Goal for It!

I'm back!

Christmas is in the air, and smart marketers will use every opportunity to grab your valuable pesos. Remember, this is the season of giving and sharing, and sadly, also a season of spending and splurging.

If you are someone who has no control over his/her spending, i.e. an impulsive buyer, make sure you pay in cash so you know that money is finite. When you use a credit card, you feel like a king and think that your palace (i.e. home) is overflowing with money and gold. Well, reality check first. You're not.

It helps to have a goal at the back of your head. Instead of splurging on a pair of new shoes, that Php 1,500 could actually be set aside for part of a bigger investment decision.

There are few investments with guaranteed returns. Most that do are usually scams. Otherwise these are pension plans, trust funds or worse, it's a bank deposit. Not all of them are investments because of their lackluster yield rate.

You don't want to die early, and I do believe you don't want your money to do that too.

What would be a nice goal to have? Even someone who has a flat 5-digit salary of around Php 12-15K would be able to set aside something for his/her future. But it will require more effort and time than someone who earns more. Do not be disheartened. As Rome wasn't built in a day, so are fortunes not grown overnight.

The salaried person can have a goal of investing in a mutual fund which requires only a minimum of Php 10,000 as initial investment. We're almost at year's end, so let's assume you're that person earning that much : Php 15,000 net take home pay. Your goal is to be able to invest in a mutual fund. This mutual fund, once you've invested, will only require Php 5,000 as subsequent investments.

Goals are like building blocks of your financial house (i.e. yourself). Once you meet one goal after the other, you begin to become more and more financially sound, and eventually (and hopefully with the correct moves), you'll be wealthier than where you are now.

Going back to our example, let's see. How much is Php 10,000 over 12 months? That's Php 834 PER MONTH. If you are able to save that much each month, it will slowly become a habit, and before you know it, you'll enjoy saving over spending.

Goals are an important facet of financial security. I hope you start to make one yourself. Good luck!