RETIRE HAPPY & FREE

INTRODUCTION: This book is a personal story of Benj and Fely Santiago. The contents of this book are intended for information purposes, and reference only. It is unique to the background and experience of the Authors. It is intended to give advice on how to invest, and guide on what financial products you need to buy. But, it doesn’t guarantee same or even better results that the authors had achieved. Each person have unique situation, and needs. Everyone must consider all the options she or he may get into. It is the hope of the author to inspire people to invest correctly based on solid financial foundation. The author of this book, and all other people mentioned in this book made sure that the information are correct as of the date of publication. However, there is no guarantee or warranty as to the completeness, and accuracy of all the information on a continuing basis. The author of this book expressly disclaim liability for errors or omissions in the information shared in this bo...

SO HOW do we start? What should we do? What are the STEPS and PRIORITIES? I believe that is what you also want to discover. But let me share our story before we get into it. Fely and I had started to invest in the 90’s. We invested in real properties, in stocks but we failed to achieve our financial goal? Why? Because we did not define clearly our PURPOSE for investing, WHY are we investing? What is the investment for, how much should we accumulate, and what is the target date? In investing, the PURPOSE or GOAL defines the Investment Vehicle to use.  In the past we simply invest for no particular reason. When we learned right investing, Fely and I now invest for a purpose or a particular financial goal. We made sure too, that we have a Complete and Solid Foundation through a Complete Investment and Protection Strategy.  Foremost of these purpose for investing and protection are what we term as HIDEE.  H is for the Healthcare needs: Both the Short Term and Long Term Health...

Goals without ACTIONS is simply a DREAM. In the First Chapter we have defined the PRIORITIES. To make it a reality we must do something. And the very first thing to do is CREATE a BUDGET. When we attended the Seminar of Brother Bo Sanchez, we learned the Pay Yourself Principle. Actually the complete version is PAY GOD AND YOURSEL FIRST! Allocate 10% of your INCOME to Tithes. We believe that when you GIVE you will RECEIVE. . Then allocate 20% for your FUTURE. This is the target allocation for your Investments and Protection. Then make sure that you do the right budget management of the 70% for your Needs and Lifestyle. Budgeting is a fundamental aspect of personal financial management that ensures individuals can meet their financial goals, manage expenses, and build wealth over time. Among the various budgeting strategies, "Pay Yourself First" (PYF) stands out as a powerful and disciplined approach to securing one's financial future. This method prioritizes setting aside ...

With a clear goals backed up by a defined budget, we can then proceed to start INVESTING. And so we need to get familiarized with the different options we can take. Investing in the Stock Market has two general ways: Direct and Indirect Approaches. Before we thought there is only one way which is to buy stocks from a broker. Then we learned there are practically two ways. One that will need your due diligence to study and asses what companies to invest in, and another way is to simply get Mutual Funds that are managed by professionals. I would liken these two ways of getting into stock market into traveling to your desired location. Your first option is to ride a taxi or Uber or any transport for hire to pick you up and bring you to your desired destination. This is simply having someone doing the driving for you. The other option you have is to simply drive yourself to your place of destination. In both cases you can arrive to where you want to go.  Investing in the stock market i...

I know how it is to be really working hard for the money. And it pains me to see people like you lose their opportunity to make your money work for you. You may also be working for Multi-National companies as Managers, an OFW or a Seafarer. And you earn very well but that maybe is all you know! You earn from your jobs but don’t know how to really make your money work for you. You probably do not know how to invest correctly. Or, you may be investing without a coach or a guide, improperly, and not solidly founded on a purpose and plan. I want you to achieve the highest returns for your investments. I know it is your goal to be able to increase your money line so that you can have money working for you in your retirement years... It is also our PURPOSE … our MISSION to HELP you invest successfully... You may have a lot of FEAR about investing because of your lack of knowledge or you may have been a victim of a scam that makes you wary of anything to do with investing. Or maybe, you simpl...

Millennials referred here are those that have ages between 21-35 years old. They comprise more than 50% of the total population of the Philippines as of 2017. If you belong to this group, you have a totally different situation, and needs a different approach into investing. Actually, you are the luckiest bunch of investors. You have the luxury of time. Time is your greatest asset. Millennials are highly connected in the internet. They are on-line most of their time. They are exposed to interesting travel spots, updated gadgets, and places to eat. Search engines in the net exposes them to many spending opportunities. They would normally hop from one job to another. Most of them, plan to marry in their early 30’s.  Most millennials go by the by-line “YOLO- You Only Live Once”. Thus, they enjoy their freedom and spend most of their income on food, travels, and gadgets. Investing for them takes the back seat. They simply want to enjoy life. However, these millennials are gifted with ti...