Every once in a while, I have the good fortune to come across something that’s truly sensible in the most simplest of ways.
We have all heard the sages tell us that we have to take control of our financial future. That’s easier said then done, I know. We all know someone who has been working for decades and still have nothing to show for it. For the fortunate who have gone to universities, things aren’t quite as different either. Unemployment and lay-offs practically go hand-in-hand with each other, prices of goods continually go up but never come down and so on. We all have to struggle to make ends meet. These days, both parents have to work to have a slight improvement in their standard of living. Of course, children feel the brunt of their continuous absence and grow up to be, well, you get the picture I’m sure.
Then again, taking control of one’s financial future is achievable and it is easier than you think through the stock market. Now before you shrug and say that this is something way beyond your capabilities, you should know that even Bo Sanchez’s house helpers have invested in stocks to guarantee their future. What I’m getting at is that if house helpers can invest in the stock market, why can’t you? All you need to do is put the portion of your money you have reserved as “long-term savings” into stocks. That’s it! Your money grows more than a hundred times faster than it would have if you had left it in the bank. In fact, you can invest in the stock market through an index fund and let your money grow passively.
I’m not saying that you should not have a bank account. In fact, I’m one of the many who love the banking system. I am merely saying that the bulk of your money should be invested in the stock market, not in the bank. As soon as you reach a certain level, transfer the money to stock investment and you will be thanking yourself that you did.
Banks play a very important role in my finances too. In case of an emergency, the money in the bank can be easily withdrawn. I am one of the lucky guys who make money on the internet with my freelancing job and payments to me go straight to my bank account. Some of the payments go to my PayPal account but I still rely on my bank account to receive the money I transfer from it. I sometimes receive checks from abroad and they usually come in US Dollars. I still need my bank account for depositing the checks. As you can see, I’m quite dependent on the banking system.
However, as far as long-term money or savings is involved, I make sure that I invest it in stocks in the stock market for one compelling reason – my money grows much faster there over time. Let me ask you, which one would you prefer, a measly 4% interest from the bank or a huge 7000% interest in stock investment? Unless you hate money, I believe you would opt for the latter.
In Bo Sanchez’s book titled “My Maid Invests in the Stock Market”, he said that there are only two kinds of money that should be put in the bank; Business money and Emergency money. The long-term money should be invested in the stock market.
Let’s go crunch a few figures to get a better picture of what happens to your money in the bank. Let’s assume you have a million in the bank now. If that’s under time deposit, that would grow into four million in the span of 36 years. If you think that’s impressive, brace yourself for what comes next. If you invest your one million in the stock market, that would grow into at least 64 million after 36 years. Note that this is a conservative figure. I should point out that I took the figures out of Bo’s book. I did this for the simple reason that he puts everything into perspective succinctly and flawlessly. I dare not try my own version for fear of creating confusion and complicating things.
Bo Sanchez’s book changed the way I manage my finances. The book is only 82 pages long but the content is pure meat and easy to understand. In it, you’ll read the fascinating story of how he helped three of his house helpers invest in the stock market and build their retirement fund. If you have the chance to see his book in one of the bookstores in your place, I highly recommend you buy it. Don’t get me wrong here, I do not get any commissions from recommending it nor do I have any business relationship with Bo. I simply and truly believe that its content will change your life, as it did mine, in the most positive way.
One company, which I will not mention, had a value of PHP 198.00 per stock at the time I bought it in December of 2014. In January of 2015, about the same time I started writing this article in fact, the company has a value of PHP 215.00 per stock already. That is a 17 point increase in value per stock in less than a month. If you have 1,000 stocks, you’ll enjoy a 17,000 increase in profit. This is something that you can never get from depositing all your money in the bank on time deposit. I guess you get the picture clearly by now.
There is one more thing that you do need to do when investing in stocks. It isn’t daunting at all though. As you know, Bo’s house helpers can do it. What you have to do is perform researches and studies on what companies you should invest in. Back in the days, this would be tantamount to working more than eight hours a day for seven days a week. But with the advent of the Internet, this will prove to be more like a casual walk in the park on a beautiful day.
I keep investing in strong companies and finding those companies is not really hard. There’s no need to read the newspaper nor watch TV for that matter. I simply go out of my house and walk around the city. I can pinpoint those companies that have been around since decades ago and yet are still going strong today.
How I manage My Bank and Stock Investment
The mobile Internet has definitely made stock market investing a whole lot easier and accessible. Hence, transferring my money from my bank account to my stock broker happens in mere minutes instead of days. Once that’s done, I log in to my account to manage my stock investments.
Conclusion
You should put the bulk of your money in the stock market because it grows much more than if it were in the bank. There is simply no arguing the figures.
