Sometime ago, I had lunch with a mentor of mine, Rex Mendoza (of the giant real-estate conglomerate Ayala Land). Rex was one of my mentors in financial planning; there are many things I learned from him that pretty much influenced my career as a personal-finance coach and educator.

Financial planners are not known for extravagance and flamboyance—in fact, people have always looked at us as misers. Financial planners are very prudent people; they are not the kind that will spend money on a whim and will really take a lot of time trying to ascertain needs from wants.

My friend Rex was very much a financial planner in all sense, highly knowledgeable in the aspect of personal finance and one who really practices what he preaches. However, the Rex I was having lunch with seemed to be a different person, a changed man singing a different tune. What happened to my old mentor? Has he gone to the dark side? I was trying to figure out who I was having lunch with. Years ago, this was the guy who was telling me that every peso counts, that Starbucks coffee was evil (because of the cost) and that investing was the only activity we should engage in…get the drift? The “new” guy I was having lunch with was talking about expensive LED lighting, koi pond and exquisite veneers for his house renovation, playing golf every weekend, traveling all over…and I almost choked on what I was eating when he mentioned driving a Porsche. That’s it, I am certain that my old mentor and friend has been possessed, cloned or just plain, well, lost his marbles. I was just about to gag this guy to ask him what he did with my friend when he uttered something that pretty much left me speechless for a few moments: “Randell, after all these years, I finally realized that ‘dreams have deadlines.’” Er, what—say that again?

My lunch encounter with a former mentor got me into thinking, and the words “dreams have deadlines” seemed to me like experiencing LSS (last-song syndrome). Financial planners have been preaching about living a life of extremes while the real world has a totally different view with regard to the use of money. Filipinos and financial stability are two words you don’t normally see in one sentence. Just look around you—how many of your acquaintances do you know need a spanking with the way they handle their finances? Our country remains to have the lowest savings rate even in Asia, yet we see a steady increase in consumer debt among our population—a definite recipe for disaster. The solution: financial literacy. If our brothers and sisters become financially literate and have a better mindset with regard to the way they use their money, we would definitely see a lot more happier people. The solution is simple—or is it?

… catch part 2!

Many people think I like reading complicated finance books. While I check those kinds of books for reference from time to time, I am not big on ‘nose-bleed’ books. I don’t event like Robert Kiyosaki books… although I’ve read  2 or 3 of his books.

This year, I’ve been reading the works of Dave Ramsey and I enjoy reading it because of its simplicity and it really are very helpful personal finance books.

I have started reading a new book and it looks like I will enjoy reading it because it is simple, full of common sense and it looks like it will work — Automatic Millionaire by David Bach.

As soon as I finish this book, I’ll write about it here in my blog. One thing is for sure, I am enjoying reading this book and so will you.

I’ve been told that the books I recommend are quite hard to find and in the rare occasion they find it, it is quite costly. I always implore one to seek learning and the price of a book or two is a small price to pay for opening your mind towards achieving financial peace. But, here’s some good news… I get most of my books from Bookworm.ph and at a much lower price than the bookstores. They also have a great selection of pre-owned books, making it so much more affordable.

“Argue for your limitations and sure enough they’re yours.” — Richard Bach

“Most of the limitations you think you have are the ones you have decided on. They are often entirely self-imposed. You might think, ‘I can’t do this, I can’t do that, I would never do that, my parents could never do that, I never played baseball, I never climbed a mountain, I never, never, never’… It’s the old broken record in your head. Throw out that negative thinking right now! Learn to play a positive message in your head because it’s all about attitude.” — David Patchell-Evans

“We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible.” — Vince Lombardi

“The greatest limitations you will ever face will be those you place on yourself.” — Denis Waitley

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” — Hebrews 11:1, NIV