Philippine Investment: Saving Money or Using your Money to feed Your Wants?

Most, if not all people, say that they want to save up money for their future needs but ends up spending them for their wants. I tried understanding this phenomena especially for Filipinos by incorporating my experiences and observation from people.

Filipinos want to enjoy the money they earn. It is natural for us that this is our stress reliever. We really work because we want to buy or have access on something. Probably, you work for a new car, new phone, new laptop, or you work because somebody relies on you. For whatever reason it is, you work because you WANT to attain something that you think will make you happy. And making you HAPPY correlates to something you really NEED.

But for a certain point in time, you will get used to that thing making you feel bored and unhappy. Thus, initiating that you NEED something NEW to make you HAPPY. 

This kind of psychological thinking clouds the minds of people in differentiating what really is a NEED and a WANT. I am not saying that this is the only factor. But, I firmly believe that this is one of the strongest factors why most Filipinos have no savings. Even I admit that I was a victim.  With this kind of notion, I don’t think that Filipinos fall to this trap because we are not educated nor exposed to this kind of scenario. I think this is more on your personal values which define you. 

So what is my say about saving money or using money to feed your wants? I’d say it really depends on your priority. You can spend money without worrying in the future since you believe in your income stability. You can save and earn money by investing it in time deposits, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or even set-up a business of your own. You can even have both by budgeting and allocating some portions of your money. 

I hate reading articles saying that these are the points or reasons why you should save money. Or sometimes they blame media why Filipinos spend too much and save nothing. 

Whatever you do it really depends on you. The important thing is that you are HAPPY, SATISFIED, CONTENTED. That I believe is your NEED and WANT.  

BUSBY SEO Test Headlines: Philippine banks bad loan ratio increase

I was reading news with regards to our economy. And this is a frightening one. 

Issue

Bad loans held by the Philippines’ largest banks rose slightly in September to 4.04 percent from a month earlier as lending activity slowed, the central bank said Tuesday.

The non-performing loans (NPL) ratio of universal and commercial banks was up 0.14 percent from the previous month’s 3.90 percent ratio but was 1.15 percent below the level of 12 months ago, a central bank statement said.

Non-performing loans rose 2.54 percent from the previous month to 94 billion pesos (1.9 billion dollars) while their total loan portfolio fell 0.96 percent to 2.33 trillion pesos owing to lower interbank loans (IBL) and reverse repurchase transactions, it added.

Universal and commercial banks are licensed by the Philippine central bank to engage in related financial services including insurance and investment banking.

Analysis

This is bad news for us. Before, I was under the Marketing Department of Bank of the Philippine Islands and based on my experience this will affect the interest rates offered by banks. How? Because of bad loans, banks are forced to increase the interest rates to shoulder these losses.

In the part of consumers, this will be a burden. This means that you will need to pay a higher monthly amortization for your loan.

In the part of the bank employees, it will be difficult to reach target sales/ quota since higher interest means fewer clients. 

In any case, this is a lose-lose situation. 

Free SEO Book for aspiring Filipino SEO Professionals

I am really happy that my blog is gaining popularity among bloggers. Also, at least I have proven myself that studying SEO is worth of my time.

Anyway, a close friend of mine who owns www.vandalbox.com  gave me a copy of SEO book in pdf file. I have not started reading it since I am too busy with my work and developing my other blogs such www.moneytalks.i.ph and www.omg.i.ph. I really want to share this file to everyone who reads this article. By the way, my friend’s expertise is finding the right domain, you will also see that his articles are great in his website.  

So, if you’re interested just leave a message at www.moneytalks.i.ph since I am dedicating most of my time developing that website. Just tell me your name, email, address and your website. 

It really feels great to share my knowledge and other resource for others to enjoy.

Barack Obama’s Presidency: How it will impact the Philippines?

ISSUE

Today, the 5th of November year 2008, a new President of the United States has emerged. Barack Obama, or should I say, President Barack Obama won over his opponent (Mccain). I was thinking a moment ago “Why will this issue become relevant to me since I am not an American nor do I live under the sovereignity of United States?”

Thnking about this question for a short period of time, I remembered that the Philippines, being one of the Third World Countries and belonging to the category of most people starving within the country, depend on international affairs specifically to our long-time ally - United States. 

This event triggered me to conclude that Obama’s presidency has direct impact to the Philippines. Enumerated below is Obama’s political platform. 

OBAMA’S POLITICAL PLATFORM

Energy and Environment 

Obama plans to invest alternative and renewable energy which means there will be an increase in America’s energy efficiency. Moreover, there will be an increase in job opportunies. 

Foreign Policy

Obama will stop terrorists by giving them no access to nuclear materials. He plans to have a global ban to the production of nuclear weapon to advocate world peace. By using direct diplomacy without preconditions, he will threaten countries who support terrorism by having global and political isolation. Furthermor, he will renew American diplomacy by building better connections among nations. 

Health Care

Obama will promote heath care plans providing accessible, affordable coverage for all which means there will be a reduction of health care costs for families. 

American Security

Obama will intensify security measures against terrorism on targeted areas such as airports, ports, and land borders. 

Iraq

Obama will withdraw troops and focus its military resources to its original target - Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. 

Senior and Social Security

Obama will ensure Social Security of Senior Citizens is protected by eliminating income taxes of those making less than 50,000 US dollars per annum. 

Taxes

Barack Obama  will provide a middle tax cut for 95% of American workers, while the upper class in the society will be burdened by a higher tax rate. This is a sign of better income distribution in the US society. 

EFFECT IN THE PHILIPPINES

Reviewing his platform, probably you are guessing I am a mad person since his political platforms pertain to the welfair of America and the people living within. Well, I would like to point out where does the Philippine economy depend on? That is right. We depend on the remittances of Filipino workers and most of them are working in the US.

How is Obama’s presidency beneficial to us Filipinos? Here is my perspective. Most Filipinos working in the US also belong in the middle class category. As you can see, Obama’s platform targets on helping the masses by cutting down taxes and giving them additional benefits. Benefits such as having more job opportunites and lower cost for medicines and other health care related products will boost the lifestyle of OFWs. By doing so, instead of paying more taxes, OFW’s can send higher amounts of money towards the Philippines making both the country ad the people who depend on them happy.

Secondly, I like how Obama address the problem of terrorism. I firmly believe that global banning of the production of nuclear weapons will not only fight terrorism in the US, but it will also benefit the entire world. And to focus its fight not against Iraq but to the root of terrorism which is Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. 

Lastly, Obama’s foreign policy is to renew American diplomacy by building more and better networks across the globe. Through this, we can expect that political ties will be better between the Philippines and United States. This means that we can have more support from the US whether in terms of financial or military, political, or military related cases. 

SKY CABLE METRO MANILA: BTV Returns "Basketball TV channel"

Before I have plans to change my cable provider for just one damn reason - I cannot watch my favorite and adrenaline intense NBA games. I missed lots of good games last season such as the match up of Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul. I cursed Sky Cable for not having an access for the great channel Basketball TV. 

But since I went to Singapore, my action toward this problem was delayed. Just recently, I turned on my 32″ Sony television and sat like a grunting lazy pig because of the usual channels offered by Sky Cable. Then to my surprise an advisory appeared at the screen. Basketball TV is now available.

My first reaction was What?! Is this true? Am I in the realm of dreamland? I quickly jotted down the contact numbers indicated at the screen to order since NBA season is about to begin. I was really eager to order prompting the operator give me direct details on how to order this gift from God. He said that I will only pay an additional of 120 pesos a month. However, he said that I should call back again 2 days after. Awww… I did not expect this to happen but hell, I can wait. Besides, patience is a virtue. 

In order to compensate for the additional charge of having Basketball TV, I decided to give up one Chinese channel. Surprised? I am a pure blooded Chinese. Just kidding, it just happens I find most Chinese girls hot and sexy, but still I prefer Japanese. 

MERALCO INCREASE: SHOWING THAT THE GOV’T CARES

ISSUE MERALCO is going to implement a whopping 36% increase starting on November. Why? They said it is a pretty hard decision, but because of the continuous drastic fluctuations of foreign exchange and since they want to SERVE the consumers better, this is the best solution for them.
And so as to lessen the impact to the less privileged people in our society, the government approved a refund of around 3.1 billion pesos due to overpayment in June 2003 to December 2006.

To view the whole story, click this URL: http://ph.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20081021/tbs-meralco-7318940.html

PROBLEM

I really don’t see a problem if they wanted to SERVE the community better by offering BETTER service.

However, I just wanted to point out that WHY IS IT THAT THERE ARE OVERPAYMENTS? Well, it is not an issue anymore that the government of our country is one of the most incompetent and abusively corrupt. Obviously, they wanted the public’s money for personal gain, right?

But how, they mentioned that they are going to return the overpayments? Well, as I remember I am not only keen to Marketing stuffs, but I am a finance person as well. And based on the data this is how it works.

HOW THIS BECOMES A PROBLEM

They give you back your for all your payments, right? Let us say, your excess payment is 10,000 pesos. You go home happy, cheering and dancing saying that the government did something for you.

But hell, did you take into consideration when did you pay those? It was back in the year 2003 to 2006. The value of money today is different from the money you spent yesterday due to external factors such as inflation. It means that that the difference of the value of money today and money of yesterday is the amount of money used by the government for their ill-minded personal agenda.

And sure, they advertise this through the newspaper and through the Internet. However, our society is composed of poor and extremely poor people. Surely, they don’t have money to spend for accessing media stuffs. This means how the hell will they know about this refund thingie?  

Furthermore, how about those who do not have time to acquire their refund? Please take note that when you go to MERALCO centers, it takes a lot of time to pay and most likely to get a refund. It will be a hassle.

MY REACTION

So with these factors, are you sure that all of that 3.1 Billion pesos overpayment will be returned to the public? Is it worth to get those refund if it is going to be a hassle? Is this an effective way to SERVE the PUBLIC? HELL NO. Of course, there will be another excess and our government officials will gain from that fund. On the other hand, our country will be burdened by the additional loan, and we, the innocent citizens, will have the burden paying higher taxes.

If you are going to ask me what is the solution for this. Well here are my thoughts.

1. MERALCO should be after us, not we after them. Since they are the ones who created the problem, they should be responsible enough to distribute them to us by whatever means. Also the payment should have a percentage of interest since it is way back 2003-2006
2. I remember the line saying that “The Best Medicine is to Prevent Illness”. Incorporating this to the issue, I HOPE MERALCO will avoid implementing excessive bill payments to avoid refunds.

I just wanted to stress out that I hate politics and I degrade my dignity and humanity by being a politician. But, I am voicing out my opinions to create an awareness that I am not fooled by the government.