52 Week Money Challenge History

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The 52 Week Money Challenge was made popular by Melanie Pinola under the Personal Finance Section of Lifehacker last December of 2013. It has been floating around the Internet since 2012 without any idea as to who really conceptualize it originally.

The oldest so far that Pinola dug up was a January 2013 post from Free Beer and Hot Wings. In turn, the said blog site also attributed the idea to Loose Wendy, a friend and former intern of Steve, the blog’s author. Loose Wendy posted a photo on her Facebook page about the 52 Week Money Challenge. This basically shows a road map on how one can be able to save as much as $1,400 over the course of 52 weeks. Steve thought that the challenge was super easy. Hence, it is no wonder that such photo was posted on numerous other sites and blogs.

The concept of the 52 Week Money Challenge is very simple. Even Steve agrees to this notion. Almost everyone can do this.

Pinola’s and Loose Wendy’s version involved saving a dollar and incremental dollar every week. There are 52 weeks in a year hence the title of the challenge. For example you save up $1 on your first week. The total savings sum is $1. On the second week, you add one dollar to the amount you would save. Instead of saving $1, you save $2. Adding the first week sum and the second week sum it will yield to $3. On the third week you add another dollar again from the $2 making it $3. Hence, the total amount would then be $6. This cycle goes on until the last week which is Week 52. In here you would save up $52 for this week hence summing up the amount from the first week until the 52 week, one would get as much as $1,378.00. 

Pinola stated that while these are considered tiny amounts, they add up to a big difference. The money that you saved in the process can be put up to your emergency fund or use it for something special. Even more, it surely is gratifying to see that your savings would be growing each week.

Loose Wendy and even Pinola suggested that you may also do the challenge in reverse. In here you work your way to lower amounts every week. You would start with $52 on the first week and lower the dollar increment after a week. Whatever rocks your boat whether the original or the reverse, you would still end up having $1,378 after 52 weeks. 

P.S. To those doing the 52 Week Money Challenge and 52 Week Money Challenge Version 2, it is Week 17 already! Did you deposit the next amount yet?

P.P.S Want to know more about investing, savings, stock market and more, check out my reference here. You can download free ebooks and resources too.

Know ERRC and Finances

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Have you heard about the blue ocean strategy? Don’t you know that this is not only applicable to companies and businesses? In fact, you can be also be able to implement such strategy in your finances. Take for instance their ERRC Grid or the Eliminate, Raise, Reduce, Create Grid.

According to the Blue Ocean Strategy Site, the ERRC Grid compliments the Four Actions Framework. It pushes companies not only to ask the questions posed in the Four Actions framework but also to act on all four to create a new value curve, which is essential to unlocking a new blue ocean. By driving companies to fill in the grid with the actions of eliminating and reducing as well as raising and creating, the grid gives companies immediate benefits.

So how can we connect the ERRC grid to our finances?

Give yourself time to assess the things that you can eliminate, raise, reduce and create that will surely help keep your money.

When I was given this task before, it took me a good two days to really define the things that I want to eliminate, raise, reduce and create. To help you with your own personal assessment, allow me to expand the ERRC grid.

Eliminate

Which factors or items can you eliminate that will surely help your finances? What are the unnecessary things that you spent on that you can live without. What expensive items do you spend on that you can just get rid of?

Raise

Which items do you personally think that you can rise up to help you with your finances? Should you raise your income? Should you raise your knowledge in order to help you with your financial situation?

Reduce

What factors or current things you do that you can perhaps reduce that can directly affect your money? Should you reduce your expensive coffee trips? Or maybe you can reduce your shopping spree.

Create

What factors or items can you create to help you with your money or your finances? Should you create a new business or perhaps create a new investment scheme.

Truly the ERRC Grid is one good way for us to revisit our expenses, our income and our finances. It would be wise that you be honest in your personal investment so that in the end, you would be able to maximize your money and your income. Having this as a guide will truly set everything into stone. Whatever your money goal is, you can always insert this model to help you out. So what are the things you can eliminate, raise, reduce and create?

P.S. To those doing the 52 Week Money Challenge and 52 Week Money Challenge Version 2, it is Week 17 already! Did you deposit the next amount yet?

P.P.S Want to know more about investing, savings, stock market and more, check out my reference here. You can download free ebooks and resources too.

Inspiring Young Entrepreneur

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Creating a business is not impossible. This holds true for Lloyd A. Luna who started his business at 23 soon after publishing companies rejected his first book, “Is There A Job Waiting For You?”.

He was a bread seller when he was a kid. Lloyd and his family live in poverty. He was born to a tricycle driver and a school teacher in Gumaca, Quezon. His common activities while growing up involve planting rice and vegetables and raising hogs. He would wake up as early as 4AM to help his father sell breads in another town. He would also be sleeping very late at night. Regardless of such, he was still able to pursue college at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. Since he wants to land a job right away, he took Electronics and Communications Engineering instead of pursuing journalism.

However, in spite of not getting his desired degree and being rejected, he self-studied web designing and he was able to make cash to print his book and also register his publishing company. During the day, he would deliver books to bookstores and at night he would create websites. His business was no easy feat. It was a struggle considering he has no business background and he was young and inexperienced.

Yet he persevered. He started website design in a 20 square meter apartment without any telephone line and Internet connection. He would use pay phones and rent units at cafes to upload the sites. He were able to seek whatever resources at his disposal. His book was intended to help people find what they want in their life.

And now, Lloyd is a best-selling author with eight books under his belt on career and personal development. Because of such, he was cited as the youngest international journalist of the XV International Aids Conference in Bangkok, Thailand. After that, he was awarded as Collegiate Ambassador for Peace in Seoul, Korea.

Lloyd is also a regular columnist of The Manila Times, Good News Pilipinas, Kabayan Star and Pinoy Handy Magazine in Hong Kong, Planet Philippines in Canada, Netrepeneur Magazine, and My House Magazine. He’s also a business consultant to start-up companies and SMEs and Internet strategist to some of the top 500 corporations.

Truly Lloyd is a good example for many of us who wants to create a business but don’t know when and where to start. If you only have the passion and the dedication, nothing is impossible. And with that, Lloyd is truly an inspiration to us all.

P.S. To those doing the 52 Week Money Challenge and 52 Week Money Challenge Version 2, it is Week 17 already! Did you deposit the next amount yet?

P.P.S Want to know more about investing, savings, stock market and more, check out my reference here. You can download free ebooks and resources too.

52 Week Money Challenge For Kids

Since we are pushing our kids and our next generation to save, might as well develop close to a 52 week’s money challenge for them. And yes even the little ones can be able to do this provided with the support of their dear parents. The only difference with regards to the kids is to only lessen the amount. You can try with 1 peso a week and increment it with another 1 peso every week. By the end of the challenge, your kid would be able to save up 1,378. Not a huge amount though but nonetheless it is a good starting point for them to save.

In order to instill the value of savings to your kids, here are a few tips:

Talk With Them

It is very important to let the kids know the importance of savings. Though we have that notion that they might not seem to understand but they can be able to grasp the concept of it. Thus, give time to explain to them why they should do such. Make sure you talk about it in a positive way.

Let Them Do It

When your kids are doing the challenge, make sure that they would be the one putting the money on a weekly basis. Never do the savings for them. The least you can do is giving them the money but let them put it in the challenge jar or in the piggy bank.

Let Them Earn It

Do not spoil your kid too much by just giving them money. Make sure they also earn it as well. Give them household chores to do. When they are done, give them a little money that they can deposit for the challenge. As early as their age, they need to realize that money doesn’t grow from trees. It requires hard work in order to have it.

Reward Them

Kids need positive reinforcement from time to time. That is why, if they were able to religiously deposit for four weeks straight and comply with the challenge, reward them to a movie or something they would love to do. Give them a bigger one when they finish the challenge.

It is our responsibility to instill money discipline to our kids. As such it is imperative that even at a very young age, we engage them with this activity. So that when they grow, they would be able to develop that habit of savings and they would thank you for it.

P.S. To those doing the 52 Week Money Challenge and 52 Week Money Challenge Version 2, it is Week 17 already! Did you deposit the next amount yet?

P.P.S Want to know more about investing, savings, stock market and more, check out my reference here. You can download free ebooks and resources too.

How To Automate Your Savings

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Saving diligently was no easy feat for me. When I started working I love the notion of having money in my wallet and in my ATM. I feel like I can do anything and buy everything I need and want. That is why, it took me years to finally realize that I need to save up. Right after getting my salary, I usually treat my family to somewhere fancy and buy some clothes and shoes. The cycle just keeps on repeating since I know for a fact that after two weeks, I would still get another batch of money.

Then reality hits me. I incurred debt, thanks to my bad credit card habit and there is that realization that you are not getting younger and you still have nothing in your bank account. And the only way I know to solve this is to save. This was then the time that I still have one job and that is teaching. So basically I need to save up my salary to pay debt and of course to beef up my savings.

Since I still had that habit of buying stuffs on payday, I finally realize that I need intervention with regards to my one and only salary. That is where I want to automate my savings.

Automation/Automate

This is also referred to as automatic. This is defined as working by itself with little to no direct human control and is done spontaneously without conscious thought or intention.

The key there is little to no direct human control. That is why I don’t want all of my salary to go to my ATM right away. Because if it is, then I might end up spending it and still end up with no savings. Hence, automating my savings is the best way to go.

How did I do it?

I ask our school cooperative to intervene with my salary. That is, in a good way you know. I informed them to get this much amount every payday and should be directly deposited to my savings account. My savings account from them has no ATM card. Hence, if there’s a need for me to withdraw, I need to go there myself. And this can be quite a chore for me hence I am limiting my visit and more so my transaction. With that, what is now deposited in my ATM would be the money left from all the savings.

Then I want to build up my savings even more. Hence, I push myself to limit my expenses. That is why I ask our local cooperative to get as much as 50% of my total pay for my savings. Thank God I did. I was able to control my expenses and I was able to save more in the process.

To date, automating your savings is already available in banks. Identify where your ATM or salary is connected and ask the bank if they can be able to do direct saving up. Simply inform them to set aside this much money each week or month and it will be transferred to your savings account. I know a handful of banks can do this. Plus, you will have no excuse of not being able to save.

Automating your savings is a good way to develop that habit of savings and even more discipline yourself to limit your expenses. You don’t need to learn how important savings is the hard way. That is why, in order for you to really save up, why not choose for this kind of hassle free option. 

P.S. To those doing the 52 Week Money Challenge and 52 Week Money Challenge Version 2, it is Week 16 already! Did you deposit the next amount yet?

P.P.S Want to know more about investing, savings, stock market and more, check out my reference here. You can download free ebooks and resources too.

Save Your Money and Save Your Health

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Didn’t you know that money is directly proportional to your health? Yes you just read that right. Hence, if you were able to save money this also means that it can literally help your health. Apart from that, this will also serve as your safety net that will help you and your family in the long run.

Perhaps you might wonder just how saving money can save your health is. Here are some great points.

Emergencies

We see in usual telenovelas that when they rushed a family member to the hospital they experienced the worst kind of treatment. Simply because they don’t have the money to pay for the operation or what not. Truth be told, some hospitals indeed require money just to get the job done. And when you have no savings when a family member is rushed here. These are unforeseen incidents that can truly eat up the family’s finance pie. If you don’t have savings, more or less, the family would have to give up a few expenses and bills just to cover the treatment cost. With savings, you are ready for just about life’s surprises.

Peace of mind

Having peace of mind is crucial to our health. If we get to be paranoid on things most especially with regards to our money, it will have a negative impact. Our health will be compromised and even more, we cannot sleep through the night. If you find yourself worrying on things like what to do if you no longer have a job or where will you get the money should an accident happen, then that’s anxiety. Beefing up your savings can truly eradicate these thoughts and will let you have that peace of mind. No need to worry on those things anymore.

Avoid stress

When you have savings backing you up, you can definitely avoid a lot of things in order to make ends meet. Take for instance having multiple jobs in longer hours. I’ve got a friend who is in debt for the longest time that is why she works in a 16 hour shift every single day. That will give her eight hours to sleep and be at home with her kids. She badly needs the extra shift in order to pay her debts. After a few months, she got ill because of the stress. Should that friend of mine have extra savings, she can use it to pay her debts and she will no longer have to work on another shift. Apart from that, she will have more time with her family.

Positive outlook

There is no denying that life savings will give you control in our rather unpredictable economy. If you have savings, you can be bale to choose a life that you want. You can say no to extra work, you can opt to spend more time with the individuals that matter most, and you can just take a break from work to do just about anything to keep you relax and refresh. With control, you will have a choice. You can opt to use your savings for an even better venture like investment and putting up a business. In this way, you are making another income channel for you that will definitely aid your finances. And having a positive outlook could mean a good mind and body.

With these things, did I convince you to save up already? Remember the amount of salary is just the tip of the iceberg. This will not dictate if you can be able to save or not. It still boils down to a matter of perspective and dedication to save up. Remember, when you save your money, you are also saving your health.

P.S. To those doing the 52 Week Money Challenge and 52 Week Money Challenge Version 2, it is Week 16 already! Did you deposit the next amount yet?

P.P.S Want to know more about investing, savings, stock market and more, check out my reference here. You can download free ebooks and resources too.

Happy Easter

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Happy Easter everyone! Today, we are reminded that in spite of all odds, Christ has risen and saved us. Today, is one wonderful day to commemorate just how great He is and how forgiving He is. I hope you were able to attend the early morning ‘salubong’.

Today would also be a great day to commemorate this week’s posts. You might notice that the articles are bible connected because it is the lent season after all. Here’s a quick recap.

Lent Season And Finances

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We started the week with a lent post that states Lessen Expenses and Neglect Temptation. This is indeed a good season to sacrifice our finances too and be in touch with things that matters most. This is also a good time to lessen our expenses and neglect financial temptations too.

Provebrs 22:7 and Debt

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Didn’t you know there are tons of bible verses with regards to debt? Take for instance Proverbs 22:7 that states “The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” As a borrower, we are indeed servant to the lender. This can derail our finances and even more our emotions. That is why it is imperative that we get out of debt the soonest.

52 Week Money Challenge And The Bible

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So you think the 52 Week Money Challenge is just a challenge? Well think again. Don’t you know we can actually relate this one to a bible verse? And it is 1 Corinthians 16:2 that states, “On the first day of the week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.” Read this article and see how this challenge relates to it.

Behind Rags2Riches

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You might thing the brand Bags2Riches is created by someone prominent in the society. Truth be told, she is not, however her life and her experience makes her exceptional and that is no less than Reese Fernandez Ruiz. Read her life story and how she is able to create the brand, help others and uplift women.

Bible’s Take In Growing Your Money

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Proverbs 13:11 states, "Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow." This is a clear manifestation that the slow wins the race. Thus, when saving or investing, being able to work slowly and putting in little by little is one formula for wealth. That is why gathering money and saving money are discussed in detail in this post in line with the passage.

P.S. To those doing the 52 Week Money Challenge and 52 Week Money Challenge Version 2, it is Week 16 already! Did you deposit the next amount yet?

P.P.S Want to know more about investing, savings, stock market and more, check out my reference here. You can download free ebooks and resources too.

Bible’s Take In Growing Your Money

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There are varied stories and tales stressing how the slow always wins the race. Take for instance, “The Tortoise and The Hare” and “The Turtle Always Wins”. And didn’t you know even the bible says it so. Take Proverbs 13:11 that states,

"Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow."

There is no denying that indeed being slow can help us to get where we want to be. It may sound ironic because you need to hustle in order to get there but building your wealth is another ball game. The best thing to do is to work slowly and do it little by little.

Being able to gather money this way is important to making it grow. After all, many can just opt to spend it all away and only a few are keen towards saving it and making it happen. Hence, the bible states that you let your money grow. And only those who did it can be wealthy.

The bible passage states that we need to establish our own little by little scheme in order to create our very own wealth. This means having a steady cash flow and being able to save up regularly. When we are able to define it, we can then strengthen it and fortify it.

There are two facets we need to look at here. First is being able to gather money and being able to save money.

Gather Money

It is important that we get to have a regular money stream. That is why more than work, we need to be able to look for multiple streams of income. Even if each stream would just be very minimal, every penny that would come from it matters. As much as possible, you must be able to cover two dimensions, the regular source of income and the irregular. The regular would mean having a day job and the irregular would be from investments and the like.

Save Money

The passage is an affirmation that we should save up little by little. Regardless of percentage you set for your savings, the most important thing there is to save. Make it grow and make it flourish. Even in stock market investing, we are often told to invest little by little. Do not pour in all your money in there. Investing is also not done overnight. It takes time and the trend is also little by little.

In here, we are also taught of the value of patience. No one becomes wealthy overnight. It will always take time and discipline to do it regularly and do it continuously. If you are already doing such, you are already in the right path.

Remember, gather money by having multiple income streams, collect and save the money you’ve got little by little, strengthen your income streams and fortify your savings.

P.S. To those doing the 52 Week Money Challenge and 52 Week Money Challenge Version 2, it is Week 16 already! Did you deposit the next amount yet?

P.P.S Want to know more about investing, savings, stock market and more, check out my reference here. You can download free ebooks and resources too.

Behind Rags2Riches

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Her name sounds sweet but she is more than a sweet face to begin with. With her many endeavors tapping social enterprise and women empowerment, there is no denying that Reese Fernandez-Ruiz is one role model in the field of business and social responsibility.

Reese Fernandez-Ruiz is the president and co-founder of Rags2Riches. Rags2Riches is an apparel and accessories company that aims to help women earn for themselves. Most of the designs came from renowned designers in the country like Rajo Laurel and Oliver Tolentino. More than the beautiful accessories, Reese aims to beautify as well the women who were responsible in creating each item. These women from Payatas earn 2 cents a day before and now with Rags2Riches they are now gaining an average of 12 US dollars a day. They also have a stake in the company’s cooperative. They also have access to other services like micro-savings and educational programs. More than just a global brand, Reese aims to help more women.

She grows up living around churches in Manila. She and her mother would eat there, washed their clothes there and slept in the chapel. She considers herself as freelance missionary worker who led church activities and prayer. She was exposed to varied reality at such a young age. Her friends are typically street children.

Because of generous strangers, she was able to get a scholarship and went to a university. Until now, she does not know who these strangers were. That is why, her life is grounded towards care and compassion for others especially those in poverty.

Her defining moment started when she met Ate Ning, a mother of five and a scavenger for 14 years. She would weave cloth scraps as foot rugs. However, she would not even earn 20 pesos a day for all her efforts. Reese got mad and wanted to correct this. Hence with Laurel and Fr. Xavier Alpasa, SJ, she formed Rags2Riches with the orientation towards “people, profit, planet, and positive influence.” Since she grew up with them and worked with them, she is geared towards uplifting them. No wonder Rags2Riches was established.

And now, Rags2Riches items are known globally. Locals and foreigners alike embrace the intricate designs and of course the reason behind the brand. That is why Reese is pushing not only to build a business but build a socially relevant one. It is always a win-win situation to create a business yet also help others at the same time. She states, choose compassion, kindness and love.

Indeed Reese is one entrepreneur to look up to. Her compassion for the poor is beyond overflowing as evident by her missions and goals. I do hope more businessmen and future ones would be inspired by her. 

P.S. To those doing the 52 Week Money Challenge and 52 Week Money Challenge Version 2, it is Week 16 already! Did you deposit the next amount yet?

P.P.S Want to know more about investing, savings, stock market and more, check out my reference here. You can download free ebooks and resources too.

52 Week Money Challenge And The Bible

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Surely you would be surprised if the 52 Week Money Challenge is in the bible. Let me tell you it isn’t. However the general idea of saving is in fact embedded here. True enough the bible is already telling us to save. And we can associate the saving technique of the challenge with 1 Corinthians 16:2

“On the first day of the week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.”

The challenge and the bible verse tell us to set a day to save every week. Though the bible states it should be the first day. Regardless bottom line is, we are advised to put aside the money and save. There is really no instructions and procedures on how to save money. The bible after all was not asking us how much to save on a weekly basis. This is pretty much a mindset and also a way of life.

The 52 Week Money Challenge is helping us create this kind of mindset and make it a lifestyle. That is why we are pushed to save every week so that sooner or later it will just flow naturally and we would just save automatically. The path to financial freedom still starts with baby steps in allocating money for savings. No one can invest right away if he or she has got no money. And where will this money come from? It is from our savings. Investing is savings too. If we cannot save, we also cannot invest.

Simply think of it this way. If the 52 Week Money Challenge can let you save up 68,900 in one year, imagine your savings for 10 years! That would be 689,000. And what if you continue this until you retire say for instance adding up another 10 years? That would be over 7 Million! How much more if you invest the money in the process? You would be gaining much more.

It is you who will be rewarded with your savings. No one else can seize its benefits and reap its rewards but only you. This is something to do for your own and not for the others. Hence, if you’ve got the money, remember the bible verse. 

P.S. To those doing the 52 Week Money Challenge and 52 Week Money Challenge Version 2, it is Week 16 already! Did you deposit the next amount yet?

P.P.S Want to know more about investing, savings, stock market and more, check out my reference here. You can download free ebooks and resources too.

Provebrs 22:7 and Debt

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When we are often seeking for wisdom and guidance, most of us tend to resort to the Bible for answers. Who knows the many wonders it has and how the words, the phrases and the verses can still be applied today. This also holds true for our personal finances. You see, the Bible is not only a history book that narrates events. It also has items worth noting and lessons worth keeping. A good example of this one is Proverbs 22:7 which states,

“The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”

The bible clearly points out that those who have will rule the other and the borrower owes a lot to the lender.

This simply tells us that as much as possible, be debt free. The freedom of being one is more satisfying than being tied up with debt. Remember what you were when you have debts up to your neck. You cannot seem to move right? You always work really hard yet in the end the money would be used to pay it. The big bulk of your salary or income is redirected here and you cannot use your money anymore for other purchases. You become a servant to the bank, to someone be it a family member or a friend or whoever you borrowed from. Worst, if they have conditions with regards to your loan like they might get some items in your home, they might let you work for them and more. I can now imagine those movies in which loan sharks would get a family member for a loan’s payment. Now that’s a bit extreme I know but I know you get it.

When I was still in debt few years back, I couldn’t even begin to realign my salary because of the debts. I remember my credit card bank calling me every morning checking on my payment. Every time I heard my phone ringing with that number on it, I turned it off or put it in silent mode. It is like Liam Neeson’s Taken line, “But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you”.

That is why I have been diligently chopping it away. This was also the time, where I had literally no savings because I just want to clear out my debts. Getting out of it was not easy and it would require sacrifices. But let me tell you the freedom after it is just so worth it. No more calls from my credit card company, no more sad face when I get my billing statements and more. I was able to save up in the process and use that money for greater ventures rather than paying my debt.

The bible might prove strong in terms of words however there is no denying that it gives us a glimpse of what our life should be. God simply wants us to be debt-free. To enjoy life and be not anyone’s servant. And debt can in fact enslave us. So when in debt, always remember Proverbs 22:7.

P.S. To those doing the 52 Week Money Challenge and 52 Week Money Challenge Version 2, it is Week 15 already! Did you deposit the next amount yet?

P.P.S Want to know more about investing, savings, stock market and more, check out my reference here. You can download free ebooks and resources too.