30/09/2021
I started helping my parents provide for the family at the age of 11.
"Palamig" and banana cue vendor by day; fishball vendor come nighttime. I became a crew member of a fast food joint when I was in my first year of college to support myself and to help my older sister pay for her tuition as much as I can. After college, I supported my younger brother in his studies; and through corporate jobs after jobs and one life challenge after another, I finally was able to pay off our family debts in full. But soon, I realized that I was drained emotionally and financially.
I have a lot of friends in the insurance industry and have always been happy to see them flourish. In spite of that, joining them and taking the financial advisor route as a career did not cross my mind. Not even once.
So what ultimately changed my mind, then?
Way back 2019 (pre-pandemic), we almost lost both of our parents. My mother got hospitalized due to heart and thyroid illnesses, and my father underwent a lung surgery. Same year, my brother had a motorcycle accident that cost him his work for a month. We were not financially ready at all for even one of those incidents.
As the bread winner, these wiped out my whatever is left in my savings and delayed my plans to start something bigger for myself to focus on how I can help them all.
As I see a lot of windows of opportunity closing before my eyes, surprisingly, these life events opened up a huge door for a great advocacy to reveal itself: to help others financially prepare themselves for whatever may happen - earlier and better than how I did.
As a leap of faith, I ended my 10-year corporate journey and focused on building my own business. Here are my biggest motivations on why I did what I did:
1. I did not come from a well-off family. I experienced firsthand what it is like to be financially crippled. Despite earning more than enough from an 8-5 salary, life might surprise you and tell you it is still less than enough.
2. Too big an endeavor as it sounds but I hope to break the cycle of poverty - at least for one person at a time - not just for me but for others, too. As the saying goes: "If you are born poor, it is not your mistake. But if you die poor, it is." And financial literacy as I see it is one of the most efficient tools against poverty.
3. Breadwinners are also seen as modern heroes. They are admirable for their selfless love for their families. But what is also true is: they also deserve to enjoy the fruits of their labor and create a future they can call their own. You cannot pour from an empty cup. So self-care is needed, too.
Fast forward to today, I can now delightfully declare that I have full control on how I spend my time, energy and resources while enjoying a comfortable lifestyle and supporting people's dreams of becoming financially independent.
I hope you would join this journey, too. Reach out to me and we can discuss more to achieve more.
Proverbs 31:25-26 ESV
Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
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