Make The Rule Of 72 Work For You !

By Zigfred Diaz

An Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) started to work abroad. Having worked for several years there at the age of 29 had a total savings of P 100,000.00 (Philippine peso)

Since the only investment vehicle he knew about was putting his money at the bank he went to the bank and deposited his P 100,000.00. The bank manager gladly accepted the money and even recommended that he put it at a time deposit account so that it would yield a higher interest rate at 4 % per annum.

As suggested by the bank manager, he placed his money in the time deposit account and didn't touch it until he reached the age of 65. Since he is retiring from his job, he went back to the bank to withdraw the P 100,000.00 in his time deposit account. To his amazement his P100,000.00 had already become P 400,000.00. Because he wanted to enjoy his life, he withdrew all his money and lived happily ever after.

Do you think this is a "live happily ever after"? Has this OFW "wisely" handled his money? Are you sure he is maximizing the full potential of his money or has somebody become more richer because of his ignorance ?

Under the rule of 72, in order to determine how many years it takes for your money to double you only need to follow this very simple equation: 72 / interest = No. of years it takes for your money to double

In the case of this Filipino OFW, every 18 years his money will double. 72 divided 4 % per annum = 18 years. So if he deposited his P 100,000.00 at age 29, his money will become P 200,000.00 at age 47. Add another 18 years then he reaches the age of 65. This time his money becomes P 400,000.00.

The bank on the other hand takes that P 100,000.00 and invests it at mutual funds, the stock market, the money market, government bonds, corporate bonds etc. averaging a 12 % return on the P 100,000.00 that the OFW placed under time deposit. Under the rule of 72, that same amount of money will double every 6 years. (72 divided by 12 % interest = 6 years)

After 36 years of waiting, the OFW claimed his P 100,000.00. You wouldn't be surprised why the bank manager willingly and gladly gave him back the P 100,000.00 plus the interest of P 300,000 amounting to a total of P 400,000.00. No sweat, they already made more or less a total of P 6,400,000.00 from the OFW's P 100,000.00 deposit. Now you tell me if that isn't hi-way robbery !

Think like the bank if you want to be more wealthy and a more better steward of your money ! The Rule of 72 works ! Make it work for you ! - 23204

About the Author:

Would you like to know more about investment strategies ? Visit the blog of Zigfred Diaz where he blogs about several interesting topics such as investments, financial management, business, making financial online and Stock market investing

Basic Investment Principles In The Stock Market - Part 3

By Zigfred Diaz

This is the third installment on the discussion about basic principles in stock market investing. In the previous articles, we discussed about the first three principles of investment. First, the stock market is just another vehicle of investment. Secondly, investing in the stock market is a roller coaster ride and thirdly, you must determine what type of investor you are. We continue with the next 4 principles in part 3 of this 4 part series. If you wish to view the entire article, please visit my blog.

4.) While investing in the stock market does not take a lot of cash however having lots of it will obviously have an impact on how much you earn. - It is true that you don't need hundreds of thousands of pesos or millions to invest in the Philippine Stock market. For me personally you only need about P 20,000.00 to start trading. This was the initial amount I began with. You don't exactly need P 20,000.00, you can even start trading if you have P 10,000.00. But personally, I believe that is too small an amount. To show you what I mean let me cite Jollibee (JFC), one of my favorite stocks as an example. Jollibee shares cost only 51.50 per share as of today. In order to invest in a stock you need to purchase a minimum number of shares which is called the board lot. The board lot for Jollibee is 100. If you do the math you will only need P 5,150.00 (51.50 x 100) to be a stock holder of Jollibee Food Corporation. Let us presume that a year after you purchased the stock it climbed to P 100.00 per share. This means that you have gained P 5,000.00 more. However if you had invested 200 shares you could have gained much more.

5.) Be consistent in your investment - Start small but do not stay small. You must have the discipline to consistently invest a certain amount of your income to the stock market. This way you can have more capital thereby growing your portfolio. Over the years, I have slowly added to my investment. I did not stay at P 20,000.00. The act of investing should become your habit, and I say it is a good habit to develop.

6.) Maximizing profit at the least possible losses. - Every time you see that the price of your stock went down, relax, the loss is only on paper. Actual loss is only attained when you sell your stock at the "losing" price. Therefore never sell at a loss. It should be emphasized that the money that you put into the stock market should not be taken from your emergency fund. It should by "surplus money." Putting in your emergency savings will result in you selling your stocks at a loss if you need the money badly. The gains you received in the stock market such as sales from stocks and dividends should be utilized to purchase more stocks to maximize your profits.

7.) The stock market is not a get rich quick scheme - In all investments always take note of the principle that money takes time to grow. Those Investments that give you very high rate of return in a very short period of time are most likely investments that make other people rich, not you. Most likely it will take several months or even years in order for you to really profit in the stock market, especially in the Philippine stock market. There are times that it will just take weeks or days to really make a killing. However these are rare occasions. This usually occurs in cases like when there is a consistent bull run or that there is an unusual drop or climb of prices in a short length of time for various reasons. - 23204

About the Author:

Want to know more about investment strategies ? Visit the blog of Zigfred Diaz where he writes about several interesting topics such as investments, financial management, business, making financial online and Stock market investing

Principles Of Investments In The Stock Market - Part 1

By Zigfred Diaz

Several people have inquired from me whether they should invest in the Philippine stock market. They also wanted to know how to begin doing it. I am not sure know if they are really seriously asking the question. They might be just curious about the stock market considering that it has been always in the headlines lately. This is brought about by the fact that it is at its highest levels since the beginning of its creation.

The Philippine stock market or the stock market in general is not a child's play ground. If you are a true investor, you must have expectations as to how much you are going to earn for a certain type of investment. This is measured in terms of how much your money will grow at a certain period of time. (The most common measure being interest per annum) Since the Philippine Stock market is at its peak for months now, people think that they should join the party even they do not understand how it works. They are even naive with the basic principles involve. This is not to say that you should be an economist before you start investing.

What you should understand is that you must know the basic principles involved first before you can achieve a level of success in investing in the stock market. Fortunes are made on the Stock market. But take note that huge losses are also incurred. Those who just plunge into the stock market without a grasp of the basic principles of investment end up convincing themselves that the stock market is no good at all, does not make them any money and finally quit after some time.

Before I would even begin to tackle the ins and outs of the how to invest in the Philippine stock market you should first understand the basic principles of investment in order that you might enjoy trading and possibly succeed in the stock market. I will be discussing ten of them. We will discuss the first one here. The other points will be tackled on coming articles. If you wish to see the entire article please visit my blog.

1.) You must realize that the stock market is just another vehicle of investment - There are several investment vehicles where you could place your money. One is not more superior than the other. They have their advantages and disadvantages, but this will not be discussed in depth here.

You must understand that the stock market belongs to an investment category called "Capital Markets." Capital Markets are divided further into several categories. Here alone, there are several investment vehicles wherein you could place your money. Examples of these investment vehicles aside from the stock market are real estate, pension funds, bonds, insurance, different types of savings and time deposit accounts. It is of vital importance that you know this fact because knowing the different types of investment vehicles under the Capital markets will help you evaluate whether or not you should invest in the Stock Market considering that there are other vehicles of investment.

As I said each of them has their own advantages and disadvantages. What I personally did is not to place all of my eggs in one basket. I have invested in most of the Capital Markets including the stock market, insurance, pension, deposits, and bonds through mutual funds. - 23204

About the Author:

Would you like to know more about investment strategies ? Visit the blog of Zigfred Diaz where he writes about several interesting topics such as investments, financial management, business, making financial online and Stock market investing

Why You Should Invest In The Stock Market - Part 2

By Zigfred Diaz

In my previous article, the first part on the advantages or the reasons why you should invest in the stock market was discussed. Three points are highlighted, mainly potential for greater returns, part ownership of the company you are investing and belonging to a special group of people. This is the second part of this two part series. Check out my blog should you wish to view the article in its entirety.

4.) The stock market is still the one of the best investment - While it is true that investing in the stock market has its up and down moments, in the long run investing in the stock market is still one of the best investment vehicles out there. Stock market returns fluctuate from year to year. In 1986 we have the recorded highest return rate at 224 % and negative 41 % as the lowest return rate in 1997. Yet despite the markets up and down if you hold on to your money (Holding period of about 20 years) on the long term, the average return for investing in the stock market is 24 % to 28 % per year so in short you it is not possible to incur any loss if you are a long term investor.

5.) Increases your financial knowledge and forces you to learn. - If you dozed off in your high school or college days economics class before, you might loose all your hair right now just to force yourself to try to understand what inflation means. You start to begin reading the business news regularly and try to give importance to major news headlines as this will have an impact on the behaviour of the market. You will be forced to understand words that you never understood before. You will become more smarter and wiser more than ever as are forced to keep on increasing your financial and investments knowledge.

6.) Helps you more to become internet savvy. - It has been said that the development of mankind is divided into several ages. First we had the "stone age", then came the iron age and then the bronze ages etc. Afterwards we moved up to the industrial age. Currently we are said to be in the "information technology age." In this age, knowledge is power. This is not just considered as an adage. Rather this is the essence of the information age. Engaging in online trading will surely help you understand what this means. During the time that I was in college I wanted to invest in the stock market. The reason for my curiosity was because I always see in the movies how the traders are shouting buy or sell. However I did not invest during that time because of three reasons. First I lack the information. Secondly, I do not have the capability and thirdly I do not have the money to invest.

With the advent of the internet age, information is everywhere through the World Wide Web. Add to the fact that you can now trade online. With this opportunities that come into play, it was now possible for me to trade in the stock market. I monitor the news online, I buy and sell online, I transfer money to my accounts online and best of all it is now possible to trade globally and invest in other stock markets around the world with the use of your computer. Although this is an entirely different arena but the stock market trading principles still come into play.

7.) Investing in the Stock Market helps build the nation -This is the most noble objective and advantage as to why you should invest in the stock market. One of the main reasons why companies want to get listed in the stock exchange is that they want to infuse more capital into their business. The reason why they want more capital is they want to expand the business. More capital means more business, more business means more jobs, more jobs means more needs of the average Filipinos are being met. More business also means more taxes for the government. In a sense when you invest money in the stock market you are actually helping create jobs and at the same time more taxes for the government. This increase in economic activity helps build the nation.

Certainly these compelling reasons make a valid argument as to why you should invest in the stock market. - 23204

About the Author:

Would you like to know more about investment strategies ? Visit the blog of Zigfred Diaz where he blogs about several interesting topics such as investments, financial management, business, making financial online and Stock market investing

Principles Of Investments In The Stock Market - Part 4

By Zigfred Diaz

This is the last installment of the series on stock market investment principles. We discussed about the first seven principles in the past three articles. Now we will be discussing the last three principles. If you wish to view the article in its entirety please visit my blog.

8.) You must devote your time to study - When you want to invest in the stock market you should devote time to study what it's all about. You can't just place in your money and hope that it will somehow grow someday. You have to read books and materials on the stock market. When I started investing I dug out materials in the internet related to the stock market especially the Philippine stock market. I bought books on the stock market. The Philippine stock exchange has an "investor's primer" for those who are new to the stock market. (See the Philippine stock exchange website for more information.)

Attending seminars on how to trade in the stock market can further add to your knowledge. Some brokerage firms conduct free seminars for those who are new investors. Last year I attended a 2 day seminar by CITISEC Online. They are one of the most active, most innovative and well managed brokerage firms in the Philippines. The information that you learn in the seminar will certainly help you in your quest to succeed in the stock market. Continuous study is required if you want to be successful in investing in the stock market. Do not not stop learning.

Read all the materials you can and attend all the seminars you can in order to learn. Don't be discouraged when there are terms you could not understand. For example just reading this post alone, you would probably raise your hands and tell yourself not to invest anymore since there are some terms you could not understand. You don't even know what "points" are when I was talking about them in point number 2. You don't even know what the heck is the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) or what does "Blue Chips" or "Bull run" mean. Worse you don't even understand what a stock is and how it basically works. But so what? I started out not knowing what some of these things are.

Most of these things were never taught in school. But I learned slowly by reading and experiencing it myself. You should watch the movie "Pursuit of Happyness" You will be inspired on how one man's struggle to learn the stock market has led him to make millions through stock market trading.

9.)Know what is happening in the world around you - There are several factors that affect the stock market. Be aware of the news that is making headlines in the news paper. For sure this will give you a hint on the direction that the market will take. Never skip the business news. It is here where you will be given an idea as to which stock you should buy. I prefer reading the online version of the Philippine Daily Inquirer in order that I may know where the market is heading.

10.) You must start now - The best way to learn is to experience it yourself. Start small if you wish but start now. Don't procrastinate. However don't rush immediately without studying how to go about it. After you have at least learned the basics of investments then you can start buying your first stock. There's nothing more exciting when you have made your first sale at a profit. - 23204

About the Author:

Would you like to know more about investment strategies ? Visit the blog of Zigfred Diaz where he blogs about several interesting topics such as investments, financial management, business, making financial online and Stock market investing