Business & Economics Perspective Blogger

Freepik Two years ago, last October 2023, I wrote an article where I described that the pera-normal settings are resultss of  mismanagement . I was running out of ideas, but thankfully, Gemini AI, with its combination of right and wrong answers (that's why double-checking is important ), has helped me out of writer's block. I would like to state that because October means Halloween for some, I decided to write this post where I address the scary truth about gambling. This reminds me of the irony of turning down investing in favor of gambling , such as the irony of "investing" in Axie Infinity after pulling out of AXA , or the stupidity of buying lottery tickets in hopes of getting rich . Back in 2012, I remember losing a huge sum of money to a family friend, who was a habitual gamber.  Some people even play mahjong until the crack of dawn, hoping to get rich fast. In another situation, I remember hearing of people who keep playing the lottery,  hoping to get rich. Th...

Happy New Year, right? There's this statement in Cebuano that says, "Sa Disyembre nag lipay-lipay. Sa Enero, naglikay-likay." For non-Cebuano speakers, it means, "Enjoying all December. Fleeing in January." It's because of the bad habits that are common during the Christmas season. I wrote an entry talking about when a Merry Christmas leads to an Unhappy New Year . After Christmas vacation, it can be common to talk about New Year's Resolutions. Sadly, there are resolutions meant to be broken or resolutions on paper only. Several people finish high school, go to college, get a job, but never gain the necessary knowledge of economics and finances. Instead, they continue to live the same habits year after year. Even worse, the same foolish behavioral patterns get passed down f rom parent to child to grandchild. Still stuck with financial habits that put one in a financial dodo The New Year starts and it can get funny. I tend to hate December because of the ...

It's fascinating (and annoying) that people want to get rich quick. The bad news is it's easy come and easy go. People do all sorts of crazy stuff trying to get rich quick. Back in 2022 while repairs after the Odette disaster were done, I wrote an article about not investing while having a gambling addiction . Some people may have pulled their money out of the index funds and played Axie Infinity trying to make a quick buck. Some people got into cryptocurrency with the same hopes of getting rich quick fast. Before cryptocurrencies and  Axie Infinity , the lottery ticket was treated like a "golden ticket". When I mention "golden ticket", some people may have seen the classic Willie Wonka movie where each child had a golden ticket. Only one of the children could inherit the main character's candy factory.  It makes me laugh (and cringe) that people waste their money on a lottery ticket. A wife can complain about her husband buying lottery tickets instead o...

WWD I really hate December because of the heavy traffic. Some say that people do last-minute Christmas shopping because they just live paycheck to paycheck. However, the way things go during payday can tell why they can't have the money to do some early Christmas shopping . An irony indeed that Christmas comes early in the Philippines (September) but not the Christmas shopping.  Indeed, so many should realize that living paycheck-to-paycheck should be a warning not to splurge on it (read here ). Instead, they choose to many stupid activities. Maybe, call in the one-day paycheck where they immediately go splurging the paycheck when it arrives. They would focus more on their wants than their needs. I guess that's why some fools are demanding the stupidity of higher salaries and lower price of goods aka Sahod Itaas Presyo Ibaba. I'm afraid that such a move isn't economically feasible (read here ). Even if they do get a high-income job (or even become an OFW for better inco...

  It's September and the countdown to Christmas began on September 1. One thing worth noting is why I personally hate December is the abundance of last-minute Christmas shopping . There's a lot of traffic to deal with one way or another. It's going to be a year after Odette hit last December 2021. I guess many last-minute Christmas shoppers were crying that they don't get to experience the thrill. This reminds me of a lot of stuff that was presented in regard to poor timing. Yup, timing in the Philippines is notoriously bad and the term "Filipino time" is almost synonymous with being late .  Analyzing the logic behind last-minute Christmas shopping Here's an article called " The Neuroscience Behind Last-Minute Christmas Shopping " by  Jocelyn Solis-Moreira. This is an excerpt that may help explain the mentality of last-minute Christmas shopping: Gift-giving is stressful. Even if you’re excited to get someone a present, the pressure of finding som...

CardCow.com Right now, I decided to monitor the stock market opening and closing almost daily. It looks like the bear market is far from over . I decided to Google "bear market not yet over". This is the latest report from the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) website : The recent observation has some scores in green but the percentage changes are anything but significant. In short, the bear market is still on. It's a good time to buy more stocks (either through DIY or through a stock index fund). The PSEi's overall change is barely one percent. I feel Warren Edward Buffett's excitement right now since it might mean, "I'll probably buy in bulk yet again." In another case, the AXA Chinese Tycoon Fund will end up buying more units per month than it was during the bull market . I would dare say that the bear market is far from over based on the scores. True, they are in green (signifying an increase ) but the increase is far from significant.  This...

CardCow.com I remembered one of the reasons why I was scared to do stocks was because of the day-to-day trading losses. I feel like the person I heard who borrowed PHP one million (and lost it) to invest in stocks must've done a day-to-day trade. One of the warnings Warren Edward Buffett gave is never to borrow money when you buy stocks. Stocks are not as liquid and they get hit by day-to-day fluctuations. Sometimes, the big gain in stocks happens after a certain period of time. Checking the feeder funds from ATRAM this morning made me think that while it's rising--there are still day-to-day fluctuations to deal with it.  An earlier post was discussing why I want to avoid day trading (read here ). I heard people emake money out of day trading. I decided to try a simulator  in day trading. It turns out it's not worth it. I already lost a huge amount of money to a bad customer. I felt every loss I made in the simulator was reliving that moment. Several times, the fluctuatio...

Casino.org I was looking for a new topic to write about. Apparently, my post on Robin Padilla who I didn't vote for but now agree upon (read here ) is catching wind on Facebook . However, I didn't want to resist writing about the cryptocurrency hype. I recall some of my biggest mistakes aside from letting a family friend buy in huge credit or taking offers without asking. Another thing that I could've gotten into is cryptocurrency . The reason is I've been into hype-riding, praise addiction, or afraid of being left out. It didn't matter how much theoretical information   I learned if my  temperament is bad. As Warren Edward Buffet said the following: 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. The issue is people tend to take pleasure in going against the crowd or for the crowd. I've experienced both of them and who hasn't?...

Back then, I remembered being told to invest only money I can afford to lose. I would confess that's really very bad advice. I decided to dig out an old article from The Philippine Star by Rose Fres Fausto who had written these words of wisdom: I cringe whenever I hear this advice. Why? Because it is a bad advice! Imagine if Uncle Warren Buffet followed that advice. He wouldn’t have become the world’s best investor. Okay, let’s get more real. Imagine if the regular Juan and Juana would follow that advice. Both would never get to say, “I am ready to have a decent retirement.” And that is even after they have set aside savings religiously from the time they started working! Inflation would have eaten up the purchasing power of their savings leaving them feeling kawawa despite being conscientious in following the first basic law of money, “Pay yourself first.” It should be remembered that yes, all investments have risks but to invest only the money you are willing to lose? Come on. Th...

A recent article I wrote was focused on the not-so-surprising outcome that Axie Infinity finally crashed . I really have no reason to enter into cryptocurrency--not especially since its volatility is way too high in contrast to stocks. I've been recently monitoring my UITF investments every now and then. I tend to do it daily because I might get an opportunity to buy more or to see which UITF (from GInvest for now) would have lower NAPVU--meaning my PHP 1,000.00 for the month will buy more units. Now, I decided to give an update on my most recent post on Axie Infinity's crash with this one.  I remembered writing about the irony of turning down investments while having a gambling addiction . A "follow-up" to it was a write-up where I mentioned  the irony of saying AXA is a scam while possibly playing Axie Infinity thinking it's an investment . I wrote some of my memories while living in Downtown Cebu until I was 14 years old. I could remember how gambling addiction...