I really wanna get wealthy. REALLY BADLY WANNA BE RICH.
Ok I sounded so evil-ish and greedy there but I have my reasons why is that.
Firstly, I wanna explore the world. I really really wanted to travel to different places! Ewan ko pero hindi ko alam kung bakit nananayo balahibo ko, naiiyak ako or nanghihina ako everytime I see different exquisite views. Plus pa ung extreme sports, dun na ko hihimatayin. And everyone knows how big of a fortune traveling would cost you.
Secondly, I wanna make my mom and paps happy. I don't want them working anymore. I just love them so much and I don't want them working hard for us. :">
Pangatlo, I wanna be financially free. Ung tipong pag nakakita ako sa mall ng something I want, i'll grab it then pay for it, whenever, wherever, whatever.
Well, I and Neng discovered a board game, it's called Cashflow and it was made by Robert Kiyosaki (author of Rich Dad Poor Dad) We found out that there is this group of advocates who teach financial literacy for free and they teach it through the board game cash flow. (It's not entirely free because I get to pay for the registration fee and the food.) I went to one of their gaming sessions.
The place was held in Spicy Fingers Greenbelt 2.
I arrived at nearly 9am and the gaming started at around 10.
Grabe I loved the game. At first, it's a bit boring because you're still learning how the game works and mabagal pa ung flow. The goal of the game is for you to get out of the rat race. Rat race, because in real life, you get your paycheck, pay for your expenses, and you just repeat it over again. You never get out of that situation and it happens paulit ulit lang.
After the game, I had the most money and the most number of assets!! :) I got $30,000+ before the game ended while my playmates got only around $4000. Well actually, it's no tsamba. The guy beside me told me that's it's all luck, depending on what the dice roll would make you. I wanted to tell to his face that it's no luck! I just know the secrets to get rich.
What makes this so exciting for me is that, I was able to apply the things that I've learned from the books I've read and the seminars I've attended to. Like:
*If you chase for your paycheck, you'd lose money faster.
I have a playmate who always longs for the paycheck. Let's call him Robert. Every time he gets closer to the paycheck, he's always excited. Actually, it's not the thing he does itself. The attitude that you always chase for something, that's the cause of that thing going away from you. This is even applicable in different aspects in our lives, like in terms of lovelife. Diba pag chinase mo ang babae, mas pahard to get? (Pero I'm not saying don't chase us. Mas gusto namin un. :)) Lesson is, just be cool. B)
*If you don't give to charity, you will never be rich.
According to John Calub, there's no such thing as something for nothing. God would always have to get something, both effort & money. He also told us that you should always have 10% of your money for your tithing. In cashflow, when you get to the charity slot, it's your option whether you'd give 10% of your cashflow to the charity, with the benefit of taking 2 dices on your next turn (you'll get much closer to the paycheck) , or you don't give at all. Robert here again, didn't give to the charity and his attitude was like, "No way!" Before the game ended, he had the least money among us 4.
*Take risks.
People are always afraid to take risks. They would always "play safe". You really won't get anywhere if that's your mindset. There was this opportunity that the trading range is $5-$30, and today's price is $1 dollar. Knowing it's a sure win, I give $1500 of my money. Almost nothing was left for me. My playmates bought some shares too but just around a hundred to $300. Here you can see that they were too scared to take risk. I think, if they find it hard to take risks in a board game, it would make them a lot more fearful in real life, knowing real money is what's at stake. According to Robert Kiyosaki, the cause of the fear of taking risks is the lack of financial literacy. If you have knowledge to back it up, it wouldn't be seen much as a risk but instead, an opportunity. The best way to conquer this fear is to be financially educated and with that, you would learn how to manage risks.
*Open your eyes to opportunities
Some people cannot see opportunities, just because they were too focused on seeing the negatives. If you set your eyes on your goals, you will never see obstacles. Robert again, he had passed a lot of opportunities. I can't help it so I told him, "why don't you grab that opportunity? At least your cashflow would increase plus you have built another asset." Well he just told me "You're saying that because you have a lot of money to buy for this, and I would only get $100 additional monthly which is so small." I wanted to tell him, "You are so greedy, don't you realize that you'll get another paycheck on your next turn and fyi, I got a lot of money because I see opportunities and I am not greedy!" Haha but I just told him, "if you said so". I got really carried away by the game and also he's so mayabang.
*Have a positive mindset. THE BIGGEST SECRET.
* It's not what you know, but who you know.
At the end of the game, our coaches told us that for us to be able to get out of the rat race, we should help one another. It wasn't a competition after all. You are not competing with other people but with yourself. The reason why we never got out of the rat race is because we're competing. In real life, your connections are the most important.
It was so sad because we weren't able to get out of the rat race because we lack time, but I PROMISE TO ATTEND THE NEXT GAMING SESSION.
If you wanna attend this gaming event, just email me at: nininsoriano@yahoo.com and i'll give you the details.
Let's all be financially literate and get out of the rat race. :)