Category Archives: The Basics Of Finance

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: , , , , , ,

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: , , , , , , , , ,

If You Are in Business, Why Customer Service Should be Your Priority

April 30 6:00 pm ,

With A Smile

I was surprised by a frantic call from my home resort, the company where I bought my timeshare.

They were threatened to be exposed on national television of being a scam.  Being an attorney for the leading broadcasting station, they wanted me to speak on their behalf, to do some sort of a testimony, to talk to their client and allay the client’s fears (and silence his threats).

I told them I could not.  I was not happy with them.

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

Be in Business, Rock the Boat

April 29 5:51 pm ,

 

Getting There

I am not really a business woman.

At least I did not start out thinking that I could be one.

All I know is how to be an employee.  I was trained to think that way in school.  I was not really aware but I was being groomed to become a top employee, the crème de la crème so that top companies will fight for me come graduation.  My grades were my mirrors, and they were supposed to mirror me in top form so at least I will be considered.  I was taught to follow all the rules, to take it all in and not ask, to be gracious and grateful, because I need these companies more than they need me.

It was my destiny.

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Posted in: Financial Education, The Basics of Finance , Tagged: , , ,

To Foreclose or Not to Foreclose: Short Sales and Jedi Mind Tricks (Part 3)

March 30 7:38 pm ,

 

Play Mind Tricks

You think, “I cannot do this anymore.  It is crazy.  There is no hope for this economy.  I cannot hold on any longer.  I am sinking.  I need to foreclose now.  I will do it.”

But wait! 

At the back of your mind, you are thinking – is there another option?  Options?  You are thinking – I think I may have heard of something. 

There is one: through a short sale.  But again, it is not that simple.

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Posted in: Consumer Protection, Financial Education, Financial Planning, The Basics of Finance , Tagged: , , ,

To Foreclose or Not to Foreclose: Let’s Talk Taxes (Part 2)

March 22 11:18 am ,

 

Where Angels Fear to Tread

It was one of the hardest decisions you had to make.

In your mind, okay, I will let go of the house.  I cannot pay it anymore.  It makes no sense to pay for a steep mortgage when the value of the house has gone down by half.  No sense.  Everybody is doing it anyway.  I should be fine.

You do it, sign the papers, let the bank foreclose and rest on your laurels.

Then while sitting on the living room of your new rented apartment, you get a bill, a huge tax bill because – guess what – you have made money on the foreclosure of your home.  Money?  But where is it?

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Posted in: Consumer Protection, Financial Education, Financial Planning, The Basics of Finance , Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to be Good in Sales

March 19 1:28 pm ,

 

Once Upon A Time

I’m easy.

I mean if you tell me you will not buy from me, I’m cool with it. I will not pester you or badger you.  You will hear the end of it right there and then.  Promise.

But (sigh), these are not the traits of a master sales (wo)man, traits that, Robert Kiyosaki assures me, will make me very rich.

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Posted in: Children's Stories, Financial Education, Life Stories, The Basics of Finance , Tagged: , , , , ,

To Foreclose or Not to Foreclose (Part 1)

March 16 4:19 pm ,

 

Another Day

Having a house is the ultimate dream.  I have dreamed about it but never thought I would have it so soon, thanks to parents who have generously thought of providing for their children while they and the children are still young and the parents can see and feel the gratitude of the children for that wonderful (and needed) gesture (okay, dole-out).

Indeed why wait for death, or why imagine that your children are waiting for your death, before giving your children what you are thinking of giving them anyway?  But this is for another story and for another time.

In the year 2009, the world was rocked by stories of foreclosures, foreclosures which have been instrumental in bringing down the single most powerful economy in the world – that of the United States.

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Posted in: Financial Education, Financial Planning, Life Stories, The Basics of Finance , Tagged: , , , , ,