Marine Drive

We all know about the Marine Drive in Mumbai.
Almost everyone who lives in Mumbai must have visited it at some point of time in their lives.
Dreams have been inspired and ambitions have been forged at this timeless place.

However, what if you want to buy a flat here?
6 Cr for a 1 BHK!

Now have you checked out the other Marine Drive in India?
It is in God's own country.
Ernakulam in Kerala.

Price of a flat here?

1.5 Cr for a 3 BHK!

What if I screw up?

Life is unpredictable

And one often screws up.

Getting screwed up is bad. But losing money in the ordeal is worse.

So what could those scenarios be:

a) Divorce: Most men in bad marriages stay married to their wives as they don't wish to lose money. As simple as that.

b) Stock market: As the bull market will come to close and the dreaded bear will raise its spectre, there will be stories abound about people losing huge sums by having invested in dodgy penny stocks.

c) Pledging house for a loan: You are a businessman. Last few years have been good. You wish to scale up with the help of a bank loan. You pledge your residence as collateral. A black swan event causes your biggest orders to get cancelled. You turn homeless

d) Health hazard: Your treatment was taken care by health insurance. But what about subsistence? You are the only working member of your family.

An emergency fund is a good idea.
But what about wealth creation?
Will it get stalled because of this?

How about an SIP which will keep going irrespective of any eventuality that can befall you.
According to the calculator, a SIP of Rs 2000 achieving 15% CAGR can be worth Rs 1.4 crores after 30 years.
This is worth Rs 18 lakhs as of today.

It may just give you a second chance in life.

Choosing the Most Secure Cross Border Payment Provider for Your Business

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Christopher Jan Benetiz

For businesses, the Internet serves as the gateway to reaching new markets. You have access to localization services, geo-targeted advertising, worldwide shipping, and all the other services that make international marketing possible. There are also online tools and resources you can use to study foreign markets before you dive in.

However, the availability of these services does not make running an international business any simpler. Cross-border payments, for example, present several challenges that business owners must face such as the added cost of international transfers, the complexity of managing several foreign accounts at once, and the security risks involved with holding money internationally as opposed to maintaining a single domestic account.

As a startup or entrepreneur, you want to ensure that receiving money from clients and customers is as seamless and secure as possible to ensure that you can get your hands on their payment without any troubles.

To help you choose the best cross-border payment service for your business, here are some of the critical factors you should consider:

1. Cost

Here’s the deal – cross-border payments can be expensive. Payment service providers can be manageable and somewhat sustainable, but they may result in substantial losses in the long-term.

As a business, you should always prioritize cost-effectiveness when considering services you would like to avail. Aside from the cost of setting up, also look at other charges such as transaction fees, conversion fees, withdrawal fees, and so on. Keep in mind that these charges vary greatly depending on the company you choose.

When it comes to cost, one of the most economical options would be Payoneer – a cross border payments solution which offers global receiving accounts, and allows you to get paid from online marketplaces and direct clients with their billing service solution. Payoneer is much more affordable than the more well-known PayPal option. That said, it is a good idea to check out capabilities of Payoneer to see if it is a good fit for your business.

2. Time to Receive

                                                      Image by Foto-Rabe at Pixabay

Reliability is critical when it comes to payment systems. After all, you are basically putting your company's finances in the hands of another company. Even the slightest delays may cause administrative problems in your business or tarnish your brand's reputation if a customer waits too long for a transaction.

That is why it is important to check for any policies that involve holding periods and other expected delays with fund transfers. For example, PayPal has a policy of holding the funds of new accounts for 60 days while further withdrawals take 3-5 business days. You may instantly transfer the money to your bank account, but you will incur additional charges in doing so.

Aside from existing policies, also check if a service is prone to crashing and unexpected delays. These are far worse since they could come at the most inconvenient times. Moreover, for this, your best bet is to check around for customer feedback and reviews. As a rule of thumb, don't trust too much on new companies with little to no feedback, reviews, and testimonials.

3. Security

Of course, safety is a big issue when it comes to online payments. Make sure the payment service provider of your choice complies with the PCI DSS or Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, which ensures security for credit card transactions. There are also payment companies that offer additional protection against fraud for both sellers and buyers.

Bear in mind that it is entirely possible to encounter dubious claims and chargebacks from shady customers that aim to scam businesses. Although there are refund policies that help protect the buyer, it should not be such a fast and easy process that the business cannot react to counter fraudulent claims.

Additionally, the payment service provider should commit to investigating each claim and allow the seller to offer evidence of a completed transaction. This includes proof of shipment or proof of delivery. To acquire these documents, make sure you use a shipping service that offers online delivery tracking. Once you have proof, there should be an extremely low chance for the fraudulent claim to pull through.

4. Ways to Access the Funds

                                                            Image by TBIT at Pixabay

When choosing a payment platform, make sure it is easy for you to access your funds through the payment company's site. Consider checking a site's interface first in reviews or with a free account to see if the interface suits your preferences. Also, check how online transfers work and see if they support wire transfers, credit cards, e-wallets, checks, or any other payout solution you might use.

Some payment service providers also include additional accessibility features such as multilingual support, third-party app integration, and simplified currency conversions. Also, check if a company has a mobile app so you can manage your funds from anywhere.

5. Platform Compatibility

Last but not least, you should ensure the payment service provider is completely compatible with any external software, platform, or service you are using.

For example, Shopify as your e-commerce platform support multiple international payment gateways, allowing your customers to complete transactions with just a few clicks of a button. For online shops that are run using a different platform, you need to make sure that you choose a payment gateway that it supports to avoid getting problems with receiving payments from customers. Worst case scenario is that your chosen payment gateway is not supported by your platform. If this occurs, you may have to choose a different payment gateway because transitioning from an e-commerce platfom to another is much more inconvenient.

To check the compatibility of payment services with a given platform, only test the platform's main website or contact their customer support. Take note that this is also an opportunity for you to test the dependability of their customer service, which is crucial if you need help managing your money on the internet.

Conclusion (and what you need to do)

In the age of globalization, it is important for businesses to establish a reliable system for making cross-border payments. This is a component of providing a seamless experience for you and your clients. Lastly, remember that it is a critical business decision that can affect how you run your company from this point moving forward.

To make it much easier for your end, search for comparison charts like this one from FormStack that pit different payment gateways to the test. The payment gateways are tested by referring to the criteria mentioned above and more to provide you a glimpse on how they work. Determining the factors from the chart that you prioritize the most as a business owner will help you find the best payment gateway for you. Also, it helps that you test out the service provider first to see if it does live up to its reputation as explained in the comparison chart.

If you feel comparison charts are not as comprehensive, then in-depth reviews of the payment gateway ought to do the trick. Once you have found a payment gateway to your liking, you can search for full-blown reviews of its services to help you further weigh if it is worth you time to use it. Aggregate review sites like TrustPilot and G2 Crowd are great places to start because they collect objective and unbiased reviews from different users to supply you with all the information you need to make your decision.

Ultimately, you will have to get your hands on your payment gateway of choice to truly see if it does the things as advertised for your business. Most of the time, assuming that you have done your research, you will be able to use your chosen payment gateway without problems. If you were not able to research hard enough for your chosen service provider, then expect problems to pop up while using it.

Choosing your payment gateway is serious business, especially if you are truly serious about yours. By following the guidelines and tips mentioned in this post, you should be able to run your business with a secure and convenience payment gateway for you and your clients.

Answer: A person you have never heard of who actually has a chance to be elected President on Nov 8.

Question:  Who is Evan McMullin?

A client turned me on to the website FiveThirtyEight (thanks, Jeff!), which has all kinds of data-driven  articles.  I subscribe to their daily 'Significant Digits' email with quirky figures and statistics, and find it an interesting diversion.

One recent article on their site explained how independent Presidential candidate Evan McMullin has a legitimate chance of becoming President.  While they characterize his chances as 'slim-but-not-none', the article details how if the conservative, Mormon McMullin could win Utah he has perhaps as much as a 3% chance of becoming our next President.  Not likely, but also not something you hear about in the mainstream news.

The article is a really interesting peek into the process and potentially arcane rules of electing our President. And at a minimum it's a welcome break from politics as usual!

Whether or not you would prefer that we elect an unknown quantity to either of the two known evils main candidates, knowing who Evan McMullin is and how the 12th Amendment could allow him to become our 45th President with only a tiny percent of the popular vote will make you the most popular conversationalist at your Halloween party this weekend!

Here's the Perfect Way to Move on - 5 Quick Tips to Avoid Getting Broke After Break-up

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It is almost December and you may spend and celebrate Christmas eve alone listening to that song: 

"Pasko na naman, ngunit wala ka pa, hanggang kailan kaya ako maghihintay sa iyo". 

Ouch!

Kuya naman eh! You made me sad na talaga... 

My 18 year old cousin told me. That was our conversation last year. She was hurt and crying, but now, she was perfectly fine. My advise for her  worked well and would work for you too...


Are you going through a tough time? You better read this!


Being the "kuya" and a usual relationship adviser as what they call me, I have an opportunity to talk to teenagers and have guided them on certain issues in their lives. Our world has changed so fast and also these millennials. However, going through a relationship storm is not  just a 2016 thing. We experienced break-ups and have individual stories. I don't know yours but mine was a sad one. That's why "hugot'' lines are very popular nowadays. 


I watched the trailer of Camp Sawi, a movie that was already shown in cinemas just this year with big celebrities like Andi Eigenman, Sam Milby, Bella Padilla... I love watching Pinoy movies and oh! this movie is so appealing and interesting. What I've learned in this movie is that people sometimes go crazy when heart-broken. 

Hay buhay...

Pag-ibig talaga!

I believe that our finances and our emotions go together hand in hand. It goes without saying that when we are experiencing tough times, we have to be responsible to closely watch our life. I crafted 5 helpful tips for all millennials. Applying these things will save you from getting into another problem and will have you avoid messing up your finances.

1. You can't make things right by spending more. 

Nagmahal, Nasaktan,_________________.

A. nangutang, nagtravel...

B. Naglasing, naubos ang sahod, nangutang na naman...

C. Nasaktan ulit, nagresign, naubos ang ipon...

D. Nagmukmok, nawalan ng pag-asa, nabaon sa utang...

These are just common scenarios that can happen when you are in this situation. Bes, dahan2x lang. As much as I would like you to move on and unwind, I also want you to spend less. We are often enticed to think of these places; Boracay, Palawan, Macau, Japan, Singapore...Remember, these places has a price tag.

It's even a bigger problem if the money you would use to travel is a borrowed money from friends. Now you are in double jeopardy!

In an article from Daily Mail Online Why a broken heart can break the bank: Women who shop after a failed relationship spend more than any other time , Researchers studied how women spend when their emotions change, most expensive shopping trips were recorded after relationship break-ups,  and boredom, window shopping and browsing online also cause overspends. 

Going shopping after suffering from heartbreak is bad for your bank balance, a study has revealed. Researchers found that women who head to the shops to cheer themselves up after calling time on their relationship spend more money than on any other shopping trip.

Life goes on and the best inner healing you can get is to face the problem and have a reason to be happy in little ways. It is not the end of the world though.

Think of some activities that you can spend less like learning how to earn in blogging, enroll in kick-boxing or other sports, or join charity works. I'm amazed that there are many great avenues that we can do at a very low cost. For instance, there are lot of books that you can read online for free. I'm a heavy user of social media and I'm taking advantage on it to read more and learn more. If you can see my facebook timeline, it is literally an online library. Now, I take interest in foreign exchange, digital marketing, seo, and blogging. Life is fun when you're learning new things.

2. Dont go broke just because you are broken-hearted.

Being in this situation is a "making" or "breaking" stage in your life. It is an opportunity for you to shape you from the inside out or it will drag you down. My friend says that when she becomes lonely and feels alone, she tends to eat more and shop more, sometimes uncontrolled. Now she gained so much weight and resented because of that past break-up.

This could be so true. Our impulsiveness is complimented with our current state of mind and our decision-making. When we're hurt, what we care is only to feel good and feel better. 

Mica Tan is the best example that every millennial today should learn from. She is a great inspiration. She was just a teenager when I started in the stock market and "she has been the talk of the town". Her successes are beyond her inspiring story. She's just simply amazing!

 She's already trading stocks at the age of eight and now one of the youngest multi-millionaires in the country. She is one of the most beautiful faces in the finance world

Would you believe that she was struggling emotionally  before?


This 24 years-old Alpha Female was a broken-hearted girl but she made it as an inspiration to develop all the more and took advantage of the situation she's going through. She turns it in her favor.

Her response was unconventional. She endured her emotional stage through axing her skills in finance, she engaged in entrepreneurship and started  angel investing when she was your age.

You can watch the full interview from Wise Cash Mica Tan: "From Broken-hearted to Super Millionaire" to see more of her story on the interview at 25:55 of this video.

3. You have more perks being single.

 If you are just a teenager or a young professional, think of something that you will grow and stretch yourself to the next level-one step away from your comfort zone.

5 years ago, I decided to invest in my financial life and I'm almost on my goal. That time I told myself to earn my first Million at least before going 30 and humbly speaking, I'm almost there. I'm already wrapping up my list to end my year with good hits. I knew in my heart that it's not all about money,  accomplishing a goal is another story.


Speaking about Perks, this time can be the best time of your life. Ask me why!

- You can budget your money well.

- You can decide for yourself quickly.

- You can be independent in what you do.

-You can get rich earlier.

- You can be your own INSPIRATION!

4. Always spend within your means.

Dealing with a break up is scary and confusing. When we're heartbroken, we tend to make not-so-great-decisions: drinking too much, hooking up with strangers, blaming ourselves, or doing other crazy things. The good news is that we can learn from these mistakes! And even though breakups are never easy, they can be more or less painful depending on how we handle them. 

Always spend within your means and appreciate every little things. In this way, you can easily avoid emotional and uncontrolled buying habit.

I crowd-source an answer to my friends and colleagues on this question, "What do you spend for after break-up?" Some of them gave surprising answers:

5. Don't mess with your wallet.  It might also break-up with you.

I tried to search in google to look for relevant information and facts about advise to move-on in a relationship prudently, but all I can see were all tied up to spending.

Our nature is always a spender and if we will not be paying much attention to it, we may be doing things that are leading to uncontrolled spending habit. Worst case, it is always a wolf in sheep's clothing. We don't usually see the destructive effect at first and we will realize it in the latter part.

 If I'm going to rate the top 5 things that can make you broke while you are going through tough times; these are impulsive buying, unplanned travels, borrowing to shop more, neglecting your budget, and engaging in excessive hang-outs.

Earning big buck being an insurance agent, real estate agent or banker?

You may have notice the advancement of technology that eventually reduce the possibility of hiring someone to do the job. We are now even venturing to have a driverless car which back in the years, i still remember that my instructor told me that it would not be possible. I would say nothing is possible now as we can eventual replace robots to assist us in our daily lives and even to our job. Best thing is, they are able to work 24/7. Recently, i notice there is a technology that would be able to translate the person language through a earpiece that is plug to their ear. The earpiece will translate the foreign language to English or vice versa. Essentially, this reduce the demand of translator. More jobs are now replaceable. So, will this be the end of humans doing certain jobs?

I would say high possibility.

This would be possible when we have good quality education that makes everyone being able to understand things easily. Back to the financial and real estate industry, many of us would be familiar with most of the investment products that it can tell you the content of it without getting a representative. If you are very familiar with the financial sector, you would probably hear the same product being introduce by the representative agent from various companies. You would know that majority of them might preach to you without them really understand the product. Similarly for real estate sector, probably they would treat you before preaching on their product. So what do you as a potential investor on purchasing the investment product? You would prefer to do your own research and purchase it directly instead. You do not see them as really adding value to their intention to purchase it.

There are now apps or website that can offer you to do the transaction without getting any representative. So will this be the end of the career in this sector or probably lower their potential income? I would say there will not be complete removal of those jobs. Reasons? The type of business in their job plays with the humans emotions. Simply to say that humans prefer to be served and be well treated. If they play it right with their potential prospect, they got the deal. But in this instance, it would be a tough job for them. It would not be an instant deal anymore. It requires alot of time and effort because their customers would want them to follow their schedule to meet up. As you know customer would always use the same sentence: "Then why would i buy from you and give you the commission?"

This is very very common in this industry. It is a matter of how you handle them. I would say the era of earning big buck may slowly reduce which is similar to being Remisier. It used to be the one of the good jobs to earn money but as technology overtake them, traders or investors can trade at their own convenience. So i would suggest for whatever job you currently holding on to, please do something with your money. Let the money work hard for you. Sometime, certain jobs may become obsolete as technology takeover. This is an era where humans requires to keep upgrading their skills to ensure they are still in demand in the working world. Indeed, the word "lazy" should not be inside your personal goal.

LET THE MONEY WORK FOR YOU, NOT YOU WORK FOR THE MONEY THROUGHOUT YOUR LIFE.

Cheers!

The Billionaire's Way:Why Simplicity is the New Trend?

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source:the social network

I love watching documentaries and biographies of those successful people in the world, from sports to the business world. There are so much to learn from them and once you know them further, you will admire them all the more. I read an article before about 100 Worst Dressed Successful Personalities and strikingly on the top of the list are famous personalities like Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg, Apple Founder Steve Jobs, The Greatest Investor Warren Buffet, and Albert Einstein to name a few of them.

With these type of highly successful personalities, I observed that  they have something in common. They wear the same clothes everyday not only that but with same color. Is this the trend today?

 Facebook Founder and the youngest Billionaire said that he is wearing the same gray shirt since he founded Facebook. I asked myself, Is this the secret ingredient on the success of these people? How's that possible? 

To look for justice and fair judgement, I made a research from different sources and found out why these people deviate the fashion norm of the society.

 Here are the fascinating facts that make their lives so interesting both private and public. It confirms why they are so successful.

1. Iconic.

For me, wearing same kind of shirt everyday is a form of strong branding. This is the reason why characters in picture books never change their clothes: Children—like adults, if they’d only admit it—crave continuity. Being stylish for them is obsolete. Even Superman is wearing the same outfit everyday, right?

 These type of people don't conform to the pattern of how everybody should wear. They don't even care how they look because for them what they are wearing is not what matters most. There are more important things to do, to change the world!

The 31-year-old explained this during his first public question and answer session in 2014 when an audience member asked why his outfits never changed. “I really want to clear my life to make it so that I have to make as few decisions as possible about anything except how to best serve this community,” said Zuckerberg.

“I'm in this really lucky position, where I get to wake up every day and help serve more than a billion people. And I feel like I'm not doing my job if I spend any of my energy on things that are silly or frivolous about my life.”

Kaya naman pala... So, if you're noticing someone who wears same shirts 3 times a week, kabahan ka na.. He might be the next Mark Zuckerberg!

2. Less Expense.

Most of the highly successful people in the world are living a very prudent life. Time is  money and looking what to wear would take much of your time. We waste so many precious moments concerning ourselves with frivolous details. An outfit will not change the world, it probably won’t even change your day. This is not to say that fashion isn’t important, as it has an immense impact on culture and, in turn, the direction of society. 

Albert Einstein reportedly bought several variations of the same gray suit so that he wouldn’t have to waste time deciding what to wear each morning. He decided to make life easier by adopting a monotonous wardrobe.

3. Make Life Simple to be more productive.

Why do they do this? To lessen decision fatigue, a real condition where you become overloaded with so many pointless decisions that your productivity ends up falling off a cliff. You spend so long wasting precious mental energy on  distractions – such as what to wear or what to eat – that you stop being able to do your job properly. You become paralyzed with choice. You start making bad decisions and exercising poor self-control until you end up less productive. 

4. Less is More. 

When I started to see successful people wearing the same thing every day, I realized they were part of the movement I belong to, where less is more. Implementing that mindset is critical to reaching financial independence. 

Well in my case, I already applied this long before. Sometimes, when you are doing something incredible, wearing a simple outfit is enough. 

source:the social network

Do you check the price of your house every day?

Markets are volatile

So you won't invest in equities or mutual funds.

Great!

But you are willing to invest in property.

Because property prices are not volatile.

Ok.

Ever wondered what would you do if your property's price was showed up on a ticker every day. Just like how share prices are shown.

Today the price of your property might be up.

Tomorrow it would be down.

Would you still hold on to it patiently?

What if you had the same attitude towards stocks?

Think about it.

The Art of Borrowing

   "Borrowers are made, not born" 

Well, you are lucky enough to click this link and get into my site (This is not a spam!) Probably, you are just having a bad day and you want to quickly resolve it through borrowing (no money? no problem!) I can definitely help you! Don't worry, this is absolutely for free, ideas are all borrowed anyway...(duh)! Welcome to "Getting into Debt 101".

Let's start to learn the 6 Legendary Techniques of Borrowing: 

1. Dress to Impress. Do not look Poor. 

You have to look awesome and you need to look rich. It really depends on how you carry yourself. If you have a friend who has four-wheels, then you can take advantage of it. Nobody will lend to someone who looks broke. Prepare ahead of time. In your social media, show them that you're living a rich kid, show them that you are often dining in a fancy restaurant (even you're not ordering) and show them what you've got (but in reality, you don’t have).

2. Make a list and Profile your friends.

Now is the time to categorize people around you that you can take advantage as your prospects. People can't give you something what they do not have.To save time and effort, choose the right people who you think have something. 

Eye for an OFW friends, check their timeline and observe when they would be coming back to the Philippines.Usually, they will be having hard time refusing because they want others to know that they have a lot of money or they just can't refuse at all. Di sila makaka-ayaw!

For employees, observe a good timing. Money will always be on payday, the rest are empty wallet days! So better be hurry because once they receive the salary, it will be gone with the wind.

Easy target are your friends who are always showing off. Try to flatter them and you will have your reward.Then you can apply Strategy #3. 

3.Be always ready with your winning spiel. 

Borrowing is an art so be excellent.The best borrowers in town are those who have very good communication skill.It is all about your convincing power, it is not about what you will say but how you will say it. It should be spontaneous. Never take no for an answer!

Here are the most common but effective spiels that I have already tried:

For Students and Officemates: 

"Friend, pahiram naman wala akong barya. bayaran kita mamaya ha!" 

   (Friend, I don’t have coins here, I'll just pay you later) 

"Friend, nakalimutan ko wallet sa bahay. pahiram naman oh. 

(Friend, I left my money in the house. Can I borrow some?) 

"Friend, di ako makapaniwala sa nangyari. Nahold up ako!Pahiram naman oh." 

(Friend, I can't believe what just happened to me. I was robbed.Can I borrow?) 

For Professionals and Businessmen: 

"Bro, pahiram naman ng pera.Bayaran kita agad. Bukas darating pera ko"

(Bro, Can I borrow money.I'll pay you right away.I'll have money tomorrow) 

"Bro, mag invest ka sa business/project ko. May tubo ka 10% after 1 year."

(Bro, you can invest in my business/project. You will have your money back with 10% interest) 

4. Acting is everything. 

Successful borrowing strategy is how you act it. Saying is a good thing but portraying is another thing.You need to act natural.Most common but effective scenarios you can use are; your family member is in an accident, you're wife is giving birth, somebody in your house is admitted in the hospital.You should think of something which is urgent and realistic.

Human Psychology is that the person just can't refuse it or else he will be blamed. I've been there, done that!I brought it to the next level.I even told my boss before, that I badly need to get a loan from the company because one of my relatives died and I need to help them (I was just lying, though) 

5.The "Amnesia Teknik"

Considering that you're finished borrowing, you already spent it buying, buying, and buying and now is your turn to pay it back.What if you can't pay a thing?

No problem! 

Pretend that you have forgotten it until you can't remember it at all. Just to remind you that most of them will hardly forget what you've borrowed but 90% will hesitate to say it (Sila na lang ang mahihiya!). So this is a good thing for you. 

Time will heal.They will just forget it someday. 

6.The "Beast-Mode Teknik"

Now, if the mentioned above is not working out, then this could work for you to avoid collectors.Show them who's the boss. You might scare them. It is better to be on the defensive side and get mad first to let them know that you are not intimidated. This is the power of intimidating! This might not work sometimes so apply this at your own risk.

We had a neighbor before that is so good in doing this that until now she still did not pay her debt and we can't collect her because we don’t want a confrontation. She wins though. 

Friendly Reminders: 

Be ready to lose important friends. Most likely the first people who will lend you money are the ones closest to you. So this could be your living sacrifice.In our church we don’t encourage borrowing because we don’t want to make it a culture and it costs relationships. 

"Money often cost too much"- Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Once you're there, getting out is hard as going through a needle's hole. Getting into debt does not just happen overnight.It is a process.It starts from a small amount then into a huge amount.So huge that some brought it even into their grave.Some gets into nervous breakdown. 

"Anyone who borrows is a slave to the lender"

  

                                            Proverbs 22:7 

Count the Cost. You will be living in fear and you will not have peace of mind. 

"Debt is the worst poverty"

                          Thomas Fuller 

Your love ones will suffer. Debts is one of the cause of family problems.According the survey, the main cause of divorce is not "third party" but finances. 

It will surely affect your reputation. Above all else, choose your name over money. 

"The wicked borrows and does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives" 

                                                                                                  Psalm 37:31

"It takes 2 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it"

                                                                    Warren Buffet

So, It is now up to you, Life is a choice...

Start up. At 60?

Life comes with several responsibilities.
Initially towards parents, then spouse and then children.
And middle age is usually spend fulfilling responsibilities towards all the three.
Yes, there are a few whose families are supportive towards starting up at 30,35 or even 45.
However, ever given a thought at starting up at 60?
Don't feel bemused.

In fact there are quite a few companies which were started off by seniors.

Captain CP Krishnan Nair founded Leela Hotels in 1987. He was 65 then. He passed away at the ripe old age of 92 in 2014. Between 65 and 92 he was sprightly enough to not only launch chains of The Leela all across the country but also took it public.

Does Colonel Sanders ring a bell? It doesn't? Well here you go:

Col Sanders became a professional chef at the age of 40, acquired the franchise of KFC at 62 and sold it for $ 2 million in 1965 at the age of 75.

What about Charles Flint? Well what about him?
He started the company which we now know as IBM. At the age of 61

Have a housing loan? It should most likely be from HDFC - which was started by Hasmukhbhai Parekh when he was 68.

So you must be saving and investing to get your children educated, take your family for holidays, retirement, buying a holiday home and for unforeseen circumstances.
But did you have a dream to start up? And reading about all those young rockstars who have made it big makes you feel you could do better! Or just start up! After all, it is this life that counts.
Why not create a start up fund? Start investing Rs 10,000 per month in a credible mutual fund. Even when you are 45, you have another 15 years to go. Do you know how much will it be worth when you are 60?

Assuming growth of a conservative 15% per annum, you are likely to land up with Rs 67.6 lakhs when you are 60. Even if you take inflation into account it is worth close to Rs 25 lakhs as on today.

Not a bad figure to use as start up capital eh?

What It Takes to Build Your Emergency Fund?

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Question: "Hi, I am an OFW here in London for 8 years. I followed your blogs every week and I'm  so inspired by your story on how you managed your income, saved it and invested it. I'm single,earning well but honestly I dont have savings. Most of my income are sent back home to support my family and pamangkins education in the province. I see them as my investment. However, lately, I felt guilty because I've been helping others but I'm not setting aside for myself. What should I do now?"

Grace Gomez, Nurse,sent by email

Thank you for your message and I'm glad that you took the time to bring up your financial concern. First, I appreciate you for acknowledging this problem and second, I admire you for having such a big heart to help your relatives...You seem a very kind and generous person. On the other hand, you sounds like frustrated and feeling something like that is a good thing. That means that you've already woke up! I tell you now, it's not only you who's experiencing this dilemma. 

It has been  a long practice in our culture the "Padala-Probensya system". That shows our strong family relationships. I don't have anything against it as long as it is still on the context of balance. The greatest investment is yourself. My blog today is not about how to stop extending help to your relatives but to balance things up. You have to consider also the other side. I will sight you an example...

 Not too long ago, I did not know how important the Emergency Fund is, to its core. All I knew is that it's part of the process that I need to go through in investing. So basically , I have set already an Emergency Fund good for 6 months ready for use (I did it reluctantly, though!). 

One day, I felt something bad and I felt sick and some parts of my body were in so much pain. I thought it was just a "trangkaso" and the following day I was so weak. When I went on check-up, I was told that I had an adult chicken pox. Worst thing was, my bosses wanted me to be on a long sick leave for the whole month. They want to make sure that I can't harm others due to our close-knit workplace and I might infect others as well if I would just spend few days without complete recovery. So I spent a month with all of the expenses from my Emergency Fund. That's when I fully I understood it, with a big sigh "Buti na lang!" From then on, Emergency Fund for me is so important that I can use it on an unforseen circumstances.

If you haven't been able to build your Emergency Fund, I want you to start now. We don't know when we will be needing it the most. It is just very simple but the struggle boils down to its greatest enemy, YOURSELF! What are the things to consider when I am building my Emergency Fund? This is always the common question. Learn from my personal experience...

1. It will take 100% self-discipline.

I asked myself if an Emergency Fund is so important, Why many Pinoy are not paying much attention about it? I got a quick answer, we dislike consistency as we dislike discipline. It is boring and painful, indeed!

This happened last year when my friend who had a pregnant wife for their first baby. They were so excited and the pediatrician told them the schedule of the expected delivery. They did not prepare much about it because their expectation that it would take few months to go. Then one day, He was shocked because her wife was rushed and he was informed on duty that his wife was having a premature delivery. He could not imagine how shocking it was without any much preparations!

As my friend told me about it, the doctor refused to do the procedure because they need to give a cash advance. It took few hours before he could borrow a needed amount while the wife was already in pain. That was a very unpleasant experience. Although, the delivery went well, that was supposed to be a joyous experience but they're looking back with a hard lesson and remorse. 

When I decided to build my Emergency Fund, it took me a while to find its deeper purpose and it needs to be self-convincing because I can't trust myself. I could be too excited to start but I will end up not saving something at all. So I thought of realistic "What If's"! What if I would lost my job tomorrow? What if I'll get sick and needed immediate operation? What if one of my family members is on an emergency and needs immediate assistance? This is where this fund comes into play. 

2. It will cost your social life.

When I started to build my Emergency Fund, I started to cut expenses. You know already that my salary is just an average call center agent can get. I started cutting expenses from my favorite leisure; hanging out with friends, going to the cinema, and spending time in an expensive coffee shop to maximize my savings. So what I did, I became active in social media to still communicate to friends, minimized going out when unnecessary and do online shopping if needed. I also bought packs of 3 in 1 coffee (It tastes and smells the same like coffees in Starbucks anyway!). 

Yes, I've lost bunch of friends and keep some. I also joined financial groups in FB and met some same  "kuripot friends". Now, I feel good and spend time with the right people and at the same time, I was able to reached my financial goals.

3. Many will dislike you.

We tend to have an advance thought that these type of people are selfish and hoarders. I am one of them and I raise my case! Kuripot people are the best people that you can have as a friend and rest assured that we will not borrow from you. I saw many relationships became sour because of money matter and unpaid debts. 

So if you are dislike because of you being kuripot, they are not friends for keep. A funny quote from local celebrity Keanna Reeves once said; " It not my lost it Yours!

4. Some of the favorite lists might need to be put on hold.

I received a sermon coming from my cousin saying that it is okey to be frugal but I don't have to save too much. How could we know that we are already saving too much? For me, saving too much means not being able to maintain your basic needs. Basics needs has never been a question for me, it always my top priority. According to my budget, top of my lists is the food allowance and next things are all considered secondary priorities. I'm also setting aside now for leisure, travels, personal stuff, and for others (mission, charity, relatives assistance).

5. It will take time.

My early days on saving were mostly trial and error. It took me months to apply it seriously. I tend to go back to my past practices and that was so frustrating. I finally found a mentor that is so successful in building his Emergency Fund. I reached out to him  and asked for guidance. He gave me some mathematical computation but what sinks in to me was to do it over and over again and learn from past mistakes. Your goals won't become a reality until you make it a priority. Read my friend's inspiring story on how she was able to build her Emergency Fund and started investing