It seems like everywhere I go, a favorite question people ask me is “Aya, what is a good investment?”
At the end of this blog, I hope that you will be convinced that you should never ask this question again. Why? because it’s the wrong question to ask.
Para kang pumunta sa drugstore at nagtanong “Ano ba ang magandang gamot?”
Binigyan ka ng eye drops (magandang gamot, helps with sore eyes) eh, masakit ang ulo mo. Iyon ba ang kailangan mo? Paano kung may lagnat ka at Viagra ang ibigay sayo? A lot of people need it. Magandang gamot lang naman ang hiningi mo diba?
Investing is the same thing. There are so many investments available. Each one has their own strengths and weakness, how will you choose which one is for you? As I have learned, there is no ONE super investment that will answer everything. There is only a particularly suited investment for each purpose.
Did you buy it or was it sold to you?
A lot of people end up owning investments that are not right for them because of asking the “good investment” question.
Magkaiba yung bumili ka ng investment product at nabentahan ka ng investment product.
Take a look at this, pag pumunta ka sa stock broker, bebentahan ka ng stocks. Pag pumunta ka sa insurance agent, bebentahan ka ng mutual funds o insurance. Magagandang investments, oo. Pero alin dyan ang pinaka-bagay sayo?
A common scenario is people end up buying a product based on who the best salesperson is. Please don’t do that. Hindi dahil maganda ang presentation at pananalita ay maganda/bagay rin ang investment product nila.
Know what you want to accomplish, ask the right questions, and find the product that suits your need.
Set Your Financial Goal
Learn to compare investment products based on what you want to accomplish. Don’t make the mistake of investing without any goal aside from making more money. Although it is a valid reason, you should at least know how much money you need to make and/or when you need that money.
Investing is a journey and if you do not know where you want to go, you will be lost moving forward. If you are a long term investor, your judgment will be clouded by the whining and noise of fearful people during uncertain times. That is why it is very important to set your financial goal or your magic number.
(Read more about getting your magic number here: What is Your Magic Number?)
Your Investment Options
After knowing what you want to accomplish, the next step is to look for the investment that will best suit your needs. This is where financial education takes place. Aral muna bago invest!
Get to know your different options like stocks, mutual funds, real state, etc. This is the reason why we came up with the TV show and our seminars to help you understand these investments and equip you with skills to choose which one is best for you.
(Missed our first season? Watch it for free here)
There also plenty of other sites and books out there which can also help you.
After learning these things, I hope you will not ask “What is a good investment?” anymore. Instead, you should be asking specific questions like…
What is a good investment for my retirement in 20 years?
What is a good investment for my children’s education fund?
What is a good investment that will give me yearly income?
What is a good investment that will help my family pay the estate taxes when I’m gone?
These are just some examples of the questions you should be asking. And remember, the key in asking these intelligent questions is to know what you need, and when you need it.
Now it’s my turn to ask you, what are your reasons for investing?
I want to invest because I want to have my money work for me instead of working for money all my life. I want to have enough passive income to support my lifestyle, help others and at the same time have money to invest more. Considering my goal, what kind of investments should I go into?
In your GOAL John, ang dami mong gustong gawin.
Isa-isa lng set a single goal then try to find what is best and fit investment for that single goal.
After ma.achieve mo yun, go for your next goal and and find another investment that fit for that goal.
Considering, Short term , Medium term and long term investments.
Tandaan any investment hindi over time yan kikita kana.
You need TIME to GROW and to LEARN more about investments.
Prioritize. Ano ba gusto mong unahin?
Ano ba meron ka? How much money do you have?
Ano meron sa Pilipinas? Aral kung ano pwedeng paglagyan.
Implement.
Monitor.
Sir Aya,
I like your mindset. sa tanong mo “what are your reasons for investing?”
For me….. Isa lang sagot ko. “TO PREPARE FOR GOOD FUTURE…This means a lot.
Gusto ko matuto sa pag invest. Gusto kong matuto kung pano laruin ang pera sa negosyo.
Gusto ko maging milyonaryo at makatulong sa nakatulong saken nung akoy bata pa..
For me, I think there is no standard way of investing that would work for everybody. In my opinion, you have to make an honest assessment of yourself, your current situation, age, education, job, etc? When I say about yourself, its a broad subject. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Are you good in sales, people person, has strong drive and passion, book smart, shy, knowledge, talents, easily depressed, in denial, dreams, responsibilities? Then analyze for yourself what would make you tick.
Second, is know other investment schemes nowadays. For me, the best investment that you could have to take is INVEST FIRST IN YOURSELF. Invest in yourself comes by Educating yourself. Be with the right people who have achieved your dreams. A lot of Filipinos are mraming ngmmagaling. Know the difference. And by a student in life, the only place we could get educated is through EXPERIENCE. Failure is part of the process. It doesn’t take overnight for you to be rich. Next comes to list, is always have a short term and long term goal. Take advantage of the inflation and compounding interest to increase our wealth, if you have the right knowledge, it would take you to a better place or buried you to debt.
What are the Investment we could have? Stocks, Real Estate, Businesses, Bonds, Treasury Bills, Commodities, Network Marketing?
How would I know if its the right investment for me? If your money beats inflation, it’s good. If the choice of investment put money in your pocket, it’s good. If you pour money more than what it could put in, forget it. If it’s still your drive, stay, educate yourself through right people and experience.
How would I start?
1. Clear your debt. Learn how to budget. Some have 80-20-10 rule. But the one I learned is more precise.
Live-35%, Tax-15%, Saving(invest)- 20%, savings(emergency)-5%, Play-5%, Education-5%, Tithe-10%, Share(people)-5%. If you can’t stick to any of those, lower your lifestyle.
2. Have emergency funds that could take cover your for 8 months.
3. Long Term Savings.
4. Major Purchases (investment)
Long Term Investment (educational plan, pension fund, retirement funds)
Allocation of Investment
20% Risky: Equity Funds, Money lending, ex-stock trading speculative stocks, most businesses
20% Semi Risky: Money market placement fund, foreign exchange, Dollars Indent trading, buy and sell, cattle fattening, calf&beef trading, vegetable/fruit farming, blue chip stocks
60% Conservative: Savings and loan association, Coop placements, time deposits, UITF, Treasury bills and bonds, bond funds, residential land, commercial properties, farm lands, memorial park lots.
How do you know you know if you can afford it?
1. Ordinary Loans (car loan, appliance loan, credit cards, coop loans, bank loans) – 10% of Gross monthy income
2. Housing Loan Amortization – 20% of Gross monthly income
3. Total value of Liabilities – 50% of total value assets
–> again, everything is up to your own discretion.
But the most important for me is, before you start anything. Set in mind the Soul of being a Capitalist. When all things fail and in order to stay afloat, I have learned the importance of Other’s People Money (OPM) and Other’s People Talent (OPT). Everything is say are just basics, it’s still your job to do the research and the planning. Di nman ako guru, I just shared what I’ve learned from different person, free trainings and books. Andyan si Google, si Youtube, Finance books, free Trainings. Some you get it with a fee, some are not. Kailangan lng mging resourceful. Yung lng po. Thank you.
Nice. Very thorough.
Superb! ^_^
Kung ang UITF po ba ay isang Equity Fund.. conservative parin po ba un? Na-confuse lang po ako kase sa stocks din po un..
Great advice!
Sometimes people think making money is a goal. But money is meant to be spent, so there’s no point wanting money for no reason. If they know that they’ll use the money for, that’s their goal and they’ll know what investment will be good for them.
Agreed.
wow…all are well said…..good investment will start in yourself…..investing education ..investing knowledge …eduate yourself to become a good investor;..:)
Sir Aya, isa po akong ofw. Nag huhulog po kami sa sss and at the same ng iinvest po kami sa mutual fund. Advisablr po ba to continue sss cobtribution? Or better to stick to other investments? Is sss same worth as investing in the stock market!
Opo, ok ituloy ang SSS dahil may ibang benepisyo naman kayong pwede makuha dito. Kung kaya ninyo po ay mabuting ipagpatuloy ang dalawa.
Nag-iinvest din po ang SSS sa stock market kaya para rin itong pag-invest sa market kasi yung kinikita ng SSS mula dito ang ginagamamit pambayad sa mga members.
I INVEST to Build my Retirement Wealth Fund, to Gain more Knowledge, to help my Family and to be able to Earn more to Give more!
True. the only way to become rich is to have the knowledge on how to become one. I really thought dati na yung mga stocks na yan pang mayaman lang talaga. but then, through readings lang talaga sa mga books at websites, and sa mga na meet ko sa klase ng job ko, i was able to understand yung stock market. but it doesn’t stop there. kumbaga basics pa lang yun eh, read a lot and explore. and for sure marami ka pang malalaman. you’ll be surprised malaki na SAVINGS mo, and along the way ang dami mo na rin learnings and experiences na pwede mu pa ma share sa iba.
I’m thinking twice kung ppunta ko sa Money Summit this July. I’m shelling out P5,000+ for two days. Worth it kaya ang pera ko? Sa dami ng topics na iccover, bka puro spiel, long introduction about themselves at bka basics lng yung ittouch which is pwede mo nman matutunan through reading or watching interviews. I’m looking for Indepth Analysis na kc. May iba kc Investment Blogs na puro advice, wla nmang laman. Nagkaidea lng, nakagawa na ng libro. Ang dami tao ngyun speaker at writer ng libro. Sana worth it every minute. Kc if you really price it, it’s P350+ per hour. Anu po sa tingin nyo?
I don’t know if you attended but I hope you attended my talk and hope you found it worth your time.
Hi, Sir Aya. I attended the 2 days conference and saw you giving speech at the Expo. Mgppapicture sna ako with the other speakers, kso nhhiya ako. On my second day, I attended a seminar that few people have expertise about, which is Real Estate. Whereas Stocks and Forex, they do give free seminars everywhere. I can say that Money Summit on Day 1 was entertaining but I don’t think it’s wise to sort out people in Stocks, Forex, and Real Estate. The organizers accommodate more people than they actually prepare the seats for. Leaving us, standing. And even each speaker can’t contain all their presentation in few hours. Anyway, I recommend Money Summit for socialization. I rather attend the seminar of what the speaker gives. But I’ve a question in stocks since I haven’t a chance to sit in your class.
They say that stock price go up when money pours in, and stock goes down when they pull their money out. Some scheme spread good opinions to a particular company to attract investors, and take profits when the price inflated, which causes the stock to go down. I’m new to stocks, but as a Stock investor like you, how can you correlate the price of stock in response to performance of a company. And do we have a Call or Put Option just like what they have in US. Yun lng po.
Sorry for delayed reply…
Some may disagree, but for me, EARNINGS are the ultimate determinant kung aakyat o bababa ang presyo ng isang stock. Kahit mahal ang isang company, its price can still go up if people believe it will make more money. Case in point: Ayala Land. People still buy it even though there are cheaper real-estate companies around. Or even Jollibee.
No, wala pang options and futures sa Pilipinas. Wala pa ding short-selling.
Hi Sir Aya. Can you recommend any books on long term stock market investing?
Thanks!
Nice article as always. Keep it up Pesos and Sense Team!
Sir Aya ako po ay isang ofw gusto ko po sana mag invest using my income im thinking of mutual funds and copra business which my ko mare is offering me to be a partner and lastly online services i will just purchase a domain for the site?
Salamat!
Ok, what do you want to accomplish by doing this?
Will you have the time to monitor the copra business or the domain site? Lalo na kung abroad ka. Sa mutual funds, do you understand kung saan nila ilalagay pera mo?
Sir aya gusto ko po sana mg ka passive income po?
The copra business is not really passive.
Hi sir Aya!
I’m interested with mutual fund. I did a lot of reading about it and have asked people who “really” knows about it plus watching your videos from Pesos and Sense but I felt that it’s not enough. I want to ask if I can have yearly money from it(MF) that my hand can actually hold (yung makukuha ko like quarterly or every half of the year or yearly na pwede magastos or magamit sa ibang bagay or investment) or they are just values that I can only see and nothing more unless I widraw my fund?
What I have in mind is that, an investment that I can get money then put it in my parents long term health plan as a policy payment, in that sense I will no longer have to produce money from my pocket just to pay for them (parang papaikutin ko lang para yung income ko magamit ko sa ibang investments for myself or future family). Is that possible to happen if my vehicle is MF? Or can you suggest any means of investment for me to get my goal?
Thank you so much sir for your patience reading this very long inquiry! I’ll wait for your answer..
God bless you more
Mutual funds do NOT provide regular income. Kailangan mo magbenta.
If you have the capital, BONDS or RENTAL PROPERTIES are good sources of recurring income.
Tama po ba yung nabasa ko at galing po sa inyo na ang SSS ay nagiinvest din po sa Stockmarket?May order po ng Goevrnmentna gawin ito ng SSS?Nais ko po malaman ang sagot???Salamat po!
kung nasa amerika ako at gusto ko itong unvestment mutual, stocks etc meron kbng maiipayo. san maganda mag invest sa pinas or sa usa
Ako ang masasabi ko it is actually the person who will depend on what goals do he/she want in the future. Kami bilang financial advisors, we are there to talk with people. Showing our services and let themselves consider it. Also we can ask the questions like ano ba goals nila na gusto nila marating with their money na nainvest. Education din is important talaga but without action of applying it is nothing.
Prioritize your goals first sabi nyo po sir. And ask to the right person with regards to your goals.
Hello po, im currently working here in dubai, dami na pong dumaan na pera sakin pero lahat ng yun walang napuntahan na maganda..puro waldas lang, i realized na di pwedeng ganito nalang lagi.. i need to invest, i need to save for my future..Sir aya maari mo po ba aqng matulungan kung saan aq pwedeng maginvest sa stock market??ano kaya mga open na company na ngbebenta ng shares?
ako din nasa Dubai, hindi ko din alam kung san mag invest, but sa tingin ko parang ok sakin ang Real Estate investment kasi nakikita ko ang pera ko kung saan napupunta. takot kasi na ako sa investment dahil dati na wala lang ang ininvest ko sa (CAP).
What is a good investment for my children’s education fund?
What is a good investment that will give me yearly income?
What is good investment for my child college education? He will be in college 5 years from now. TIA.
Sir aya mas okay po ba mag focuse investing sa bdo equity for 3 years kaysa sss na pang long term? I meqn in a long run saan po much better..
Hi! This is a good read as I’m in the middle of finding a new investment that will suit my next goal. Currently, I have real estate but my own house and a Balanced Mutual Fund. So Aya, “What is a good investment that will give me yearly income? ” I’m a traveler too and would like to have some spare money to fund it. Thanks!
Sir Aya,tanong lang po..OFW po nag open ako ng mutual funds sa fami and bpi..mayron nrin po akong dlwng insurance,every month buy ako ng shares at plano ko syang kunin after cguro ng 10-15 years..oki lng po ba un?..tnxs
Hi! i am a full-time employee earning a minimum wage and i want to enter into investments. What is the best short term investments for me?
thank you!
Hi Sir Aya,
Sir ask ko po kayu anu pu bang investment ang mairerekomenda nyu sa loob ng dalawang taon po lamang?
Salamat po,
Francis