Over the years, I have had the privilege of mentoring and discipling a number of people that has grown leaps in bounds with their profession and their life in general. I believe that teaching others is something we should all be espousing and investing in others will truly bring exponential returns in one way or another.

One of the people I was privileged to meet just a few months ago whom  I was at awe seeing his passion and drive to have a positive impact on others — Ian Dilla, the founder of Wise Peso. I have been reading a lot of his posts and they are truly insightful. I also have the privilege of now being a good friend to Ian and I asked him to do a guest post for my site. Enjoy Ian’s thought provoking and heart warming post…

Where should my focus be?

After going through the first No Nonsense step of Mr. Randell Tiongson, improving cash flow, the tendency for a lot of us is to abandon our focus on it and shift to investing for the future

It is the first step for a reason, and it is not something that we should abandon. It is, even, not something that can be finished

When God created man, He put him in a garden to cultivate it and keep it. (Genesis 2:15)

Work is part of God’s design for man, and in the Bible, it is mentioned right after the creation of the first man, Adam. So, to cultivate and keep the garden He planted for us and put us into is to fulfill our purpose.

I used to think that when I pray, God answers it by giving me what I specifically prayed for. But when I realized that God planted a garden for each and every one of us, I understood that God answers prayers by giving us everything that we need to realize what we have been praying for.

When God planted the Garden of Eden, it had everything that Adam and Eve will ever need. The only thing they have to do is cultivate it and keep it. We can see here how God is a very practical God. Cultivating and keeping the garden is not a prerequisite that God gave Adam and Eve before He sustains them. Cultivating and keeping the garden is necessary because, simply if they don’t, the garden will die and will eventually be unable to give them sustenance.

We pray for financial freedom, a good retirement, a huge house, or a nice car. These are our goals. God does not just give us what we asked for, he answers our prayers by giving us everything that we need to realize our goals. The moment I understood this, I prayed and asked God, “What is my garden?”.

What did He give me or where did He put me to realize my goals?

His answer to me is my job and the organization I am part of…

Each one of us is currently working in the organization we are with or on a business we put up for a reason

It is not a coincidence that the first No Nonsense step, improving cash flow, is the direct result of being excellent in our job or business. Improving cash flow is the direct result of cultivating and keeping the garden God has given us

If you ever had the chance to visit provinces around the Philippines and countries around the world, you will know that there is no standard size for a place before it can be called a garden. Your backyard and Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay are both classified as a garden.

All gardens are not made equal, just like your “garden” is not as big or glamorous as your friend’s. But this doesn’t mean that your friend is better than you or God is biased towards blessing him more. This only means that God is still dealing with something in you to prepare you for your next garden. Cultivating our garden also means being excellent gardeners by improving our abilities and character.

God gives us what we need, but He also only gives us what we can handle. Imagine if you are given a huge garden but you are simply not ready for it, the pressure might destroy you and God is protecting you from that. After all, God will not keep us within the confines of our current garden if we have proved our abilities and character ready, fulfilled our mission, and cultivated the garden for Him. He Gives us a bigger Garden which also entails more challenges, but because He gave it to us, He knows that we are ready.

This is how we should approach improving cash flow. We should not abandon it when we feel like we’ve done it once or a few times. We should keep improving it by cultivating the current garden given to us by God.

Getting out of debt, setting up emergency fund, getting protected from life’s risk, and Investing for the future are all what God wants us to do. These are also found in the Bible. But improving cash flow is the product of excellent work, and work is one of God’s first and main design for man.

Ian Dilla is a Financial Adviser from Cardinal Buoy Financials and founder of the Facebook page Wise Peso. The Facebook page was able to accumulate over 20 Thousand followers in less than a year because of Ian’s distinctive and pragmatic view on personal finance. 

QUESTION: Hi Sir Randell! I’ve been reading a lot of personal finance articles about millennials. I read one that definitely hit home. It was one about the “sandwich generation” wherein Filipino adults feel sandwiched between their responsibilities to their parents and their responsibilities to their families (or the family they will have in the future). I don’t have any children yet, and I’m still single, but I’m scared and I already feel the pressure being sandwiched. My parents are the best, but unfortunately, not when it comes to money. I already give part of my income to them, and there are times I feel like they see me as their retirement plan. How can I talk to them and express my feelings that we need to do our own parts in setting ourselves up financially on our own? That I cannot fully depend on them and they cannot do the same to me? —Angel via Facebook Messenger

Hi Angel! This is definitely an interesting situation you are in, but a common one nonetheless. Compared to questions on investing and saving, I don’t get this type of question a lot. I’m sure, we see it happening around us always, and the phenomenon tends to be more obvious here in the Philippines where parents have the mind-set their children will take care of them come retirement.

This is a tricky topic to confront your parents with, but here are some steps you can use when the time finally comes that you need to approach them and talk to them:

Let them know their numbers.

If you’re contributing to household expenses, you know how much your parents spend on basic necessities monthly. You may have an idea how much their monthly expenses are.

With this, you can compute your parents’ retirement numbers. This is the amount they need to be able to retire comfortably. Crunching the numbers and showing the amount to your parents will make them realize you won’t be able to handle it on your own, not even when you and your siblings work together, because you have your own futures to prepare for.

Be transparent.

It may be that your parents also have no idea of the financial stress you’re going through contributing to their monthly budget, so it pays to be transparent. Let them know you’re having a difficult time covering even your needs.

If they’re aware of how you feel, they may ease the pressure on you and find ways to sustain themselves.

Do the saving for them.

However, if your parents are stubborn, and no amount of talking to them will make them understand, you can instead reduce your contributions and open an investment account for them. This may be especially effective if your parents do not know how to handle money properly.

When they reach retirement, they already have a retirement fund that you started years prior.

Be fully independent.

Last but not least, the only way for your parents to become truly independent from you is if you are not dependent on them. If you still live with them, then it’s just fair that you contribute to their monthly expenses, especially if your parents are still paying for the utilities.

If you don’t want to be treated as a retirement fund in the future, start by becoming fully independent from them. This could mean renting your own place and avoid asking for financial assistance unless it’s an emergency and is absolutely necessary. This way, your parents will understand they cannot depend on you (financially) because you’ve already stopped depending on them.

Money talk is always difficult, especially since this kind of talk is still taboo in Filipino culture. However, if you never initiate this type of conversation, you stand to risk your future.

When it comes to personal finance, it pays to start early. How will you start your own life if you have people who are still fully dependent on you?

By having the talk, you can make each other aware of your plans and align your next steps for the future.

Just a brotherly reminder: When discussing difficult issues with your parents, always do so with utmost love and respect. Remember, we are blessed when we honor our parents.

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12, ESV

“…For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.” 2 Corinthian 12:14, ESV

“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children…” Proverbs 13:22, ESV

It’s a challenge – saying ‘no’. This is so very true especially when it comes to shopping. You pass by the mall, and you see the big red ‘SALE’ sign. You instantly go in, and come out with a bag or two in hand, or even when it comes to online shopping. You check a website, add a number of things into your cart, and then click the check-out button. With the ease and accessibility of shopping, it has become almost effortless to spend, and you might find yourself falling into the trap of impulse spending.

The habit of impulse spending may be hard to break, but once you learn to say ‘no’, you’ll find yourself wishing you broke the habit sooner. Today, I will share 3 tips to curb impulse spending. These tips may be easy to start yet hard to maintain, so it’s important to keep building the habit. In a study done by the University College of London, it took the 96 participants between 20 to 84 days to form their habits of choice. The number of days varied depending on the activities participants wanted to turn into habits. Eating healthier took a shorter time as compared to exercising regularly. That aside, here are three activities you can turn into habits to curb impulse spending:

1) Track your expenses

This is one of the easiest ways to curb impulse spending. You can download a tracking app on your phone, so you can record your expenses quickly and conveniently. With this, you also need to know your budget. If you find yourself close to your spending limit, this should give you the push to stop buying unnecessary things. Even more, if you add up your expenses and find that you’re spending too much on a certain category, you might start feeling guilty and start avoiding buying unnecessary things.

2) Leave your credit cards at home

Credit cards make it easier to spend. With a single swipe of your card, you can buy what you want. Even better (or worse), you can buy something for X amount as long as it’s within your credit limit. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have the cash to pay. Your credit card isn’t connected to your ATM account. This can lead to a dangerous path if you cannot control your spending, so one of the easiest ways to curb impulse spending is to leave your credit cards at home and only bring enough cash to cover your transportation costs and food expenses. By leaving your cards at home and only bringing enough cash, you can’t afford to shop at the last-minute.

3) Stay focused on your goal

Have you ever wanted something so bad that you were willing to do everything to achieve that? If you have a money-related goal, such as buying a car or a house or travelling the world, staying focused on your goal will allow you to curb your impulse to spend. If you’re browsing through an ecommerce website and find a number of items you like, just remember that you have a goal to reach, and that if you end up spending, it will take you a step back from that goal.

So how do you stay focused on your goal? You can write it down and put it in a place where you’ll see it every day. You can keep reading online resources and join groups or forums to talk with like-minded individuals. This way, you’ll surround yourself with information that and people who can influence you to reach your goals.

Saying ‘no’ to impulse buying may be a challenge at first try; however, once you build the habit, you’ll find it easier to curb. Furthermore, this discipline will trickle down to other aspects of your life, from building the habit to eating healthier or exercising regularly.

Plan carefully and you will have plenty; if you act too quickly, you will never have enough. (Proverbs 21:5 TEV)