Good Temperament Needed to Handle the Current Bear Market

It's nearly the end of July and I feel we need some lessons in temperament n investing. I wanted to recall some bad experiences I had with finances (as well as other life decisions) due to a bad temperament. It was a bad temperament that caused me to get cheated out of cash by a family friend. It was a bad temperament that caused me to nearly join pyramiding scams (read here). Now, I decided to take a look at a post on Facebook a few weeks ago that shows so much economic illiteracy and poor temperament...

Simply, I just can't help but laugh (or cringe) at the comments written here. Dare to read them on Facebook if you dare. What can truly be astounding is the bad temperament of those people. It's very contradictory to what Warren Edward Buffet said namely, "The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect. You need a temperament that neither derives great pleasure from being with the crowd or against the crowd." Yet, the cringeworthy comments in that post prove otherwise. Is it me or is there a long way before Filipinos learn economic literacy? Though, I'm not going to wait until Filipinos become economic literate and business savvy before opening up the economy (read here). What's needed is that politicians who have Buffett's temperament do not derive pleasure from being with the crowd or against the crowd. I felt that a lot of bills concerning economic liberalization were left unsigned because of politicians with that kind of temperament. That's why I advocate for shifting to a parliamentary system (read here).

It was really a lot of stupidity to see when people panicked that the Philippine Stock Exchange was in red. However, Buffett's advice has been rather different. People should listen to experts like Buffett over social media gossipers (read here). Buffett chooses to take a look at bear markets not as a time of whining but for investing (read here). Buffett would look at it as his friend rather than his enemy. Some may laugh at me that I may never become Buffett. Of course, I'll never be Buffett. However, anybody can learn from his basic life lessons such as buying an index fund. That's why I'm keeping my equity fund and buying more units of the Philippine Equity Smart Index Fund (read here). Buffett says to periodically invest in an index fund and you may end up doing better than the direct traders. Of course, it's not always a guarantee as some direct traders are having more money than I do right now.

Some things I did to curb my bad temperament are these. It's more than willpower. One can do some cardiovascular exercises such as walking, and aerobics, and it might be ideal to buy a MiBand (read here). It would be important to eat healthy such as minimizing sugar (I suggest ordering your milk tea with less or even without sugar or going for fruit teas with little or no sugar as much as possible) and eating more vegetables and less meat. It would also mean spending less time on entertainment and more time doing financial research as well as other types of research. This would mean to cease being a social media gossiper if you're one. Dissociating from the pseudo-intellectualism of being a social media gossiper is good for one's well-being. Consider it like quitting drugs and never return to it no matter how good it feels.

Right now, I feel the need for extreme patience is there. My AXA Chinese Tycoon Fund (read here) still goes on and on. My PHP 3,000.02 per month now will mean more units purchased than it was during the bull market. Meanwhile, buying some extra units of index funds and feeder funds from GCash's GInvest means I'll get more because of the dip. It's common sense that a lower NAVPU means I'm going to get more units than when the NAVPU is higher. As Buffett advises, buy undervalued stocks from good companies. Since there's no Standard & Poor 500 (SP500) in the Philippines--I think the Philippine Stock Index Fund (from BPI) or the Philippine Equity Smart Index Fund (from ATRAM) would be a good pick. The fees are as low as 1.0% to 1.5% depending if it mixes active and passive or not. I prefer to mix both since it'd be more advantageous to take the best of both worlds.

I'd probably be laughing at people who are panic selling. Some people may have pulled out their AXA equity finds to play Axie Infinity (read here). Some people may have been buying high then selling low (read here). Sometimes, it's advisable to sell any stock that continually underperforms during a bull market or if that company is dwindling. Meanwhile, if the stocks are from good companies (such as those that make up the PSEi) then it's ill-advised to sell low when you bought their stocks high. Instead, it would be advisable to continue investing for a certain horizon. One can continue with cost-averaging or buying more if one could buy more. Otherwise, it's never advised to buy stocks in the bulk during a bull market. I'll just have to try and do my best to keep my cool in investing in this still ongoing bear market.

Get Stuck with EDSA, End Up Like Nokia

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...

#SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Economics' Bad Accounting

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...

Past Chinese School Education in the Philippines was Based on "Sǐ Jì Yìng Bèi"

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 ...

Migrante International's Really Bad Economic Literacy

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...

"Filipino First Policy" Has NO PLACE in the Rising Asian 21st Century

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...

Has Passing Down Hatred for Singapore (Because of Flor Contemplacion) Economically Helped the Philippines?

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...

My First Taste of Sichuan at Yang Hero IT Park

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...

Tealive's Aren Caramel (Kaong Sugar Caramel) Series

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...

Getting Stingy at the Cost of Fire Safety?

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 ...

Started to Invest in the ATRAM Global Equity Opportunity Feeder Fund

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...

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