“In all the research you do as a coach, studying other coaches and championship-type situations, you find that all those teams combined talent with great defense. You’ve got to stop other teams to win.” - Pat Riley
"If you dont want to get hurt in basketball, play chess instead" - Big J
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Defense! Defense! Defense!!!
Man to man defense, no easy lay-ups, no open looks, challenge the shooter, make the point guard use his weaker hand, box-out!!!.....these are some of the defensive principles in basketball...your goal is to stop the opposing team from scoring....to get the rebound, to block shots, to steal the ball....
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When it comes to your finances, you may consider your money as the ball, your expenses/spending as the opponent, and your investments/savings as part of your offense....as much as possible, you should always have the ball (money) for your offense (savings/investments) and prevent the opponent (expenses) from possessing the ball...
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In the NBA, the players who won the "Defensive Player of the Year Award" include Dennis Rodman, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Alonzo Mourning, Michael Jordan, Kevin Garnett and most recently, Dwight Howard.....one glaring fact about these players, with the exception of MJ, is that these are "big" guys who can block, rebound and stop the opponent from scoring....
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In personal finance, you need a "defensive specialist"....who will control and monitor the cash outflow or the spending?....will that be you? or your wife?....if you're married its better to assign one....if you're single, well obviously no choice but you...
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How to play defense?.....first thing is pay yourself first....every payday, determine a % of your salary that you will set aside, no matter what!!!...it could be 5%, 10%, 20% or 30%....depends on your circumstances....you may start small....the important thing is to have a mindset of saving first before spending your hard-earned money...
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Next thing is monitor "ins" and "outs" in your wallet....one good tool I learned from Mr. Efren Ll. Cruz, RFP is having a "30 day Financial Milestones Journal" wherein you record all the "sources" (this could be your salary, other income, other sources of cash) and "uses" (these are your expenses/spending) of cash for 30-days....why 30 days?...for one, this develops a "good" habit in you to monitor your spending....this also allows you to analyze your spending for 1-month....which expenses are necessary and which ones you can cut, minimize, avoid and control...this is a very simple tool....you can just use a notebook or an Excel spreadsheet to do this....
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Once you know your regular and discretionary expenses, now you can develop a monthly "budget" to further boost your savings and control your spending...for example, if my take home pay is P50,000 every month, you can set a savings budget of P10,000 (20%), P5,000 (or 10% for your tithing, charities, donations), then the remainder of P35,000 (70% for your household, fixed and discretionary expenses).....
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I know this is easier said than done...like in basketball, you need SELF-DISCIPLINE, SACRIFICE, TEAMWORK and a lot of HEART in order to win the championship....
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I'd like to end this blog with an excerpt of one of my idols, Manny Pangilinan's (MVP) speech during a graduation in a Katipunan school. MVP is currently supporting the Smart Gilas basketball team and has been instrumental for bringing to Manila, NBA superstars like Derrick Rose, Kobe, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, etc.
"I was born poor, but poor was not born in me. And it shouldn’t be born in you either. You can make it. Whatever you may wish to do with your future, you can make it. It gets dark sometimes, but morning comes always. Suffering breeds character. Character breeds faith. In the end, faith will not disappoint. You must not disappoint." - MVP
Hope this helps,
Ge
Gerald Cantor is a Registered Financial Planner graduate, a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Internal Auditor. He is also a Financial Consultant of Pru Life UK. Ge is proud to be an ex-OFW, a "career-shifter", a "high-leaping" baller, a newby entrepreneur and most importantly, a "dedicated" dad of Gia (4yo) and Clarie (2yo).
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