FACEBOOK AND PERSONAL FINANCE

"Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life." - Mark Zuckerberg


"FinanceBook helps you achieve your financial goals for the most important people in your life." - Ge Cantor =)

I've searched the net to find out why people go to Facebook.  The common answers are the following:

• To keep in touch with friends;
• To re-connect with people you've lost contact with;
• To express yourself on your wall post or page;
• To reduce stress from work, studies, family, etc.; and
• To join a group of people with common interests

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Facebook has definitely made an impact and will continuously affect our lives.  Do you FB at work, in school, at home or while in transit?  How long do you spend time checking those status updates/news, reading those shared quotes/stores, and viewing those pictures/videos?  Are you now "addicted" to FB? =)
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In terms of personal finance, has FB helped us improve our finances?  Does it help us to be more productive at work that translates to high performance rating and higher bonuses?  Has FB help us control our expenses and improve our spending habits?  Maybe FB is not designed to do all these things.  So may I suggest another "FB", and this is your FinanceBook.
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As in Facebook, you may start with your FinanceBook by creating your financial profile.  Your profile should include the following:

• Basic Information and Family - this about you, your age, your work, your relationship status (single, married, in a relationship or it's complicated); your family details (those dependent on you - your spouse, kids, your complicated bf/gf, etc.)
• Personal Financial Condition - this includes the list and corresponding values of your assets ("mga pag-aari") and liabilities ("mga pinagkakautangan").  Assets minus liabilities equals your Net Worth.  Do you have a positive or negative Net Worth?
• Cash Flow and Budgets - this includes your cash "ins" and cash "outs".  Cash "ins" are your monthly salary, income, commissions, allowance, "mga pinagkakakitaan" etc.  Cash "outs" are your monthly expenses, spending, bills, "gastos", "mga binabayaran" (savings/investments included).  Is your monthly income sufficient to cover your monthly expenses?  In other words, are you living below your means?  Are you following a monthly budget?
• Financial Goals and Dreams - What are your or your family's dreams and goals?  A new car, your own family house, pay-off all those debts, setting up a fund for your retirement or educational fund for your kids, etc.  Write it down, make it SMART as possible, cut out pictures or upload PHOTOS if you like (visualize your dreams).   By the way, this is applicable for everyone, whether you are single, married or in a complicated relationship. =)

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After setting up your financial profile in your FinanceBook, its time to "Add Friends".   You need friends to help you achieve your financial goals.  Here's the list of Finance Tools You May Know - See All:

To decrease your expenses/spending:

• Cash Flow Monitoring - so you can come up with a budget, it is better to write down your cash "ins" (income) and cash "outs" (expenses) for at least 3 months.  You may use a notebook, Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, or even your cellphone.  I suggest you keep your receipts for easier monitoring.  Just a warning, its gonna be hard to do this at first.  But if you can be on Facebook for an hour or more a day, why not update your FinanceBook for just 10 to 15 minutes a day or even 30 to 40 minutes every weekend!
• Credit Card Control - if you have a low self-control in using your credit cards, your best friend will be a "scissor" to cut in-half your credit card/s.  If you can't cut it immediately because it has an outstanding balance, your other friend can be your "refrigerator".  Put your credit card in the freezer and GO LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT!
• ATM Control - similar to credit card, if you have a low self-control in using your ATM and you withdraw money everytime you see a SALE sign, better leave home without it and just bring enough cash for your daily needs.

To increase your income whether active or passive:

• Self-Assessment of Skills & Talents - can you earn extra bucks based on your current skills, knowledge, talents, hobbies?  Can you do networking, direct selling or be a Virtual Assistant ?
• eBay/Garage sale - can you sell stuff that you don't need anymore via traditional means (have a garage or "car booth" sale)  or on-line through e-Bay or sulit.com?  Hey, please don't sell items that are not yours!  Baka hanapin yan ni erpats or ni ermats!  =)
• Bank products and services - aside from savings and time deposits, your bank has other high-earning products like Unit Investment Trust Funds (UITFs).  You may also set-up an "automatic" savings facility with your bank wherein your bank will automatically set aside a certain portion of your monthly salary to a separate savings/investment account "para di mo na magalaw at magastos."
• Other investment vehicles/instruments - stocks, mutual funds, variable insurance, real estate, businesses, forex, hospital shares, etc.  There are a lot of choices.  Please assess your current knowledge and study.  Do your due diligence before getting into one of these investments.

To protect your income, the unexpected, and most importantly, your families. 

•  Life Insurance - whether we like it or not, there are the "what ifs" in life and we don't know when they will hit us.  "What if' the Lord suddenly calls us, or we become disabled, or we encounter an accident, or we are diagnosed with cancer???    I'd like to quote Mr. Efren Ll. Cruz's, RFP advice with regards to life insurance:  "Life insurance is a necessary expense for everyone, especially for the young.  Don't hide from the insurance agent. But do not fall for the fast talk of others as well.  Life insurance is there to protect income.  The best gauge of how much coverage you need is to know how much of income you want to protect." 
• Other insurance - Please consider also medical insurance or health cards for your family, car insurance, fire insurance for your homes and businesses.  Dapat parang boy scout,  laging handa!

(To be continued...)

"Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success."  - Pablo Picasso

Hope this helps,

Ge

Gerald Cantor is a Registered Financial Planner graduate and a Financial Consultant of Pru Life UK.  He is also a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Internal Auditor.  Ge is proud to be an ex-OFW, a "career-shifter", a baller, a newby entrepreneur and most importantly, a "proud" dad of Gia (4yo) and Clarie (2yo).