Pursuing your Passion Without Going Broke
In life, we need 3 things: a career that generates income for our basic needs, a passion project – an activity we love doing that drives us insanely happy but necessarily doesn’t need to generate income and something we are good at – like SUPER good at. So the million dollar question is – can we actually earn and generate income from projects we are passionate about? I learned a few cool things from Security Bank so let me share with you.
Keynote speakers for today: Monica Eleazar Manzano and Christine Dy-Chiao
I was curious about the topic of “pursuing passions” because I personally do not like the idea of becoming a corporate slave. Although my first job wasn’t exactly “corporate”, it required me to clock in my hours on a daily basis. Even when I was happily employed and earning a decent amount for a fresh grad – I wasn’t genuinely happy. I attended a talk organized by Security Bank about pursuing your passion WITHOUT going broke. As someone who likes to travel and shop a lot, it really is quite difficult to handle finances when you want to do a lot of things – choosing between what you NEED vs what you WANT. Now, how do we make money work for us?
UITF | Diversify your savings!
I love how Christine Dy-Chiao mentioned to be WISE in every purchase. As a mother, Christine manages her finances effectively and making sure to allocate budget where it is needed in the household. Sure, you see something in the mall that’s really cute – but will it eventually be kalat or put to waste? In disposing items we don’t need, Christine suggests organizing garage sales so it becomes kalat with a purpose. Spend only on things that will spark genuine joy – so I wonder if my travels can be counted as spending wisely? 😉
Mommy blogger Christine Dy-Chiao
- When it comes to fashion: Buy Quality over Quantity. Spend on items that will actually stand through the test of time.
- Always save a portion of your income and make it a habit.
- Buy less items and choose well. Invest your money!
Christine also suggested sifting through Marie Kundo books. When asked how Christine finds focus despite all the projects coming her way, she said its all a matter of scheduling things properly. I agree (although I need to learn this more!)
Blogger and Entrepreneur Monica Eleazar Manzano
Up next was Monica Eleazar Manzano. She is the lady behind Flow Retreats – bringing yoga to another level and taking her participants to destination places around the Philippines. She started pursuing her passion at a young age and after she got married – she even bought a house in Palawan because that’s how much she loved doing yoga on dreamy locations.
Loving the tips of Monica!
- Time is money so be smart where you spend your time.
- Find your purpose, find your dharma.
- Nature is naturally healing. Light heals and the environment shapes you.
- Thoughts become things so start thinking.
- Time to talk about the F word. (As in finance!)
Monica shares that you really have to find something you are passionate about and sticking to it. You may know more about her via Instagram @dharmadreamsbig.
Trying out something more than a regular savings account
We are all familiar with savings accounts but in reality, banks offer a lot more products that will help us manage our funds effectively. Stocks, bonds, treasury bills and one thing I’m looking at right now is the UITF (Unit Investment Trust Fund). Investing is honestly not exclusive to the rich. You can start with any amount you are comfortable but the bottomline is, there are instruments that can actually let your money do the work for YOU. The Security Bank team ran us through the process of letting us determine whether we are a conservative, moderately aggressive or aggressive investor. I honestly don’t really find the need to touch my savings in the next 3 years so I got a UITF! I’m interested but unfamiliar to do stock trading so pooled funds like UITFs can get you in the saving game for as low as P10,000. They have fun managers with an expert-curated portfolio but let’s you sit back and saving you the hassle of micro-managing the funds.
Em Sulit, Jane Kingsu-Cheng, Frances Sales and Yuki Tansengco
For more information regarding the Security Bank UITF, head over to http://www.securitybank.com/ uitf or don’t be shy to inquire about it. Save but most importantly – work smart. 🙂
XX,
Style Cat