Month: August 2010

Categories
Life Updates Money Mindset

Rich Money Habits is joining the Yakezie Challenge

Today is a great day for Rich Money Habits.  This marks the day that I am joining the Yakezie Challenge.  I came across the Yakezie Challenge a few months ago after my guest post “5 Money Habits I Learned That Will Never Make Me Rich” was featured at financialsamurai.com.  I thought about joining then but hesitated because I felt I wasn’t ready to take the challenge on just yet. 

What’s the Yakezie Challenge

”The Yakezie is an exclusive network of the finest personal finance and lifestyle bloggers in the world.  It was founded by Sam of financialsamurai.com in the hope of creating powerful friends and becoming an influential bunch of personal finance bloggers.  The Yakezie Challenge is to get your personal finance blog’s Alexa ranking to the top 200,000 in 6 months.  Rich Money Habits is starting at a rank of 1,079,182!  Yes, that’s 1 million ++!  Didn’t I say this is a challenge?! 🙂

Why am I joining the Yakezie Challenge

There are several reasons why I would like to join but mainly I just want to reach out to other personal finance bloggers out there.  One thing I realized while writing my Top 10 list of the emerging influential blogs of 2010 is that I didn’t know many of them.  This is an opportunity for me to reach out and become more involved.  Other than that, here are a few more reasons why I am joining the Yakezie challenge. 

1)  Personal challenge

Getting the Alexa ranking from 1,079,182 to 200,000 in 6 months won’t be easy.  It will definitely stretch me to do things I’ve never done before.  Until today, I’ve been content watching by the sidelines, minding my own business.  I think it’s time to challenge myself even further and truly commit to making this blog better and achieve a higher Alexa ranking.

2)  Be part of a great community

Blogging can sometimes be a lonely journey.  Most of the time, it’s just me facing my laptop and typing away at the keyboard.  Yes, there’s the occasional comment every now and then (which is great) but nothing beats being able to bounce ideas with other people with similar interests as well.  I think Yakezie network is a great community to be part of and a great venue to do just that.

3) Expand Rich Money Habits’ network

Being in the Alexa top 200,000 will bring a lot of benefits to this blog.  Traffic of course will be the main thing.  It means this blog will be able to reach out to more people.  More people will benefit from the interesting articles and the amazing products Rich Money Habits recommend.  Of course, that will also translate to more opportunities and income from this site, which is also nice.

That’s it.  I have a long, long, long way to go to get to Alexa ranking 200,000 so I better get started right away.  Wish me luck! 🙂

 

P.S.  Care to join me in this new challenge?  Join the Yakezie Challenge now.

Categories
Life Lessons Money Mindset

Launching the Rich Money Habits Newsletter – 8 Ways To Shift Your Money Habits and Be Rich

“Join my Rich Money Habits Newsletter mailing list and get your FREE issue of the Rich Money Habits 101 Series: 8 Ways To Shift Your Money Habits and Be Rich!” 

8 ways to shift your money habits and be rich coverDiscover the 8 secret money habits that have personally helped me

 – get out of debt

– save for emergency fund, and

– start investing for my family’s future

Today, I am writing to you from Island Cove Resort Hotel in Bacoor, Cavite, Philippines, about an hour drive south of Metro Manila. My wife and I are taking our much needed vacation to spend some quality time after a year of working so hard and not getting much rest. 😉

Before I consume too much of that vacation time, I wanted to let you in on a major project I have been working on the past couple of weeks.  My project is aptly titled “Rich Money Habits 101 Series – 8 Ways to Shift Your Money Habits and Be Rich.”

For the first time ever, I will share to you the secret money habits that have personally helped me get out of debt, save for emergency fund and start investing for my family’s future. 

I don’t claim to be a personal finance expert (disclaimer) so you should take whatever I share with a grain of salt (or pepper, whatever you like =)).  You have to filter out what’s practical and applicable to your own situation.  I am just a regular guy who went through (and may still be going through) the same money problems that you may be experiencing right now, sharing the money habits & tips that have helped me solve some of those problems.  My only wish is that the simple money tips and experiences I share help encourage you in your journey to financial freedom.

Unknown to many, some of the subscribers of this blog have already gotten a taste of the 8 secret money habits I mentioned above.  Here’s one of the subscribers has to say about the Rich Money Habits Series.

“Good evening Mr. Allan. I just read your article, it’s great! I really like your writing style, good flow, well organized…” – Anthony

If you want to find out what Anthony has discovered, sign-up to my Rich Money Habits Newsletter now!  It’s totally FREE!

Categories
Books

Book Review: The Instant Millionaire by Mark Fisher

A couple of weeks back, I received a review copy of Mark Fisher’s book “The Instant Millionaire: A Tale of Wisdom and Wealth” from Kim of newworldlibrary.com but due to busy schedule, I’ve only been able to write a review just now.

Before I say anything else, please note that I am not being paid for this review.  However, I did receive the review copy of the book for FREE which is great and if you click the picture below, and buy the book from amazon, I would earn a little affiliate income.

With that out of the way, the book Instant Millionaire, is a fable (short story) of a young man who wanted to be rich and seek out to learn from an old rich man they call the instant millionaire.

The_Instant_Millionaire_Mark_Fisher

The 3 ideas that struck me most when I read the book

1.  The Power of Words

There’s this one scene in the book where the master was demonstrating how powerful words really are, especially the words that we tell ourselves.  The scene describes the young man screaming for help in fear of losing his dear life, simply because he read a few words on a computer screen and put meaning into those words and made himself “believe” that his life was in danger even if it was actually not.  Words are just words.  But the meaning we put into those words spell the difference.

2.  The Power of Stories

What I liked about the book is that it was written as a short story.  The book is an easy reading.  I managed to read the book from cover to cover in just one sitting.  I don’t know if it’s just me, but I learn more when I enjoy reading.  And reading a good story captures my imagination even more powerful than just a list of bullet points from a powerpoint presentation.

3.  The Power of Habits

The term instant millionaire is a misnomer because in the story, the young man mapped out a plan to be a millionaire in 6 years!  I don’t think many people would consider 6 years as instant!  In reality, most overnight successes are actually long, long years of preparation.  We only see the success, but we fail to go behind the many long hours of frustration and self-doubt before that.  Success is a product of a lifetime of great habits coming into fruition.

Who should buy this book

  • those who want to read a good old short story of having a rich money mindset
  • those who loved reading the classic “who moved my cheese” and probably want to read another fable to entertain and make them think about life again
  • those who are looking for a different way of thinking about money

Who should NOT buy this book

  • those who focused on the word “instant” in the title and looking for a get rich quick scheme
  • those who are looking for a specific step-by-step how-to instruction guide on getting rich
  • those who want to become an instant millionaire and don’t want to pay the price

Overall, this is a good short story style reading book you can finish in one sitting.  It does not really get into the nitty-gritty and how-to stuffs of getting rich but if you’re looking for an easy way to learn to think like a millionaire, this book is a good start.

P.S. Want to have your book reviewed and your story featured here at Rich Money Habits? Contact me.

P.P.S. Want to hear more about book reviews in the future, subscribe to Rich Money Habits now!

P.P.P.S. Become a fan of Rich Money Habits in Facebook!  Click the Like button now!

Categories
Stocks

How to Fund Your CitisecOnline (COL) Account via BPI Express Online

Ever since I’ve opened my CitisecOnline (COL) account, I’ve been doing fund transfers from my BPI express online savings account to my COL account whenever I want to fund it and buy some stocks.  Recently, I was having trouble doing fund transfers for some reason.  I wasn’t sure whether the problem was with BPI Express Online or with CitiseOnline since I have never encountered this problem before.

While thinking whether to call BPI or COL, I asked my wife whether she was having the same problem.  She simply answered, no.  I then asked her how she funds her COL account and to my surprise she was not doing a fund transfer but instead uses BPI expressonline’s Bills Payment facility.  I tried it out and in just 15 minutes, I was able to enroll my COL account into BPI expressonline Bills Payment and do a bills payment transaction to fund it.

Here are the 3 steps I did.

Step 1 – Enroll Your COL account into BPI Express Online Bills Payment facility

  1. Log on to www.bpiexpressonline.com
  2. Enter your username and password
  3. Under Payments & Reloading, click Bills Payments, click Enroll all other Bills
  4. Enter your BPI account number and Joint Account Indicator No.  (this is the 2-digit no. located at the lower right hand corner of your ATM card right across your name)
  5. Under Bill information, select CITISECONLINE.COM INC. (COL) as the enrollee merchant
  6. Enter your CitisecOnline account number (8-digit code username) on the space under Reference Number (I entered mine with the dash in it xxxx-xxxx and it worked fine)
  7. Click Submit

Step 2 – Fund Your COL account by doing a Bills Payment transaction

  1. Under Payments & Reloading, click Bills Payment, click Pay Bills Today
  2. Under Pay, choose your CitisecOnline Account
  3. Enter the amount
  4. Choose BPI account from where payment will come from
  5. Click Submit

Step 3 – Verify that Your COL account is funded with the correct amount

  1. You should receive a confirmation once your COL account has been enrolled
  2. You should receive a confirmation email from BPI if payment was successful.
  3. You should receive a confirmation email from COL once they’ve received the amount and credited it into your COL account.

It only took me 15 minutes to set this up but the time savings and convenience of not having to wait in line at the bank just to fund my COL account brings a smile to my face.

Hope the above tips make your stock investing convenient and hassle-free!

Categories
Life Lessons Personal Finance

What Makes You Rich

What makes a person rich?  How do you define who’s rich and who’s not?

Is it about having money? If I give you a thousand dollars now, would you be considered rich? How about if I give you a million? How about a billion? At which point do you consider yourself rich?

To answer this question, I’d like to borrow Tim Ferriss’ term “New Rich”. The “New Rich”, have 3 things in common: money, time, mobility. I like this definition because it doesn’t look at being rich as a one-dimensional goal that you have to get to. It is a combination of time, money and mobility that gives a new meaning to the phrase "financial freedom".

Money

Of course. This is obvious. The more money you have, the richer you become. At least financially. For many people, this is the only definition that they know of being rich. A lotto winner is rich. A doctor is rich. A lawyer is rich. They earn millions a year. They are what we call high-income earners.

It’s no wonder then that a lot of well meaning parents encourage their children to go to school, get good grades, study medicine or become a lawyer. After graduation, they are supposed to get a good job, climb up the corporate ladder and become rich.

There’s nothing wrong with that.

Unfortunately, in most cases, the high-income earners also face a dilemma of having to live a high-expense lifestyle. They have to drive an expensive car. They have to live in a big house. In all fairness, this is needed in their profession. Who would want to consult a doctor who is driving a truck. It doesn’t fit the image we have of a successful doctor.

Then there’s also the issue of income tax. The more income you earn, the more taxes you pay.

In short being high-earner has its corresponding drawbacks. It is not enough to earn a high income. If all the income you earn is going out as an expense. Worse, it may be that your expenses is even greater than your income, and you end up going through debts. Your debts stresses you out. You become ill just thinking about it.  You become more irritable.  Your friends abandon you.  Your world comes crashing down.

Time

If I give you a billion dollars but you need to work 24 hours a day, everyday for the whole year, would you take it? I hope not, because you’d be working yourself out, get exhausted, and basically end up not having the time to enjoy your billion dollars.

Having all the money in the world and not having the time to enjoy the fruits of your labor is not a very good idea. Unfortunately, a lot of people end up in this situation. As they get promoted in the corporate ladder, they gain more responsibilities. More responsibilities mean more time working in the office. More time away from your family. More sacrifices.

Whenever you want to take a vacation, you’d have to ask for your boss’ approval. If you get lucky, your vacation is approved. Unfortunately, while you’re on vacation, your mobile phone rings and you would have to answer your boss’ questions. Sometimes, they even require you to bring your laptop on your vacation.

Having time to be able to enjoy life and pursue projects that I would like is one of my personal goals.  My dream is to be able to take a vacation for at least a month, whenever and wherever I want and not worry about being disturbed by a call from my boss asking me to cut my vacation short.  I dream of being able to extend my vacation for a few more months whenever I want to and not worry about money or my business.

Mobility

Mobility is having the freedom to go anywhere you want to go, any time you want.  If you have a job, this is particularly hard to do.  For one, you can not just take a vacation any time you want.  You have to ask permission from your boss.  Second, you cannot just stop going to your job and go somewhere else.  At some point, you still have to go back to your job to make money to pay for your needs.

There have been countless times when I didn’t want to get out of bed in the morning. But since I had to go to the office and work, I felt helpless.  I felt forced to go to work even if I was so tired.  There were times I even have to cut my vacation short just to work.

It is especially harder if you are in debt and have to pay mortgage for your house.  If you are relying on your job for income, you are practically tied to it.  You can not resign.  Otherwise, you run the risk of not being able to pay for your debts and have your house foreclosed.

Mobility means having the choice to go on tour for months, hopping from one country to another, and not having to worry about whatever you left behind.  You can enjoy your vacation with peace of mind.

Journey To Financial Freedom

I am not yet rich based on the above criteria, but I’d like to think I am on my way there.  I have managed to pay off my debts and saved for emergency fund and insurance.  With the extra income we generate each month, my wife and I have started to learn to invest our money.  As a result, our dreams are now becoming more real each day that passes by. Yes, I am still a long way to go but each step I make is a move forward to my dreams.  It is just a matter of time before I reach my goal.

If you’re already financially free, congratulations! I’d like to treat you for lunch and learn from you. I’d like to find out how you did it so I can feature you here in Rich Money Habits blog and inspire our readers as well.

If you’re like me, working your way to achieve financial freedom, I invite you to come join me in my journey and discover the rich money habits that will take us to our dreams!

 

P.S. Last chance to get your FREE ebook by Bo Sanchez.  If you haven’t received your copy yet, CLICK HERE NOW! This special offer will be closing in 3 days (Aug 12, 2010)!

P.P.S.  For those looking to invest in RTBs, the Bureau of Treasury is doing a price-setting auction this August 10, 2010.  Inquire at your bank’s nearest branch whether they are selling RTBs within the next weeks.  You need to act fast, since, RTBs normally run out fast.

P.P.P.S.  I’ve been busy lately working on our first ever money habits article series – "Rich Money Habits 101 – 8 Ways To Shift Your Money Habits and Be Rich".  Be the first to receive the article series by subscribing to Rich Money Habits!

Categories
Credit Card Life Lessons Money Mindset

4 Money Habits That Can Lead Anyone To Debt Problems…And How You Can Overcome Them

Here’s an inspiring guest post from Jason on how he managed to pay off a total of $70,000 in debt in 3 and 1/2 years by overcoming his poor money habits and building better ones.

It is said “As you sow so shall you reap”. Same thing happened with me. I myself was solely responsible for landing into debt problems. You can read this story to know how I landed into debt problems. It would help you avoid making the same mistakes. Though I managed to get out of debt, yet I would advise you all to stop doing things that can lead you to debt problems and filing a bankruptcy.

Here are some money habits that led me into huge amount of debt.

1. Not planning a budget – I didn’t understand the importance of planning a budget. So, I used to spend nearly 98% of what I earned every month. I should mention here that I didn’ t have any extra income. My monthly earning comprised of only my salary.

2. Using credit cards for every purchase – To worsen the situation, sometimes, I used to spend more than what I earned. I swiped my credit cards with the intention of paying back the balance next month. But I was never able to repay the balance in full. Sometimes, I even missed making the minimum payments on credit cards. As a result, interest got piled up making it even more difficult for me to pay off the balances. I also swiped my credit cards for each and every purchase. Right from grocery shopping to eating outs, I used plastic money to pay the bills.

3. Lifestyle mistakes – I had a habit of eating out every weekend and shopping whenever I wanted to. A substantial amount of my salary was used to pay these expenses.

4. Not paying heed to creditor letters – I also received letters from creditors asking me to pay off bills. However, I didn’t pay much attention toward paying off my debts.
Then, one day, my brother got admitted to hospital and I had to borrow from my friends and relatives in order to pay the medical bills. That day I realized my mistakes and promised myself to pay off my debts as fast as possible.

How I was able to pay off $70,000 in 3 1/2 years

All in total, I paid off about $70,000 – Want to know how? Frankly speaking, I thought I wouldn’t be able to repay the outstanding balance in full. So, I decided to negotiate with my creditors to reduce the debt amount so that I could pay it off. The only other option left for me was to file a bankruptcy in order to get rid of my debts. Knowing that I could file a bankruptcy, my creditors reduced the outstanding balances to about 55%. After the reduction, I needed to pay about $38,500.

I managed to pay off the debts within 3 ½ years of time. To do this, I had to plan a frugal budget and follow it strictly. Though it was a bit difficult at the initial stage, yet following the budget became easier as soon as I paid off the first debt. It motivated me to get out of debt successfully.

Jason Holmes is a regular writer with Debt Consolidation Care and is also a contributory writer with other financial sites. His expertise is woven around various aspects of the debt industry and he tries to impart to people the different situations and simple solutions to get out of difficult situations through his e-books like ‘Credit Score The Quintessential Therapy for a Happy Pocket’, Take Creditors and Collection Agencies to Small Claims Court’ and, ‘My Story- From Depression To a Smile’.

P.S. Readers, what other tips can you share on paying off debts?

P.P.S. Do you want to share your own rich money habits story to our readers?  Send us your guest story using the Contact Page. It’s your time. To Share. To Inspire. To Shine.