Finance Fridays: How I Got My Parents to Invest

Hi! Welcome to the first (ever) edition of Finance Fridays, brought to you by Davao Mommy!

*saboy confetti*

Background

I'm very interested in personal finance. I've always been interested in budgeting tools - may it be pen-and-paper, mobile apps, or online tools. However, I haven't made much of a saving because I'm always tempted to spend and shop. This problem of mine intensified when I became a ~~young~~ mom because now, I'm shopping for two!

Do you have any idea how fun it is to shop for baby stuff?

But I'm getting ahead of myself - way ahead of myself. Early this year, I discovered the "magic" of investing in stocks. I learned about it first from a former officemate's blog post. I'm so thankful I read that post because my eyes have been opened.

(The post contains affiliate links to Bo Sanchez's Truly Rich Club. Roj, the blogger, might not know this but please use her links if ever you want to sign up to the club. It's just my "secret" way of giving back.)

Alright, so truthfully, I haven't signed up to the club yet. Also, I haven't begun investing in the stock market yet. Why? Because I believe it would be unwise to invest my money when I haven't built an emergency fund yet. That's our financial stage now. We're still building enough emergency fund, which is potentially equivalent to 6 months of our combined income. Midway through building it, I guess we can begin investing in stocks.

The Folks

The folks (My father is actually a big and tall person - don't be deceived. :P)

They don't have any debts that I know of, which makes them good candidates. But my parents are very risk-averse people. This means they don't want to take risks, and they want to be "safe than sorry."

That's why all of their money are in the bank, which, I learned, is a very futile method. This is because the interest rate in banks (usually 1%) is lower than the inflation rate (around 3%)! This means you are actually losing money.

I've been urging them to invest in the stock market. However, my parents, especially my mom, comforts in the knowledge that their money is safe in the bank. But I asked them, "In 10-15 years, would you be able to live with that amount of money?"

That did not do the trick. Hehehe.

So how did I get my parents to invest?

Well, it's actually not all me. They bumped into Papa's former colleague from Casino Filipino, nagkamustahan, and found out that he's been investing into the stock market. And he's living a comfortable, retired life now! My parents got encouraged to try investing because they saw with their own eyes the fruits of investing in the stock market.

Of course, when I heard about this, I immediately opened the COLFinancial website for them. They saw that it is a reputable site. We printed the application forms this morning and later, I will email Customer Support to ask how my father can sign the documents (he suffered from a stroke 6 years ago).

They, especially my father, are really eager to begin investing. They asked me the proper way to do it. As for me, I assigned myself their official "stock broker." Ano daw? Now, I'm urging them to read the personal finance books I have also read to enhance their knowledge.

Thoughts on Retirement

I'm happy and relieved because I know they will be living a comfortable life in 10-15 years. My father will officially be a Senior Citizen (much to his dismay!) in 2 years, but it's never too late to start investing, right?

Finance experts will usually advice us that the earlier we start, the better. However, for some of us, like my parents, this is not anymore an option. I think this is because they were brought up thinking that the banks are the only way to save money and that real estate are the only way to invest. I'm lucky because I got to know and learn more about investing early, and I'm happy to be able to share it to others.

For now, they are still beginning to invest. However, I can picture the two of them years from now, traveling all over the country and even abroad. What a wonderful image. :-)

Post-script

I am not an expert on personal finance or stock investment. However, please don't be shy to ask me questions. I did enough research for months now so I think I would be able to answer your queries. :-)

Disclaimer

I am not in any way connected to Bo Sanchez, the Truly Rich Club, or CitisecOnline (COLFinancial). I'm just a girl, standing in front of you, asking you to listen to me. JK! Seriously I'm just sharing my thoughts here. :-)