Money Matters
By Randell Tiongson
Philippine Daily Inquirer
9:58 pm | Tuesday, May 28th, 2013
Suze Orman is probably the most recognized personality in the world when it comes to personal finance, and for good reason as she has sold millions of books and has a long running and award-winning TV show.
There is one more thing you should know about Suze Orman—she loves Filipinos.
In 2012, Suze Orman visited the Philippines as part of BPI’s personal finance advocacy campaign and I was given an opportunity to meet her up close and personal.
A few days ago, this force in personal finance was back in the country with even more events lined up by BPI.
What was her message this time around? Well, it’s virtually the same message she gave last year; a message that Pinoys need to hear again.
Having employed many Filipinos for years, Suze Orman is well aware of our culture of providing for family members.
She has coached many Pinoys working for her and this is what she always says—“It’s OK to take care of others, but you also have to take care of yourself, too.”
She believes that there must be a limit to how we help our kin and that the nation should not be too dependent on the 11 million overseas Filipino workers.
She also encourages us to “do the right things, not what the culture says”—referring to the social pressure of financial dependence.
“The greatest thing you can do for yourself is to pay your debts,” she adds.
Suze Orman is also very much concerned about the growing number of people who are now in debt. She is also aware that Pinoys are becoming more attracted to borrowing than before. She advises Filipinos to pay debts first before buying stuff and she urges us to be more prudent, especially now that our economy is growing.
“If you don’t have money saved, spend your money just on needs. All the things you buy are really worthless,” she says.
She notes that Asians in general have very good work ethics and her exposure to many Filipinos reinforces that observation. They are always working hard and they are willing to work longer than everybody else but they must also learn how to save and invest more.
Orman admits that she is very direct with her message even if it’s really not what people want to hear.
“I speak with much force because of what I have seen and been through. I don’t wonder if what I say works, I know it does,” she says.
Her personal experiences fuel her passion to make people financially educated. The Philippines is a place for her to give back and not to make more money—“I already have all the money I need, I don’t need more” and “my goal is to create financial education for free for Filipinos.”
Given the opportunity, she would love to work with the Philippine government and the financial institutions as an advocate and not as a business person. Like her first trip, this trip is also a non-revenue endeavor for Suze Orman. “I’m here in the Philippines for the right reason and with the right message.”
On investing, Suze Orman gives this advice: “The best lesson in investing is to listen to my own heart, listening to the voice of God.”
While there is value to what experts tell you, you must know for yourself what is best for you.
She is very bullish on the Philippines, saying that investing in the Philippines is a very good idea. She recommends investing in the stock market through an index equity mutual fund as against a managed equity fund. However, I believe she needs to be advised that as per local experience, managed equity funds (mutual funds and UITF) have consistently outperformed the index for many years. She also advocates regular investing using the Dollar (Peso) Cost Averaging method. She also likes investing in high dividend stocks and exchange traded funds (ETF). She also says “forget dollars, stick to pesos!”
On a personal note, Suze Orman encouraged me to push financial education for more Filipinos to help them become financially secure. Suze Orman’s message is not only timely; it’s something we should hear over and over again.
Learn how to invest properly at the iCon 2013: The No Nonsense Investments Conference at the SMX on June 22, 2013. It features Efren Cruz (Investment Planning), Chinkee Tan (Entrepreneurship), Marvin Germo (Stock Market), Dennis Sy (Stewardship) and me. Presented by Sunlife Financial. For inquiries, send e-mail to icon2013@ephesians.ph
Randell Tiongson is a Registered Financial Planner of RFP Philippines. To learn how to become RFP, attend our free personal finance talk on June 6, 7 p.m., PSE Ortigas. To reserve, please e-mail at info@rfp.ph. Visit http://www.randelltiongson.com/
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