Merry Christmas to All of Us!

There are so many things that I am thankful about this year. There have been so many blessings, so many second chances, and so many new people who I hope are for keeps.

First of all, I am very thankful that I have restored good family relations with everyone in the Suller-Loveranes-Galamgam families. I sincerely apologize for my being stubborn and being quick to fire hurting words when bad temper gets the better of me. I am still learning to control myself when confronted with surprising situations. I hope you all find in your hearts the blessing of forgiveness, and I hope I still continue to be deserving of it.

Secondly, bless God for helping my cousin, Paulo, pass the board examination for civil engineers. I had no doubt that he would pass it, but with His guidance, it made the event more meaningful to all of us. Mark also finished his first semester at SLU with good grades. I think that's something to be thankful about, although, I believe he could have done much better if he did study more seriously. Nevertheless, tomorrow is another opportunity to become one's better self.

Thirdly, thanks to my dean and my department heads for the exemplary leadership. They have inspired me to give it my all this semester. Bless them for giving me the best classes in the world! This is the semester I enjoyed best being given best batch of classes despite the number of units. To my Litt1 students who have inspired me to experiment and think outside the box, thanks for the cooperation and the dedication. I particularly appreciate my engineering student who, despite having +50 in her exam for not being tardy/absent/'excused' the entire semester, still did her best to garner a perfect score in the finals (Ms. Asuncion). To my Arki students (collectively and individually [you know who you are/wink]) who made this sem a whole lot happier for their very contagious energy, even when sometimes I got very tired with my first 6 classes before theirs. To my Legal Studies/Comm/Educ/PolSci class in Navy Base, thank you for making my MWF meaningful. You made me feel like I have taught you so many things in just a span of a semester. And to my Eng1 students, you were very heterogeneous, I had a very difficult time handling you, kids. But there were many diamonds in the rough among you-- Ms. Ramos, Mr. Caliuag, and Mr. Vilaga (with the surprisingly spot-on speech); Ms. Biswelan, Mr. Manangan, and Ms. Garcia for the being the best/coolest classroom leaders this semester (I hope you're happy with your incentives/wink); and Mr. Castro for the determination. There are more very good students among you, but I just thought it'd be fair to pay you homage. And finally, to my English 22 students. Your grades may not have been the highest in the world, but I am happy with your improvement. Again, thank you all.

Fourthly, to my co-teachers who have made SLU the best place to work in in the entire galaxy! Haha! Muchas gracias! To my going-out buddies-- Gretta, Willow, Jen, Jane, Merlats, JC, Salve, Athena and "Her Rise" Mente, you are a crazy lot! And thank you for being so. ^_^ Mam Payaket, Mam Milai, Mam Juantala, Mam Balunsat, Mam Casilen, Mam Castillo, Mam Ordonio and Mam Piamonte and all Comm/Eng faculty--thank you for the numerous favors. Thank you all very, very much.

And lastly, thank you Kamote Equities for helping me cope with the stock market stresses. Thanks for the insights. Thanks for the fun (green) conversations. And thanks for teaching me values you will never have thought you were able to instill in me. To Jay, Jase, and Doc.

To the PinoyInvestor, Faceless Trader, Bro. Bo Sanchez, and to all the financial wellness advocates in the Philippines-- thank you all very much for inspiring us into saving and investing for a better future, a better life.

Best of all, thank you, readers of this blog for visiting. I know I have not been able to post for a long while now but with a lighter-loaded semester this January, I hope to give you good reads in the coming months. :) Merry Christmas, again, folks! Easy on the lechon!

Time to Start Investing

I hope at this point you have already opened and funded your stock market account. Accord Capital is good. COL Financial is also good. But whatever is most convenient to you is okay. The more important thing here is that you do it now. Rather than regret you've started later than sooner. I encourage you to start today.

Anyhow, I've just convinced Mark to re-open his account at Accord Capital and he agreed to start with Php 5,000 again. You don't need to start big. All of us must have to start somewhere small and safe. And again, invest only the amount you're sure you won't be needing in the near future.

So there, I just purchased Mark's first stock last week. I bought 7-Eleven at P82/share.

I particularly like $SEVN because it is well-run by its CEO, Victor Paterno, and is continuously having expansions throughout the country. The price may fluctuate up and down in the next few months but it should be fine. We are doing this for the long term. Just eye on the target.

I also bought this because I do not see a catalyst that would make it reach its target price right away-- it will give us time to accumulate for a long period of time at a low price.

Since my portfolio is already fully positioned (meaning, I have already consumed all the balance it has to buy stocks), I am poised to wait for the time my target price gets met.

But, by the way, I am planning to open a new account with an initial investment of Php 5,000 so we can start the journey together. I will be buying Php 2,000 amount of shares every 15th and 30th of the month, just like what the SAM says, but with my own research fused in to it as well. You can do the same, or you can invest the amount that you have always planned to invest. Just be consistent.

I like Bo Sanchez's SAM (Strategic Averaging Method) because it tells you the buy below price of a stock and it also tells you its target price. If you are curious, it looks something like this. -------->>

The thing is, Bo's Truly Rich Club membership does not come free. One has to pay a certain premium. But the membership comes with all of Bro Bo's E-Books like My Maid Invests in the Stock Market, The Turtle Always Wins, among many other investment books written by him. And what I think he can give you that I (or any other mentor) can't is his ability to calm you when you feel like you've done the worst decision (in stocks, or in life itself). He would also email you inspirational stories and quotes to go along with your journey towards wealth creation.

I strictly suggest that as a newbie investor, you do not just buy a portion of a company without knowing its fundamentals. And, fundamentals are always better when you know the right price to enter (the buy below price). Do not deviate from the stocks listed there unless you have a very good reason (and research) to do so. I have deviated from SAM stocks many times in the past, and I regretted most of it. But, of course, now is different since I already read financial statements and public disclosures of companies every trading day. I do my homework religiously.

If I were to give 3 companies that aren't in the SAM but are great stocks to watch out are (although, this is always with CAVEAT attached to it), they would have to be:

1. Vista Land and Lifescapes, Inc. ($VLL) of Manny Villar: Property Sector. I have seen the resilience of this stock since I started in the stock market. The business of VLL is selling mid-high end residential properties. But it has lately been venturing into commercial spaces very aggressively. Aside from COL Financial and Regina Capital recommending this stock for long term, I personally believe in this company and in Villar's business capability.

2. Jollibee Food Corporation ($JFC) of Tony Tan Caktiong: Consumer Sector. I must say that this stock does not fail to amaze me. Just when I feel it's already too pricey, it does not stop getting higher and higher achieving all time highs in the past months. Jollibee, Greenwhich, Chowking, Red Ribbon and Mang Inasal are all under this listed stock, so as long as Filipinos eat in these establishments, you are assured JFC is in good condition.

3. Century Pacific Food Inc. ($CNPF) of Christopher Paulus Po: Consumer Sector. If you love Century Tuna, you would want to have this stock in your portfolio. Aside from its innovative management, it is also your best bet in the coming ASEAN Integration because of its tuna business, as most ASEAN counties are Muslim. And if you must know, CNPF is also behind leading brands such as 555, Argentina, Swift, and Birch Tree.

But I will reiterate this, I only recommend you put them on your watch list. Observe their movement both in the short term and in the long term. I am not recommending the purchase of these stocks because I do not foresee the future. There are many suggestions out there, but you will have to do the decision by yourself. Have a plan and stick to it.

Stock Market is basically a waiting game. If you get bored or spooked out, you will lose a lot. The market is an expensive place to know yourself. You should already have a plan and be ready to execute it whatever it takes. Control your fear. Wait for the target price before you sell. Diversify. And most of all, think positive.