MONEY TACTS

NEW BLOG

2008-10-12T23:14:00.000+08:00

This blog has a new address. Please visit XeRKel.

CREDIT CARD DEATH

2008-10-08T21:53:00.000+08:00

I used to have a total of P80,000.00 balance on 4 credit cards. I have 6 credit cards. That was 4 years ago. I was in deep sh*t. I can only pay the minimum amount due every month because I still have to pay for other things. And when I ran out of money and needs to buy some groceries and milk for my son, I will use again my credit card. It's a cycle. I pay a little and spend a lot. Luckily, my husband sold his other car and the proceeds went to paying the credit card balances. I then terminated some of my cards and retain 3 of them. Now, I'm wiser on using my card.

I still use my cards but I make sure that I will pay more than the minimum amount. And sometimes even if I have the cash, I will use my card to earn some points then deposit the equivalent amount on my bank account and make payments thru online banking before the due date.

FINANCIAL SITUATION UPDATE # 3

2008-10-03T15:17:00.000+08:00

CARD # 1 = P 12,000.00

CARD # 2 = P 5,000.00

CARD# 3 = P 37,000.00 (laptop and car stereo at 0% interest)(monthly payment is P 4,000.00)

Educational Fund : P 5,000.00 (I started with this amount and aim to add P5,000 every month)

Retirement Fund: P -0-

Emergency Fund 1: P 10,000.00

Emergency Fund 2: P -0-

Passive Income: P -0-

SALARY LOAN

2008-10-03T15:06:00.000+08:00

My brother is working at a local bank and the perks of being a regular employee is being able to avail of their SALARY LOAN feature. He was hesitant to take a loan at first. But he already has plenty of ideas where he will use the money. A few weeks later, he avail of the loan and purchased a photocopy machine and rented it out to our relative. He made a really wise decision. I thought he will use it to buy a cellphone or other appliances. But I think he listened to my advice. I told him that if he is going to buy something, make sure that it will put money in his pocket not the other way around.

So before making a huge purchase next time, think first if the item is a CASH IN or CASH OUT.

CASH IN = will generate money for you
CASH OUT = will take away money from you

FINANCIAL SITUATION UPDATE # 2

2008-09-06T12:07:00.000+08:00

We were able to have some extra cash because of farming and decided to pay off some debts instead of buying things. So here's our financial situation update:

CARD# 1 : P 15,000.00

CARD # 2: P 9,000.00

CARD# 3: 22,500.00

ORGANIZE

2008-08-20T20:49:00.001+08:00

When was the last time you re-arranged your closet or your room? A year ago? Now is the time to do it and you will be surprised what treasures you can find. I am pretty sure you will find old unused clothes and things that still look okay and new. You can sell them on eBay or organize a garage sale. This will give you extra money. You can also invite friends and organize a swap party. By this way, you will have new clothes and things without paying for one.

FARMING

2008-08-20T20:32:00.000+08:00

Farming can give you extra income. Do you have any unused land about 1 hectare? You can plant crops on it. Here are some guidelines if you want to start farming:

1.) Ask around. Try to check what crops are usually planted in your area. Some crops do not perform well on certain locations so be sure to check first before deciding what crop to use.

2.) Look for a buyer of your chosen crop so you won't have a problem disposing it once you started harvesting.

2.) Ask for help. If you finally decided what crop to use, hire someone to get you started. You have to plow the land and plant the seeds. Local residents can be hired to do this. The crops should also be checked from time to time if they are growing accordingly and are not hit by any diseases.

3.) Record your expenses. List down all the costs you incurred for the planting project.

4.) Don't be discourage if the output is not that huge. You just started, you will learn along the way. Try to experiment. There is not perfect formula on this.

NETWORKING

2008-07-29T04:39:00.000+08:00

Are you a member of a networking company? This kind of business is one way for financial security if only you know how to handle it. With this kind of business, the law of leverage applies here. It means you have to use other people's time to make money. You have to create a dedicated and hardworking downlines before you can see yourself successful in this business. Selling ability is also important here because you have products to sell. This is not about recruiting as many downlines as you can. It is also about having members that believe in the products and inform other people about it. It is about having people who are determined to be successful themselves.

Here are the list of some networking companies I joined:

Forever Living Products
Vision Unlimited
Herbalife
Fern-C
First Quadrant
Avon
DXN

But I was not successful or let's just say I don't have the talent to convince people to join. So I only purchase their respective products and use it personally.

A HOUSE IS "NOT" AN INVESTMENT

2008-07-21T23:36:00.003+08:00

How many times did you hear people say, "You should buy your own house because it is an investment". Well, they are partly correct. It is an investment or an asset if you get money out of it. If you purchase a house to have it rented, then it is an asset / investment because it is making money for you. But if you purchase a house for your own shelter, it is not considered an asset. It is in fact a liability. Why a liability? Because you spend cash for its monthly upkeep, maintenance and utilities. You even spend more on furniture, machines, and equipments to make your stay more comfortable.

Assets/Investments are the things or instruments that make money for you. Liabilities, on the other hand, are the ones taking your money away from you.

AVOID FEES

2008-07-14T00:28:00.002+08:00

Are you using your own bank's ATM services? If not, then you are wasting money. Bank charges about P9.50 to P11.00 for non-bank transactions on their ATM machines. It may be small but it will still add up. So if you're planning to open an ATM account, try to check first if the bank has a lot of ATM machines strategically situated wherein you can access it easier, in a secure place, and can be used anytime of the day. The most annoying thing that can happen is being prompted by a "MACHINE UNAVAILABLE" message on the ATM screen.

FINANCIAL SITUATION UPDATE # 1

2008-07-12T10:48:00.004+08:00

Card 1: P 34,000.00
Card 2: P 8,000.00 (this used to be P18,000.00)
Card 3: P30,000.00 (purchase of new laptop 0% interest for 12 months)

Emergency Fund 1: still at P10,000.00

Emergency Fund 2: P -0-

Educational Fund: target would be P 2.5 million

Retirement Fund: target would be P 5 million

Passive Income: P -0-

MONITOR YOUR EXPENSES

2008-07-06T11:41:00.002+08:00

To determine where do you spend most of your money, it is better if you write down all your everday expenses for a month. By doing this, you will be able to see what purchases were really not necessary and what other things you can cut down. This will also take discipline because we usually get tired of listing down everything everyday. But if you are really serious on managing your finances, you will do this everyday for a month. It is even better if you will make this a habit.

If you are married, inform your partner about this monitoring activity so that he/she will also be aware of monitoring his/her own expenses. If you have kids that have money allowances, teach them to list their everyday expenses, too.

You can also make this a fun activity by comparing notes at the end of the day and see who got the lowest money spent.

eBay FINED

2008-07-01T15:16:00.003+08:00

Have you sold or bought items from eBay.com? I read that eBay is fined millions of dollar for selling fake luxury goods. Click here for more information.

Is this going to happen to other online auction/trading sites?

FINANCIAL SITUATION

2008-06-29T18:10:00.003+08:00

Here is my current financial situation:

Credit Card 1: P 31,000.00
Credit Card 2: P 18,000.00

Emergency Fund 1: P 10,000.00 (goal is P50,000.00)(for emergency situation like hospitalization)

Emergency Fund 2: P -0- (3 to 6 months worth of salary for living expenses in case of job loss)

Educational Fund: P -0- (college tuition for my 3 children)(goal is P1,500,000.00)(I have 10 years to build this up)(tuition fee is increasing every year)

Retirement Fund: P -0- (goal is P2,500,000.00)(I plan to retire when I reach 60. I'm 27 now so I still have 33 years to raise this amount).( Partial amount raised, if there is any, will be put in time deposit the same with Educational Fund).

Passive Income: P-0- (will try to look for one)

GOAL:

Pay off my credit card debts on or before December 2008 before moving on to Emergency Fund 1.

How about you? What is your financial situation? What are you goals?

PLAN YOUR MEALS

2008-06-29T13:13:00.004+08:00

Plan your family's meal for 1 week. Write down what's for breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday of the week. You can include snacks if you want. Then make a grocery list of all the ingredients you need to prepare the meals. By that way, you will only buy what you really need. This will also avoid food spoilages since all the items you buy will be cooked and used within the week according to the meal planner you prepared. You can also allocate one dinner a week for eating out with the whole family. By having a list, you will also avoid emergency trips to the grocery store because you forgot to buy something. This will save you time and fuel.

Food is one of our major expense. Everybody eats. And if you don't plan it out, you're only flashing money down the drain.

BPI EXPRESS CREDIT CARD CLASSIC

2008-06-28T00:13:00.004+08:00

If you're planning to have a credit card, try to apply for this one. It has a low monthly interest rate of 2.75% and new purchases are not charged interest. Plus, late payment fee is also minimal compared to other cards that charges P600 or more. Annual membership fee is P1,250. The first supplementary card is free membership for life while P625 will be billed annually for the 2nd to 6th extensions you have.

To avoid inconvenience, be sure to ask the cashier if they accept this card because some stores do not.

DEBT SNOWBALL PLAN

2008-06-27T23:34:00.008+08:00

Do you have credit cards? How much do you owe from them?

Here are some tips on how to pay-off your credit card bills:

1) List all the balances on each card. Then follow the debt snowball plan of Dave Ramsey.
ex. CARD 1 = P5000
CARD 2 = P 8500

2) Pay the minimum amount on both cards then add additional payment to the card with the lowest balance. By this way, you will be eliminating first the card that you have the lowest debt. Given you have budgeted P2000 to pay your monthly credit card bills and the minimum payment for the each card is P500.

ex. CARD 1 = P 5000 -500 -1000= P3500
CARD 2 = P 8500 - 500 = P 4500

3) Do this every month until you fully pay CARD 1. When done so, pay all the P2000 to CARD 2 until fully paid.

4) Be sure that you will not add any purchases using credit card so that you will achieve your goal of eliminating your credit card debts.

LIVE BELOW YOUR MEANS

2008-06-15T23:59:00.004+08:00

We always hear people say "live within your means" if you want to be rich. But as I have read some books on how to get rich, they say the correct way to start building your fortune is to "LIVE BELOW YOUR MEANS". And it really makes sense. Imagine, if you live within your means, meaning all your income is equal to your expenses. Break-even point. But if you live below your means, there is savings since you live below your usual cost of living expenses. The extra money left can be a good start in accumulating your fortune.

Most of us live a life of paycheck to paycheck. That is because we have the mentality that since we are earning, we should spend everything we earn. But that is not correct. Just follow this equation by heart and you're starting your way to good money habits that will help you accumulate wealth:

INCOME - SAVINGS = EXPENSE

SAVE FIRST then spend what is left.

ENTREPRENEUR

2008-04-14T19:46:00.003+08:00

Here is another website wherein I love to read something about business ideas.

GO NEGOSYO

2008-04-09T23:25:00.006+08:00

There is no single second in my life that I don't think about having my own business. The problem is, I don't have the GUTS to start one. I don't think CAPITAL is really a problem because most successful businesses now started with only small capital. So everytime my business minded mind attacks again, I surf the net and visit websites that help budding entrepreneurs. One of these website is GO NEGOSYO . They have tv shows but I just don't know their schedule. I also have their 2 books. Join their forum. You will find a lot of stuff in there.

INTERNET BANKING FACILITY

2008-04-09T23:01:00.003+08:00

Internet Banking Facility offered by banks are really convenient. You can check your balances anytime and anywhere you want provided you have an internet connection. Aside from that, you can make fund transfer and bills payment. It will save you time on lining up to pay your monthly obligations like water, electricity, telephone, cellphone, cable, and credit cards! The best part is, it's free!

Visit your depository bank and enroll your account.

There is more! Credit card companies also offer internet banking services. You can check your statements online without waiting for the snail mail to arrive. Thus, it will save you from paying late payment fee because you already know how much you should pay and when it is due. Moreover, some companies offer e-statement wherein your statements will be sent to your assigned email address. Call your credit card company and ask about it. Or try to check their website.

INCOME TACTS

2008-04-02T14:28:00.003+08:00

I recently discovered this website called INCOME TACTS . You can register to become a member and posts some questions. I was amazed when my post got replies from financial planners and other people involved in the money market.