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November 13, 2009
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Quiz: Are you financially healthy?
May 7, 2009
In this time of bear markets and economic downturns, you must check if you are financially healthy because, if not, you might end up as one of the casualties of the recession. You must not be complacent because if your financial health is in danger, you might end up with no cash to spare, drowning in debt, or worse, bankrupt.
CNNMoney.com has got this simple but good way of checking if your financial health is OK. It basically asks whether your liquidity status is excellent, your debt obligations are manageable, and if your retirement plan is sound.
Assess the following financial aspects and see if you are financially healthy.
Are you rich? Check your net worth here
February 4, 2009
I was browsing over at Tyrone’s Millionaire Acts blog when I saw a mathematical formula he posted to determine if a person can be considered rich or not.
The wealth scoring formula, taken from the best-selling book The Millionaire Next Door, goes:
Multiply your age times your realized pretax annual household income from all sources except inheritances. Divide it by ten. This, less any inherited wealth, is what your net worth should be.
It may not be the ultimate formula for determining wealth but at least it gives a general idea. Let’s see some examples.
Plan your finances during the 8-day Christmas break
December 5, 2008
Filipinos will have at least 8-days holiday after the government officially declared December 25 until January 1 special working and regular holidays. (Actually, some people are planning a 12-day holiday by not going to work during the “sandwich” days.)
The last banking day of the year then is on December 24 while the next banking day is on January 2, 2009. During the long holiday, make sure you plan your finances. Otherwise, you might end up cash-strapped because ATMs might go offline or might have no more available cash.
Here are tips from BPI how to plan and manage your finances during the long Christmas holiday.
Drowning in credit card debt?
September 11, 2008
A P30,000 (US$652) credit card debt that ballooned to almost P1 million (US$21,740)? Crazy, isn’t it?
Apparently not for the debt collection agency pestering PMT member cheesycake who shared that a legal office sent her a letter demanding that she pay almost a million pesos for a P30,000 credit card debt she incurred four years ago.
At that rate, cheesycake is being asked to shoulder a compounded, monthly interest rate of around 7.50%! That’s being compounded every month! To think that banks right now offer only 0.50% to 1.00% interest rate per year!
How to detect fake peso bills
September 7, 2008
A few days ago, we talked about an emerging scam tactic wherein a store cashier replaces a buyer’s cash with fake money. When faced with that situation with no evidence to prove that the money was in fact replaced, the buyer has no other choice but to to give the cashier a new one.
One way to prevent this from happening is to confirm before paying that the cash you are using is indeed not fake. For you to do this, we’ve provided below a good guide in determining if your currency is fake or not. Information were provided by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Do women with bigger salaries depress their husbands?
April 28, 2008
PMT Forum member bullet asks the men: Does it bother you if your wife makes more money than you?
Here are some replies taken from that discussion thread.
When helping others, when is enough, enough?
October 19, 2007
In a society such as the Philippines that highly values the family, dole-outs to parents and, sometimes, to siblings and relatives, are an accepted — nay, expected — ingredient of the relationship.
Children who are earning are, to a certain point, obligated to provide financial support to parents. In most cases, the handout of financial support continues for the rest of the parents' lives.
If the person eventually found financial comfort ("nakaluwag-luwag na," as we say), the assistance sometimes extends even to siblings or relatives — uncle, aunt, cousin, niece, nephew, even the malayong kamag-anak, you name it.
The practice has its share of both supporters and critics. On the one hand, a dole-out is viewed as merely "sharing one's blessings" or "paying it forward." On the other, it is seen as a crippling form of aid.
What then separates the line between being charitable and tolerating mendicancy?
Here are a few opinions from some Pinoy Money Talk members. Add your thoughts in the "Dealing with Dependents" discussion thread.
How to get by with just P20,000 salary
August 8, 2007
An interesting question was posted in the Inquirer's "Take Charge of your Money" series:
I'm single, in my late 20s, and have a stable job. I want to pursue an MBA, buy a car and maybe a condominium unit, and have enough for my retirement. But with my salary (I earn only P20,000 a month), I don't know how I can set aside money for all these. What more if I get married. Any advice? – Gerard M.
The advice given was a bit generic (define your goals, set a time frame to achieve them, invest your money, etc.) but then again, the column was meant to be read by everyone and not just by the person who sent the question. In order for the advice to be really worthwhile, it has to be specific to the individual asking the question.
In any case, if I had a similar problem, here's what I'm gonna do.
Lifestyles of the rich and wealthy
July 29, 2007
The richer you get, they say, the more money you have and the more expenses you make.
And yet, there are rich and wealthy Filipino families who seem to scrimp and save on every possible opportunity.
Or do they, really?
A few PMT members are saying that although these rich Filipinos appear to be scrimping, they, on the other hand, lavish on other extravagances, such as cars, jewelries, luxury vacations, and the like.
Do you agree? Or don't care at all?
Join the discussion in the Lifestyles of the Rich and Wealthy thread in the PMT Forum.
