According from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) statistics on car ownership, there has been a 27.6% increase in the first quarter of 2016 in terms of car purchases in the country. With down payments as low as P25,000 to P50,000 coupled by historic low interest rates, more Filipinos now have the convenience of owning a car that can help them get around.

Most people think that cars are depreciating assets but if you utilize your car, it can be a big income generator for you. You just have to be creative on finding income opportunities with your car.

Here are some ways to generate income from your car:

Register your car to an online transportation network

This way of monetizing your car is beneficial both for you and for passengers who are looking to have convenience while commuting. There are a lot of online transportation networks like GrabCar, Uber, or Wunder that you can join in order to get commissions based on the volume of serviced passengers.

Just remember to register your vehicle at the online transportation network, attend their orientations, and get the appropriate insurance so you can get the most out of your car insurance. Most insurers will not grant a claim when the insurance used is for a private vehicle.

Be a tour guide

This is an income stream that you can do over the weekend. Just determine the areas you are most familiar with and make itineraries that your customers can choose from.

Choose unique routes in the city which you think get many customers, such as a food trip route or a Pokestop tour. You can advertise your services through your friends and family, Facebook groups, and online forums.

Rent out your car

You can choose to rent out your car to either only people you know or through inquiries you get online. The good thing about this is that you can earn passive income here and also utilize your car if it was just sitting in your garage for the longest time.

What you can do to make sure that your car is safe is get a security deposit or a collateral so that the borrower will not be able to steal your car.

Downgrade your vehicle

This can be done through selling your current car and buying one with a lower fair market value. For some, it can be a last resort because their car is their priced possession. This can also save you money in the long run through cheaper car repairs and maintenance. The premium of your car insurance will also go down once you do this.

Offer carpooling

You can bank on some people to only trust a driver they know. You can offer to drop off your neighbors, their kids, and other people in the area to their schools or workplaces for a fee. Just make sure to compute your expenses so you can price this right.

This is not a common practice for Filipinos since they’ll see this more as a favor you can do for them. Make the benefits of carpooling and your commitment evident so they will agree to your service.

Use your car as a moneymaker

Don’t look at your car just as a depreciating asset. You can also capitalize on it to bring you extra cash by these tips which can surely get in additional income for you in the long run.

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Get a chance to get my 3 best-selling and life-changing personal finance books with a huge discount: No Nonsense Personal Finance, Money Manifesto and Everyday Moneyfesto.

Regular price of my 3 books is P1,700.00 but you can now get those books  at P1,200.00 (as a bundle). I am throwing in free shipping for Metro Manila deliveries; for provincial orders please add P110.00

The promo will only run for 3 days, August 1 to 3, 2016 so hurry and get your copies now.

Here’s how you can order:

1. Deposit to BDO #006440069496 or BPI 0249-1113-09 (John Randell Tiongson)
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3. Expect your books to arrive in a few days!

Question: Hi Randell! Good morning! After browsing the net for Filipino personal finance tips, I learned about you. And after reading your articles, I’m very much driven to start investing. I’m already in my 30s and wishing I started earlier. But I can’t dwell on that anymore, so I’m ready to start now. As you keep saying, “the best time to invest was Tuesday, the next best time to invest is today.” With that, I know I should start investing, but where? With the multiple investments available, I don’t know where to start. It’d be great if you could help me on this. Thank you very much and God bless! — Carlo via Facebook

Answer: Hi Carlo! Thank you for messaging me. I’m sharing your query here in my column because I’m sure many Filipinos can relate to your situation. Many hold off saving for retirement because of the mentality that there are still many years left to save, but as you learned, the best time to invest was Tuesday, and the next best time is now. Don’t wait until you’re nearing retirement because investments are meant to be long-term. With that in mind, now we know that we should go for investment vehicles that are more for the long term. So what are these investments?

Property

Real estate is probably the favorite investment of Filipinos. While less than 1 percent of the Philippine population invests in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, 7 in 10 Filipinos own their homes, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 2012 Consumer Finance Survey.

Real estate is an advisable investment for retirement because the value of property appreciates through the years. Real estate property isn’t like a time deposit which gives you interest after a year (or less). You won’t make much by selling your property just after 6 or 12 months.

Stocks

Another investment vehicle is stock investing. Stocks are advisable for the long-term because they are risky. This means that the prices of stocks go up and down over a set time period, and you can lose money. One way to decrease your risk and avoid losses is to hold your stocks for the long-term, which makes stocks perfect for retirement. I recommend people to keep their stocks for a minimum of 10 years.

Seeing as you are in your 30s, you have about another 25 more years before you reach retirement age. That’s 20 years more than my suggested 10 years to spread your risk.

Pooled funds

I purposely put ‘pooled funds’ after ‘stocks’ because they are closely related. If you want to buy stocks of SM, Ayala, or Jollibee, you would have to buy them individually through a stock broker or your online trading platform. With pooled funds, be it a mutual fund or a UITF, you get a group of stocks in one basket or fund. The pooled fund can have SM, Ayala, and Jollibee stocks, depending which equities the fund manager buys. The fund manager does the investing for you. He picks what stocks go into the pooled fund; all you have to do is make an investment deposit and keep track of your investments once or twice a year. It’s also important to know that there are different kinds of pooled funds, there are funds consisted entirely of stocks, others of bonds, while some funds offer a combination of different securities. For the purpose of retirement, and for Carlo who has about 25 years until retirement, a stock or equity-based pooled fund is best for a retirement which is still far away.

With three investments to choose from, you have a clearer idea of where to put your money for retirement. Now the only thing that’s left is to head to the bank (for UITF pooled funds) or a brokerage firm (for stocks and mutual funds) to fill out your application and open an investment account.

However, there is no such thing as a  so you will need to diversify.

Want a copy of my books? You can order directly from us. Just e-mail michael@randelltiongson.com