investing

AFPSLAI Dividend Schedule for 2020

January 29, 2020 by Ray L. Leave a Comment

AFPSLAI‘s Capital Contribution Account (CCA) is, in my opinion, one of the best investment vehicles for members of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and their families or beneficiaries. Investors, both regular and associate, get a rather large dividend payout that’s released every 4th Monday of the month following every quarter (April, July, October, and January). While it’s unfortunate that they no longer accept new associate members (families of AFP personnel), I do believe they still accept new regular members from the AFP.

One thing to remember is that there’s a LOT of people queuing up every dividend release. I usually get there at 8 a.m., get my number (in the hundreds), and get my transaction by 2 p.m. or later. Since it takes so long, it would be terrible if you wake up early, commute to your nearest branch, and find out that it’s not your scheduled date.

If you’re a member of AFPSLAI and you want to know their expected dividend advance schedule this 2020, then check out their schedule on the image below:

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Ano ang “Too Good to be True” (at Paano Iwasan ang mga Scam o Modus)

October 3, 2019 by Ray L. 1 Comment

English Version (Click Here)

Ilang taon na ang nakararaan, may natuklasang real estate investment ang aking ina. May isang luxury resort na tumatanggap ng mga investors, at sa halagang P200,000, makakabili ka ng isang kwarto sa resort na pwede mong paupahan at pagkakitaan. Sa palagay ko, maayos naman ang investment na iyon. Medyo mapanganib kasi hindi namin alam kung magiging popular ba ang resort na iyon at baka rin hindi ganoon kaganda ang lokasyon.

May pagdududa din ako lalo na noong hindi nila agad ibinigay ang mga terms at conditions ng kontrata at nagbigay lang sila ng brochure, pero may pera naman ang pamilya namin para doon. Matapos ibinigay ng magulang ko ang unang deposit, kinulit muna niya ang kumpanya tungkol sa mga terms bago ito sinabi ng representative nila. Makakakuha nga daw kami ng room na pwede naming gamitin at paupahan… sa isang linggo kada dalawang taon. Kailangan rin naming magbayad ng maintenance fees buwan buwan.

Hindi iyon investment. Isa lang pala iyong modus o scam! Sobrang iba iyon sa unang sinabi na magkakaroon kami ng room sa resort na pwede naming paupahan. Lantarang false advertising o pagsisinungaling ang ginawa nila. Hindi man mabawi ng aking ina ang P18,000 na deposit, buti na lang din nakalabas kami sa scam bago lumala pa ang sitwasyon.

Isa lamang iyong halimbawa ng mga posibleng modus, pero ano nga ba ang ibig sabihin ng “too good to be true”? Pag-usapan natin susunod ang mga pinakapopular na modus sa bansa.

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“Too Good to be True” (and How to Spot Scams)

October 3, 2019 by Ray L. 4 Comments

Tagalog Version (Click Here)

Some time ago my mother discovered a real estate investment opportunity. A luxury resort was accepting investors, so for the price of around P200,000, you can own a room at the resort and get a share of the profit whenever you rent it out. In my opinion, it sounded like a decent deal. It was somewhat risky as we don’t know how much business that new resort will get and the location might not be that good.

I had my doubts especially when they didn’t immediately send us the terms and conditions of the contract and they only gave us a brochure, but our family did have money for it. After my mother sent the first deposit and she started asking about the full terms, the representative finally told her the details. We’ll get to use or rent out a room… for one week every two years. We’ll also need to pay some maintenance fees every month.

That’s no investment. That was a scam! It was WAY different from the “own a resort room and rent it out” deal that the first promoter said. It was blatant false advertising. Although my mother couldn’t withdraw the initial P18,000 deposit, we were glad to have exited that scam before things got worse.

Well, that was just one example of a scam. What does it mean when something seems “too good to be true”? Let’s talk about the most popular kinds of scams here in the Philippines next.

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Ano ang Pinagkaiba ng mga Traders at Investors?

August 21, 2019 by Ray L. 1 Comment

English Version (Click Here)

Malamang narinig mo na ang ibang mga kakilala mong naguusap tungkol sa stocks na gusto nilang bilihin o ibenta o kung anong mga mutual funds ang dapat nilang kunin bilang investment. Baka may narinig ka nang nagsabi na kailangan mong tignan ang mga charts at “P/E ratios”, bumili kapag bumaba sa ganitong halaga ang presyo o magbenta kapag tumaas naman ito, pero baka may narinig ka na ring mga payo na kailangan mong bilihin ang ilang kilalang investment at itago ito nang higit dalawampung taon.

Ano nga ba ang dapat mong gawin?

Depende. Gusto mo bang mag-trade at subukang kumita ngayon, o gusto mo bang mag-invest nang pangmatagalan? (Pwede mo ring gawin pareho). Kung hindi ka makapagdesisyon o ngayon mo pa lang sinusubukang pag-aralan ang pag-invest at hindi mo pa ganoong alam ang pagkakaiba ng mga traders at investors, edi sinusuwerte ka ngayon! Paguusapan natin iyon dito!

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What’s the Difference Between Traders and Investors?

August 21, 2019 by Ray L. 1 Comment

Tagalog Version (Click Here)

You have probably heard some people you know talk about what stocks to buy or sell or what mutual funds to invest in. You’ve heard some people suggest looking at the charts and “P/E ratios”, buying when it dips to a certain price and selling when it reaches another, but you may have also heard some people suggest buying certain well known investments and holding on to them for 20 years or more.

What should you really do?

Well, it depends. Do you want to trade and try to make money now, or do you want to invest for the long term? (You can still do both of course.) If you can’t decide or if you’re just learning how to invest and you’re wondering what’s the difference between traders and investors, then you’re in luck! We’ll talk about that here!

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