Thursday, December 29, 2011

Let me ponder on that....


If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.

~The Dalai Lama

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Think about this

"There are seven things that will destroy us:

Wealth without work;
Pleasure without conscience;
Knowledge without character;
Religion without sacrifice;
Politics without principle;
Science without humanity;
Business without ethics."

~Mahatma Gandhi

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

"A New Beginning"


REFLECTION BY HENRI NUOWEN                                                    

We must learn to live each day, each hour, yes, each minute as a new beginning, a unique opportunity to make everything new..  Imagine that we could live each moment as a moment filled with new life. Imagine that we could live each day as a day full of promises. Imagine that we could walk through the new year listening to a voice saying to us "I have a gift for you and can't wait for you to see it." Imagine.

Is it possible that our imagination can lead us to the truth of our lives: Yes, it can! The problem is that we allow our past to say to us :You know it all, you have seen it all, be realistic; the future will be just another repeat of the past. Try to survive it as best you can"
  
There are many cunning foxes jumping on our shoulders and whispering in our ears the great lie "There is nothing new under the sun ... don't let yourself be fooled."

So what are we to do? First, we must send the foxes back to where they belong - their foxholes. And then we must open our minds and our hearts to the voice that resounds through the valleys and hills of our life saying "Let me show you where I live among my people. My name is God-with-you."  

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

God Whispers


Dear Child,


I am known by many names in the Bible but today I want you to focus on just one: Father. Your dad might have been perfect or he may have come from the pits of hell. But I want to assure you that I am Father Forever. I am always by your side, and I will never fail you.

Lovingly Yours,


God

P.S. Trust in your Father’s heart that seeks only the best for His children.


Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Psalm Reading for today - December 7,2011


Psalms 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10
R: O bless the Lord, my soul!
Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (R) He pardons all your iniquities, he heals all your ills. He redeems your life from destruction, he crowns you with kindness and compassion. (R) Merciful and gracious is the LORD, slow to anger and abounding in kindness. 10 Not according to our sins does he deal with us, nor does he requite us according to our crimes. (R)

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Thoughts to ponder

There is nothing that we do or say that the Lord does not see. It is impossible to hide anything from Him. We also know that He continues to love us despite the sins that we commit. Therefore, it does not make sense to hide from Him out of shame for our sins. Let us be committed to live in the light of the Holy Spirit and thus begin to experience the power of God to change our lives.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Bible Verse

“Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is  the man whose sin the Lord does not record.” - Romans 4:7-8

Thursday, September 29, 2011

The Funeral

No matter what religion or spiritual path you follow (or don't), there's one topic that fascinates us all: What happens after we die?

Reincarnation? Eternal Heaven? Total blackness and non-existence? Something totally different?

Honestly, I don't know. No matter what we believe though, there's a few basic facts about death that we all know to be true.

The first is the obvious: That we're all going to die. Yes, every single person on this planet is going to die someday, somehow, somewhere.

The second fact is less obvious...

After we die, our lives will be etched in the hearts of others. We live eternally. Forever. In other people.

That's what today's video is really about.

It's about the relationships we forge during our lives that are so powerful they impact people even after we die.

Today's movie is called "The Funeral." It starts with a little bit of humor, and it quickly goes deep and gets to the heart of the matter. It's only 3 minutes long, so please watch it until the very end.




Friday, September 23, 2011

Never Give Up!!!!!

NEVER GIVE UP!
In whatever YOU DO,
In whatever YOU AIM,
In the things you have PRAYED FOR,
believe & NEVER STOP believing!

Good things come when we almost feel like giving up.
Many times GOD sends us what we need in a package we never expected.

Happy Friday!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

We can't claim............

We can't claim to be good if we've never been tempted to be bad......


We can't claim to be faithful if we've never had the opportunity to be unfaithful....  Integrity is built by defeating the temptation to be dishonest.


Humility grows when we refuse to be proud.


Endurance develops everytime we reject the temptation to give up.. So please don't give up your goodness and avoid to be tempted.....


Have a blessed day!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

About Pain.....

Although we cannot avoid pain and disappointments, we know that it's only temporary.  The confidence we have as people is that GOD has something good planned for us.  The gains of heaven will more than compensate losses of earth.


Good Morning!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

A Perfect Life?

Most of us always desire a perfect situation, a perfect life. Yet..... You my LORD do not grant a perfect life.  What you give instead is a perfect heart in the midst of an imperfect life.  Teach me to be cheerful, hopeful, smiling amidst imperfections and to enjoy Your wondrous blessings every moment in time.  Thank you for the Faith You've given me. to make me strong in all my trials in life. Amen.


Have a blessed day!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Have a Beautiful and Good Day!

May the sweet sunrise shine brightly in your life as the LORD Almighty showers you HIS Blessings all the days of your life.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Happy Father's Day!

Fathers Are Wonderful People:) happy


Fathers are wonderful people
Too little understood,
And we do not sing their praises
As often as we should...

For, somehow, Father seems to be
The man who pays the bills,
While Mother binds up little hurts
And nurses all our ills...

And Father struggles daily
To live up to "his image"
As protector and provider
And "hero of the scrimmage"...

And perhaps that is the reason
We sometimes get the notion,
That Fathers are not subject
To the thing we call emotion,

But if you look inside Dad's heart,
Where no one else can see
You'll find he's sentimental
And as "soft" as he can be...

But he's so busy every day
In the grueling race of life,
He leaves the sentimental stuff
To his partner and his wife...

But Fathers are just wonderful
In a million different ways,
And they merit loving compliments
And accolades of praise,

For the only reason Dad aspires
To fortune and success
Is to make the family proud of him
And to bring them happiness...

And like Our Heavenly Father,
He's a guardian and a guide,
Someone that we can count on,
To be always on our side.



~ Helen Steiner Rice ~

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Money Lessons from the Pitbull of Personal Development II



continued from yesterday...

7. Wants vs. needs vs. can’t-live-withouts.
Great lessons for everyone for sure!
8. Money is good.
There is more wrong about not having money than with having money, and anyone who says differently has never had money and probably will never have any. It takes money to build hospitals and help people in need. You can’t do a damn thing for people when you are broke! Poverty is the enemy — not wealth.
9. Money is not more important than people.
10. Money gotten dishonestly is never worth it.
11. Money carries responsibility.
12. Money is freedom.
The freedom to do what you want, the way you want, when you want, and with whom you want. That is the ultimate benefit of having money.
If you do all of these things, will your kids grow up to handle their finances perfectly? Maybe and maybe not. There are few guarantees with parenting. However, don’t do these things, and you hinder your kids and impede their overall success in many ways. All the best to you and your kids!
Will That Be Cash or Credit?
Here’s another area of finances that both you and your kids can learn from. When faced with this question, sadly most people go for the card. I love the excuses they offer me for why they use credit cards instead of cash. In fact, let’s quickly look at some of the more popular excuses:
1. Convenience. Credit cards are more convenient to carry than cash. There are even television commercials that depict how using cash slows down the lines while shopping. (That’s because most clerks aren’t smart enough to count change!) My response to this excuse: BULL. Cash doesn’t take up much more room in your pocket or purse. And it’s faster and easier to use in nearly every transaction. Don’t be a sucker.
2. Safety. People think carrying cash makes them more susceptible to getting mugged. BULL. If a mugger sticks a gun in my face, I don’t want to have to say, “I don’t have any money; do you take MasterCard or Visa? American Express? Discover?” I want to hand him a wad of cash and have him smile, say, “That was easy!” and be on his way.
3. Expense tracking. It’s easier to track your expenses when you use a credit card because you get a statement every month. BULL. The fact is that very few actually track their expenses, and that’s basically part of everyone’s financial problem to begin with! As for being unable to track expenses when you use cash, that’s what receipts are for.
4. Cash back. BULL BULL BULL. Yes, you get cash back when they use your credit card in some cases. But do the math. Spend $10,000 on your credit card and you will get back 1%. That’s $100. The interest on the $10K is $100 only three weeks into your deal. If you believe you are smart trying to get cash back, you are instead an idiot. Get a clue… buy a clue. Just don’t put it on your credit card!
5. Airline miles. I get free trips! BULL. Tried this one? Good luck. If you are willing to fly middle of the week, middle seat, middle of the night with four connections, this will work great for you. I’m not willing.
I am not anti–credit card. I am anti–credit card abuse, misuse, and overuse. And one of the best ways to avoid credit card problems is by carrying cash. When the cash is gone, you’re done. Easy plan for managing your money: No money-no shoppey. So carry cash and keep the cards for what they were intended for: the convenience of use when traveling for hotels and rental cars — not a candy bar at the convenience store.
Why don’t people have cash in their pockets or purses any more? I love a pocket full of bills. I even like my big ol’ jar of change that sits in my closet. I like the way it makes me feel. Don’t start in on me about how my self-worth shouldn’t be tied to cash — it isn’t. I grew up without much money in my family, and now I actually enjoy how a wad of cash in my pocket makes me feel. Plus, I’ve learned that cash in my pocket is smart from a financial perspective. Yes, cash is smarter than credit cards and not just because of the fees and interest rates and impact on your credit future. It’s smart for lots of reasons, but here is the best reason I can think of to use cash instead of a credit card.
When I use cash to buy something, I feel a sense of loss. In fact, I created that loss by using cash. My wad of cash is now smaller as a result of using it to purchase an item. My pocket is a little emptier. I’m a little lighter. I have fewer items (bills and coins) than I did before I bought the item. In other words, I realize that I actually gave something up in order to get what I wanted. It was an exchange of items — my cash for their stuff. This is a positive impact that the use of a credit card cheats you of. It was a contract, an agreement brought to completion on the spot when the transaction took place and the exchange of cash was made.
When you use a credit card to buy something you don’t get any of that. Nothing about you changes. Your credit card is the same after they swipe it as before they swipe it. You aren’t lighter, as the card weighs the same whether it’s never used or used a hundred times a day. You don’t have less after you use your card; in fact, you have more. You didn’t exchange your stuff for their stuff, as you got your card back and you got the stuff. You feel like you got something for nothing. And the transaction is not complete, the contract is not fulfilled, all because the use of a credit card is a “promise to pay” — it is not payment. At least not as far as you are concerned.
Your first response to my statement is probably something like, “Yeah, until the bill shows up.” Again, I say BULL. Few people bother with their statements or care that much that their debt in racking up until it’s damn near too late to fix it or they hit their credit card limit. Don’t give me “when the bill shows up” argument. Plus, many people pay their credit card statements as automatic payments through their online banking and don’t even look at their statements and can’t even tell you how much they owe. Most can’t even tell you what they bought this month on their card. Those are the facts.
Okay, you get it. No need to beat a dead horse on this one. Carry cash and keep your credit card to reserve your hotel room on your next vacation!

Monday, May 30, 2011

Money Lessons from the Pitbull of Personal Development I

By Larry Winget

Hey folks, the coolest stuff for kids to teach them about money. I LOVE this stuff, especially the 10-10-10-70 Piggy Bank. But first, let’s take a look at four money thoughts that can change your life.
1. How to make more money.
You can’t. That’s right; you can’t make more money. You can only earn more money. You aren’t the Treasury Department, and you don’t get to print it up when you need it. Money must be earned. Some of you will immediately respond with “semantics,” because you like to argue and would rather argue than think. But there is much more to this statement than mere semantics. We are at a sad place where people seem to have forgotten that wealth at every level is earned at some level. Too many people don’t understand that their money is a payment for a service rendered. They certainly don’t like facing the idea that the reason they don’t have much money is because they don’t offer much of a service, or don’t offer a service that is worth much.
Sadly, I have discovered that people don’t really want to earn more money — they just want to have more money. I guess the Money Fairy is supposed to slip into their bank account during the night and deposit money. Even the Tooth Fairy expects you to leave a tooth behind in exchange for the money. You give up the tooth, and the Tooth Fairy gives up a little coinage. That’s how the Money Fairy works too: You give up a little work, a little effort, a little service, and the Money Fairy shows up with a little money.
So if you want to have more money, read on.
2. How to have more money.
There are only two ways to have more money: increase income and/or decrease expenses. Hopefully a combination of both. This little principle works for government, business, and individuals. I’m not going to spend any time here explaining what you could do to increase your income, as that is up to you, your talents, and the time available. And if you want to know how to decrease expenses, just look at how you are spending your money and figure it out. It’s not hard to look at your spending to evaluate what you need, what you want, and what you can live without. It’s all about priorities. So,
3. Set good priorities.
Your time, your energy, and your money always go to what is important to you. When I was doing my A&E television show, Big Spender, I would spend 10 minutes walking through someone’s house, another 10 minutes looking at their checking account and then their credit card statements, and I could tell exactly what their priorities in life were. I had a couple that spent 40% of their income on food. You can guess their size probably, but it was more than that. Food was their obsession. It was their priority to the point that their bills and house and cars and even their appearance suffered. I had a father who spent more money on his three-pack-a-day cigarette habit than he did on making sure his kid had a roof over his head and a car to ride in and milk in the refrigerator. His personal pleasure was more important than his family, as evidenced by his spending. If you spend more money at the mall each month than you do on having a secure financial future, then looking cute is more important to you than being financially secure is.
Finances are like a good crime novel; if you want to know who is guilty, follow the money! Take a few minutes and evaluate your spending to see what your real priorities are, and if yours need some realignment, then start now!
4. Get your mind right!
Each of these points I’ve made here are as much about how you think than about anything else. It’s about getting your mind right. Begin to think in terms of earning money instead of magically making money. Get your mind wrapped around the simple idea of increasing income and decreasing expenses instead of easy-way-outs and get-rich-quick ideas. And most importantly, get your mind right about what is really important to you. Is the temporary exhilaration of the moment more important than the long-term satisfaction that comes from investing your time, energy, and money in things that really matter?
12 Money Lessons for Kids and Parents Alike
When writing my Wall Street Journal bestseller Your Kids Are Your Own Fault: A Guide for Raising Responsible, Productive Adults, I did my own internal survey among my Facebook fans, friends, and followers and my database.
I asked the question of nearly 50,000 people: “What is the one thing you wish your parents had taught you that they didn’t.” I received nearly a thousand answers.
Ninety-nine percent (an overwhelming majority) of those answers said the same thing, “I wish my parents had taught me about money.” So do I.
Part of the reason people are in the mess they are today, part of the reason our country is in the mess it is in today, part of the reason the housing market is in crisis, part of the reason debt is up, bankruptcies are up and saving is down is because parents didn’t teach their kids about money and finances. Maybe it is because their own parents didn’t teach them about money either, or because they simply didn’t have the skills to pass on, or because they thought their kids would just “pick it up” along the way or develop good money-management skills by osmosis — I don’t know.
But the bottom line is that people don’t know much about money, and it is a parent’s job to teach them while they are young so they will have good habits when they are older and, hopefully, independent.
While there is no way to go into much detail about what you should be teaching your kids about money how to teach them in a blog posting (you have to read the book for that), I want to give you some key points to consider:
1. Give your kids an allowance.
Give the same amount on the same day every week — just like you get your paycheck. The allowance is for them holding up their end of the family responsibilities: picking up their stuff, helping around the house, getting their dirty clothes to the laundry area, carrying their plates to the sink, age-appropriate chores any kid can and should be doing to contribute. This allowance is paid regardless of how well the job is done. When a boss isn’t happy with performance, he doesn’t withhold the salary but instead counsels the employee about his or her performance. The same rule applies to kids and allowance.
2. The 10-10-10 Rule.
Save 10 percent. Invest 10 percent. Give 10 percent. Live on the remaining 70%. This lesson can be taught to any child at any age. And since about 40% of Americans live on 110% of their income and only about 7% have enough money saved for retirement, it is a good way for parents to live as well.
3. Involve your kids in household finances.
Explain how everything costs money and about your household budget. Cover income and expenses and how it all works and how you manage it. Again, age-appropriate of course. Kids need to see and understand that everything comes with a price tag — even the lights and the hot water.
4. Encourage entrepreneurship.
Teach your kids how to make money. Kids can mow lawns, babysit, dog walk, pet sit, and more. Teach them about customer service, sales, management, cost of goods sold, and profitability with each thing they pursue. Teach them to save, invest, be charitable, and enjoy the money they earn.
5. Teach math skills and their relevance to money.
Addition, so they can add up what they have and what they owe. Subtraction, so they can subtract what they owe from what they have. Pretty basic, but I promise most adults have not done that simple equation I just described. Also teach percentages and multiplication. Studies prove that the better you are at math, the more money you end up with in the long run. Your kids may hate math, but they love money, so teach that one goes with the other!
6. Teach about credit and interest rates.
Age-appropriate again, but the sooner the better. Don’t let their first credit card experience be their teacher!
to be continued tomorrow....... watch for it!

Friday, May 27, 2011

Thoughts

We are pilgrims in this world, passers by, journeying to our true home, the Father’s kingdom.

Our citizenship is in heaven, we are in this world but we do not belong to it.  Our stay here is temporary.

Gelo, Tatay, Nanay, Aunty Lyd, Uncle Tim, Uncle Aloy, Mama Flor, Papa Doods and the others who have gone ahead. One day I will be joining them.

Death of a love one is like a bee sting.  A bee sting cannot kill you but It can hurt you and makes you afraid to be hurt.  I was first hurt by its sting when my mother passed away in 1994. Previous stings did not hurt as much such as Anty Lyds, though she was close to me but did not hurt so much, as well as grandpa, Lolo Pedro. Tatay’s (father's) death hurt me also but death most stinged me when Gelo, my son, my first born, passed away.  I saw his life ebb away on his death bed at the ICU of the hospital.  With all those apparatus connected to his body.  Nothing hurt as much as seeing your son in pain, disease ravaging his body and you can’t do anything to alleviate his suffering.

My son’s death left a void in my heart and in my life and I know is true also to my wife, his mother.  The degree of hurt may not be the same, but it still is the same hurt, the same pain, the same void. 

We tried filling it but at the end of the day, it still is empty, hollow. Only God can fill that void, nothing else will.

Lord have mercy on us.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

10 tips for better sleep

If you're having trouble sleeping, change your sleep habits for a better night's rest.

By Mayo Clinic staff


Feeling crabby lately? It could be you aren't getting enough sleep. Work, household responsibilities and child care can make sleep difficult to come by. Factor in other unexpected challenges, such as financial worries, layoffs, relationship issues or an illness, and quality sleep may be even more elusive.
You may not be able to control or eliminate all of the factors that interfere with your sleep, but you can create an environment and adopt habits that encourage a more restful night. Try these suggestions if you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep:
  1. Go to bed and get up at about the same time every day, even on the weekends. Sticking to a schedule helps reinforce your body's sleep-wake cycle and can help you fall asleep more easily at night.
  2. Don't eat or drink large amounts before bedtime. Eat a light dinner at least two hours before sleeping. If you're prone to heartburn, avoid spicy or fatty foods, which can make your heartburn flare and prevent a restful sleep. Also, limit how much you drink before bed. Too much liquid can cause you to wake up repeatedly during the night for trips to the toilet.
  3. Avoid nicotine, caffeine and alcohol in the evening. These are stimulants that can keep you awake. Smokers often experience withdrawal symptoms at night, and smoking in bed is dangerous. Avoid caffeine for eight hours before your planned bedtime. Your body doesn't store caffeine, but it takes many hours to eliminate the stimulant and its effects. And although often believed to be a sedative, alcohol actually disrupts sleep.
  4. Exercise regularly. Regular physical activity, especially aerobic exercise, can help you fall asleep faster and make your sleep more restful. However, for some people, exercising right before bed may make getting to sleep more difficult.
  5. Make your bedroom cool, dark, quiet and comfortable. Create a room that's ideal for sleeping. Adjust the lighting, temperature, humidity and noise level to your preferences. Use blackout curtains, eye covers, earplugs, extra blankets, a fan or white-noise generator, a humidifier or other devices to create an environment that suits your needs.
  6. Sleep primarily at night. Daytime naps may steal hours from nighttime slumber. Limit daytime sleep to about a half-hour and make it during midafternoon. If you work nights, keep your window coverings closed so that sunlight, which adjusts the body's internal clock, doesn't interrupt your sleep. If you have a day job and sleep at night, but still have trouble waking up, leave the window coverings open and let the sunlight help awaken you.
  7. Choose a comfortable mattress and pillow. Features of a good bed are subjective and differ for each person. But make sure you have a bed that's comfortable. If you share your bed, make sure there's enough room for two. Children and pets are often disruptive, so you may need to set limits on how often they sleep in bed with you.
  8. Start a relaxing bedtime routine. Do the same things each night to tell your body it's time to wind down. This may include taking a warm bath or shower, reading a book, or listening to soothing music. Relaxing activities done with lowered lights can help ease the transition between wakefulness and sleepiness.
  9. Go to bed when you're tired and turn out the lights. If you don't fall asleep within 15 to 20 minutes, get up and do something else. Go back to bed when you're tired. Don't agonize over falling asleep. The stress will only prevent sleep.
  10. Use sleeping pills only as a last resort. Check with your doctor before taking any sleep medications. He or she can make sure the pills won't interact with your other medications or with an existing medical condition. Your doctor can also help you determine the best dosage. If you do take a sleep medication, reduce the dosage gradually when you want to quit, and never mix alcohol and sleeping pills. If you feel sleepy or dizzy during the day, talk to your doctor about changing the dosage or discontinuing the pills.
Nearly everyone has occasional sleepless nights. But if you have trouble sleeping on a regular or frequent basis, see your doctor. You could have a sleep disorder, such as obstructive sleep apnea or restless legs syndrome. Identifying and treating the cause of your sleep disturbance can help get you back on the road to a good night's sleep.

Monday, May 23, 2011

I dream

What can I say? I admit that my thoughts are preoccupied with money and how to earn and get more and save it. As I share in my previous post on how the death of my son and the large hospital bill made me realize the importance of money and how it plays in our lives.

But I also admit that earning more money needs a change of mindset.  Being an employee for a long time led to me to rely on my employment and salary and made me complacent.  The amount I can invest is limited by my savings and surplus.  I need to find other source of income to accumulate bigger savings. But first, I have to invest in knowledge so that I can spot income and money generating opportunities and most importantly act on it.

I dream that one day, I will no longer have money problems, that the problems I will face will not be money or a lack of it.

So help me Lord.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Poor Man's Prophet Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad says that everything you've been told about money is a lie. Is his vision setting us on the right track--or is it just more financial snake oil?

By Peter Carbonara with Joan Caplin

January 1, 2003

(MONEY Magazine) – The theater at Madison Square Garden, located beneath the famous New York arena, is a 5,600-seat venue that has played host to boxing matches, trade shows and numerous second-tier rock groups. One Tuesday night this past fall the attraction was Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, a financial self-help book now in its third year on the New York Times paperback bestseller list. For a solid three hours, standing in front of a table laden with purple and gold Rich Dad merchandise, the 55-year-old Kiyosaki told a full house of paying customers that most of what they thought they knew about money and finance was wrong.

A job with good benefits and a 401(k)? Strictly for suckers.

Continue reading.......

Friday, April 8, 2011

Thoughts for today

Prayer is not asking for what you think you want, but asking to be changed in ways you can't imagine.

~Kathleen Norris

Monday, March 14, 2011

TIPS ON HOW TO BECOME A BETTER INVESTOR


By Ron Nathan
ORIGINALLY, when I wrote this article 6 years ago, it was entitled the Ten Commandments. However, this time, there are only nine, as I decided to omit the one about adultery. When Moses went up Mount Cyanide, he came down with two heavy tablets made of stone, engraved in Hebrew. Unfortunately, I am much older than he was, so I took the cable car up Mount Mayon and instead of bringing down two large tablets, I brought down two capsules. I had them translated from Mayonaise to English and here they are.
Despite the humorous introduction, the rest of this article will completely change your investment psychology and you will be a far better investor in the future. What follows is based on 59 year’s experience in London and Manila. You can profit from my observations and mistakes. It will be particularly useful for beginners whose knowledge of investing is limited. Good luck, and if you find it useful, cut out the articles and paste them on your bedroom or office wall, in between your pin-ups of Beyonce and Jessica Alba.
Commandment No. 1: Do Not Trade Against The Trend
You will be shocked to learn that almost 90% of investors in the Philippines, U.S., UK and Japan lose money in the stock market. This is because they ignore the first commandments and jump in only after the market has already had a big rise. Let us examine the Phisix first.
On January 9, 1997, the index stood at 3,420. Since then, it has been changed many times, with the worst performers weeded out and replaced by better companies. Despite this, the Phisix is still below the level it was 13 years ago. So, in theory, you have lost about 20 percent of your money but this does not take into account inflation, which in earlier years was very high. Adjusting for the depreciation of the peso, you have lost 40 percent. During this period, you would have received hardly any dividends whereas you could have earned 10 percent plus on bonds before. Allowing for the loss of 13 years interest, your real loss is around 60 percent.
It was the same story in Japan, where the NIKKEI plunged from, almost 40,000 down to 8,000, and is still only a fraction what it was in 1990. It would have been far better to have bought gold, property or an oil tanker. The value of super tankers had tripled.
So why invest in the stock market at all? The short and honest answer is that you should not, unless you follow the rules, which I will set out in the next few pages. The prime requirement is patience. There is no such thing as long-term investment. Ask the Japanese, whom after 20 years are still losing much of their capital.
You only BUY when the market has fallen and the technical indicators say that it is about to turn up. There are many indicators and I will deal with some in due course. Conversely, you SELL when that index has had a big rise and the indicators show that momentum is slowing down or is about to decline.
Players do not use their head, they trade on their emotions, and this is nearly always wrong. I will tell you where to get the necessary fundamental and technical data, but in the meantime, you can use a 20-day moving average of the index or any stock, which you hold. If you have a computer program, you have a big advantage over the average investor.
Commandment No. 2: Cut Your Losses Quickly
Years ago, before the 9/11 attack, a financial journalist wrote two books called Market Wizards, in which he interviewed about 50 fund managers who had outstanding records over a five-to-10-years period. Obviously, this could not be just attributed to luck so he interviewed them in great detail, hoping to find the connecting link. They traded commodities, currencies, options, futures and stocks.
They came in all shapes and sizes, short, tall, fat, thin, and it took him a long time to find theconnection. Some were pure fundamental analysts who never looked at charts; others were technical analysts who did not know one side of a balance sheet from the other. Some studied economics and neural networks while others preferred tarot cards or feng shui. Some had master’s degrees or doctorates while others came from the street where they ran the jueteng or sold drugs. Some were extremely serious and studied DESCARTES while others made terrible puns, were covered in tattoos and wore nose rings. It took him a long time before he hit on the solution. As the first four groups were highly leveraged, about 10 to 1, they followed the principles of POP COLA.
Prolong Our Profits, Cut Our Losses Aggressively
Incredible as it may seem, although they took great care in their entry points, 63 percent of their transactions resulted in small losses. About 30 percent made small gains while the remaining seven percent scored huge gains, doubling, tripling, quadrupling or even becoming 10-baggers, because of the leverage.
So, when you get it right, let your profits run until momentum stops rising. But when you get it wrong put a stop loss below your buying price, dependent upon your risk tolerance. Sometimes, this will be a mistake but it protects you against disaster. After all, you don’t complain about paying fire insurance because your house didn’t burn down. You can afford to cut small losses. It is the big ones that ruin you.
Commandment No. 3: Do Not Average Down
Under normal circumstances, I am against the death penalty, but not for those who break this commandment. They should be barbecued slowly over a fire while concentrated hydrochloric acid is dropped upon them. All the people I know who went bankrupt averaged down.
One client bought 20 million shares at 54 centavos on the advice of his neighbor who was a director of the company. I was acutely unhappy because the shares had risen from their par value of 1 centavo. Not only would he not sell at 50 centavos as I suggested, but also he averaged down at 40 cents, 30 cents, 20 cents and 10 cents. He had to sell his house and his business to raise the money. Finally, the shares stabilized at 1 centavo, before going bankrupt.
If you follow the second commandment, such disasters cannot happen to you. so you will never be faced with the decision of whether to average down.
Commandment No. 4: Do Not Overtrade
If you are trading every day, the only person making money is your broker. The expense involved is too high. You have to pay two commissions and a 0.5 percent sales tax. In addition, there is the difference between the bid and offer price, usually about 1 to 2 per cent. So you have to make four per cent just to break even. This is fine, so long as you BUY just as the stock is turning up, but if you deal constantly, the expense will ultimately cripple you.
That small percentage is enough to make all the incredibly costly casinos in Las Vegas profitable. They can afford to give free rooms, free food and drink, and free shows to high rollers because they know that a percentage advantage of 3.6% is enough to guarantee the house a sure profit over the long run. Trade only when the technical indicators tell you to. For the remainder of the time, do nothing. Patience is a virtue.
Commandment No. 5: Do Not Trade On Tips
In England, we say, “Where there’s a tip, there’s a tap.”
I am sure you all remember BW. The shares were run up deliberately by a consortium that, by tips and cross trading, created enormous volume and sent the shares from P0.40 (under a different name) to P108. Almost everyone except me got sucked in, mostly at the higher levels, and those speculators, who did not use stop losses, saw their shares go all the way down to P0.40 and below. One old lady wrote to me that her broker had recommended it at P104. Would she ever see her money back? I replied, somewhat unkindly, “Only if you believe in reincarnation.” These days, fewer people follow tips.
Commandment No. 6: Do Not Chase Prices
If the price runs away from you, don’t chase it. Most of the time, it will correct.
Commandment No. 7: Be Wary Of Inactive Stocks
The documentary stamp, which made trading in shares well below their par value prohibitive, has been removed. As a result, trading has increased greatly and numerically third-liners comfortably exceed leaders.
I have a computer program that tells me when a stock increases in price by a certain percent and its volume is 50 percent above its 50-day moving average. This alerts me to inactive stocks that suddenly become active. Often, the spread between bid and offer is too great or the number of shares available is too small to be of any interest but occasionally, it throws up something interesting.
Commandment No. 8: Buy Low Priced Stocks
By this, I don’t mean stocks quoted at a fraction of a centavo. I mean decent stocks standing around at P1 to P5. Obviously, it is easier to double your money on a low-priced stock than on a high-priced bank or insurance company. TEL, my most successful recommendation at P226 and now over P2600, is not likely to double from this level.
The Last Commandment, No. 9: LEARN TECHNICAL ANALYSIS and I will tell you where to get information.
If you desire to become a really competent investor, you must also learn global economics and fundamental analysis. By global, I do not mean that you have to study every country, but you must at least know what is happening in the United States. Wherever the American stock market is heading, the rest of the world will follow. After the 9/11 attack, the US market got battered for a few months and every other stock market followed the downtrend. When the US market finally got back on its feet, every other market recovered.
How do you learn about the American stock market? First, listen every night to Bloomberg, assuming that you have cable TV, and tune into CNN. Listen to Chairman BERNANKE when he addresses the Senate or Congress. If you cannot do this, then read his speeches in the newspaper or go to the Internet and check on CNN Money.com or Bloomberg.com and also read the commentaries. When Wall Street sneezes, the rest of the world catches pneumonia.
Basic Knowledge
For the local market, the business section should give you all the necessary information. But if you want more details, to the web sites of the National Economic and Development Authority or the Philippine Stock Exchange and listen to channels which are largely devoted to the economic and political situation of the Philippines. You can also enroll in courses at universities and colleges.
Next, you should have a basic knowledge in fundamental analysis. This means that you need to know all about companies. You must know how to read a balance sheet, calculate the earnings per share and from this, the price/earnings ratio. You need to understand what a yield means, how many times a dividend is covered, and what preferred and convertible stocks are. You should know book value and understand such concepts as debt and cash flows.
You can take a course in accounting or business management, and there are plenty of books, local and imported, in all the major bookstores. Or you can subscribe to my newsletter, which contains all of the above.
If you want to buy a simple but excellent technical analysis book, try TECHNICAL ANALYSIS OF THE FUTURES MARKET by John Murphy, available at local bookstores but expensive. It was written years ago but is still considered to be a classic. Every aspect is explained simply and it can be used for trading stocks, commodities, currencies or futures. Also buy Beyond Candlesticks by Steve Nison, a must. There are many sites on the Internet, which will teach you technical analysis and provide the necessary charts and parameters. Good Luck!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

STOCK TRADING TIPS


This article was picked-up from Millionaire Acts.  For more interesting reads please go to that site.  I posted it here for so that I can go back to the article easily.  Anyhow this is an unknown blog.


by Tyron Solee

I have been involved in stock trading for quite some time now. Due to the question of one of my avid readers named dlanor from Saudi Arabia, here I am now sharing some stock trading tips that readers can use to trade stocks.

But before anything else, for the beginners in the stock market, you might want to read my article on how stock market works to familiarize yourself on the stock market.
 
Once you already got familiarized with the stock market and started doing stock trading, here are some of the useful tips that I learned from my stock trading experience:
Stock Trading Tip No. 1: First of all, I’ve seen a study conducted by ATR-Kim Eng Securities comparing the monthly stock returns on election years as against any other “normal” year. As seen from the graph, the month of August, historically is considered as the “ghost month” in stock trading since it is in this month that registered the lowest yield as against other months whether election year or not. You can also see from the graph that historically, the month of December gives the most yield and so it “may” be good to buy stocks on the month of August when stocks are low and later sell it on December when stocks prices are picking up.
Stock Trading Tip No. 2: Don’t buy in smaller volumes. If you have enough capital to spend in stocks, then try to buy huge volumes of your favorite stocks because if you buy in smaller volumes, then chances are you will incur higher stock trading fees such as broker’s commission, VAT, etc.
Stock Trading Tip No. 3: Transaction costs in buying vs. selling stocks. Each time you make a transaction, whether buying or selling stocks, you will incur transaction fees. Based on the transaction costs that I learned, it is “more expensive” for you to sell stocks than to buying it because selling stocks incurs a much higher transaction costs.
Here in the Philippines, the following transaction costs are associated with buying and selling of stocks.
Transaction Costs in Buying Stocks:
Commission - 0.25% of Gross Amount or Php 20, whichever is higher
VAT (Value Added Tax) - 12% of Commission
SCCP Fee - 0.012% of Gross Amount
Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Fee - 0.011% of Gross Amount
Transaction Costs in Selling Stocks:
Commission - 0.25% of Gross Amount or Php 20, whichever is higher
VAT (Value Added Tax) - 12% of Commission
SCCP Fee - 0.012% of Gross Amount
Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Fee - 0.011% of Gross Amount
Sales Tax - 0.5% of Gross Amount
In applying these fees, let’s use the following sample: Suppose Tyrone bought 100 shares of Ayala Corp. (AC) at 290 per share. He then sold it at 295 per share. How much did he gain NET?
Computing for the following transaction costs written above:
In buying 100 shares of Ayala Corp. stock at 290 per share, you will pay a total of 29,087.87 broken down as follows:
Gross Amount: 29,000
Commission: 72.50
VAT: 8.70
SCCP Fee: 3.48
PSE Fee: 3.19
Suppose, the stock went up by 5 and the price now became 295 and you intend to sell it, you will just collect your NET GAIN of 29,263.12 broken down as follows:
Gross Amount: 29,500
Commission: 73.75
VAT: 8.85
SCCP Fee: 3.54
PSE Fee: 3.25
Sales Tax: 147.50
In effect, the total gain that you had from buying 100 shares of Ayala Corp. at 290 per share and selling the same 100 shares at 295 is:
Total Net Income from Selling less Total Net Cost in Buying = 29,263.12 - 29,087.87 = 175.25
For the convenience of my readers, I prepared an excel sheet of transaction costs in buying and selling stocks. Just input your gross amount and it will automatically compute its net income from selling and net costs in buying stocks. You can download it here.
Stock Trading Tip No. 4: Don’t post too many orders at the start of the trading. If you have time to monitor your stock trading, then you should not post too many orders at the start of the trading. You should watch the trend of the trading day. Buy when you see a trend that the stock price is going down and sell when you see a trend that the stock is going up. Generally, you should post orders in the middle of the trading like around 10am to 11:30am to have a good view of the stock price that you intend to buy or sell. Stock trading is from 9:30 to 12:10 noon.
Stock Trading Tip No. 5: Look for the P/E ratio. Price-Earnings Ratio of the stock ‘may’ tell the profitability of the said company. This is the ratio between the stock price over its earnings. The higher the P/E Ratio, the higher the profitability of the company. BUT do not solely rely on this ratio. It may indicate that a high P/E ratio means that the stock is overpriced because of some manipulations.
Stock Trading Tip No. 6: Buy back of shares or major acquisition. Companies also disclose to the stock exchange when will they buy-back their shares. Usually, this happens towards the end of their fiscal year because they want their ‘books’ to look good. This is called window dressing. Look for companies that disclose a buy-back of their shares. As the date of the buy-back approaches, there’s a high probability that their stock price will climb. Also, some companies buy-back their shares to take advantage of its depreciated value in the market especially if they think that the current price of their stock in a bearish market does not reflect the true value of the company’s shares.
Additionally, there are also disclosures about a company acquiring a significant percentage of stocks of another company. These instances will probably increase the stock price of the company being acquired as the date of the acquisition approaches.
Stock Trading Tip No. 7: Look for the 52-week range. I’m not good in technical analysis with in stock trading. But one way of gauging to know if the current stock price is high or low is to look for their 52-week high and 52-week low. The 52-week range is the highest and the lowest the stock price of the company closed in any given trading day in one year. It’s a gauge of how much the stock price has appreciated over a one-year period time frame. For example, the 52-week low is 250 and 52-week high is 400. Definitely, to increase probability of profits in stock trading, don’t buy at a price too close at 400.
Stock Trading Tip No. 8: Look for stocks that declare dividends. Dividends are passive income that companies give to their stockholders. Look for the companies that declare these dividends whether a cash dividend or stock dividend. Generally, when the ex-date of the dividend declaration approaches, the higher the price of stock will be.
Stock Trading Tip No. 9: Look for actively traded stocks. These are stocks that are in the “hot seat” where there are a lot of buyers and sellers. Surely, the law of supply and demand will apply here. If there are a lot of buyers than sellers, then stock price will tend to go up. However, if there are a lot of sellers than buyers, then stock price will tend to go down.
Stock Trading Tip No. 10: Watch the Federal Rate (FED) Rate Cuts. Generally, if the FED declared a rate cut on its Federal Open Market Commitee Meetings, stock prices will tend to go up and rally. To know why, you can view my article on how federal rate affects investors.
Stock Trading Tip No. 11: Watch for economic indicators such as consumer confidence index, inflation rates, unemployment rates, gross domestic product, gross national product, etc.
Watch for any inflation news. There’s an inverse relationship between inflation rate and stock prices. Definitely, the tamer or the lower the inflation, the higher the probability that the stock market will rise. In contrast, a high inflation rate will give the possibility of stock prices to go down. This is evident when the oil reached its peak of almost $150 per barrel last July 2008 when investors dumped their stocks! Why? Because a high inflation rate causes the raw materials costs of companies to go up. And with higher costs and less revenues, definitely companies will post losses. Added to this, a high inflation encourages consumers to reduce spending on non-basic items. In turn, corporate profits either drop or post slower growth, leading to lower valuation of stocks.
Watch for indices such as consumer confidence index, housing prices and housing sales, employment rate, Gross Domestic Product or GDP, Gross National Product or GNP, etc. The higher the value of these indices show that the economy is doing well. And when the economy is doing well, then companies may post huge profits and therefore stock prices will tend to go up.
Watch for writedowns or net losses of companies. This is no doubt. If there’s any news of big writedowns from any of the largest banks caused by the credit crunch which stemmed from the subprime mortgage crisis, then definitely investors will dump their stocks. Why? Because writedowns mean huge losses to these companies hence stock prices will go down.
Watch for Credit Ratings. Credit rating agencies such as Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investors, and Standard & Poor’s are some credit rating agencies that rate company’s credit. They either rate the company’s bonds, credit default swaps or CDS, and credit facilities. Any downgrade will push the stock prices of these companies to go down.
So there you are my stock trading tips that I learned in my stock trading experience. I don’t claim I’m a good stock analyst but I’m trying to learn these things as part of my financial education.
With these stock trading tips, definitely you can trade stocks even you’re not an expert in technical analysis like me.