When Shall We Start

While a person is young and healthy, they are capable of earning the active income. Active income means, only when you ACT will you get paid. We have to accept that we all will grow old and retire at maybe 60 and will not have the active income anymore. We will be dependent on our pension which is not much.

Our body like cars, as it gets old, the more costly it is to maintain. Most parts would be replaced and if we are unlucky then some parts won’t be reproduced anymore therefore declaring it as obsolete and unusable. As we get old it becomes very costly too. That is the time when we will need the regular visit to our cardiologist, internist, ENT, etc and maintain medicines to get our body parts regulated. It is also the time when we are required to just eat quality food. Unfortunately when we stop working for a company then our medical benefits stop too. With no regular income and no medical benefits do you think you still can afford all these? If we did not prepare earlier, then we definitely won’t afford the future. So what shall we do? We have to manage our money wisely. We have to learn how to save and be wise to roll it.

How do we save? Most employees when they receive their pay buy all their wants and needs then whatever is left become their savings. But how much is left? I have to admit it to myself. NONE is left. So there is none to save. According to what I learned, proper management of money should be equated as below:

10% Tithes + 20% Savings + 70% expenses = Salary

Giving is an opportunity. Either offering your money to the church or giving to charity will earn you a blessing from God. Give and you will be blessed doubly as what I always say.

Following the tithes is saving a portion of your pay and what is left could be spent. This is very difficult, I hear most of the time, because what employees receive are not even enough. But I have a friend who was religiously doing this. The husband was not earning much. She always made sure that she kept a portion to save and spend only what is left. Since the remaining was not too much they learned to make ends meet. They lived frugally within their budget. The savings she was keeping accumulated to an amount that is enough to be invested. She started a small store in their house. This money earned more income that she also rolled to make money. Now she has quite a big sized store. After few years they were blessed with a baby boy. The 20% savings was diverted to the baby’s account. Her store is growing, his son is growing and his money grows with him. He now has about P500,000 and the mother is thinking of putting it in mutual funds to get it to earn income. I am so proud of her and congratulated her. She said it is really very difficult but you just have to discipline yourself. No pain, no gain. Just sacrifice for sometime, it will pay off in the future. Now she does not worry about money, her money is working for her.

So when do we start saving? When we are about to retire? Should we not start NOW?

More with a Friend

Onboard the Vagabond Cruise Line for the
Easter Lunch cruise where I won a Dinner Cruise.

It’s been over 10 years since the last time I was in Sydney. It was winter that time and I traveled with Nestle PNG friends. They were on a business trip and I was just feeling touristy. I was alone most of the time, (not to mention the freezing cold forbids me to move around), and was not able to really visit the popular places. But this year I am very fortunate to come again to Sydney and with a friend - Cherry-Ann S. Aquino. This trip was a scheduled tour. We were originally planning to go to Melbourne with another lady friend, Diana Rose Llanda, who unfortunately couldn’t make it for Easter. So we decided to change the venue. It was through Diane’s assistance (Thank you!) that I was able to get my visa in less that 10 days. So Land Down Under, here we come.

There were lots of things that I learned during the trip. In the past years I used to travel alone. I went to Brisbane alone, went to US and Canada alone. I was feeling adventurous those days and if I were going to do it again, I will still go alone on those trips. But I enjoyed Sydney trip with a companion and found the difference. I found out it is more fun to get lost if you are with somebody. I found out it is more fun to try and eat different delicacies with someone who also do not know how the taste would be like. And it is easier to go shopping and find something to buy if someone else is buying too and can suggest to you. I learned that it is so nice to be reminiscing what happened - like getting out of the room on a fire alarm, using the elevator when we know we shouldn’t- that there is someone who will laugh at you, you can laugh at and laugh with. And it is so much fun to have someone who would care for you. I got sick during the trip. It was autumn and was starting to get cold. So I had a very concerned nurse when I was sick. It was fun to take photos and compare and share the shots afterwards. Selfies are more fun because you can be wacky and not alone (just imagine taking happy, laughing selfies if you are doing it alone, it would be so fake). After the trip, I realized how selfish I was. I found out how inartistic I really am. I noticed how uncaring I could be. Because this lady who is so much younger than me has shown me how to enjoy, how to be wild sometimes, how to be a child, how to remember people who were not with us during the trip. Well, of course I bought presents for my family and some of my friends but somehow I felt that it is not enough. Che-Ann bought items that are not very expensive, I bought presents that will blow my budget but I do not feel that it is enough. I feel that I am expected more. I found out that I am so cold. And hoping I can realize what made me unresponsive, uncaring and feeling so selfish. I need to learn MORE and maybe I need to travel MORE...with a friend.