card this year, or better yet a sincere greeting. If a friend of yours will feel bad that you don’t have a gift for him/her, he/she may not be such a good friend after all, right?
§          Set a budget. I know this is not easy, but it is best that you have a budget for your Christmas spending. Determine the amount you are able to set aside and make sure that this budget will not eat up on your mandatory expenses, like rent, food and utilities. It really doesn’t make sense that you give Christmas expenses a priority over your necessary expenses. After determining your budget, you may now allocate them according to your priority list.

§          Be creative. Most people will always equate a good gift with an expensive gift. Year after year, well-meaning friends will churn out really expensive gifts which I really appreciate, but can’t reciprocate. Sometimes, I’d like to tell them that the gesture is more important than the gift. I will have the same appreciation if they gave me a card or an uber-expensive Christmas basket. It may be cliché but it’s really the thought that counts. I have a good friend who gives me the best Christmas gift year after year—an offer of prayer.

§          Never buy your gifts on credit. Don’t use your credit card, don’t buy something on “gives” and don’t use deferred payments. Buying gifts to please others and yet bury yourself into consumer debt is one of the most unwise things you can ever do. If I go home with a nice expensive gift for my wife and yet I purchased it through credit, she will definitely have an issue with it and it will really spoil the gesture. Give what you can afford, if you can’t afford it, don’t give it. I’ve always subscribed to the saying that “you can’t give what you don’t have.” Buying gifts on credit is the same banana.

My biggest advice to the readers is to remember what Christmas is all about. There was once a wonderful commercial on television where they started the ad with the photo of Santa Claus. There was an eraser and pencil that changed the photo of the jolly old Santa to the picture of the real reason for the season, Jesus Christ.

We should start thinking less of the ho ho ho’s and more of the hallelujahs! Christmas has been replaced with rabid commercialism, which has engulfed all of us. I don’t think that was what the Lord expects from us.

While there is nothing wrong with sharing the spirit of Christmas by merry-making and gift-giving, let us always remember that we can’t let social pressures affect proper personal finance management or our faith. Besides, we are already recipients of the best gift we can ever have and the Bible made it clear in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

From my good friend, the deliberate blogger Larry Uy.

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I just got off the phone with a credit card company; I’ve been trying to have one of my credit cards cancelled for almost 3 months now. Come to think of it, it is now easier to apply for one than to cancel.

I can remember the time that I had 8 credit cards to my name and I can buy a 3 series BMW with them. Credit cards are loaded weapons on the wrong hand, believe me, it was my old life….

To read on please click on:http://lawrenceuy.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/christmas-frenzy/

Here is a nice blog written by my good friend Edmund Lao. Edmund is a Registered Financial Planner and and advocate of financial literacy for Pinoys. Excellent piece, a must read. — Randell

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GUEST BLOG

The Tired,  the Retired, and the Re-Tired

By Edmund Lao

Have you ever heard employees say that they feel sick and tired of being sick and tired?  The reason they feel this way is because they have been doing the same thing over and over for years and they are still the in the same situation the day they entered the corporate world. This situation is analogous to a person running on a treadmill. No matter how long the distance shown in the odometer, he is still on the same spot. Such is the predicament of the present day employees. Sadly but with truth, Robert Kiyosaki said    that all employees are in a rat race. In a rat race, employees never get rich no matter how much they tire themselves. It is because all they know is to earn income that is directly proportional to the effort they exert. They did not learn and put into practice the methodology to increase their income passively after earning it actively. If they were able to build their wealth during their productive years, they would be able to enjoy the fruit of their labor during their golden years. In any thing that we do, we always feel relieved and indefatigable after we had achieved our target. With building our finances, for sure we would have felt the same. The only time we feel tired and frustrated is when we realize that all our effort were all spent in vain. That is how employees feel today, No matter how hard they strive, they could not make both ends meet and are always deep in debt. They always look for loan and then they work hard to be able to pay their balance due, then get a new loan again, and the cycle repeats. That is the life of the tired employees.

The Retired

For majority, retirement means the end of their corporate life. There are some who felt a sense of insecurity. On the other hand, there are some who felt they are finally granted independence from their voluntary prison cell of twenty to thirty years.  They also see this as opportunity to build their own business.

A lot of people mistakenly correlate retirement with age when in fact, retirement has something to do with personal net worth and cash flow. The sooner a person reaches his financial goals, the sooner he can retire and enjoy life. Normally, employees are retired by age 55 or 60, and assuming they have served quite a number of years, say 25 years, some enjoy the benefit of a big amount of retirement pay.

I have heard of a company that paid almost five million pesos retirement benefit to an employee after 30 years of qualified service. So to those people who regularly transfer from one company to another, it is advisable for them to do the math first before making a decision. The problem that is often encountered come retirement day is that the retiree was not qualified to the retirement pay due to limited tenure of service. Then the only source of retirement income he will receive is from SSS. Jokingly, it can be termed as Living On SSS or LOSSS (rhymes with loss).

On the other hand, the retiree who received a huge amount may want to reward himself after working hard for so long that he carelessly spent or invested all his retirement funds. His has the risk of outliving his fund and when that happens, he will be in the same shoe with that of the one who retired broke. It is not a bad idea to reward one’s self, but he has to be very careful in controlling his emotion specially the excitement of a spending spree.

The Re-tired

What if the retiree became broke after retirement? The usual thing to do is to go to his favorite orphanage institution, his children. He will now experience reality. The time he has abundance, he was the asset and favorite “visitor” of his loved ones. With his present situation, he is now an overstaying liability especially to his sons/daughters-in law. If he has wealthy children, then luck is on his side. Otherwise, he can be compared to a basketball since he will be passed on from one son to another. The former good provider to his children is now a burden to them. The children become “sandwiched” since they have to support their own children and now, their aged parents.

With this kind of scenario, the once happily retired person, out of shame, has no other option but to return to the corporate world to get rehired again (if ever he succeeds considering the competition in job hunting nowadays) and do the things a tired employee does. He is what we can call the re-tired employee because he will just duplicate what he has done as a tired employee.
Solution

From being tired to being re-tired, we can see there is a common denominator, money. Out of desperation, some opt to doing part time work other than the regular job. There are those who voluntarily work overtime as needed. Worse, there are some who resort to theft of time and money from their company. This is a common problem in the workplace.
Employees complain of inadequate pay but they do not realize that it is their lifestyle that has a bearing on their personal finance. Their lifestyle reflects a “living beyond their means” and “keeping up with the Joneses” principle.
The key is to be frugal, budget by reducing unwanted expenses, and most importantly, pay forward so that later, the retired no longer needs to be re-tired.

In order to achieve that, a correct money attitude is a must. Money is just a tool and we are the ones who should manipulate it. Early on, acquire a good habit of disciplined savings regardless of the amount.
That way, there will be a possibility that your accumulated fund may outlive you. In that case, you have the opportunity to leave a legacy to your family.

Allow me to end this article by quoting the Proverbs:

Proverbs 13:11 “Dishonest money will dwindle, but money gathered little by little will surely grow.”
Proverbs 13:22.  ”A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children”
Special thanks to my very good friend, Engr Rudy Calingo of Metrobank Head Office, General Service Groups, for coming up with the title of this article.