Investments Under In-Trust For (ITF) Account

On my previous post, I have written about opening a mutual fund in-trust for (ITF) accounts for kiddos as Christmas present. As I browse my FB account this morning, I came across a financial group who previously discussed about ITF accounts. 

Opening question: Paano po mangyayari if namatay si parent tapos ka-OR sa account ang anak, would the funds also be included in the estate? Madali lang ba to transfer the account to the child if nag legal age na? 

Book: 8 Simple Secrets To Raising Entrepreneurs

I basically invest my time and money on books. Novels, self-help, financial and parenting are my kind of selections. Books are my best friends.  They are most helpful whenever I need a little push to sleep. One of my best possessions is the GoNegosyo: 8 Simple Secrets to Raising Entrepreneurs. I got it as a birthday gift from Dear Hubby. He really knows me. I would rather get food or a book as a gift.

Mandatory Philhealth Coverage of Senior Citizens

I was at my parents' house this morning when their senior citizen barangay coordinator came to update them of their contributions. I heard them discussing about the mandatory Philhealth coverage of senior citizens. Lola Coordinator (I forgot her name) said that all senior citizens are automatically enrolled as members. They only have to show an ID that will prove they are senior citizens, and they can receive from the hospital the corresponding benefits due PhilHealth members. This is good news that they'll have their own health insurance. Malaking tulong. No need to go to Philhealth office. However, I'm not quite satisfied with this bahala na remark that at the hospital they just have to show up with their ID and no need to formally register at Philhealth. It will be more prone to fraudulence if without a master list of certified members. According to reports, there are approximately 6.1 million senior citizens in the country. On the second thought, nadadaya rin naman ng mga kurakot kahit sa anong paraan. 

Walk The Talk

Last Friday morning on my way home,  I chanced upon talking to a friend. She is quite worried on what to wear for their Christmas party. Their company's theme for this year is anime. I told her that there are trendy shops where she can rent costumes. She may get a costume for as low as Php300 to thousands depending on the complexity of the design. Or if she's creative enough, she may just searched online tutorials on DIY costumes. Yet, she is more worried because their boss is asking their department to customize their costumes with their boss' friend mananahi. I told her that's a nice idea so they'll fit their costumes well. However, customizing with their boss' friend mananahi costs Php3,500. What Php3500???? 

True

Photo credit: ANC on the Money

A Different Kind of Gift For Your Child

Photo credit: pbs.org

We can now feel the cool breeze of Christmas. This also means cash blessings on the way. Almost all are very excited to receive (and some just did) their bonuses and 13th month pays. I just heard from the news this morning that half of the 13th month pay of government employees will be given this week. Yahoo!  But before you think of spending your bonuses right there and there for parties, gadgets, travels and appliances, why not "spend" them wisely for the betterment of your future. Specially for parents, this is the perfect time to give a different kind of gift to your kids. Way better than giving out toys, clothes or gadgets (Ipad, newest cellphone model...), why not give your kids something that will benefit them in the future. Let this be the start of their exciting financial journey.  

Prayer for Financial Blessing

A  former colleague from my first work  10 years ago shared it to me and I just want to share the same to others.

God bless everyone!

A Simple Advice of Sir Kiko

Nanay is In!

Yes, Nanay is now into investing. 

In my previous post, I have shared how Nanay manage her funds through jar system. All her cash and coins are orderly distributed per use. Yesterday when I visited her and Tatay, she told me to "invest" (she used this term) her allotted savings of my son for his education. I asked her to where? I just want to clarify if she's referring to a specific bank or an investment vehicle she knows. She then answered mutual fund. Wow! Si Nanay alam ang mutual fund. Honestly, I was surprised. I asked her how did she know about investing in mutual fund. Whenever I share to her about it before, she just say "ok". She didn't even care to ask what was it all about or even said something in contrast. " Nabasa ko un Sun Life ni Piolo at naikwento ng Auntie mo maganda ito." So, thank you Papa P for opening Nanay's mind about investing. My aunt is her eldest sister living in the US whom I mentioned sending her monetary gifts. Auntie has insurance and mutual funds with Sunlife in the US. She had explained most probably to Nanay how investing goes when she called a few days ago. 

I don't Take NO for an Answer ( My BDO-UITF experience)

I won't discuss much about the step by step procedures on how to open a UITF account with BDO. There are already countless blogs and sites that you can search on the net regarding those procedures. I would just love to share my experience on how I did open one. 

Challenge: Kids on spending and saving

It is a basic principle in personal finance to know what you really need and what you just want. True enough in adults, it takes a lot of effort enable to distinguish which is which. Things that are important and what are those we can live without. Knowing the proper concept of spending comes savings. And this challenge becomes harder when you have kid(s). 

On Savings

In personal finance, it has always been a requirement to have savings. Save funds for future use. We name them as our emergency fund, health fund, travel fund, charity fund....  name it in any way you would want it to be called. The fact that you are into saving is really a big plus. 

When I was younger, there are only 2 options that I know on how to save. Either save it through banks ( if you have the cash to meet the minimum deposit requirement) or save in a piggy bank. Actually, I never had a piggy bank. I only had old milk cans or old Alaska milk boxes. I even had made my own passbook from old notebooks so as to monitor my cash , I mean my "baryas". 

My Financial Journey

I was 6 years old when Nanay opened me an account with Prudential Bank. I still remember the 1x1 picture I had that time was in black and white. I had no idea why the guy at the green table asked for my name to be written on the white cardboard. Life went on then came emergencies. I was in high school when I needed to withdraw my savings to help pay our electricity bills, for Nanay's medicine when she was hospitalized, school projects and so many more. Every time I went to the bank to make withdrawals, that same guy at the green table would say " Baby ka pa sa picture mo dito."  He was referring to my old photo on the passbook. It had been just an old memory of my savings account because before I graduated high school, there was nothing left in my fund. My passbook got two punched holes that simply meant " CLOSED ACCOUNT". Sad it may seem but that was life then.