Financial Planning for Pinoys: 2020

AN EMOTIONAL WHY WILL NEVER BE OVERRATED.

It was in 2013 when I began blogging. Financial Planning for Pinoys was my very first blog, and Find a Strong Emotional Why was the first post I wrote.

I think we can accomplish anything we want in life as long as we have that strong emotional why. Without exaggeration, that is just how powerful it actually is.

Allow me to take you back seven years ago and share with you excerpts from that post:

"I believe that the how would be easy as long as my why would be strong enough to keep me going when the road gets tough in reaching my goal of being able to quit my job and pursue my passion as my profession before I reach 40. Here is my list:

I was tired of being broke and always struggling for money. Although I am well-compensated and with various perks, the money would just come and simply go. I have been working for years, but zero savings and zero investments at most times. It even came to a point when I needed to sell some of my things (which I used to think were investments, but in reality are not, like gadgets, branded bags and watches) just so I can pay the bills.

Though I am already married with kids, I still live with my parents. They take care of our kids while my husband and I are busy working. I want the day to come when money would never be an issue in our household, wherein my parents could enjoy life to the fullest. For all the hardship that our parents have been through in raising us, they only deserve the best. I want them to experience the best life yet. And as for my own family, I would want us to have enough money to be able to live independently.

At ages 4 and 1, I want to spend every minute of everyday with my growing daughters. I want to be with them at all times, taking care of them, driving them to school or pedia appointments, but work was depriving me time with my kids.

My husband is currently a second year surgery resident on training at a regional government hospital. He works from 7am to 9pm on average days, and stays in the hospital for at least 24 hours every 3 days. If I was not working, I would have more time to take care of him, too, while he is on training. Among other things, I believe that quality time spent together by a couple is one of the most important factors that keeps the love flowing.

Most importantly, I believe that God made us for a purpose -- to bless and inspire others. As I travel towards financial freedom, I have seen and felt the financial struggles of my fellow employees who cannot quit their jobs because they have loans to pay and because of the security they think being employed provides. If only they could, they would rather get into business or develop a passion. I also feel for OFWs who have sent me emails about their desire to come home and spend time with their families instead. This blog aims in helping them achieve financial freedom for themselves through increased financial literacy."

I believe that it was because of the emotional why's that I was able accomplish my goal.

It was in May 2018, before my 36th birthday, when I finally had the courage to hand in my resignation letter to the company which I have worked with for almost 12 years. I pursued my passion of promoting financial literacy and securing lives of breadwinners and help them prepare for financial risks as an InLife Financial Advisor. And because this is the only thing I do, I get to closely work with my clients and their needs. I get to regularly update them of their policies, of the market conditions and other things relevant to their finances.

Now I have more time with my family. Not only do I get to spend more quality time with my husband, I even get to do errands for him! And our kids? Either on lock down or not, I am with them the most! How? I shared it in detail at another blog post My Life as Full Time Mom and Part Time Everything Else.

Money-wise, because I am compensated based on the value I bring to my clients and not based on the hour, I have built a solid financial home (emergency fund, insurance and investment) which stood the test of being on ECQ (Enhanced Community Quarantine) for almost two months now and counting.

And I was able to do all these, even earlier than my target date, simply because I had a strong emotional why. And as they say, when your why is strong enough, your how will be easy.

Now, Moving Forward

Originally, the purpose of this blog post was simply to look back and let you know what having a strong emotional why can actually do for you, as what it did for me. It is also a reminder to be grateful for the small things, big things, everything else in between, and especially for fulfilled dreams and answered prayers. God's grace always fills the gap.

But as I was writing this blog, a message popped up on my Messenger. It was from a friend who is the husband of an InLifer under my team. He sent a photo of his wife writing a prospecting list during breakfast past 7am! He added, "Idol ka kasi nya."

It was overhelming.

And I realized, as I have ticked off goals on my personal list, that is when my list of goals for other people starts. I do not want to disappoint them. But more importantly, I would want to inspire them and guide them as they take their personal journey of also pursuing their passion as a profession eventually. Just like me, this colleague is currently employed and working as an InLife Financial Advisor on the side. Helping her achieve that is something bigger than myself, as what I think God has purposed for us, and something that I cannot set aside.

Set your goals and let a strong emotional why help you achieve them.
And after which, be an instrument in helping other people achieve theirs.

Be very blessed.

P.S. I have tried a lot of side hustles while I was still employed. Not only was I an InLifer then, I also organized farm tours in Central Luzon, I sold ukay ukay clothes, I sold clothes from Bangkok, I sold stuff I bought online and I was a distributor of an organic liniment. Trying so many things and failing in almost all of them lead me to "my game." This is what I believe to be my Ikigai, or my purpose of being. Yes, it is that deep, which is being an InLIfe Financial Advisor.

I don't think things happen at random. Me failing from one small business to another lead me to where and what I do today. I know that this is all part of a process, beautifully and perfectly designed by God. And I want you to trust God in the process.

P.S.2 Do you want to know more about money and teach others about it, too? Do you want to try being an InLIfe Financial Advisor and see if it is what God made for you to do? Email me at financialplanningforpinoys@gmail.com or send me a direct message at my FB page Financial Planning for Pinoys.

P.S.3 I hope you find this post helpful and relevant. If yes, I would appreciate you sharing this post so we can inspire more people. Thank you very much!

Being on lockdown for more than a month now, virtual meetings have become the new normal for many of us. Personally, I have at least one online meeting every single day!

Recently, Insular Life held a digital learning session as part of the 2020 Trail to MDRT Summit entitled "Staying Positive and Productive During Lockdwon." The speaker was Bro. Arun Gogna who happens to be one of my favorite preachers from The Feast, my spiritual family.

One part of his talk was about HUNGER, which is our compelling reason for pursuing our dreams even when we have already fulfilled them.

Personally, when I began my financial journey in 2013, tired of being broke and living paycheck to paycheck, my ultimate dream was simply to be able to quit employment and pursue my passion as my profession. With the help of side hustles, having mentors, and slowly building a solid financial house payday after payday, I was able to resign from my job in 2018 to be a full time InLife Financial Advisor.

Enjoying doing purposeful work while having time for my family, especially my very young kids, and being paid to do it, every paycheck felt like a bonus. On top of that, I am also blessed with a supportive husband who provides beyond our needs and gives our wants. As I share with a friend, with the simple yet comfortable life that we have now, I am happy and content, even while I work at a "petiks" pace.

The question I ask myself is, "What do I aim for next, now that I have ticked off my personal goal and filled my own hunger?"

The answer was what Bro. Arun Gogna shared in his talk. He said, "Make your hunger bigger by including the hunger of others."

And with the number of people that "others" actually include, and thinking about their needs, that hunger will never be filled. After all, life is not just about us and our unlimited wants, right? I believe God made us for bigger things.

In line with this, I was browsing through my FB wall and came across a "Pledge A Plate" program by a big company, saying that we can donate food for frontliners. I initially thought of participating here.

Incidentally, I have a friend who owns a restaurant in Pasig City, Senor Paco. Knowing that they resumed operation since Easter Sunday, I asked if they can take care of the delivery in case I donate money to order food packs for frontliners. I live in Tarlac City and I have never used the Grab app. It is also my way of helping their business during this pandemic. My friend replied with a grateful yes and even told me that the total amount I will be donating will be used for the food, and that they will shoulder the delivery expenses. Wow! That was a definite win - win - win situation for everyone.

Why?

1. We get to help feed the frontliners.
2. Additional sales for their business.
3. I get to donate hassle-free!

Last Monday, around 11:00 in the morning, I messaged my friend saying, "Ikaw na bahala sa deliveries today, okay?" He replied, "Deliveries done." Wow again! He later sent me the photos below. What happened that day was a simple gesture, yet filled with a lot of "THANK YOU's," and honestly, I cannot be happier. My friend is happy, too, because we were able to help. I even told him that I need to work harder so that we can do this again, and do it more often.

Final Word

Let me share with you one of my favorite key messages from a book I read before, "Hey, Is That Really, Really You, Lord" by Rey Ortega.

It says, "When one surrenders his life totally to God, the calendar loses its significance. I know. The calendar is now irrelevant to me. Retirement in winter? Not for me. Retiring is an insult to God who has blessed me with a heart that keeps on beating for the dreams and hopes of others."

Being on lockdown literally makes us lose track of what day it is. But aside from that, may this lockdwon also remind us to enjoy the simple things in life that we used to overlook in the past -- like spending time with friends and family, being able to hug them, being close to them (no social distancing required), among many others. More importantly, may this lockdown teach us that there are a lot of people who needs our help, and we can reach out to them even in small ways.

As a line from a prayer song played this morning in another meeting says,
"What if trials in this life are Your mercies in disguise."

Be very blessed!

P.S. If you may want to consider donating food for frontliners in Pasig, you may visit the Senor Paco FB page by clicking the link.