VISA

Last Saturday, I received my long awaited visa. After 12 months, I now have the maple leaf stamp and I can now pursue my dream of Migrating in Canada. The process was simple yet the excitement is really on the waiting. From Day 1, I always dreamt of getting that visa. I checked diligently to see if my status change. I ensure that my medicals are ok. Finally, when the passport request was made, I was ecstatic! This is real happiness!

I love these four letters

Yesterday was the day I was waiting for the past 12 months. The VISA finally arrived. It was 8:00 in the morning when the delivery man knocked in front. I was still sleepy that time because my son had fever the previous night and I was up on most of it. Despite the throbbing I feel, I rushed down to see the package. Lo and Behold... The experience of receiving it made me realize that this is the start of my dreams. Migrating in Canada was just a late dream. Now visiting the different Canada Provinces is also part of my agenda. I love this day!

Having the house fixed

I'm tired. A few weeks back, we had a minor repair on the house that we are living at. Anything that has to do cement creates havoc inside the house. When you are going to have your house renovated, be sure that you are prepared for the uncomfortable situation that you will be in during the construction. Migrating in Canada will be another house situation for us. Have to get a house or flat, furnished it if its not provided for, know the new neighbors ... It's really a big adjustment for all of us.

Fish Kill

500 metric tons of Fish were netted out of the Taal lake as a result of the massive fish kill. Every year, between the months of May and June, this phenomenon occurs. They say that the oxygen loss contributes to this. I had a venture on Fish Farming before and I also experienced this before. It's a big dent in the business but fish farmers can recover. I will miss the lake, the fish farm, the caretakers ... Migrating to Canada is a huge step for me and there are things that I have to sacrifice in order to reach that dream.

Car Insurance

Car insurance here in my country is cheap compared to Canada. Add the fact that having no central database for accidents, I can claim whenever I want. Not so in Canada. I'm already having second thoughts of getting a car there. It will only mean extra dent on my expense list. I wonder which Canada Province has the transport system where I will no longer have the need to get my own car.

Living for Today

Denying yourself of life’s little pleasures can lead to success in personal finance. Living frugally requires a lot of sacrifice which explains why many don’t engage in such. The temptation of splurging money is so hard to resist that the concept of saving for tomorrow is easily forgotten. Those who continue to choose to live for today justify their lifestyle by saying that “Life is to short, you’ll never know when you’ll go so might as well enjoy now than regret”. But what IF (and that is a big if) you’re bound to live longer than others?

The table from Reuters below shows that as of 2004 the average life expectancy of a Filipino is 70.7 years old. That is 68.6 for male and 72.8 for female. It also shows that the life expectancy extends by 2% every four years (translation: People will live longer!). So if you are 20 years old today, then by the age of your retirement (which is forty years from now), you are expected to live for another 27.9 years (with the life expectancy reaching 87.9 years by that time). That is assuming of course you’ll only be on the average (but there is also a chance that you may even outlive that).

This is why we need to plan for our finances now. An aging man with no wealth to stash is a pitiful sight don’t you think? Imagine having to live the full of the 27.9 years after retirement with meager or no resources at all!

Ric Edelman in his book “The truth about money” wrote it perfectly:

“You will be on this earth for 40, 60 or 80 more years. You can choose to live month-to-month as you have been living, or you can choose to live better. Give up you materialism for a few years, reduce your needs for now, and one day, you’ll be able to exceed your current lifestyle. All it takes is a little effort each day, and a lot of days.

There isn’t any magic to this, no get-rich scheme. And while you may be afraid of how much time it will take to succeed, that’s nothing compared to how much time is really left in your life. So what if it takes you 10 years to get out of debt? You’ll still live have 30 or 50 or 70 years to enjoy after that.”

Your lifestyle will always be a choice, are you living for today or do you want to enjoy the luxuries for tomorrow? It’s your call.

Failing to Save ... Saving to Fail ...

Most of us are taught by our parents to save. When I was seven years old, my mom helped me initiate my first banking transaction. The bank where I opened the account has a lion mascot named Leo T. Pid (cool name!). What I got for my first deposit was a passbook (with my name on it), a t-shirt and a coin bank. It was a fun experience and I was motivated to save and slowly observe my cash deposit increase.

I guess one way or the other we all have the chance to save. The question is where do you put your money? Is it on a savings account? Is it on a time deposit? I know someone who puts her money in the cabinet! Most of the time, we park our cash on an instrument which we deem as safe and readily available for us.

Now, let me say that if we park all our cash on savings deposits alone then we are doomed. Why? It is a fact that inflation always beat interest rates. In lay mans term this means that the money on your savings account will have lesser value in time. You put your money on cash deposits, then the bank will keep it safe for you (assuming that it won’t close!). However, they really won’t help you earn a lot from it either. I’m not saying that you should not put your money in bank deposits. Rather, you should place a balance on where you park your money. The rule of thumb is you can put 3 to 6 months of living allowance on a cash deposit while the rest must be placed on the investment of your choice.

We need to make a paradigm shift on our concept on saving. Most of us misconstrue saving and wealth building. The law on inflation and interest rate dictates that saving alone is detrimental for your wealth building process and will eventually eat up your resources in the long run. Because of this, you must never be content on the interest income generated by cash deposits.

If you already have a significant amount of cash sitting on your lap then you must find ways to maximize your returns. You can start by checking out the different investment instruments such as Bonds, Stocks, Treasury Bills, Mutual Funds, UITF, FXTN and even Real Estate. You may even want to put it in a business if you have a calling for entrepreneurship.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle is knowing where to start. Banks nowadays has a special desk for investment accounts. You may inquire with their in-house investment manager and check on the different products that they offer. There are also other financial institutions such as insurance firms and investment houses which have their own product line-up. You may also do your research in the web since products are posted on their sites.

Investing on these products has an inherent risk attached to it. Your portfolio will likely depend on your own personal risk tolerance. As the rule says, the higher the risk - the higher the return. At the end of the day, it’s you who will decide where you’ll put your precious cash.