Skip to main content

Why I've Chosen to Invest in Indexes, Not Axies

I guess it's more than time to tackle on Axie Infinity again. Last time, I wrote a post where I talked about how Axie Infinity promised riches but brought disaster. I even laughed writing about how someone may be dismissing AXA but playing Axie Infinity thinking that it's an "investment". Instead, it might be wise to get an Index Fund that will start with a minimum of PHP 1,000.00 or higher. GInvest (which has both ATRAM and Seedbox involved) allows some people to start investing for as low as PHP 50.00 though it might be wise to spare PHP 1,000.00 instead. There are two index funds namely the Philippine Stock Index Fund and the Philippine Equity Smart Index Fund--both focused on the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEI). 

I still remember I wrote about the irony of gambling but not investing. I guess people will find buying index funds or indexes boring. What I noticed after I bought my indexes (and again, I wouldn't tell how much I've placed and neither should you)--it does start to get "boring". It's because the plan is investing long-term and I can't magically turn the hands of time. Yet, I've had a bad habit of checking the investments nearly daily because I might plan to buy yet on a dip or because I check my virtual tree on GCash on a daily basis. It does get "boring" after buying because the prices don't automatically go up or down. Instead, the one thing about stocks is that you may even have to wait longer before you can score big with the buy low then sell high. That's why some people lose the stock trade. It's because of a lack of patience.

I think people "invest" in Axies because it's more exciting. They want the thrill and excitement like people in cockfighting. I call the game like it's cockfighting. Yet, the problem of the exciting part is when the excitement dies. Sure, it's exciting to bet money but that excitement ends when you lose the bet. The Axies are just like fighting cocks--you can't always guarantee your win. It's like betting on horseracing where the outcome is more random than stock performance. You can't guarantee your win. That's why I've avoided Axie Infinity like a plague. I once fell into a pyramid scheme in college and had bad customer credit 10 years ago. Why should I let Axie Infinity be my next mistake? 

Sure, investment can be "boring". I can't help but fidget (at times) when the money I placed isn't moving up yet. Yet, that's something I must expect because I plan to invest long-term. It's a downward cycle right now with the stocks. Yet, Warren Buffett's advice is to buy undervalued stocks and hold them. Buffett also suggests buying index funds because of the lower management feeds. Mutual funds end up having higher fees due to how they try to outperform the market. Index funds simply try to mirror the market which lowers the risk overall. The index fund is best bought and held. I intend to invest for at least five years then maybe pull it out and reinvest it in the banks. I plan to put at least PHP 1,000.00 per month in any of the funds which are at a "dip". I reached my target for one fund, but I feel I need to reach the target amount for another. It might be "boring" at first but there's something to look forward to. 

At the same time, setting some money aside for investment curbs my spendthrift tendencies. I remembered having some money I was tempted to splurge. I wanted to buy this and that. The solution became to invest some money in bonds since I was still scared of stocks. I ended up getting a long-term negotiable certificate of deposit (LTNCD) next. Now, I feel I have some confidence to indirectly get into stocks with the index fund program. I'm just starting small for now but I hope to make it bigger overtime with a monthly or quarterly commitment. 

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Venezuela as a Cautionary Tale on #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba, Nationalistic Pride, Welfare State Economics

The Sunday Guardian Years ago, I wrote about Venezuela's pride and protectionism , under a more "formal" style of writing compared to my latest posts. I decided to use an even "less formal" and "less academic" tone since I'm not writing a term paper. Instead, it's like how a professor and a student discuss the thesis using first person over third person, using contractions, etc., while the thesis doesn't use such tones. Back on track, I thought about the arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro can spark debate. Was it a violation of sovereignty? I'm no expert on international law. However, Venezuelans can be seen celebrating Maduro's arrest. Right now, I'm using Gemini AI and Google search to help me find some sources for this blog. It's because I don't want my blog to become another gossip central, but a place to discuss facts with my own personal opinions (making sure they don't  derail the facts).  I used Venezuela ...
Read more

Communist Vietnam's Great Leap Forward in Agricultural Production

I remember reading through Third World to First by the late Lee Kuan Yew. It's very easy to use the book to badmouth the Marcoses but not to learn from the rest of it. The book also talks about Vietnam and LKY's encounter with the late Nguyen Duy Cong aka Do Muoi. It's often said that Singapore only opened because of its lack of natural resources. On the contrary, Do Muoi decided to learn from Singapore how to turn the Communist Party of Vietnam into a powerhouse. Do Muoi, though a communist , was impressed by Singapore during his October 1993 state visit. Vietnam, unlike Singapore, is a country rich in natural resources. The third-world mentality said that MNCs are there to rape the resources .  A very huge misconception especially if you know Singapore's history Some Filipinos on social media even say that FDIs will destroy agriculture and nature. This is a meme by the Philippine Anti-Fascist League on Facebook. They say that FDIs equals environmental degradation. Yet...
Read more

Wanting Wealth WITHOUT Financial Discipline

Many people want to be rich, but not so many people want the discipline on how to be rich. Isn't that the plain hard truth ? As I do this sideline blog , I contemplated whether I should write another post after writing several posts years back, or when I wrote about Venezuela as a cautionary tale . Back on topic, I thought about how financial discipline is something often overlooked. It's easy to talk about Christmas since that's probably the most wonderful time of the year to be spendthrift , only to find out that one's broke by the New Year . The cycle of reckless financial habits tends to restart in January, even when January becomes that time of reckoning between debtors and creditors! January 2026 will end, February 2026 comes, and then the cycle of financial recklessness continues. It's the same cycle over and over! Last Christmas, I remember how DTI Secretary Christina Roque spoke about the PHP 500.00 noche buena, for a family of four . I called it tactless b...
Read more

Filipino Manufacturing's Golden Age ENDED Because of the Filipino First Policy

Here's a picture from the Dose of Disbelief Page on Facebook. Here's something that it wrote: Filipinos once trusted locally made products more than imports. Before World War II, the label "Made in the Philippines" carried prestige, not stigma, reflecting a strong sense of national confidence in domestic production. Local products such as shoes, cigars, textiles, furniture, and food were often preferred over imports. This preference was rooted in the belief that local goods were better adapted to local conditions, tastes, and were often of comparable, if not superior, quality. This period showcases a strong historical era of consumer nationalism and thriving local industries. We need to look into the context of Filipino history  If we look at the Philippine history timeline , we must account for 1935-1940, during which the Philippines was under the Commonwealth government. Independence was declared from Spain on June 12, 1898. However, there was a transition period w...
Read more

The Saying "The Customer is Always Right" isn't Right

I remember being chastised and said, "The customer is always right!" It became hypocritical because the same person who told me that later chastised me for yelling at the service provider in public . I'd admit that I screamed at the phone or even in person because things didn't go my way. My favorite excuse would be, "You said the customer is always right, right?" Going by the logic that the customer is always right, I'm right in doing the wrong that I did to service providers. It also reminds me of some rude manager lady (who I believe got fired sometime later, not going to mention her name or the company) who's heard to be highly unreasonable . She would scream in public louder than the late Miriam Defensor-Santiago.  I'd like to give an illustration of the fault of that phrase. The news of a raging customer who threw hot soup at the manager can create debate . Was she in the right when she threw the hot soup at the manager instead of talking t...
Read more