Loans

I'm thinking of creating a directory of Financing Institutions available for the Filipinos.

Why? Because i personally believe that loans are not bad. We Filipinos must learn to disassociate loans from the normal lines of thoughts such as "utang na loob" or "pabigat".

Let me tell you a story I keep on telling to people afraid of taking out loans:

You see, I work for a financing company. And for over a decade now, i have seen people actually make good with their loans from us. Almost all our clients, actually. Of course we also have delinquents.

This is why  I do not discourage people from taking out loans.

You know what's bad? If he uses that loan to buy something which WILL NOT earn - like a cellphone, or a watch, or a TV set. Then he's in trouble.

On credit cards:
Image via Wikipedia
One of my staff is very enterprising. Do you know what she uses her credit cards with high credit limits for?  Strictly for BUSINESS only. How? Here:

With high, i mean up to P200k per card. She has friends who do not have credit cards but are so bent on  buying high end items such as new refrigerators, tvs. aircon, etc. So she offers that she uses her card to buy them the items, but she'll collect monthly from them. for principal, interest AND, check this out, a little patong (profit). Isn't that clever? That's making money out of plastic.

I haven't followed her footsteps, by the way. First, because i do not have credit limits that high (i get awed at how high credit limits credit card companies can actually afford to give middle-income earners nowadays). And i'm not much into usury.

But i must say, this is a smart way of making extra money. (By the way, have you been checking out my page about "earning extra"?. Click here)

So you see, as long as you use loans to make money, nothing is wrong with it. Investing is the name of the game. Saving money is not enough (read my post about what to do with money saved here). One needs to find ways to create money and build wealth.

Let's start looking at loans the positive way. The old way is not applicable anymore. The world has changed.

Information is key, people!

PS
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My personal idols and financial gurus, in all their books and speeches say it is when you need not work anymore (hence, no need for active income), and your passive income already suffices your daily expenses that you will be considered financially free and out of the rat race.

Wealth however, according to a lot of these gurus, “is a state of mind”. True happiness usually follows true wealth.

But we are in the Philippines, a third world country. What do the terms being wealthy and  financially free mean to someone with an empty stomach? 

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saving for an emergency

For a lot of us in the Philippines, everyday is an emergency.

Let me relate that to this true story:

Just last Christmas, a generous kin handed me and my 2 brothers each a cash gift of P8,000. This amount in this country is equivalent to a minimum wage earner's one month salary, gross. So just imagine how we must have felt.

Almost immediately, i asked my brothers what they intend to do with the amount. Both said they're keeping it "for emergency".