You Will Never Be Rich Unless You Enlarge Your Psychological Wallet

Today, I am going to talk about something that will shock you. My aim is to push you beyond your money comfort zone, because unless you step out of your current money comfort zone, you will never be able to increase your wealth no matter how big the income is. So how are you going to do this? The answer is to ENLARGE YOUR PSYCHOLOGICAL WALLET.

What do I mean by PSYCHOLOGICAL WALLET?  It corresponds to your capacity to manage, grow and desire certain amount of money.  Let me ask you a question? How much money do you desire to accumulate in the future?  Is 1 million enough for you? I know people whose aim is to become a hundred millionaire and some even would like to become a multi-billionaire. Well, your answer to this is a measure of your PSYCHOLOGICAL WALLET.

I mentioned that unless you enlarge your PYSCHOLOGICAL WALLET, you will never be able to improve your financial life no matter how big your income is. Let me share with you my personal journey on how I was able to enlarge my money comfort zone.

It was year 2001, I was 21, fresh out of college I landed my first job at Asian Terminals Incorporated. My title – Management Trainee. My monthly salary  was 12,000 pesos at that time. That money was a lot for me since I was single, however, nothing was left at the end of the month.

In year 2004, I joined Harbour Centre Port Terminals Incorporated as an Assistant Manager for Planning and Documentations. My salary catapulted to 40,000 pesos per month. I had tons of money, yet, at the end of the month nothing was left again.

Year 2005, I landed in Dubai and in less than a year, I made the 6 figure per month salary. Still, at the end of the month, nada, zero, zilch, no money was left in my pocket. Bank account was depleting, fixed term deposit gets cancelled only a few months after opening.  

Some people have a 10,000 peso PSYCHOLOGICAL WALLET.  After receiving their 10,000 peso salary, they cringed, anxiety fills their mind and they splurge it. I know people who earn 10 or 20 times bigger than that and they blow it like there is no tomorrow.   

Well, I must admit, I was guilty of that. No matter how big my income was, I did not change my behavior. I did not enlarge my PSYCHOLOGICAL WALLET. When I receive my salary, I will fill my mind with the latest gadgets to buy, movies to watch, new clothes to wear etc. Don’t get me wrong, shopping, holidays and spending on something beyond the very definition of basic needs are also important for these play a role in the quality of life that each of us uniquely define. My point is, such has to be always in MODERATION.  It has to be budgeted and most importantly, it shouldn’t be sustained by DEBT.

I was 30 when I finally said “enough is enough”. Gosh! It took me 10 years to finally swallow my pride that something was wrong with the way I was managing my money. Anyway, 2 years ago, I acted with vengeance. I promised myself that I will devour every financial literacy books and attend every financial management courses and seminars available. I associated myself with people who are financially bigger than me and sought their advice. I had to completely REWIRE my BELIEF and cross-check my behavior.

At first, it was difficult because change is UNCOMFORTABLE. Who wants to be uncomfortable right?  It was a bitter pill to swallow, first, accepting my mistakes. Second, planning how to turnaround my financial life and third, executing my plans and continuously improving. Although it was difficult at first but I must tell you, it was LIBERATING.

2 years have passed since I reclaimed the steering wheel of my financial life and it has been a very wonderful ride. For the past 2 years, I had to bombard my mind with wealth beliefs and what has changed so far? Well this time, when I receive my salary at the end of the month, my past behavior has been replaced by the following:

First, I give back to God by tithing at least 10% of my salary. Initially, this was so difficult to do. I was not used to it. Giving coins is easy; perhaps, giving a 20-100 peso bill is still easy for many. But when you give 10% of your monthly income, it moves you because it is beyond your money comfort zone. But I must tell you, it is just during the initial period. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes a part of you. It is in your system. It motivates you, it inspires you to even increase your income, earn more so you can give more to God. Why tithe to God? Let me ask you, who is giving you the talents? Who is giving you the skill to earn? Who is giving you the perfect health so you can work and enjoy life? Who is blessing you financially? I realize 10% is the starting point. It is actually the cheapest when you come to think of it.

Second, I set aside 20% for my investments, and then on top of that, I also add whatever our company distributes as a bonus at the end of the financial year. Before, it used to be gadgets, sneakers, latest clothing to buy and latest movies to watch. But now, my fingers are already getting itchy before the pay day to push the buy button of the companies that I would like to buy. Today, I am ignorant when it comes to fashion. I won’t be able to answer you on what are the latest gadgets out there. But ask me what companies to buy in the Philippine Stock Market and in a blink of an eye, I can give you a full report- complete with an idea on how much your money can grow in a month or in a year’s time.

Third, I set aside 15-20% for my cash fund. This acts as my emergency fund so that when the rainy days come, I will not touch my investments. My investments are there to grow, to multiply like a snowball. My investments are solely intended for my retirement.

Thank you for reading this post and I hope you will share it with your family and friends.

Blessings,

Anselm Reyes

PS. Email me your thoughts, comments, suggestions and questions at anselmreyes@yahoo.com and for any concerns that you may have about investing in the Philippine stock market.