Monday, March 26, 2012

Simplify Life

I have always been a fan of simplicity. I have never wanted complex thing nor appreciated clutter in my life.

Today I would like to share 52 things that I learned on simplification. This article is based on the book 52 Ways to Simplify your Life by Steve Woodworth.

And here it goes:
1. Get enough sleep
2. Have a rest day
3. Get away from it all
4. Take mini retreats
5. Stop the newspaper
6. Turn off the television
7. Limit magazine and read great books instead
8. Stop the noise
9. Experiment with Peace
10. Know where your time goes
11. Accept yourself
12. Know your values
13. Set a clear goal
14. Learn to say No
15. Plan ahead
16. Start every day with God
17. Practice awareness of God
18. Turn off the adrenaline
19. Advance with a retreat
20. Forgive
21. Channel your anger
22. Seek help for difficult relationships
23. Use a budget
24. Pay off your mortgage early
25. Fast from buying
26. Save 10 percent for yourself
27. Have fun saving money
28. Avoid debt
29. Ignore fads and fashion
30. Don't compete with the Joneses
31. Invest simply
32. Give it away
33. Enjoy manual labor
34. Plant a garden
35. Find a hobby
36. Do simple repairs and maintenance
37. Hire someone for difficult jobs
38. Don't accumulate expensive tools
39. ind the right person to help
40. Recycle
41. Buy with sensitivity to the rest of the world
42. Get outside
43. Watch for beauty
44. Put your family first
45. Become an encourager
46. Invest in edifying relationship
47. Love the unlovable
48. Invite a friend to join you on a pilgrimage
49. Stop seeking perfection
50. Go with the flow
51. Keep simplicity simple
52. ollow your bliss

There are 52 weeks in a year. If we could practice one in each week then by the end of the year we will be one step closer to simplifying our lives.

~Till then

Saturday, March 24, 2012

No Expense Week

I did not spend anything for five days straight. (Monday-Friday). Not even a single peso went out of my pocket.

I shared this with my office mates and they were surprised about the possibility of not spending anything in a week.

How did I do that?

Simple. I live near the office so I just walk from our house to the office. I go home every lunch time and bring my mirienda from the leftover desserts. We contribute approximately 350Php every week for our food and it's anough to feed us three times a day, five times a week.

I hope I can do this every week.

~Till next week.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Valuing Time

More and more of my friends are becoming interested in the numbers game. They ask questions like: "What's the best interest rate you ever had?", "How much did you make last year?" and "What's the projection this year?"


First of all I do not have the power to foresee what's going to happen this year. Actually nobody can. The market is not a science. It is an art. How many times will an author need to post this in twitter so that followers can understand?


I feel frustrated every time questions like this arise. I was thinking, so are you only going to save money when some prophet told you to do so because it’s the greatest time to save and invest? Is it not a part of your life still?


For readers to understand here is an illustration.


We have here Saver A and Procrastinator B.



Age

Saver A

Procrastinator B

20

20000

21

20000

22

20000

23

20000

24

20000

25

100000

20000

26

112000

20000

27

125440

20000

28

140493

20000

29

157352

20000

30

176234

100000

31

197382

112000

32

221068

125440

33

247596

140493

34

277308

157352

35

310585

176234

36

347855

197382

37

389598

221068

38

436349

247596

39

488711

277308

40

547357

310585

41

613039

347855

42

686604

389598

43

768997

436349

44

861276

488711

45

964629

547357

46

1080385

613039

47

1210031

686604

48

1355235

768997

49

1517863

861276

50

1700006

964629

51

1904007

1080385

52

2132488

1210031

53

2388387

1355235

54

2674993

1517863

55

2995992

1700006

56

3355511

1904007

57

3758173

2132488

58

4209153

2388387

59

4714252

2674993

60

5279962

2995992


The illustration tells that while Saver A is diligently saving and investing for his future, Procrastinator B is waiting for his prophet to tell him to save and invest.


Five years later, the prophet came.


Notice that although they saved same amount each year for five years, the end result is different. Saver A ended up richer than Procrastinator B. This illustration easily translates the saying TIME IS GOLD.


Looking at our world right now, how many people are procrastinating? How many people are blinded by the glitz and glamour of life forgetting about saving and investing for their future?


I hope you are not one of them.



~Till then.


Saturday, March 3, 2012

Things I Learned from Playing the Cashflow Game

Few days ago, my officemates and I played the famous Cashflow game from Robert Kiyosaki - author of the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad. It was my first time to see the board, the rats and cheese and the other components of the game.

Kiyosaki said that the game is the reflection of who you are. It reflects your attitude towards money and towards the opportunities that come your way.

Life they say is a series of opportunities - big and small. Sometimes when the opportunity is small we tend to let it pass. But when the opportunity is big we are afraid to grab it, most of the time we move away from it.

I was a sectary in the game earning a meager salary of 880usd and who has a total savings of 710usd. In short I started with 1590usd. This amount is small compared to my co-players who are earning more than a thousand each and who has a lot of savings.

After the game I ended up with 23,570usd. Far better than the performance of the doctor who has a few thousand dollars and the truck driver who has a few hundred and a mountain of debt.

How did I do that? Having little amount of money and presented by a good opportunity, I sold a good property for 500usd. I also acquired some mutual funds that I bought low and sold high. The real treasure I got was when I had an opportunity to buy a great property and sold it for a few thousand. I already accumulated money from trading but is not yet enough for the downpayment of the property. So I loaned 3000 from the bank that i added up on my 2000. I paid the 5000usd downpayment and had a total mortgage of 35000usd. My mortgage payment ammounted to 300usd which was below my monthly income (880). As a secretary I had very little monthly expense so i was able to accumulate more money eventhough my salary was way below the other players. Then suddenly someone wanted to buy my property for a stagering 60000usd. And after the deductions I was 17500usd richer.

After the alloted time, I was still inside the rat race. But knowing that i perform better than the other players gave me some conclusions.

1. It's not the amount of money that comes in but the amount of money that stays and is used for investments.
2. The profession does not equate to wealth.
3. The person tends to ignore the opportunities if he doesn't know anything about it.
4. Too much debt can drown you (alive).
5. Lessen thenliabilities. Pay debts as early as possible.
6. Know what is an asset and a liability.
7. Grab opportunities as long as you are comfortable in it.
8. Know thy opportunities. Invest in education not in doodads.
9. Increase sources of passive income.
10. Know the difference of good debt vs bad debt.