Financial Management Blog

As an OFW or an employee  it is hard to decide where to put your hard earned money. There are many scams out there pretending to be genuine company who will promise you to give a sure high return of investment. Another difficulty is the fact that you are out of the country giving you many limitations or if you’re an employee, you are limited by the time since you need to work at least 8 hours per day.

Actually, there are many legal investment instruments where you can invest your money for higher returns  and even without your physical presence will still run. This kind of investments will give you passive income. Meaning, even without you, your money will still makes money. We know that money in the savings account gives us a 1-2% interest per year. This is really low compared to other instruments available now.

Let’s make things clear here. Savings account is very important because it is easily liquidated and it is a source of emergency fund. So it is very essential to have enough money on savings account and the rest you can put in other money making instruments like mutual fund, stocks, bonds, time deposits, real estate and business.

These instruments are easy to invest in. You can open an account in stocks and mutual funds even if you’re in abroad. I will give you some basic information about these investment instruments where you can put your money. I prefer to invest in mutual funds and stocks because it gives highest returns but very risky. However, if you want very minimal risk but steady income, you can invest in fixed income mutual fund. You can find below investment instruments where your money will make more money.

1. Mutual Fund

Mutual fund is basically a collection of funds from investors. The fund is managed by a professional fund manager who will invests the money in stocks, bonds and other fixed income instruments. There are many types of mutual fund depending on where the fund is invested. Mutual fund is risky specially equity MF because it depends on the stock market. Your money is not insured here, meaning you may lose your money when the stock market go down.

2. Stocks

Stock is share of ownership of a company or corporation. When you buy stock of a company, you became a shareholder or stockholder of that  company. Buying stocks involves high risk specially when your a newbie in stock buying and selling. That’s why you need to study first and learn how stock operates. You can also lose your money here if you don’t have the right learning on stocks.

3. Bonds

Bond is like a loan. The borrower  issue a debt security to the lender in exchange for the money.  A bond is a formal contract to repay borrowed money with interest at fixed intervals.

4. Real Estate – Apartment

Real estate is one good way to make your money grow. However, you need big initial capital since you will build a new apartment. The good thing in owning apartment is you will have a monthly income from rental fee even without your physical presence. You will have a passive income monthly as long as you have tenants in your apartment.

5. Time Deposit

Interest rate for time deposit is higher than in savings account but the opening and maintaining balance is little bit high. Your money in time deposit is insured while money invested in stocks and mutual funds are not. This is one thing you should know.

6.  Business

Opening a business requires a lot of work, money and time. If you’re working as an employee, it’s difficult to do business while working. But if you have trusted family members that can manage your business properly, it is really worth to invest in a business you think profitable. In the Philippines, you can invest your money in different ways. You can invest it in stocks, mutual funds, bonds, real estate, time deposit or in business you want.