One thing I did not learn in school

"Mag-aral ka ng mabuti at magtapos para makahanap ka ng magandang trabaho. Kapag nangyari yun, mabibili mo na ang mga gusto mo." Did you also grew up hearing this cliché? In all honesty, I spent 15 years of studying from preschool to college but I did not learn anything about managing my finances. All along I thought that being employed will magically give me the powers to acquire the things I wanted.

And so one day, I just felt curious. It was year 2013 - my third year in the work force that I suddenly had the thought, "I'm paying all these bills but I have nothing for myself other than this Alcatel phone and if I strictly save for at least two months, I consider myself lucky to be able to travel somewhere at most once a year." I am not earning a lot. On the contrary, it was so meager and yet the dreams I started having weighs more than what I make. Guess what makes it heavy? Well, in order to achieve those  goals, I need money! 

My 23 year old self was dreaming of a lot of travels both inside and outside the country, a car and a house, and  eventually marriage and family life. But still the question remains, "With this kind of salary, HOW am I supposed to achieve all those?" Imagine you're at that stage of your life where you're struggling with finding your passion but also finding where your salary went after years of working? Which should I seek first, passion or money? I really have to do something! That's when I sought the help of someone close to me.

I'm lucky because I have an older brother who opened the gates of my innocent mind to financial literacy. Growing up as an only female in the children of three, I seldom had a similar taste with my brothers. But when I started becoming an adult, Kuya was my mentor.  Fortunately, he was readily available to guide me in my early stages of adulting. The best thing about him was that he boosted my sense of independence. He would answer my queries, give me leads on the concepts I was curious about and then he would motivate me to read and to research more about it afterwards. Doing it by myself allowed me to absorb the lessons on my own pace. Willingly, I would delve more into it but since I look up to him, I just mirrored what he did. Besides, it was easier and I trusted him. Haha! This led me to open my first investment - a mutual fund. 

Mutual funds are pooled investments from various investors and are invested to money market, stocks or bonds. These funds are managed by professional asset managers*. I went out of my comfort zone for the first time, went to a company who offers this type of investment program, packed with only my internet-based research and the principal amount I want to invest. Parang cliché lang tungkol sa pag-ta-trabaho, akala ko kapag nag-invest na ako, yayaman na ako after six months. Applying was easy but maintaining the habit of continuously saving for it was the hardest. Because the latter involves proper attitude and behavior. Besides, I can save for a short leisure trip in two months but investing entails a longer time like years! It seemed intimidating. Similar to any other goals, if not revisited, it dwindles and eventually crumbles to pieces. Mine went from religiously saving every month to contently setting aside when it is comfortable or only when I have something left. But surprise! Investment doesn't work that way. You have to fight the urge when you're starting to use the excuse “I’ll just save next month,” otherwise your money will not grow. Remember the concept of compounded interest? A portion should constantly be added to the principal amount since the interest or percentage of its growth is dependent on the base value. Ah there, this one I learned from school. But how to apply in real life, that is probably what's lacking. 

Any idea what happened to my first investment venture? Sadly, it wasn't as successful as I expected it to be. But I am proud to say that the next time I decided to invest again, it was waaaay better. How? Coming soon on the next blog. 😎 Naks!

Looking back, I realized how nice it would have been if financial literacy was taught when we were younger. Maybe those who are currently in the “sandwich generation” and “financial rat race” situation are much more educated thus have the capacity to escape. It is also important that apart from the knowledge we gain from studying or researching on our own, we should also be open to gaining insights through talking to subject matter experts like financial advisors. Hear them out and verify. The important thing is knowing how they can help you achieve your financial goals and manage your risks. There are actually a lot of passionate and knowledgeable advisors out there. We might actually catch a brilliant idea when we accept their invitation for a presentation. 😉 (Hi guys! Haha!)

To more people attaining financial freedom, 

Iselle 

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*(Mutual Fund, by Adam Hayes and reviewed by Gordon Scott).