FINANCIALLY FREE

IPOs

2009-03-10T01:36:00.000-07:00

I heard San Miguel Beer is having an IPO. A friend of mine is excited to buy some shares.

I haven't really given much thought about IPOs. Eversince I learned TA I am more concerned about history (trends) than anything else. Well, I don't speak the fundamentals lingo so I don't even try to understand what's happening, not even in choosing stocks. I just choose based on what I like, what sounds good and what has potential for expansion. Then I check the trends, if it's good, I trade.

This is not in any way a professional advice. I mean there are probably better ways in choosing stocks to invest in but if you don't have that much time and that much money, it doesn't make sense to check all the stocks out there. I narrow down the choices to the companies I am familiar with then check the charts.

I'm probably a lousy trader and I don't have much time to get better that's why I'm planning to invest somewhere else too.

I checked some companies that went public the past few years and here's the trend. The market price went up the first three months or so then went down. So it might be good to trade for a few months. BUT...

Right now, so it might be wiser to stay away from IPOs and buy other stocks. I'm not saying it's not good to buy at IPOs. In fact, IPO prices are probably the fairest (uncorrupted, emotionally-stripped) price when it comes to ascertaining the real value of an stock. But I think there are lots of bargains (undervalued stocks) out there right now that buying a stock at a fair price it not practical.

Why pay regular price when you can buy at a discount?

5 Career-boosting mantras

2009-03-02T23:42:00.000-08:00

From The Girls’ Guide To Kicking Your Career Into Gear

1. Be present everyday in your life and in your work
2. Welcome new ways of thinking
3. Seek and embrace change
4. Act on opportunities
5. Be open to meeting your next mentor

Me sell?

2009-02-28T23:40:00.000-08:00

I have started different businesses throughout the years- from agribusiness to networking to retail to direct selling. I’ve sold clothes, accessories, beauty products, pillows, herbal supplements, real estate and articles. Now I am into financial distribution business.

A lot of people don’t like selling. I don’t like selling. But what most people do not realize is that we are all selling. And we are selling all the time. The moment we write our resume, we make a marketing tool to sell our skills, talents, capabilities and personalities. When we apply for a job, we are advertising ourselves. We dress up for the interview, prepare our sales pitch and convince the interviewee that we are the best candidate for the job. When we accept a job we are sold, per kilo and per hour. The company we work for dictates our price and determines the kind of life we live. To get ahead, we have to increase our value to the company. We need to promote our selves and prove to the bosses that we are worth more than what we are getting.

Not everybody can become an entrepreneur but we are all in sales, a lot of people just don’t realize it yet. Now check your tag price, make sure you are NOT short selling your most important commodity-yourself. Are you being paid what you are worth?

Money isn't everything!!!

2009-01-13T21:35:00.001-08:00

aim for the moon...

2009-01-13T18:51:00.000-08:00

Somebody left me a note saying this website is ambitious. First of all, being ambitious is not bad. Secondly, financial freedom is not optional, it is mandatory (that is if you don't want to end up depending on someone else). I didn't start this site to encourage materialism, I wanted people to DREAM again and work on that dream.

I guess the reason our country is not going anywhere (...but down) is because we have stopped having goals. We have resigned to our "fate" and content living mediocre lives. If we are honest to ourselves, we'll know that we can do more than what we are doing, we can achieve more than what we have and we can make more money than what we are earning.

Kim Kiyosaki wrote that, "Money is not the most important thing in the world, but it affects everything else that's important." Mr. Jun Avendaño of Wealth Academy said, "It's not the money perse that is important, it is what money can do." It is a means to an end. If you want to help others, it can be a means to help them. The best way to help the poor is not to be one of them.

Going back to financial planning, whether you are a missionary, a pastor, a priest, a CEO, a hotshot politician, a widescreen goddess, a matinee idol, a boxing champion or an overpaid athlete- you will retire one day and your source of income will stop. What's your plan? How will you spend the rest of your life? Do you have enough funds to support you?

"It is better to aim for the moon and hit only an eagle than to aim for the eagle and hit a rock." - Chin-Ning Chu

Crisis, a flu or a joke

2008-12-30T02:27:00.000-08:00

In prehistoric times, mankind often had only two choices in crisis situations: fight or flee. In modern times, humor offers us a third alternative; fight, flee - or laugh.

-Robert Orben

Somebody asked me how the present financial crisis affects my business. I just replied good and bad. Good because it made people aware that there is such thing as financial industry. Bad because it's a negative publicity and most Filipinos are suckers of depressing reports and hard to reason with.

The financial crisis definitely affects us. As what Mr. Rex Mendoza said, "When Uncle Sam sneezes, the rest of the world catches cold and a small country like the Philippines gets flu." But I guess the world crisis is the lesser of our worries. The financial experts say this is not the worst, we'll get through this the same way we survived the Asian crisis.

If there's one thing we should be wary about, it's the fact that our financial quotient is way below the passing grade. In a Fin-Q survey, the average Filipino has a "financial intelligence quotient" of only 47.8%. We can dismiss the figure and look the other way as what we always do when the view doesn't fit our expectations, but the truth is the figure is daunting. It could be a symptom of something worse than a mere flu.

I guess it is our upbringing that's at fault. Our parents told us to go to school, get good grades then get a job. So that's exactly what we do, like getting a job is the end-all and be-all. Nobody told us to save, invest and plan for our future. We work, earn, spend, earn more and consequently, spend more. Nothing matters but the needs and wants of the present. Tomorrow can take care of itself. Leave the financial matters to the experts.

Unfortunately, financial planning concerns us more than we care to admit. People hate it because they regard the idea of having emergency fund, healthcare and insurance as pessimistic. People hate it because they look at saving and investing as unnecessary expenses that offers no immediate gratification. We don't want emergencies. We don't want to get sick. And we sure hope not to die. But whether we like it or not, whether we are prepared for it or not, we all grow old and retire someday.

Today, only 2% of the elders are financially free. The 98% are dependent on their meager SSS/GSIS pensions and children, living on charitable institutions or still working. These people did not plan to end this way, they simply failed to make a plan.

My point is, it is foolish to ignore our personal finances and worry about the world's problem. It is stupid to leave the financial matters that directly affect us to chance and get involved in a financial crisis bigger than we can handle. Focus on your own pocket and leave the crisis to the experts. H.G Wells said, "The crisis of today is the joke of tomorrow," don't get caught up in a joke.

Also published at:
http://www.bayanihanpost.com/bp/b206-crisis-a-flu-or-a-joke-.html.

Business and Education Package!

2008-12-22T16:44:00.000-08:00

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the technician's tale

2008-12-15T20:42:00.000-08:00

Haven't checked my charts for a while. I just closed my trading blog mainly coz I'm having a hard time coping up with the market. (hahaha!) It's been a ride, ha? Actually, I didn't have the time to update plus there are lots of bloggers doing TA blogs already and I feel humbled sharing my 5 cents among the experts.

Well, it's fun being a technician...with the adrenaline rush that comes with every discovery of a familiar pattern, with the little triumphs brought by every transaction, and the anticipation of the day's closing or next weeks turn out.

But more than that, technical analysis gave me an edge in a world I can not understand. I don't have a finance background and I cannot understand the fundamentals governing the financial market- the challenge confronting most would-be-traders. I think technical analysis is an equalizer. It doesn't make me god or prophet predicting the next bear/bull market but it sure simplifies financial market to a language I could understand.

Getting out of the 9-5 chasm

2008-12-14T21:33:00.000-08:00

I’m a mess. If somebody would ask me, “ how’s life”, I would be struck dumb. I don’t know how I am doing. I miss my Christmas bonus, the ham and the giveaways. But that was it. I don’t miss my job, the workplace gossip a nd office politics that so dominated my life in the past eight years.

After college, I jumped from one job to another- which lasted from mere days to a few months. Eventually, I got a job in a government-owned and controlled (and corrupted) corporation. I don’t care much about the job but I decided to settle, like what everybody else was doing.

Yet at the back of my mind, I knew it was another temporary thing. I couldn’t bring myself to stay till retirement. At first I thought it was because I took the wrong course in college. I went back to school to equip myself with a masters degree for the next move.

After five years, I felt I was drifting on a gloomy highway to nowhere. I knew school or a better job is not the answer. A better-than-average paycheck doesn’t denote success. I am not employable. I want my own business. I want to be my own boss. I decided to quit and become self-employed. Every body told me I am too young to be burned out. It wasn’t easy. I was scared. I was pulled between two opposing forces-the drag of practicality and promise of better possibilities. I didn’t have enough money to support my career change. I blindly leapt. It was all madness. But I pass through this road only once and I’m hell-bent on NOT having a mediocre journey. I don’t want to wait till I’m 65 to do what I really want with my life.

I want change. I want new ideas. I’m tired listening to ten different bosses’ lecture about company missions and visions. I need to get moving... even this means moving in the wrong direction?

I started a business, but after a few months, the balance sheet did not look good so I had to close shop and bury another dream. It doesn’t get easier but I console myself with the fact that at least I tried and I learned. Someday days I feel like I don’t belong in the DIY-career club. A part of me is tempted to update my resume and get a decent, comfortable job. Yet the bigger part of me refuses to give in. I don't want to be a wage slave. I want to be free.

I screwed up a whole lot and paid the price, but I’ve leaned valuable lessons that empower me to go on.

almost...not quite...

2008-12-08T01:49:00.000-08:00

I'm almost done recreating this site... well I don't have members yet and my blogroll is not even filled yet but you can't have it all in one day, right?

WHAT, WHY and HOW MUCH?

2008-12-06T20:27:00.001-08:00

A lot of books deal about HOW- how to start a business, how to trade stocks, how to make money from real estate, etc. While these knowledge are essential, it's not enough. Knowing HOW is just a small part of the equation. What's more important is the WHAT, WHY and HOW MUCH.

WHAT do you want? What are your dreams? What are your goals? What are your plans? What are you doing to achieve them?

We have to know what we really want. Everybody wants to be rich. Everybody wants to amass wealth. Everybody wants financial freedom. I keep hearing these that wanting them starts to sound kinda average. How? For a lot of Filipinos its winning the lotto.

In his bestselling book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki wrote the first step to financial freedom is to have a reason greater than reality. It is not enough to know what we want, we have to know our "WHY." We need to be clear about why we want something. HOW MUCH? We have to want it bad enough in order to win.

Change you

2008-12-06T20:25:00.000-08:00

Getting rich begins with the right mindset, the right words, the right plan.

-Robert Kiyosaki

We can only change our lives if we change- ourselves and our mindset. A lot of people hate their jobs. Some feel that they are not being paid enough. Yet they stay. Yet they are too busy to look for a new one or to find something to augment their income. The problem with Filipinos is not the lack of opportunity, it's the lack of drive. A lot of people want to be rich, but they won't go the distance. They are not willing to pay the price. They would rather shop, watch TV or sleep. Or BLAME THE GOVERNMENT.

Saving

2008-12-06T20:24:00.002-08:00

LIVE simply. Live below your means. If you can't live below your means, increase your means. But the bottom line is, always have something EXTRA to pay yourself (before the bills and everything else) at the end of the month.

In The Richest man in Babylon, George Clason wrote, A PART OF ALL YOU EARN IS YOURS TO KEEP.

According to this book, there are 7 CURES for a LEAN PURSE

Start thy purse into fattening. For each ten coins you put in, spend only nine.
Control thy expenditures. Budget your expenses that you have coins to pay for your necessities, enjoyments and desires without spending more than 9/10th of your earnings.
Make thy gold multiply. Make money work for you.
Guard thy treasure from loss. Invest only where the principal is safe...consult with wise men. Secure the advice of those experienced in the profitable handling of gold. Let their wisdom protect your treasure from unsafe investments.
Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment. Own your own home.
Insure a future income. Provide in advance for the needs of your growing age and the protection of your family.
Increase thy ability to earn. Cultivate your own powers, study and become wiser, be more skillful and act as to respect yourself.

Saving is not just taking aside a portion of your income. It has to have a purpose and we have to stick to that purpose. We have to distinguish EMERGENCY FUND from INVESTMENT.

Emergency fund is something we set aside for emergencies, something we can cash in anytime.

Investment is something we set aside for the long term. Our investment should grow on itself and be able to provide for us when we stop working.

FINANCIAL PLANNING TIPS every FILIPINO should know

2008-12-06T20:24:00.001-08:00

1. Getting a MENTOR is a must. A lot of people are willing to help. Just ask.

2. Invest in your FINANCIAL EDUCATION. Read books. Attend seminars.

3. A complete financial plan has the following ingredients:

HEALTHCARE -short term to take care of you and your family's health (don't spend your investment money for today's emergencies) and long term to take care of you when you retire
INCOME AND WEALTH PROTECTION - life insurance to replace income, pay debts, finance children's education, pay estate tax in case of accident or sudden death and property insurance to protect properties from damages (fire, accident, flood, earthquake, etc.)
INVESTMENT - to generate income for you when you retire (Money working for you)

4. Every time money moves, somebody makes a profit. Be that somebody. Save on commissions. Bypass the middleman. Be your own broker.

5. ASK from experts (READ: someone who has done it).