PERA

3 Ways to Top Up Your BPI PERA Account

PinShare23TweetShare23 SharesAfter opening a Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA), our next step is to make sure that we top up our account every year. In this post, I will share three ways to top up your BPI PERA account. Yes, there are only three ways to do it. But before we proceed, in case you’re not familiar with PERA yet, you can read these related posts: What is PERA and Why You Need One Right Now? Ultimate Guide to PERA Investment Instruments 1. Personally visit BPI Buendia Center in Makati If you’re in Metro Manila, the easiest and most

January 27, 2020 2 Comments

How Much Should Your Investments Grow to Beat Inflation

Back to Basics

How much should your investments grow annually to beat inflation?

PinShare8TweetShare8 SharesHow much should our investments grow each year? Most of us would answer that our investments should, at the very least, beat inflation. Despite the simplicity of this guideline, many investors do not really understand what it means. Or if we understand what it means, we do not know how to apply it to our investment strategy. For many of us, as long as our investments have positive returns, we’re good. Never mind if the said returns are barely able to cover inflation. In this post, I will reinforce why we should target to beat inflation AND figure out

January 20, 2020 2 Comments

Psychology of Money

A Decade in Review

PinShare16TweetShare16 SharesSince it’s the start of a new decade, I can’t help but reminisce and look back to the last 10 years, both to see how far I’ve come and to remind myself of how far I need to go. I’ve always been open about sharing with you guys how I grew up in poverty and the reasons why want to achieve financial independence. If you haven’t read that post yet and you’re curious, go to Why I Want to FIRE – A Personal Tale of Early Woes and Awesome Wins. Despite my disadvantaged background, I worked hard to get out

January 11, 2020 22 Comments

Education

Government Scholarships for College Students in the Philippines

PinShare15TweetShare15 SharesThis post is the continuation of my series on the available scholarships for Filipino students. For additional ideas, read the following post: Corporate Scholarships for College Students in the Philippines How to Find Scholarship Programs in the Philippines I will keep these posts evergreen. Meaning I will constantly update it with new information. I also welcome contributions from readers so if you want to share your experiences about applications and whatnot, please feel free to write a comment or send me a message. Be sure to check out the miscellaneous information section of each

December 6, 2019 3 Comments

WTTK

WTTK #1: Should I Transfer Property to a Relative?

PinShare6TweetShare6 Shares What’s the Tea, Katie? or WTTK, is where I answer financial and investment questions from the readers of the Katie Scarlett Needs Money blog. Although I try my best to answer the questions based on the information provided, I want to reiterate that I am not a not a licensed professional. These are my opinions and suggestions based on what I think are the best information available. On the other hand, I am not selling you any investment advice and/or products, so you can be assured that I’m not being biased since I have no hidden agenda. 😀

November 29, 2019 No Comments

Education

How to Invest for College – A Simple Method

PinShare22TweetShare22 SharesIf you’re a parent like me, one of your most important financial goals is to save and invest enough for your child’s college education. Even though there is an emerging trend in western and developed countries of people opting out of college, we in developing countries do not have the same luxury. If we ever want to ensure that our children stay out of poverty, have high paying jobs (if they choose to), and receive a modicum of respect from society, they need to attend and finish college. Periodt. Not saving enough money for your child’s college education is

November 22, 2019 4 Comments

Products Services and Reviews

Gift Ideas for the Financially Savvy Person in Your Life

Pin2Share16TweetShare18 SharesMost of us find it hard to find gifts to celebrate special times. So I compiled a list of gift ideas for the financially savvy person in your life to help you plan for the holidays. Of course, you can also just give people gifts as a way to make them feel special, even when there’s no occasion. YOUNG CHILDREN The best time to start a person’s financial education is when they’re still young. For young children, it’s best to keep it simple. Start by teaching them the value of saving their money. For this, you basically have two

November 15, 2019 No Comments

Cross Border Investment

I Opened a TD Ameritrade Account – Now What?

PinShare1TweetShare1 SharesAfter the initial excitement of having a US-based online brokerage account, readers messaged me asking what else they need to do to actually start investing through TD Ameritrade. They needed additional information and guidance on how to proceed. This post is to bridge that knowledge gap from account activation to buying the stock or mutual fund of your choice. I wrote this post because I thought that if there are people who took the time to write me and ask these questions, there must be others who have the same questions but didn’t bother to write. If you’re one of

November 8, 2019 47 Comments

FIRE

Why I Want to FIRE – A Personal Tale of Early Woes and Awesome Wins

PinShare32TweetShare32 SharesI was in yoga class one night when I realized that I’ve been speaking to you guys about money and ways to achieve financial goals but you barely know anything about me, Katie Scarlett. After bringing this fact up to my son, I decided to be more open with you guys. I want to share with you why I want to achieve financial independence and early retirement (FIRE). I feel privileged that so many of you have shared your stories and goals with me privately via email or Facebook messenger. And to balance that out, I think it’s now

October 31, 2019 12 Comments

OFW

Analysis of Common Investment Options for OFWs

Pin6Share29TweetShare35 SharesA great way for OFWs to maximize their earnings abroad is through investing. Instead of just putting their money away in a regular bank savings account, OFWs can instead make that money earn more money by investing. But not all investments are created equal. Depending on several factors, one option may be great for you while it is not so for another. In this post, I will share my analyses of common investment options for OFWs. I mentioned in the post How to Build a Strong Financial Foundation As An OFW that you need to be prepared, mentally and financially, even

October 16, 2019 6 Comments