"The minute you become parent you've got to upgrade your money management skills, so to speak - and that isn't always easy." - Leah Nemil-San Jose (Smart Parenting's editor in chief)
It was when I become a mom when I learned how to save. Back in the day when I was still single, I will splurge on gimiks every weekend, travels, shopping, eating out etc. Then I got pregnant, I have no savings at all. I had nothing period. I've been working my a** off and yet I don't have something that I can use for emergency or my future. I wished I listened to my mom before on how she advised me to save, save and save. I had so many regrets on how I spent my money. Fast forward to today, I learned my lessons very well. I started to read financial blogs. I learned about investments, insurances and having an emergency fund. I am not there yet, still taking things one at a time. But I am happy that slowly, I will definitely reach those goals I've set. Recently, SmartParenting.com.ph, the credible resource baked by experts and a community of involved parents, held the "Money Strategies for Smart Moms" last October 22, Saturday, at Cafe 1771 in Ortigas. I am grateful for talks like this because it feeds more on my financial learning's.
It was when I become a mom when I learned how to save. Back in the day when I was still single, I will splurge on gimiks every weekend, travels, shopping, eating out etc. Then I got pregnant, I have no savings at all. I had nothing period. I've been working my a** off and yet I don't have something that I can use for emergency or my future. I wished I listened to my mom before on how she advised me to save, save and save. I had so many regrets on how I spent my money. Fast forward to today, I learned my lessons very well. I started to read financial blogs. I learned about investments, insurances and having an emergency fund. I am not there yet, still taking things one at a time. But I am happy that slowly, I will definitely reach those goals I've set. Recently, SmartParenting.com.ph, the credible resource baked by experts and a community of involved parents, held the "Money Strategies for Smart Moms" last October 22, Saturday, at Cafe 1771 in Ortigas. I am grateful for talks like this because it feeds more on my financial learning's.
Leading the speaker lineup was Aya Laraya, an investment avocate with more than 25 years of experience in different industries and a TV host of Pesos ans Sense. He spoke from his personal experience when it comes to money-saving strategies to achieve your goals. He talked about "Why is it difficult to save?". He enumerated the factors such as, we Filipinos don't have enough knowledge on whom to reach out to in terms of investments and how are we afraid of taking the risks. He also mentioned about the fear of us being labelled 'rich' because someone might be interested on borrowing money from us which is quite true. He later on discussed on "What do you do?". If we really is eager to save, we should take the steps.
What do you want?
Budget
Discuss with Family
Consult with competent people
ACT - Action Changes Things
It is really important that we know first on why we want to save. This is your foundation and motivation on why you are delaying your gratification. Budget is also important. This is where you will learned on where to allocate important things and then you can cut the unnecessary items. Family should also be included if you have goals to set aside your money so you could explain to them why it is important to save now. Consulting with the right person who have knowledge about investing or not just the people you knew on Facebook. Read and research. And lastly is taking into action.
For tips on raising smart kids, Smart Parenting tapped Rose Fres Fausto, an investment banker turned full time homemaker and now an author and newspaper columnist, who is well-known for her talks on purposeful parenting and financial literacy. I love how she managed to teach all her 3 kids about money! And not only that, they are on it as a whole family! Quite fascinating! She talked about how important it is to have a balance sheet. A balance sheet is where you list you assets and liabilities. I've tried doing these before based from the blogs that I've read and was really shocked on how much I really owe to how much I really owned so I ditched it! He He He! I am not brave yet so I will have to do it again sometime in the future.
She also discussed the word "FQ" which means Financial Intelligence Quotient. Where one shouldn't be a Math genius to have a high FQ, just to be good at money. The laws of money are very simple:
1. Pay yourself first.
2. Get into a business you understand. Seek advice only from competent people.
3. Make your gold work for you. Make an army of gold before you buy luxury.
I sucked at number one big time! And still need to work on the no 2 and 3! It really means that I still have a long way to go!
I love the topic where she also discussed about "Why Do I Want To Raise Money Smart Kids?". It helps us moms know that we need to teach our children as young as they can understand on how it is important to save money. We are not just teaching them on how to be independent but how they can be financially stable. It hit me when she said that we parents should cut their 'financial umbilical cord' once they finishes college. Admit it, the traditional family that we have here in the Philippines is taking responsibility of our children's obligations even if they can already work for themselves.
So as soon as my twins are a few months old, I already opened their Junior Savers Account from BDO. All of their Christmas, Baptismal and Birthday cash goes directly to their savings account. I will continue it until they are fully capable of handling their own money. Planning to open a separate UITF for their accounts to make it grow.
I love the topic where she also discussed about "Why Do I Want To Raise Money Smart Kids?". It helps us moms know that we need to teach our children as young as they can understand on how it is important to save money. We are not just teaching them on how to be independent but how they can be financially stable. It hit me when she said that we parents should cut their 'financial umbilical cord' once they finishes college. Admit it, the traditional family that we have here in the Philippines is taking responsibility of our children's obligations even if they can already work for themselves.
So as soon as my twins are a few months old, I already opened their Junior Savers Account from BDO. All of their Christmas, Baptismal and Birthday cash goes directly to their savings account. I will continue it until they are fully capable of handling their own money. Planning to open a separate UITF for their accounts to make it grow.
Lastly, Tet Bugayong, Lancaster's Marketing Services Manager, discussed home financing tips. She recited the 5 Signs that you are ready to purchase your first home:
1. Plan to Stay
2. Get Pre-Approved
3. Ready Set Flexible
4. Save Up
5. Get Real
We already had a mortgaged house which is now being rented. But I wished I've known this signs firsthand when I was planning to get our house. The tips here are very important because it is a life long decision. It is indeed never easy to have a home that you can call yours, there are still many factors to consider.
This event was co-presented by Lancaster New City and Property Company of Friends, (PRO-FRIENDS) Inc. You can visit their website at www.LancasterNewCity.com.ph or Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/LancasterNewCityOfficial.
Get access to vital parenting information and relevant content 24/7, visit www.smartparenting.com.ph, and follow Smart Parenting on Facebook via /smartparenting.ph, @smartparenting on instagram, and @_smartparenting on Twitter.
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