I’ve been a follower of Bo Sanchez since year 2008. And I must say that Bo Sanchez is one of my biggest influence why I want to be filthy rich, not just Financially Independent.
Not because I want to buy latest sports car or build the biggest mansion. But simply because I want to help anyone who is in need of financial assistance.
I want to be like the one featured in GMA Kapuso who visits hospital and randomly pays the bills of those that doesn’t have the needed resources to lengthen the lives of their loved ones. I want to be the Santa Claus that gives hope every Christmas. And the good thing is, I don’t want to be the only one to do that.
That’s why just like him, I’m an advocate of wealth. Advocate of Financial Literacy. Advocate of Financial Planning. The same reason why I’m writing and sharing my knowledge thru Financial Planning Phils.
This story of Bo Sanchez about retirement was so enlightening (to think that I’m already aware of these retirement scenarios) that I’d like to share it to my friends, relatives and friends. Guys, I hope you read this and hope it creates an urgency to start saving and investing.
The story is entitled “Plant in the Spring Or Beg in the Fall”. But I think “Story of 2 Lolas” is the simplest way to describe it. Altho technically, on a deeper note, it’s all about Learning how to invest and investing at the earliest possible time.
The Story of Lola Penny
I have a friend who retired 7 years ago.
Let’s call her Lola Penny.
Actually, her real name was Lola Penang. She took a vacation in America, when she came back, she was now called Lola Penny.
Lola Penny is a widow with 4 children and 6 grandkids.
For 38 years, Penny worked as an accountant, crunching the numbers for her company. Because she was such a good accountant, she was promoted many times and became the manager of the entire department.
And she was earning very well.
But Penny told me that even if she was earning very well, she was living from paycheck to paycheck.
Which brings me to a very important principle: Income does not equal Wealth. It’s not how much you earn that makes you wealthy. It’s how much you invest from what you earn that makes you wealthy.
[ad#content300] Yes, she saved some money. But like most Filipinos, she saved only for the big expenses: She saved to buy a house. She saved to pay for the schooling of the kids. She even saved for the wedding of the kids. But she failed to save for the biggest expense of all: Retirement.
Like many, she totally depended on the retirement package from her company.
When she retired 7 years ago, Penny got P3 million.
For the first year, it was heaven on earth.
Every Sunday, she brought her grandchildren to the mall to buy them toys.
And when her children needed money, they’d run to her.
“Mommy, can we borrow money to repair our car?”
“Mommy, we lack P20,000 for Junior’s tuition fee. Can you help?”
“Mommy, your apo (grandson) will compete in a swimming competition in Singapore. Can you pay for his plane fare?”
But very quickly, her money ran out.
After 7 years in retirement, Lola Penny was penniless.
This Isn’t Just A Story;
This Is Harsh Reality
Today, Lola Penny totally depends on her 4 children to give her money. But she knows that they have financial problems of their own.
One time, she overheard her daughter arguing with her Kuya (older brother) on the phone. What she heard tore her heart.
With anger in her voice, her daughter said, “Kuya, it’s your turn to give money to Mommy! I’m the one who takes care of her at home! I’m the one spending for her food everyday! And I’m the one buying her medicines. Last week, I spent P3000 for her meds! My husband is already complaining why we always don’t have money!”
When Lola Penny heard her daughter complaining, she began to cry.
The painful words she heard that day were like many knives stabbing her chest.
Lola Penny felt she was just a burden to her children.
And she wanted to die right there.
Here’s the irony: All her life, as an accountant, Penny was very good at managing the money of her company—but she never managed her own money.
This is not just a story.
This is harsh reality: According to surveys, 98% of people aged 65 and above are just like Lola Penny.
They depend on their kids, or they depend on their tiny pension, or they depend on charitable institutions, or they have to keep working—or they have nothing to eat.
Only 2% of people aged 65 and above are financially free.
Like Lola Pilar.
The Story Of Lola Pilar
You can retire in two ways. You can retire like Lola Penny or you can retire like Lola Pilar.
Penny is a pseudonym. That’s not her real name.
But Lola Pilar is no pseudonym. Pilar is my mother. She is 85-years old.
Today, I give my mother a nice monthly allowance.
I do it not because she needs it, but because I need it. I need to show my love to her.
But in reality, my mother doesn’t need my money.
Let me tell you why.
Many moons ago, my mother worked in a small music store as a Cashier. Her salary was P120 a month. After working for 19 long years, she received a separation pay: A whopping P2000!
She invested that P2000 in the Stock Market.
The year was 1966.
And whenever she had extra money, she’d invest in very well known companies. My parents bought the stocks of giant companies of their time: San Miguel. Ayala. Etcetera.
My father retired at the age of 65. He passed away at 88. For those 23 years, my parents sold a portion of their stocks–little by little—for their big expenses.
After Dad passed away, Mom announced, “I’m selling all my stocks.” I was surprised that she still had P1 Million from that last sale—even if they were already withdrawing their cash from there little by little.
I asked her, “Did you sell everything?”
Mom said, “Yes, I did. Well, I left the crumbs…”
Crumbs?
“What crumbs?” I asked.
She explained, “Oh, I left the very little investments scattered in various companies. They’re very tiny. Nothing much.”
That conversation took place three years ago.
Just two months ago, I told her, “Mom, you’re 85. You better sell whatever you have left in the Stock Market. Yes, I know they’re crumbs. But just collect them anyway.”
She agreed. She called up her stockbroker and said, “Can you sell all the tiny stocks I have left?”
She was expecting P10,000. At most, P20,000.
But she got the shock of her life. The stockbroker told her, “Mrs. Sanchez, your stocks are worth P1.2 Million.”
Mom turned to me and said, “Bo, I’m rich!”
I told her, “Mom, you’ve always been rich. You just think you’re poor.”
Forty-five years ago, my mother planted P2000 in the Stock Market. And through the years, she planted little seeds of P50, P100, and P200 in giant companies.
Because she planted in the spring, today, she isn’t begging in the fall.
In her whole life, my mother never received a huge amount of money. She never inherited money. She never won the Lotto. She only built her wealth slowly.
Remember this truth I heard from David Bach: Wealth is not built in days; Wealth is built in decades.
There are two ways of retiring in life: Are you going to be a Lola Penny or a Lola Pilar?
God places the two roads before you.
Penny Poverty or Pilar Prosperity?
You choose.
God Says, “Plan Ahead!”
People today are living longer.
If you live until 90, will you have enough money for your needs? Or will you be depending on your kids?
God is telling you, “Plan ahead.”
Remember: No one plans to fail. We just fail to make a plan.
Jesus said, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ (Luke 14:28-30)
Today, think about the “tower” of your financial life.
God invites us to be like the ant. The Bible says, Go to the ant, sluggard; consider her ways and be wise; who, having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provides her food in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest. (Proverbs 6:6-8)
In other words?
The ant plants in the spring. So it won’t beg in the fall.
Plan To Be A Donor, Not A Donee!
Anawim is our home for the abandoned elderly. I built it some 13 years ago.
I know it’s a beautiful place. It’s so beautiful, some people tell me, “Bo, when I grow old, I dream of living there.”
No, I don’t want you to live there. That place is for the poorest of the poor. Old people who failed to plant in the spring and are now begging in the fall.
Don’t dream of being an Anawim resident. Dream of being an Anawim donor.
How?
The secret is in the next passage…
Don’t Borrow; Start Lending
Everytime I talk on finances, I ask the audience, “How many of you have debts?” The response is shocking. It was though I asked, “How many of you are human?”
Almost everyone has debts.
And Filipinos love the fact that they can borrow.
One woman told me, “I’m borrowing money from the SSS.” I asked, “Why?” She said, “Sayang if I won’t borrow.” (It would be waste.)
Huh? I don’t get it.
The Good Book says, For the LORD your God will bless you as He has promised you, and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow… (Deuteronomy 15:6)
Do you see what I see in that verse? It says that there are two signs that God is blessing you:
1. When you stop borrowing.
2. When you start lending.
Friend, stop borrowing. (Note: It’s okay to borrow for business; It’s not okay to borrow for your living expenses.)
Instead, start lending.
To whom will you lend?
99% of Filipinos “lend” to banks. How? You deposit your savings there.
But that’s not a good choice. The problem with banks is that they pay you a tiny interest of less then 1% a year.
I suggest you “lend” your money to others who can give you a higher return.
For example? Giant companies.
You can do that through the Stock Market or Mutual Funds.
If you really like banks, then don’t deposit your money in the bank itself. Instead, buy shares of the bank. Be an owner. How? Buy the stocks of Metrobank, Banco de Oro, Bank of the Philippine Islands…. Over a 20-year period, your returns will be much bigger!
The Universe Loves To Multiply
Do you want to prosper?
You need to learn these 6 important words from the Bible: Everything reproduces according to its kind.
A cat produces another cat.
A dog produces another dog.
I’ll be very worried if a cat produces a dog.
If that happens, the end of the world is near.
From my limited scientific knowledge, a cat produces another cat, a dog produces another dog, and a penguin produces another penguin. That’s just how God’s universe works.
The Bible says everything reproduces according to its kind. (Genesis 1:11) In fact, this line appears six times in the first chapter of Genesis. And you see it throughout the Bible.
When the widow of Zarapath gave Elijah her oil and flour, what did she get? More oil and flour. Not clothes. Not wood.
But oil and flour.
When Jesus fed the multitudes, he did it by (Surprise, surprise) multiplying 5 loaves and 2 fish.
He didn’t turn stone into bread.
He didn’t turn stone into gold, and then bought bread.
He turned bread into more bread.
Jesus—the Son of the Living God—needed bread to reproduce more bread.
Why?
Because this is a principle that operates the entire universe.
Everything reproduces according to its kind.
If you want to prosper, you need to learn how to multiply the little money that you have.
In 1966, Mom invested her separation pay of P2000. 45 years later, that P2000 became millions of pesos. (By the way, 1966 was really a good year for Mom. Not only did she receive P2000, she also gave birth to her favorite son. Ahem.)
Learn to multiply the little money that you have and you will prosper!
My Driver Is Now Investing
In The Stock Market
Let me end with one last story.
Because of my bestselling book, My Maids Invest In The Stock Market, my Maids are now the most famous Maids in the world. (Haha!) Yes, they have been investing in the Stock Market for a year now and are doing very well.
But my Driver just started two months ago.
Reason: He’s a 33-year old married guy. He has 4 little kids. His wife is a full-time mom, so the entire family depends on his salary of P12,000 a month.
That’s not all. His extended family and his wife’s extended family depend on his generosity during emergencies.
Which happens every time they breathe.
In other words, his P12,000 is feeding an entire village.
So how can he save and invest with all these expenses?
I didn’t force him.
Instead, I just let him listen to the stories of my Maids.
You see, every other week, I lead a small prayer meeting with our 3 Maids and Driver. And almost every meeting, my 3 Maids share how God is blessing their Stock Market investments.
I told my Maids that if they keep on investing the way they did last year, they’ll hit their first million in 7 years. That caught his attention. Finally, he said, “Ayokong ako lang ang hindi millionairyo! Magiinvest rin ako! (I don’t want to be the only one who isn’t a millionaire. I’ll start investing too!)”
Each month, he now sets aside P3000 of his salary for his Stock Market investments. And for the first time in his life, he has hope. He knows that he too will be a millionaire one day.
Today, when a relative or a neighbor begs for money, and he has no more money in his pocket, he can honestly say—“Sorry pare, wala akong pera ngayon.” (So sorry, I have no money with me now.)
Obviously, no one asks him, “Diba, may pera ka sa Stock Market?” (But don’t you have money in the Stock Market?)
No one knows about it. (Shhhhh!)
Note: By doing this, he’s also teaching them not to be parasites anymore. (But that’s another topic altogether.)
I’m very happy for him.
He’s 33 years old now. If he invests P3000 in the Stock Market each month at 12% until he retires at the age of 60, he’ll retire with P7 Million.
But analysts have backtracked the Philippine Stock Market’s history. If 20 years ago, you invested in the top 5 companies, your average growth rate would have been 20% per year.
So if my driver’s investments grow at 20% per year (especially with my guidance), by the time he retires, my driver will have P37 Million.
At P3,000 a month!
If you retire poor, it’s not God’s fault.
God is giving you a choice today.
Will you plant in the spring or beg in the fall?
May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez
Do you want to know Bo Sanchez Secrets? Check this link – http://bit.ly/bosecrets
In case you’d like to open a Mutual Fund Account, follow this link -> http://bit.ly/openmutualfunds