How to Open a CitisecOnline Account

How to Open an Account with CitsecOnline

So you want to learn and earn from the Philippines stock market? You may want to start with the things every newbie should know about the stock market. It highlights the most basic questions about the stock market, how to get started in investing, where to invest, what are some of the best blogs and online resources  when investing in the stock market. 

Steps on How to Open an Account with CitisecOnline:

1. Choose a trading/investing account 

Options available are Personal Accounts which is divided in Regular Account and the EIP (Easy Investment Program) and Corporate Accounts. 

a. Regular Account 

- Minimum deposit of P 25,000). 

- It is a personal trading account that be owned by a single person or jointly.

b. EIP (Easy Investment Program) 

- Minimum deposit - P 5,000

- Uses a calendared Cost Averaging Strategy. It means that you will have to follow a schedule and regular investment on the account (for example: P5,000 monthly)

2. Download and fill up the Personal Account or Corporate Account Forms

a. Personal Account Forms:

The forms contain the Individual Customer Account Information Form (CAIF), Online Securities Trading Agreement and Signature Cards. You may download all of three here. 

b. Corporate Account Forms:

Customer Account Information Form (Download here)

Online Securities Trading Agreement (Download here)

Signature Cards (Download here) 

For detailed instructions on how to fill out the Personal Account: EIP & REGULAR Account forms, click here. 

What are the Requirements?

3. Prepare two (2) copies of any valid ID and one (1) latest copy of your utility bill, bank statement or credit card statement.

a. Personal Account

(1) Photocopy or Scan copy of a Government Issued Valid ID

(ex. Driver's License, Passport, SSS ID, Senior Citizen ID, Voter's ID)

Important note: Photo and Signature on the ID should be clear

(2) Billing Statement - waived with a personal appearance

(ex. Utility Bill, Credit Card Bill)

Important note: Name, Address and Date should be present in the statement

b. For Corporate Account

a. Photocopy of each of the following documents duly Certified by the corporate secretary:

SEC Registration

Articles of Incorporation, Partnership or equivalent

By-Laws of the Corporation

Latest General Information Sheet (GIS) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Latest Audited Financial Statements

Notarized Board Resolution authorizing the corporation to open an account with

b. CitisecOnline and the designated officer(s) authorized to transact and trade in behalf of the corporation

c. Sworn Statement as to the existence or non-existence of beneficial owners certified by the corporate secretary

d. Photocopy of one (1) identity document issued by the Philippine Government of the authorized officer(s)

4. Submit the documents to CitisecOnline

CitisecOnline.com, Inc.

Address: 2403B East Tower, Philippine Stock Exchange Centre,

Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City, 1605 Philippines

Note: Hard Copies of the documents are needed as the company cannot approve scanned or faxed copies of the application forms.

How to Fund the Account?

5. Fund the Account

Once your application has been approved, we will send you your 8-digit CitisecOnline account number to be used for your funding.

You can now fund your CitisecOnline Account through any of the following options:

FUNDING OPTIONS	BANKS AVAILABLE
Online Banking via Merchant Payment	Bank of the Philippine Islands - www.bpiexpressonline.com Banco de Oro - www.mybdo.com.ph Metrobank - www.metrobank.com.ph
Over-the-Counter via Merchant Payment	Bank of the Philippine Islands Banco de Oro Metrobank
Over-the-Counter via CitisecOnline Business Center	CitisecOnline Business Center 2403B East Tower, Philippine Stock Exchange Centre, Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Philippines

*It is IMPORTANT to indicate the CITISECONLINE ACCOUNT HOLDER'S NAME and

COL ACCOUNT NUMBER when making payments to ensure proper and timely credit to your account.

Minimum Initial Deposit for EIP Account: P5,000

Minimum Initial Deposit for Regular and Corporate Account: P25,000

6. Login to your CitisecOnline Account

Once your account has been approved and funded, your log-in details will be sent to you via email.

7. Have fun investing and trading!

Should you have any investing and finance-related questions, feel free to ask me and I will try to answer them in the next Reader Asks section of this blog. 

How to Live Life Like Warren Buffett

While trying to reach my financial goals in life, there are several people that I look up to for inspiration and motivation. One of them is the ultimate finance genius - Warrenn Buffett. 

If you're like me and you've always wondered how did he acquire his wealth, how does he make such intelligent financial decisions, below are just some gold nuggets that if only we could all follow, we would all enjoy a much more bountiful and comfortable life. His ways are not always the easiest, but always worth the try. 

Thank you Issa of  You Want to be Rich for sharing this gold nugget on your Wall. 

Think Before You Click - Finance Edition

GMA's Think Before You Click campaign  admonishes close to 30 million Filipinos online to think twice before posting anything on the internet. Just as character Erica Albright on The Social Network movie said, "Internet's not written in pencil, [Mark], it's written in ink", everything we post online are archived and could be used against us. 

While it may take years to build a reputation online, it could only take a single tweet or blog post to ruin it. What we post could influence the way other people think and how they perceive us. The question is simple, "When potential employers search your name on Google, are they going to like what they will see?"

In support of the said campaign, I created a finance edition. May the following reminders help us to become more vigilant and more careful of what we post online or click online.

1. Online Scams and Get Rich Schemes

When something seems to be too good to be true, then it probably is. Before you sign up for any program, be sure to thoroughly research about it. Do not just take anyone's word about it. Testimonials from their website and even your own relatives could not save you once you realize that a program is a scam. You are solely reliable for your actions and purchases both online and offline. Before deciding on joining any program, do a background check. Think twice before you click on that Buy button. Since scammers are innovating and taking advantage of the advancements in the technology, you may want to take a look at how they use charities to scam people and the top 10 online scams and perhaps one of the most common scams that most people fall into is the au pair scam.

2. Online Purchases

Being causes when clicking and joining online schemes are not the only ones that we must be careful. We should be careful of the seemingly normal activities we do such as online games as we might become like the 12-year-old FarmVille user who runs up to £900 debt.

3. Links
The internet can become a great resource of various knowledge and studies. However, it can become a place wherein rumors spread so fast. It can become a place where viruses and harmful programs that aim to destroy a system and even a person's reputation can become easily spread. Be careful when clicking links as the next link that you may click may lead to getting your account or system hacked. It may cost you money, or even your reputation.

Below is an infographic of famous celebrities who accounts were hacked. Series of tweets and updates were sent out from their accounts which aim to tarnish their reputations. Practice precaution by being careful with what links you click and by regularly changing your password.

How to Hide the Facebook Ticker

Facebook is known for making unnecessary changes - at least for the normal users. The most recent (and hopefully the last, at least let this year end without any more changes, please?) change that the social networking site has done is the Facebook Ticker which literally ticks people off. It's purpose is to simply tick you off. :) Seriously, the redesigned Facebook's Ticker 

...lets you see all your friends' activity in real-time. When you hover over an item on ticker, you can see the full story and join the conversation as it happens. Ticker updates itself as stories happen. This gives you a more complete picture of what your friends are doing, right now.

There's no escaping from this feature. You may resize it but Facebook doesn't give you the liberty to minimize it. 

You can't close ticker, but you can make it smaller by moving the horizontal bar between ticker and chat. Slide the bar up to hide ticker and make your chat list longer. Pull the bar down to show more of the ticker and hide chat.

You may, however, hide it. 

Hiding the Facebook Ticker in Chrome and Firefox

In Chrome, all you need to do is install the Hide Facebook SideBar Ticker extension. Once installed, close your Chrome browser and login once again to your Facebook account and bam, no more annoying Facebook Ticker!

In Firefox, you will need to install a user script. To do so, first install the Greasemonkey add-on and then install this user script. When prompted, restart Firefox and the ticker will be gone. Do note that this user script removes the entire right column of Facebook, including the ticker, event invitations, ads, sponsored stories, friends' photos, and so on.

There you go, hope you enjoy a Facebook Ticker-less Facebook! 

#ReaderAsks: Should I invest P5,000 of P25,000?

Question:

Should I invest P5,000 of P25,000?

Answer: 

When investing in the stock market, one of the several homeworks which you need to do is to determine your risk appetite whether you're a risk averse or risk taker type of person. Also, please do keep in mind that money that you invest shouldn't be your lifetime savings. You need to save a portion of your salary and make sure it's your spare fund or not the one that you would constantly or regularly need. Again, don't bet your whole life savings especially when you're just starting to invest and have little to no background of how the stock market works. 

When I started, I invested P 25,000 through Citiseconline since it's their minimum opening balance requirement. I wish I've put in much more since you couldn't really buy a lot of stocks with such fund. However, if you're just starting and wish to observe the trend of the market, do not bet your whole savings. So again, when you are just starting, you may want to invest P5,000 just to kick start your investing journey and you could do that through First Metro Investment Corporation, a subsidiary of Metro Bank. Research on a single company and focus on its future plans and current standing. It's hard to diversify when you have such a limited fund so it's best to focus on a single company and when you think you could manage to invest in more companies, that's the time when you could try adding more. 

If you are a risk taker, you may want to start investing with like P25,000 and check on various companies so if you are sure as to which do you wish to invest in, it's much easier to diversify. 

For other questions that were previously asked and answered, feel free to read other #ReaderAsks. 

#ReaderAsks: "How much percentage would I gain if I invest P25,000?"

Question: 
How much percentage would I gain if I invest P25,000?

Answer: 
Perhaps the most commonly asked question both from my blog readers and colleagues at work is that how much would they gain if they invest a certain amount of money in the stock market.

By the way, if you're a newbie wanting to invest in the stock market and wish to know the basics, here's my attempt to put together a resource which could hopefully help you get started.

When you're investing in the stock market, you can't really measure as to how much you will earn in three days, two weeks, or two months. The price of the stock you've invested in to varies depending on various factors such as the most recent news and developments about the company, rumors by tsupiteros (yes, they still affect stock prices at some point), and the fundamentals of the company so there's not really a way to tell you as to how much you will gain with a definite time frame because no matter how much one would forecast, there are still a lot of factors which could change the stock price of the company you've invested in. The stock market is a place that doesn't guarantee anything. However, you could lessen the risks by doing your homework of researching about the company and its plans, attending seminars so you could listen to seasoned traders and investors, always be on the look out for the latest updates about the company you've put your money in and it also helps to get in touch with fellow traders so you could exchange updates.

If you wish to read previous questions asked by other readers, feel free to go to my #ReaderAsks. 

How to Withdraw Money from PayPal to BDO Debit Card?

Question: 

How do I withdraw my money from Paypal to BDO (Banco de Oro)? How much is the withdrawal fee? How long does it take for the money to be transferred to my local bank account?

Answer: 
When you're done signing up for Paypal (here's a quick tutorial if you still haven't) and you wish to withdraw your funds in a bank in the Philippines, two of proven successful ways are through Union Bank's EON Card and through Banco de Oro (BDO) Debit Card. 

How to Withdraw your Paypal funds to Banco de Oro

In order for you to withdraw your money from Paypal to your BDO bank account or debit card, you need to add your bank account details. To do this, simply go to the My Account tab, Profile then Add/Edit Bank Account. You will then be require to provide the details such as the Country, Name on Account (make sure the name you provide matches that which is in your local bank account), Bank Name, Bank Code, Account Number and re-enter the latter.  Please note that you have to enter the 10-digit account number (which is the same with your online banking account if you have one with BDO) and not the 16-digit numbers which you could see in your ATM card.

 Below is a complete list of Paypal Bank Codes in the Philippines. For Banco de Oro, it is 010530667.

Official List of PayPal Philippines Bank Codes

BANK NAME	BANK CODE
ALLIED BANKING CORP	010320013
AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND	010700015
ASIA UNITED BANK	011020011
BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS	010030015
BANGKOK BANK	010670019
BANK OF AMERICA	010120019
BANK OF CHINA	011140014
BANK OF TOKYO	010460012
BANCO DE ORO (& EQUITABLE PCI BANK)	010530667
BANK OF COMMERCE	010440016
BANK OF THE PHIL ISLANDS (BPI)	010040018
CHINA BANKING CORP	010100013
CHINA TRUST COMML BANK	010690015
CITIBANK N.A.	010070017
DEVT BANK OF THE PHILS (DBP)	010590018
DEUTSCHE BANK	010650013
EAST WEST BANK	010620014
EXPORT & INDUSTRY BANK	010860010
FUJI BANK	010640010
HONGKONG AND SHANGHAI BANK (HSBC)	010060014
INTL COMML BANK OF CHINA	010560019
INTL EXCHANGE BANK	010680012
JP MORGAN CHASE BANK	010720011
KOREA EXCHANGE BANK	010710018
INTL NEDERLAND BANK	010660016
LANDBANK OF THE PHILS	010350025
MAYBANK OF THE PHILS	010220016
METROPOLITAN BANK & TRUST CO	010269996
PHIL BANK OF COMMUNICATION	010110016
PHIL TRUST COMPANY	010090039
PHIL NATIONAL BANK (PNB)	010080010
PRUDENTIAL BANK	010150018
PHIL VETERANS BANK	010330016
RIZAL COMML BANKING CORP (RCBC)	010280014
SECURITY BANK & TRUST CO	010140015
STANDARD CHARTERED BANK	010050011
UNITED COCONUT PLANTERS BANK	010299995
UNION BANK OF THE PHILS (UBP)	010419995
UNITED OVERSEAS BANK	010270189

Once done adding your bank details, go to My Account tab, Withdraw and click on the option Withdraw funds to your bank account. The second option which is to Withdraw funds to your card is used when withdrawing your funds to your Union Bank's EON card. 

Type in the amount you wish to withdraw and since the option says Banco de Oro (Philippines), simply press Continue. 

How much does it cost? How long does it for the fund to be transferred?

If you choose to Withdraw funds to your bank account (Banco de Oro), withdrawals from  P7,000.00 PHP or more is free of charge while a fee of P50.00 will be automatically deducted for for P6,999.99 PHP or less withdrawal. It takes 2-4 business days (without holidays) for the money to be successfully transferred. 

However, if you're going to Withdraw funds to your card, it would take 5-7 business days before the money is reflected to your local bank account (EON Card or Credit Card) and a fee of P250.00 PHP will be deducted. 

Successful Withdrawal from my Paypal Account to my Local Bank Account

Below is a screenshot of how I was able to successfully withdraw my funds from Paypal to Banco de Oro. There will also an email which will be sent to your email associated with your Paypal to notify you of the completion of the transaction. Happy freelancing and withdrawing! ;)

#ReaderAsks: Investing Questions From Readers Will be Answered

Every week, I try to give answers to #ReaderAsks or questions sent by my beloved readers through email, Twitter or Facebook. If you have questions of your own, feel free to send them through those media. 

You might want to take a look at the questions from #ReaderAsks that were already answered:

#ReaderAsks: How Do I Get a Job Even if I Didn't Graduate from College?

#ReaderAsks: What Should I Do to Marry a Rich Guy?

#ReaderAsks: How Much Is the Minimum Investment in the Stock Market?

#ReaderAsks: How Did You Learn About the Stock Market & Could You Suggest Books?

For this week, I got several questions from colleagues and readers alike. The following questions from readers will be answered:

Updated with Links:

1. "How much percent would I gain if I invest P25,000?"

2. "Should I invest P5,000 of P25,000?"

3. "What is index fund?"

4. "Should I invest in the stocks or mutual funds?"

5."Where can I find a list of traditional brokers?"

While I try to answer each question to the best that I can, I do not claim expertise in this field as I am a newbie myself that continues to learn from various people and mentors that I meet along the way through my investing journey. If you have been investing in the stock market and have quite an extensive knowledge regarding the subject or may have more details to share in regards to the questions, feel free to leave your comments below or contact me through the media mentioned above. Me and my readers would like to hear what you got to share so if you may have additional answers to the following questions, feel free to let us know. 

The answers to the questions above-mentioned will be published each way so stay tuned or be the first to know as soon as they are published through the following social media sites Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus.

How to Revert or Bring Back the Old Facebook Chat Box

"Move fast and break things" is Mark's prime directive to his developers and team. "Unless you are breaking stuff," he says, "you are not moving fast enough."

Looks like Facebook has been fast in breaking things to the extent of breaking the chat box interface when they rolled out "something awesome" - Skype Video Calling and Group Chat, that is.  Basically it's Skype on Facebook. So when they moved too fast, they ended up messing with chat box. 

The New Facebook Chat Box Layout

This is how the new Facebook Chatbox layout looks like. You would have no idea as to the exact number of your friends are online and there's no way to scroll down or up. Also, it looks like my grouping doesn't work because it simply shows a limited view of a few friends online all at one view and I could not sort them in any way. It means I could no longer be offline to a specific group. 

The Solution on How to Bring Back the Old Facebook Chat Box

The good news is that there's a get-around with it. If you're using Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox as your internet browser then you can simply download a script or add-on, respectively.

Solution to Mozilla Firefox

Install this Firefox Facebook Sidebar Chat Reversion Greasemonkey add-on. Once you're done downloading it, simply restart your browser and you will be greeted with the old Facebook chat box. 

 Solution to Google Chrome

Google Chrome users don’t need to download Greasemonkey since the Chrome browser natively supports the extension so all you need to do is install the Chrome / Firefox Facebook Sidebar Chat Reversion user script.

Google Chrome also allows you to get back the old Facebook chat interface while in Incognito Mode. To do that, just tick the box that says “Allow in Incognito” under “Facebook Sidebar Chat Reversion” in Extensions (Settings > Tools > Extensions).

Facebook Chat Pop Out

If you wish not to install any Greasemonkey user script, you can always opt to use the Facebook Chat Pop Out. 

There you have it, there are several ways to fix the new Facebook Chat Box and easily revert or bring it back to its old form. You simply need to choose which one is being supported by your browser or whichever you prefer. Happy chatting! :)

#ReaderAsks: How Do I Get a Job Even if I Didn't Graduate from College?

Good question, I must say. Based on the 2006 to 2007 NSCB statistics, the dropout rate in the Philipines increased from 8.6 percent to 9 percent, far from the 2006 target of decreasing it to 5.5 percent and 2009 target of 4.3 percent. The data above is for the primary or elementary level alone. 

With the increasing number of dropouts or people who could no longer afford to pay the tuition fees due to continuing tuition hikes more and more students enrolled in private colleges and universities find themselves either dropping out or forced to transfer to state institutions, we find more and more of our countrymen facing a much higher and direct problem of not getting hired in a country where educational background and status is very important. As of  the latest data available in 2009, Philippines has an estimated unemployment rate of 7.3%.

Now, instead of going to the streets rallying and protesting because the government has not done enough in providing programs and projects that will help ensure that our countrymen would get at least secondary level of education and providing trainings that will assist them in getting employed, let us focus on the individual efforts that we can do to help ourselves. Let us not depend everything to the government because while our state may try to assist us in every way, our success still depends on our individual efforts. 

In my previous post entitled, Don't Let Lack of Degree Get in The Way to Success, I provided a list of jobs that one could have even if he's an undergraduate. Also, you might want to develop certain qualities that could help you in Surviving the Recession by Quitting Your Job. Now once you're done learning those qualities, and having the right mind set, the following steps might be able to aid you in better understanding your skills and landing a job. While I may not guarantee you a managerial job, I would guarantee that once you have the right attitude and proper skills, you would get a job in one way or another. 

1. Learn an Employable Skill

Take a look at a local classified ads or even online job boards and see which skills are the companies you would like to work for. It should give you an idea what is in demand and what specific skills are required to be able to employed in the said job. 

There is a great difference between a hobby and an employable skill. Be sure to learn one that is both something you're passionate about and what companies would need.

2. Get Help from TESDA
The Philippines government has a specialized department in helping the less privileged in getting training and developing technical skills that would later help you getting employed. Browse their website and learn more about the programs that they offer and see which interests you the most.

When I graduated from high school, I was so confident that my aunt would help me out once I get to college since she has long been promising it to me only to be notified that she could no longer help us out. The notification came in late and I didn't really apply for any scholarship before so I sort of panicked that maybe I could no longer go to college. Luckily, our neighbor informed us that TESDA has a scholarship posting and that there will be an examination the week after. So we rushed in our local TESDA office and checked their requirements and the week after, I took their examinations. To make the long story short, I passed, finished college with a Diploma in Computer Studies while I was working part-time in Jollibee Foods Corporation and once I graduated, I took a chance in STI's E2E program and when Callbox went to our school after our graduation, I was interviewed and got hired the same day.

The government and even NGO's have a lot of programs and scholarships that are actually waiting for the right canditate. You just have to seek for it.


3. Start Low and Be Alert for Every Opportunity
Don't be afraid to take on an entry-level job, a part-time job because opportunities always come to the right person, with the right skills and attitude. While I was working with Jollibee, I knew I was destined for greater opportunities so I was always on the look out for one. Once people see your enthusiasm and dedication in what you do, the ladder of success will eventually be laid out for you.

4. Online Jobs
Since high school I was always looking for summer jobs and unfortunately, I found none. I felt really hopeless then because all I see are summer jobs for the US teens. I felt like there's not much opportunity for Filipinos at all. But then again, the internet proved me wrong, there are actually myriad of opportunities online and what they only need is your persistent attitude. Start with Bestjobs.ph or Onlinejobs.ph. I got my first ever online job as a virtual assistant through those sites. Be clear as to what skills or tasks you're willing to do and employers won't hesitate someone who doesn't have the previous work experience as long as you have the attitude that's willing to learn. Also, may this story of how a 17-year-old from India became a CEO.

First, you need to get rid of the thought that you will not find a job just because you are an undergraduate. Then, be willing to be trained and get the necessary skills to get you employed. Don't be afraid to start low and eventually work your way to the the top. Also, my uncle would always tell me to always be on the look out for trainings that will help you widen your skills, expertise and knowledge. I hope in one way or another, those tips would help you too as they have assisted me in finding my value and establishing attitude and skills that has helped me find a job and work my way to a better position. Oh, did I mention that the world's richest under 30, Mark Zuckerberg, is actually a dropout? So don't worry if you don't have a degree. After all, while a degree could help in preparing a person to a much more challenging real world tests - provided that you really learned from your classroom lessons and not just getting a diploma for an ornament - it is not a guarantee for success. Real success comes to those who know what they want and use whatever they got to reach their dreams - with or without a degree.

You might be interested to look at other #ReaderAsks:

#ReaderAsks: What Should I Do to Marry a Rich Guy?

#ReaderAsks: How Much Is the Minimum Investment in the Stock Market?

#ReaderAsks: How Did You Learn About the Stock Market & Could You Suggest Books?

#ReaderAsks: What Should I Do to Marry a Rich Guy?

While this post may not be your usual #ReaderAsks, there had been a trending Note around Facebook about how a beautiful lady asked in a forum on how could she snatch rich guys. I'm pretty sure many singe ladies out there are often wondering with similar question too so here's an interesting response allegedly from the CEO of J.P Morgan. It's a perfect example of how one should stop looking for a rich partner and start being one.

Subject: Appropriate reply by J.P Morgan CEO to a Pretty girl seeking a rich husband..

To: A young and pretty lady posted this on a popular forum:

Title: What should I do to marry a rich guy?

I'm going to be honest of what I'm going to say here. I'm 25 this year. I'm very pretty, have style and good taste.

I wish to marry a guy with $500k annual salary or above.

You might say that I'm greedy, but an annual salary of $1M is considered only as middle class in New York ..

My requirement is not high.

Is there anyone in this forum who has an income of $500k annual salary? Are you all married?

I wanted to ask: what should I do to marry rich persons like you?

Among those I've dated, the richest is $250k annual income, and it seems that this is my upper limit.

If someone is going to move into high cost residential area on the west of New York City Garden ( ? ) , $250k annual income is not enough.

I'm here humbly to ask a few questions:

1) Where do most rich bachelors hang out? (Please list down the names and addresses of bars, restaurant, gym)

2) Which age group should I target?

3) Why most wives of the riches is only average-looking? I've met a few girls who doesn't have looks and are not interesting, but they are able to marry rich guys

4) How do you decide who can be your wife, and who can only be your girlfriend? (my target now is to get married)

Ms. Pretty 

Awesome reply:

Dear Ms. Pretty,

I have read your post with great interest. Guess there are lots of girls out there who have similar questions like yours. 

Please allow me to analyze your situation as a professional investor.

My annual income is more than $500k, which meets your requirement, so I hope everyone believes that I'm not wasting time here.

From the standpoint of a business person, it is a bad decision to marry you.. The answer is very simple, so let me explain.

Put the details aside, what you're trying to do is an exchange of 'beauty' and 'money':

Person A provides beauty, and Person B pays for it, fair and square.

However, there's a deadly problem here, your beauty will fade, but my money will not be gone without any good reason.

The fact is, my income might increase from year to year, but you can't be prettier year after year. Hence from the viewpoint of economics, I am an appreciation asset, and you are a depreciation asset. It's not just normal depreciation, but exponential depreciation. If that is your only asset, your value will be much worried 10 years later.

By the terms we use in Wall Street, every trading has a position, dating with you is also a 'trading position'.

If the trade value dropped we will sell it and it is not a good idea to keep it for long term - same goes with the marriage that you wanted.

It might be cruel to say this, but in order to make a wiser decision any assets with great depreciation value will be sold or 'leased'.

Anyone with over $500k annual income is not a fool; we would only date you, but will not marry you.

I would advice that you forget looking for any clues to marry a rich guy. And by the way, you could make yourself to become a rich person with $500k annual income.

This has better chance than finding a rich fool.

Hope this reply helps. If you are interested in 'leasing' services, do contact me..

signed,

CEO J.P. Morgan

For all the pretty ladies out there, if beauty is all asset you got, may you invest smartly and work your way up to your desired salary range instead of simply strutting your butt to any man who's got more money than brains. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being pretty, but it gets all wrong when that's all you have ;)

#ReaderAsks: How Much Is the Minimum Investment in the Stock Market?

 Every week, I try to answer questions from readers about previous articles that I have written. If you missed our first #ReaderAsks, I answered the question: How Did You Learn About the Stock Market & Could You Suggest Books?

Now for our second #ReaderAsks, Joy Poh asked the following questions: 

Do you usually attend seminars..? and how much was your 1st investment when you started..? (if you dont mind me asking:))... thanks so much...

Do You Need to Attend Seminars Just to Learn Investing?

While I started investing without attending seminars, I did all my homework by visiting blogs of investors that share their tips and ideas during their journey in investing in the Philippine Stock Market. So is attending seminars necessary? Not a requirement but definitely advisable so you could get to learn from more the experts. 

In line with that, there will be a  Money Summit & Wealth Expo 2011 which will be held in Cebu from August 12-13, 2011, 8:30am to 5:30pm at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino. Speakers include Tomasito Academia of PAREB, Jay Aldeguer of Island Souvenirs, Noli Alleje of The Property Forum, Jojy Azurin of BusinessSummaries.com, Conrado Bate of CitisecOnline, Ian del Carmen of Fireball, Eireen Diokno-Bernardo of Dekada Arts, Bonner Dytoc of Absolute Traders, Vince Golangco of WhenInManila.com, Prof. James Ryan Jonas of PinoyMoneyTalk, Cynthia Palad-Yap of Real Estate Movers, Ardy Roberto of Salt & Light Ventures, Jerome San of Laurus Enterprises, Mark So of Forex Club Asia and Trace Trajano of Think Rich Quick. For details, visit YouWantToBeRich's post about the said summit. 

The fee, which is for the 2-day seminar and includes snacks, materials and some free items from sponsors, is P7,995 – but you get discounts through this site – especially for groups. Let me know if you're planning to attend so we could book together for a discount. :)

How Much is the Minimum Investment Required?

It varies depending on the broker that you are choosing. For Citiseconline, they require a minimum investment of Php25,000 while First Metro Investment Corporation only requires a minimum of Php5,000. Traditional Brokers like Angping Securities would require a minimum investment of at least Php50,000.

If you have any questions, feel free to join the #ReaderAsks session by following and asking me on Twitter.

photo by pfala 

#ReaderAsks: How Did You Learn About the Stock Market & Could You Suggest Books?

While I may not be an expert when it comes to investing in the stock market but I've been getting emails from some of my readers asking me on how they could start investing in the stock market, what books should they read so they could jump start into investing, what is a good online broker in the Philippines and the basic questions that someone who has just recently realized the value of investing in the stock market would ask. 

Therefore, I would dedicate a blog post each week in trying to answer these questions. To ask questions, feel free to tweet me on Twitter using the hashtag: #ReaderAsks. I will try to answer each of them the best that I can based on my experience and from the tips of those who know better than I do. So without further ado, here's a question from Joann:

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Hi,

I stumbled on your site while reading about mutual funds. Anyway, I've read that you're into stock market? How did you learn about it? Could you suggest sites or books? I'm really interested about PSE and investing. 

Thank you so much

Joann

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How Do You Learn to Invest in the Stock Market?

While there may be a lot of blogs and resources (here's a complete list of my resources and links to the blogs that I frequently visit for tips and updates) wherein you could read about firsthand experiences of people who have long been investing in the stock market, the first and most important step is to visit the official website of the Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. wherein you could learn about the commonly used terms, the risks of investing, the minimum amount required to invest, among others. Familiarize yourself with the website and the most commonly used terms so you will have an idea once you start investing. 

What Are the Listed Companies in the PSE?

Since the listed companies are identified through their tickers, you can use this symbol look up tool in the PSE site so that by the time that you're investing, you will not have a hard time memorizing or looking the tickers and company names up. It would greatly help if you keep the said tool handy. 

What Books Do You Suggest?

When I started investing, I didn't really had the chance to read a lot of books since I focused on the latest trends so I consulted my favorite blogs instead. I was also very fortunate to have found group mates who sent me e-books to read such as Security Analysis 2nd Edition, Stock Market Strategies That Work and Benjamin Graham's The Intelligent Investor. If you wish to have a copy of these ebooks, simply follow me on Twitter, use the hashtag #ReaderAsks and I'll send you a copy to your email for free. I don't want to give out my email address and I am always on Twitter so that's the best way to get in touch with me. 

Should you have any questions about investing in the stock market, don't hesitate to send me a tweet and I will do my best to answer them here in my blog. 

For the meantime, you might want to check out my other investment related posts. See you till our next #ReaderAsks session!

The Little Things Every Newbie Should Know About the Stock Market

How to Invest in the Stock Market for Your Retirement [Video]

Should You Invest in Your Kids' Education? A Journey to Financial Stability with Your Family

Surviving the Recession by Quitting Your Job

photo by pfala

15 Backpackers Essential For an Extraordinary Summer

"When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money."  - Susan Heller

Essential Things Inside My Backpack

It's summer time! It's time to plan for those summer get away. When planning, it's important that you plan what to bring with you in order for you make the most of your summer vacation trip. Below are just some the 20 things which I consider to be essential and always bring with me on my trips.

Gadgets

 1. Cellphone - It's vital to be connected with your friends while you're traveling. I always bring my cellphone with me so I could easily be updated if there are changes with the venue, time of meeting and other information I needed to when traveling.

2. iPods - I bring with me my two iPod. My iPod shuffle and my iPod Touch. The former mainly for listening to the music while the latter for Notes taking or my e-Diary since I'm fond of chronicling my thoughts and ideas as they pop up in my mind. Besides, I find it practical to switch from one iPod to another once the other goes low on battery. 

3. Camera - I love to document my travels so I couldn't leave nor live without my underwater camera! It allows me to capture moments as they happen - wherever, whenever, even underwater :-)

4. Gadgets and Accessories Pouch - I always bring with me my brown pouch which contains all my gadgets in just one place to make it more organize and much easier for me to locate. Inside are my battery chargers for my iPod, camera and cellphone. The last time we went to Baras Island in Guimaras without my pouch, all I remember was it was a disaster because I had to borrow my friends' (take note, I had to borrow the two of them) battery for their Sony camera so I could take photos for my own. #epicfail :-(

Beauty Essentials

5. Deodorant - Couldn't stress the vitality of having one. I had a chance to meet up with a backpacker a few months back and the first thing I noticed and remembered about her was that she smelled awful. She's nice, great conversationalist and fun to hang out with but oh man, she could have done better! Backpacking doesn't mean you can't bring the most essential and the most vital things such as deodorant. Trust me, traveling without it would be disgusting.

6. Alcohol - Just like my cellphone, I couldn't live without alcohol. Even if I'm just in the office, I make sure I have a handy container I constantly refill with alcohol. It's a lifesaver when you want to eat in turo turo or Mang Inasal. :-)

7. Toothbrush and toothpaste - In that particular order. You could forget the toothpaste but never forget your toothbrush! You could  buy a pack of toothpaste in convenient stores or sari-sari stores but I doubt if there's a lot of them who sell toothbrush. Besides, if you're traveling with a fellow backpacker, you could always share the toothpaste - but never the toothbrush.
Let's include other toiletries like soap, lotion and others in here. I make sure my lotion has SPF 24(UVA & UVB protection) so I wouldn't hide from the sun since it's summer!

8. Lip Balm - Chapstick is the name. It provides lip protection to your lips as it has sunscreen SPF 4.

9. Pain and Itch Stick - Thought I'd highlight this small item inside my First Aid kit. Since I don't have an insect repellant with me, I make sure I have this pain and itch stick in one as a handy remedy for the usual pains I might encounter on the road such as headache, stomach ache or insect bites.

10. First Aid Kit - Most travelers often neglect and forget about bringing this essential but we just never know what we could encounter on the road. It's important to have a kit that contains items that could actually save you or someone else's life. 

11. Sunblock - Don't hide on summers, but go on suicide either! With a sunblock, I'm sure that I could enjoy the usual summer sports such as volleyball, diving and others as long as I have my sunblock with me.

12. Nail Cutter - I don't know about you but my nails are too weak but they grow too fast. So sometimes I'm afraid to join games or activities that require extreme movement because of the fear that my nails would break. So I had to keep a nail cutter handy.

13. Clothes and slippers -  Do I need to say more? Bring clothes, towels, slippers and all the essential clothing that's fit for the occasion.

14. Food - Some places have way expensive food and if you don't have much time on your hands to look for the affordable places to eat, you could always have crackers to the rescue. These foods are just extra foods though. It would still be great to taste the local food in the place you're visiting ;-)

15. Flashlight - Whether you're mountain climbing, camping or simply visiting another place, it's essential and smart to bring with you a flashlight for emergencies.

There you go, those are just some of the essential things you could bring with you when traveling or backpacking. Smart Communications wants to know what's inside your backpack, tell us what's inside!

Happy and smart traveling!