HOW TO GET STARTED IN THE STOCK MARKET

Monday, June 22, 2015

HOW TO GET STARTED IN THE STOCK MARKET

By imoney

Becoming an expert investor is hard, and most of us don’t know where to start. But for Marvin Germo, Registered Financial Planner and stock market trader, he had a goal from the get-go. He wanted to have a better future for himself, and saw that investing was the way to go. “My parents never taught it to me. But I saw the effects of not investing, so I said to myself “When I get older, my life should be different than what they’re experiencing right now,” and that pushed me to educate myself in how to invest in different things.” He started investing in his early 20s and hasn’t looked back since.

Now, Germo is a prominent stock trader and investor with two best-selling books about investing in the stock market, who often appears on TV to talk about investing and has given talks all over the world about the subject. But getting to that point wasn’t easy. So iMoney spoke to Germo about how he educated himself in investing, and how you can get started in the stock market as well.

Why Is Investing Important?

“It’s the best way to earn,” Germo says simply. “We’re sitting here talking, but since my money’s invested, it’s working hard for me, and I’m earning as we speak.”

Not only is investing the best way to earn, but it also protects your money from the effects of inflation. “The price of things gets higher each year, so you must find a vehicle that will beat the rate of inflation. A savings account is not the answer,” according to Germo. “For example, college tuition fees go up on average 10% every year. If your money’s in a 1% time deposit, you’re actually losing 9% every year!”

Investing also allows you to take part in the economic boom that the Philippines is experiencing. “Jollibee was only P10 12 years ago, now it’s P202. The only people making money off of this are foreign investors and the super rich. The middle class aren’t investing and they don’t get to enjoy that growth,” says Germo. “It makes me sad. We need more investors.”

But perhaps the best argument for investing is the freedom it can give you. Germo himself has quit his job and lives off the income from his various investments and entrepreneurial pursuits. “Investing gives you the liberty to do that. You know you can beat inflation, you know you can achieve the goals you want, whether that’s education for your kids, your wedding, or retirement.”

“Now I can revolve my life around what I’m passionate about. Achieving this liberty one of the best things I’ve ever done, and I hope more Filipinos get to do the same thing.”

What’s Holding You Back From Investing?

A lack of financial literacy holds a lot of Filipinos back from discovering the freedom that investing can give them. “They always want to buy the latest gadget, go to the latest gimmick place, have a vacation … they prioritize things that aren’t important,” Germo says. “They deprive themselves of opportunities to save and invest.”

Other factors that dissuade the regular Filipino from investing are:

The mistaken belief that you need a lot of money to invest.

No desire to watch their investments every minute of every day.

Not having the expertise of an accountant, economist, or financial analyst.

But Germo says that these doubts are unfounded. You can get started investing in the stock market with as little as P1,000. And if you pick a good company, you can invest your money in it and not have to monitor it every day. And by studying the basics, you can learn enough to make smart investments and earn good returns.

“The stock market is not as hard as people think it is, but it’s also not that easy that you can go into it without studying,” Germo says. “You need to have the right foundation, so when you start investing you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

Lucky for you, there’s no shortage of trainings and seminars available if you want to educate yourself about the stock market. “They get to learn from our mistakes, the things I didn’t know before, and access to information is easier now,” Germo says.

Besides reading books (like Germo’s own Stock Smarts trilogy of books) and attending seminars, another good way for you to build knowledge is by finding a mentor who is actually trading and can share their experiences with you.

How Do You Start Investing?

1. Open an online trial account. If you’re still a little tentative about investing, online brokers allow you to open a trial account so you can simulate the experience of buying and selling stocks without actually spending any money. BPI Trade, for example, gives you a 7-day trial so you can get a feel for investing.

2. Start with a very small amount. Once you’re comfortable with the idea of investing, you can start small. Make sure it’s an amount you can afford to lose, or an amount you don’t plan to touch for a very long time. Even if you have, say, P100,000 to invest now, if you don’t have the knowledge to back your investment up, you could be setting yourself for a very costly fall. “If I plan to invest a million pesos, I would start with P10,000,” Germo advises. “Because that P10,000, I don’t care if I lose all of it, but the knowledge I will get from how I trade that money will allow me to trade larger amounts in the future.” Start with a small investment, and allow your knowledge and skills in the stock market to grow along with your gains.

3. Find the investment approach for you. There’s no magic investment strategy that fits everyone. Learn as much as you can before diving into stocks. If you don’t have the time to learn complicated strategies, start with something simple like the peso-cost averaging strategy. Then, as you gain more confidence, you can start adapting your approach to maximize your investments.

4. Pick companies that are making money. You don’t have to be a financial whiz to figure out which companies are making money. Look at financial statements, easily available on the company’s website, or read the business pages, to make sure that the company you’re considering isn’t suffering net losses every year. “This principle alone would spare you a lot of sleepless nights,” says Germo.

5. Learn, learn, learn. Ultimately, you will have to take responsibility for the decisions you make in the stock market. “You have to understand that when you make a mistake, the broker won’t reimburse you, your friend who gave you the tip won’t reimburse you. It’s your money, it’s your life, it’s under your control so you have to equip yourself to make the right decisions.” To succeed in the stock market, you have to keep learning. Learn from your losses and gains. Seek out ways to develop your investment strategy further, and practice what you learn from reading books or attending seminars. The more knowledge you have, the more wealth you can build.

“Study and start now.”

If Marvin Germo could give you one piece of advice, it’s to study and start investing now. “Studying gives you the confidence to start. And starting now allows you to put that knowledge into action. It’s easy to forget things you don’t practice.”

Hopefully we’ve shown you that stock market investing isn’t just for the rich and powerful — it can also be a powerful tool for you. Time is on your side, so start now.

Fore more financial tips Visit : http://www.imoney.ph/

To start your journey in stock market join us in Truly Rich Club just click the link below

http://bosanchezmembers.com/amember/go.php?r=60865

Bo Sanchez: From P800 A Month To Becoming Truly Rich

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Bo Sanchez: From P800 A Month To Becoming Truly Rich
By imoney . 13 May 2015 

When Bo Sanchez was a younger man, he hated money. “I really thought that to love the poor, I had to become poor,” he says. So he lived as a poor missionary, just getting by while devoting himself to ministry.
Until one day, he decided to turn his finances around. Today, he’s got at least 16 income streams flowing into his life, from internet businesses to real estate to micro-entrepreneurship. Not to mention he’s a very influential lay evangelist who brings inspiration to countless Filipinos around the world.
But Bo didn’t decide to become rich just for his own personal gain — he did it so he could help his ministry, which was having a lot of money trouble. “I couldn’t give any advice to them because I didn’t know how money worked,” he says in an exclusive interview with iMoney.

Now, it’s safe to say Bo knows a thing or two about money. With his mantra of “everybody deserves to be rich”, Bo has now helped thousands of Filipinos discover financial freedom, and counting.

Bo Sanchez, the founder of Truly Rich Club (among many others), shares the difficult journey from poor missionary to financial guru with iMoney, along with the money lessons he’s learned along the way.

When you were growing up, what was your attitude towards money?

I didn’t like money. I felt that it was an instrument of the devil. So the less I had, the better I felt. I held to this false idea that if someone wanted to really please God, he had to give up all pursuit of money. My entire retirement plan was when I grow old, I’d sleep on the sidewalk with newspapers as my blanket.

You were, in your own words, a “poor missionary” back in the day. How much (or little) were you making back then, and how did you get by?

I earned P800 a month, which was enough for basic food and transportation. But I was giving away whatever I had for ministry work. I was working in the slums and tried my best to help the poor whenever I could.

That’s a very noble cause. But when did you decide to turn your finances around?

When I was 30 years old. That was when I decided to get married and realized I had to change my retirement plan. I couldn’t tell my kids to sleep in the sidewalk with me. The other reason why I changed my thinking about money was the number of people who asked me for prayers for money. I couldn’t give any advice to them because I didn’t know how money worked.

Was it difficult to do that?

It was very difficult to make a shift. I read lots of books, attended seminars, watched videos, listened to audio talks, and talked to financial mentors. I had to unlearn many things and learn many other things, which was a long process. I made many mistakes. I lost a lot of money while doing it.

How did you end up losing money?

My first business never became profitable. It failed. So did my second, and third, and fourth …

Yikes. What kind of businesses did you have that didn’t work out?

I sold herbal juice, I sold memorial plans, I sold engine oils, I organized major concerts. I also owned a squidball kiosk, a hotdog stand, and an ice cream stand … I tried networking. I tried direct sales. I tried everything.

It looks like you truly did! But even though you kept failing, you eventually became a success. How did you find the motivation to keep going?

The needs of the ministry were all around me. I knew I had to become rich if I wanted to help people. So in face of failure, I just had to try again and again and again. I was unstoppable.  Sooner or later, I knew I was going to make it.

So what was your first profitable business?

Doing corporate seminars. Companies would ask me to give seminars on values, which was right up my alley. And I loved doing it because I could reach people who usually didn’t go to my prayer meetings. Today, because I earn from my other businesses, I now donate my speaker’s fees to ministry. My most profitable businesses are my online businesses.

Now that you’re successful, what do you wish you’d known sooner about money or finance or your career?

I just had to stick to my core gift. It was tempting to venture into exciting things that I saw other people around me doing, but if it wasn’t my core gift, I wouldn’t succeed. But now that I focus on my core gift, success has come easier and quicker.

How do you integrate your money advocacy into your preaching?

As spiritual leader, I don’t only take care of people’s souls. I need to teach people how to follow God in their family life, their health, and even their finances. It’s my mission to make them grow in every important area of life.

Has your attitude towards money changed over the years?

Absolutely. As I learned more, my attitude about money, investments, entrepreneurship, and generosity has matured.

A lot of people seek your financial advice. What’s the most common problem they approach you with?

Many people are in debt and many people have zero savings. It’s so sad to see people who earn a good salary but they find themselves buried in debt. Many grow old and poor, depending on their children — even if they earned millions in their lifetime.

That is sad. What do you think holds them back from being “truly rich”?

Two things: a lack of financial literacy and a lack of the right financial mindset. Filipinos don’t know how to save and invest their money. Worse, they have a poverty mindset that traps them from learning new financial habits.

To help them out a little, what financial instruments can you recommend for those looking to increase their wealth?

When it comes to investments, I believe the safest and best place to invest is the stock market. I’m not talking about trading. That’s how people lose their money. I’m talking about investing long term in gigantic companies using peso-cost averaging.

(iMoney note: for more on peso-cost averaging, read our article Peso-Cost Averaging: The Easy Way To Invest here.)

What’s been your best financial decision?

When I got myself a mentor on how to invest in the Stock Market, my finances have never been the same again. [Financial mentorship] is what we provide through the TrulyRichClub. People think they can do it on their own. But that’s how they lose money.

Are you happier now that you have more money?

I’m not a priest. I’ve not taken the vow of poverty. Like every Christian, I’ve taken the vow of generosity. I believe the ultimate purpose of money is to love others. I’m happier today because I’ve got more practical ways of loving people.

Want to learn more about money matters from Bo Sanchez? Like him on visit his official website at bosanchez.ph. And for more on the Truly Rich Club, visit their official website at trulyrichclub.com.