I'm a firm believer
that learning is inexpensive. You may
learn by just being an observant, you may learn something while conversing with
a colleague, you may learn while watching the television, you may learn by reading
a newspaper… There are a lot of avenues available for us to learn.
At the beginning of
this year, I promised myself to commit to continuous learning. Since I love
reading books (especially now that I can bring along 25 books all at the same
time in the form of ebooks, thanks to technology), I'm devoted to read at least
1 book every month. There is no specific topic in mind, it can be a personality
development book, a bible, a cookbook, or a travel guide book. As long as it interests me, it will surely be
used as a tool for learning.
Aside from dedicating
my time in reading at least 1 book a month, I also commit to share in this blog
whatever lesson I learned from each book.
Simply because I love you guys! It's
my way of saying "thank you" for taking time to visit and read my
blogs.
For the month of
January, I read this book by Bo Sanchez entitled "The Turtle Always
Wins." I got this book as a gift
from Bo Sanchez just this first week of January.
Basically, the book is about earning millions
in stock market. But, I feel that aside
from the stock market, this books tells a lot about financial management. Here are the 10 lessons I learned in this
book:
Lesson #1: Income does not equal wealth. It's not how much you earn that makes you
wealthy. It's how much you invest from
what you earn that makes you wealthy.
It's not the salary that we receive every payday or the business income
that we have that keeps us rich. It's
the money that remains for investment and savings that makes us rich. Which brings me to below comparison of the
monthly salary and savings of Ms. Employee and Inday that raised a lot of
eyebrows.
Lesson #2: It's not ok to borrow just because there is a
facility available for us to borrow. As
an employee, I always hear this "Sayang if I won't borrow" statements
of people who always renew their SSS loans just to ensure that nobody else will
avail the loan for them. Not thinking of
the interest that they have to pay for the money that is not needed but
borrowed.
Lesson #3: If you want to prosper, learn to multiply the
little money that you have. If you
retire poor, it's not God's fault.
Again, this remains true to Filipinos' favorite saying, "Nasa Diyos
ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa."
Lesson #4: Anybody can invest - maids, drivers, security
guards, entrepreneurs, models, rich, poor, old, young. Wealth is a choice, neither a coincidence nor
a gift.
Lesson #5: If you can't get rid of helping other people
- your relatives, your neighbors, your friends, or the entire barangay, allot
an "Alms fund." Once it runs
out, tell the person asking for help that "Right now, I don't have money
to help you. But next month, perhaps
I'll have some money again." Learn
to say "no" if needed and never compromise your own savings and your
own future for somebody else's financial ignorance and mismanaged income.
Lesson #6: A lot of things are complicated and so is the
stock market. Never allow these
complications to hinder you. If you keep
doing it, sooner or later, it will not be complicated anymore. Do not be afraid to make mistakes, even if
you take risk or not, you are still bound to make mistakes after all. The key is to study and to take calculated
risks - submit yourself to continuous learning.
Get out of your comfort zone!
Lesson #7: There are four kinds of people in the stock
market: the typical trader, the trained trader, the typical investor, and the
trained investor. Follow the turtle's
strategy, be the trained investor. There
is no shortcut to success, and also to wealth.
Practice the habit of investing on a regular basis - at good times and
bad times.
Lesson #8: Beware of hot tips or penny stocks. Beware of people who will tell you to buy
certain stocks so that the price will go up.
It is still best to buy stocks from large corporations and big
companies.
Lesson #9: The six lifestyle principles behind the
success of Mr. Turtle:
- Turtle lives below his means.
- Turtle builds his farm before his house.
- Turtle invests his windfalls.
- Turtle invests when it's difficult to invest.
- Turtle works on cash machines not stocks.
- Turtle believes he'll win.
Lesson #10: Follow Mr. Turtle's Strategic Averaging
Method (SAM). Buy when the price is
beneath the "buy below price."
Sell when the price is near the "target price."
Above lessons is just
a small part of what the book can offer you.
If you are committed to continuous learning, as I am, I would recommend
you to also read the book yourself.
Happy learning!
Mumay
