The Road to Financial Freedom

I came across a book by Bro. Bo Sanchez, the popular charismatic Catholic preacher, about the Eight Secrets of the Truly Rich. It talks about how his views on accumulating riches have changed from that of negative to positive. He also gives some practical steps on how to free oneself from financial burden and earn passive income that would give anybody the opportunity to increase the active income -- one derived from day job -- without really eating too much of one's time.

While the book teaches one to acquire more wealth, it stresses the point that everybody's primary objective for wanting to be rich is this: to be able to give more back to God and to share more to the less fortunate ones. It advocates reverse tithing, i.e., giving back 90% to God and retaining the 10% for personal use. But this, of course, is only possible if one has already made himself financially stable. And to do that, one has to learn first to tithe, i.e., giving back 10% of one's income to God and retaining the rest for personal use.

He does not, however, prevent one from giving more than the 10%. The more, the better. Conversely, he does not force anybody to give the actual 10% as he also subscribes to the tenet of giving according to the heart's desire.

Of the 90% left, 20% should be saved, practically leaving one with 70% disposable income. While most of us put all our extra money in banks, he does not totally agree to it because it does not maximize our earnings since banks give very little interest. Instead, he urges everyone to invest in government bonds, mutual funds, and stocks depending on one's tolerance for risk. Moreover, he prods all to get protection for oneself such as an insurance: life, health, pension, travel, etc. Nevertheless, he still advises each one to save an equivalent of three to six months' income in banks for emergency purposes.

Easier said than done, you may say. That is true to people who do not want to give it a try and who do not believe that it can be done. I tell you, IT CAN BE DONE! I have done it myself. I had actually started taking the initial step to my financial freedom a day before I turned 40 last November when I invested a portion of my and my wife's Christmas bonus in an equity fund. Then, just last Thursday, I invested again some amount from our loan proceeds in a peso bond in a very reputable mutual fund company. And I'm mulling of subscribing to a proposal of an insurance company for a combined insurance and investment deal. I'm just studying the fine prints very well before I finally decide next week.

I forgot to tell you, the money I'm investing in various fund management houses was supposed to be used for a foodcart franchise which my wife and I planned to put up. However, we had to let go of that decision for now until we are ready to be full-time businesspeople. Being full-time means we have to quit our present jobs and just focus on the business. We're not ready yet for that and we do not regret taking the alternative choice, that of investing in mutual funds.

In the next few days, I shall embark on another investment decision: to trade online. I have already opened an account in BPI Trade and I'm just psyching myself up to be an online stocks trader. With all these bold undertakings, I see myself fully free from my financial burdens in a year or two.

How about my tithing, you may ask? It's a matter between me and my God. But one thing I tell you, I have proved that the more you give, the more you receive. Try it also and you will see the downpour of financial blessings. And by the way, I have also joined Bro. Bo's Truly Rich Club and have started reaping some of the benefits he promised those who would join. I invite you to join, too! Just visit http://www.trulyrichclub.com/ and start reaping the riches God has prepared for you. Again, the bottomline is to give back to God and to the needy.