Sharon Cuneta reveals biggest investment in recent years
MANILA, Philippines — “Megastar” Sharon Cuneta cannot wait to officially turn 60 and become a senior citizen.
“Para mayroon na akong discount!” the multi-awarded singer-actress quipped at a recent roundtable interview following the launch of the new Retire Assure plan under Filipino insurance company InLife, for which she is an endorser.
“Kasi when you turn 50, you can do things and not make excuses about them anymore. You’ve lived for half a century, parang you have the license na. Dati parang maingat parati… Mostly I’ve stuck to my values naman, parang almost what you see is what you get…”
Sharon turned 59 just last January 6, and according to her, she has so far none more to ask for.
“After 50, there’s more freedom in a sense… and after 50, I’m pushing 60, I’m more comfortable in my own skin because I’m happily married, because I’ve got great kids, and God has been so generous and gracious and faithful.”
Although the “Megastar” thinks she has been blessed too much, among these many blessings, her biggest investment in recent years are not cars or real estate.
“Books are my biggest investments and purchases in recent years,” she declared. “You can learn so much on YouTube, I do. But books are still a different friend. Sabi nga nila, if you want to read a really good book, go back to something you’ve already read before. Kasi sometimes, ‘pag tapos na ‘yung isang napaka-galing na book, ‘pag natapos na, ano nang isusunod ko? I get that feeling, I’m sure, a lot of you do.”
Through insurance plans like Retire Assure, Sharon said she could have some relief that she can focus on continuing in doing her passions like reading even in her latter years.
“Reading is so important because for example, if you want to be a writer, you can’t be a writer unless you read a lot. Because things get stuck into your memory bank and you can come up with your own prose,” she explained.
Such are the reasons why even if she spent so much on books in recent years, Sharon never regretted it.
“I don’t get hinayang kasi I can leave them with my kids. I cover each of them myself like babies. Especially now, they’re expensive… I like architectural books, I like whatever is in the home, there’s decorating, there’s organizing, cooking. It’s not all just high-falutin (novels). Of course, I learn a lot from biographies,” she shared, adding that she is so much into cookbooks because “I love the art and science of cooking.”
According to her, among her most treasured books date back to as far as the 1800s and the 1900s. Her other favorites are novels by Stephen King, Danielle Steel, Tagalog business books, and lately, books about Airbnb, which she plans to also venture in.
“If you read from the right authors, my gosh, there’s a whole treasury!”
Sharon stands by the Filipino saying that goes, “Knowledge is a treasure that can’t be stolen,” and as such, she believes that books are a great inheritance for children.
“So, I can leave the books with my kids or I can donate them to libraries after I’m gone. I told my kids that. So, there’s no wastage.”
She reminded today’s social media generation, “The practice of reading books is infinitely more interactive than watching something.”
“If you read a lot, you also learn a lot… there’s such magic in the written word that you can’t find anywhere else. And now, you can take yourself to another land, to another time period, ever since, but these kids should realize books take you there. Books can do that for you,” she guaranteed.
“Because of all these books, my gosh, there’s a universe out there! You will learn just from reading! It starts in childhood, in school, and if you’re able to nurture that, just understand how valuable that is, it’s a gift to be able to read and it’s a gift to be able to understand it in more than one way.” — Video by Deni Bernardo
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