Moving to wordpress.
Here's the new blog.
http://investopinoy.wordpress.com
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
Would you buy a $260,150 handbag?
Even if I have all the money in this world, I just know, I wouldn't.
According to Forbes magazine, this handbag is the priciest of them all. (Well, at least, for now.)
Chanel's "Diamond Forever" handbag is more like a collector's item than a bag really. The C's are peppered with 334 diamonds set in 18-k white gold. The alligator skin is matte-finished.
But man! $260,150? I could feed thousands with that kind of money.
My Mutual Fund - First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund - 3
It's been long since I last posted. I am now in Japan so I haven't made any transactions with First Metro.
Anyway, stocks are getting a beating nowadays, so I was doing my 'strategizing' (in my newbie kind of way) on what to during these low times. Finally, after some thought, I decided to just stick it out and 'forget' about my investment. Yes. Forget. For the time being.
Why? Well, the logic here is really very simple. Humans are born emotional, and when it comes with their hard-earned money, the emotions spikes up to double, triple, or even a hundred fold! And guess what's bad for your investment? Yep. Emotions.
So, as what most couples do to heal themselves during a break-ups, they forget, or at least try to forget. Then, after some time, when everything has settled, life becomes pink again.
I'd like to think of my relationship with investing as such. No rash actions. I just have to calm my thoughts and wait patiently until I make my next move.
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By the way, First Metro has a new website up and running. Their old site (www.fami.com.ph) has a dead link, I thing. Here's the new site: http://www.firstmetrofunds.com.ph
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Sunset in Calatagan
Let's take a break.
Took this during one weekend in Calatagan, Batanggas. It was just great getting away from all the big city noise.
Took this during one weekend in Calatagan, Batanggas. It was just great getting away from all the big city noise.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Why I Pay in Cash and Not with Credit Card
Consider this scenario.
You're in a posh hotel cafe hanging out with your friends. You call the waiter to get your bill. He comes back -- 260 pesos for a cup of extra thick hot chocolate served in fine china. You hand out your Visa.
Admit it. In that kind of setting, it's sexier to pay with plastic instead of some paper with a dead president on it.
If that was me, though, I would have paid with cash, be it as crisp as chicharon or as soggy as old pechay. Less trouble for me.
Here are four reasons why I prefer cash over card.
(By cash, I mean cash I earned and not loaned. By "paying in cash", I mean purchases in malls, markets, bargain shops, etc., and does not include huge things like cars, houses, and other things you normally pay for on installment.)
1. I lose the tendency to overspend by limiting my purchases with what I have in my wallet. This is especially useful when grocery shopping. I mean, we all do have that urge to get things not in the list, but with just the right amount of cash in the pocket and some will, I don't. Besides, it will be too much of a hassle to find the nearest ATM machine (of my bank, take note, to avoid transaction charges) just to buy those stuff not needed.
2. Unplanned purchases are avoided. I won't be able to buy those yummy-looking pumps if I only have "taxi money" in my wallet, will I?
3. I can "feel" my purchases. Yes, card purchases are quite "numbing". You won't feel how much you have spent on something until the time you see the monthly bill. More often than not, when you see it, it hurts. Especially if you have not kept track.
4. Discipline. Yes, discipline. With just having enough, I am are forced to discipline myself regarding my spending habits.
---
Note: I do use my card on some things like airplane tickets and hotel rooms. However, I avoid using it on things I don't need and I pay on time.
You're in a posh hotel cafe hanging out with your friends. You call the waiter to get your bill. He comes back -- 260 pesos for a cup of extra thick hot chocolate served in fine china. You hand out your Visa.
Admit it. In that kind of setting, it's sexier to pay with plastic instead of some paper with a dead president on it.
If that was me, though, I would have paid with cash, be it as crisp as chicharon or as soggy as old pechay. Less trouble for me.
Here are four reasons why I prefer cash over card.
(By cash, I mean cash I earned and not loaned. By "paying in cash", I mean purchases in malls, markets, bargain shops, etc., and does not include huge things like cars, houses, and other things you normally pay for on installment.)
1. I lose the tendency to overspend by limiting my purchases with what I have in my wallet. This is especially useful when grocery shopping. I mean, we all do have that urge to get things not in the list, but with just the right amount of cash in the pocket and some will, I don't. Besides, it will be too much of a hassle to find the nearest ATM machine (of my bank, take note, to avoid transaction charges) just to buy those stuff not needed.
2. Unplanned purchases are avoided. I won't be able to buy those yummy-looking pumps if I only have "taxi money" in my wallet, will I?
3. I can "feel" my purchases. Yes, card purchases are quite "numbing". You won't feel how much you have spent on something until the time you see the monthly bill. More often than not, when you see it, it hurts. Especially if you have not kept track.
4. Discipline. Yes, discipline. With just having enough, I am are forced to discipline myself regarding my spending habits.
---
Note: I do use my card on some things like airplane tickets and hotel rooms. However, I avoid using it on things I don't need and I pay on time.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Models, China, and the Struggling Dollar
This article from SPIEGEL ONLINE says a lot about the dollar's state. I won't even elaborate anymore.
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SPIEGEL ONLINE - November 13, 2007, 02:18 PM URL: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,517060,00.html
WEST WING
A Pearl Harbor without War
By Gabor Steingart in Washington, D.C.
The dollar crisis has politicians alarmed worldwide. The US currency has lost 24 percent of its value since the introduction of the euro, and now there is even a chance that China could abandon its policy of pegging its currency to the dollar -- a problem the United States should take very seriously.
Patricia Bündchen, the twin sister and manager of the world's top model, announced that Gisele now prefers to be paid in euros rather than dollars. Almost simultaneously, the Chinese central bank predicted that the dollar is likely to lose its status as the world's leading currency.
One could easily overlook a supermodel's currency preferences, but China is a different story. It's the beast breathing down America's neck.
The most important country in the world for the United States isn't Great Britain, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Russia or Iraq. China holds that dubious distinction, because it is also the country the US can least do without. Without its willingness to buy an almost unlimited supply of US treasury bonds, there would be no American spending miracle. Without a spending miracle there would be no economic growth. In other words, without China the US superpower would lose a significant share of its economic clout.
---
SPIEGEL ONLINE - November 13, 2007, 02:18 PM URL: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,517060,00.html
WEST WING
A Pearl Harbor without War
By Gabor Steingart in Washington, D.C.
The dollar crisis has politicians alarmed worldwide. The US currency has lost 24 percent of its value since the introduction of the euro, and now there is even a chance that China could abandon its policy of pegging its currency to the dollar -- a problem the United States should take very seriously.
Patricia Bündchen, the twin sister and manager of the world's top model, announced that Gisele now prefers to be paid in euros rather than dollars. Almost simultaneously, the Chinese central bank predicted that the dollar is likely to lose its status as the world's leading currency.
One could easily overlook a supermodel's currency preferences, but China is a different story. It's the beast breathing down America's neck.
The most important country in the world for the United States isn't Great Britain, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Russia or Iraq. China holds that dubious distinction, because it is also the country the US can least do without. Without its willingness to buy an almost unlimited supply of US treasury bonds, there would be no American spending miracle. Without a spending miracle there would be no economic growth. In other words, without China the US superpower would lose a significant share of its economic clout.
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