Philippine Remittances reach highest level
A new record high for remittances was seen this Oct, reaching $1.53 bln.
This was up by 6.7% Yoy and was better than the previous high of $1.49 bln established in the month of  June.
Remittances year to date totaled $14.3 bln, up 4.5% YOY

ADB raises growth forecast for developing Asia

The Asian Development Bank raised growth forecasts for Asia’s developing economies
Regional economies should grow +4.5% in 2009 and +6.6% in 2010.
Three months ago the ADB’s forecast was a +3.9% in 2009 and +6.4% in 2010
This signifies expectations of a V-shaped recovery for EMA
Essentially, the higher forecast was due to better than expecetd growth in the third quarter of 2009.
However they also warned against any “hasty withdrawal of stimulus packages”.
“If done too soon, recovery may be at risk; if too late, fiscal deficits and monetary expansion could become unsustainable and inflationary.”
Inflation is expected to be muted in short term but expected to pick up in medium term.
Emerging markets expected to attract capital flows given higher growth relative to developed economies.
Risk to EMA growth is a short-lived recovery of more developed global economies.

Do you sometimes wonder if what you do really makes a difference?

I’ve been an advocate of financial planning for almost a decade now and there are times that I ask myself if I’m really making a difference in this advocacy. From establishing a yahoogroup to the Registered Financial Planner Institute, from www.income-tacts.com to this blog … from one speaking engagement to another… and and articles, columns and blogs — I sometimes ask if I’m making some dent at all.

.. then you get encouraging messages from people, making things all worth it and inspires you to continue. Here’s a nice Facebook message I got recently, I couldn’t remember the guy but I’m sure our paths have crossed before:

greetings mr Tiongson

i’m friends with Mervin back during my days with AXA

i’ve read much about you and you inspired me to explore a career in Financial planning when i moved to Canada

just wanna drop in a note to tell you that

keep up what you’re doing for the Philippine society

it’s a good country sans the government. you’re definitely doing your part to make it a great place to live.

… part 2

As financial planners, are we getting our message across? Are Pinoys any closer to financial freedom? I am elated to see more and more financial planners, more books and articles and a gazillion blogs on personal finance. I’ve seen, heard, read a lot about personal finance of late—some are great messages; while others are really rubbish, but at least the message to do something about one’s personal finance is being mentioned. Let me repeat my earlier question, are we getting our message across? From my perspective, it seems that whatever we are doing is a mere drop in the bucket, and my colleagues in this field need to realize that we are not as effective as we believe we are (apologies to bruising the egos of my colleagues).

There’s definitely nothing wrong with what we are advocating, and our message is extremely relevant. I believe that there is something wrong with the manner we convey our message. To the real world out there, we sound like condescending self-righteous bigots telling everyone they are wrong and we are right. Have you heard personal-finance speakers? They will tell you not to drink Starbucks coffee and stick to 3-in-1 or not to buy a flat TV or a new car. They will tell you that gratification is evil and will burn you. Let me use an analogy here: It’s like hearing a preacher tell you that ogling a beautiful woman will cost you eternal damnation. Yes, they are probably right, but they may not look at things from the right perspective. It’s not just about the message, it’s also about the delivery of the message.

I think it’s about time people like us realize that folks have dreams and they must enjoy these while they can. Dreams do have a deadline, as my mentor aptly phrased it. Are you going to have that dream family house when all your children are grown up and have moved out of the house? Will you buy that nice flat TV when your eyesight has become so weak? Our life has a timeline and we must act according to the set time we have. I like how the Bible puts it—“Man’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed” (Job 14:5, NIV). Knowing what we want in life is critical and the way we live should be reflective of our goals. It’s not all about accumulation of wealth that we should be concerned about but also the purpose for accumulating wealth.

It’s about time we really know what our dreams are and that our “dreams have deadlines”; it’s about time we know the purpose of our dreams. Oh, it’s also about time for financial planners to change the way they sing their song.

“The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor” (1 Corinthians 3:8).