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Money Mindset Personal Finance Truly Rich Club

Giving back by running Bo Sanchez’ Kilometer for Kerygma (K for K) Fun(d) Raiser

This coming Saturday, May 29, 2010, my wife and I, along with my in-laws, will be one of the thousands of people flocking the SM Mall of Asia grounds at 5:30 in the morning!  No, it’s not because of a SALE 🙂  It is to join Bo Sanchez’ Run a Kilometer for Kerygma fun(d) raising activity to support the many ministries of Bo Sanchez.

I have always felt blessed throughout my whole life.  Even having learned 5 money habits that will never make me rich, I still felt blessed.  This is the main reason I want to give back in one way or another.

I have personally experienced visiting Anawim (Bo’s charity home for abandoned children and elderly) during one summer in my College days, and all I can say is that it is truly an amazing experience seeing lives being transformed before your eyes.  Not only is it a great blessing for the abandoned elderly and children seeking comfort in the loving home of Anawim, but more for those donors and volunteers caring, loving and serving selflessly.

Be part of the K for K and bring a smile to the hearts of many people!  Live the life of abundance!

P.S. You Can Grow Your Financial Abundance—No Matter Where You Are. Join Bo Sanchez’ Truly Rich Club Now!

Categories
Investing Personal Finance Truly Rich Club

How To Profit From Real-Estate Investing Thru Private Lending

One of the main financial concerns I have been facing lately is the need to learn to invest and grow my money.  To solve that problem, I’ve tried investing through stocks, RTBs, and also started exploring internet marketing.  While all three have been a great learning experience so far, one investment vehicle I’ve never had the chance to explore is investing through Real-Estate.

That changed about 2 weeks ago.

My Very First Real Estate Investment Thru Private Lending

As I was browsing through the popular real-estate investing site foreclosurephilippines.com by Jay Castillo, I came across an article about the Trace Trajano’s Apprentice Challenge.  In that article, Jay and his partners in RYP Realty Team shared some of their experiences in the Apprentice Challenge as well as their need for investor partners to help them out in one of the challenges.  I signed-up right that instant and I’m glad I did since it’s been an exciting experience ever since.

A few days after I filled up the investor’s form, I received a message from Ebb Magtuba, the CEO of RYP Realty Team, one of Jay’s partners in the Trace Trajano’s Apprentice Challenge.  I met up with Ebb over a cup of coffee, and he shared his story on how he got involved on real-estate.  I also learned that RYP Realty team was the leading contender in the Apprentice Challenge.  To someone who has limited experience when it comes to real-estate, I felt a whole new world was opening before my eyes.

The following week, my wife and I met up with Ebb again.  This time, Ebb was with Eden Alemania-Dayrit, the very successful real-estate investor who was the one structuring the whole deal.  Both Ebb and Eden went with us to checkout the property that we would be investing in.

As investor, the opportunity was to get into a private lending deal that could potentially earn us a little bit of “passive” money, without us having to do any of the hard work of doing renovations, processing legal papers, as well as marketing and selling the property.

The 3 Questions You Should Ask Before You Lend Your Money

Before investing our money though, there were 3 things we were concerned about.  First, how soon can we get the money we lent back?  Second, what is the worst case scenario?  Lastly, what’s the track record of the other party we’re dealing with?

For the first question, Eden confirmed that we can expect to receive our money back plus interests in not more than 4 months, regardless if the property is sold or not.  After we get our money back, Eden’s plan is to use her earnings from her other successful real-estate deals to continue to market the property.  At that point, we would now be risk-free since we already made our money.

For the second question, the absolute worst case scenario would be us ending up with the property.  When you think about it, it would not be that bad at all since we would have gotten a great property at below market price.  Since we were able to visit the actual property, we already know its exact condition, how much renovation it probably needs, and how conducive the neighborhood is for home owners.

While going around the area, we also managed to find out how much other similar houses were being sold for.  So at least, we got some idea whether the price of the house we were investing in was within reasonable range. Add it to the fact that Eden was also able to sell a similar property in the same neighborhood for a higher price.  So in the point of view of the end-buyer/home owner, it would come out as a great deal.

For the last question, it was interesting that even at a young age, Eden has already done more than a dozen similar deals, some even in the same area where the property we were investing in was located.  She’s definitely not a beginner.  Even with her success, she still manages to stay humble and seek out the support of other successful real-estate investors like Trace Trajano and Larry Gamboa who continue to mentor and help her out in case an unexpected scenario happens.

Out of curiosity, I also asked her what was the worst thing she experienced so far as a real-estate investor and she willingly shared a problem about a tenant who encountered financial difficulty and was not able to pay up on time.  The good news was that even with that problem, she was still able to get her money back.

Ready, Fire, Aim

In the end, even though there’s a certain amount of risk involved, the answers to these 3 questions and the legal papers that support the “worst case” scenario as well as the integrity of the people we’re dealing with was more than enough to calm my nerves.  But as with anything related to money, only time will tell whether it is really a good deal or not.

At this point in my life, however, I would like to believe this is a very good opportunity to learn the world of real-estate investing first hand.  It matters not whether my decision will result into success or failure.  What matters more to me is the realization that I can be courageous enough to take action in spite of my fears and be willing to fail and learn to gain actual real-estate investing experience.

In all honesty, the whole experience made me anxious and excited at the same time.  With the experience, I have more reason to continue learning about real-estate investing so that I can manage the risks better in my next deals.

As always, whatever I learn from the whole real-estate investing experience, I will gladly share them to you through this blog.

How about you?  How’s your experience investing in real-estate so far?

P.S. Do you want (or know anyone who wants) to make 10-15% return on their money per year with little or no risk?  Fill-up the investor form to find out more about this opportunity.

Categories
Investing Life Updates

Rich Money Habits Carnival – Summer Edition

Welcome to the Summer Edition of Rich Money Habits Carnival. In this edition, we will showcase the best of the best personal finance articles and stories through our Rich Money Habits Top 5 picks! Explore with Dora and find out how to manage your own money.  Strengthen your mental beliefs and develop a richer financial mindset!  Most of all, enjoy the summer with a healthy dose of financial ideas to help you achieve your dream of financial freedom!

Rich Money Habits Top 5 Picks

  • Jason @ Redeeming Riches presents 5 Things Dora the Explorer Teaches Us About Personal Financial Planning posted at Redeeming Riches, saying, “Learn what a cartoon can teach about personal finance!” [RMH] Great analogy.  Not surprisingly, the seemingly complicated ideas on money are best explained by going through an ordinary day in the life of Dora the Explorer.
  • The Investor presents Earn more money by tackling your mental beliefs posted at Monevator.com, saying, “Most of us have subconscious attitudes towards money that affect our thinking – and even how much we get in our paycheck at the end of the month.”  [RMH] Very interesting article on limiting belies that prevent you from achieving your financial goals.  It reminds me of T Harv Eker’ Secret of the Millionaire Mind book.  Read on and become aware how these limiting beliefs can rob you of your chance to becoming financially rich.
  • Joe Plemon presents Stretch the Life of Your Mower by Giving Him a Name posted at Personal Finance By The Book, saying, “The best way to stretch the life of your mower is to care for him, but if you are less than meticulous about equipment maintenance, naming him works pretty well.” [RMH] Great story about the life of a mower.  The mower springs back to life and became “Lazarus”…but I am getting ahead of myself.  Read the story and you’ll know how giving importance to your blessings (even a mower) can give you so much stories and wonderful memories to treasure.
  • Roshawn Watson presents What’s Your Financial Mindset posted at Watson Inc, saying, “A study by Nielson and research firm Inmar has illuminated the spending habits of the affluent. Did you know that affluent households tend to be heavier coupon users than those with lower incomes? This is one of the ways a person gains a high net worth in the first place: he knows how to spot a deal” [RMH] Very powerful message.  I can’t help but remember the same ideas from the book Millionaire Next Door.  While it’s very true that being frugal is NOT glamorous and does not sell on TV, it is also good to know what’s really important to you – the glamour you get by pretending to be wealthy like the one portrayed on TV? or liberation from 9-5 drudgery by building your money habits to achieve financial freedom?
  • Writers Coin presents Five Money Ratios to Live By posted at Wisebread, saying, “Five simple ratios to simplify your financial life. But are some more valuable than others?” [RMH] Very informative.  I think these ratios are very useful in that they give you a quick measure of your financial health check and can help you decide how much should you save, invest, spend of your money.

Other interesting articles in this edition

Banking and Credit Cards

Investing

Passive Income

Personal finance

Real-estate

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of rich money habits carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Categories
Life Lessons Money Mindset Personal Finance

3 Ways To Save Money on Your Next Vacation

I’ve been very busy the past month…going out to the beach every weekend! 🙂

The first one was to enjoy a summer outing with my wife’s high school friends.  The second, to attend a beach wedding of one our office mates.  The last, to celebrate my sister’s graduation with an overnight stay at a white-sand beach paradise in the north of the Philippines — Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte.

What can I say? It’s summer time in the Philippines!

la_luz_beach_loft_room_for_10 The Philippines, with its 7,107 islands boasts of very beautiful coastlines and mesmerizing beaches.  Enjoying a weekend at the beach, however, need not be expensive.  Here are some saving tips I learned while enjoying my summer vacation.

1) Share a ride

Share a ride together with friends to save on gas and/or travel expenses.  Do a carpool. 

The first time I shared a ride, I was the one driving.  Me, my wife and her friends went out on a summer outing to La Luz Batangas, a 3-hour drive south of Manila.  Two of our friends rode with us on that beautiful Sunday morning.  My wife enjoyed the trip because she was able to catch up and share stories with her friends while I busy myself driving us to our destination.

The second time I shared a ride, my wife and I attended a beach wedding.  One of our friends was gracious enough to offer us a ride going to the venue which was (surprise! surprise!) the same beach we went to the previous week for our summer outing.  Even though it was the same beach, we were still thrilled because it was our first time to attend a beach wedding. 

One thing I noticed while driving in the Philippines is that majority of Filipinos drive a van or something large to fit the whole family.  This is nice because you can save on gas if the whole family is riding with you.  But if you’re the only one in the car, you’re actually losing money because you consume more gas than if you were only driving a small car.  Just a little something to keep in mind when deciding to buy a car. 🙂

2) Share a room

Share a room with your friends.  You not only save on accommodation, you even get to spend more time with your friends.  The great thing about going to the beach with friends is that you get to share stories with them.  Sometimes, you even remember “old” funny moments together and laugh your hearts out reminiscing those days.

Besides, if everyone is having so much fun, finding the time to sleep is the farthest thing on everyone’s mind.  🙂

In both the summer outing and the beach wedding, we were able to share a room together with friends.  Our expense is about PhP 500 each per night.  That’s 10 of us.  So the room is actually around PhP 5,000 (US 100) for a one night stay.  Not too pricey. But it’s a big savings for us considering that if my wife and I got a room for ourselves only, we would have spent around PhP 3,000.

Of course, if you’re on a honeymoon, that’s a different story. You obviously cannot share a room with your friends. 🙂

3) Cook your own food

If your resort allows it, it’s cheaper to prepare and cook your own meals.  We were able to take advantage of this while celebrating my sister’s graduation since the resort we got was actually owned by one of my mother’s distant relative.

My aunt and mom prepared the meals together and I helped out grill the pork and fish.  Unfortunately, the weather was not helping out that time since it was raining hard while I was busy grilling.  One thing I learned — It’s hard to grill fish against a windy rain! 🙂

The morning after, the weather was better.  We were able to enjoy and swim on the beach and take a few pictures just like this one. 

saud_beach_pagudpud_ilocos_norte

Hope the above tips help you save money on your next vacation!  Cheers!

Categories
Life Lessons Money Mindset

Money and the Philippine Elections

It’s only a few days before the first-ever Philippine automated elections.  Every time I turn the TV on, all I see are the campaign ads from the different candidates.  It’s becoming irritating to watch these ads over and over again.  It has come to a point where I would change channels whenever any of these ads start to air. 

When you consider that each 30-second TV ad is worth millions of pesos, and you see non-stop airing of these ads for the same candidates, it begs the question, how much money are these candidates (or their supporters) spending for their campaigns?  I’m beginning to imagine that the only one getting rich these days are the TV companies.

Whether we like it or not, money is playing a big role on the Philippine’s first-ever automated elections, not only on the billions of pesos spent staging the automation process but also on the money spent by candidates in campaigning.

The Philippine government is paying billions of pesos for this election automation.  This money is spent on

  • paying for the PCOS machines that read the ballots and count the votes,
  • printing of official ballots,
  • delivering the election materials to the different precincts,
  • compensation for those involved in the implementation of the automated election,
  • controversial (and hugely overpriced?) ballot secrecy folders, indelible ink, and more

The candidates (and their supporters) are spending millions (if not billions) of money in campaigning.  This money is spent on

  • giveaways like shirts, house and lot, and other prizes,
  • endorsements from popular celebrities, actors and singers, 
  • hundreds (or thousands) of cash handed out to each voter (vote buying?),
  • campaign ads on TV, newspaper, radio, internet, 
  • logistics and travel expenses (helicopter?) and more

With majority of Filipinos still glued to their TV screens, TV is still one of the most effective medium through which candidates can reach out to millions of voters. Using the internet would be way cheaper compared to paying a 30-second segment on TV.  Unfortunately, most Filipinos still don’t have access to the internet.  It’s no wonder that candidates heavily spending on this medium are leading in surveys. 

In the end, even if money is influencing a lot of things in this election, one thing it cannot take away is the hope and determination of each Filipino to dream for a better Philippines in the years ahead.  Each vote cast in the upcoming elections is a show of support and confidence not only on the candidates, but on the country’s ability to make the first-ever automated elections happen in a peaceful and orderly manner.

Influenced by money or not, let’s make the country proud by voting wisely, and help the country build a better future.  Cheers!