Today I’m doing a Mid-Year Financial Review for 2017!
And I’m sharing it all to you.
For me, June is the perfect month to reflect and to look back on how the first six months of the New Year went in the area of finances.
I mainly focus in checking the progress and necessary adjustments I can do with the following:
- My 2017 Financial Goals
- My Current Spending Habits
- My Extra Income Projects
- My Mid-Year Net Worth
- My Next Actions to finish the year strong
The Mid-Year Financial Review takes on an hour or less to finish and I highly recommend you do the same. Pick a specific date this June where you can sit down and conduct a financial review.
This post is extra special because it will mark the opening of SavingsPinay Resource Library.
YES!!! After months of delay, the SavingsPinay Resource Library is now open! You can sign-up here and get instant access to the library and download the very first freebie – The Mid-Year Financial Review Workbook Bundle.
The Mid-Year Financial Review Workbook Bundle includes the following:
SMARTER Goals Worksheet
Are you struggling in reaching your financial goals? Then maybe you need to revisit your goals and make them smarter. This worksheet will help you do that exactly. I devise a worksheet that will assist you in goal-setting.
Spending Habits Review
This is one of my favorite worksheet ever! The truth is you will never be good in terms of finances if you don’t get at peace with your spending habits. The Spending Habits Review will reveal who and how you are with your money. All you need to do is to answer with all honesty five questions.
Side Hustle Worksheet
If you are living on one income then you are doing it wrong. I’ve talked about side-hustling every now and then to encourage you to step up and earn extra income too. If you don’t know where to start then this free worksheet is for you. I included helpful tips and questions to ask for you to determine the best side-hustle to have this 2017.
Calculate Your Net Worth Worksheet
Any financial review is not complete without calculating your net worth. This is an essential step to set a map on how your finances should be and would be in the future. The tool included in this free The Mid-Year Financial Review Workbook Bundle will be your guide in correctly computing your current net worth.
Next Actions List
Lastly, you will get a free My Next Actions List to jot down what your possible area of improvement will be to finish the year strong.
Again you can download The Mid-Year Financial Review Workbook Bundle at the SavingsPinay Resource Library for free. Sign up now!
MY 2017 FINANCIAL GOALS
CLICK HERE to view the full list of My Goals for 2017.
For 2017, my main goal is to solidify my financial life.
What do I mean by that?
I want to say goodbye to 2017 with a proper emergency fund, diversified income streams and solid financial outlook.
I should be improving in managing my money instead of the other way around.
Here are my exact goals:
- Save up for a real emergency fund
- Open a COL EIP Account and start investing
- Top up my FAMI-SALEF Investment
- Become a St. Peter Life Place Seller
- Save every 20 peso bill in a piggy bank
- Automate my savings
- Buy new book/s about personal finance and investing
- Attend a personal finance seminar
- Grow extra income to 6 digits
- Set monthly, weekly and daily budget.
Now let’s take a look on what happened to each in the first six months.
READ: The 10 Most Important Lessons to Learn in Personal Finance
Save up for a real emergency fund
My target emergency fund is 60,000pesos.
And as you may have noticed on my recent recap and extra income report, I am now more than half-way my goal.
What helped me increase my savings is the separation pay I received from my previous job. I automatically deposited 50% of it on my emergency fund before doing all the shopping.
My Next Action: Put extra cash, bonus or 13th month straight to my emergency fund.
Open a COL EIP Account and start investing
Instead of COL EIP Account I chose First Metro Sec as my broker.
I actually received a number of question why I chose First Metro Securities and Brokerage Corp. (FMSBC) instead of COL EIP.
Honestly, the main reason is convenience. I am now working at First Metro Asset Management, Inc. (FAMI) and our office is just beside FMSBC. Thus, opening an account became way easier. READ: How To Open a First Metro Sec Online Stock Trading Account
Another big factor is that there is no initial amount needed if you have Metrobank account. Yes! Since FMSBC is the investment arm of Metrobank, they waive the initial investment. So you can open an account even without any money at all.
Of course, once you start investing you need to fund your account.
Both COL and FMSBC are online brokers in the Philippines. You can read this post on How to Choose Your Stock Broker from Smart Pinoy Investor for more information.
I am still on learning mode on how direct stocks work. At the moment I am just buying my first 100 shares to every company I want to include in my portfolio. Still I’m happy that I got this goal already done!
My Next Action. Invest in Exchange Traded Fund or ETF. This is part of my to-do list before 2017 ends.
READ: Stock Investing 101 | The Frequently Asked Questions
Top-up my FAMI-SALEF Investment
Over my last FAMI-SALEF update I shared how I experienced my first ever loss of 119pesos.
Actually my loss increased up to 2,000pesos++ last year. And it was devastating.
Still I continued to top up on my FAMI-SALEF investment every month. Redeeming wasn’t part of my plan.
Thankfully, my equity investment is now improving and gaining already. You can take a look at the Best Mutual Fund in the Philippines – May 2017 for a view on the performance.
The Year-to-Date gain is at 19% and I hope it continue to perform positively.
My Next Action. Just stay invested. I am using peso-cost averaging method and investing the same amount every month.
Become a St. Peter Life Plan Seller
I am a St. Peter Life Plan holder. Actually all of us in the family have our own St. Peter Life Plan.
This inspired me to become a St. Peter Life Plan Seller myself. I want to encourage every Filipino family to invest in at least one pre-need life plan.
For 650pesos every month you’ll get a lot of benefits already. I know it sounds morbid to talk about death but estate planning is a vital part of one’s personal finance. For more information about St. Peter Life Plan and how to avail one click here.
My Next Action. Continue sharing information about St. Peter Life Plan. For any inquiry you may email me at izza@wordpress-661740-2303377.cloudwaysapps.com I am also in the process of availing a proper life insurance by 1st quarter of 2018.
READ: St. Peter Life Plan : Is it worth the investment?
Save every 20peso bill in a piggy bank
This is something I’ve done last year and continued doing for 2017. I have this unused water bottle where I store all of my 20peso bill.
How do I do it?
Every 20peso bill that comes in my hand are considered invisible right away. I keep them all and put it on an empty water bottle as part of my savings.
You can watch the video below of my alkansiya story:
This on the other hand is my current 20peso bill piggy bank.
My Next Action. Just continue saving my 20peso bills.
Automate my savings
I’ve been doing this since 2015 and it did help me manage my money better. Every pay day I automatically save a portion to my emergency fund and invest on my equity and direct stock accounts.
You can actually do this too as long as your bank of choice provide an e-banking system.
My Next Action. Currently I am saving and investing 30% of my salary. I hope that by the end of 2017 I will be able to save and invest 50% of what I earn on my day job.
READ: How Much Money Should You Save Each Month?
Buy new book/s about personal finance and investing
I am a strong believer that the more you know, the better. Buying and reading books especially about personal finance and investing give me a better understanding on what I should do and not do financially.
In my April 2017 Recap and Extra Income Report I mentioned that I bought and read Marvin Germo’s Smart Stock Investing. I learned a lot by reading that particular book.
My Next Action. Few other books on my to buy list are the following:
- Mag-titipid na Talaga Ako…Promise by Roselle Ruig
- Pisobilities: Gabay sa Buhay Pinansyal by Francisco Colayco
- Ang Pera na Hindi Bitin by Eduardo O. Roberto, Jr.
- Kakasweldo Mo Pa Lang Ubos Na by Vic and Avelyn Garcia
- It’s Your Money by Entrepreneur Philippines
- The Law of Leverage by Rane Panaligan
- My Maid Invests in the Stock Market by Bo Sanchez
- Stock Smarts Stock Investing Made Easy by Marvin Germo
Hopefully I get a chance to own them all before the year ends.
Attend a Personal Finance Seminar
Again as part of my goal to solidify my finances I know I also need to polish my knowledge. A personal finance seminar will be very helpful to me.
Do you know a good personal finance seminar near Makati or Taguig?
My Next Action. Continue searching for free (or paid) personal finance seminar near my area.
Grow extra income to 6-digits
My Extra Income projects include blogging (SavingsPinay and IzzaGlino), my weddings and events business, YouTube and freelance content writing.
I am hustling hard to grow my extra income to 6 digits by the end of this year. You can read specific steps on what I did and how still plan to do it on my monthly recap and extra income reports.
How positive am I that I’ll be able to grow my extra income to six digits by end of 2017?
Very positive. I am putting all my time and effort in my weddings and events business as well as on my blogs.
My Next Action. I have a ton of to-do list on all of my extra income projects and it honestly require a full post. I am taking everything slowly but surely and making sure that nothing’s going to stop me in reaching my goal!
READ: 15 Smart Ways to Earn Extra Income
Set monthly, weekly and daily budget
Still using the rule of 50-20-30 to manage my finances but unlike last year, I am now dividing my salary like below:
50% Essentials
20% Recreation
30% Savings and Investments
Budget-wise I’m using an Excel Template which will also be available for download soon on the SavingsPinay Resource Library.
To create a spending plan is easy but to stick to it is a whole different story. Just like the others, I struggle in keeping up with my budget. I mostly overspend when it comes to my food allowance.
My Next Action. And so part of adjustment is to ensure I spend with intention. I want to train myself to become a saver and practice delay gratification for the nth time. By the end of 2017 I want to budget my money wherein 50% – Savings and Investments, 20% – Recreation and 30% – Essentials.
Overall Mid-Year Highlights for 2017
- Finally investing in direct stock market is one of my major highlights this mid-2017. I am glad to overcome my fears of investing in stock market directly.
- My once impossible emergency fund is now slowly becoming real! Achieving this in 2017 will make a significant change in my financial life.
- I am saving and investing 30% of my salary!!! Hooray!!!
- Launching my start-up weddings and events business, IzzaGevents and earning real money with my blogs!
MY SPENDING HABITS REVIEW
I noticed a major change on how I spend money as I grow. Before I will only buy ukay items or clothing made of cheap materials because I thought it would be enough for me.
I am spending a lot on branded and timeless pieces for my closet like blazers, skirts, heels, etc. I even bought my first branded bag, a Longchamp Neo Sling Bag in Black.
I stopped buying clothes that I know I won’t really use. I ask myself and think hard before making any purchase. For skincare and makeup, I decided to create a to-buy list so I know exactly what I will buy and stop constant overspending.
I invested a lot in my passion. Got my own domain with Pangalan, bought my Canon EOS M10 and Diva Ring Light for my YouTube channel and finally availed logo and marketing materials for Izza Glino Weddings and Events.
I spent money in making sure that my blogs and my passion in hosting special occasions will be part of my identity and not just a mere hobby.
READ: 40 Financial Habits for Life You Really Need to Know
MY EXTRA INCOME PROJECTS
I AM AMAZED AND SURPRISED by how fast the progress on my extra income projects is going.
From earning passive income on YouTube to finally reaching the $100 threshold on Adsense, it was indeed a great first six months for me.
After six years, I now have a website for my weddings and events business. Now I am focusing on the whole marketing process like creating video ads, writing content and posting about the business online.
This Wednesday, June 7, I was invited as owner of Izza Glino Weddings and Events in the launch of Start Up PH application. It was a huge surprise for me. And I took it as a sign from God that I’m doing something good.
MY MID-YEAR NET WORTH
I previously revealed my current net worth. It was surreal seeing real and actual numbers of my assets and liabilities.
For the longest time I held back in publishing my net worth because I’m afraid of the expectations of the people around me.
But reading Maven of I The Corporate Slave’s monthly net worth encouraged me not to be scared anymore.
Everyone start from something. And I am now looking forward in earning my first million pesos too!
Below are the screenshots of my assets, liabilities and current net worth.
To be updated make sure you read my latest recap and extra income report!
Why you should compute your net worth on my mid-year financial review?
- Reveals your current financial status
- Helps you create possible next action to stay on track with your financial goals
- Gives you an idea on how much you really owe and what area you can adjust to pay-off your debt
- Motivates you to strive and to hustle more
MY NEXT ACTIONS LIST (to finish the year strong!)
I am truly proud of my accomplishments but, I know there’s still much to do. Nanga-ngalahati pa lang ang taon.
With my 2017 goals revisited, spending habits reviewed, income projects launched and net worth revealed, below are my the main areas I will work harder on:
- Get at least a month ahead in my blog posts
Doing this will autopilot the success of both SavingsPinay and IzzaGlino this 2017. For June I am working on getting one week ahead of post especially with two long weekends. I already have a blog post idea bank on Google Drive and now all I need to do is spend quality time writing.
- Push/Bounce all www.savingspinay.blogspot.com traffic to www.savingspinay.ph
At the start of 2017 I abandoned my blogspot blog and successfully moved all content to this blog. However, the traffic www.savingspinay.blogspot.com is still undeniably better compared to savingspinay.ph. And so my action plan includes creating a redirection text at the beginning and end of all posts in Blogspot as well as updating all internal links to the savingspinay.ph. By doing this people will have no other option but to visit the new and improved SavingsPinay.
- Build the SavingsPinay email-list
I have long wanted to have my own active mailing list. If you want to be part of my mailing list and receive weekly budget, savings, investments, productivity and making extra income tips then be sure to click this link and sign-up! Also you get an exclusive access to the SavingsPinay Resource Library where you can download for free templates, workbooks and other info products for free.
- Create my first digital product to sell
Hopefully it is still not late for me to create a product to sell now that we’re halfway pass 2017. I currently writing an eBook in the topic of side hustling or making extra income with a full-time job. Will you be interested with this?
- Grow Izza Glino Weddings and Events
The wedding and event industry has been very nice to me. I can’t thank God enough for giving me the gift of public speaking. In the next three to four months my attention will all be about mastering our offerings and marketing the business. It will be an exciting and prosperous –ber month!
Final Notes From SavingsPinay
Do Your Own Mid-Year Financial Review Too!
Constant review makes a lot of difference. Mid-year reviews give you the chance to make adjustments and can help you to stay conscious throughout the year. To recap this is how I do my Mid-Year review:
First, re-evaluate your financial goals. If you set your goals at the start of the year then you can revisit each and review the status. What goal/s is/are done or accomplished already? Is there any goal that’s not relevant anymore?
Second, review your spending habits. Find out who and how you are when it comes to spending your money lately. Are you saver or spender? Do you spend more on your needs or your wants?
Third, start your side hustle. Think of a passion project you can do on the side in the next six months. It is not too late to change your 2017!
Fourth, calculate your net-worth. To give you a concrete road map you need to calculate your current net-worth. I provided a simple template for you to use.
Lastly, list down your next actions. Once your done with steps 1-4, you can now make an action list. Commit yourself in doing the items written in your next action list to finish 2017 strong!
Join the SavingsPinay Mailing List and download the Mid-Year Financial Review Worksheets I have prepared for free.
Are you up for a mid-year financial review too?
Follow the SavingsPinay FB Group and join the conversation at : SavingsPinay
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Email me any question or topic suggestion at izza@wordpress-661740-2303377.cloudwaysapps.com
Or leave a comment below!!!
