It’s been almost two months since we were put on enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to put the spread of the novel coronavirus under control by the government. Our experiences and struggles under the ECQ are varied and unique to each of us. As for our family, not much has changed in our lifestyle. We live in a rural area surrounded by rice fields and trees and our closest neighbor is half a kilometer away so we still get to go on our daily nature walk with our 7-month old son. Me and my husband have been working from home ever since we got married (I’ll talk more about this in succeeding post) so the ECQ did not drastically affect our jobs. However, despite our different experiences, being in the midst of this novel coronavirus pandemic probably brought all of us, particularly us parents, the collective realization on the importance of having sufficient savings that we can use in times of dire need. Unfortunately, majority of Filipinos don’t have stable jobs, let alone savings that could last them several months without income. This pandemic showed us that we can no longer rely on our day jobs particularly jobs that are on ‘no work, no pay’ basis. So how do we move on from here?
Improve your financial literacy
“Financial literacy is the ability to understand and effectively apply various financial skills, including personal financial management, budgeting, and investing.” Investopedia.com
Since I became a stay-at-home mom, I made it a point to find time to read about parenting (I have so much to share on this topic in this blog and on my Youtube Channel – click here -- so please don’t forget to subscribe!). And whilst we do have enough savings to cover in case this pandemic drags on for several months to a year, still I can’t help but feel anxious about our finances. So when my friend told me about the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, I immediately dropped all parenting books I was reading and began reading this book instead. I’ve heard of this book several times over the years but I had no interest on reading because I just wasn’t interested in talking about money when I only have myself to fend for. But how my perspective and interests changed when I became a mom.
Basically, the key message of this book is this, “If you want to be rich, be financially literate.”
He said that “financial intelligence is a synergy between accounting, investing, marketing and law”.
I know a bit about marketing and law but I know very little about investing whilst accounting seemed to me like a foreign language. But after reading the book, I realized that the reason I was hesitant to go into business or that I can’t seem to find the right business to venture was because I lacked financial intelligence. I don’t know how money flows and works. In the book, Kiyosaki said that there are tons of opportunities out there but only the financially literate person will be able to see them. Now I know what I am missing.
Women play a unique role in achieving the family’s financial security
Many, if not all of us women play the role of a manager or chief operating officer of our household and it is this unique role that places us in an advantageous position to secure our family’s financial security and we can only achieve this if we have financial literacy. One of the many things we can change if we have improved financial literacy is to know how to budget our limited resources in such a way that we can set aside a certain amount as savings or asset to grow. Another way is to learn how to prioritize our spending and cut on items that are not essential.
We strive to eradicate gender stereotypes in our home but despite sharing home chores, I remain to be the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of our household. My husband actively trades on Forex and stock market but I am the one who manages our finances and updates our “financial book” which is basically just an excel file which I continually update every time money comes in or out of our pockets or bank accounts (I will write about this too). I also help him grow our money by letting people borrow from us on a 5% interest per month (usual rate is 7% or higher). It’s our way of growing our money and at the same time help farmers by providing them money to borrow on a much lower interest rate.
Despite these efforts, much remains to be done if we want to be financially stable. That’s why I’m thankful to have read his book because even if I didn’t know what business to venture by reading it, at least I now know that the way to achieve financial stability is to learn about money, that is to learn about accounting, investing, marketing and the law.
Stay-at-home parents can turn their time into gold
Being a stay-at-home mom myself, I don’t discount the amount of work stay-at-home parents have to deal with at home particularly those with two or more children to look after. So moms and dads, I can understand the situation you are in and please pat your back for a job well done no matter the odds, no matter the imperfections.
Whilst our hands are full at home, still some of us can have the luxury of some free time especially those parents whose children no longer need to be looked after every second of their waking hours or in the evening when the kids are in bed and the house have been tidied. And these are the free time that you can turn into gold by learning accounting, marketing, investing and the law to improve your financial intelligence and consequently improve your family’s finances.
Working parents can turn their time into gold, too!
Working parents have different circumstances than stay-at-home parents because their days are consumed by their job and when they are home, they’d likely rather spend their time bonding and relaxing with their family than focus on financial literacy. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t do it too. When I was working in Bangkok, I spend thirty minutes of my morning on the train and another 30 minutes in the evening on my ride home. I took advantage of this free time to read books even if I had to stand on the train during peak hours. My left hand would hold the handrails while my right hand would be holding a book. Listening to podcasts can be an option too particularly those who are driving to work.
I am both a stay-at-home parent and a working parent right now. I stay at home and is hands-on with my son but I work as a freelance writer so I do have to work too although my working time is flexible. But with this unique set up, I strive to still find time to read and enrich my knowledge. I take advantage of my son’s nap time in the morning and afternoon to read. I would lay in bed beside him so he would sleep for a longer period while I catch up on my readings. But of course, on days when I feel exhausted for God knows why, I would also give myself a break and binge-watch Korean dramas on Netflix.
But, why moms?
Whilst I believe in equality among men and women and I fully support women in the workforce, it’s a reality that despite being an egalitarian society, the Philippines have significantly more stay-at-home moms or working moms looking after the household compared to men. We have hundreds of mommy groups on Facebook but never have I seen an FB group among dads/husbands (please share with me if you know of one). And sometimes, it’s not even because of gender inequality or gender stereotypes but because we women are just wired to think of pretty much every aspect, every detail of our household.
For this reason, I created this blog and my Youtube Channel Mommy COO with the aim of sharing to moms and women my learning and journey towards financial literacy and financial security. I will be sharing insights I read from books for moms who are too busy to read. In fact, I will be sharing them on my Youtube Channel as well so that moms who are too busy can just listen while they lay in bed after a hard day’s work. I will also be sharing reflections and experiences on parenting, family relationships, hobbies, books, career development and healthy lifestyle among others.
The biggest lesson I learned from this coronavirus pandemic is that we need to be ready when a storm would suddenly hit us; be it sickness, loss of job, calamities and other disasters. We need to ensure that we have enough savings to get us through whatever hardships we may face. We women are the accountants and managers of our household that’s why we need to develop financial literacy if we want to achieve financial security.
Join me in this journey! Subscribe to this blog and my Youtube Channel Mommy COO or follow me on Instagram at @mommy.coo
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