Leaving Smart has created a significant reduction in my incoming cashflow. Thus, I’ve made a couple of decisions that will help me protect my finances from leaking away.

Many times in the past, I’ve allowed my cash to leak away in all sorts of expenses. We learn from our mistakes. If we don’t, the lesson is repeated until we do.

I am a Money Magnet (and I am not a leaking bucket)

So here goes a growing list of guidelines for some lifestyle changes I’m making.

• Eat at home more often – I used to have breakfast at the Smart Cafeteria, lunch and dinner outside. I probably ate at home around 3 times a week. I don’t want to call this guideline “Eat out less often” because that sounds like a goal of deprivation. I’d rather eat home more often :-)
• Use more FREE WiFi hotspots – I’m learning which public areas have free WiFi. I don’t want to be accessing from cafe’s too often – magastos pa rin when I buy a drink.
• Less of Mobile facebook/gmail/twitter - When I was with Smart, it was typical for me to access FB/gmail/twitter on my mobile phone any time of the day. This cost me P10/30mins. Now I’m being more selective of when I access these sites.
• Less calls, more efficient texting – It was a slight adjustment to have to be more conscientious about voice call usage. Typically I wouldn’t hesitate making calls to colleagues at Smart. Now I need to think twice whether a call is required or if SMS (or email) can do the job better.
• Unlimited calls subscription – I got myself a mobile landline. I also got myself a subscription to unlimited calls. This will allow me to make business/personal calls at a more affordable price.
• Smarter commuting. Less taxi rides, more jeep/bus/train rides. Plan trips better, batch meetings/errands in the same locations. I also use a courier service that takes care of picking up and delivering documents or packages.
• More selective buying. I’ll be comparing prices more these days. Whereas I used to buy things without looking for other better value items, this time I’m more conscious about saving a little more and protecting my cashflow.
• Shower everyday. Now that I have more time in my hands, I get to shower everyday. Hahaha! :D Sarap pala maligo araw-araw! (just checking if you’re really reading).

Apart from these changes that are meant to protect my finances, there are lifestyle changes that I cherish much for the value they give me.

• I take afternoon siestas these days. :-) My parents always took their afternoon siesta. In most of my 12 years of employment, I haven’t had this luxury — until now! :D Wahoo!

The other day, I had a feast of my home-cooked steamed creme dory, miso soup and freshly sliced veggies …

homecooked feast - steamed creme dory with garlic, thyme, basil; miso soup; freshly sliced veggies

After my sumptuous meal, I called my parents.

I asked them: “Are you taking your siesta now? … ‘Coz I am! wahoo!” :D

Sleep - this is one of the images I placed in my Vision Board. I'm getting more sleep these days ;-) . Yey!

Ah, simple pleasures!

There’s so much more to life and I’m loving discovering this new way to live.

ka edong

http://www.edwinsoriano.com

My interest in the stock market heightened when a good friend, Sheryl, told me about trying out online stock trading. I know of a few people who do online stock trading.

Rex was a former officemate who did a lot of stock trading and was good at it. It appeared too technical and complicated for me back in 2006. So I went to the mutual funds at that time.

Last night, I spoke to Celine. In their Ateneo MBA course, they invested real money via online trading. It was interesting because they got to analyze and discuss the group decisions in class. Then at the end of the term, they re-evaluated their decisions, and found out who made the good buys and who said goodbye to their money. Celine shared that some of their classmates used BPI Trade for online trading. Some used Metrobank. I realize now that there are more online stock trading services beyond citiseconline.com.

Get your Share

I’ve been reading a P50 book I got at Expressions (the shop) at the local mall. The title of the book is “Get Your Share” by Julie Stav. It’s an easy and entertaining read. It’s written in a style that explains the stock market to housewives. Thus, the explanations are peppered with analogies to shopping, child rearing, baking, cooking etc. It’s a nice read for a beginner like me. I recommend it for housewives, househusbands and any other house-habitant who’s starting to learn about the stock market.

I-Remit

I have my eyes on I-Remit. They opened their IPO (Initial Public Offering) around November 2007. I know that the remittance industry will continue to grow, together with the increasing number of OFWs. I also believe in the mission of I-Remit, serving the Filipinos by hauling the dollars to the Philippines.

I will study the I-Remit stock through the magnifying glass of a starter stock-market investor. Then will make an investment within the next two weeks. Oh yes, oh yes! :-) I’m excited!

Bookmarks: Reference articles

• iRemit stock price up 17.5% on first trading day
• iRemit IPO price set at P4.68; offer starts today (Oct 5, 2007)
• Business World Research on iRemit
• iRemit board OKs share buyback; first half profits up (Oct 19, 2008)
• Business Week: iRemit Inc.
• iRemit IPO gets SEC approval (Oct 2007)
• iRemit reports huge jump in remittance volume (July 2008)
• Google Search: iRemit stock

My Next steps

• Ask Rex the pros and cons of his top three online trading interfaces (Sept 1)
• Read the rest of the “Get your Share” book (by Sept 6)
• Apply for a BPI Trade account (Sept 6)
• Get my feet wet and decide on a stock to buy (Sept 15)
• Read more about online trading, inquire about a seminar (Sept 6)

ka edong
talking stocks