Personal Finance Back to Basics: A Fresh Start (Part 1)

A friend recently encouraged me to blog about personal finance. It was quite a timely nudge given that we have just moved to Singapore. Here, I find ourselves rethinking and reapplying a lot of the basic foundations of personal finance.

Something about me…

I am a Registered Financial Planner® from the Philippines, but this is not my job/career but simply something that I acquired recently as a personal interest. I was mostly self-taught so I thought about taking the RFP® certification to get some formal training.

Unlike many people, I hate money. Many of the most painful and emotionally scarring times in my life were caused by money, or should I say, caused by people’s love for money.

Common sense tells us that finances are simply a means to achieve our goals. As many will say, wealth allows us to buy things that make us happy. Unfortunately, the pursuit of wealth has a way of causing people to lose focus and eventually treat wealth as if it’s THE ultimate goal. If we are not careful, this love for money may cause unintentional pain to those around us. At least in my experience, I have been a recipient of that pain.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. ~ 1 Timothy 6:10 NIV

Interestingly, as I grew to hate money, I also ended up being very mindful of using it well. This is where my passion for personal finance started. I yearn to ensure that our finances are always in order so that we can focus our love and attention on the things that truly matter—God, family, friends, vocation, to name a few.

Who this is for…

This blog-series is really about me sharing my thoughts and activities for building a good financial foundation as we settle here in Singapore. If you feel that your personal finance is already in order, then this series isn’t for you. But if not, then please read on. As an RFP®, I am certified to help create comprehensive financial plans for people. But before that, we need to revisit our financial plans.

Singapore is one of the most expensive places to live in the world, if not the MOST expensive. This is on the far opposite of Manila, my hometown. This meant that our personal financial plans in the Philippines no longer apply here in Singapore. In this series, I am sharing my process as I rethink and reassess my family’s financial plans. While you probably did not just relocate like us, the principles of this series should still be applicable.

Here’s the outline of this series:

1. Introduction (THIS POST)
2. A Healthy Emergency Fund
3. Financial Goals
4. Boundaries
5. Amateur Investing

If you think that this is for you, please read on