Tuesday, November 29, 2011

THINK DIFFERENT: STEVE JOBS and MONEY


I just started reading Steve Jobs' biography written by Walter Isaacson.  I read about one-fourth of the book only and I got so much insights already.  For one, Steve was a perfectionist, impatient a@#$!!hole who only cared about developing the best product and making a dent in the Universe....Anyway, here are some excerpts from the book and Steve's thoughts about money, pursuing one's passion and believing in oneself.


  • "I never worried about money.  I grew up in a middle-class family, so I never thought I would starve.  And I learned at Atari that I could be an okay engineer, so I always knew I could get by.  I was voluntarily poor when I was in college and India, and I lived a pretty simple life even when I was working.  So I went from fairly poor, which was wonderful, because I didn't have to worry about money, to being incredibly rich, when I also didn't have to worry about money."

  • "I watched people at Apple who made a lot of money and felt they had to live differently.  Some of them bought a Rolls-Royce and various houses, each with a house manager and then someone to manage the house managers.  Their wives got plastic surgery and turned into these bizarre people.  This was not how I wanted to live.  It's crazy.  I made a promise to myself that I'm not going to let this money ruin my life." 

  •  Andy Hertzfeld:  "Jobs thought of himself as an artist, and he encouraged the design team (of Macintosh) to think of ourselves that way too.  The goal was never to beat the competition, or to make a lot of money.  It was to do the greatest thing possible, or even a little greater...  We said to ourserlves, 'Hey, if we're going to make things in our lives, we might as well make them beautiful."


  • "We all have a short period of time on this earth.  We probably only have the opportunity to do a few things really great and do them well.  None of us has any idea how long we're going to be here, nor do I, but my feeling is I've got to accomplish a lot of these things while I'm young."


  • On deciding to start Apple:  "Even if we lose our money, we'll have a company,  For once in our lives, we'll have a company."  This was exciting to Steve Wozniak, even more than any prospect of getting rich.  He recalled, "I was excited to think about us like that.  To  be two best friends starting a company.  Wow, I knew right then that I'd do it.  How could I not?"


  • On being a drop out:  "All of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition.  I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out.  And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life.  So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out okay."
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).   

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

THE VALUE OF FINANCIAL PLANNING

":For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he may have enough to finish it; lest perhaps, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all those seeing begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish." - Luke 14:28-30

To realize the value of financial planning, ask a Lotto winner who suddenly won a hundred million but only to lose  all of it after a couple of years....

To realize the value of life insurance, ask a young widow who lost her husband and left her with three pre-schoolers...

To realize the value of a fire insurance, ask a businessman whose store or warehouse has been burned and nothing was left...

To realize the value of health insurance, ask a sick person who needed to advertise in a daily newspaper that she has cancer, she has no money and she is pleading for donations...

To realize the value of having an "emergency fund", ask a parent whose child suddenly had an  accident or a homeowner whose house or car has been flooded due to Ondoy or Pedring...

To realize the value of budgeting, ask a mother who earns a minimum wage and is feeding eight children and a sick parent...

To realize the value of saving, ask a young couple who can't wait to get married and start their own family...

To realize the value of investing, ask an OFW who worked for more than 10 years in Saudi only to come home broke, in debt and with only his appliances and "Magic Sing" as his treasured possessions...

To realize the value of a retirement fund, ask a Lolo or a Lola who worked for 40 or more years and raised his/her kids to be professionals but only to be left with no money and is unsure who will take care of them at their old age...


To realize the value of investing in debt payments, ask an employee who is "baon sa utang" and credit card companies are hounding him left and right...

Lastly, to realize the value of giving away money, examine the lives of St. Francis of Assisi or Mother Teresa...

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).  
   

Saturday, November 19, 2011

BASKETBALL FINANCE: ALI "MAN MOUNTAIN" PEEK

Every man dies - Not every man really lives.” - William Ross Wallace


A couple of weeks ago, Ali Peek (PBA Talk & Text center/power forward) was shot in the neck at a parking lot after his workout.  Up until now, the police and Ali's family/friends are still clueless who did this and why.  Gladly, Ali survived and is now getting better. 

But the question is why?  People say Ali is one of the nicest guys in the PBA. He even won the Sportmanship Award back in 2007.  


Sometimes we really can't tell what will happen to us...


Sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down...


Sometimes its hard to understand why bad things happen to us even if we try to be nice to everybody...


Sometimes we worked so hard for our future, only to be stricken by a major illness or an unfortunate event...


So what can we do...the answer is to be ALWAYS PREPARED...let us cover the major aspects in our lives...


  • Spiritual - Are we prepared to meet our Maker anytime soon?  Have we done enough for His glory?   Have we shown that we love Him and our neighbors?
  • Relational - Do we treat our families as our top priority? Do we strive to spend quality time with them and show our unconditional love to them?  What legacy are we going to leave our children? 
  • Financial - Do we have "income replacement" in case of sudden death, disability or critical illness?  If you are suddenly taken out of the picture, how will your family sustain their lifestyle?
  • Physical - Are we taking care of our bodies to prevent any illness?  Are we strengthening our immune system so that even when illness or an accident strikes, we can recover quickly?
  • Mental - Do we firmly believe in ourselves and stay positive?  Are we focused on our dreams despite the ups and downs?
  • Social - Have we surrounded ourselves with positive and supportive friends who will always be there for you in good and bad times?  Do we prefer to have a thousand FB friends or just a few TRUE friends?
  • Intellectual - Have we used our degrees, titles, and talents to the best of our ability and for the common good?  
I know we have lots of things to do.  We just need to prioritize which ones are important and take one small step at a time.

Hope this helps,


Ge

P.S.  God bless you and your family Mr. Ali Peek!


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).   

 


Saturday, November 12, 2011

Pacquiao and Personal Finance



What will you do if you are Pacquiao and you are guaranteed to earn $22 million USD for the fight which may even rise to $30 million once the pay per views and ticket sales come in?  WOW!!!!
***
Sometimes we feel this way whenever we receive loads of money, as when we receive our 13th and 14th month pay, Christmas bonus, performance bonus, etc.  We are one time - big time.  We are the king of the world!!!
***
The first thing that usually comes to our mind is to TREAT OURSELVES and BUY OURSELVES A PRESENT....after all, we deserve it after weeks or months of hard work.  I think there is no problem with this, the only issue is what will we buy?  If you're at PACMAN's level, this means a new car, a new house, LV and Hermes bags for Mommy D. and Jinky , new gadgets for the kids, etc.  If you're an employee or OFW, its kinda similar to what PACMAN does, only at cheaper prices and smaller quantities.  Right?
***
Anyway, as a tribute to our "Pambansang Kamao", here are some suggestions on what to do with your bonus or extra money:

M - Make a budget on how will you invest/save/spend the money!  Rule of thumb is pay yourself first.  So why not allocate at least 20% of your bonus for investment/savings purposes.  10% for charity, tithing, church, helping others, giving back to your community, gift-giving, etc.  Then the remaining 70% for your spending (wisely!) purposes.    

A - Allocate a portion of your money for self-improvement.  Manny is already contemplating what he will do after boxing, how about you?  What are your career plans?  Why not learn a new skill, a new hobby, a new language, a new sport, a new business venture, a new investment vehicle?

N - Next is health!  We need to remain in tip top condition like Manny.  So please do your annual executive check-ups, treat any health issues rather than ignoring your ailment, get a health card for yourself and family (kung wala pa), go visit your dentist, treat yourself for a massage.

N - "Nanay Dionisia" factor.  For our aging parents, how can we make them happy for the remainder of their retirement ages?  I think as they grow old, they appreciate the simpler things in life.  Instead of buying them Hermes bags, why not accompany them to the doctor for their own executive checkup.  Maybe they need to visit their province of origin, meet up with relatives/friends.  Maybe we need to start thinking of purchasing a memorial plan and investing in a memorial lot or start studying about estate planning.    

Y - Your family's future.  Aside from the material things, our families will appreciate it if we start planning for the future.  That dream house, the kids' college fund, you and your wife's insurance and retirement plan.  

P - Play therapy.  I learned from a parenting seminar that play is very important for kids as they feel empowered when playing.  Play refers to physical activity rather than just shoving a computer or video game to a kid to play in the corner.  So why not bring your kids to the park or resort or carnival, have a simple picnic, and play together as a family. These little (not so expensive) experiences are what the children cherish.

A - Acts of random kindness.  We received so much blessings for the year, what can we give back in return?  Who can we help?  They say charity begins at home.  Maybe a struggling brother/sister or relative?  (but don't give them the fish,  rather teach them how to fish).  There are also a lot of orphanages, home for the aged, cancer-stricken kids, city jails we can visit.  

C - Christmas spirit.  Are you making your Christmas list already?  Who has been naughty or nice to us?    I accept that Filipinos love to give gifts!  But we just need to budget and avoid overspending and charging everything to our credit cards!  The tendency is during Christmas season, the possibility of maxing out our credit cards is highly probable!

Q - Quit smoking.  Smoking is just a literary expression of bad habits we need to break.  Its time to reassess what habits we need to stop for the betterment of our financial, relational, physical and spiritual health.  If we do this, then we can spend our bonus/extra money to other meaningful things!

U - Unli income.  Do you want to have unlimited income?  Why not spend your bonus or extra money with "earning" assets instead?  Your choices include:  real estate, business, mutual fund, UITF, stocks, variable insurance, bonds, etc.

I - I love PH.  Ask now what your country can do for you, rather what you can do for your country.  If we're gonna spend this season, why not support Filipino products.  Also, maybe its time to correctly pay our taxes to BIR or pay that overdue SSS or Pag-ibig loan.

A - Ahora mismo!  Invest in debt payments as soon as you have your bonus.  Before investing in other products or spending on consumer goods, maybe it will be good to pay-out your personal debts first!

O - OMG!  Lastly, we owe everything to our God so why not donate some to your local church, support its "stewardship" program, and invest in a Bible, the best book we can have.

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).  

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

OFWs and Investing



A true luxury is a reward for investing in and developing a real asset." Robert Kiyosaki

Yehey!  It's almost Christmas.  Time for family and friends reunions.  Balikbayan boxes are slowly arriving.  Cash registers of malls are buzzing.  I bet our fellow OFW friends can't wait to go home for a much deserved break!!!
***
Only in the Philippines.  When I was working in London, I used to have my vacation every December.  Everytime the plane lands in Manila, our hard-working Kababayans can't help but clap and cheer!!!  They were just ecstatic at the thought of seeing their families and friends again.  They can't wait to give their "pasalubongs", including the 4 to 5 handcarried items they brought. =)
***
Where do the typical OFW invest or should I say spend their money when they come home?  Based on my observations/experience, the first items on the list are usually home appliances, i.e., new TVs, component (radio/CD players), DVD players, washing machine, laptop and the ever important, Magic Sing (karaoke system).  The ladies have new bags, new shoes, new dress, new jewelries, new perfumes.  The gents have new shirts, new watches with matching gold "bling blings", new Nike basketball shoes and a new CAR, why not?!!    On the otherhand, the kids normally have new toys, new dresses and tons of chocolates.  Ah before I forget, everyone gets a new cellphone!
***
After the spending spree, here are the usual conversations:  "Di bale na, ngayon lang naman nakakaluwag."  "Kahit papanu, masaya ako at nakikita ko kung saan napupunta yun pinagpaguran ko."  "Masaya ako at nageenjoy ang pamilya ko."  "Konti-konti ko nang nakukumpleto ang mga gamit sa bahay". "  "Kaya ko naman kitain yan gagastosin ko sa next na sahod o next na biyahe ko."
***
 According to InvestoWords.com, an "investment"  in finance relates to the purchase of a financial product or other item of value with an expectation of favorable future returns. In general terms, investment means to use money in the hope of making more money.
***

Going back to the above scenarios, do we really invest or just spend on non-earning assets?  Do we buy assets that will generate income or more assets?  Do we earn money to make more money?  Sayang naman kung mapupunta lang sa "panandaliang' kaligayahan ang pinagpaguran nyo sa ibang bansa.  Sana magkaruon tayo ng "delayed gratification" mentality wherein tiis ng konti now for a better future.
***
Where to invest? Here are some options:  1) stocks (check out CitisecOnline); 2) mutual funds (check out Philippine Funds Investment Association); 3) unit investment trust fund (go to your nearest BPI or BDO branches); 4) variable or unit-linked insurance (ask your Pru Life UK Financial Consultant, like me, ehemmmm); 5) business - franchise or own (read Entrepreneur magazine); 6) properties (preferably commercial / non-residential); and a lot more.
***
Who to ask for advice?  There are a lot of personal finance coaches/experts and blogs out there.  I humbly admit that I have a lot to learn so I recommend the following experts: 1) Randell Tiongson (www.randelltiongson.com); 2) Efren Ll. Cruz (www.personalfinance.ph/); 3) Registered Financial Planners Institute members (www.rfp-philippines.com/); 4) Investopedia.com; 5) PinoyMoneyTalk.com; 6) MoneySense magazine; 7) Entrepreneur magazine; 8) Pesos and Sense (watch every Saturday, 8am, GMA News TV)
***
More importantly, "dapat pag-aralan ng mabuti bago pasukin ang anumang pagkakakitaan."  We should know ourselves first kung anung klaseng investor tayo (tayo ba ay conservative, aggressive or medyo gitna lang) at kung anung investment ang naiintindihan natin.


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).