 |
| Photo Credits |
“There is no substitute for victory – Gen. Douglas MacArthur”
April 9 was “Araw ng Kagitingan”
or “Day of Valor” as we celebrate and honor our veterans and remember the
fallen of World War II and other battles and conflicts in our history who gave
the ultimate sacrifice for this country and for the people. Looking back, my late grandmother would tell
us stories of how our late grandfather’s escape with a few of his comrades during
the infamous Bataan Death March.
They were able to escape and hide through the help of the townsfolk they knew during the transfer of the bulk of prisoners of war in the historic San Fernando Train Station in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga to be shipped to Camp O’ Donnell in Capas, Tarlac through railway by their Japanese captors. He was a young army officer of the Philippine Commonwealth Army then. Although he died four decades ago, I still recount what my grandmother and some of the old folks we know who lived during the Japanese occupation years as a very harsh period in our Philippine history.
In today’s financial perspective, many ordinary folks are becoming aware of financial planning but are struggling with it and do not know where to start. In fact, people are managing their finances and have lost hope of due to their financial troubles and surrender. I seen folks who almost lost and went bankrupt and are currently facing legal problems from their creditors but for those who are courageous to deal with their debtor and dream of achieving total financial freedom they must have the iron will in doing the financial planning process:
They were able to escape and hide through the help of the townsfolk they knew during the transfer of the bulk of prisoners of war in the historic San Fernando Train Station in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga to be shipped to Camp O’ Donnell in Capas, Tarlac through railway by their Japanese captors. He was a young army officer of the Philippine Commonwealth Army then. Although he died four decades ago, I still recount what my grandmother and some of the old folks we know who lived during the Japanese occupation years as a very harsh period in our Philippine history.
In today’s financial perspective, many ordinary folks are becoming aware of financial planning but are struggling with it and do not know where to start. In fact, people are managing their finances and have lost hope of due to their financial troubles and surrender. I seen folks who almost lost and went bankrupt and are currently facing legal problems from their creditors but for those who are courageous to deal with their debtor and dream of achieving total financial freedom they must have the iron will in doing the financial planning process:
1. Increase one’s financial
literacy – for people who want to learn about personal finance must read first
books about the topic and attend enriching seminars that tackle on personal
finance which is very essential for anyone who wants to succeed in this battle.
2. Lay out one’s battle plans – anyone
going through this must have clear objectives in order to succeed in
strategizing his or her plan for this mission. Some examples of these are
budgeting plan, debt restructuring plan, passive investment plan, retirement
plan, and college education plan for kids just to name a few.
3. Making decisive actions – It takes few slow
steps to get into these. Going slow at
first for beginners is alright in establishing a foothold in personal finance
for example one must have the primary objectives of having a 3 months contingency
fund, a debt restructuring payment scheme plan for 12 months such plan.
4. Review one’s weaknesses – Take
a look of your daily personal expenses from transportation, food and snacks. Do
you really need to drink out a few cups of high end coffee or eat out on a
pricey restaurant or buying junk food which are cheap but really not good for
anyone’s body just to cite some example. Habits should be changed.
5. Take an advice from personal
finance expert – Consult a registered financial planner who can help in one’s
personal finance wherein members of the Association of the Registered Financial Planners of the Philippines (ARFPP) are professionals and have the expertise to
give you solid advice and input customized to your needs and specifications.
The battle is not yet over for
those who have given up hope in this war against debt. It is half won if one’s
hardwired habits and mindset must be rebooted. Waving the white flag and
surrendering is not an option for anyone to achieve financial freedom and success.
Keep fighting and resist.
_________________________________________________________________________________Keep fighting and resist.
Mr. Benedict Baluyut, is a
certified real estate professional (PRC Real Estate Broker) a regular member of
Registered Financial Planner - Philippines. He writes from time to time with
Registered Financial Planner Column at Business Mirror and MoneySense, a
Personal Finance Magazine in the Philippines. Catch him on Facebook page
Pinoymoneyvantage | Follow me on
Twitter | Add on Google+ or visit his
official blog at http://www.pinoymoneyvantage.net.
Related Posts:
No comments:
Post a Comment