2009 - The year of the big SALE!!!

First of all I would like to greet everyone a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2009.

As one of the worst investment years in history comes to an end, I look at my investment portfolio and start to think - if only I kept all my money in my savings account this year then I would not have lost so much money!!!

Of course hindsight is 20-20! I don't think any one could have predicted the severity and the timing of this recession we are currently having. Not even the financial experts and analysts saw it coming.

So what should we do now? Sell out? Cut our losses? Wrong!!! The best thing to do now is to stick with your regular investment plan and continue to invest. And if you can spare more money without suffering too much, invest that too. Why? Here is the simple answer...

The world isn't going to end tomorrow. People still need to eat, people still need to buy things and people still need to live. And when that happens, over the long term the markets will recover and go up!!! Lets look back 8 years ago for some comfort...

2000-2002 could be considered one of the worst periods in our economy, back then we had so many political problems (EDSA II), peace and order problems (Dos Palmas Kidnapping), and local economic problems (BW Scandal). To top it off the world economy was also suffering from the 9-11 Terrorist Attacks.

The Philippines, back then, was in a far worst position than we are in today yet we survived and we flourished! In fact had you kept investing during that period, you would have returned over 230% on your money (as of September 2007). In fact had you invested regularly from 1999 to 2007, you would have returned over 14% per annum compounded. No savings account can return that to you.

So don't look at 2009 as a bad year. Be excited for 2009! Why? Because, possibly the whole of 2009 is considered a SALE year. That's right, almost all investments have been hit so hard they are on sale, 30 to 50% off. Some are even 90% off!!! It will be a great time to invest...

For more information on how I can help you email me on hoover@barongroup.com.ph.

The Ultimate Christmas Gift for Our Kids

As Christmas fast approaches, I find myself looking around for gifts for my two beautiful kids. I'm sure parents around the country love their kids as much as I do and are always looking at showering their kids with gifts - toys, clothes, books and shoes. Gifts that they never had when they grew up.

As parents we always want the best for our kids but does this mean that we have to buy our kids the best toys? The best clothes? Books and shoes? I mean my kids have received expensive toys and within a day or two, I find these toys at the bottom of the toy box or somewhere lying around the house. And yet there are toys which are inexpensive and simple which my kids have enjoyed for years. I even remember when I turned a large balikbayan box into a small house that was a hit with the kids for a whole week!

Let me ask you a question do you remember the clothes you wore when you were 5? Do you remember the toys that you got when you were 5?

I tell you what I remember most though. I remember when my mom handed me a check for my college tuition every year for the next 4 years. I remember the time that my mom helped me purchase my first house and help me start my business. These things I will never forget!

See my mom never had much money to begin with but she made the right financial decisions. Instead of spending unnecessarily on toys, books, clothes and shoes, she made long term investments for me knowing one day I would need a financial hand.

Now I’m not saying you don't buy your kids any clothes, toys or shoes or even books. What I’m saying is that you limit the amount of money you spend on your kids so that you can save for their future.

Do you know for less than 50 pesos a day you can send your new born baby to a top university like Ateneo or La Salle?

For more information on how I can help you email me on hoover@barongroup.com.ph.

How we can still save in this world recession?

I’m sure you have read in the newspapers, that most of the richest nations in the world are officially in recession. Times are tough but in all of this doom and gloom, there is a small benefit to us ‘little people’. Oil prices are at historic lows and everything from the cost of gas, jeepney, taxi and bus fares, and. even cooking gas is on its way down. As a matter of fact because almost all consumer goods need to be transported one way or another, the lower price of oil should make things cheaper.

So how do we save? By simply ignoring the price decreases! The last 6 months we have seen prices rise to unbelievable amounts but guess what? You survived! I know it’s been tough, very tough!!! But if you are reading this article, you probably made huge adjustments in your lifestyle in order to make ends meet.

Now here’s what I’m going to ask you to do. Just because prices are falling I’m not going to ask you to relax. Maintain the changes you have made in your lifestyle! Except here is what you do... Let’s say your full tank of gas used to cost PHP3,000.00 and now it only costs PHP2,000.00, what you do is you grab the PHP1,000.00 you just saved and put it in your piggy bank (I’m a huge believer in the piggy bank), savings account or mutual fund. And don’t touch it!

Your jeepney fare used to cost PHP8.50, now it just costs PHP7.50 (by December 15). Save the PHP1.00! No matter how small the amount of money, it will make a huge difference in the end. PHP1.00 saved everyday and invested every year is nearly PHP64,000.00 compounded in 30 years!

So let’s take advantage of this temporary decrease in price. Believe me when the world market starts to pick up again, I can almost guarantee that the price of oil will also go up!

For more information on how I can help you email me on hoover@barongroup.com.ph.

How you can be as rich as Manny Pacquaio? (nearly anyway!)

As I read the paper today, Manny Pacquaio is about to reap around $20 million dollars for his fight tomorrow with Oscar De la Hoya. While I’m extremely happy for Manny and proud of his accomplishments as a Filipino, I sometimes get concerned that most Filipinos start to believe in the ‘big paycheck’ mentality. What do I mean by the ‘big paycheck’ mentality? It’s the belief that one day, if you are lucky enough, you will receive a ‘one time big time’ amount of money!!!

This is why a lot of us line up every week to buy Lotto tickets. This is why people dream about becoming models, actors, singers, basketball players, contestants in reality TV shows and game shows. Of course there is the desire for fame but of course there is also a desire for immediate fortune.

First of all, being Manny Pacquaio is not easy work! Unfortunately, we don’t see all the hardships that Manny has been through. The hard work, perseverance and discipline he has.

What if we don’t have what it takes to be a professional athlete, a model, a singer or an actor? For most of us this is reality! What do we do? Are we just doomed for failure? Do we just line up everyday hoping that we will win Lotto or be a contestant in Wowowee?

The answer is you too can be wealthy beyond your wildest dreams with just small amounts of money saved every day. Did you know that if you save and invest PHP50 pesos per day when you finish college you can have at least PHP10,000,000.00 in cash on the day you retire. That’ just PHP50 a day!!! Imagine if you could save more!!!

It’s all about saving small amounts a day over time and you too can NEARLY be as rich as Manny!!!

For more information on how I can help you email me on hoover@barongroup.com.ph.