Reading up on financial education

Question: What are the best books on personal finance that you can recommend? Thank you, sir.—Honney Natividad via Twitter

Answer: Best is a relative term and I may not be the right person to give you a qualified answer. However, I can give you my opinion on some books that I personally find insightful and helpful. Finance, even Personal Finance, is a very broad subject matter involving many disciplines and there are many good books out there that are very good read.

There are books that write about the technical aspects of personal finance and zeroes in on specific subject matter, i.e., investing, estate planning, stock market, insurance planning, accounting and the like. There are also books that tackle the broad spectrum of personal financial planning. There are also many books that tackle behavioral issues on finance that belongs on the motivational or self-help genre. Then there are the hybrids that try to give you a more balanced view on the technical as well as the behavioral issues on the finance and I personally go for these books.

Perhaps the most popular finance books are those written by Robert Kiyosaki, which were brought about by the highly popular Rich Dad Poor Dad bestseller. The book is so popular that it created some sort of cult-like behavior among many, which is quite disturbing if you ask me.

Rich Dad Poor Dad and Kiyosaki’s succeeding books have some good points but they are quite over-rated for me because they lack some specificity and many readers question the validity of his claims. Like any book, we should learn to eat it like a fish, we get the meat and throw away the bones, as the saying goes.

Let me give you a list of books that I highly recommend because I like the way they were written—balanced and grounded on solid financial principles; yet they can still help you get motivated. Sorry, Kiyosaki fans, you won’t find his books on my list.

1) Total Money Make Over and Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey—OK I admit it, I’m a Dave Ramsey fan boy and for a good reason. I like his straightforward approach on personal finance. His books, particularly Total Money Make Over is very practical and it is full of real stories of people who overcame financial difficulties.

Ramsey is a no-nonsense finance guru yet you can really sense his sincerity in trying to help people get out of the financial mess they are into. These two books are great starter books that will open your eyes and give you hope.

2) Pwede Na! The Complete Pinoy Guide to Personal Finance by Efren Ll. Cruz—Hands down, Efren’s books are the best personal finance book ever written by a Filipino. It is a concise yet surprisingly comprehensive book that will guide the reader in the many facets of financial planning and financial instruments. As the title connotes, it is indeed a complete guide, yet it will not overwhelm you as you find yourself glued to the pages.

3) Millionaire Next Door—by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko. This is an iconic book that discusses the behavior of Millionaire in the USA. It is not only insightful, it will actually shatter many of our misconception on wealth and wealth accumulation. I particularly like this book because it is based on solid research. This is a good financial behavior book that may help you change your mindset.

4) Automatic Millionaire by David Bach—this book by a best-selling author gives you an overly simplistic view on achieving wealth and yet it is effective in its message that in eating an elephant, we need to do it one bite at a time. Simple, practical and sensible.

5) Money Matters by Larry Burkett—Financial counseling is the most effective route toward achieving financial security but many do not have access to good financial counselors or advisors. Money Matters is a form of counseling book and I like the question-and-answer format. The questions are very practical and real, not superfluous or ambivalent. The answers of Mr. Burkett are successful in providing advice in an emphatic way; yet, you will find that his answers have sound financial grounding.

6) Till Debt Do Us Part by Chinkee Tan—another book written by a local author that I highly recommend. Chinkee’s book deals with an issue that plagues many Filipinos and yet one that is hardly discussed openly. The author successfully convinces the reader that debt is not a good thing and yet it gives us hope that being truly debt-free is within the reach of the average Pinoy. I like the practical steps in finding a solution to the debt trap written specifically for the Pinoy psyche. Chinkee has written many best-selling books but Till Debt Do Us Part remains to be my favorite.

There are so many other good books and reading them is definitely a good idea. Just make sure that you are objective in reading the book and it does help to check the authenticity of the author. Many are led astray by what they read so I want to reiterate this concern. Notwithstanding the many “bad” finance books out there (local and foreign), I implore the Pinoys to get a book on personal finance and read. One good idea can change your future and redirect you to the path to financial peace.

I am in the process of writing a book myself but recommending it here will be self-serving so let me just stick to the six I mentioned. Financial wisdom will be yours if you seek it. Hope this helps.

Appears in Philippine Daily Inquirer

Question: With all the uncertainties in the world economy and markets, is it still wise to make investments in the stock market now?—Kris C. Lim, public relations practitioner

Answer: I have been taking note of all the developments worldwide particularly the economic woes of Europe and the United States.  Downgrading banks, debt default scares, increasing unemployment, recession and political instability are becoming so common that many are referring to our present situation as the “new normal.” Egad, it sure feels that all the business and economic developments we are experiencing will result in the rewriting of all the books as we know it. I don’t blame you for being skeptical in investing your money—I would be, too, and I actually am.

‘New normal’

With the United States and Europe so far from us, should we really be concerned? Definitely. Today’s borderless world economy has resulted in more economies being interdependent with each other. The United States, Europe and Japan are the largest of all markets and even if Asian countries have better fundamentals (and yes, the Philippines is definitely included), we will all feel the pinch as we are all covered by the laws of supply and demand.

To simplify, when people start to make less money because of a weakening economy, they will buy less of the goods and services we offer and that will not be good. A weakened economy will usually have a negative effect on profitability of corporations, and stock prices will likewise go down. When economies are not robust, people are also fearful of the future and investment markets react negatively.

Make a killing or be killed

Now back to your question. Should you invest now when we are under the ‘new normal’ environment? Well, the answer can be tricky. There are two scenarios that can happen. First, you can actually take advantage of the low prices of stocks and start bargain hunting. When you properly select blue-chip stocks that are profitable, well-managed and have a lot of good potentials, you can be sure that their prices will rebound when the market starts picking up.

Some prices are now at their lowest in months and buying them may be a good idea. On the other hand, buying stocks today might also be like catching a falling knife if the market continues to plummet. There is always that risk and buying a lot of stocks today with the current market condition is tantamount to speculating. When one speculates, he can make a killing or be killed—that’s just the rule of risk and return.

Personally, I would probably start looking for good-quality stocks that are now trading near their 52-week lows; just make sure that these companies have strong fundamentals and continue to be profitable despite the condition of the economy. However, it is unwise to have a high exposure or a big part of your portfolio invested at this conjecture as the market can continue to go south with no real recovery anytime soon.

Investment options

The whole European situation continues to make people fearful and that will be a cloud over our heads for an indefinite period of time.

You may also want to just invest through pooled funds like the UITF or Mutual Funds and leave all the trading, buying and timing to professionals who are focused solely on investing the funds. Experts actively managing funds can minimize losses during bearish environment and improve gains on bull runs.

If you chose to invest now in the stock market, or at any time for that matter, it is always prudent to look at this asset class as a long-term venture to weed out the volatility, or spread the risk over time. Further, do not be in a hurry to invest the bulk of your funds just yet because when the market does recover, it will not do so overnight and you will have time to re-enter the market when the trends are more evident.

Just a friendly reminder whenever you invest in the stock market or any other investment—consider your investment objective, time frame and risk tolerance first and foremost.

Be wise, stay prudent and be patient.

Originally posted at the Inquirer http://business.inquirer.net/25557/do-we-still-invest-in-times-like-these

Question: Why are interest rates in the banks so low? Will it go up anytime soon and what are the alternatives so my money can earn better?—Dennis Poliquit, Radio DJ

Answer: Dennis, your question is one that you can call a ‘loaded’ question, so to speak (pun intended). Let me try to simplify my answers because the way most people explain it can cause many a nosebleed, me included. In economic terms, interest rates are largely a function of the government’s monetary policy with the central bank as its chief implementor. The government, through the central bank, tries to influence the economy by manipulating interest rates according to the direction of its economic managers. When the government wants money to circulate in the economy, it tries to keep interest rates low with the belief that money will be spent and invested in businesses that drive economic growth. When interest rates are low, people are discouraged from keeping their money with the government, which is the safest and largest borrower through the sale of government securities (debt instruments).

When the government wants to control the cash circulating in the economy, it increases interest rates and you can expect the market to start putting more money in government debt paper because of its low risk. The interest of government securities, also called treasuries (bills, notes and bonds), is also the basis…

To read full column, visit http://business.inquirer.net/7863/why-are-interest-rates-so-low