Got an honest confession to make…
I think I have reached a point in my life wherein investment has been my lifeblood. Whether that is in how I spend my money, my time, my decisions/life choices, and my resources.
I am a firm believer that even with the products I use/consume, even if it’s a bit over the average price, but have long-term benefits, I go for it. Before I usually buy things impulsively and without consideration (like 🙄) and I cringe to myself whenever I remember. It is a good practice to also make sure that whenever buying something, they have really good reviews from credible sources and they have reliable support/help team.
That is also the reason why I dipped in my toes on profitable and passive income generating activities such as being a financial advisor, “oilbularya” and just recently, I accepted a small marketing/sales role for my cousin’s startup online shop. It’s crazy how my schedule is now. All of these while I maintain my sanity and juggling in my day job (it cost me a lot of falling hair at this point hahaha!)
I am honestly (and most of the time) mentally tired but I am proud that I still can find time in between for my daily meditation and whatnot. Also, what I can tell you is that it is more rewarding than an idle lifestyle. I also don’t know if I am pursuing the right thing but all I know is that I keep a close contact with mentors at church, at life, and at office. So while doing these stuff, I’m still learning thanks to them!
I actually came up with a list of items that we can all pick up from investing (note that these are all by personal experience so I may lack some knowledge or this list might turn out to be a no-brainer for someone who has been into investing long-term for quite a while now!)
1. Not ALL overly-hyped products are good.
I cannot state this enough. I used to have a wrong mindset that if a product has been commercialised well, has good reviews (not all reviews are authentic, btw!) or celebrities use it, then it’s a good buy.
It can usually be a paid partnership with the product. I suggest you research on it further to know its benefits.
2. A product can work really well for you and not for others (and vice versa)
Every one is different. For example, it is excruciating and COSTLY to keep a set of skincare that would work for you for the long term. We all know that it has the 6-month rule and once your body adapts to it, then you go experimenting again with a different set! That being said, we buy stuff we usually hear from people who have great skin but did we ever research on what is his/her skin type? Is it hypoallergenic? Does it have ingredients that are not harsh for your type of skin? And on top of that, can we afford it? That’s the same thing for other people trying out your set of product.
3. NEVER invest in something that you want and go borrow money for!
While compound interest is the best thing ever discovered in the field of investments, it is surely not something we should bring into our debts. The Filipino mentality of “uy.. sale!” and “i’ll handle this later *swipes credit card*” is such a hard habit to break, especially if you don’t have the “money” discipline (I myself included!) I am thankful that I was in a point in my life where I was so impulsive that I slowly outgrew that habit and will now double check myself whenever tempted like “Do i really need it?” “Do i have money for it now?” “Can i afford this without credit card?” and so on…
4. Buy essentials that are all-around or are double-purpose!
This is my current lifehack! If it is not covering at least two of my needs, then I won’t spend on it. A great example of this is my essential oils stash from Young Living. I know many of you have read this over and over again but I am just in awe how you can make a lot of your daily essentials out of these oils! I totally replaced 40% of my commercial stuff (skincare and medicine included!) with my own mixture of oils! I know it’s a bit pricey but if you will look into the bigger picture, it replaces many things:
- My medicine pills for fever, headache, stomachache and whatnot
- My skincare: toner, facial wash, serum, moisturizer and body scrub
- My daily vitamins (although still taking VitC tablets, I also drink lemon or grapefruit infused water out of these oils!) amazing huh? And I haven’t caught a virus/fever in about a year!
- My home cleaners: totally replacing Lysol and Baygon with a more organic insect repellant and room spray!
So, just imagine all of these stuff which I buy individually but now having discovered how versatile Young Living’s EOs are, I just have to invest on a kit with 10 oils and a free diffuser and some freebies and I have covered all of my essentials already! Not to mention ORGANIC too! Cool huh? Also good for those who are practicing minimalism in their lives (like me!)
(If you’re interested, hit me a comment or click this link https://yl.pe/5vyf)
5. Find that balance between hustle and quiet time
I have been very vocal in my last two posts on how I grew tired from all of my activities and what I did learn is how to find that balance between working almost 14hrs a day and finding time to do meditation/prayer/quiet time. My sanity and peace of mind are something that I just cannot compromise no matter what and whenever my schedule gets overwhelming. I can’t remember exactly how I was able to discover the “balance” I practice now but I guess I’m grateful that I am not as aggressive and overly-consumed with work and power hungry than others. I am hyped for small profits and generating sales but not overly-hyped to the point where I neglect my day job as a developer. I even got a feedback at work before that they think I was “demotivated” because of my habits and that caused me to miss an upgrade in my role. That was enough wake up call for me to know that there has been an imbalance in my priorities. If you are in the same situation, I just want you to know that it’s okay and we all have those moments. But we shouldn’t stay there. We have to strive to be better slowly day by day.
So those are initially my take aways from all of my experiences these past few months. I really hope that in the near future, we will all just go back to this and be grateful that we have spent our energy and resources on things that do matter. Time and opportunities wasted are always something worth regretting so it’s best to be wise as early as now.
For the meantime, we are here and learning and that’s okay. Trust the process.
Kissed by Fire 