From a fast lane to a different kind of busy (My New Chapter)

Posted on by Bing Ledesma - De Los Reyes

Over the more than 3 decades of working in the corporate world, I have asked hundreds of people what their ultimate dream is and predominantly, they would answer “I want to be my own boss”. Everyone wants to be an entrepreneur but only few would take the bold move. Myself included.

My bold move was sort of “forced” on me as it was a couple of years earlier than my original plan.

The pandemic slowed down every business and no one was spared. Being realistic, I know that my role cannot be justified anymore knowing that mine was an expensive item. I readily accepted the reality and quickly moved to implement my plan…to build a Resort that will be the source of my Retirement Income

It seems everything was orchestrated by my mother who’s passing triggered the construction of VirCris Mountain Resort as a tribute to her hardwork to raise us and my 3 siblings and to honor our beloved father who died 35 years ago. A few months before my retirement, we started its construction with only Phase 1 in mind. Upon my retirement, I decided to accelerate the construction of Phase 2 as I do not want my retirement money to stay idle and with the very unstable market, there weren’t too many options out there.

My new chapter as an entrepreneur and Resort Owner is certainly not only a bold move but the most daring one I’ve taken. Considering the ongoing pandemic then and no end in sight yet, putting something that is capital intensive is not for those with a faint heart. It is a leap of faith and that is absolutely the best way to put it – a leap of faith!

My corporate experience though has prepared me for this. In my role, I would lecture on basic business management principles – it is time to execute the talk.

Laying the Blueprint for Financial Wellness

Posted on by Bing Ledesma - De Los Reyes

I was recently invited to share my thoughts with almost 400 delegates of the 1st Virtual Youth Congress organised by the Rotary Club of Makati Jose P Rizal. It was a mutually meaningful talk based on the feedback of the very engaged attendees and at my end, it was quite inspiring to do my own share of addressing the still prevalent “sandwich generations” among Filipinos.

I call it “sandwhich generation” when children take care of their ageing parents at retirement (because they have not prepared for it financially) while they take care of their obligation to their own family…thereby affecting also their capacity to prepare for their own retirement.

I shared with them my own vision board that I drew 22 years ago. It is a crude representation of the future that I then want but it has served as my guide and the basis for a more comprehensive financial plan that i diligently implement. I am happy to say that all except two goals (we were only blessed with one child and at my age, I can’t bear another one (sigh) and the brand of dream car that I now find impractical to buy).

My crude Vision Board reflecting the future that I want which I drew 22 years ago.

I outlined 4 steps as a guide in preparing one’s road map towards Financial Wellness:

  • Envision – Know what you want in every stage in your life. Visualise how the future looks like for you. Just the broad strokes.
  • Plan – Put a price tag to the future that you want. Once you know what you want, you can then determine how much fund you need to build-up between now and the time you need it. The key word is “build-up” which requires you to start early to take advantage of the time horizon where you can grow your money.
  • Execute – Start putting the elements of your Financial Plan. One thing we discovered about investing is that people generally have a mismatch of their goals and the investment vehicle they use. For example, a young couple wants to start early in setting up the college education plan for their 2-year old child and yet, they put their money in a savings account with little or negligible interest income. A basic principle in investing is that you can take more risks (ie invest in an equity fund that may be more volatile) if you have a longer time horizon.
  • Track and Review – Our goals and aspirations change so it is important to track and review where we are so far and make the necessary adjustments while we still have time.

I closed by reminding the delegates that their youth is their main advantage and they must not waste it by starting early and making the right choices.

Life begins at 40…it’s time to look back and look forward

Posted on by Bing Ledesma - De Los Reyes

We oftentimes say, life begins at 40 and for some, it means it’s time to get serious with life but do we really start when we are already halfway though life?

“The day you plant the seed, is not the day you eat the fruit.”

Dr. Sanjay Tolani

With life expectancy of 80 years, 40 means we only have 20 more years or 7,300 days to make a difference in either being financially independent in our old age or being a burden to our children, who, by then, would have their own responsibilities to a carry.

Life begins at 40 should mean, we have done a pretty good job at preparing for the best phase in our lives by the time we are halfway through life. Then and only then, can we say, that indeed, life begins at 40.

Look back…have you done what you should have done? Your answer must give you the urgency to either do more or continue what you have started. As Tennessee Williams said, You can be young without money, but you can’t be old without it.

For more appreciation of this concept, watch Dr. Sanjay Tolani’s you tube video on 28,000. It will make you do a reality check just as it did to me. https://youtu.be/hV_rDPEpLEc