My birthday song ... or lyrics

Just a little something to uplift my spirit (just youtube the song. hehe):


Lyrics | R. Kelly lyrics - World's Greatest lyrics

Happy birthday to me :)

Reflections on "My Maid Invests in the Stock Market ... and Why You Should, Too!"

Here are my notes and reflections on Bo Sanchez' "My Maid Invests in the Stock Market ... And Why You Should, Too!"

Envelope System
1. First Envelope - Tithe Fund (10%)
2. Second Envelope - Expense Fund (Food, Gas, Bills, Mortgages, Entertainment)
3. Third Envelope - Support Fund (for the family)
4. Fourth Envelope - Emergency Fund (6 months living expenses)
5. Fifth Envelope - Retirement Fund (pension plans, mutual funds, stocks)

Four Rules of Making Millions in the Stock Market
1. Invest Small Amounts Every Month for 20 Years or More
- Invest, not trade
- Take advantage of Money-Cost Averaging
2. Invest Even When There's a Crisis
- A crisis is a wonderful buying opportunity
- You can buy the stocks of great companies at cheaper prices
3. Invest Only in Giants
- this way, you'll be assured that when the stocks go down, they will be able to bounce back
4. Invest in Many Giants
- diversify your stocks

Nothing much to reflect on because I know most of this stuff already. What I took away from reading this e-book was the renewed desire to invest in stocks. I thought to myself, "I learned about stock investing five years ago, why didn't I try it then?" Then it occurred to me, I had no extra money then. Now that I have a little money I can set aside monthly and forget about, I think it's high time for me to start investing in the stock market. My goal is to have a net worth of 50M when I retire and I believe stock investing will play a great part in helping me reach that goal. I just have to have the discipline to buy stocks regularly and keep them. This is why I signed up for an account in CitisecOnline.com (COL). I sent my application forms last week, funded my account today, and tomorrow I can already start investing!

As if this is not enough, I have another secret weapon that will urge me to invest in stocks regularly and wisely. Being a member of Bo Sanchez Truly Rich Club, I get to receive his monthly Stocks Update which tells me what great companies to invest in, or if I'm more aggressive and have the extra money, what growth companies to look out for. This way, I don't have to waste my time researching about each and every company in the stock market; I'll just do my due diligence on the shortlisted companies and pick what I would like to invest in for that month. Good thing I already received my Stocks Update the other day, I can go right ahead and choose the lucky company for my first stock investment. Now if only I can remember to log in to COL tomorrow from 9:30am to 12:10pm :)

Reflections on "How to Know If Your Dreams Are God's Dreams"

By subscribing to Bo Sanchez' Truly Rich Club, I get to receive free ebooks authored by him. The first ebook I read was "How to Know If Your Dreams Are God's Dreams - Finding His Will in Your Deepest Desires" Here are my notes and reflections on it:

The Three Powerful Secrets Behind All Successes in Life:
1. Desire
2. Belief
3. Action

The 4 Signs of a Soul Dream
1. The Dream Is Connected to Your Most Important Values
2. The Dream Must Bring You Closer to God
3. The Dream Must Be Connected to Your Life Purpose and Core Gifts
4. The Dream Must Make You Happy in the Deepest Way Possible

How will you know your life purpose?
- Examine Your Roots
- Ask yourself two simple questions:
1. Passion: What do you enjoy doing?
2. Potential: And what do you do well?

I think my life purpose is to help. That's what I've always done and that's what has always made me happy. I don't have much talent to share but I've always been good at giving people the support they need. I don't know how this will translate to my Soul Dream but maybe it will have something to do with empowering the underprivileged and underdogs in our society; providing them with tools and knowledge that will help them get out of their dire situations. Maybe a scholarship foundation for not just the bright kids, but the not-so-bright kids as well -- anyone who wants to learn, basically.

Another passion of mine is reading and learning something new. I would love to put up a public library with an interactive section and play area. Because learning should be fun, really! Nowadays, we don't just learn from books anymore so we should make knowledge available through all media. We'll have computer stations with access to the internet, we'll conduct skills trainings and we'll offer personal development seminars. After all that learning and "sharpening the saw" is done, one needs to have a break and unwind so my library will be adjacent to a recreation hall where people can watch movies, play games or just hang out. I've always had this vision -- you know how there are centers for culture and arts? Mine will be a center for hobbies and fun. I would call it The Beehive because it will be a complex abuzz with activities. Each room in the hive will be full of people pursuing their passions and interests. One room would be a music room, the other a dance ballroom, and still another a board games competition arena. I don't know if I would be able to build this library and activity complex but I've always fantasized about it. Hey, I can dream, right? :)

Ready-ing to Retire

I am so excited! I'll be making the last payment on my condo next month and after that I can start processing the papers for the transfer of title. Of course there are still turnover fees to pay but I think I'll be able to manage that. Just this month, I was able to pay the property taxes which had already accumulated since 2008. Now I know I have to take care of it yearly to avoid the penalties.

Now that I've already made my first property investment, this got me thinking that I should start building the rest of my investment portfolio and start thinking about my retirement. I've read dozens of books and magazines about personal finance already and now I think it's time to start applying what I've learned from them. I have always wanted to take advantage of the power of compounding but it is only now that I'm taking steps towards it. I know that I should have started earlier and there are a dozen excuses I tell myself why I didn't, but at least now I know that I am ready and willing and that it's not yet too late. This is why I signed up for Bo Sanchez' Truly Rich Club so that I could be properly guided as I go along my financial journey. It's only been two weeks since I signed up but I am already reaping the benefits. Reading the e-books and hearing Bo's power talks reminded me why I wanted to be financially independent in the first place. His newsletters and inspirational emails encourages me not only dream my big dreams but also to take concrete actions to realize them.

For those of you who knew Bo Sanchez as a Catholic lay preacher, don't worry, he still is. But what business does he have, teaching about personal finance? Sounds weird right? I know! I was a bit turned off myself when I first learned about it. I thought he turned into one of those fanatical evangelists who masquerade as messengers of God but only really want to con people into shelling out money for "miraculous healing items". But when I heard his reasons for doing something about his financial life and deciding to teach others how to save and invest, it actually made sense to me. After all, most of the things people have problems about and pray about is money. And hey, I believe in God and I think about money, so why shouldn't he? So having said that, I am now a convert. I am ready to be wealthy and I want others to be the same :)