Part-time Job in the Philippines

What if you can get a part-time job with a professional license (since you're image conscious)? All the better, if this endeavor is for free, affords you free classes, and is linked with government and private banking institutions?

Become a financial adviser, a financial analyst, or even a stock broker!
A 7-day basic training is all you need to get started.

Just Do it, Investment or Otherwise

Don't doubt your self taking off. Year after year you will make it better. With the awesome people around, failure is not imminent.

So why think "I can't start an investment because I might get unemployed."
"I can't risk it because I don't know what I'll be a year from now."
"I can't do it because things might change for the worse and I don't know when."

For Pete's sake don't be a loser and just do it!

iPad Plan or iPad Cash Purchase?

Thinking of buying an iPad Air 32gb, wifi + 4G?
Which is cheaper: Postpaid or cash?

Here's a simple computation for you:

31300 (cash) vs 45800 (1700/month/24mos + 5k upfront cash)
Plan is 14500 more expensive.
You pay P604 extra per month for 24 months.
But plan comes with 65 hours of LTE so you might not have a need to pay for a separate wifi bill. In short, you save by purchasing it via plan.

And if you put your unspent cash in equity stocks (since you opted for a monthly payment) then in two years you would already have reached a break-even.

~your financial adviser
PS
I took my own advice.

A Better Alternative to SSS and GSIS

Not a few Filipino citizens will be looking forward to their monthly pension from SSS and GSIS upon retirement. And it is no secret that the allowance roughly translates to P3,000/month, which 10 years from now will just be equivalent to P1,809.

Do you think P1,809/month will suffice? How about your maintenance medicine? Your electric bill and other fixed expenses? What if you would need a lump sum amount for a surgery?

Clearly, a small trickle of allowance from SSS or GSIS will not be sufficient.

What if there's a solution that can afford you a P15,000 monthly pension instead? A solution that allows you to withdraw P1.6M tax-free should you need a lumpsum?

I'm talking about investments. Of course it's better if you have an insurance policy. But let's go back to how this will work.

1) You are 35 years old today.
2) You want P1.6M at age 55 OR P15,000 monthly earnings from 55th year onwards
3) You want to be able to partially withdraw cash anytime
4) You don't like the idea of maturity dates

What do you have to do?

1. Save P1600 for 20 years. Stick to it.
2. Save it in high earnings stocks. 


Other Options:

If you save P1600 in the piggy bank, you will get P384,000 in 20 years.
If you save it in time deposit, you will get P501,000 in 20 years.
If you save in stocks and bonds, you will get P1.6 million.

Which would you choose?
You've got to plan for your future self. And you can start now.

-------------------------------
For inquiries, send an email to Horeb Eliot at horebelliot at yahoo .com.
Horeb Eliot is an assistant professor at UP and is a licensed financial planner.

Study in the UK

Here's something that might interest people who want to get more information about studying in the UK. This event is free of charge!

What Keeps you from Investing?

I really find investment exciting and rewarding (Colfinancial, Philam). I wonder about people's general reasons why they aren't:

A) break even salary; nothing to save at all
B) lack of information about investment
C) does now know someone to provide reliable assistance
D) fear of doing something new

Irrespective of whatever reasons you identify above, I believe all of them can be solved by sound financial planning. 

----------------------
Please feel free to send inquiries to the author at horebelliot @ yahoo . com.
Horeb Eliot is an assistant professor of Political Science at UPLB and a licensed financial adviser.

Tomato Paste Facial Mask

The ~ber months gave another nasty round of acne bloom, which aren't really welcome Christmas additions. The choco-honey-red wine face mask that I have been using to keep my pimples at bay failed to work this time, to my heart's disappointment, and so I had to look for an alternative mask.

I used cherry tomatoes before in Korea and my face has never been that clear. I thought it was just the good weather and non-greasy foods so I decided to just treat tomatoes as a fruit, or vegetable, whatever.

Bad move. My pimples recurred. Back to slathering squished tomatoes on my face. It was troublesome, especially if the juice runs down to my clothes. And so I got enough of the tomato regimen and onto the chocolate-honey-red wine alternative.

I've been using that mask for almost a year now, but there has been no real effect on my face. So, just a week ago, I decided to give tomatoes once again a try. I bought a pack of tomato paste because I reckon it's gonna be less drippy. It tingles a bit because I didn't dilute the paste with anything in the initial attempt. I wanted to clear up the acne marks quickly, and I assume that tomatoes have natural acids that will do the thing. Yes, it did tingle, and so it must be working.
Now, down to the 7th day of using it.

Pores were definitely smaller! Dark marks left by red, cystic acne were significantly less visible, and my facial complexion noticeably lightened. Seriously, I cannot believe that I had just saved thousands of pesos for an IPL or diamond peel just to get rid of these unsightly genetic curses once and for all.

If you have oily skin, don't dilute the tomato paste with anything. It'll work faster that way, I think. If your skin is sensitive, put a little bit of honey to the mix. Let it sit on your skin for more than an hour, yeah! Sometimes I leave it on till I finish a whole movie. Rinse, moisturize, and off you go to bed. Your face will be as bright as the morning sunshine.

The lovely red plushies saved the day.