invest in a bank or the stock market?

In my opinion, many people from the Philippines have missed an investing opportunity that could increase their cash - be it capital or savings. Some even think that investing can only be done through savings or time deposit accounts in banks; aside from investing in a business - store, boutique, restaurant, or franchise. The avenue for investing that I am referring to is the Philippine Stock Exchange or the stock market. While some may have heard of the stock market, many have wrong notions about it. People think that it is very risky (although that is partly true) and can spell disaster for their hard earned cash. However, investing in banks do entail a level of risk and at some point worse than investing in the stock market.

Now, why am I sounding as if the stock market is the better option of investing over banks? Because in the long term, you can earn more in the stock market. Consider a savings account in a bank which earns an annual interest of 1% or a time deposit account which earns 5% per annum - if I had 10,000 pesos in the bank, after a year I have an additional 100 in my savings account and 500 in my time deposit account. Looking at it, the earnings are not that much.

In the stock market, on the other hand, one can earn as little as 20% annually; in some cases, some earn more than 200% of their invested amount - which spells, from an initial investment of 10,000 pesos to an additional 2,000 for 12% earnings and 20,000 for a 200% increase. Now that is much!

While this might seem very attractive, let me spoil it with the reality that its not easy to invest in the stock market because there are risks involved. However, the key to minimizing these risks is not expertise in how to trade, rather, an investor must develop the most important trait - discipline.

More on this in the coming posts...

work from home

Many people today are looking for opportunities to earn a living without leaving the comfort of the home - work at home. Those who know a lot of "techie stuff" do succeed in this field since the demand for these jobs (i.e. SEO optimization, wordpress, VAs, internet marketing, etc.) is high, thus, those whose knowledge is limited to browsing the internet is at a disadvantage. However, presently this is not true anymore since there also simple ways to earn from the internet such as taking surveys and doing pay per click advertising.

a note from the blogger

It has been a while since I updated this blog. I was preoccupied with a few things and have not devoted time to blog. There were also a lot of things in my mind regarding this blog - what blogs to put in. When I began this blog, I planned to make it a travel blog since I have been to many places in the Philippines because of my job. But, later it also included other topics such as laptops, personal opinions and ideas, and even about investing in the stock market. Honestly, I do not know what to do with this blog for now. I'll ponder on what to do with this. So, there might be no frequent blog updates in the next few days or weeks.

thoughts on trading stocks

I have been preoccupied with a lot of things lately and have not been able to update this blog. Honestly, after my work, what has been keeping my busy was stock trading. I think this is really one of the things that I would be involved in for the next few years. Here are a few things that I have learned on stock trading:

First of all, it is not easy. I may have titled my last post as "trading stocks is easy" but the reality is, it is easy up to a certain point such as being reminded of the principle: buy low, sell high. However, knowing when to buy and when to sell is an entirely different matter. Stock trading requires that the trader continually reads and studies. There are a number of principles and disciplines that needs to be developed to become a successful trader. It would also help, for those who are interested in pursuing it, to have friends and people whom you can exchange ideas with. Doing it alone has greater risks than pursuing it with a company of traders. However, it should be remembered that to be a successful trader, you must develop your own strategies and principles, after all, it is your money you are trading and not your colleagues. So, it is one to consider their opinions but it is another to decide on your own according to your understanding and the principles you have developed.

For me, the key ingredients that are essential in succeeding as a trader include discipline and diligence.