Rule Of 72

By Zigfred Diaz

There was once an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) who worked abroad for several years. At the age of 29 his savings already amounted to P 100,000.00 (Philippine peso)

Because the only mode of investment he knew about was to put his money in the bank, he placed his P 100,000.00 in the bank. Of course, the bank manager was delighted when he opened the account. He even recommended that the money be placed in a time deposit account in order that it would yield 4 % per annum, a much more higher interest rate than an ordinary savings account.

So the money remained in the time deposit account until the OFW reached the age of 65. At that time, he then went back to the bank to withdraw the P 100,000.00. He was amazed when he learned that the P100,000.00 had already grown to P 400,000.00. He was quite happy with the growth of his money. He then withdrew the money from the bank, enjoyed life and lived happily ever after.

Do you think this is a "live happily ever after"? Has this OFW "wisely" handled his money? Are you sure he is maximizing the full potential of his money or has somebody become more richer because of his ignorance ?

To fully understand this, take note of the Rule of 72. In order to know how many years it takes for your money to double you only need to follow this rule which is simply stated as follows: 72 / interest = No. of years it takes for your money to double

In the case of this Filipino OFW, every 18 years his money will double. 72 divided 4 % per annum = 18 years. So if he deposited his P 100,000.00 at age 29, his money will become P 200,000.00 at age 47. Add another 18 years then he reaches the age of 65. This time his money becomes P 400,000.00.

The bank on the other hand takes that P 100,000.00 and invests it at mutual funds, the stock market, the money market, government bonds, corporate bonds etc. averaging a 12 % return on the P 100,000.00 that the OFW placed under time deposit. Under the rule of 72, that same amount of money will double every 6 years. (72 divided by 12 % interest = 6 years)

So after 36 years when the OFW goes back to the bank to claim his P 100,000.00 the bank manager gives back his P 100,000.00 with a smile plus the interest of P 300,000 totalling to P 400,000.00.They wouldn't need that anyway since they already made a total of P 6,400,000.00 out of the OFW's P 100,000.00. Talk about hi-way robbery !

You want to be wealthy and a better steward of your money? Think like the bank!!! Use the Rule of 72 wisely ! Make it work for you ! - 23167

About the Author:

Would you like to know more about investment strategies ? Visit the blog of Zigfred Diaz where he blogs about several interesting topics such as investments, financial management, business, making financial online and Stock market investing

Stock Market - Basic Principles - Part 3

By Zigfred Diaz

In part three of this four part series we will be discussing the next four principles of stock market investment. Previously, we discussed about the first three principles of investment. Number one principle is that the stock market is just another vehicle of investment. Secondly, you must realize that investing in the stock market is a like roller coaster ride. The third principle involved answering the question on what type of investor you are. If you wish to view the entire article in its entirety, visit my blog.

4.) You must realize that investing in the stock market does not take a lot of money but if you really want to make an impact on your portfolio you have to place in a substantial amount. - You don't need millions or hundreds of thousands of pesos to invest in the Philippine Stock market. You only need at least P 20,000.00 to somehow play it out. I started out with only this amount. In fact you can invest if you only have P 10,000.00 but for me that is too small an amount. For example Jollibee (JFC) shares cost only 51.50 per share as of today. The board lot (which is the minimum amount of stocks that you could invest in) is 100. 51.50 x 100 = P 5,150.00. This is the only amount you need to be a stock holder of Jollibee. Let's say in 1 year time Jollibee stocks climbed to P 100.00 per share, you have gained P 5,000.00 more. But if you had invested 200 shares you could have gained more than just investing in 100 shares.

5.) You must be consistent in investing - If you start small make sure you do not stay that way. Discipline yourself to invest a certain amount of your income to the stock market in order to pump in more capital so that your portfolio may grow. For the past month now I have slowly added to my investment, I did not just stop at P 20,000.00. Make investing a habit.

6.) Minimize your losses, Maximize your profits - The loss is only on paper if your stock goes down. The actual loss occurs when you sell your stock at the "losing" price. The best thing to do therefore is to never ever sell at a loss. This is the reason why it is very important that the money that you invest in the stock market is considered as surplus money, not your emergency fund. If you invest your savings or emergency fund, you will be forced to withdraw sell your stock at a loss if you desperately need the money. To maximize your profit you must utilize profits you gained from the sales of stocks and the dividends you receive to buy more shares of stocks.

7.) Want to get rich quick ? Don't even think about investing in the stock market. - The stock market is not a get rich quick scheme. You should never ever expect to get rich overnight here. Investments always takes time to grow. If you hear about investments that give you shocking rates of return in a very short length of time, beware of those ! In the stock market, especially the Philippine stock market, it may take you several months or even years before you could say that you have made it big time. On certain rare occasions, there will be a time that it will only take weeks or days perhaps wherein you can make a killing, but again these are only rare occasions. This might occur when there is a consistent bull run or when there is an unusual going up or going down of prices within a certain period. - 23167

About the Author:

Would you like to know more about investment strategies ? Visit the blog of Zigfred Diaz where he writes about several interesting topics such as investments, financial management, business, making financial online and Stock market investing

Principles Of Investments In The Stock Market - Part 1

By Zigfred Diaz

Several people have inquired from me whether they should invest in the Philippine stock market. They also wanted to know how to begin doing it. I am not sure know if they are really seriously asking the question. They might be just curious about the stock market considering that it has been always in the headlines lately. This is brought about by the fact that it is at its highest levels since the beginning of its creation.

The Philippine stock market or the stock market in general is not a child's play ground. If you are a true investor, you must have expectations as to how much you are going to earn for a certain type of investment. This is measured in terms of how much your money will grow at a certain period of time. (The most common measure being interest per annum) Since the Philippine Stock market is at its peak for months now, people think that they should join the party even they do not understand how it works. They are even naive with the basic principles involve. This is not to say that you should be an economist before you start investing.

What you should understand is that you must know the basic principles involved first before you can achieve a level of success in investing in the stock market. Fortunes are made on the Stock market. But take note that huge losses are also incurred. Those who just plunge into the stock market without a grasp of the basic principles of investment end up convincing themselves that the stock market is no good at all, does not make them any money and finally quit after some time.

Let us not begin first by discussing the "how tos" in investing in the Philippine stock market. Let us first understand the basic principles of investment so that we might enjoy trading and be successful in the stock market. There are ten principles involved. We will talk about the first principle here. Other principles will follow in the next articles. Visit my blog if you want to see the whole article.

1.) An alternative vehicle of investment - The first principle is that you must realize that the stock market is just another alternative vehicle of investment. There are other investment vehicles in which you could invest in. Each vehicle of investment is unique and one is not more superior than others. Each of them has their own advantages and disadvantages. This will not be discussed in depth here.

In economic parlance, the stock market is categorized as belonging to the "Capital Markets." Even in the Capital market category there are different types of investment vehicles. You have several alternatives here. Aside from the stock market, you could place your investment in pension funds, bonds, insurance, real estate, time deposit accounts different types of savings. It is important to know this because it will help you determine whether or not you should invest in the Stock Market considering that there are other alternative vehicles of investment in the Capital markets.

Bear in mind that each vehicle of investment has their own advantages and drawbacks. The secret here is not to place all of your eggs in one basket. Even if most of my investments are in the Capital Markets, I diversified by placing investments in the stock market, bonds through mutual funds, pension, deposits and insurances. - 23167

About the Author:

Would you want to know more about investment strategies ? Visit the blog of Zigfred Diaz where he blogs about several interesting topics such as investments, money management, business, making money online and Stock market investing

Principles Of Investments In The Stock Market - Part 4

By Zigfred Diaz

This is the final part of the series on principles of investment in the stock market. The last seven principles was discussed in the past articles. We will be discussing the last three principles in this article. Visit my blog if you want to see the whole article.

8.) Take time to study- Investing in the stock market requires that you should take time to study what it's all about. You can't expect to succeed if think that you can just place in your money and hope that it will somehow grow by itself. Studying a lot of books and materials on the stock market will certainly help. When I first started investing I searched for materials in the internet regarding the stock market especially the Philippine stock market. I bought the "investor's primer" from the Philippine stock exchange. This is a great material for those who are new to the Philippine stock market.

You can also attend seminars on how to trade in the stock market. Several brokerage firms have conducted free seminars for those who are new to the stock market. I attended a 2 day seminar by CITISEC Online last year. CITISEC online is one of the most innovative, well managed and most active brokerage firms in the country. The information that you could learn is astounding. Studying the stock market requires continual study. You should not stop learning.

Read all the materials you can and attend all the seminars you can in order to learn. Don't be discouraged when there are terms you could not understand. For example just reading this post alone, you would probably raise your hands and tell yourself not to invest anymore since there are some terms you could not understand. You don't even know what "points" are when I was talking about them in point number 2. You don't even know what the heck is the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) or what does "Blue Chips" or "Bull run" mean. Worse you don't even understand what a stock is and how it basically works. But so what? I started out not knowing what some of these things are.

Stuff like these are never taught in school. I only learned them by reading and having a hands on experience in trading. I highly suggest that you watch the movie "Pursuit of Happyness" This is a story about one man's struggle to learn the stock market. Years later he made millions through stock trading. This movie is based on a true story and is sure to inspire you!

9.)Know what is happening in the world around you - There are several factors that affect the stock market. Be aware of the news that is making headlines in the news paper. For sure this will give you a hint on the direction that the market will take. Never skip the business news. It is here where you will be given an idea as to which stock you should buy. I prefer reading the online version of the Philippine Daily Inquirer in order that I may know where the market is heading.

10.) You must start now - The best way to learn is to experience it yourself. Start small if you wish but start now. Don't procrastinate. However don't rush immediately without studying how to go about it. After you have at least learned the basics of investments then you can start buying your first stock. There's nothing more exciting when you have made your first sale at a profit. - 23167

About the Author:

Are you willing to learn more about investment strategies ? Visit the blog of Zigfred Diaz where he writes about several interesting topics such as investments, money management, business, making money online and Stock market investing

Reasons For Investing In The Stock Market - Part 2

By Zigfred Diaz

Previously the advantages or the reasons why you should invest in the stock market was discussed. In the first part of this two part series, we discussed about the first three reasons why you should invest in the stock market those are, potential for greater returns, part ownership of the company you are investing and belonging to a special group of people. We continue by discussing the next 4 reasons in part 2 of this 2 part series. Should you wish to view the entire article, check out my blog.

4.) One of the best if not the best vehicle of investment - In 1986 the Philippine stock market recorded its highest return rate at 224 %. The lowest return rate was recorded in 1997 at negative 41 %. The average return in 20 years time however ranges from 24 % to 28 % per year. It can therefore be clearly seen that while it is true that investing in the stock market has its up and down, in the long run long term investments in the stock market still yields a greater return. Hence it can be concluded that the long term investors always benefit and that the stock market is still one of the best vehicles of investment.

5.) Investing in the Stock Market forces you to become financially literate, more aware of your environment and inspires you to learn. - When you invest in the stock market you are forced to read the business news and place significant meaning on major news headlines. News to you does not only become something to be discussed in the coffee shop but something that has an impact since you know it will affect how the market will behave. You will be compelled to understand terms that you did not even dream of understanding. You will become twice smarter than you were as you will keep on learning and reading in order to expand your knowledge. If you slept through your economics class before, your eyes will be wide open when you try to figure out what inflation means. You will be inspired to learn.

6.) Investing in the stock market will help you know what it means to harness the power of the internet - The progress of man is divided into several ages. We had the "stone age" the iron ages, bronze ages etc. then we moved up to the industrial age and now they say that we are in the "information technology age." In the information technology age, knowledge is power. For many of us that term is considered just an adage. But with online trading you will know what that means. Since I was in college I really wanted to know what it is like to invest in the stock market. I was just amazed when I see traders in movies, shouting buy or sell. But I did not invest back then mainly because of three reasons, lack of information, lack of capability and most of all lack of money.

In today's internet driven economy, information can be accessed easily through the world wide web.Trading is made much more easier with online trading facilities. As this opportunities are presented to me, I made it a point to start investing in the stock market. Now I do all of my trading activities online such as monitoring the news, buying and selling of stocks and transferring money to my accounts. Perhaps I will someday move into global stock market trading. Despite its complications, the principles in stock market trading is still somewhat the same.

7.) Help in nation building - The most noble objective and advantage as to why you should invest in the stock market is probably this one. Companies want to get listed in the stock exchange to raise more capital for their business in order that they could expand. Business expansion is translated as more jobs, more taxes for the government and more economic activity. This in effect moves the nation forward and helps build the nation.

Certainly these compelling reasons make a valid argument as to why you should invest in the stock market. - 23167

About the Author:

Would you like to know more about investment strategies ? Visit the blog of Zigfred Diaz where he writes about several interesting topics such as investments, money management, business, making money online and Stock market investing