The Prevalence of Fake Rich in the Philippines

Back in 2022, I wrote about why it's deadly to believe someone is rich based on their lifestyle. During my childhood to teenage years, I used to think someone was wealthier because of reasons like:

Their parents spoil them with generous allowances.
They're driving a luxury car everywhere they go.
They have expensive parties every year.
They have a lot of luxury brands.
The children have so many toys.

The list can go on and on, and I believe I might type too many words from there. I grew up with people bragging about how rich they are, even if the claims are preposterous. It's common among children to brag about what they don't have. Unfortunately, some never outgrow that dangerous habit and grow up with a fake rich lifestyle. This is the lifestyle where one wants others to think they're rich, even if they're not rich.

The rule of fake rich reverses the advice above. Instead, the fake rich lifestyle says, "Buy a USD 500.00 bag never mind you have nothing in it. Don't buy a USD 75.00 bag with USD 425.00 in it. Never mind being broke as long as you look rich." Unfortunately, so many Filipinos have this mentality going on (read here). In fact, it was already shown several times over. One would choose the applauses of fair-weathered people over the balance in the bank. One would want to have people say, "Oh, he/she must be so rich to ride a plane every weekend!" This reminds me of the types of people I've cut contact with. In fact, that's why I ended up saying, "If I had children, they would only have what they need. I will not be a miser, but I will not be an overspender either." It's all about living a balanced life. Be thrifty, not stingy!

Here's a classic example. There's nothing wrong with being a fan of One Direction. However, some people have put too much priority on the One Direction concert, as if One Direction knew them. If they could afford it and still have food later, why not? However, this incident is incredibly hilarious. It seems to go like this, "I don't care if I don't get to eat later, as long as I can watch the upcoming One Direction concert." Wow, talk about that. If you can't eat anything now, can the One Direction concert (which I believe came several months later) pay for your expenses? This incident shows the problem of the fake rich mentality. The fake rich have their priorities set wrong!

Besides, I also avoid the fake rich for another reason. They tend to judge a book immediately by its cover. These are the type of people who can also be the fake nice people. The fake rich are only nice to people if they know who they are. Otherwise, if you're not some important person, you can forget them treating you well. They would judge you by the car you drive (although Dhar Mann's videos can go overly exaggerated since no self-respecting CEO will ever drive a rust bucket), the phone you use, the color of your skin, etc. In short, if you fall short of the standard of the fake rich, you're definitely going to be treated badly! They will start to bootlick and beg for forgiveness if they know you've got lots of money hidden. I don't need people like that in my life.

When it comes to fake rich people, I say forget it. I can let them look down at me for all I care. These fake nice people are not needed in my life.

The OFW Working Abroad and Their Family on Christmas

It's a few days before Christmas. I don't like December because of heavy traffic, some people prefer Christmas shopping at the last minute (since procrastination is a common habit in the Philippines), the stress of year-end work, and December is the end of the year's cycle. I decided to write this entry. There's nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas or having a good time. The problem comes when one celebrates beyond one's means (read here ). That means having extravagant Christmas parties that require a music band that one can't afford, inviting the whole village, etc. when one can't afford it. Speaking of which, these incidents remind me of OFW families. I remember a study presented at the University of San Carlos. If I remember correctly, it was done by accounting students. It was a study showing the spending habits of OFW families. Outstanding Filipinos Worldwide Facebook Page Here's a meme on Facebook that I found. For the sake of non-Tagalog spea...

Having the BADLY NEEDED Tenacity to Hold My PSEi Related Investments During INEVITABLE Paper Losses

I decided to do a portfolio review, especially because Christmas to New Year is around the corner . I thought about checking my AXA Chinese Tycoon Fund. For the sake of confidentiality , I wouldn't give out the exact loss. I was tempted to sell my AXA Chinese Tycoon Fund (which was at a paper loss , not an actual loss) and go for cryptocurrency . However, after looking at the ghost of Quadriga-CX Crypto Scam made I said, "I need to stick to what Warren Buffett said about the stock market." Buffett's advice doesn't require an MBA or even a PhD in business administration to understand them. Instead, I was looking at these lessons that Buffett such as: If I'm not willing to open to own a stock for 10 minutes, I shouldn't think of owning it for ten years! Definitely no day trading for me! The stock market is a device that transfers money from impatient people to patient people. I have to be more patient as the stock market inevitably corrects itself, unless t...

COMMUNIST Vietnam Has Defeated DEMOCRATIC Philippines Again This 2025

Cổng thông tin Trung ương Đoàn TNCS Hồ Chí Minh A few days ago, I wrote about warning Filipinos that they shouldn't wait for more unmitigated typhoon disasters, before realizing that the Filipino First Policy isn't working ! There's a statement that says, "Just because being tanga (inattentive) is libre (free), doesn't mean you should be tanga!" Analyzing the different policies: why policies matter I found a Business World article, written by Cesar Polvorosa, Jr., on my Facebook news feed discussing the Vietnamese economy . In fact, it would be better to share some hard truths that the article offers about what really went wrong with the democratic Philippines compared to Communist Vietnam : DIVERGENT ECONOMIC MODELS Vietnam pursued an export-oriented manufacturing strategy which has proven significantly more successful over the past half century than the Philippines’ service-heavy, remittances-dependent model . Export performance alone tells a compe...

External Validations, like Masters and Doctorate, Mean NOTHING with a LOUSY Education System

I have the tendency to use my MBA as a license to avoid criticism. It's a real problem that some people use their credentials and/or academic achievements to try and win an argument. One incident I wrote about was Rep. Raoul Abellar Manuel flexing his "smarts" by using his cum laude degree to win the argument . It was all about how I would often say, "You're the moron because I have the MBA and you don't." There are times I felt like taking an MBA would make up for my "moral shortcomings" during high school when I was barely passing (and the passing rate was 80% , which is rather high), that I wasn't having honors, and that there was this saying, " Thou grades shalt determine thy future! " That, of course, has led to the reality where cheating is prevalent . I wanted to make a review. I took my MBA in 2011 and graduated in 2014. I always felt that the MBA program was what I needed to become "invincible". It was also at ...

Economics 101: Pre-Colonial Philippine Natives Already Did Business with Foreigners

Art by Hugo Yunzon It's finally August or Buwan Ng Wika (Month of the Language), though it may be better to call it Buwan Ng Kultura (Month of the Culture). Buwan Ng Wika programs tend to focus more on the uniqueness of several types of Filipino people. What I recall back in my high school days (late 1990s) is how I was asked to play an "American" in a Buwan Ng Wika program. There were also other people asked to portray the Chinese traders, Arab traders, Indian traders, and the Japanese occupation. It would be good to do a review of the pre-colonial Philippines. The name Philippines was derived from the Spanish king, King Philip. Back then, the natives were called Indios which sounds very similar to Indonesia . Yes, most Filipinos are either Malay or Indo. A look at the Indonesians and Malaysians would have one mistake them for Filipinos. A note is that the Chinese population there usually speaks Hokkien. From Purdue Filpino --here's some basic information about Fili...

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