Category: Personal Finance

Consistency Beats Intensity: Finance, Part I

If you are like most people, myself included, you have set goals and things that you want to achieve. However like most of us these goals are sometimes not realized and we wonder why. We find it hard to push through our goals and thus give up eventually.

My take on why this happens is: we do not achieve our goals because we are not consistent. Even if we work towards something, we lack the follow-through actions and eventually lose our target and motivation. After studying resources about this behavior, I came into this realization: Continue Reading

Reignite Your Finance

When was the last time you have looked at your expenses this month? How much are you saving per year? Do you pay all your bills and debts on time? Do you have investments years ago that you have forgotten about? The new year can be a good time to reflect on how you are doing with your finances and to see if it has turned cold in some way. If it has, then maybe it is time to reignite your passion about handling your finances well. This is my story on how I regained my passion on personal finance after almost a decade.

After I graduated from university in 2005 I immediately found a job at a software company for printer hardware. I chose this job because it paid well relative to the other job opportunities I had. When I received my first paycheck, it felt very weird as it was my first time handling a “huge” amount of money. As with most people during college, I constantly lack money and sometimes had to borrow from friends to get by, so a month’s paycheck looked a lot of money for me then. Not knowing better I then proceeded to find a way to lose all that money again by spending and giving it away, probably because I was not used to having money before. This continued on for months. Continue Reading

Should you get VUL Insurance?

Variable Universal Life (VUL) insurance is one of the most popular types of life insurance sold today. One of its main selling points against traditional life insurance is that it has an investment component, meaning that in addition to the guaranteed death benefit you receive, it also accumulates a cash value that is invested as part of your premiums.

This option makes sense for people who do not have the time or the interest in investing their own money. They just want to let others handle their own money and at least have more returns compared to letting their cash sit in their house or in the bank. However, as conscious investors we need to be aware that VUL insurance may at times not be the best option for us in terms of value for money. This article will explore the different aspects of VUL insurance and how we can analyze if a particular product best suits us. Continue Reading

You need a PERA

You need a PERA

In 2008, the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) Law was signed in the Philippines. Eight years later, there was still no progress on the actual implementation until September of 2016 when BDO was accredited as the first PERA Administrator.

Retirement Accounts

Retirement accounts are usually set up by a government in order to encourage its citizens to save money in the long term. One major benefit for the government to do this is that it tones down government-sponsored pension expenses and so effectively reduces the amount of money needed to support their retired population. One drawback for this is that citizens are now being asked to manage their own retirements instead of relying on the government or the businesses that they are employed in to handle those investments. It is therefore important for everyone to educate themselves on the advantages and benefits in properly managing their retirement accounts. Continue Reading

Recommended Personal Finance Podcasts

Podcasts are a great way to consume content. It allows you to multitask by enabling you to increase your knowledge while doing manual, repetitive tasks. Personally I listen to podcasts while washing dishes, cleaning baby bottles, or while cleaning the house. This makes sure that I continue my learning and make those seemingly tedious tasks more “productive”.

There are many personal finance podcasts out there, but here are the ones that stood out with me. This list may be updated in the future as I am exposed to more podcasts. Continue Reading