A business blog by an MBA graduate who's currently no longer interested in getting a Ph.D. This blog aims to share insights into the business world such as investments, economic policies, and more. Feel free to poke around, and learn more about what I have and want to say.
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Why Being a Miser Isn't the Right Way to Do Business or to Live Life
Sometimes, people can confuse frugality with being a miser. I think about a couple of times when I watched Spongebob Squarepants back some time ago and getting irritated at Mr. Krabs. Unfortunately, there are some people who are so obsessed with money (or money comes first) that they end up becoming misers. As I was watching Spongebob while studying to get my bachelor's degree in business administration--I felt that the Krusty Krab model won't work well in real life. I mean, I tend to eat at Jollibee almost daily since I was studying in the University of San Carlos-Main Campus (USC-Main). As I was eating there--I thought would have Tony Tancaktiong build Jollibee as an empire if he was a miser? Mr. Krabs ran his Krusty Krab on a miserly mindset--just one cook and one cashier. Mr. Krabs would even artificially inflate prices just to get more money. In real life, Mr. Krabs should go to jail.
Drawing the line between being thrifty and stingy
It's often easy to confuse both of them. So, we need to draw the difference between them. I was thinking about how it would be to have a stingy parent vs. a thrifty parent. For a stingy spouse, his or her thrifty spouse is extravagant. However, that's very far from it because there's a difference between a thrifty person from an extravagant person. Along the way, I felt going on the middle read of thriftiness though I tend to spend more than others.
Being thrifty means one spends money wisely. For a thrifty person, it would mean being willing to spend more if it will save more money in the long run. A thrifty person would buy a more expensive appliance if it gives good convenience, and service, and is power-efficient. A thrifty person may shun luxury brands because they're overpriced. However, a thrifty person may spend a little more for quality. It's like a person won't buy a luxury car but will spend more on a brand new Toyota car. A thrifty person may buy a brand new nice smartphone but will reject any overpriced smartphone. It's because the person seeks long-term savings even if it means spending more for the moment.
Meanwhile, being stingy is absolutely compromising on need and quality. You can think of a person who has so much money but like in some exaggerated stories--even deprive themselves of their needs. It's like in the children's story of The Miser and His Gold who hid his gold in his backyard than invest it in the bank. Another story has a miser who even doesn't buy new clothes. That would a very sad state because the person only thinks of raking in as much money as possible. It would also go as far as that such a person wants to always sell at a higher price while haggling with others for a lower price. In short, the person puts money above everything else.
The opportunity costs of the miserly lifestyle in contrast to being thrifty
I was thinking of certain fewer episodes of Spongebob that show the opportunity costs of being a miser. True, the cartoon may just be there to give you a laugh (though it's already worn out by now) but you might meet such people who can make some of the mistakes of Mr. Krabs. It had me thinking about how a miserly lifestyle can accumulate opportunity costs. In economics, an opportunity cost is something that you lost when you could've gotten it.
It reminds me of an incident when I decided to invest in AXA. For a miser, insurance is "worthless". For some, they don't even trust the banks so they might be hiding their money under the mattress. During my MBA days, one of the speakers in the financial symposium mentioned that her grandfather kept the money in a safe in the house. It was a truly sad thing since the value of money changes over time. Something considered of high value during the 1970s may no longer be of high value today. I had some toys that cost around PHP 200.00--PHP 300.00 during the 1990s were considered costly. Now, those values are considerably low.
Instead, one can think about a diversified portfolio is the thrifty way to go. The miser may scoff at it as a scam. However, a thrifty person carefully investigates financial companies. For example, a thrifty person dismisses all "too good to be true" promises. Meanwhile, a miser may either buy them in (because of greed) or shun them along with the good financial companies. A thrifty person may decide to put some money in stocks or a managed fund, get some insurance (such as health insurance), and insure as much stuff as possible. A thrifty person may think that stocks can be of higher risk so managed funds can be a good alternative. A thrifty person decides to put some money in this and that bank investment to let it grow.
What would be the big disadvantage of keeping all your money under the mattress or a private safe? Depositing your money in a legitimate bank means there's some form of insurance if ever the bank gets bankrupt. There's also the option to pull out of a bank you know is misusing clients' money for a trustworthy bank like Metrobank or Banco De Oro. Meanwhile, keeping all your money under the mattress or a private safe will mean it rots in there. Not to mention, new currency is printed every now and then. That means the coins and bills need to be changed for them and older currency becomes obsolete. Not to mention, there's no chance to grow at all since banks pay their clients interest since they're practically borrowing money from depositors. That's why banks need to be very wary about who gets loans or does mortgages--it's also to protect clients!
How being thrifty vs. being stingy affects businesses too
I was thinking about how some of the biggest businessmen are philanthropists. Maybe, it's because some of them know what it's like to be poor. For example, the late Henry Sy dealt with shoes before opening SM or how Tony Tancaktiong started small before establishing Jollibee. Some businessmen believe in the power of giving to charity. Some of them even give generous tips and founded their companies hoping to create a future for their employees. These people can easily build a good brand image which will have you coming back for more.
How would being thrifty be good for business? It would be good to live a life built on quality over luxury goods. What's wrong, really, if a wealthy man doesn't wear branded goods or uses an expensive mobile phone? What's wrong if a wealthy businessman chooses to celebrate his parties in private? It's wise to avoid lavish living as that could soon compromise the income. Some businessmen fall down because of lavish living. Living within one's means is advantageous as it generates wealth for the next generation. Teaching the children to do the same might create a future emergency fund for the next generations in contrast to raising spoiled children.
However, why is being a miser a bad way to do business? When a businessman only cares about money--he forgets about that raking in the profits is not a one-man job. Do you think Jollibee will be Jollibee without its entry-level service crew and restaurant managers? Do you think that a factory is a factory without factory workers? A miser would only care about how much money he can save even if the quality is compromised. It's like not spending even on necessities which, in turn, will eventually slow down work processes. It's like refusing to buy newer and better equipment and then complaining why work quality has been bad. It's like refusing to carry out repairs, waiting for the damage to become worse, then stupidly complaining about why the expenses suddenly piled up. In short, being a miser is all about compromising quality so one can save money. However, it means one ends up having opportunity losses out of being a miser. Besides, safety may also be compromised resulting in heavy lawsuits or even jail time in the long run.
Yes, we should never forget what history teaches us. A classmate of mine, back in high school, wrote a simple and blunt essay called "History: A Teacher". I doubt he still has a soft copy, given it was already more than 20 years ago. I'd like to quote Duterte critic Andrew James Masigan wrote this in Philippine Star --something that should remain relevant: I would never undervalue the 1987 Constitution. It dismantled the legal framework of a repressive regime and established the democratic institutions we enjoy today. For this, I am grateful. The 1987 Constitution was crafted with the best of intentions. It sought to put the Filipino first in all aspects of governance and to level the playing field amongst sectors and peoples. But it is far from perfect. It failed to consider the importance of foreign capital and technologies and the stiff competition we would have to face to obtain them. In short, its economic provisions were short-sighted . So despite the Constitut...
I would like to apologize in advance to my readers. The picture I'm presenting is in Tagalog, and not all my readers speak Tagalog. I would translate the picture's text into English for convenience. It says: "Ano ang bumubuo sa mga presyo?" means "What comprises the price?" "Gastos ng materyales" means materials expense "Gastos sa kasangkapan" means depreciation expense ""Gastos sa pasahod" means salary expense "Kapitalista" means capitalist Renta is well, rent "Kayang pababain ang presyo" means "Prices can be lowered". It says that capitalists (industrialists, landlords, bankers) and elitist governments are part in the gross profit. Get rid of excise taxes (either permanently or temporarily) for the prices of goods and services. In the times of crisis, in the burden of sacrifices, we need to be watchful for capacity. Whatever savings for times of difficulty by the workers and countrymen, the...
Chinoys of my age (and older) may remember these textbooks. I called them as the "symbol of trauma". It was memorizing something without understanding it . One would just memorize (without understanding it) because it was typical. Not being able to memorize what was assigned? Get a bad grade? One can expect physical punishment like hitting the hand with a ruler or chili in the mouth. Chinese language teachers are stereotypically strict . The language textbooks (above) are what were used during the 1990s to the early 2000s. As I wrote it, the Sinjiang textbooks aren't effective in teaching Mandarin , in a world where Mandarin has over a billion speakers! There's a Chinese proverb that says, "死記硬背 sǐ jì yìng bèi" or "Memorize to the point of death". That's exactly what those textbooks are. Memorize to the point of death! Okay, it may sound exaggerated. However, that's how Chinese language teachers in the Philippines were made to teach the ...
March 17 (which is tomorrow) seems to be an unofficial holiday for some people, right? I'm sickened that the late Flor Contemplacion has been treated like she's some national heroine (and thankfully, tomorrow isn't a holiday) even after Singapore had proven her guilt. A movie was made by Joel Lamangan called The Flor Contemplacion Story . The call for Migrante (Migrant) International has been to remember Flor even after several years. What's not too surprising was to learn that Flor's sons were all arrested for drug-related charges. Even her eldest son died while in prison. You have Migrante International wanting to end the labor export policy. However, a post by Migrante really shows how this group fails basic economics. I will not post the whole press statement but one part that made my eyes roll. >> Further opening the country’s economy to foreign ownership and control will worsen the exploitation of our people and the environment without creating a susta...
I guess nobody saw the Asian 21st Century coming, right? China was once a poor nation but look at it now. Vietnam was once a poor nation but look at it now. Singapore was once a poor nation but look at it now. The late great Lee Kuan Yew wrote his book From Third World to First . I'm afraid some people have been using it to go against the presidency of Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. while ignoring what else Lee Kuan Yew had to say. Lee Kuan Yew described the Filipino press to be rambunctious on pages 304-305 which I agree. I'm afraid that the Filipino press may have had a hand in getting rid of any economic or political reforms that could help the Philippines. Yet, one policy has been holding back the Philippines for decades and yes, it's the Filipino First Policy . Reviewing the Filipino First Policy and why it has no place in the rising Asian 21st century I remembered how the values education subject taught Carlos P. Garcia's stupid Filipino First Policy as a Filipino value...
PEH.ph It was on March 17, 1995, when Flor Contemplacion was executed in Singapore. I've noticed that I've been addressing her as the late many times, even if the late is a statement that may be ony appropriate if the person has been recently deceased within 10 years. It's about to become 30 years since Flor was hanged in Singapore. However, generational hatred would've been passed down from 1995 up to 2025. Some people are still tagging #JusticeFor Flor. These traits may be passed down from the Batang 1990s to their children in this generation. It may also be passed down from parent to child, even if the child was born in the 2000s to 2010s. Somebody born in 2000s and beyond might even say, "Papa and mama told me about Flor Contemplacion! That's why I hate Singapore!" Talk about a child born in 2004 who's probably angry with Singapore, because his parents kept telling him about how Flor was supposedly "unjustly treated" over there. Some tim...
I was doing some random historical study. One of the many things I recalled from Asian history class was the Chinese Communist Party in Sichuan. It's an interesting piece of historical detail that Mao Zedong (and other Chinese communists) were avid lovers of spicy food . Yang Hero had its first branch in Gaisano Tabunok. It opened a branch in IT Park last May 25, 2023 . The menus had Chinese translations. The establishment has made me realize the importance of learning Mandarin . True, I could order their food without speaking Mandarin. However, I still feel that the increasing number of Chinese businesses left and right would mean, "You may need to learn some Mandarin now to connect with more people in the world." For a bit of background, here's what I gathered from Sun Star Cebu: Evanmarie Mendoza, social media specialist at Yang Hero, said: “The Chinese barbecue is also a must-try for foodies as it differs from the regular ones that we typically have here in the P...
I usually tend to associate sugar with cane sugar. In this case, Tealive (read my review here ) uses a sugar known as gula aren. I did some research and found out that Gula Aren is made from the sap of the sugar palm tree. The fruit is also known as kaong in the Filipino language. Granted, the Filipino language also derives from the Malaysian and Indonesian languages--it may be derived from the Indonesian word kolang kaling . The Philippines may also be producing its own gula aren or palm sugar. Sugar palm or kaong is pretty much grown as a staple in Filipino cooking too. Here's a video from an Indonesian woman. Watching this, it's safe to assume that kaong farmers in the Philippines follow more or less the same routine. Maybe, some people may call it latik though latik is made from coconut milk and not coconut sap. Though, some Filipinos may still call palm sugar as latik. The video above also shows an Indonesian binignit with some kaong. I was shocked to learn kaong is also u...
March is fire prevention month, right? If there are people who are too extravagant then I'd like to talk again about stingy people (read the article here ). I've tried growing up with the stingy vs. extravagant extremes. Some people become stingy even with the necessities. It's one thing to deny a child a children's party since it's a want . It's another thing to deny a child stuff they need all in the name of saving money . Even worse, some people may be more than stingy enough to ignore fire safety. A stingy person just wants to save. It's almost like the story of the Miser and His Gold or The Rich Miser . I really find these stories entertaining at the same time, irritating. The first story has the miser who hid his gold under the ground. Some people today are too distrustful of banks and investments. The second story has a rich man who even dresses in rags, denies his son's shoes, had his wife cook some cake only for him, and was so greedy he had it ...
It's time to begin a new road into investing. I went from a moderate risk taker to a moderately aggressive risk taker. Of course, I need to be careful with how much money I invest or I don't invest the money that I need. I believe that one could start by investing 15% to 20% of one's income. Basically, it's money that's not needed now. Fortune Recommends gives this ideal sweet spot: Many of the experts we spoke with suggested, as a general rule, to invest a set percentage of your after-tax income. Although that percentage can vary depending on your income, savings, and debts. “ Ideally, you’ll invest somewhere around 15%–25% of your post-tax income, ” says Mark Henry, founder and CEO at Alloy Wealth Management. “If you need to start smaller and work your way up to that goal, that’s fine. The important part is that you actually start.” Some budgeting strategies account for this, such as the 50/30/20 budgeting strategy, which breaks your monthly budget into three ca...