Difference between Increase Income vs Increase Cash Flow

Johnny Marasigan was happy. It was pay day. 2 weeks before that his boss told him his salary had increased due to his exceptional performance in his department and tenure in the company that is on going for 5 years. His Salary of ₱25,000 became ₱30,000. "Finally!" he says in relief, "I can finally save money!" as he could not save money in his previous salary because of a mix of expenses and lifestyle. His spending habits would equate the amount of his previous salary. His income increased, yet, after a week, he is almost out of money and can't save just like his previous salary.

What do you think was wrong?
The simple answer: As his salary increased, his lifestyle also increased along with it. Johnny Marasigan decided to go clubbing every night with friends and buy branded clothes, confident that he still would have savings from his new found lifestyle. Yet, here he is still in the same situation before.

A lot of people would assume an increase in income is also an increase in cash flow, but those two are quite different.

What's the difference between Increase Income and Increase Cash Flow?

The simple difference between the two is that an Increase Income only involves your income and not really factoring your expenses and spending habit.

While the simple formula for Cash Flow is Income - Expenses = Cash Flow. Your spending habits, lifestyle, and expenses are involved in the formula to determine the amount of money that is left to save.

How to Increase Cash Flow?

There are five things I can tell you that would be of help:

1 Lessen Your Expenses and Lifestyle
This one is obvious but not too obvious apparently. For example, if you are paying 2,000 pesos for your internet service and you are just using internet for facebook and emails, you might consider getting a lower price plan. Most internet service providers offer 990 plan. For your lifestyle, you have to ask if you really need these things or find a cheaper alternative to what you want. Why buy an expensive white T-shirt when you can just buy one for 150 pesos in department stores.

2 Increase Your Income
As Johnny Marasigan did (minus the expensive lifestyle), he increased his income through rewards of his hard work and generally being a good and loyal employee to his company. If you can't see yourself increasing your cash flow any time soon in your company, get a sideline or part-time job to go above your expenses. A combination of lessening your expenses and lifestyle and and increased income will give you the savings you desire.

3 Pay off Your Debt
For those who have existing debts whether friends or company, it is better to pay your debt before considering saving a lot of money. Interests charges of these debt could lower your chances of a positive cash flow. try also consolidating debts like getting a personal loan to pay off your credit card debt. Personal loans have lower interest rates compared to credit card interest.

4 Track Your Income and Expenses
This is something that is needed but a lot of people seem to forget. It helps you monitor if your cash flow has increased or decreased so that you can be aware of your action plan for your next step in bringing it to the positive. You can make an excel file or a smartphone app that specifically does this. There are a lot of those in google play store.

5 Discipline Yourself
This is the most important part of increasing your cash flow. You can't exactly do anything about numbers 1-4 if you don't have the discipline to take action and avoid necessary liabilities in your wallet. Have a Whypower for saving. Write down your reasons in saving. Meditate on yourself. Pray to God Anything that can help your mental state (by anything, I mean anything not illegal or unethical).

Any problems with your cash flow? Try attending our free Building Your Future Orientation. Just comment below or send me a message in my facebook account.

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A Financial Seminar with Chinkee Tan

My friend texted me about a financial seminar by Chinkee Tan in Talisay City, Cebu. At first I was skeptical since the venue was the office of J810 Construction, a construction company in Talisay, and Chinkee never mentioned in his social media accounts that he will be in Cebu. Plus I only learned about it a week before the seminar. Then again, my friend is not really the type to prank me and she is very serious about finances so why the heck not.

 It just took me a jeep and 2 tricycle rides to get there (It's only 1 tricycle ride but since I was not familiar with the area, I went pass my location). As I trek the unpaved road to the construction office, I gladly saw a tarpaulin ad of Chinkee Tan. The guard and caretaker in front of the gate happily welcomed me inside their vicinity. They let me in a small part of their building which was actually a chapel converted into a meeting room. I waited for about half an hour and lo! Chinkee Tan entered the room.

Skipping my narrative to the seminar, we will be starting with what he was talking about. These are just quotes and the gist of these quotes basing on what I learned. This does not comprise entirely of his talk.

"You can never win in life with a Defeated Mindset."

Chinkee Tan has always promoted a positive mindset (thus his moniker Mr. Chink Positive!) in his books, talk shows, and seminars as a key for financial freedom and I totally agree with him. People are always inclined to think in the negative, never thinking about solutions that can surpass their current and future problems to the point that they will not take action or settle for things they know they are capable according to their perceived limit. This is bad since this can cause debt problems, family problems, and emergency problems.

A positive mindset sets yourself ready (mentally, physically, and spiritually) for any problems you may encounter. One obstacle won't deter you from pursuing your goals because you have a goal and you are determined to reach it. You have that never quit attitude that leads to success at the end of the road.

"Ang pera hindi kayang baguhin ang tao, pero ang pera ay makapagpalabas ng tunay na ugali ng tao." (Money cannot change a person, but it can show the real personality of a person)

Do you ever have that friend that asks you for money to pay off some things like a humble dog with cute puppy eyes then suddenly becomes arrogant and boast about his wealth because suddenly he has a lot of money? You would definitely say money changed him, but the truth is, that friend was always arrogant and boastful even when he didn't have any money. That's how money works on personality. It shows you what you really are inside. Note: This applies to positive personality like being generous for example.

"Ang taong nasaktan, sumasakit ng ibang tao." (A person who was hurt, hurts others)

#Hugot much, right? The truth is everyone who was ever felt wronged will sometimes reciprocate it on others. It's not logically and morally sound but those are realities of life. If you feel society has done you wrong, you would try and take a jab on society. I'm not promoting this type of behavior, by the way. Remember that Defeated Mindset? People who espouse such behavior have this type of mindset. Winners would convert the pain into something good for them and the people around them.

"Stop comparing yourself to people"

We have that moment were we feel jealous towards another person for having this and not having that. Then we start comparing and mostly the comparison derogates us and praises the other person. We now feel low and the other person is like an immortal god with features unattainable. 

We just have to stop with this train of thought.Sure that person has something to desire but being jealous and saying "that won't happen to me" won't do you any good. You are a unique person, start thinking positive about what you have rather than don't have and then cultivate that positive attribute into something awesome.

"Ang Ginoo na ang bahala." (Let God take care of it.)

I like to clarify that this is not a reason to lie down in bed all day and God will  miraculously  solve all your problems for you without you doing any effort. God says in James 2:14-17

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

What I'm simply telling you is if you have problems, reach out to God for help. After all in 1 Peter 5:7  says

7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

That's about what I can give to you during that seminar. If you want to know the latest update on Chinkee Tan, you can visit his website: www.chinkeetan.com

Also, I'd like to thank J810 Construction for hosting and allowing me and my friends to listen to Chinkee Tan for a small price.

If you have questions, you can comment or send me a message through my social media accounts. I hope you learned something.

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Giving Up 1 Bad Habit Can Give You Millions

Hello, Readers. I haven't blogged for a while because of a hectic schedule but I'm back in writing and writing more for my blog.

On today's post, I noticed some of my friends wanted to give up on their bad habits and finding ways to escape. Well, today I'm going to post about something that can motivate them. Investing!

How do you mean?

If you invested your money (e.g. stocks, mutual funds etc.) instead of buying the usual things that prompts your bad habit, you can earn millions.

For example:

If you are a smoker and likes to buy 1 pack of cigarette that cost Php 80 every day in a month that'll cost you about Php 2,400. If you invested that Php 2,400 in the stock market every month for 15 years with a 12% interest rate, it'll give you a return of Php 1,215,631.03 in 15 Years!  By the way, I specifically chose 15 years as, according to studies, if you stop smoking for 15 years your body returns to normal as if you didn't smoke. You got your health back and you have 1 million!

But of course, I leave you to choose: a million pesos in your bank or a trip to the ER for lung cancer.

Don't know about you but the former seems like a lucrative offer.

I hope this can motivate you.

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A free Survery for Understanding the Finances of Families

IMG is a financial distribution company that helps in people understanding their finances. I would like you to be a respondent for a survey that we are conducting. Please participate.
Thank you for participating in our survey. Here's a puppy for your time.

http://www.fanpop.com/

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The Rule of 72

Many know the name Albert Einstein.

Not Miley Cyrus.

Known as the father of modern physics, His contributions has greatly improved the field of science such as The Theory of Relativity and The Theory of Special Relativity. Could easily be one of the greatest man that ever lived.

But what does Albert Einstein got to do with finances?

It has something to do with his discovery of the rule of 72.

What is the rule of 72?

The rule of 72 lets us find out the time when our investment doubles given a fixed annual rate of return. It basically tells you how compounding interest works.

How does it work?

For example: Person A puts his 100K in a savings account which has 1% per annum. Person B puts his 100K in a mutual fund which has a 12% annual interest rate.

Person A
72/1=72 years before Person As money doubles to 200K

Person B
72/12= 6 years before Person Bs money doubles to 200K

It will really depend on which financial vehicle you will put your money. And no. If someone says to you that you will have 50% or 110% increase in just a month, that is just a scam.

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