Saving the Way to College sans Education Plans
Saving the Way to College
by: Kendrick Chua, the Wealth Warrior
First appeared in May-June 2009 of Money Sense. Was also my first paid article
Norma (not her real name), who is connected to one of the biggest educational plan providers before, can’t help but cringed when I asked her how people are reacting now towards educational plans. Her facial expression mimics the sentiments of her clients and their more subtle way of rejecting her.
Twenty years back, it was unthinkable that education plans will now be received with hostility. When educational plans were first launched, they were a much sought-after investment instrument by the public. After all, education is one of the major financial priorities of Filipino parents and the burden of a forthcoming college education cost is no laughing matter.
To be or not to be…impulsive
To be or not to be…impulsive?
by Kendrick Chua, The Wealth Warrior
That is the question. I pride myself in not being an impulsive buyer nor shopper (unless it comes to food). A trait I have inherited from my mom. I’d constantly debate with myself whether or not I should buy an item. Thinking it twice, thrice and even ten times until the instinct to buy it subsides or it’s channeled onto another item, whichever comes first.
Lately, I have been contemplating whether or not the trait I’m proud of makes me lose more money. The first time it happened was when Dan Brown’s latest novel, The Lost Symbol hit the Philippines last year. I have read the two previous titles, The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons and I loved both of them. I believe I wouldn’t be disappointed should I buy one.
Where to Invest in 2010
Where to Invest in 2010
by: Kendrick Chua, the Wealth Warrior
My cover story for Money Sense Jan-Feb 2010
Nowadays, Celine (not her real name), a relationship manager for a private bank in the Philippines, is all smiles when talking to her clients. Her smile reflects their sentiments, who just a year ago, were also hit by the prevailing market conditions. After all, no amount of wealth can shield her high net worth clients from the financial crisis. And seeing the value of their investments, reaching tens of millions, dropped substantially is extremely disheartening.
“Being a private banker is not just about meeting my target but it is also about helping my clients maximize their gains,” Celine adds. But what gains could have there been last year when even good news seem to come short?
Alleviating the Pain
Alleviating the pain
by: Kendrick Chua, the Wealth Warrior
Death sometimes come to those who least expect it. Some actually do. But it doesn’t make the pain of losing a love one less. But maybe, just maybe, the life insurance proceeds do.
Recently, the husband of a friend passed away. Although still strong and young (fifties are still young), it was apparently his time to meet the Creator. My friend is known for being emotional and sentimental and we wouldn’t expect any less at this trying time.
Although they are quite well-to-do, business wasn’t really doing well recently. Fortunately, the husband was insured for a substantial amount. And so my friend kidded that if it wasn’t for the life insurance proceeds, her sobs would be much louder.
Oh don’t get it wrong. Nobody wants our love ones dead and no amount of money can revive them but death is an inevitable incident all of us must face. It was the same death that took my friend’s husband.
Life insurance is a gift of love. The husband provided for the family and it (the money, not the death) couldn’t have come at a better time. A couple of millions of pesos can certainly alleviate some of that pain.
Looking back twenty five years ago, my friend realized what an excellent decision they made! After persistent follow-ups by the agent, they finally decided to push through with it. In between the time they took one out and the time of death, it served as a contingency for the growing family and even proved useful for generating liquidity. It served its purpose when he was alive and served its purposed once again when he passed away.
I am an advocate of life insurance (which should be obvious by now) and so I post this question to all uninsured or underinsured individuals. Just think about this: would you want your spouse, at your wake, telling every guest who paid their last respect what a wonderful and responsible man you are for taking out a life insurance or crying her heart out on how she and your children can continue living?
The choice is yours to make but hope it’s not the one you’d regret at the other side.
2010 Wish List
First things first, a HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone! It is certainly amazing how 2009 zoomed so fast and At the start of 2009, people were already predicting a gloom-and-doom scenario. People thought last year was Armageddon and the end of the financial institutions. And people thought that the 1,800 level of the stock market is just a ceiling. Great!
But as Buffett has always put it, it is in times of great pessimism that opportunities are abundant. Indeed they are. Suddenly and without warning our market rallied with the rest of the world and despite trailing behind them, it nevertheless managed a very impressive 62% return last year. The chickens who were calling, “the sky is falling!” were never heard of again (or at least until another disaster comes along).
I’m well excited for 2010. The year of the tiger seems to be an auspicious one, at least for me. If opportunities were bountiful last year, I have high hopes this year. I believe the Lord plans to bless us all bountiful and this year is no exception! And thus, I came up with my own wish list for 2010 and how I’m going to achieve them.
Here they are:
Rich—as defined economically
Rich-as defined economically
by: Kendrick Chua, the Wealth Warrior
Debates have not been scarce on how to define the word rich. What may be rich for some 
may be poor for the others. Socially, being rich is portrayed as having more assets than one can ever keeps tab on, splurges like no tomorrow and donates to charity for philanthropy works.
Economically, to be “rich”, a household needs to belong to the 0.3% of the Philippine population. That means they are among the 255,000 Filipinos out there who takes home an annual income of about P2.06 million to P5.88 million with an average income of P3.03million.
Now, the “uber-rich” stands only 0.1% of the population or about 85,000 Filipinos enjoy this status. To qualify for this category, the household annual income should not be less than P6.78 million and a high of, well, sky is the limit for these individuals.
The Best Time to Buy Life Insurance
The Best Time to Buy Life Insurance
by: Kendrick Chua, the Wealth Warrior
Just recently, one of the moms I interviewed for my blog post, Super Single Mom has been diagnosed with an enlarged heart that had her confined for several days. Fortunately, she has been discharged and declared out of danger but the risk of collapsing any time is imminent.
Unfortunately for her, she doesn’t have any life insurance and even if she decided to take out one for contingency purposes for her family, there is a great chance insurance companies will deny her case.
She’s only 31 and has four children.
Her case is just an example of how illnesses can creep up like the Angel of Death, striking silently and without warning, all too often leaving his (or probably her) victims, flat-footed and aghast.
With that, why is it a lot of people, who believes in the importance of life insurance, still doesn’t get one?
My theory: It’s not important now. It might be in the future, but not at the moment. They couldn’t be more wrong.
