Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf’s Brunch Series features Randell Tiongson

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf recently launched a new concept “Out with the old and in with the new” through a new brunch series – Small Talks for Big Changes. And its very first expert guest speaker was none other than my friend, Randell Tiongson, Director of Registered Financial Planners of the Philippines.

About two months ago, I spent a whole day in a financial planning workshop, “Steps to Financial Peace” where Randell and some of his friends spoke. My post on that can be found HERE.
At this first-of-three brunch series attended by people from all walks of life, Randell once again pursued his advocacy to improve people’s lives by changing their financial habits. His easy-to-grasp, personal style that included personal stories, aimed to empower people through a more conscious approach to their finances.
It never ceases to amaze me when Randell presents startling statistics about savings in the Asian region. Countries like China, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand average about 30% savings while the Philippines does not even reach 20%. And even if we do save, it is often not enough to provide for us when we retire. Randell is hoping that through his talks and workshops, more people will learn to get a grip on their lives and map out an effective financial plan that will adequately provide for them and their families.
This series is part of CBTL’s Great Exchange program, an ongoing trade event that highlights its Single Serve Beverage System which coffee aficionados have dubbed as the future of coffee and tea.
While listening to Randell from the back, I actually got to see how the Single Serve Beverage System works. The barista had me pick out my kind of coffee (or tea) from over 70 varieties and he was able to brew me my very own single serve coffee in no time at all. Nice. I think I want one for Christmas! I can have my very own cappuccino any time of the day.

Catch the last of the series on November 19 at Shangri-la Mall where Preview Magazine’s Associate Editor, Eunice Lucero, leads a fashion talk and make-over session.

Do you have a financial life plan? Philam Life’s “Usap Tayo” campaign asks

I never like to talk to insurance agents. The ones who approached me in the past were aggressive to the point of being turn-offs. So it was with a bit of iffy-ness that I attended the “Usap Tayo” meet and greet for bloggers sponsored by Philam Life recently at their Makati building.

What reassured me that this was not the run-of-the-mill spiel to pitch insurance products was the casual invite that just asked “Anong plano mo? Usap tayo!” I was reminded of the “Usap Tayo” TV commercials (TVC) I’d catch during the few times I’d watch TV. These TVCs focused on the lives of those whose future were ensured by insurance proceeds.

Larry Cleto, a registered financial consultant (RFC), began with an interesting talk on Financial Planning 101 or How to Save Up for Your Dreams. I have heard talks like these before but when I see the statistics being presented each time, it makes me even more aware that in the Philippines, many people still do not know how to manage their income so that they are able to build up a financial nest to cover their loved ones when disaster strikes.

Larry Cleto

Here are some things I picked up from Larry:

  • An American bank did a survey of how many Filipinos aged 18-40 maintained a bank account. 62% of those surveyed scored <50 out of a perfect 100. The average financial IQ of the Filipino was 48.
  • While some Filipinos save, only 1 out of 10 respondents consciously saved for retirement. The others were not sure if it would cover their lifestyle after they retire.
  • Only 8% have adequate personal insurance.
  • 47% do not know what to do with their savings.
  • Wealth management involves 3 goals: Accumulate, Preserve and enjoy it, and Transfer it to your loved ones.


I particularly liked these ideas which Larry Cleto put forth:

1. Financial freedom is the ability to live the lifestyle you desire without having to work or rely on anyone else for money. – Here in the Philippines, many families raise children and expect them to support their parents in their old age. This is something I disagree with. I do not want to put this burden on my kids. We want to provide them with the best education we could afford to give them and with that, we expect them to be able to forge their own future without the obligation of caring for us. For us to successfully carry this out, we ourselves need to be financially independent of our children. It is not right to transfer all our wealth to them. They need to be able to carve their own wealth out for themselves after we have armed them with a good education.

2. Active income and passive income concepts – Active income derives from one’s work. That means then that to have income, one needs to have a livelihood. Passive income is what you get from prudent investing (letting your money work for you and give you ADDITIONAL income). Income from a livelihood is good but must not be the only source for your family because when something happens to you and your livelihood is affected, everyone is affected. This is when passive income comes into play. There should be enough passive income to continue providing for your family even when livelihood income is affected.

3. It is not how much you earn but how much you keep/save that builds wealth – I have heard people say they cannot become rich because they do not earn enough. What will be enough? If one’s spending habits increase as one’s salary increases, there is no way you can accumulate wealth. On the other end of the spectrum, even a janitor or clerk who regularly sets aside a fixed amount from his salary can build this up considerably in as little as 10 years.

This slide jolted me.

Isn’t it shocking that only 4% would be financially independent when they retire,
about 10% would have some form of income, and a shocking 63% will be BROKE???

But this slide shows that even saving and wisely investing as low as P1,667 a month can build wealth.

Depending on the investment vehicle you choose, that P1,667 a month
can grow to as much as P45 million in 40 years!
Larry says that the way to put together a financial life plan is to start at the end. How much do you need when you retire to continue your desired lifestyle? Work out that number and ensure that you accumulate investments now that will make you earn that desired amount in the future.
The best formula to help you save and invest is:
INCOME – INVESTMENTS = EXPENSES
In other words, the discipline is to set aside first one’s desired savings and only what is left after that is disposable income.
The second part of the Philam Life blogger meet-up was getting to meet two of the people featured in their TVCs – Connie Dizon and Deorie Caraca.
Connie Dizon was managing her own business while taking care of her mother when she found out she had cancer. Thanks to a financial planner, she had a plan with a Lifeline rider that provides cash for hospital or medical expenses upon diagnosis of cancer, stroke, heart attack and 32 other critical illnesses. This helped take care of her bills. Today she is a cancer survivor.
Connie Dizon

 

Deorie’s dad was an OFW and was on a ship 8 or more months in a year. In January 2008, he came home to stay – but was suffering from a cough that refused to go away. A co-parent of Deorie’s mom was a Philam Life financial planner and through her persistence, the family had taken out a Scholar Gold education plan for Deorie. He was eventually diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and passed away. Deorie is now an honor student and her sister Ginger is likewise doing well in school. Their educational future is ensured.
Deorie Caraca and her mom

 

This event once again reminded me how important it is for me to continually assess my own family situation. Sometimes we get bogged down with work and busy-ness and put off planning for the future until tragedy stares us in the face and we are caught unprepared.

Do you have your financial life plan clearly mapped out already?

If the answer is NO, today is the best time to begin planning one. Financial literacy is not only for business majors or for those schooled in finance. Each one of us needs to have some level of literacy to be able to prudently invest our hard-earned money so that it works for us down the road.

Philam Life maintains its corporate website HERE and the “Usap Tayo” site HERE. Or call telephone (02) 528-2000 to talk to a Philam Life financial planner.

A Flexi Career as Sun Life Financial Advisor?

Do you wonder if an 8 to 5 job is really for you?
Do you have young kids and you wish you had more time with them?
Do you wish you could earn more than your current salary?
Do you love traveling but you know it takes a lot of money to do so?

If you answered YES to any of those questions, read on because this may be an alternative career path for you.

Quick Flashback…

I quit cold turkey from a job as Vice President of a bank, with a fairly promising career path, in order to be a full-time Mom to four kids. It took a while to make the decision, primarily because I was a very driven corporate person, had never been jobless since I graduated, and I knew going back to a single income would make a dent in the family’s income stream. But I knew inside me that I did not want a job that kept me till weekends and late nights at the office while my kids were raised by yayas. I wanted to be present to them.

Some female colleagues in the bank who heard I was quitting actually wished they had my kind of option. Many of them had to work to augment the family income. It was sheer prudent spending and tight budgeting that got me through all those years without a job.

Thankfully, the internet and technology have now developed to the point where a new direction has opened up for people like me – telecommuting work. I am kept busy by blogging, article writing, advocacies and all these while being able to stay home most days, visible to my kids.

But are there options other than telecommuting work?


Of course. One can get into entrepreneurial ventures, join multilevel marketing companies, and other business endeavors but often, these do take a lot out of you at the onset due to startup pains.

There is another way that is less painful.

Several of my lady blogger friends and I met up over lunch with Christine Lee and Dar Uyco from Sun Life Financial, so they could present opportunities for you if you wish to consider becoming a Sun Life Financial Advisor.

If any of you are cringing right now, you are probably thinking this post is for someone who will be hard-selling insurance just like those who approach you in malls, go door to door, or aggressively call you up to ask to make a presentation. Before coming to this meeting, I asked precisely about this because the last thing I wanted to do was to attend a meeting where I’d be invited to be some kind of insurance agent or ‘ahente’. I personally avoid hard-selling agents and one of my pet peeves is to be accosted at a mall and be offered some kind of product.

I was assured this wasn’t the case.

Financial Advisor vs The ‘Ahente’

Thankfully, this was the first apprehension tackled by the Sun Life Financial team when we met up. The ‘ahente’ stereotype is what Sun Life wants to redefine and differentiate. With the backing of a large insurance company, they want to equip their financial advisors with professional skills — not simply selling skills — to read into the situation of each and every potential individual or company they are approaching in order to offer a product which comes close to, if not exactly to, what the client needs.

With interest rates so painfully low, simply parking money in savings or even time deposit is no longer an investment option. Inflation will easily eat up the interest gains in those products. If one is planning to build a financial nest large enough to sustain him into his senior years, then more strategic and well-placed investment choices need to be made early on.

The role of a financial advisor is important in identifying the long-term financial goals of each individual and recommending the appropriate insurance product that one can ably pay for during earning times and which will cover him/her when capacity to earn is diminished or lost. In a way, I think it is fulfilling to be in the shoes of a financial advisor because you are not earning just for yourself and your family but you are ensuring that someone else’s future is also secured.


What Sun Life Financial is offering someone interested in becoming a financial advisor (FA) are the following:

1. Monthly Kapihan sessions – give current market updates and trends to look out for;

2. Leadership programs for its Management team as opposed to Management programs. Why? Because one can have the title ‘Manager’ and yet, lack leadership skills.

3. Collaboration with the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) to create the 1st Certified Financial Planning Course (CFP) in the Insurance Industry. This program already produced 27 graduates. It will be cascaded down to its FA’s in the next 3-5 years.

Dar and Christine related how they actually never contemplated working in the insurance industry but their separate circumstances eventually led them to Sun Life Financial. They were part of the first batch that finished the CFP course in AIM. And the financial rewards that came with their efforts were more than they initially expected. Through Sun Life, they were also able to travel to foreign places that are not normally the run-of-the-mill tourist places but exotic, educational ones (think Russia, for example).

But just so reality sets in, here’s a table showing the pros and cons of this kind of work:

I think the major CON for many looking for something stable is the lack of a fixed monthly compensation. The salary scheme is purely commission-based. But, if one has the business aptitude, positive attitude, right network and hardworking, the financial rewards can actually significantly exceed a regular monthly salary.

For starters, this is a brief of the type of people they are looking for:

Male or Female, 21-35 years of age
College Graduate
Filipino/Foreigners with ACR/ICR
Driven to Succeed
Sales background not necessary
High Integrity
People Person
Financial Background a plus, but not necessary

If you are beyond the age mentioned above, no worries. Just give them a call to see if you can still apply. Not sure if your educational background is sufficient to make you a financial advisor? They do say it is a plus to have some financial background but their training programs pretty much prepare one who doesn’t have it.

Sometimes, you never know if you have it in you. Many of those with Sun Life Financial now never planned to join but somehow found their way to it and now attest to its being fulfilling and financially rewarding.

If you are in between jobs, have been a stay-at-home parent or still employed but looking for more flexi options, could this be an option for you?

Contact: Darwin Uyco, Unit Manager
Tel: (02) 719-3815

Mobile: +63917 8988926
Email: darwin.d.uyco@sunlife.com.ph


Sun Life Financial – Red Spruce Unit
G/F E-Square Building
Ortigas Ave., Greenhills
San Juan, Metro Manila