IMG and the Wealth Academy

One problem that I have with the Philippine education system is that we are not taught how to be financially literate. In college, we are only taught on how to be a good employee and after that... that's it. You're on your own, kid. We know how to work for the money but don't know how money works for us. Most of us learn our finances through our parents and majority of them will say that it's good to put your savings in the bank only and (the sad part) don't try to invest your money. Parents mean well when saying this but while putting your money in a bank account is good advice (but lacking), not investing is just a horrible advice to follow. We need to up the ante in our financial intelligence.

But why do we need to increase our financial intelligence?

Thank you sub-header for that question. And I'll answer that with one word: "Change".

Before: A parent could raise 10 children.
Today: The 10 children cannot raise a parent

Before: Only the father works and could raise 10 kids.
Today: Both husband and wife working can hardly raise 1 child.

Okay, I answered that with a lot of words. Any more questions?

Why is this happening?

Good question sub-header. Here are the following reasons why:

The rule of money is changing
People live longer today
People spend faster today
Technological Advances
Globalization - there is now a single world market of many goods and services. One globe is one market place.
The world is changing fast - a changing world requires changing solutions

Everything is changing around, except our financial strategy. Expect change to happen a lot faster than before. We need to know how to cope with the fast changing world.

Change bad. Need solution.

Fortunately for me, I was taught to be financially educated by this company:

What is IMG?

Very inquisitive of you sub-header.

IMG is the abbreviation of International Marketing Group. International Marketing Group is one of the few companies of its kind in the industry today - a marketing company that is dedicated to serving the financial needs of individuals and families from all walks of life.

International Marketing Group's independent associates do not just work with clients who have large amounts of discretionary income - instead they work with everyday people helping them make critical financial decisions that help move them from where they are to where they want to be.

International Marketing Group is one of the biggest and fastest growing financial distribution companies in the US, Canada, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines and going worldwide. IMG has established agreements with many of the world’s leading financial services companies to provide us a broad array of financial products & services. IMG will help you comply accreditation and licensing requirement of all its Product Provider Companies. Multiple companies (Multiple products) will help you get the best product...Best service ... Highest Rate Of Return.... Diversify investments, etc. And I did not copy-paste that from the IMG Website.

IMG holds a number of seminars for your Financial Knowledge and it is conducted by this academy:

The Wealth Academy is where IMG teaches you about Finances. Topics like financial management, debt management etc. can be learned all for free.

Here are some topics you'll learn if you attend series 1 titled Practical Money Management:
*The X-Curve Concept
* How to Build a Solid Financial Foundation
* The Six Steps to Financial Freedom

* How Money Works? The Rule of Money

* Investment Strategies

* Making Millions with Php 1,000/month investment

Here are some topics that you'll learn if you attend series 2 titled Financial Planning and Goal Setting Workshop:

* Types of Goal-Setters

* What Financial Stage Are You in?

* Powerful Strategies to Achieve Your Financial Goals

* How to Increase Your Cash Flow

* How to Have a Total Financial Peace of Mind

* How to Become Your Own Financial Expert

The Higher Series (3-30) Comprehensive Approach to Personal & Financial Strategies includes:

* The Spiritual Side of Money
* Getting Out of the Heavy Trap
* What it Takes to be Great
* Winning Big in Life
* The Real Foundation in Building Wealth
* General Concepts of Investment
* Financial Diagnosis, Treatment
* Become your own Financial Advisor
* Estate Planning etc.

Series 1 and Series 2 are free, but the higher series (which are still free, by the way) are for members only. We do have promos that lets non-members participate in the higher series but you must have attended Series 1 first (We'll update you on this one).

The first seminar lasts about 2 hours and takes place in the following places:
 Makati City, Metro Manila
 Cebu City, Cebu
 Davao City, Davao
 Iloilo City, Iloilo
 Tacloban City, Leyte
 General Santos City, South Cotabato
 Iligan City, Lanao Del Norte
 Cagayan De Oro City, Misamis Oriental

If you are outside the Philippines, we have offices in the following countries:
 Singapore
 Hong Kong
 United Arab Emirates
 Qatar
 France

If there is no IMG office near your area, we can contact our friends in your area to give you a friendly visit or you can also join in our webinars at gotomeeting.com. 

If you are interested in attending the seminars or webinars then please fill out the form below.

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Financially Taught by IMG

Appropriately, my first post would be related to the company called International Marketing Group and its Wealth Academy since they made me gain interest and knowledge about finances. But before I introduce to you this company, I would like to tell about myself first on how I started my journey to financial freedom.

When I was fresh out of college and into to the unemployment line, I asked myself this question: "How do I make my money into a million?"

fbcoverstreet.com

I was thinking about it, then I realized I suck at Chemistry

I was thinking, if I had a salary of Php 10,000 a month, then I would be earning Php 120,000 a year. But then again, I can't have all of that money because I have to spend it for expenses, emergencies (in case the need arises,) and the things I want.

reddit.com

Things I want

If I would have to deduct my yearly salary, I would probably just have more or less 25,000 left. If I add that every year, I would reach a million pesos around 40 years.

the-true-uprising

40 years later

I wanted that time span to shorten to at least 10 years. I thought about having a business,  but I don't have the brains and the skills to confidently handle one, yet. I thought about investing, but, again, no knowledge on how to do it. Then, God sent me an angel armed with a survey form and the gift that could answer my queries. (And the angel is probably laughing... or embarrassed... or whatever as she reads this post.)

She invited me to a seminar on Saturdays. Eager and thinking I had nothing better to do on a Saturday night, I gladly went to the seminar. When I was on my way to the 2nd floor of JY Square (its location in Cebu), my thoughts were shifting between eagerness and doubting of what I'm about to do.

Eager thoughts:  My feeble brain will learn something about investment today. My questions will probably be answered. Investment, investment and investment.

Doubts: Is this another networking company? The seminar is for free. What's the catch? Are they going to sell me anything?

When I finally sat and listened (while the aircon was gradually freezing me to death), my eager thoughts and my doubts about finances and the company were answered, corrected, and disproved greatly. I could tell you a lot, but I'll just stick to the ones that really impacted me and also answer the doubts.

Definitely not scanned

That picture right up there showed me the error of my ways in investing and finances. I was only thinking about investing but didn't really thought about my health, my mortality, and my money allocated for an emergency fund. So here are my different realizations on each step.

(Note: I left out eliminating debt because I don't really have one to begin with and I am not really into loans--unless it is used as an asset--and credit cards which you have to pay big interest. But I will tell you how to eliminate debt in a future posts, because, you know, it's helpful.)

Healthcare

If I just started investing and without any healthcare, then where would I get the money for my medical needs? My savings account? Most probably, but there's a high chance that my savings would deplete from all the health expenses like say for example recovering serious injuries from a vehicular accident (not including repair expenses). Where do I get the money now? My investment? That would be the next scenario and there is a high chance when I claim it, I will be losing money than I initially invested. If I don't have an investment, I could ask for my friends to lend me some money but I'm gaining debt. In which I have learned in IMG, should be zero as much as possible. Healthcare is very essential in avoiding those expenses.

Life Insurance

I was thinking too much about gaining money that I forgot about the probability of me dying while I earn said money. I wasn't designed to be immortal and neither are the rest of the people of this planet (unless you are, then I apologize for the overgeneralization.) If I died without any insurance, what will happen to my family? If I had wife and kids, I would be worried about what will happen to them especially if I'm the only provider. If I had debts, then all of that burden will be passed on to the family that I left. I don't want to be a burden, and I certainly won't let that happen.

What would happen if I had life insurance?

For example, if I just recently bought life insurance for Php 10,000 and also invested another Php 10,000 on investments and died because I slipped on a banana peel, then tripped and dunked on a pool of chemicals which evidently is my COD (which disappoints me in the afterlife because of not having superpowers) the next day, the scenario would be is that my investment will give my family back the Php 10,000, but my insurance will give my family Php 2,000,000 (depends really on the insurance premium that you bought.)
You don't have to worry about not providing your family anymore in case something tragic happens. (You should also educate your spouse or your parents or sibling/s about finances. You know, in case they're your beneficiaries at least they know how to use that money).

Emergency Fund

An Emergency Fund is mainly used for the purpose of emergencies (duh?) like a fire burning down your house, a storm destroying your property, your car or motorcycle needs repairing after an accident (the following examples can be excluded if you have non-life insurance), or a recent termination from work which renders you to unable to pay for your expenses because of lack of income.

Before I learned about emergency fund, I did have an emergency fund but the problem with it is that it was also my "Wants Fund". If I wanted to buy something like say a new smartphone, then my emergency fund would be sacrificed. And if my house suddenly starts burning, I would be in a real conundrum. I separated the two, and always disciplined myself not to use my emergency fund for non-emergencies like an emergency sale in the mall as an example.

Investment

Now that I learned about the necessities before investing, it's time for the part where I was so eager about in the beginning and was answered. I get to learn about Mutual Funds and the investment strategy of Peso Cost Averaging which lowers the volatility of investing. (I won't divulge much in this post but I'll write another posts just for this... and I can't cram everything in one post.)

My Doubts Disproved

Q: Is this another networking company?
A: Definitely not. IMG is a financial distribution company which caters to peoples financial needs. The Wealth Academy provides free seminars that can really help you in your financial knowledge. And, also, I'm not a big fan of networking. The part where they say it's a get rich quick scheme and you can do it in your spare time really dissuades me from joining because it's not true. Better read it from Mr. Fitz Villafuerte for an unbiased outlook on networking here.

Q: The seminar is free. What's the catch?
A: No catch. Just listen attentively to the seminar and evaluate what you have learned. Better judge after the seminar, not before. (If you're just gonna spurt something negative without even knowing and attending, you really should check about that pessimistic attitude of yours.)

Q: Are they going to sell me anything?
A: I got home without any products bought. The only thing I got was the realization that I have low financial IQ and definitely should increase it. IMG does have products from legit and respectable companies (Philamlife, Philequity, SMDC, Malayan, etc.) but is not the focus of the seminar. You came their to know about finances, you'll learn finances.

Q: Is it a scam?
A: 100% nope. You see, one way how I check if a company is legit is by going to the Securities and Exchange Commission website www.sec.gov.ph and look at the list of companies that are registered (try searching International Marketing Group, or any investment or insurance company that you know of as a trial). If it is not found, you better stay away from that company. (I'll give more additional information on how to know if a company is a scam.)

On my next post, I will tell you what IMG is all about.

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