Why You Need to Have a Money Talk With Your Partner

When my wife and I got married five years ago, money was a subject that we didn’t talk too much about.  We felt it’s just too stressful, annoying and would only make our day gloomy.

And then when we learned that we’re finally having our first baby we decided that it’s necessary that we always talk about money and how we should effectively manage it as we start building our family.

It was quite difficult at first because our decisions have to be aligned with our respective needs and expectations. There were conflicting views and admit it or not, newly-weds and even couples who have been together far too long will still have to deal with their respective parents (and in-laws) with regards to money. Continue reading Why You Need to Have a Money Talk With Your Partner

Is Lending Money for Profit Compliant with Sharia Finance?

One of biggest population of OFW’s are in the Middle East and other Islamic countries. That’s why our heroes should at least be familiar with Islam not only as a religion but as a way of life that embraces various social, economic, and political subjects.

Muslims live in accordance with the Islamic Law called sharia which is taken from Quran. Every detail and matters addressed by sharia is linked with different issues which means anything about money is related to religion, morals, politics, and culture.

Islamic finance, therefore, runs in accordance with sharia. Islamic finance is not new. It’s as old as Islam itself. It is similar to conventional financial systems as they also have banks, stock market, mutual funds, investment firms, and insurance companies but they are governed both by Islamic laws and by the existing conventional finance industry regulations.

The main concept of Islamic finance is the fact that Allah is the owner of all wealth in the world and the human beings are just entrusted with such. Continue reading Is Lending Money for Profit Compliant with Sharia Finance?

Arise, Philippines! – Snapshots of The Euromoney Philippine Investment Forum 2013

Happy Easter, Filipinos! God has blessed our Easter with enormous hope and confidence that the country will continue to arise from its long economic slumber.

The 2013 Euromoney Philippines Investment Forum held at the Peninsula Manila last March 12, 2013 was a major success. Testimonies are the snapshots taken by my friend and OFW UsapangPiso Forum advisor Carissa Patag of Abacus Securities Corporation as one of the 600 delegates to this year’s forum and the recent investment-grade rating driven by optimism that international investors have for the Philippines. Continue reading Arise, Philippines! – Snapshots of The Euromoney Philippine Investment Forum 2013