Taking a Stand – Proud to be a Life Insurance Agent. :)

I attended my first Asia Pacific Life Insurance Congress in Singapore last week. It was a very enriching and highly inspiring convention for me. I learned so much about the beauty of my work, of how different each agent is from one another, and of how much of a difference I can make in this world just by being the best insurance agent and best financial adviser I can be.

Though I’ve been with Sun Life for 2 years already, I have to admit that when other people ask me what I do for a job, I still find it difficult to say that I’m an insurance agent. There are so many people who view my job a bit condescendingly – thinking that what I do is just be a salesperson, someone who has to sell life insurance to meet a quota – a job that’s all about sales and money. I used to be like one of those people, but as I grew closer to my mom (who’s been with Sun Life for 23 years), I also started to understand that my job means so much more – it’s not just a job, it’s service.

A week before the APLIC, I posted a blog on wishes and dreams in my facebook account. I’ve always been interested in hearing about people’s dreams and how they plan to achieve them. Dreams and wishes excite me, and I just love being a part of others’ journey towards theirs. Coincidentally, (or maybe this was an act of fate or God ) the theme for this year’s APLIC was actually “Living Your Dreams and Leaving a Legacy.” Listening to the speakers, I could not help but be amazed at the realization that I can actually help my clients and other people achieve their dreams by doing my job. I have so many insights I’d want to share to anyone who’s game to listen or read.  Being a life insurance agent is not about selling a product.  It’s about building relationships with clients, getting to know what moves them, what makes them wake up in the morning; getting to know their dreams and wishes for themselves and their family,the hardships they go through to be able to achieve these, and sharing with them knowledge and opportunities that will definitely help them achieve and protect these dreams. This is how I’d like to be with my clients.

Not all life insurance agents see this or make this the main reason for their work. I’ve met several agents who are driven primarily by money, travel benefits, and company recognition. There’s really nothing wrong with being motivated by money or other reasons aside from service, as long as things are done the right way. Sadly, I’ve also seen and heard stories of agents who “bend rules” and just disappear after making a sale – no service, no follow-ups, no care for the clients. I guess namumulat ako sa realidad na sa ngayon, wala talagang industriya o lugar na lahat talaga ng tao masasabi mong mabuti o tapat o may integridad.. at nakakalungkot ito. These agents make a lot people continue to see insurance as a scam, as unnecessary, as a burden, an expense. They make it difficult for others to trust the industry and agents. Hay. Nakaka-frustrate, pero ganun talaga.. Instead of looking at this and getting discouraged or disappointed, I’ll take it as an opportunity for growth and as a challenge to take a stand – to not be swayed or influenced by beliefs and practices that are not in congruence with my personal beliefs, ideals and values. Game on! Challenge accepted.

This also makes me have this urgency to talk to all the people I care about just to make sure they’re in good hands and to open their minds to gift of life insurance. I still get really nervous about setting appointments and making calls, but I believe in life insurance, I believe in what I do. I believe in my company – Sun Life, and I believe in myself – in my heart, values, and in my dream – to help people achieve their dreams… so fight. I’ll take at least one step towards courage each day. I hope that when I knock on your door, invite you for coffee or lunch, text or call you or email you, you’ll welcome me with an open mind and an open heart. This will be fun, I promise.

Thanks for reading.

Have a great week!

oh and don’t forget to dream.

 

Nowhere to go, but up. :)

“The best time to invest is during down time.”

One of the most memorable take-aways I have from attending regular Sun Life branch meetings is the lesson on investing during down time. The lesson struck me because it’s not only applicable in the financial planning world, but in life in general as well.

Last June 6 (yes, this is a backlog blog entry haha), our branch invited Mr. Ricardo Barrero, one of Sun Life’s fund managers, to share his wealth of knowledge regarding mutual funds and equities. I’ll probably share the points which I found helpful in understanding the current state of our Mutual Funds in Sun Life on another blog post. For now, I’d like to share my favorite take-away from that June 6 meeting:

THE BEST TIME TO INVEST IS DURING THE WORST OF TIMES..
Did you know that one of the reasons for Henry Sy’s financial success is that he had the wisdom and guts to invest in the Philippines during the worst of times?

* The construction of SM North EDSA began in 1983 – also the year of Ninoy Aquino’s assassination.
* During EDSA 1, he began working on SM Megamall.
* During the financial crisis/ meltdown during 2007, he built SM Mall of Asia.

Investing during down time actually makes sense because prices drop down as well. There are a lot of people who start to panic when this happens. I remember my mom telling me how a lot of her clients kept calling her to complain about how their investments in Sun Life dropped in value during 2008. She calmly reminded them not to panic and told them that these losses are just on paper, that the trick is to not withdraw, but to just wait until prices and values start to increase again, that it’s actually a good time to purchase more units. I’m sure most investors are familiar with the concept of buy low, sell high.

But this concept is actually not just applicable in the investment world. It’s also very much applicable in life as well. Everyone goes through down time, and it is scary being there. Most of us panic and get frustrated, but it helps to be reminded that when we’re at our lowest, there is really nowhere to go but up. While at the bottom, it’s the best time to invest in ourselves, in our dreams, in new opportunities, newfound talents and interests… because if ever you fall again, you don’t fall that long. Haha. But actually, I personally believe that it’s always a good time to invest – regardless of where you are – bottom or top or just in the middle. Take chances.

‘ika nga ni Bam Aquino sa isa sa mga Sun Life promo ads –

“Invest a little at a time every time and you’ll see small things turn big.”

“Time to Grow, Time to Jump, Time to Shine.”

“Time to Grow, Time to Shine.”

Just this weekend, my Sun Life Branch – Royal Poinciana, had a team building seminar. It was my first time to attend a team building with Sun Life, and I am really happy that I chose to attend.I got to meet and get to know my fellow branch mates better, and I also found a renewed and deeper sense of commitment to my job.

One of the most significant experiences I had during the weekend was rappelling in Tree Top Adventure. I never liked the feeling you get during roller coasters and ferris wheels, and I knew that free fall was definitely going to feel like that. I was really afraid, but I wanted to do it not only because my mom who is already 61 years old jumped before me without even feeling afraid, I wanted to jump because I wanted to go beyond my comfort zones. I wanted to jump because I wanted to free myself from fear. I wanted to jump because I knew that if I jumped, I can always look back to that moment whenever I feel afraid and say to myself “Just Jump.”.. and everything will be okay.

Even though I’ve been with Sun Life for almost two years now, I still feel very nervous when talking to new clients and prospects. I always feel afraid of appearing to be hard selling or being too makulit that other people, even friends, would start hiding from me because of it. However, over the past few months, I’ve been hearing stories of lapsed policies, closed dollar accounts because of inactivity, etc. from friends. In their stories, I find that the common complaint they have is that they never received any reminder, letter or billing regarding these things. And then I realized that this is where financial advisers like me come in. The trait that I have been avoiding — persistence or “kulit” in a positive connotation, actually is a key component in good service. I shouldn’t be afraid to remind my clients of their due dates. I shouldn’t be hesitant to follow up on clients about appointments and policy reviews. All of us have so many responsibilities and things we need and want to do that it’s very difficult to keep track of all of these. As a financial adviser, I have to remember that my clients somehow delegated the task of checking on their financial protection and investments to me.. and to do that, I have to be the best financial adviser I can be.

To be the best financial adviser, I will have to be more focused with my job. I have to be more disciplined in setting time for Sun Life each day, balancing it with my other dreams and goals in life.

I will have to go beyond my comfort zones – to speak up and meet clients and co-agents even if I’m feeling extremely shy , to invest in more professional clothes and shoes even if personally, I’d much rather wear jeans, a shirt and sneakers , to have faith and trust in my belief in Sun Life and in myself despite the many objections and even “rudeness” that I will most likely encounter in my client calls, to be persistent and risk being thought of as “makulit” or “annoying” if that would be the way to provide quality service.

I will also have to start investing more in seminars and books that will equip me with more knowledge about the field of financial planning and life insurance,
and share it with as many people as I can possibly share it with

I’m writing this right now while my adrenalin to work and desire to renew my commitment as an adviser are still both high. This blog entry will be one of my leaps of faith, and I want to share it with you – my friends, clients, future clients and future friends – para mas maging totoo. May witnesses.

I’m scared because I know that this will not be an easy process and that this will entail a lot of “stretching”, “falling” and even “breaking”…but since I want to provide the best kind of service I can give, and because I believe in what I do.. here I am ready to jump.

Jump with me?

my presentation in a nutshell

January 2011 marks my first anniversary as a Sun Life Financial Adviser.

I have to admit that I’ve started to enjoy what I do with the company, and not just because it allows me to pursue my other dreams. Working as a financial adviser, I get to meet lots of interesting people. I get to learn about their different professions, sidelines and even backgrounds and stories. I love hearing about their dreams and how Sun Life and I can help them achieve these. I also enjoy the short moments when I get to share stories with my clients which help me get to know them a little bit more.  I feel overwhelmed by the trust given to me by my clients, and their trust makes me want to serve and care for them all the more.

I realize this week how it’s actually possible to infuse bits of my personality and other hobbies/talents in my Sun Life profession. Instead of going with the usual laptop powerpoint presentation, I decided to take a risk and do it the ‘jeanie’ way when I was meeting with a former high school classmate. Instead of immediately proceeding to life insurance or mutual funds, I opted to share all the points and concepts I believed everyone should know about financial management. I  listed down all the things I’ve learned from Sun Life trainings, different seminars I’ve attended and experiences of other colleagues in the business. I summarized this list and created a simple hand-out to give to my classmate.  I also made visual props which I colored with crayons!  :) I even asked her and her soon to be husband to do an activity which would help them take note of their financial dreams. The teacher in me was dancing with the financial adviser in me! I was having fun, and it seemed like my clients were having fun as well. The presentation turned out very interesting and informative. My clients learned from me, and I from them. I don’t mind if there was no sale that happened. My goal is to inform. I’m happy with just that. I have faith that as long as I keep on doing my best to inform and to help as many people as I can, a Higher Power will provide me with the things I need to meet my quotas haha.

Anyway, enough with the sidestories. I think I want to make it a personal goal to set a meeting with all my friends to share ideas. I would want to be sure that I get to talk with everyone I know. This is a big and daunting goal, but I think I’ll try. This entry would hopefully make it easier for me to relay the idea to people who are afraid or hesitant with me that I am not after sales or quotas. What I want to do goes way beyond that. I want to help empower Filipinos to make financially wise decisions. To give you an idea on what happens when I meet with clients (so you won’t be afraid), here are the concepts I share during meetings – my presentation in a nutshell.

IMPORTANT FINANCIAL PLANNING CONCEPTS
1. Money Habits (Income, Saving, Spending)
2. Men at Work VS Money at Work (Importance of Investments)
3. Deliberate Saving as Habit (concept of Money Baskets/ Money Jars)
4. Hierarchy of Financial Needs
5. A look at the Future (Retirement, Education, Final Expenses, Hospital, Funeral, Creditors, Estate Tax)
6. Money Management: Putting the money where it belongs (needs-based)
7. Financial Planning Process
a. Set your goals and prioritize (short-term, long term)                                                                                                                                                    b. Analyze your resources
c. Evaluate your options*                                                                                                                                                                                        
d. Implement                                                                                                                                                                                                        
e. Evaluate regularly
* bank services (savings, checks, credit, time deposits), life insurance, HMOs, mutual funds, real estate, education plans, stocks, memorial plans, non-life insurance

so there. I hope I’ll be able to convince more people, especially friends, to give me a bit of their time, or even a lot. It would be nice to catch up with stories as well. hehe. So if you’d like to help me achieve my goal of informing as many people as I can, all you have to do is to continue reading my blog and tell others about it. You might also want to meet with me too. Kwentuhan tayo!
Just leave me a message here, or email me at jeanielynne.d.tolentino@sunlife.com.ph

As of to date, my presentation count is 24.                                                                                                                                                                       Maybe you can help me make it to 100 this 2011.  
Pwede na ring 50. haha. Baka hindi ko kayanin. Parang ang dami ng isang daan. Pero fight.

Universe, send me lots of GVs and confidence, ok?  Bawal na muna ang hiya-hiya hehe.

Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful, rest-filled weekend!

Insurance Reason # 4 : Protection of Family (from credit, loss of dreams, and final expenses)

Wow, I can’t believe that it has been three months since my last post here. Time goes by so fast. It’s already September tomorrow. So sorry for not being able to post regularly. I’ve been quite busy with work and school. Hopefully, I’ll be able to balance my schedule so I can post entries here more often.

hmm.. so the last few posts I had were on the different reasons why I believe Life Insurance is important and a must.. I think I was able to describe Life Insurance as a way of 1. protecting your income, 2. saving up for one’s retirement, and 3. investing for the future. Let’s continue with my fourth insurance reason.

Life Insurance is important because it protects your family from credit, loss of dreams, and final expenses.

It protects your family from having financial burdens which could have been avoided. How?

1.  At time of death, our unpaid loans, unfortunately, do not join us in our graves. Sadly, creditors will automatically charge your  family for your debts. Life Insurance proceeds / claim can be used to pay for these debts.

2. We can never predict our time of death. It may happen when our children (if we have children) are still very young. Our dreams of being able to provide them with quality education, and other gifts, may have to be given up if death comes at our door. Life Insurance can ensure that our dreams for our beneficiaries will still be reached. Proceeds from one’s insurance can be used to help in the future finances of our beneficiaries. It can give a “buffer”  period as our loved ones try to figure out how to adjust their finances since we won’t be able to help provide for them.  It can also be used as a gift to charities or foundations in case part of our dreams is to contribute something to society or a particular sector/advocacy.

3.  Death isn’t cheap. There’s a lot to prepare for – the wake proper (rent of the memorial chapel space, food, stipends for priests), the funeral –  (cremation fees, casket (if you don’t have memorial plans – though I have something to share about that later), funeral car rental, and others.; There also might be hospitalization bills to settle.. It’s very painful to lose a loved one, and it’s  very hard to deal with the bills that come. Instead of having the time and space to grieve and mourn, our loved ones will have to face the responsibility of organizing our “final party.” Life Insurance proceeds/claim can be used to pay for these bills.. We  may have a lot of cash in our savings account… but at the time of death, all our accounts become frozen and not easily accessible. Life Insurance proceeds are liquid and can be delivered to your beneficiaries  upon notification of Sun Life or of your agent.

Whew. It’s been over an hour since I started writing this entry. I think this is the longest I spent on a post. Besides the fact that I have several other windows open (for Facebook, yahoo mail, youtube and others hehe), the topics I discussed are not the  typical things one would want to read in a blog.. They’re also not the type one wants to write in her blog, but this is part of reality. Someone has to write about it (though I found it quite difficult to do so). As a financial and insurance adviser (and as a friend), it is my responsibility to help you become aware of these realities… not to scare you, or worry you, but to inform you that we can make preparations so our loved ones can avoid these possible financial “burdens”.

You might be thinking “what? I’m too young to think about these things.” but the point I’d like to make is that all of us, eventually, will face death and the financial consequences it brings… so the more informed and prepared we are, the better.  Also, it will actually cost us cheaper if we prepare for it and get it out of the way as early as we can. I also have a feeling that our sleep will be more “mahimbing” and restful once we’ve started with these preparations.

** Side story on memorial plans:

–> My mom bought memorial plans for all the members of our family. When my dad passed away, he sadly did not fit in the casket provided for by the memorial plan company. My dad was really tall. Apparently, the caskets that come with the memorial plans are regular-sized, and they didn’t allow us to change the casket to another  size that would  fit my dad.  We had to buy an imported casket on that day.

Lesson: I guess we can never  be 100% prepared for anything.. but it helps if we have back-up plans and access to liquid cash for emergency situations like this.

Insurance Reason # 3: Investment

Sometimes I get really amazed at how disciplined and determined my mom is. She would share stories on how she sold different stuff when she was young – from tinapay, to basketball jerseys in Baclaran, jewelry to papaya soap and to life insurance. Masipag talaga. I think that’s why she was able to reach for her dreams. She knew how to work hard, she knew how to save and control her spending, and she was not afraid to take risks. Part of the risks she did and ways to control her spending was  to buy insurance plans. I’d often ask her how I was going to encourage my friends to get insurance when the premiums seem very expensive. She’d tell me that people don’t have to get expensive insurance policies immediately. Mahihirapan lang sila. It’s important to choose policies that are within one’s budget than run the risk of having lapsed policies. Sayang naman ang mga naibayad. Then she’d go on about how she herself bought small coverage insurance policies even before she was working in Sun Life. “Bili lang ako nang bili kapag may extra ako.” And what good did it do..? Well, it helped her build a house for us.   During the times when she didn’t earn enough to cover for the costs of building our house, she chose to surrender some of her life insurance policies. The cash value she got from those, she used for our house.  When she earned more than enough, she bought more life insurance policies. She’s now 60 years old, and still continues to buy insurance policies.

Most people have this misconception that one will only feel the benefits of life insurance at the time of death.. that insurance is only useful for the departed one’s family. This is not true as I’ve shown in my mom’s story. Some of our trainers tell us that life insurance is for people who die too early or live too long. I say it’s for everyone..

Life insurance is protection, but it can also be a form of savings and investment. It has cash value (unless if it’s term insurance only) which one can get if needed. Feel free to ask your agents about this. You might even want to look into Variable Life Insurance products. I personally prefer them over the traditional ones.

I think there is much wisdom in what my mom says about life insurance and investments. Bili lang nang bili kapag may extra. It doesn’t have to be big. Start with what you can.   To quote Bam Aquino, “Small is really beautiful because you can build on it, grow it… Invest a little at a time everytime and you’ll see small things turn big.” See video.

Life Insurance Reason # 2: Savings and Retirement

One of the things I remember most about a seminar I attended was how the speaker told us that Life Insurance is like buying money at a discount. When you get life insurance, you are purchasing money which you do not have – money which can be given as a gift to your children, as a gift to yourself at retirement age, or even as a gift to a foundation or charity in the future.

I feel that lot of people try to evade the subject of insurance in conversations, thinking that in doing so, they’ll be safe from agents who will try to get them to buy insurance. Who would want to buy insurance when it entails having to pay annual premium for the rest of your life? or for a fixed period of time, say 10 years? That would just be an added pressure, an added expense. Why would I pay that amount of money when I can just put it in the bank, or use it to buy something nice for myself?

I think it is necessary for people to change the way they look at life insurance. It is not a monthly expense or a bill to be paid – It’s actually a kind of “forced” savings. Instead of looking at the premium notice as a bill, look at it as a reminder for saving. Instead of using all your money for parties and luxury stuff, you’re reminded to set aside a part of it for your future – for the time when you can no longer work as hard to earn enough money to sustain your lifestyle; for your family; for your dreams.

Life Insurance Reason 1: INCOME PROTECTION

As I’ve said earlier in my previous post, I’ll be writing about the different reasons why life insurance is important. Most people take this for granted, seeing insurance as just another unnecessary expense.  But it isn’t. I can use the presentation materials given to us by the company to illustrate why life insurance is necessary, but I’d rather write how I understand them and share my thoughts on it. I remember one meeting I had with a client. I showed him all the presentation materials and the proposals I made for him, explaining to him the advantages of having insurance. After I finished, he looked at me straight in the eyes and asked ” Jen, ikaw, sa tingin mo ba kailangan talaga ng insurance?” With all honesty and sincerity, I said yes. Now, I’m saying the same to you.

Reason # 1: Income Protection.

Most of us, especially those just starting off with their careers, try not to think of life insurance because we think we don’t need it yet. Insurance is only for those with families and children, or those who are nearing their deaths. After all, isn’t insurance a way to make sure that when we die, our families will have money to use for our death expenses and for their financial  needs? Correct. When we die, so does our income and our financial contributions to our families. With insurance, we can guarantee that our families will get a substantial amount that can give them time to find alternative ways of supporting themselves. But, that doesn’t limit the need for insurance to those with families and children.

Income doesn’t only stop when we die. It can also stop when we get sick, or when we experience accidents that disable us from working. Life Insurance can have accidental disability riders and waiver of premium, wherein the insured can be given an amount that s/he can use for hospitalization fees and where the Company will waive the premium fees until the insured becomes fit to work again. Aside from that, there are kinds of life insurance that generate cash value, which you can get in times of emergency even before the maturity date.

When my mom was training me to be a financial adviser, she asked me to offer life insurance to my batch mates. I told her that might not be a good idea since most of us are just starting with our careers,  we don’t have families yet,  and we’re still young. Then she said, “okay, sige. nag-uumpisa nga kayong mag-work at bata pa kayo.. pero paano  kung magkasakit kayo? or mabaldado at hindi makapag-trabaho?  or worse comes to worst, baka hindi ka na insurable.  sige. wala kayong pamilya ngayon, pero sa tingin mo ba kapag magkaroon ka ng pamilya, mas madaling bumili ng insurance? isipin mong magiging kasabay niya ang mga expenses para sa mga anak mo. The right time to buy insurance is now, while you’re still young and insurable.”

I’ve wrote several posts in this blog already and I’m beginning to realize that my mission of helping others achieve financial freedom and security through blogging won’t be as effective as actually going out and talking to different people. I have a feeling that I’ll be able to help them more  if I go out and meet them, listen to them, share ideas and learn from them as well. I just have to overcome my shyness haha. Good luck to that. Nevertheless, I’ll continue to blog and hope that even in a small way, I’ll be able to make a few people understand their financial options.

On Life Insurance

Many people, on hearing the word life insurance, start to feel really uncomfortable and want to change the topic immediately. I guess it’s either they’re afraid of insurance agents who they think would try to “force” them into buying insurance or it’s because life insurance is usually related to death. Who would want to think about death?

This is actually one of the reasons why I initially didn’t want to enter the life insurance profession. I was afraid of people running from and trying to avoid me. I was also afraid of people belittling me as being just an “agent.” My mom had the same reaction from her closest friends when she started with Sun Life. Her friends, even some of her relatives, would say “Ano? Nagtitinda ka ng insurance? Sayang naman ang inaral mo. Bakit ka naniniwala diyan sa raket raket na yan?” Fortunately, my mom stood her ground and kept on working with Sun Life. With her 20 years of experience in the field (and she is still continuing with the service), she can now give different testimonies on how she was able to help a lot of people with insurance and how life insurance is actually a necessity, and not a racket.

I want to be able to do the same thing. More than just “making a sale”, I want to be able to help Filipinos see the value of life insurance, and how it is actually a crucial part of  financial planning. I want to help them ensure their future financial stability. Hopefully, through this blog, I’ll be able to do this mission and encourage others to act on their financial planning and life insurance coverage before it actually becomes too late..

I’ll be posting a series on the importance of life insurance these coming weeks. I’ll try to give brief explanations and real life stories to illustrate these. For now, here is a short list of some of the reasons why life insurance is important:

1.  It gives you, and your beneficiaries, financial protection in case of  death or total disability.

2. It can be a form of savings to prepare for your retirement or your children’s future education needs.

3. It can serve as a source of money for future medical and hospitalization bills

4. It’s actually a way of buying money you don’t have yet at a discount.

5.  It can be used by beneficiaries to pay remaining debts and Estate Taxes.

There are many other possible uses of life insurance.  They may also have other benefits like investment components, dividend returns, and endowment fund benefits that can provide “bonus  finances” for you. It can be tailored to your personal needs, dreams and financial paying capacities. I really suggest that you try to find an Insurance Advisor ( ahem. ahem. I volunteer myself! hehe ) from an Insurance Company you can trust. Talk to her /him and ask about life insurance and your concerns.  The earlier you start, the easier and more affordable it is to get life insurance coverage and secure your future.

More on this on my succeeding posts. For now, have a great week everyone. Thanks for reading!

Tip#4 on How to Invest Wisely Series: No Risk, No Gain. Why Invest? to beat inflation.

wow. It’s been more than a month since my last post here. I guess I’m learning that it’s quite unrealistic for me to meet my initial plan of blogging at least once a week. Time to adjust. hehe.

My last post was on the importance of diversification in investing. This post, however, will focus on why it’s important to invest and to risk in order to gain.  I think I’ve repeatedly mentioned in my previous blogs that in investing (be it in financing or in anything – relationships, self-improvement, careers, etc.), one will never really gain something without risking. In truth, it is really scary to invest in something you’re uncertain of and it’s always easier to choose a safer option than a riskier one.. but where will that lead you?

I know of so many people who keep all of their money in bank  savings accounts. Some, I heard, even hide their money in different “secret” places in their homes. There’s nothing wrong with these two… but the problem with these, is the money doesn’t grow. It’s safe, but it doesn’t grow. Why is that a problem? It’s a problem because prices of goods and services will continue to go up and our resources (and salaries) don’t necessarily grow in the same rate as prices do. Inflation will always be inevitable.

To make understanding inflation simpler, I often use the McDonald’s cheeseburger meal and the cost of Movies analysis.  The cheeseburger meal used to cost around P30 when I was in grade school (late 90s). By high school, it was reaching around P50 and I was already complaining to my HS barkada na ang mahal mahal na ng mcdo value meals. Now the meal costs almost P80.  Movies used to cost around P50, now they range from P120-300!

This would be okay if our salaries regularly increase as well, but that would be wishful thinking.

For those earning a lot right now, it’s easy to feel confident about the future. If I were earning a million each year, I would be tempted to think that I’m all set for my future… but in reality, I am not. The value of 1 million now will not be 1 million in a few years. It will decrease in its value. Therefore, we have to be wise about how to handle our money. Besides saving it, we also need to learn how to make it grow.

I asked one of our trainers in Sun Life if it’s possible that prices will go down eventually. She said that it’s unlikely and we wouldn’t really want that – deflation – to happen.. So is it safe to assume that prices will continue to go up? sadly, the answer is yes.

So what are we to do? We need to prepare for our future, be wise in spending our money, have a regular plan for savings, invest wisely and ensure that our assets are protected.

Note: I am not encouraging you to go out and invest all of your money and find risky options to increase the possibility of gaining. It doesn’t work that way. There are a lot of risks involved in investing, so it is important to be wise in all your investment strategies. Ask, learn about your options. Don’t do something and invest in something you’re not comfortable with. Investments don’t have to start big. Small amounts matter as well. Start with something you’re comfortable with. There seems to be a lot of things to learn about financial matters that we might be tempted to set it aside and put it off, but I really encourage you to set time for this or it might be too late. You don’t have to do it alone. Ask help from people you trust. Hopefully, through this blog, I can help you set your action plans somehow.