Golden Investment For The Golden Years

We're at that point in our career when we really have to think of not only securing our children's education, but also setting aside something for when we grow old and retire. Of course, we know that retirement means that we no longer earn actively BUT we still continue to spend. Some things, like healthcare, may even be more of an issue at around this time.

However, we are admittedly cautious. We do not really have a lot of money to risk. And we cannot afford to lose any of our extra money either. If there's anything that the past few years of life has taught us, it's that you have to be ready for emergencies and you should have an investment that's easy to liquidate so that when you need the cash, you can easily sell it.

In that case, real estate is not a good choice if we're talking about easy liquidity, although it IS a good investment for long term.

My granddad, grandma and dad had great faith in gold. And I can see why. Gold's value is pretty stable so if you buy gold bars, there's a very good chance that prices will increase over time. And even if prices do fluctuate, it won't really become totally worthless like some stocks would if companies go bankrupt. Gold will always be considered valuable, which makes it worthwhile to invest in.

I Want

Something happened yesterday which made me realize even more the need to seek income generating activities elsewhere other than our being doctors.

This does not mean that we are quitting the practice of medicine. It's just that the practice of medicine is pretty unpredictable-- you're not sure how much money you will end up with at the end of the day, at the end of the week and at the end of the month. And once you call in sick for just one day, you don't have income for that day BUT you still have to pay for the day's overhead expenses.

That's why I'm now taking on writing jobs aside from paid blogging and doing some online buy and sell thing. Which is great because I do love to write, and I could do so in my free time (which, admittedly, is getting less and less).

But I do feel that I would like us to have a business someday. A brick and mortar store with all the basic works, receipt printers and all. Something that will still run even if something happens and I'm out for the day. Something that I can actually bequeath to my children.

Something that most Tsinoys and Tsinays are known for -- a successful business.

Leaving Something

I just paid the annual premium for my life insurance. Many think of it as an additional expense, but really, everybody dies sooner or later and it's best that you've taken steps to ensure that financially, your family has means to recover when you are gone. I've started my insurance when I was thirty years old and single, after my father died and I realized how financially draining death is to the bereaved family.

I also realized that you actually get better deals when you are relatively young, life insurance for seniors is more expensive since, understandably, there's a bigger chance for seniors to suddenly exit because of some age related illness. So, yes, in a way, it's an insurance. I'm planning to make my whole life insurance self-liquidating in the future, then maybe take out another one.

Of course, it's also a way of giving some sort of inheritance to my family, since I do not have the resources to leave money or property to my kids at present.

Stay Or Leave?

I don't know if it's just us, but lately we feel that it's a bit more difficult to earn money. The Philippines during my Angkong's (grandfather's) time was a land of opportunity, so there were a lot of people like him who left China to find their fortunes over here. Now the situation seems to be different, reversed somehow, as Pinoys now go to China for jobs. Fortunes do change,even in countries.

But there are even more Pinoys, Tsinoys and Tsinays included, who would rather leave and look for better opportunities in the developed countries like the United States. They look for jobs philadelphia and other places that previously were not really considered by Asians going abroad.

Now, the elections are near, which means more uncertain times ahead. While we currently do not have plans of going elsewhere, we are not totally closing our doors to that possibility if and when the situation would warrant it.

Busy Busy

Additional clinic hours, new sideline, kids getting sick, ME getting, then hubby getting sick. I'm just starting to catch my breath here. I hope that's the last of the sickies around here and I'm really, really back to regular programming. I want to be able to go to work without worrying too much about my kids. I want to stay home sometimes and not have to take on extra clinic hours because the hubby is sick and cannot make it. I want to go to clinic on the days I should.

While I now have much less time to blog, write and to the other things I usually like to do in my me-time, including trying to get back into shape (if somebody gives me free nordic track coupons I might give it a try--if I get the time), I am thankful that blessings do continue to come my way.

Thank you, Lord, for making sure that we always get what we need (though not always what we want).

School Fees

Tuition fees are so expensive nowadays! I'm now paying more than ten times what my parents used to pay for my own schooling. Initially, when I was just starting to ask around, I really startled. I quickly realized that it is the ballpark figure for schools, especially for the ones near our home. I may be able to find a less expensive school, but those less expensive ones are further away from my home. That means transportation expenses will be higher too, so in the long run, the difference is actually not that big.

I am quite afraid of how high college will be. Imagine, if tuition for preschoolers are already this high, how much more of college students? I wonder if my husband and I got enough insurance coverage or if we need to get new insurance quotes in case something happens to us, because if there's one thing we would want our children to have, it's a good education. Unfortunately, here in the Philippines, it really does not come cheap.

Face Value

Times have definitely changed since my grandparents' times. In those days, Tsinoys deal with each other based on "sin yong" (trustworthiness). You can buy things on credit with just a verbal promise of a future payment in lieu of a contract. That's because in those times, people really value their "sin yong" because they know that once trust is broken, it's difficult to rebuild.

Nowadays, we can't work that way. People just don't have the sames about honoring verbal promises. And since loans nowadays may be for non-emergency things like boats and RVs (like the ones offered by goodsamfinancecenter.com), you should really put everything down on your contract, because people just don't value sin yong as much as our grandfathers did.