Ways to Increase Cash Flow

Today multiple sources of income are necessary to actually live a comfortable life. Unless you are the head executive of some multinational company and you are earning large sums of money from your career alone, then chances are what you’re earning from your regular job is only enough to pay for your basic needs.

We were all raised to study hard in school, graduate then get a good job. Once we get that good job, it seems our future is secured. But this is traditional thinking and this is true only about 20 years ago! These days, this formula is no true. This is the sad and painful truth. But look around you. How many employees who have no sidelines are actually earning a lot to achieve financial freedom? Chances are, they are earning only the bare minimum to fund their expenses. If they are an exceptional employee then they get promoted to higher positions with higher wages. But companies are also smart. They often retrench seasoned employees – paying them attractive separation wages then giving them counter offers for a regular post but lower in salary package.

This is simply the reality of our times now. It is not enough to simply be an employee. No wonder, when you enter an office, you would always find someone engaged in either direct selling or network marketing. Everyone is consciously looking for some sideline or raket.

So now that we know that MULTIPLE SOURCES OF INCOME is necessary, what are our legitimate options at increasing our cashflow? How do we avoid all the scams out there that promises us great returns but once they get our money, they vanish into thin air? And in the first place, how do we identify if a business opportunity is actually legitimate or not?

Before I list the different multiple sources of income I am familiar with and have tried, let me first answer the questions above.

HOW DO I KNOW IF IT’S LEGAL?

Do your research. Simply put, there is nothing better than doing some background check on the company. It is not enough that your bestfriend or someone you trust presented you with the business opportunity. They might have made a misguided decision too. Your safest course of action here is to gain more knowledge. Check the internet for information about the company. Check the SEC if needed. Ask around – but be careful that the people you ask are actually knowledgeable because many are in fact misinformed.

Legitimate sources of income won’t pressure you to act on the spot. They would respect your decision to do research and would even encourage you to! However, be wary of analysis paralysis. Once you have deemed the opportunity as legal and you have it within you to actually try it out, then go for it! The rest of the steps would show themselves to you.

Every time I am invited to a networking seminar and encouraged by a friend to join, I first do a little background check on the company. It doesn’t matter if the opportunity is really good or if my friend is already earning a lot – point is, I would sleep better if I knew the legalities of the company.  This is true with any financial product offered to me. A simple google search would reveal a lot. But do not simply trust what you read. Analyze it too. For example, I often google the word scam or scandal after the name of the company. If something comes up, I read it and decide for myself if the written literature is trustworthy or not. Often times, the author is simply misguided or sometimes it’s a post with the intent to sabotage the company or product.

At the end of the day, check if the company or product or offer is legal. Don’t be lazy. This is your future.

SO WHAT ARE OUR OPTIONS?

I will classify the different opportunities into two: OFFLINE and ONLINE.

Because of the INTERNET, a whole new world – and countless possibilities have opened up for us. Let us discuss first the various means we can make additional income OFFLINE.

A List of Offline Opportunities

Buy and Sell

If you or your friends have items they wish to sell but find it disadvantageous to sell via the usual buy and sell shops, then you might want to do the selling yourself. A simple text blast to friends or a post in Facebook announcing that you are selling a gadget or particular product usually does the trick. Simply connect the buyer to your friend (or if you have the item directly sell it to them) and your friend gives you commission if the sale is successful.

This is easy cash with little capital investment except for cellphone load or internet connection and some convincing power on your part. You don’t even have to convince anyone because you would simply inform them that the particular item is for sale and answer their queries.

Products usually sold using this scheme are gadgets and cars. With gadgets, you can earn anywhere from P500 to P2000 while for cars, you can earn from P10,000 to P20,000. It all depends on your agreement with the actual seller. For this, best make sure the seller is really your friend because this strategy involves a lot of trust on both ends.

Network Marketing

In the past 5 years, the number of networking companies has dramatically increased! Almost everyone is aware of networking and are either misinformed or well informed about it. But what is networking really? Is it a scam? Are the success stories actually real? We will discuss this topic in detail on a separate post.

On a personal note, I have tried 2 networking companies and I must say I have earned the promised rewards from them. However, this type of business involves a lot of hardwork at the beginning and would really test your character. Many people fail in this industry because they simply do not possess the attitude and skills required. But those who are able to overcome the hurdles do emerge as victorious.

Direct Selling

If you are the type who is fond of selling to friends different products from cosmetics to household items, then this might be for you. Membership is usually minimal and you get loads of discounts from the products alone. Sell the products using the brochures and you get a large profit.

This is largely beneficial if you are also a huge fan of the products and you use them constantly. Then even if you don’t sell them, you still save a lot by buying at discounted rates.

Mystery Shopping

Very few people I met are actually aware that they can earn shopping or eating out or even performing various services. A lot of large companies want to check how their operations are performing and employ mystery shoppers.

How do you apply as a mystery shopper? Look for online sites that offer mystery shopping services. Usually, they also hire mystery shoppers. Once they accredit you as a part of their pool of shoppers, they assign shop visits that you need to complete. After completing a certain visit, they reimburse you any expense incurred plus pay you additional fees.

If you normally shop or dine out, this is a good source of extra income for you. You just need to be observant of the place and service of the area you are shopping or dining in and report in accordance with the details the client ask.

Consultancy Services

If you have a special skill, you can outsource it to those looking for part-time or one-time contracts. For example, if you are good with bookkeeping and you know someone who needs help setting up their accounting records, you can help them do so for a fee. Or if you are good with grammar and you know someone who needs help editing their thesis then you can offer your services in exchange for something.

As long as you know you are an expert in a certain field and you have the credentials to back it up, you can offer your services to those in need of your expertise. Usually, you just offer them advice and this is already valuable information that they would pay you for.

Traditional Business

If you have the capital and the time, you can setup a traditional business. But be sure it is something you love or are passionate about. Most businesses fail because they are doing it for the sake of earning money alone. Businesses are risky because at the start you will certainly go through a lot of ups and downs. Often, you will fail. Very seldom does a startup business become a success at the start. But this is ok since it is all part of the learning process. Now, if you do not love what you are doing, chances are you will quit at the first sign of failure.

Franchising

If you have the capital but do not have the knowledge of building a business system. You can try franchising. Just be on the lookout for the concept or product that sells and also make sure you have a good location for your franchise. Also be prepared to always abide by the rules of the franchisor.

A List of Online Opportunities

Paid Surveys

There are many sites out there that runs surveys commissioned by marketing research agencies for big brands. They want your opinion and they are ready to pay for it. Although payment is usually peanuts, it is still better than nothing.

Freelance Jobs

If you have a skill, no matter how seemingly trivial it is like entering data into Excel spreadsheets, chances are, someone is willing to pay you for them. Search the internet for various ways to earn through online jobs. You will be surprised at what people will be willing to pay you for.

Do not expect a high starting salary. You need to also build credibility as a freelancer to be able to get the really big contracts.

People with skills in digital design are the most sought after in this field.

Online shops, Buy and Sell

This works like the offline buy and sell except here everything is easier because almost everybody is online. Chances are you can reach a wider audience for a lesser amount of money and time.

Blogs

If you have a passion for something and you want to share it to the world, why not blog about it? Blogging does not mean you have to be a good writer or an expert at something. Chances are, if you are passionate about a topic such as Financial Education or even Tennis, and you can write endlessly about it then by all means start a blog.

At the start, you won’t earn much from this because you need to build traffic to your blog. As the traffic builds up, you can run ads which will give you the revenues. Alternatively, if you become an expert at your field, brands will approach you to write about them and to engage your readers to engage with their brands.

These are just some of the many opportunities available out there. By all means, it is not an exhaustive list and there are many other things you can do to generate increased cash flow.

I believe that there is a financial genius residing in all of us. As what Robert Kiyosaki said in his book Rich Dad Poor Dad as long as we force ourselves to ask “HOW CAN I AFFORD IT?” instead of telling ourselves that “I CANNOT AFFORD IT” then our mind will begin to think of ways by which we can generate more cash. We will be able to see opportunities which before was invisible to us.

Increasing cash flow is not impossible. It is not even that hard if we know where to look and if we have the proper mindset and attitude towards it.

Share your stories and tips on how to increase cash flow in the comments section below. I’d love to hear from you.

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Why I choose to be in NETWORK MARKETING?

Part of my journey to achieving financial freedom is to take part in a network marketing business. Back in college, I was first introduced to this type of business via a friend. She recruited me to be a part of NuSkin Philippines. Having encountered the products of NuSkin several years back and knowing that they were products I will be proud to be associated with, I joined immediately. What followed were days of hardships but great rewards. I became a fast rising distributor with lots of promise and I earned a lot! But sadly, I was not yet aware of how to handle huge sums of money so I lost almost all I earned until it came to a point when I became tired and decided to focus on my studies which I left hanging because I focused on my business.

Now, 7 years later, I am again engaged in another networking business – AIM Global.

For those of you who are not familiar with networking and are filled with negative connotations about it, please don’t leave this site just yet. Allow me to explain why I keep joining networking businesses and why I keep entertaining them. Before I joined NuSkin and AIM Global, I have attended several presentations of different networking groups.

The CASHFLOW Quadrant

If you are familiar with Robert Kiyosaki’s book, Cashflow Quadrant, you know that in order to achieve financial freedom, we need to move from becoming an E (employee) or S (Self-Employed) to becoming a B (Businessman) or I (Investor). True financial freedom is only found in the B and I quadrants.

I am an E sometimes becoming an S because of the odd jobs I do such as freelance writing. But to be financially free I need to move to becoming a B and an I. I can try to become an I at once but it is better to understand how businesses work by becoming a B first since I’s invest in B’s and I will know which good B to invest in if I experienced becoming a B.

I hope you followed my reasoning in the last paragraph. I will expound on this more in some other post.

So now, since I know I have to become a businessman, what businesses are available to me?

Traditional Business

I can try the traditional way of creating my own business system. Take note, we are talking about a business here which is defined as something that would continue to generate income even if I am not physically present 100% of the time. If I were to build an eatery wherein I am the cook and I have to be present for it to run, then I am merely a self-employed person and not a business person. However, if I built an eatery, hired people to run it for me, and the eatery generates income even while I am on vacation, then I have built a business system.

But building a business from scratch takes a lot of time and capital. At the start, I need to perfect a system that would entail trial and error on my part. After all, I know that I need to fail several times for me to effectively learn what works and what doesn’t. Then there is the question of capital. How much capita do I need and how much of it I can afford?

At this point, turning my entrepreneurial ideas into a raging business will have to wait. Simply put, I have no capital and my time is tied to my day job.

So moving on to option no. 2…

Franchise

If I do not have the time or the knowledge to build my own business system, I can always get a franchise. There are food carts and milk tea shops that would allow me to franchise their system for even below P100,000.00.

But the question remains of capital, sadly I do not even have the capital required of even the cheapest franchise system. And the cheapest doesn’t necessarily equate to quality.

So now, I move on to my last option…

Network Marketing

Network Marketing to most people seems like a scam. I can understand their suspicion as the business system has been exploited and used by many scrupulous individuals to lure unsuspecting victims into a scam business.

My antidote to this: knowledge. Once I began to research network marketing, I learned that it was in fact a legitimate business model. The calculations made sense. The entire framework made sense. And everything presented – be it the binary model or stairstep model – are all legitimate means to earn money.

By doing my research diligently, I made my decision to join networking based on FACTS supplied by historical data and sound business models instead of OPINIONS supplied by well-meaning but misinformed friends and family telling me I was getting into a scam.

Networking business requires the least amount of capital and depended more on “sweat capital”. This is the type of business wherein all I have to really invest in is my time, my willingness to learn and my willingness to overcome all my personal inhibitions when it comes to networking.

Let me summarize my main points for joining a networking business:

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•       Entry level is usually low. For a small sum of money, usually P7,980 (in the case of AIM Global), I am able to join the network and start my business. For this amount, I get products and various other benefits whose value is actually far more than the amount I invested. Plus, I get to access the system.
•            I am trained in the areas of leadership and people skills. I am proud to say I am a student leader in all my student days but I was immediately awakened to the reality that being a student leader does not necessarily mean I will be a good leader in the real world. Leadership involves so much more than what I have experienced in school organizing projects and fund raisers. Leadership means I have to be able to deal with all sets of different types of people – some even smarter and better than me – and rally them towards a common goal. With networking, I am able to develop this skill.
•            I am trained to overcome my fear of rejection. With networking, I am forced to meet new people every day. I have to learn to “network”. Talk with strangers and get them to see the business. Many will reject me but I have to push through because there will always be someone who will see the business as I see it and join. The hardest rejection usually comes from people I love because more often than not, they do not understand what I do.
•             I get to be surrounded with like-minded people. Nothing beats being with people who share the same passion as you – the passion to become financially free. The path to financial freedom is a tough one. It is the road less travelled. But the journey doesn’t have to be done alone. Networking provides me with the support of people who are also on the same phase of the journey as I am and the support of people who have made the transition to financial freedom successfully.

With the reasons above, I am proud to say that I am a networker. It is not a walk in the park. It is still full of hard work and I have to dedicate my time to it. I do not claim I am a successful networker – I have my ups and downs and there are a lot of times I have decided to quit. But whenever I think of quitting, I look at the current position I am in now and I realize this is not really where I want to be. I look at the people successful in the place where I am now and I see their successful lives as not the successful life I envision myself to have. I do not want to end up as a top-rank manager working hard day-in day-out. Although the position carries with it an impressive title and a high salary, I know that success in this line of work would entail long hours and this is not really financial freedom.

I look at the people successful in networking and I see in them the life I want to live. A life of financial freedom where they get to travel wherever and whenever they want, get to buy whatever they want and they need not worry about earning because they are at that point in their lives where money is already working for them. I want this life.

Both path of life tends to be hard work but which hard work will I choose? I choose the path less travelled.

Disclaimer: I am not there yet. I am still a full pledge employee with no large networking group. I am in ground zero as of the moment. I am writing this post to remind myself also of the reasons why I have made the decision over and over again to become a full pledge networker. Now is the time for me to act on it.

Disclaimer: Not all networking companies are legitimate. Do your research. Also, choose a company you will at ease with. The reason I look at so many networking presentations is because I want to make an informed choice. I want to choose a company based on their business model or marketing plan, their culture and their product. The product is important but I learned from Kiyosaki that if I want to be a businessman, it is the business system (or marketing plan) that I must look into and not the product (lest I want to become a salesperson). The culture is important because not all networking companies have strong positive culture geared at mentoring their distributors to achieve financial freedom.

I hope this post has enlightened you about networking.

Why am I doing network marketing? Because I need to learn to become a B.

Why is it important I learn to become a B? Because I want to be a successful I.

Why? Because I want to be financially free!

Read more about my Journey to Financial Freedom by subscribing here.

My Steps to Financial Freedom

In my last post, I wrote about how a CHANGE IN MINDSET greatly affected my attitude towards money. I said that I now believe that it is in God’s will for me to be rich and earn large sums of money to be used for good. I also mentioned that I am now a more positive and optimistic person believing that I indeed have the capacity to generate huge sums of money so that I can reach my goals.

I also said that my goals could be summed up into one thing – become FINANCIALLY FREE!

In this post, I will outline the steps to do just that. But before that, let me tell you a story.

When I was a kid, I was already taught to save. From the P10 baon I receive every day, I set aside about P2 to go to my piggy bank. After some time, I realized I already had P500 saved! I was excited. Later on, my parents got me and my siblings Kiddie Savers Account. That time, they were working as canteen concessionaires for a government office. They gave us P100 per day to deposit to our accounts. We were really excited to go to the bank and make our deposits. Take note, I was just 10 years old at that time. At the end of the year, we had enough to pay for our next school year’s tuition fees.

You see, I was brought up to be a natural saver. But as I got older, I seem to forget those values and often find myself having more expenses than I could actually afford. Hence, as I started to earn more, I spent more and none was left for savings. Finally, after four years of earning an income, I was fed up with not having any decent savings and made the decision to prioritize saving up for my future. After all, I am not getting any younger and soon I will have a family to raise and support. Even though I’m a girl, I still intend to help my husband fund our family’s financial needs.

But how do I save when I have so many expenses to pay for?  The answer to this will be outlined in the succeeding post. At least for now, you know the gist of my story.

So, here I am – wanting to be financially free. How do I start?

STEP 1: INCREASE MY CASH FLOW

How can I really pay for all my basic expenses if my cash flow is so little? Yes, I can reduce my expenses but I can only do it in such a way that I do not live in utter poverty. I can make sure I only spend what I make but if all that I earn is just enough to pay the bills and I am unable to even afford some of my needs and wants, then will I even be able to think about saving?

To be able to effectively save, especially that I now have a goal to reach, I need to increase my cash flow.

There are many ways to do so which we will discuss in the post dedicated to this.

STEP 2: MANAGE DEBT

There are good debts and bad debts. Good debts are debts made to acquire items that would allow you to generate additional income. Bad debts are debts acquired to finance items that give you more expenses. Managing debt means you have less or possibly zero bad debts. 

Here, we see that increasing cash flow is really necessary. Because if I have limited cash flow, the tendency would be to loan more. But how can I make a loan when already I am tied up to paying other loans. It’s a vicious cycle. Loaning by itself is not bad. It can even be a source of financial leverage. But the key to this is proper debt management.

Another separate post will dwell deeper on this.

STEP 3: CREATE AN EMERGENCY FUND

Emergency funds, from the name itself, are for emergencies. This is the part where I actually start setting aside money for savings. This is what people call saving for the rainy days. But this fund must not be touched unless there really is an emergency like when I lose a job or when I need cash for repairs or sickness.  It is not intended for when I need a new gadget or saw a sale for an item in the mall.

I will discuss emergency funds in detail in a separate post.

STEP 4: PROVIDE PROPER PROTECTION

Most Filipinos fail to insure their lives against untimely death or even against living too long. Most only have the mentality that the present is all that matters and we must spend all we can in the present. But what happens when we suddenly meet an accident. You may accuse me of being negative on this but it is just the simple reality. Accidents do happen and we can never predict them.

Now when it happens to us, are we sure that our loved ones can cope with our loss especially if we are the breadwinner? Single people would say that they would delay getting insurance – after all they don’t have a beneficiary. But they fail to realize that if they insure themselves now, once they do get beneficiaries, they don’t need to insure themselves again.

We will dwell more on this in a separate post.

STEP 5: ASSET ACCUMULATION

This is now the part where I start to make money grow. I have earned it, now I’ll make it grow. Many people make the mistake of simply placing their money in the bank. The bank exist to safe keep your money, but they won’t make it grow. Put your money there today, when you wake up tomorrow, it’s still the same amount. So what? Well, you are actually losing! Your money remains the same in amount but in value it decreases. Why? There is inflation.

More on this on a separate post. If you notice, I am keeping you hanging because there are just so many things to discuss about each step that this post will be very long to contain them all.

STEP 6: ESTATE PRESERVATION

Are you aware that before your heirs could actually claim your wealth a.k.a. estate they would need to pay 20% estate tax? Once you die, your assets freeze and the only way for the legal heirs to claim them is if they pay the tax. Many rich people are unaware of this and this leaves them in a very vulnerable situation. If their children cannot produce the estate tax, then the government essentially inherits all their hard earned wealth.

How do you preserve your estate? I will discuss this in another post. J

And finally, the last step.

STEP 7: GIVE, GIVE, AND GIVE

The reason many people are blessed is they continue to be a blessing to others. By sharing their resources – time and money – they open themselves to receiving more blessings. Money is not meant to be kept to ourselves alone. It is meant to circulate. We are blessed to become a blessing. We earn a lot so we can give a lot. The more we give, the more we receive.

Many make the mistake that once they start earning a lot, they keep it to themselves. If they learn to let go of those earnings, they would realize  that they would continue to receive more. If they simply kept it to themselves, then they risk stopping at that threshold where they can no longer earn more.

This post will be expounded in the succeeding posts. There is just too much knowledge to absorb and share that I risk making this blog post very long and tedious to read. So watch out for the next posts as I expound on each step more and share what I’m doing to actually fulfill each.

Thank you for reading and have a great day!

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A Change in Mindset

Have you ever encountered people who tell you that all they really want is to live a simple life? Or people who tell you that money is evil and that we shouldn't be greedy and we should simply accept whatever simple things life throws at us?

I have. I've encountered many people, usually people close to me, who tell me that I should simply live a simple life. That God wanted us to be content with whatever he has given us. That happiness need not be hinged on having lots and lots of money because money cannot buy happiness.

For many years I believed this to be true. But I was severely mistaken!


The Truth About Money 

God, as it turned out, did not want me to live in poverty or to be always in want. God has repeatedly said in His Word, the Bible, that he wanted me to prosper and that he has laid out many riches for me. And these riches are not just riches I will get in heaven, but riches I can enjoy here on Earth!

Never did God even say that money is evil. He merely said that THE LOVE OF MONEY IS THE ROOT of all evil. GREED is the evil one, not money.

You see, MONEY is merely a tool - and a neutral one at that. It is like a knife - neutral and bearing no hint of good or evil. If we use the knife to cut our meat and vegetables it is a useful tool, often good, since it is used to feed us and other starving people. If we use the knife to kill someone, then it becomes a tool for evil since we already commit murder. But the knife itself is not good or evil - it is how it was used that made it good or evil.

The same is true for money. Money, used in the right means is good. Money, used for evil purposes becomes evil.

That being said, it was liberating to know that God wanted us to prosper and become rich. To enjoy the wonders of his creation and all the resources he has made available for us in this earth.

GOD WANTED ME TO BE RICH! It is in his will that I will be rich.

And so I heed his call. Just like what is told in the Parable of the Talents, God wants me to use everything that he has given me so that I can multiply it many times over and become rich.


What about a living a simple life?

A simple life is not a life lived in a shanty with only sardines and rice for dinner. A simple life is the ability to have a choice. I can choose to eat sardines for dinner or a well-cooked steak. I can choose to retire in a bahay kubo for the night or a five-star hotel. A life wherein I can only choose one end of the spectrum is a depressing life. It is not a simple life.

Even a simple life would require us to use money. When people tell me they want a simple life, I asked them to describe that simple life.

They say, "I just want to be able to eat 3x a day, have a house to shelter me by, have enough money to buy clothes and watch movies every now and then."

I ask them, "What kind of foods do you want? Canned foods all the time? Would you want to taste fine dining meals every now and then? What house do you want? A small one your family can barely fit in or something spacious enough so you and your kids can play inside? What about vacation and entertainment? What about your kid's education?"

You see, so many people do not understand what a SIMPLE life really means and how much it really costs. At the end of the day, there really is no simple life. There is just a rich life and a poor life. You make your choice.


What does financial freedom mean?

To be financially free simply means to be able to buy anything you want without worry that your money would run out. It doesn't really mean you are filthy rich or you have such a high paying job. You can be both but not financially free if you have so many liabilities to attend to such as debts and mortgages. Or if you spend all your time working and working just so you can maintain that high steady stream of income.

Financial freedom is the ability to have money work for you instead of you working for money. It means that you no longer become a slave to money, working day and night just to generate income so you can fund your life's needs. When you are financially free, you can buy whatever you need or want and you know that you have the funds to pay for it. Likewise, you are not scared that anytime, your funds will run out and you will default on your due payments.

For me, financial freedom simply means I do not have to report to work for 8-9 hours a day. It means I do not have to wake up early on Mondays to go to an office, work and make someone else rich. For me, financial freedom is me working to make myself rich. It means I can afford whatever I want because I have the funds to do so.

How do I get there?

Right now, I am in a situation wherein I live with my parents, I earn slightly above the minimum wage and I have close to nothing in savings although I have a few long-term investments here and there. It is an ugly sight. It is very far from my goal of living in my own apartment or condo unit (note: owned, not rented), having hundreds of thousands in savings, having millions in investments and working for myself in a business I am passionate about.

But even if my outward physical situation is dire, my inner self is more than ready. In the past years I have invested in financial knowledge (the first step to becoming financially free). Armed with the correct knowledge, I can make better decisions and avoid common pitfalls. Knowledge will make me rich. Because with knowledge, as cliche goes, comes power. The power to make better judgments and calculated moves so that I emerge victorious in the end.

Aside from the financial knowledge I now possess, I have also taken a great shift in mindset. From someone who is sometimes positive, sometimes negative, now I make a conscious effort to always be positive. A positive mindset and disposition helps a lot! I know that as long as I commit to my goals and believe that it will all come into fruition, I can achieve it.

SUMMARY:

Changing my mindset about money was the first step in achieving financial freedom. I needed to learn that MONEY IS NOT EVIL. It is how we use money that makes it good or evil.

A SIMPLE LIFE IS NOT A LIFE OF POVERTY. In fact, there is no simple life. There is just a rich or a poor life. It is when we are rich that we can choose to live a life of simplicity or a life of lavishness.

A POSITIVE MINDSET will get the job done. When the going gets tough, it is only with a positive attitude that we can weather the storms and achieve our goals.

Lastly, INVEST FIRST IN YOUR MIND. With sufficient knowledge, I now know how to act properly and achieve my financial goals. All those years of wasting money was not really wasted because with every penny spent, I learned something and with every peso I felt was wasted the drive in me to spend time learning and learning increased until it came to the point I knew I was ready.

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"For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." 1Timothy 6:10

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On my next post I will share more about how my financial journey has been up until the point I am in today. I hope to see you again!

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Finally, I'd love to hear from you so do leave a comment below!

The Journey Begins

I do not claim to be any financial expert. Neither do I claim to be someone who has attained financial freedom. I am merely someone, like you, struggling to survive from pay day to pay day with an average job.

But I am tired of this kind of living. I am still single - with no dependents except the occasional obligation to help out with the expenses at home - I still live with my parents! Truth be told, I do not have so many financial obligations as of the moment that I would think of myself as broke.

Yet, we live not just for this moment. I have my own dreams of seeing the world, having my own family, owning certain stuff and experiencing certain things. All of which would require some form of a better financial responsibility from me.

Hence, after much reading of various blog articles and several financial mistakes, I can say that I am finally on-track to becoming financially free. I am not there yet, but I know I will get there.

And so I decided to start this blog. It will be my personal journal of my journey towards financial freedom. This would serve as a collection of the lessons I've learned and as a reminder of the journey I am taking. There would be many setbacks along the way and part of my preparation for those setbacks is to have this living chronicle of how far along I've come. Hopefully, when the going gets tough, I can find inspiration and strength from the articles I've written here about my journey.

And to you, dear reader, I hope this also helps you in your own personal journey towards financial freedom- whatever stage you may be in right now. They say that not everyone, especially in the Philippines become financially free, but it is something that is possible for everyone. Poverty only happens because so many of us lack the knowledge or willpower to take control of our own financial journeys.

I hope, in the pages of this blog, I am able to inspire and educate just as I have been inspired and educated by the many mentors I have encountered in the past. The lessons I will impart are also the same lessons imparted by many others before me. Nothing here is new. But everything here is personal.

With that said, let the journey - and my blogging - begin!