Common factors that make your investing and committed relationship

I write this article as the index goes down to levels we thought we would never be in again, especially in the year 2020. You see, we already hit the 7,000 level as early as 2013, that’s seven years ago! The table below shows when we hit index milestones, based on closing prices of the Philippines Stock Exchange. There was one during the Cory administration, two during Ramos’, five under PNoy’s, and one under the current administration. 

But since it’s also the first week of the love month, I’m also affected by the love in the air. Here are some factors that are common in successful investing and successful committed love relationship.

1. It is for the long-term. When you say “I do” your time horizon is forever. It’s “in sickness (be it SARS, corona, etc.) and in health, until death do us part” not “until I find a better one” or “as long as I’m fond of you.” Do not give up at the slightest sign of problem.

2. It is a decision. And because it is forever, make a decision to make it not just a pwede na kind of relationship but the best union you can possibly have. Emotions come and go but you continue to love your partner. When you invest, you have to make your decision firm and commit to doing it in the long-term. When it comes to avoiding pwede na type of economy, do your share in building the best nation we can have. In choosing our leaders, vote wisely, do not reason out with, “Pare-pareho lang naman sila.”   

3. Integrity. It is impossible to have a good union without trusting each other. Husband and wife should have full disclosure as they are one in the most basic unit of society called family. In the same way, it is very difficult to invest if you don’t trust the system, the people behind management, and the regulatory and governing institutions in the country.

4. Respect. When my mom first told me that the most important ingredient in a lasting marriage is respect, the young Rose answered, “Isn’t it love?” Now I understand what she meant when she said, “You may still love someone, but you cannot live with a person happily in marriage anymore when there is no respect.” This is related to the previous factor, integrity. It is important that we take care of our integrity in order keep the respect of the parties involved. We are all part of a global community and it is important that we show respect for the rule of law and contracts, and conduct ourselves respectfully. I hate it when rude people rationalize their actions under the guise of being authentic. Being authentic is not an excuse for being ill-mannered.

5. Easy to understand model. It is best to have a straightforward relationship. Call it as it is. Are you boyfriend/girlfriend or not? Is your relationship moving towards marriage or not? Unfortunately, there are dozens of relationships that have morphed from the simple boyfriend/girlfriend and the married relationships. Examples are mutual understanding, friends with benefits, something but nothing, open relationship, placeholder, it’s complicated, etc.

I think getting into such difficult-to-understand relationships is no different from getting into investments that you don’t understand. It is no different from CDOs (Collateralized Debt Obligations) and other mutated instruments that people got into that brought about the financial crisis in 2008. The initial model was asset-backed security, an instrument that aimed to pool mortgages in order to increase the quality and liquidity of the asset. But it morphed into dangerous derivatives that were difficult to understand.

Investing in cryptocurrencies without really understanding the model is another example. The initial model may have had a noble intention (i.e. providing a good medium of exchange that eliminates the costs charged by traditional platforms) but just like the original asset-backed securities, the derivatives that work like pyramid schemes have victimized a lot of people.

In these derivative instruments and derivative relationships, no one is held liable when the music stops. But one thing’s for sure, a lot of people get hurt.

6. Good dividends. Good investments yield good dividends. When it comes to successful marriages, children brought up well are the greatest dividends. These children will grow up to be productive citizens of the country.

7. Good design that makes things easier. In order to help humans succeed in both marriage and investing, their environment should be so designed such that doing the right things would be easier. For marriages, an example design is to set a default day to be your date day in order to give yourselves built-in occasions to talk and assess your relationships and keep the fire burning on a regular basis. Date your partner on the assigned day, whether you feel loving or irritated with each other.

In investing, sign up for automatic and regular contribution to your YAGO fund (YAGO stands for You Also Grow Old. Click here to read more on this topic). The automatic feature enables you to invest on the assigned date, whether the market is up or down.

8. Patience. Oh you have to have a lot of this in order to have a good marriage. You have to go through the mundane aspects of family life, a little bit of drama, frustrations and other challenges. Just be patient. In the same way with your investment, you will get bored, get crazy and panicky at times, but just be patient.

9. Go for blue chips. In long-term investing always go for blue chips. The same goes with choosing your life partner. And when I say blue chip person, I don’t mean go only for those belonging to de buena familia (high net worth families). What I mean is knowing your and the other person’s worth as individuals, as decent children of God who deserve to love and be loved.

10. Frugal. In investing, look for companies that are frugal in the use of their resources. This same quality is very important in the partners in a committed relationship.

11. Have clear goals. Investing needs clear goals in order to sustain the discipline and fulfillment in the regular setting aside and staying steadfast. In committed relationships, having clear couple and family goals allows you to be on the same page and better equipped to live successful and meaningful lives.

12. Smart risk taking. Any form of investment entails risks. No risks taken, no gain expected. It’s as simple as that. Even if you consider yourself risk-averse or with low risk appetite, you have to realize that you have to take some smart risks in order to protect your money from purchasing power erosion due to inflation. In getting into a committed relationship, you can never be 100% sure. After you have gone through numbers 1 – 11, take a calculated risk and give it your all, in order to make your relationship succeed.

I wish the 12 factors have given you insights on how to invest well and love well. Go hug your special someone today, be it your spouse, your partner, your children, your parents, or siblings, and remember to keep investing in your relationship with your loved ones. 

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. I have received several queries on my next public talks. Here’s one that you can attend and you will not just learn from me and my family but also from other speakers. Come to the Money and Family Summit on April 4 to 5, 2020 at SMX Aura. Register here: www.finlitsummit.ph.

2. Mom and Son Podcast - Year 2 Episode 5 (Dealing with burnout) 

Now that we’re done with the hardest month of the year (so far), we may be experiencing some sort of burnout, whether it’s in your career, love life, or any other aspect of your life. How do you spot burnout? What causes it, and most importantly, how do you deal with it? We discuss burnout today coincidentally the same time my body is experiencing some form of burnout so please excuse my voice because of my colds. Hindi ka mahahawa just by listening to this episode so join the discussion and stream the episode now!

#MomAndSonPodcast

Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5HKg0tikSbPVLs0NP39Btc?si=b4iDDEAOSJS4_Snzl-cVIQ?

Buzzsprout

https://www.buzzsprout.com/241447/2644258-mom-and-son-podcast-year-2-episode-5-dealing-with-burnout

Apple iTunes

https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/mom-and-son-podcast/id1449688689?mt=2

Google Podcasts

https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8yNDE0NDcucnNz

YouTube

Originally uploaded on Anton Fausto’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/UjyzV-JHmvI

3. If you want to include better Financial Health for 2020 and the new decade, take the FQ Test now. Click link: http://rebrand.ly/FQTest.

4. Have a healthy relationship with money, start by reading “FQ: The nth Intelligence” and sharing the lessons with your loved ones. 

You may purchase the book in major bookstores, or if you want autographed copies, please go to FQ Mom FB page (click SHOP), or FQMom.com (click BOOKS), or email us at FQMomm@gmail.com.

Rose Fres Fausto is a speaker and author of bestselling books “Raising Pinoy Boys” and “The Retelling of The Richest Man in Babylon” (English and Filipino versions). Click this link to read samples – Books of FQ Mom. She is a behavioral economist, a certified Gallup strengths coach and the grand prize winner of the first Sinag Financial Literacy Digital Journalism Awards. Follow her on Facebook & YouTube as FQ Mom, and Twitter & Instagram as theFQMom. Her latest book is “FQ: The nth Intelligence.”

Image Attribution: Photos from freepik.com modified and used to help deliver the message of the article.