Have you been in a situation whereby you kept on running the rat race? Are you able to figure out why at the end of the month your salary is not enough? Why do you think most ex-pats are not able to save if not invest their hard-earned money?
My personal advocacy on Financial Literacy
Money is the by-product of our services being rendered as a means of exchange either trading or bartering, it is an end to make amends and the most compelling reason for accumulating money per se is that it is our VOICE as what Roger Ver had shared on his video here.
Likewise, my work experience in the Middle East has taught me great lessons when it comes to my finances as I thought earning it was easy.
I was a working ex-pat who rendered my service as a teacher in an International School and being paid through extra tutorial lessons was quite fulfilling.
On top of everything, I enjoyed what I was doing, exerted my hundred per cent effort into what my passion in life which is TEACHING.
Although earning was part of it, I almost fell into the trap of a rat race cycle and before. I would lose the balance between my career and what’s most vital in life, I took the courage to let go especially when it comes to my SPENDING HABIT when payday comes.
Three Things that I find valuable when you’re in a situation whereby as an ex-pat you NEED to learn these, need to put it by heart so you can actualize.
It was easier to spend adopting the YOLO (You Online Live Once) lifestyle.
It was not a long-term goal since we would go back to our respective countries after our contracts.
It was not a guarantee for our retirement security.
As part of the employment force, I have a fair share of good SALARY (fixed amount) yet it was easier to SPEND because the idea of SALE was everywhere.
For example, after Ramadan, 50-70% off was so tempting that I even opted to buy those shoes and bags I rarely used at all. For accumulation purposes, it gave me immediate short-term happiness however the real value has forfeited because as time went by, being able to sell it at a lower price was not ideal. I had compiled more than the allowed kilogram for travelling back to the Philippines hence the most practical option was to sell those items on a dip.
Did I gain? Well, not monetary per se but an experience and a lesson learned that next time around I should be more prudent.
Proper Guidance when it comes to the Security of our Retirement is Vital
The short-term happiness that those items had given me brought so much anguish to my pocket therefore I forced myself to learn the basics of INVESTING. The fundamental concept on how I can let my money grow and work for me when retirement comes were so motivating that I had to read further, research, did my due diligence and register for paid subscriptions so that the GUIDANCE I will need would be at my finger-tips.
There were moments that my brain would explode because I wanted to understand the simplest idea of buying and selling, the board lot, the technical indicators, the amount of money to invest, the timing, the percentage of ROI and many other considerable factors before I finally bought my first shares of stocks and even crypto. I was so determined to learn this basic knowledge because gambling would be the next best thing and I don’t want it to happen.
How about Cash Dividend?
You bet I was so ecstatic when I received my CASH DIVIDEND from one of my stocks at #AREIT just within a year of buying at a price when it went down dipping.
Studying how it would help me attain my financial goal in a long term perspective gave me security on my portfolio.
Looking in depth in the psychology of the market, the downtrend, the uptrend, the sideways movement, being so keen on my portfolio, the main consideration I always bear in mind is to practice SELF-DISCIPLINE.
We heard this many times when it comes to investing our hard-earned money in a vehicle that would give us an ROI of at least 13% annually, glad that my MBT shares gave me this.
So why do we need to invest?
An article written that Overseas Filipinos Workers returned home poor and without savings after all was quite disturbing. Filipinos spent most of their hard-earned money sending it to their families in the Philippines without setting aside for their investment, at least 5-10%.
On the other hand, I am not much into speculation as I preferred mainly how I could UTILIZE digital assets on my small-scale online business that’s why I am always a supporter of BCH because
when it comes to utility, Bitcoin Cash is the KEY!
What's the Rationale?
This post is intended for those who do not have the luxury of time to study the movement of the market and for those who wanted to let their money grow so that when retirement comes, they won’t have the headache to support their lifestyle.
Sir Rex Mendoza, CEO of Rampver Financials in his video about “Practical Wealth Management for OFWs” said that
Financial security can be computed!
because it’s all about the power of choice! It was so empowering to learn that as an Overseas Filipino Worker, the practicality of managing my hard-earned money takes a lot of self-discipline if not due diligence.
My take on it?
For PROPER GUIDANCE it is best to learn from the experts who have seen how these things happened many times from the past yet they managed to bounce back.
Images used in this post are from Pexels, from my Ascend Financials Group and screenshot from REITS Cash Dividend edited on Canva
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If we can print our own money, the better for the economy!
Hello sir how are you