Author Archives: Issa

When Life Gives You Lemons

June 14 10:51 am ,

Why the Fishes Multiplied

For about two months now, hubby and I have been confronted with the question of our mortality – well, hubby’s mortality, to be exact.

It is not easy to imagine this. Hubby does not drink, does not smoke, is an athlete – he lifts weights, plays basketball, soccer, rowing, just ran a marathon.   Healthy and active would be words to describe him.

Or so we thought.

When the doctor pronounced that his heart was weak, it sounded like a bad joke.  But tests after test confirmed that something was wrong.  But why it is happening, no one can explain.

And why him?

We talked to his heart (asked it to heal, asked it for forgiveness, told it we loved it), prayed, went to a Chinese herbalist, followed the doctors’ advise to the letter (no strenuous activity, drink medicine, no-fat diet), I tried to be a really good, dutiful, obedient, loving wife (was it too late?), but hubby’s heart continued to deteriorate and weaken.

Until the ultimatum – he had to have a pacemaker implanted.

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Posted in: Health, Life Stories , Tagged: , , , , ,

A First Anniversary Celebration

June 12 11:43 pm ,
Independence Day

Independence Day

Exactly one year ago today, You Want To Be Rich made its debut in the blogosphere.

Interestingly, June 12 is also independence day in the Philippines so I thought it would make for a great beginning – an independence day for people who wanted financial freedom.  And it was a great year.  Although it was a challenge to keep writing and internalizing and coming up with interesting insights and articles, I enjoyed every minute of it.

But let me confess something –the days leading to this first anniversary were not easy ones.  As a matter of fact, they were the most challenging of my life.

But let today be one of celebration because it is, in very many ways.  Please allow me to process what has happened this past week and I will share it with you in the coming days.

For this anniversary month, I am also launching a contest.  Please read the details here.

To all my readers and supporters, know that I am very grateful – one year after – to still have you with me on this journey.

Be rich,

Issa

Article by Issa.  Painting by D. Copyright 2010.
website: www.YouWantToBeRich.com
 email: issa@youwanttoberich.com

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Posted in: Contests, The Beginning, The Philippines , Tagged: , , , ,

Window of Opportunity and Other Random Thoughts on a Bus

June 5 10:21 pm ,

On the Way

Forgive me, but I have not ridden the public in a long time.

I used to.  In fact, everyday.   I remember that I liked it. The streets were not too crowded, the weather not as hot, the traffic not as bad.  A younger world.  And I think, a better world.

I would collect my thoughts in those 2-hour long drives from my college to my house.  During the commute, I would have conversations in my head, the role of the antagonist alternating between my mother and my best friend. It is the time when I would get what I thought were my best ideas – for scripts which were a weekly requirement in my course, for my thesis, solutions to problems, awakenings.  I would plan too, the strategies of my life without meaning to.  It is true what others say – there is so much creativity and movement that can go on in one’s mind when one’s hands are not on the wheel (a fuel for the debate of whether to have a car or not to have a car).

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Posted in: Financial Education, Life Stories , Tagged: , , ,

Invitation to An Exhibit

May 31 9:38 pm ,

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

A shameless plug.  Hubby’s painting is part of a traveling exhibit entitled Icons of Rock, the Birth of Legends.  His painting of Freddie Mercury will be exhibited at the following locations:

May 14 – 18            Ricco-Renzo Gallery

May 21 – 25            Ricco-Renzo Gallery

May 28 – June 1      SM Southmall

June 4 – 8               SM Marikina

June 11 – 15            SM Batangas

June 18 – 22           SM Manila

June 25 – 29           SM Taytay

July 2 – 6                SM Clark

July 19 – 23            SM Megamall

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Posted in: Art , Tagged: , , , , ,

The Enchantment of A Summer House

May 26 1:29 pm ,

Paradiso

I irritate my husband with one habit.

I get myself invited to open houses – of summer houses – and I drag him with me.

For some reason, summer houses appeal to me.  I tried to enter an exclusive one once and I was turned away (not a member, no invitation from a member, no appointment to go in – how was I supposed to know it was that exclusive?).  And maybe that is where the appeal lies – it is so hard to get in (well, okay, that one time, but memories of experiences sometimes stick around longer than they are wanted).

Hard to get in but also hard to keep one.  But that is another story.

Summer houses in exclusive enclaves.  They are the playground of the rich, and when you own one, it means you have earned the right to squander money away – and squander you will because although you paid an arm and a leg for it, it is a place where you will stay maybe only 1 or 2 months in a year.

But like I said, I like them.  So yesterday, we went again to another one – in Anvaya Cove which is off the coast of Bataan, very near Subic Bay.

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Posted in: Financial Education, The Basics of Finance, The Philippines, Travel, Wealth Attraction , Tagged: , , , , , ,

Get Rich, Then Worry

May 23 9:06 pm ,

To what end... labor?

Everytime I see that little squirrel in Ice Age chasing his chestnut and then doing everything to protect it, including shunning love and running after it across the ages, I am reminded about how we are as human beings.

Some of us make it our life’s mission to get something, the more obvious of it are material things – money, jewelry, real estate, a way of life.

And then we make a showcase of what we have.  We parade that we have so much – like the jewelry and Louis Vuittons in the arms of women, parties in our lavish homes or summer houses, feeding ourselves in expensive restaurants, shopping.

Then the story turns something short of horrible.

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Posted in: Financial Education, Life Stories , Tagged: , , ,

100th Post and a Dash of Thank You’s

May 22 6:33 am ,

Thank You

After 99 posts, 453 comments (54 of which are spam which I have not deleted nor approved) and 699 tags, I come to this, my 100th post.

To think that YouWantToBeRich started as just a requirement to get a certificate in MavenSecrets, a professional blogging and internet marketing education seminar that I attended in 2009.

I did not know that it would change my life and give it colors that I never knew existed, or give me opportunities for self-expression and advocacy in a niche that I was just getting really interested in at that time.

At first, I thought I would go into food and travel because like Anton’s OurAwesomePlanet, it was my passion.  I even asked hubby to buy me a camera to herald my entry into the blogosphere via a food and travel blog.

But I am glad I went down the path of learning about money and people and their money idiosyncracies (especially my own and my family’s).  It felt good to chronicle this journey and to look back and learn from it again.

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Posted in: Mentors, The Beginning , Tagged: , , , , , ,

Why I Got Out of the Stock Market

May 15 11:23 pm ,

Harvest Time

One year.  That was how long my relationship with the stock market has been.  But there was a pre-story, which was training, lots of training, before I found the heart to jump in and play for real.

And to jump out too.  But first things first.

Flashback to 2008.  Giddy and excited and with fake money at hand, I started with the online stock exchange (it offered a practice account).  Prepped by my financial planner, pumped up with some reading I had done here and there and some monitoring of the market, I found I gained some fake USD$600 in a few months.  But I since I was in no real danger of getting poor or rich, I soon found myself bored.  The market bottomed out too, wiping my gains, but ironically, it was also the perfect time to get in for real, to play for real.

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Posted in: Financial Education, Stock Market, The Basics of Finance, The Philippines , Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,