How Do You Measure A Year in the Life?

Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets
In midnights, in cups of coffee
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife
In five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, a year in the life?
How about love?
How about love?
How about love?
Measure in love

Seasons of love (love)

“Seasons Of Love” by Rent cast from the album Rent: Original Broadway Cast Recording
Composed by Jonathan Larson

I just love listening to this song. Aside from my just plain liking sentimental tunes, this song points out a universal truth – we can measure our lives by different metrics. But, the most important measure still seems to be how we have touched lives and how we have shown love to the people who matter most to us.

Our love for them and our desire to show this, drives us in everything we do. This is the reason why I actually got my first insurance policy. I work hard and it’s important to me that my loved ones will be cared for, regardless whether I’m still here or gone.

August, being my most active month of the year as an entrepreneur and traveler, has pushed my life insurance needs to the forefront.

Problem is, I don’t have the time to meet with financial advisors or insurance agents nor do I want the hassle of discussing and reading all those quotations. Neither do I have the time to go to an insurance office (especially with all the rain during this season!).

Tadah! Thank you #Google! A search in the net showed me #AXAion! The search showed that it’s the Philippine’s first online insurance store where buying a life, health, savings and/or education plan seems to be as easy as 1-2-3!

AXAiON-Visit-Apply-Pay-336x280

I decided to try it out. I started with a Visit to: www.axaion.com.ph. There, I found a selection of plans: Savings, Academic, Life and Health eXentials. Finding out how much money I had to put in and grow in these plans was so easy.

Answering the online application form and keying in payment information in the PesoPay (payment gateway) page was a piece of cake. I can’t believe that the whole transaction was paperless from start to finish! There was absolutely no need to print, scan, email or visit a branch! But I did get a quick call from a customer service representative at AXA Philippines. The rep courteously verified my application and some of the things I mentioned in my application

AXA iON is the answer to all of us busy bees who want to get financial products but can’t seem to find the time to get a quotation, apply and pay for this basic financial essential! Easy, convenient, safe and accessible to all!

I think I will get my health and savings plan online again ☺

by Carissa Patag
Editor, Rock To Riches

carissapatag

Carissa is a Philippine licensed stock broker, mutual fund agent, real estate agent, Bonds and Fixed rate Instrument Trader and Insurance Agent. As a financial professional, Carissa held the following positions: Associate Director and Head of Retail Sales and Marketing, Vice president, Fund Manager and Certified Securities Representative.

Carissa ‘s advocacy in financial literacy includes being an Advisor and Contributor in Angat Pilipinas Coalition for Financial Literacy and being a speaker in Corporate and Academe settings.

Carissa has business interests in Retail, Pharmaceutical and Trading Industries and currently sits on the board of various corporations.

The Economy Is Booming: 5 Places Where You Should Put Your Money

You’ve probably heard the news: The Philippines has one of the most vibrant economies in the world, rising faster than any other country in Asia next to China. We are no longer “the sick man of Asia,” but “Asia’s rising tiger.”

Unfortunately, it’s hard to feel these economic gains if your money is simply lying in your piggy bank or savings account. While it makes sense to save for the rainy days, majority of personal finance experts would also advise you to allocate a portion of these savings into promising investments. These have the potential to double or even triple your capital in the long run.

Take a look at the following investment vehicles and see what best fits you:

Bonds

If you want your money to earn interest, you can invest in credit instruments like bonds. Essentially, bonds are contracts in which an investor lends money to a borrower, like the government or a corporation. The borrower then agrees to pay interest at a fixed amount.

These investments are good for those who want security and have low risk tolerance. If your financial goal is to protect your capital, then bonds certainly fare better than stocks. But since it has minimal risks, expect the returns to also be minimal and incomparable with what you might possibly get from equities.

*Here’s a FREE 23-page step-by-step guide on how to make money selling e-books including which topics to write.

Mutual funds

Mutual funds are basically pooled funds from various investors managed by professional fund managers. When you pool your money with other investors, you create a bigger capital that can be invested in various instruments like bonds, stocks, and foreign exchange.

One of the biggest advantages of mutual funds is diversification, which lowers your exposure to risks. If one investment fails, you don’t lose all your capital because it is invested in other channels. You can earn from mutual funds through asset appreciation, interest, and dividends. Choosing the type of mutual fund—fixed income, money market, equity, or balanced—depends on your financial goals and risk profile.

Born2Invest

Stocks

Buying a stock from a company means you become part owner of that company. Many financial experts would tell you that now is the best time to invest in the local stock market, since the Philippine Stock Exchange has been outperforming even some of the biggest markets around the world. Investing in the stock market gives you high returns, especially over the long term.

However, it is also highly risky, as you could lose a significant amount of your capital if you don’t have a strategy in place. Though the basic principle is to buy shares at a low price and sell them at a high price, you need to study the market first and keep yourself updated on the companies that you’re investing in to make sure that you maximize your earnings.

Businesses

Putting up a sound and profitable business is also a great way to make your hard-earned money work for you. All you need is capital and a good business idea that responds to the needs of your target consumers. You also need to have the right attitude towards business, and that includes a lot of patience, optimism, and guts.

If you’re not too confident that you can start a business, maybe you should consider franchising. This is advisable to startup entrepreneurs who have yet to gain business management experience. This way, you can take advantage of a brand’s popularity and strength to make your venture profitable.

Financial education

Finally, investing in your own financial education is your most valuable asset when it comes to building wealth. That means grabbing every learning opportunity that comes your way. You won’t be able to successfully invest in bonds, stocks, businesses, and mutual funds if you have no idea what you’re doing. Warren Buffett is even said to allot 80 percent of his working day to reading and learning and 20 percent to actual investing.

These days, there are no excuses for lack of knowledge. You have the whole Internet at your disposal, and a simple Google search on the basics of investing will yield thousands of results. You can also use free apps like Born2Invest to get your daily fix of business and finance news that will help you make the right investment choices.

There are also countless financial seminars that you can attend to expand your knowledge base and network with like-minded people. Take full advantage of the booming Philippine economy through investing in it. Consider the amount of money you have, your financial goals, and your risk aversion to help you choose the investment vehicle that’s right for you.

**This is a guest post from Born2Invest.

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I Am an OFW and I Bought My Life Insurance Online

OFWs on vacation have only enough time to do the things they need to do —meet their loved ones, eat out in their favorite restaurants, go shopping, go to some local vacation spot they’ve never been to, or throw parties for friends and relatives.

On top of that, OFWs will have to squeeze in time to go to POEA or OWWA to get their OECs or overseas employment certificates, as a requirement for leaving the Philippines again and be officially recognized as the nation’s new heroes.

But many OFWs forget to add in their ‘to-do’ list some of the most important things they should do during their vacations — managing their finances. Many neglect to open a savings account or an investment account.There are also those who forget to file and pay for their contributions to SSS, Philhealth, or Pag-ibig Fund.

But one of the tasks they should not forget during their vacation is to get insurance coverage for themselves or their families.  Since OFWs are naturally hardworking and focus on their ability to provide for their loved ones right now, they rarely entertain the idea of passing away suddenly.

Taking Care of the Needs of Loved Ones

Many OFWs look at providing for the immediate needs of their family members back home, hence they send gifts and “pasalubong” on a regular basis. They don’t see the reality that one day they will pass away (and hopefully not too soon) and may leave their children and loved ones with nothing on hand.

While it takes a long time to build wealth through hardwork, business, and investing, getting a life insurance policy is an easier alternative for an OFW.

This ensures that the OFW can immediately protect the financial future of his or her loved ones should he or she meet an untoward incident.

I Am an OFW and I Bought Life Insurance Online

I first got my life insurance policy back in 2008 when I was still working in the Philippines as an auditor.

I was newly-married back then but I already knew that my spouse would need financial support in case I pass away.  Getting a life insurance was one of the preparations I made should that sad thing happen.

Now that I am an OFW, and with a 5-year old daughter, I realize that my current insurance policy will not be sufficient any longer.  That’s why during our last vacation in the Philippines, I immediately purchased another life insurance policy.

With a very busy schedule during our vacation, I only had time to log in to the internet to do my transactions. That was when I stumbled upon the new AXA iON online insurance store.

What I did was visit http://www.axaion.com.ph/ and browsed through its online store featuring four different insurance products.

They have  Savings eXentials which is an alternative savings plan,  Academic eXentials which is an automatic save-up program for children’s education, the  Health eXentials for medical emergencies, and the  Life eXentials which I purchased as life insurance for me and my wife.

The process is very easy. No paper, no more printing. I only filled out the online application form, answered a few questions, then paid my first premium with my credit card.

It’s easy as that!

So if you are an OFW, buying any of these AXA iON insurance products to meet your financial goals will be very convenient for you.

You can use your Visa or Master Card credit card to pay for your monthly premiums via the secure PesoPay payment system. Your succeeding monthly premiums will automatically be charged to your credit card, too.

Do you want to know more about AXA iON? Visit http://www.axaion.com.ph/ or watch this video from AXA Philippines: