3 Major Reasons Behind My Silence

Sunday, April 15, 2012

My last post was in November last year. That was nearly 5 months ago, and I am amazed how time has flown so fast. My apologies please to all of you. I have not been so good in updating my blog as frequent and as regular as I want to. Not that I run out of ideas and insights (not only good and positive but also and the negative since there are also plenty of lessons we can draw from it) to share with you, but I simply did not have much spare time to write. In the last 5 months, there were simply too many activities and commitments that occupied myself and took my time away. They were a mixture of personal and professional issues. There were many of them, but I'l only tell you the top 3 reasons behind my silence in the next paragraphs below.

Demands of Regular Job. Yes, I still have a regular job and just like many of you, I am also working my way out of the rat race and towards financial freedom (Achieving financial freedom is possible. There is hope. I believe God wants all of us to be wealthy). The last few months had been particularly demanding for me. It is always like that especially during year ends. But ours is especially more stressful because our program (and that means my job, too since my post is co-terminus with the program) is ending by July 2012. I could only count the days when my work schedule were less hectic. Thus, I did not have enough time to sit down and write.  Sad to say also, beginning January 2012, I was also forced to give up my writing gig as a virtual assistant. For nearly 6 months last year, I wrote marketing articles for a client online. It did not give me lots of money, but gave me additional money that supplemented my income. Since I had less spare time to commit to write marketing articles for a client, I thought it was better to give it up than to commit and not deliver. But I have no regrets, because when one opportunity is lost, another and much better opportunity comes up.

New Opportunities with Sun Life Financial (Philippines). The opportunity to join Sun Life (a leader in protection and wealth management, and the oldest and most trusted life insurance company in the country with nationwide operations) as one of its  financial advisors came up towards the latter part of 2011. Providing financial education to people and helping them achieve financial freedom in life are things I am always passionate about. So when this opportunity was presented to me, I did not have second thoughts. Not only does it give me the chance to pursue the things close to my heart, but it also offers me opportunity to steer the direction of my success and entrepreneurial mindset. So I channeled the time that was fred out from working online as virtual assistant to pursuing this opportunity with Sun Life. I started putting together all my documents that were being asked of me as mandatory requirements, and I also attended series of training and seminars to acquaint myself about the industry and the business. Then, came the preparation for the licensure examinations. I did spend time studying and reviewing for the licensure examinations with the Insurance Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission.  I studied very well to ensure I pass the exams so I won't waste my money to pay for the exams. A license (which is valid for 1 year and to be renewed annually) is needed to be secured from the Insurance Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell life insurance products and investment products like mutual funds. These industries are highly-regulated by the government to protect the interests of the public so it is very safe. Thank God, I was able to comply with all the requirements and pass the licensure exams for both life insurance and mutual funds, with flying colors! Now I am a full-fledged financial advisor of Sun Life Financial Philippines, and spends my time providing financial advice to clients.

Preparations for My Wedding. Yes, this year I have decided to settle down. My fiance and I are getting married in October 2012 in Quezon City. We decided last January so we only have about 10 months left to finish all the preparations. We do all the preparations ourselves. While we are very much excited about handling all the preparations, our case is also challenging because my fiance lives in Manila and I live in Cebu. I have to fly very often to Manila and sometimes we do some aspects of the preparations online.  We only have 6 months left now, but thank God we have accomplished a lot and we have settled almost all the major items. That's why this is also my top 3 reasons why I have not been able to make new posts as frequent as possible. 

I have lots of interesting topics I want to write about and share with you. So please watch out and do visit my blog again.

Excellent Forex Education and Online Trading

Wednesday, November 9, 2011


Over the last couples of weeks, while I was going through some struggles in life, I spent some of my time reading and studying forex trading materials. I read books, e-books, watched educational videos about online forex trading and also practiced live online trading. It was a serious topic and not a good one to read you might say, but I thank my mentors who are providing me with excellent forex education and making online forex trading simpler, less complicated, fun and exciting as well for me :)

I mentioned in my October post that forex trading, or currency trading, is one of the vehicles I learned from the Money Summit Cebu 2011 to make massive money, which I seriously wanted to pursue. It was presented by Mark So of Forex Club Asia. Forex market was not completely a new topic for me. I had exchanged some currencies on several occasions before when I traveled to other countries. However, I never have had any experience when it comes to online forex trading. However, Mark So's presentation was very educating and inspiring. While I knew forex market carries high level of risk, it did not deter me from trying it out. So immediately I signed up and opened a forex trading account with Forex Club Asia. Membership is FREE and no commitment at all. Now I am learning and receiving FREE excellent forex education from Forex Club Asia. I feel so blessed to have a mentor like Mark So. He has wealth of experiences and successes in online forex trading, making him a highly-recognized master forex trader in the Philippines. Since this opportunity is FREE, I thought I would like to share this information to you, so you could benefit from this also. 

What is Forex Trading?

Forex trading also known as foreign exchange or currency trading is one of the largest markets in the world. According to statistics, forex trading makes up 95% of total foreign exchange transactions, while currency conversions (or exchanges) only comprise 5% of the forex market. Daily trade volume in the forex market reaches over $4trillion.  Forex market is a highly regulated market in the world, and major players in the forex market include central banks, commercial and investment banks, trading institutions, hedge funds, corporations and individual investors. 

Unlike stock market where stocks certificates or shares are traded, in forex market currencies are being traded. That is why in forex market, currencies are always traded in pairs. One currency is compared against another currency. Forex traders earn or make profit by speculating on the value of one currency against another currency, say PhP/USD or EUR/USD. The value of one currency can increase in value (appreciate) or decrease in value (depreciate) relative to another currency. Movements in currency values offer forex traders opportunities to generate massive profits.

Advantages and Benefits of Forex Trading

Forex trading offers many benefits and advantages. Here are some of the benefits why forex trading is popular:

  • Forex market is really big and offers more trade and profit opportunities.  The daily trade volume of forex market is over $4 trillion, while stocks and bond markets daily volume are only billions of dollars.    This huge trade volume provides traders opportunity to generate massive profits.
  • 24-hour market. Unlike stock market where trading hours are fixed, for instance, in Philippine Stock Exchange, trading hours take place between 9AM to 12PM, Monday to Friday except holidays, forex market is open 24-hours. This gives you the freedom to trade anytime of the day. Forex market also gives you the ability to trade almost any currency!
  •  Leverage. Forex trading gives higher leverage even with small amount of capital. As such, it provides traders with more opportunities to generate nice profits. It also gives traders flexibility to keep their risk capital to a minimum. In Forex Club Asia, you can trade for as low as USD300 only.

 However, as a caveat, forex trading can be extremely risky. While forex trading can generate massive profits, the chance also to lose part or all your capital, is very high. Good thing is, in Forex Club Asia, you are with the community of forex traders where you will be taught how you can take precautions to minimize the impact or losses in forex trading. Your mentors will teach you the skills you need to manage your trading risks. Whether you are a beginner in forex trading or seasoned forex trader, you will never trade alone with Forex Club Asia. I am enjoying my experience with Forex Club Asia, that is why, I can't help but share this opportunity with you.

Please do not miss this rare opportunity. To know more about forex trading and get excellent forex education and online trading tips for FREE, you can click here to visit the website of Forex Club Asia and join us for FREE.  


Breaking the Long Silence

Saturday, November 5, 2011

It is almost one (1) month or twenty-eight (28) days to be exact, since I made my last post. So all of you who have either followed me, visited or checked my blog might be wondering what have happened to me. The last few weeks were kind of chaotic, and definitely not one of the best days of my life :( .Well, many good things happened to me and for which I was grateful, but some bad ones as well.

Pressures from work, personal and family issues all combined together. They all came almost at the same time. As a result, I was discouraged, felt depressed and lethargic. I was not in the best condition and I did not have the courage and motivation to write. I was kind of dragging myself every single day. I was in limbo. I was just 'managing myself', to borrow it from my former Nigerian colleagues who used it to describe a pathetic situation.

At least I know, just like the others, I am normal. Since, I know we all go through this phase in life once in a while. It is only a question of when. I do not want to elaborate on the details what happened or what I went through during the last four (4) weeks here. But that should give you an idea why I have not been able to update this blog of mine.

Now I have recovered from the dumps, and gradually getting back to my normal self and routine. Thanks to those friends who have been with  me and prayed for me.

My blog is about nine (9) months already, and it has evolved from its humble beginnings. I still feel passionate about sharing topics on personal finance, investments and financial literacy and sharing my experiences in online business. So this blog will continue to focus on that theme. However, I also feel I should re-design the lay-out, look and appearance of this blog, so please expect some changes in the coming days.

Thanks for bearing with me. I promise to update my blog and share interesting articles for you.

God bless :)    

PayPal Online Payment Facility

Sunday, October 9, 2011



If you want to engage in online business,or to shop online, you will need an online payment facility to process payments of your transactions. One way of doing this is to use credit card, or you deposit money to the account of the seller if you are in the Philippines (which I did before). However, this procedure takes much of the time, and showing your bank account or using credit card will also expose your personal and financial details which can put you at greater security risks. To avoid these problems and enjoy the convenience of online shopping and the ability to send and receive money with ease worldwide, you can use PayPal online payment facility which is now available in the Philippines.

What is PayPal?

Sign up for PayPal and start accepting credit card payments instantly.

PayPal is a leading online payment facility which started in 1998. It operates in 190 countries and regions, with over 250 million registered users and 230 million accounts. It is available in 24 currencies, which enables individuals and businesses worldwide to send and receive money online, sell online, shop and pay online. It has a wide network of accredited stores including eBay, Barnes and Noble, Apple iTunes, The Sharper Image, B&H Photo Video, among others.

Why Use Paypal?

Paypal   has a lot of advantages than using your credit cards. It is the safest way to send or receive money, or to pay. PayPal can be used with MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express cards. When you use PayPal, you do not expose your credit card and other financial information to merchants and other third-parties. PayPal acts as the intermediary between you, your bank and the merchants. Thus, your personal and financial information is protected. All you have to do is log-in to your account in PayPal, and just make a few clicks. It is like you are doing Internet banking.

Opening a PayPal account is FREE. All you need to have is your credit card or bank account. In my case, I created my own account last January 2011.  Then I linked it to my UnionBank Visa credit card and eon account, a debit card which is an internet-based deposit account product of Union Bank. I am now making the full use and power of my PayPal account. Thanks to the training support I receive from Eireen Diokno-Bernardo, an e-bay power seller and  an e-commerce specialist from the Philippines.

For more information about PayPal, you can visit the PayPal website.

To also help you get started, I put together a simple tutorial about how to create an account with PayPal. I took some of the illustrations in the tutorial from my PayPal account. However, if you feel you need more training to navigate the PayPal online payment facility, I encourage you to attend an interactive PayPal 101 workshop.

How to Use PayPal

How To Start a Social Enterprise?

Friday, October 7, 2011

I received an e-mail from one of my networks yesterday regarding the event called, "The British Council: How to Start a Social Enterprise Workshop," and I am sharing this information with you. This is an important event which I believe all aspiring social entrepreneurs can benefit from it.

I am publishing the original and full content of the e-mail I received and here it is:
"The British Council:  How to Start a Social Enterprise  (Workshops)

Workshops in Cagayan de Oro and Cebu   
First batch 17 - 18 October 2011 Mallberry Suites      
Second batch 20 – 21 October 2011 Radisson Blu, Cebu   

Social enterprise is experiencing a meteoric rise in interest and relevance in the Philippines and the rest of the world. It is an entirely new way of working, a way of creating a new sort of wealth and most of all, a way of changing people and the world. It is not an easy route and the conflicts between social goals and business, values and democratic working call for innovative approaches to planning, governing, selling and managing.

The British Council has invited Tommy Hutchinson, founder and CEO of I-Genius to conduct a 2-day workshop on starting a social enterprise. The first batch will start on 17 – 18 October at the Mallberry Suites and the second batch will start on 20 – 21 October at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Cebu. The workshop aims to equip budding social entrepreneurs with information on getting started on their social enterprise venture by providing tips on business strategies and planning, marketing and communications including using new media in establishing networks plus raising finance.

Tommy established I-Genius, a world community of social entrepreneurs with members in over 90 countries. Its aim is to provide support to social entrepreneurs, encourage them to connect with one another and inspire more people to become social innovators. He has been instrumental in creating partnerships for social entrepreneurs with established organisations like corporations, media and government. He is also the brains behind I-Genius Academy which provides business training courses for entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs.

Social enterprise gurus Vincent Rapisura and Edwin Salonga from the Social Enterprise Development Partnerships Inc or SEDPI will co-facilitate the workshop. SEDPI provides innovative and excellence-driven capacity building services to micro finance and micro enterprise stakeholders in the Philippines and around the world.
This 2-day workshop provides the perfect opportunity for social entrepreneurs to learn from the very best. Workshop fees are at Php 2,500 inclusive of all meals and training materials and a completion certificate.

Registration is until 10 October 2011.

For more information on the workshop please contact the British Council at (02) 555-3000 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            (02) 555-3000      end_of_the_skype_highlightingor visit the website at www.britishcouncil.org.ph."

Thank you very much. Please share this to your network of friends who might be interested in knowing how to start a social enterprise.

Chitika CLU