Can Mangoes Help Pinays Retire Early?

Yes I am talking about mangoes, the favorite fruit of many. Last year, I came across investment information on how one can buy or invest in a single mango tree for Php 30,000 ++ and as the tree grows and bear fruits, you will receive investment income each year.

The tree starts bearing fruits after 6 years, and at around the 10th year you would have 100% ROI. The tree continues to give you income up to 50 years - which means that even if you are just lazing around for 50 years, you continue earning passive fruity income. Returns range from Php 10,000 to Php 50,000 annually. So buying lots of mango trees seems a clever idea.

The company/business/organization behind this is Golden Harvest. I found their website at http://www.goldenharvest.com.ph. In the website, there is no mention of initial investments but I researched online and found some information from its early investors.

I asked my mom about it since it seems a very good type of investment to put money into and she said that like all investments, we've got to investigate, study, and be cautious. Their office is in Ortigas so if you want to know more, you know where to find them.

There are also commissions for referrers and sellers of the mango trees but I am not one of them :)

If you would like to share some information about Golden Harvest, please do leave a comment after this post.

Mutual Fund Basics

Aside from time deposits, where else can you earn higher interest rates? It's time to learn a thing or two about Mutual Funds. The concept is simple, you and a group of other investors pool in your money together and a fund manager from a mutual fund company/bank will be the one to invest all your money in various securities like bonds and stocks.

It's like having an expert decide where your money should be invested. This also addresses the problem of not having too much to invest because the minimums here can reach as low as Php 5,000. It won't be a problem because there are other investors like you who contribute to the investments.

There are four types of mutual funds which are:

1. Stock or Equity Funds
2. Money Market Funds
3. Balanced Funds
4. Bond Funds

The risks and gains vary depending on the type of fund you choose. You can gain from both interests and dividends in mutual funds. Remember that you can win or lose in mutual funds. The money that you won't use for around 2 years is the best amount to put in a mutual fund.

If you are interested or want to learn more, try asking your bank about their mutual funds.

This link may also help: http://www.mutualfund.com.ph/
They have FAQs section that is easy to understand and they are a mutual fund company as well.

I haven't invested in mutual funds but i think we should act fast because time is ultra precious when it comes to investments! :)

Time Deposits

Time deposits are the most commonly known "investment" in the Philippines. The logic behind this is that you put your money into a long term savings account, meaning you can't touch your money for a certain period of years. Nowadays, there are already 360 day terms for those who can't afford to let their money stay in a bank for too long. Interests vary from 3% to 7%. Although very few banks offer a very high interest for time deposits. The longer your money stays with the bank, the higher the interests will become.

This is risk-free since most of the interest rates are fixed. The only risk is if you deal with smaller banks that offer very high interest rates that are very suspicious. Just be sure to research first before putting your money in their basket. Having a Time Deposit is like lending your money to the bank and the interest is like the premium they are paying you for lending some to them. Some say that when a bank badly needs money, interest rates tend to be higher.

Are you buying an Asset or a Liability?

Often we find ourselves choosing between two items when shopping. But the important question to keep in mind is whether you are buying an ASSET or a LIABILITY. Definitely, it's better to buy something that you can earn from rather than an object that will cost you lots of expenses and would not earn you money.

A famous example is buying a car vs. buying insurance or investments. If you dont have a car yet, then go ahead and buy one. But for those who collects cars, they may be trapping themselves to expenses. Think: gas, repairs, etc. When you buy insurance or invest your money, you can let your money work for you! While you are doing nothing, your money is still earning interest and will give you more than you handed out. whereas, cars depreciate and lose value over time just like mobile phones! think of the nokia series, every year, prices go down as much as 50% and your mobile phone is less valuable than the day you first bought it.

The best to do is think hard first and think whether or not you are decreasing or increasing your wealth with every purchase.

Why Pinays should earn their own money

Hi! This is a new blog wherein you can read some non-professional money making techniques and strategies. I'm based in the Philippines but money is a universal concept. We all want to eliminate debt in order to start funding our own future. Most of the blogs about finance and investments i know are ran by male Filipinos and they are my inspiration for running this site too.

Pinays should also be educated on how to handle their money. As much as we want to have husbands that are good providers, it's always better to have a plan B and buy the things that we want for ourselves or live the life that we aspire to have independently.

I hope to hear from you too! I am not an expert but a mere individual who wants to learn also and become a pinay money maker :)If you have articles that you want to share , please email suzaku_lace@yahoo.com