How do you maximize resources? I am now featuring the post of The Cristobal, the powerful financial advocate couple Tristan and Carmi Cristobal. A truly helpful post for everyone….

——–

When I was single and while in college, I never had an interest of working abroad. I was confident that I’ll be able to sustain my life once I got my degree and passed the board exam. Now, I’m married with one kid – I am working abroad. I realized that I was so young, back then, and wrong to think that I don’t need to go abroad but here I am working abroad while my family is in the Philippines

I am not here abroad without any reasons. I am just one of the OFWs who decided to leave the country with many reasons on hand. Here are our few reasons, as OFWs:

1. To earn more to be able to support our family
2. To pay off debts
3. To be able to save for the future
4. To achieve certain goal like establish a business, buy a house and lot, etc..

There are too many reasons to list and for sure, it will be unlimited but one thing that we have in common – To eventually come back home to our family or Philippines with enough savings. To achieve this, we – OFWs have to work hard for it.

The sad reality…

According to the survey of Philippine Statistic Authority, only 2 in every 5 OFWs were able to save from their cash remittances from April to September 2014 – A sad reality that 60% of OFWs don’t have savings. This gives us no doubt, why there are OFWs working abroad for 20 years or so. OFWs spent most of their lives abroad than with their family in the Philippines.

Reality Check…

There are too many factors to consider because life is not just about money. Life is also about having a life, good relationships, strong faith, and other things. Yes, we work abroad for money but in fact, nobody can really tell if one is successful or not. Why? An OFW can be financially successful but he/she might not be successful in relationship with his/her daughter, sons, siblings, etc. An OFW might be successful now but after 10 years no one can really tell.

A reality that an OFW should consider and know how to protect all the sacrifices not only for money but also the relationship, faith, etc…

The point is…

Let’s not waste our sacrifices while working abroad. An OFW should know that everything that you do in your personal life has a financial impact in your life, maybe not now but on the later stage of life.

Being an OFW is an opportunity that we should maximize. We should maximize the resources that we have – Time, Talent, and Treasure according to our goals.

How to maximize our resources?

On a personal note..

Firstly, we – OFWs should have reasonable financial plan from the time we become overseas worker up to retirement period. This includes increasing your skills, income, and values.

Secondly, an OFW should have an escape plan as well for being an OFW because we will not be OFWs for life.

Thirdly, start your financial plan from the famous saving formula which is: Income – Savings/Investments = Expenses.

Lastly, if you feel like your finances are not improving, don’t be depressed but rather focus on something that you know can help you achieve your financial goal.

We can use our time and treasure while abroad by investing…

We can say that all kinds of investment, as long they are legitimate, are best for OFWs to invest in. The reason is that investments have the potential to grow one’s money and help one achieve its financial goal. OFWs can invest on the following:

1. Business Investment,
2. Stock Investments,
3. Mutual Funds/UITFs,
4. Cash Equivalents (Time Deposits),
5. Protection (Variable Unit-Linked),
6. Bonds
7. Other legit investments

In addition to this, try not to commit the common money mistakes of OFWs while working abroad such as overspending, availing bank loans without proper payment plans, buying during sales without budget, etc…

And yes, it’s a reality that not everyone can be rich but everyone can be wealthy and deserve financial security. Nobody will give you financial security but only you.

Regards,

The Cristobal

Tristan is an OFW while Carmi is based in Philippines.

The couple is an accountant by profession. Tristan works as a Senior Compliance Officer in Jeddah while Carmi is an Accounting Manager in Philippines.

On the side, the couple is both active volunteers of Angat Pilipinas Coalition for Financial Literacy Inc. – a global non-profit organization of personal finance advocates. Carmi is the current President of the organization while Tristan is the Mission Director in Western Region of KSA.

Tristan is also a volunteer in PICPA – Western Region of KSA as  VP  for Professional Development and Board Exam Reviewer while Carmi is a Certified Investment Solicitor and currently pursuing her RFP.

1. Please visit www.thecristobal.info for more information about life, relationship, business, investments, and personal finances. The website is a family oriented site. The founders’ story is a typical story of one Filipino who decided that one should go abroad while the other partner should stay in Philippines.

The founders authored two e-books entitled:

1. How to understand OFWs and help them go back home – which is being given for free. One just need to sign-up to grab the copy
2. Discover the five year Plan of an OFW – One of the objectives of the couple is to share their secret formula for every OFWs on how to go back in Philippines and to answer the question “Hanggang kailan ka magiging OFW?”.

QUESTION: Hi Randell, I am married with a 2-year old kid, and our household income is enough for our needs while letting us save for my daughter’s future. Should I be saving for retirement even though I’m only 30? –Paolo, asked from Facebook

ANSWER: It is a downright YES for that question, Paolo. Unlike investing, which depends on a person’s financial and household situation, retirement is something that must be planned as early in life as possible.

I do not intend to make you feel regret for the past decade, but it is actually ideal to have started retirement planning during your 20s, when you still had no full-time responsibilities and had all your salary to yourself. But you are not alone. The fact is that 9 out of 10 Filipinos do not plan for retirement at all. Some of us enjoy our younger years living from paycheck to paycheck to buy and do things we want, while some might still need to help their parents and siblings especially those coming from large families. These things should not hinder us from setting aside at least a small portion of your income for your seed savings plan.

The sooner you start putting away money for your future, the more time there is for your financial portfolio to grow. Now that you’re 30, the next decade for you is crucial and you must take planning and goal-setting very seriously. If you’re not sure what specific steps to take, here’s a quick plan of action you can follow:

Identify how you want your retirement to be. Retirement is all about living a life of comfort. If you’re planning to retire at 60, you need at least 20 years of preparation, so starting now will make it easier for you in the future. List down the most realistic things you want to have by then, and identify how much it’s going to cost. It is estimated that in order to achieve a life of comfort, you need to generate at least 75 percent of your preretirement income. The key is to picture yourself 20 or 30 years from now and decide that you and your children will have a comfortable life.

Continue saving. It’s good to hear that you have already started saving up for your daughter. Carry on! The next steps for you is to increase the amount you save per month.

Learn about government services on retirement. The agency responsible for social security in the Philippines is the SSS (Social Security System) and GSIS (Government Service Insurance System) for government employees. According to the SSS website, your contributions since you started working will be transformed into a retirement benefit when you retire. A retirement benefit is “a cash benefit either in monthly pension or lump sum paid to a member who can no longer work due to old age.” The pension, is usually, no enough to provide you with a comfortable life during retirement years, and this is a problem experienced by most of our fellow Filipinos.

Consider other savings and investment opportunities. From a short survey on retirement I conducted a few years ago, I learned that most Filipinos’ top 3 retirement instruments are real estate, time deposits and savings accounts. There were few mentions of more sophisticated mediums like life insurance, mutual funds, government bonds and stocks. Take into consideration your income-expenditure plan every year, average inflation rate, and identify which investment opportunities best suit you. The amount you will have at retirement depends largely on the types of investments you commit to.

Consider learning about different types of investments and identify which ones suit you best. Reduce your risk and maximize returns by diversifying your financial portfolio. Take a look at investments like mutual funds, UITF or the stock market as these investments are generally great for capital accumulation in the long term. Here’s a tip — auto-debit arrangements that is used towards a mutual fund or a UITF is an excellent way to build funds that can come handy during retirement.

Be consistent and don’t lose momentum. From the survey I mentioned earlier, one insight came up about Filipinos’ culture of tending for our ‘extended families’. That’s one of the reasons why doing retirement planning is easier said than done. Make sure you do not touch your retirement savings earlier than planned. When you step in to your retirement years, avoid using up your finances quite early.

Start now! Paolo, your 30s is most important decade for retirement planning. At this age, you’re now focusing on providing for your small family. But as the head of the household, your family depends on you to have a long-term plan to support the kinds up until independence and retire without being a burden to them. You are still on time to start, so congratulations!

—-

Attend the biggest investment conference of the year, iCon2015! Speaking at the conference this year will be Marvin Germ, Efren Cruz, Chinkee Tan, Mike Manuel, Jess Uy, Dr. Alvin Ang, Francis Kong and yours truly. It will be held on May 30, 2015 at SMX Mall of Asia. For inquiries, email deniece@brandspeakasia.com

Here’s a great learning event for the Cebuanos as we bring Money Talks to Cebu this April 25, 2015.

Joining me in this life-changing event are my friends MARVIN GERMO, RFP and PAULO TIBIG.

Marvin Germo, RFP is known as “Mr. Stock Smarts” and he is one of the country’s most sought after speaker and trainer in the arena of stock market investing. Learn the foundations of proper stock market investing properly from Marvin. He is the author of 2 best-selling books on stock market investing, a columnist for Rappler and Business Mirror and a resident finance expert in 94.7 Mellow FM.

Paulo Tibig has earned the monicker “EntrepChamp” as he conducts hundreds of talks all over the nation on entrepreneurship. He is the CEO of one of the country’s largest logistics company, V Cargo and a former President of the Association of FIlipino Franchisers Inc. (AFFI).  He has authored a best-selling book on entrepreneurship.

I will be discussing the fundamental steps to achieve wealth as well as the proper foundations towards investing.

To register, click HERE or send an email to info.jcpinc@gmail.com

For a learning fee of only P800,00, this is an event every Cebuano shouldn’t miss!