I'll be honest, when I was single or even a new mom, I would always turn down meetings set by friends connected to the financial institutions selling me the investment and also insurance ideas which at that time I was allergic to.  Heard of, "Coffee tayo?" or "Open-minded ka ba?"  I thought they were asking for a date, hindi naman pala.  Either business proposals or insurance proposals.  I stopped saying yes to those invitations a long time ago.

I guess it had a lot to do with financial literacy, which of course was very low for me.  It also has a lot to do with influences from the family, my parents and brothers - who also didn't see investments or growing money was important.  I was taught to keep on saving and put savings in the bank - but that too, I didn't religiously do.  I remember the first 5 digit money I earned from a raket, I just spent it on shopping!  Had I known better, wish I invested it and it could've been worth a million or more now (that was almost 20 years ago!) It became a pattern: Earn, shop, help pay bills, party, save a little, loan - I was spending more than I earned.  Aaahh young and reckless me!  Nakakainis.

Fast forward to not so long ago, I was introduced and became more open to investing (that includes mutual funds, VULs, stocks, and more) back in 2012 and when I realized how much money I wasted on expensive coffees, night outs, and excessive shopping, I said to myself, the unwise spending had to stop.

Since then, I got myself a VUL, invested some in mutual funds, enrolled in UITFs, got a memorial plan, got 2 burial boxes (as investment and also for preparation when I get to my final destination) and presently still looking for means to diversify.  Naks, big word right?  Diversify.  I learned that also from the financial advisers I have been meeting and asking for advice.  The most important thing I did was to - START.

INVESTMENT - BIG WORD, SCARY WORD
Mostly, people get scared of investments because of the following reasons, tell me if relate ka:

1. Investment sounds unreachable or expensive.  Did you know that for as low as PHP5,000 you can already grow your money or invest it in mutual funds?

2. Trust Issues.  Why will I give my money to someone I don't really know and trust them to manage my money and make it grow?  What if they just run away with my hard-earned money?  That's why only trust in well-known financial institutions such as First Metro Asset Management, Inc. or FAMI to help you with your financial goals.

3.  Traditional thinking.  Like me I was taught to just save.  Having savings is not at all bad especially if you're saving for an emergency fund you could readily withdraw should the emergency arise.  Again, emergency cases ha, not mall SALEs.  Did you know that the money will grow more in investments compared to just storing them in banks?

4.  Financial Literacy or Lack of Knowledge.  We always hear about self-care.  Learning new things and being open to new things like financial or investment ideas is also self-care because you invest in yourself and with it you make better decisions for your and your family's future.

SMART WOMEN INVEST
A Financial and Investment Literacy Workshop
Last March 21, I was among the few women who joined First Metro Asset Management, Inc. (FAMI), the fund management subsidiary of First Metro Investment Corporation, when they hosted Smart Women Invest, a financial and investment literacy workshop specifically catered to help Filipinas transform from savers into investors.  FAMI tapped two of the country’s leading female finance experts to help their fellow Filipinas in their journey towards investing: FAMI’s first-ever female president Karen Roa, a 25-year expert in the field of finance, and Ms. Rose Fres Fausto known as FQ Mom.
Figuring Out Finance
Roa and Fausto engaged an eager audience of fellow go-getting women in an animated discussion about finance. Roa said, “Finance doesn’t have to be as daunting as it seems. Women can do it—and excel in it, too.” Both agree that part of self-determination is mastering the art of handling money.
One of the highlights of the workshop was the online FQ Test, which determines the participants’ standing in terms of Financial Intelligence Quotient (FQ). Fausto said: “In order to have a high FQ, women must first understand their relationship with money." She also added that "those who didn’t fare well in the test need not worry because their FQ scores are not cast in stone. They can be improved by tweaking some of their money habits and unleashing the female characteristics that are actually good for investing, allowing them to go beyond saving.”

The best part about a healthy FQ is that its concepts can be learned and, in turn, shared with the family. Fausto said, “Women are large influencers in their community so a woman with high FQ can be a driver in raising children with smarter money sense, build a career and investment life that is fruitful and lucrative, and even lead a household and home that is sufficient and stable. Again, with fortified FQ—women have proven once again that they’re on top of their game.”

I  agree on this because when I first took an FQ test, I had the first failing grade of my life.  But being the competitive me (competing with myself that is - bettering myself always), I didn't let failure stop me from learning more about this aspect.  Now, I can proudly say after being open to financial concepts, investments, and preparing for a brighter future for my kids, my FQ test is in flying colors.  I am surprised myself because I didn't think I would love the financial and investments concepts because to me they used to look just math and numbers, which I was allergic to before (kaya ako nag-Communication Arts major in college eh!).  But now, I appreciate it all the more because it's practical, it's real, it's for my and my family's future.

Securing a Financial Future
I know how moms like us worry a lot about our kids' future, their education, our jobs' security, how to earn money (more money) while our bodies are able - to be able to put them to savings or investments, our own retirements, our future as non-earning senior citizens, and even to our hospitalization or other expenses when emergency comes, and lastly, our place when our earthly bodies retire.  I know because I also worry about them but it lessened seriously since I started investing on myself by first BEING OPEN to financial and investment concepts, second by SAYING YES to it, and third, by STARTING.

With bloggers Lace, Minette, Joy, and Ms. Karen Roa of FAMI.

Thanks to FAMI for the workshop which was very timely done - on Women's month.  I was affirmed that I made the right decision for myself and my family.  That's why I opened another mutual fund I entrusted to them. Why do I trust FAMI?  As a member of the Metrobank Group, FAMI holds a veritable reputation in asset management. FAMI’s mutual fund business is adept at promoting savings mobilization and advocates investment literacy, making it the perfect partner for women to learn, live and start loving finance.

Roa said, “This is our way of thanking the women who attended our workshop. The First Metro Consumer Fund is invested in industries that benefit from the Philippine family consumption and expenditure pattern. These are industries supported by women and mothers in our country. This is a great way to start their investment journey.”