Live An Abnormal Life

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My mentor taught me that if you want to be rich, you have to live an abnormal life. And for the past years since I decided to give my life a financial overhaul, I was drawn to that kind of lifestyle.


I read books while waiting in between MD coverage.
I either sleep late or wake up early (with at least 7 hours of sleep) and find myself in front of my laptop writing blog posts.
I talk to a lot of people about personal finance.
I leave Tarlac at 5am almost every month to attend mass at the Feast PICC.
There was even a time when I travelled solo for one day outside the Philippines for business.


It's crazy, I know.


While everyone else is watching their favorite teleserye, or playing games on their iPads, or talking about the latest showbiz breakup, I do the boring, crazy and abnormal stuff.


Why abnormal? Because everyday, I push myself beyond what is normal. 


And as I do these things, although outside my comfort zone, I do not complain. First, because I actually enjoy what I do. When I do financial planning with a friend, or teach a workmate about investment, or share what I know to a group of Financial Advisors, I find purpose and meaning. I feel most alive every single time.


And second, it has rewarded me in ways I never expected.

Then and Now

A few years ago, when I tell my husband the "idea" of quitting my job, he would only say, "What will you do then?" Initially, I would say I will take care of the kids. After the kids go to school and I am all alone at home, and thinking of something productive to do, my mind goes blank.


Now, even while I am employed, I have began a small business distributing organic liniment. Recently, I gave this business fully to my mother so she can have an additional income source.


I help people earn extra. Since our businesses is ideally for wholesalers but require minimum capital, we are helping other employees and entrepreneurs earn something on the side.


I do affiliate marketing for various companies. Through the Truly Rich Club, I have become Bo Sanchez' affiliate in ALL of his businesses online, from which I earn a decent commission.


I grow my money and my children's money in the stock market. As a financial advisor and blogger, I give financial advice based on my learning and personal experience. Over time, I have diversified my portfolio by investing also in agriculture and in two emerging hospitals with my husband.


I promote child sponsorship and I do volunteer work through World Vision. Currently, I have sponsored kids. With my small amount, I am helping in giving these kids a better shot at life. And because at the end of the day, life is not about what you get, but what you have given -- specially from people who can never repay you.


On given Sundays, I have the opportunity to serve God as a writer for the Feast Bay Area. This is a Catholic gathering of the Light of Jesus family, founded by Bo Sanchez. In the very near future, I dream of writing a book for fellow employees.


And all of these is rewarding.


When I decided to quit my job, I will only be slashing off the "Medical Representative" from my profile. The day has come when I am not defined by my work alone.


I am a wife and a mother. I am a daughter. I am a writer and servant of God. I am an entrepreneur. I am a financial advisor. I am an investor. I am a child ambassador and volunteer.


Life has never been so meaningful. And this is where I have found and experienced happiness and being fully alive.

Make That Choice

Let me quote this from my mentor.


"You won't work from 8 to 5. You will work when you need to work. Work is no longer about being paid. Work is about being a servant. Work is about loving people. Because of your dreams, you can't watch TV anymore. You can't spend leisurely weekends anymore. You can't play computer games everyday. Instead, you'll always be involved with your passions. You'll always be growing your core gifts. You will always be producing things that will bless the world. Are you willing to live an abnormal life?"


Get out of your comfort zone. Stop living comfortably.


And oh, by the way, an abnormal life produces an abnormal income! I have stopped living paycheck to paycheck because I have multiple income streams, most of which are passive income.

Almost two weeks ago, I received my payback incentive from 2017's sales from our company. I spent 10% of it on a 3-day break with my husband, two kids and my mom in La Union. We had so much fun that we all wanted to go back the soonest!

And the remaining 90% was invested in my worry-free VUL which both grows my money, and protects me and my future income from risks. With this VUL, I have financial security and peace of mind. To learn more about worry-free investing, here is a link to that post I Would Always Choose Worry-Free Investing. Every Single Time.

A Salary Can Lull You to Sleep

Let me share with you something I learned from last Sunday's Feast.


Our salary has become so regular that it hypnotizes us. It lulls us to sleep coming every 15th and 30th. And by "sleep," it means that we do not do anything about it since we know that income will come every payday. We just enjoy the "abundance" of every harvest without preparing for "famine."


But here's the problem with that.


Abundance and famine are part of a cycle. They happen. We may be in an abundance state now, but we are not getting any younger. Sooner or later, we will not be able to work as hard as we work now. We will reach that point of retirement. That is famine.


And what if we suddenly lose our jobs? Retrenchment happens. Company closes. Losing a job in a snap is real. That, too, is famine.


If I ask you now, "If you lose your job today, how long can your money provide for your family's basic needs?"

Prepare for Famine

As we age, our active income diminishes and disappears. Our passive income should grow bigger. And this is where investment plays its role.


Our goal is to be able to survive for the rest of your life in case we lose our job anytime.

The Joseph Principle

Do the uncomfortable. Set aside a fifth (20%) of your harvest in preparation for famine. Understand that investments are more important than income.


Keeping your money in a bank is not investing. Put your money where it earns higher than inflation.


Do worry-free investing. Be "abnormal" and begin preparing for famine.


Send me an email at financialplanningforpinoys@gmail.com or drop me a message on Facebook anytime. I would love to hear your thoughts!

I Would Always Choose Worry-Free Investing. Every Single Time.

Okay, so, I have been searching for a "worry-free investing face" on Google to go with this post, but since I cannot seem to find the most fitting one, I thought of posting a photo of myself instead -- spending a lazy afternoon at Pradera Wakepark in Lubao, Pampanga, totally worry-free, and simply chillin' the moment away.

Just perfect for this topic.

Ung ngiting kalma lang

I would be honest. It's not everyday that I am worry-free. Admittedly, there have been a lot of things occupying my mind in the past days.

How will my life be in two months when I am no longer employed?
How to be a fulltime mom and part time everything else since this will be something new to me?
Out of the many things that I love doing now, how do I know which one is God's purpose for my life?

This is just to name a few.

And with all these things going through my head, I received investment opportunities. 

Investment Opportunity #1

A friend sent me a message on Facebook asking if I may be interested in an investment opportunity that has been offered to her. I replied asking for a few details. The minimum capital requirement was 6-digits, and the return was double digits guaranteed in merely 6 months!!! Quite inviting, I must say.

But I had to say NO.

And this has nothing to do with the person. (To my friend, if you are reading this, I hope that I did not offend you in any way. And again, thank you for considering me.)

With years in investing in various fields, backed up with loss time, money that went down the drain and lessons learned, I do not say yes to all investment opportunities -- no matter how great the returns may be. Because personally, when I invest, I do not only look at the return, but more importantly, I look at the risk. And these two are always proportional.

When I asked where the money will be invested, she said a company name which I knew but I do not know exactly how or where will they be using the capital for, and how can they deliver such great returns in such a small amount of time. Rule of thumb: Never invest in something you do not understand. 

Plus the capital being six-digits minimum and I am losing my job in two months, that is a huge amount for me to risk.

Investment Opportunity #2

A few hours later, I received an email from our agricultural partner asking me if I would prefer to discontinue or renew our one year contract as it ends next week.

I told him that YES, I am renewing our contract.

Why?

We are on our third year as partners, and for the past two years, I have been happy with this investment. The returns may have been lower this time, but the investment income is still enough to cover for the tuition fee of our two kids. Rule of thumb: Never settle for a return lower than inflation.

This investment does not only provide income for us, but more importantly, it provides income to our Filipino farmers.

And because we are on our third year, there was already a return of investment. So I am no longer worried about this.

Investment Opportunity #3

Since I have withdrawn my money directly invested in the stock market last year, I look at the market a lot less often than I used to.

And as I checked it yesterday, it was very low, closing the PSEi at 7,945.66, April 6, 2018. BEST TIME to BUY. I posted something related to this on my Facebook account and a friend commented asking what company to buy. I replied saying that we will never go wrong with a blue chip. She said that she's thinking of buying ALI, but still waiting for its price to go down further. I said, "But what if it goes up instead?"

Then I received an email from Insular Life reminding me of my premium payment.

For me, this is where worry-free investing comes in -- the reason why I thought of writing this post.

Why worry-free, you may ask? Let me cite the reasons from a policyholder's point of view.

Reason #1

Every time I pay for my premium, my money is invested in 45 blue chip companies. Insular Life's Equity Fund is that diversified! I do not have to think how much of my money should go to each blue chip, and I do not have to think when to buy and when to sell. Insular Life's investment experts does the hard work of fund management for me -- while I spend my time doing other things that matter.

Reason #2

My husband knows that I have investments here and there. One time, I was telling him about my direct stocks investment and teaching him how will the money be transferred to him just in case something happens to me, but he has no patience for it. Not everyone does. Honestly, it is quite complicated. This is also one of the main reasons why I withdrew, and still choose not to invest directly as tempting as it may be. If you have an account with COL, you may find this post I wrote in the past helpful: I Asked COL, "What If Account Holder Dies?"

But with my VUL from Insular Life, all that my husband has to know is where my insurance policies are kept. That simple.

Many are against VULs because of the charges. Let me share with you the details of one of my policies. I am paying Php11,700 every month for one of my VULs. This is me investing every month for an eight-digit retirement fund that will enable me to live comfortably when I reach 65. And in the event that something happens to me, my husband and my kids will receive Php5M at least from Insular Life. That is my insured amount. I compare the Php11,700 with the Php5M, and I am not complaining about the charges. With such a huge difference, what am I to fuss about in the first place, right? We just have to understand these things in order to appreciate them.

As a bonus (or policy rider), if I am diagnosed with a dreaded disease, I get Php1M which I can use for treatment. If I encounter an accident, loses a limb or eyesight, but lives, I get Php3M.

All these give me the peace of mind that money can buy, technically, but at a way lower price.

Reason #3

The stock market may go upward, downward or sideways in the years to come. No one really knows. Closing below 8,000 yesterday was like the index from two years ago!!! With these numbers, investing today is like investing in 2016, except for one thing -- you missed the profits!!!

The market may have dropped, but I already made my profits before it did. This is the reason why I love the stock market.

But what if the market drops when I reach retirement? Well, I do not have to worry about that either.

Because my VUL is a Wealth Assure Retirement, the fund is automatically switched as I age. Right now, it maximizes the earning potential with the high risk high return Equity Fund, and then gradually shifts to the low risk low return Fixed Income Fund as I near retirement.

With all these reasons stated above, I'm sure you would agree that it is worry-free indeed.

Make That Decision -- and Act Upon It TODAY!

As a wife and a mother of two young kids, an employee of a huge company, currently loving and learning new hobbies, and still in search for God's purpose for my life, I need more time for people and things that matter.

I choose investments that I do not need to worry about.

When I hear people say, "Bahala na si Lord sakin," (God will take care of me) what comes to my mind is that this is the reason why Insular Life's VULs were created. God has given us all the resources, but we need to do our part. God will provide, but we need to persevere.

I hope you find this post helpful. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Considering getting an Insular Life Wealth Assure Retirement for yourself and your loved ones? Send me an email at financialplanningforpinoys@gmail.com or PM me on Facebook anytime!

Be very blessed!