#PlsSaveMe : Understand Your Business Better

Me and Nel

Everyone will really want to have a better position in life; to have a peaceful mind and become financially stable. Many are working towards this goal however, there are some obstacles along the way. While walking around the Davao City, I have met Nel, 38 years of age, a seaman. He has big goals in mind, there are struggles but he opts to move forward to grow and become successful.

As a seafarer, Nel has thought that he has enough to start a business. Since the banana industry in Davao Region is booming and very profitable, he has thought of doing delivery of bananas from Davao to Manila. He has made a risk even not completely knowing the mechanism of it and has invested a large amount for it. It has started all pretty well, he takes his profit and there is a gradual exchange of goods from Davao to Manila. He has thought that having this business will help him have more income flow aside from being a seafarer and hopefully to do it regularly to start focusing on land than being aboard a ship.

According to Al, few months have gone and the business has become uncertain. He has been sending money to allow the delivery to push through but unfortunately upon the deliveries have reached the port in Bicol; it has not reached its way to Manila. So, that’s already a loss! He has tried it again but still the same result, a loss! He has not yet gotten any return of investment but more debts has been incurred. Eventually, he has resolved to STOP the business than to continuously hope that the business will still recover and will become abundant, thus he has opted to go back aboard a ship.

With the losses he has incurred, many things has been gone as well. The relationship between his family, relatives and lovelife has been gone. He has too much sadness and already at the edge of depression because of such experience. He has regretted the experience of doing business without knowing its mechanism. He has not anticipated of so much loss that he will encounter in the said business with too much risk taking attitude. He also has shared to me that everything he has sacrificed for the family, relatives and love has been gone because of that bad decision he has made.

In any way, he is trying to pull himself up slowly. He is taking small steps to regain what he has lost. In his words, he said that he is still blessed to have work that can give much financial support. He is also mending the relationships he has lost, too. Even it is not completely his fault, since he is in better position to understand, he humbles himself and accepts the fact of his sad journey.

According to him, he will not do again such a move; doing business without knowing it beforehand. He even has said that he opts to study Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) to further improve his knowledge on how to handle matters about business. He may still have some debts being paid up until now, but good that he has learned a very valuable lesson in life.

Hoping that this story will give everybody a lesson before venturing into a business. It is important that our resources will not be put into waste as our goal in life is to become comfortable in one point in our lives. Consider even those small details about your business plan as something to be addressed and should assessed beforehand to become successful. Equipping yourself with knowledge is also very important. Be strong enough like Nel to face all the challenges even he has fell, he continues to stand up and ready to face the future.

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#PlsSaveMe : Call Me, 5-6

Representation: Motorcycle by those Offering 5-6

Have you heard about the Hierarchy of Needs? Yes, the Hierarchy of Needs by Abraham Maslow has been a guiding principle to motivate individuals to achieve dreams and aspirations. It has also been a guiding principle for us nurses of what to prioritize. The steps involve the Physiological Needs, Safety Needs, Love and Belongingness, Esteem Needs and Self-Actualization. To have a sound foundation of your being, you have to complete or suffice your physiologic needs before safety needs, satisfy your safety needs before love and belongingness until you reach the self-actualization.

I have also come across a concept of Steps in Building a Solid Financial Foundation that is anchored with Abraham Maslow’s Needs. The concept is also the same, you have to satisfy the prior needs before proceeding to the other step so that you will be well-grounded. The steps include Healthcare Needs (long term and short term), Protection, Elimate Debts, Emergency Fund and Investment (liquid or solid). It means to say that you have to at least protect your health by investing something for your health - save for your health; you are also called to protect yourself and that is the insurance so that whatever happens to you, your family will not carry a burden of your loss, instead, they will receive the compensation that you could have supported your family; eliminate your debts as much as possible though there are good debts and bad debts - just be sure that you can pay off the interest rates, too; create your emergency fund - setting aside 3-6 months of your monthly income that can be used in cases of emergency; and lastly, the investment, it is wherein you can use your extra money for investment to house, car and those liquid assets.

That is way too lengthy to be understood in one sitting. The concept needs to be practiced like a habit so that both the hierarchy of needs and steps in building a solid financial foundation will be achieved and well-grounded - a life that will not be shaky.

Then one day, in a forum, a group of fishermen is called to make a Biodiversity Friendly Enterprise (BDFE). It is in a way to plan for an alternative livelihood to allow the seas to recover or from being exploited for the needs of the humans. These fishermen are understood to have lack of idea about building a solid financial foundation and usually they call on their instinct to act on financial needs, which is a bit sad because they usually settle with 5-6.

So, for their BDFE, these fishermen have their boats that needed to be registered with MARINA because they intend to use the boats for transport of tourists to a sandbar for recreation. The group is guided by the tourism and investment office of Island Garden City of Samal for the undertaking. However, the city cannot give the men the finances they need, instead, they can help facilitate in the government processes. With that situation, it is part of the process to register their boats for a fee, repair and maintain their boats for a fee and other fees to process their business, one of the fishermen, Rene, immediately exclaimed that to help them finance their need to pay the fees - they call for 5-6! According to him, 5-6 is the scheme that usually comes to them and very convenient for them with less paper processing to have funds to loan, on contrary to the processes undertaken with loans in a cooperative or bank and that will take so much time. Julius, Rene’s colleague also said, they are already busy looking for livelihood and to sustain their family’s needs, which is through fishing, and to process financial support is too lengthy that they will need to travel to the city center or nearby branches with all the papers to accomplish - 5-6 is more practical and convenient for them. Somehow, the story is sad because most of them who avail with 5-6 are not even earning that much everyday wherein the 5-6 collector usually does collect everyday with interest, so, their loans accumulate more. The term of payment is everyday, accumulating if not completely paid for that day, thus, these men are in a breech of selling off their boats instead of earning a livelihood from it, just to pay off their debts. They can sometimes pay but most of the time with deficit in payment. They need help, thus, they process for a grant.

Considering the steps in building a solid financial foundation, a weighted debt will really cause an imbalance when the savings under it are not even filled out. Realizing investment opportunities will be very slim. Somehow, one thing that can be done is to properly give them the knowledge of what they are going into. With that, they should organize themselves to help each other through a cooperative and limit a 5-6 scheme. Somehow cooperatives can help especially when the entity is well managed and maintained.

#PlsSaveMe : A Medical Burden Can Consume Your Savings

Dialysis Machines

Every day, we are not getting young. Every day, we live a lifestyle that we think is right. Every day, we need bigger than yesterday.

A breadwinner like Efren, 40, hurdles the challenge to support a family. He works as a licensed professional teacher with master’s degree. He earns well enough for the family and still able to do some extra curricular activities. It is indeed a simple and comfortable life for him and his family plus he is able to save enough, but a medical condition of her mother changed their way of life.

Efren’s mother got a chronic renal failure. It is in fact a rising condition among Filipinos of having kidney failure wherein more and more people need to have a session at a dialysis center, but if not a hemodialysis, it will be a peritoneal dialysis. Dialysis centers are even spreading around to serve clients who need it. Most of the time, the cause of the kidney failure comes as a complication of other lifestyle diseases like diabetes, sometimes with uncontrolled hypertension, and sometimes due to excessive intake of antibiotics that are sometimes nephrotoxic. In the case of Efren's mother, she has diabetes and hypertension; and she is prescribed for dialysis sessions three times a week. That means to say, she needs to have 156 sessions in a year to support her; that is to cleanse her blood from bodily wastes and go on with life. With the numerous dialysis centers, they opted to have her sessions near their vicinity South of Davao City, and a private institution for convenience and less traffic.

It has become Efren’s nightmare, but they have to adhere with the medical needs of her mother. Slowly, Efren’s savings is eaten up. Aside from the fact of having to pay for a session when the Philhealth package runs out of free sessions (usually 90 sessions per year), there are needs like buying for a dialyzer (temporary kidneys) in case of it being consumed or got damaged because of the blood too thick during cleansing, supplement of epoetin, nutritional needs and maintenance medications. It is indeed a heavy burden without financial support.

I felt the burden of Efren upon discussing the matter, but he said, they need to go on with life since it is already there. He even added that some subsidies from government agencies he thought can help all throughout are limited and not really free. One should find more options to support the condition that could be from LGU’s counterpart and other solicitations. Indeed, a journey that anyone will get tired of.

As a former nurse in a dialysis center, I have seen different pictures of people who avail the services. We even tag the dialysis center as a "luxurious rest room" since body wastes are being flushed through the machines. The condition is not choosing those who are poor but it can be seen with those who are professionals and even big names in their industries. To help aid the financial burden of this condition, I have seen patients selling some goodies during their sessions or their watchers doing it for them. I have seen also a battle of negotiation, trying to be included in a session even payment isn’t completed yet, especially when Philhealth package is consumed. It breaks my heart, but I have to be among those strong people who can impose rules and regulations, as well as empathize with the clients - sad but true!

Efren is already on the 4^th year doing the routine to support her mother. It is very noble and humbling, but tiring as well. Efren hopes that there will be expanded program for this in the government, but he can only hope for it for now. He was able to save and still earn but not so much to support their monthly needs now.

Thus, it is really important that as early as yesterday, we should have saved bigger. It is also important to note that we should have a precautionary healthy lifestyle so that we will not experience medical burden in the future and get rid of the idea of being in a "luxurious rest room". I know it is easier written than done but a habit of saving is what we should cultivate to prepare ourselves in any life's battle.

#PlsSaveMe : Payout was Real

Long List of Payables

There’s this place unofficially dubbed as the “investment capital” in Davao. Yes, a lot of people were enticed to invest since they were promised to have a return of double, triple, quadraple and more. A lot of these companies popped up like mushrooms anywhere in this area.

Dan, 33 years of age, a professional, living comfortably had become among those who got enticed with the investment. He completely knew that investment comes in two forms: solid and liquid investment. He got a house and car - both under loan agreement and then he tried to take a risk with the budding investment schemes.

One goal he had in mind was to pay his loans by paying religiously with his salary. Then, he wanted to pay it faster and thought of having another car if he gets lucky with the investment. Yes, he said of the IFs… More of the “if the investment prospers” and less with “if it is a scam” because you should think positive when you invest.

The investment did well for him and others. Constantly, he got payout and with his payout, he put it in again. Rolling as he said. Still in mind, paying the loans and have another car. Few of his friends and even family told him of keeping his capital so that whatever happens, he could still be at peace. Few more months and the investment was still doing good - everybody happy and some got lazy working and thought of “pay-in and pay-out” in everyday living.

Indeed, turn of tables happened. Many of these investment companies one by one got investigated and slowly closed down. Some owners had run away bringing the money of the investors. Dan, including many other investors, got anxious because he hadn’t gotten their payout yet and was able to put a huge amount of money wiping out his savings . More anxious that he got himself tied with his loans, no extra savings and there are many bills to pay - the investment companies stopped operations but bills continuously asked for payment.

The “investment capital” that was a hot spot for “investors” became “morally down”. People, including Dan, started to focus on their jobs. The streets with long queues of people from all walks of life for pay-in and pay-out were out of scene. Streets were again busy with tricycles running and got a glimpse of “poor-tuner”.

Dan even said that because of what happened there were some casualties due to some people’s desperateness to get back their investment. Indeed a dark times for the “investment capital”. People got angry out of their own greed.

Right now, people in the place are busy in their day to day life, including Dan. Dan said that he should have been contented; he should have invested only what he can afford to lose; and many other realizations. He even said that it still lingers in him that if ever the investment did not close, he could have paid up his loans earlier and have another car. Yet and yet, he and the rest others could only pray hard for refund since some companies did say of such act. But then again, the question remains WHEN. 

Take care of your hard earned money and put it in a scheme more familiar and safe. Understand where you put your money, too. Not all things that are too good to be true will last forever.

Disclaimer: The name of the respondent is changed, but the events that happened may be similar and familiar.

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