Skip to main content

Retirement in the Philippines: Going against the grain

how can i retire comfortably

I started to think about retirement at age 36.  I don't know why but it was then that I realized that despite my good prospects for promotion in the near future and my steady stream of income from the investments that we were making, I just knew then that I needed to start my journey to financial stability and security.  

My son and my youngest was less than a year old then.  I computed in my mind that when he reached college at 18 years old, I would be around 55 years old by then.  I was unsure what I'd be by then.  Would I still be healthy enough to work?  Would we have enough savings to make sure that he has money for a decent college to go to?  Would he be intelligent enough to make it to UP to enjoy free tuition?  It was unsettling.  I felt I had to do something.  And so I realized that I wasn't even talking about retirement.  I was just thinking about Sam's college really.  

So it was then that I made my big leap to get a VUL.  I did not know much about it then but I studied it and made sure I would at least have enough after 15 years to ensure Sam's tuition at the very least.  It was just a start up policy with P1M insurance and a small Balanced investment which I would have to pay for 10 years.  Then I would need to let my money grow till Sam would be about a year in college.  If by that time I would not be able to work anymore, at least I am sure that I will not need to help from my older kids for his tuition.  Hannah will have already graduated by then at age 25.  But I promised myself that I will do my best not to ask money or support from my kids.  

Fast forward to today, I just have 3 years more to go to pay off my first VUL.  Ryan got his VUL at age 35 also in 2016 and he will already pay it off by June 2021, only 4 months from now since he got a 5-year paying period. That would have a 10 year waiting period to mature so as early as 2031, Ryan can already earmark that for Hannah for her post grad if she wants to pursue Medicine.  

I got another VUL at age 39 in 2018 which will I will may off in 2028.  I am earmarking that for 2033 if Joanna wants to pursue law school so she would have the option to become a full time law student.  

I am now 43 and I feel that I am just on thr prime of my career. We already added several investments including a house and lot from Crown Asia and a condo in pasig to ensure that we have income after we decide retire at age 58. I dream of travelling the world, checking off my bucketlists and spending the rest of my days serving the Lord.

I praise God for the strength and the wisdom he gave us to allow us to plan ahead. He is truly our Jehavah Jireh, our God who provides.



Labels:
Location: Antipolo, Rizal, Philippines

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments! God bless!

Popular posts from this blog

What makes a good Financial Advisor?

If you're my age, you've more likely come across an Insurance Agent or Financial Advisor from among the popular insurance companies in the Philippines.  Most of them claim to be able to advise you on investment portfolios that you may want to buy or avail for yourself.  They would often ask you first about your investment capacity or the amount that you are willing to invest whether monthly or one-time and then move into presenting you a proposal based on that alone.   Based on my experience on investments, the best kind of advisors are those that are concerned with the end goal rather than what you'd like to give up from your disposable income.  Normally, when you ask people about how much they would like to invest, they would normally just let you know how much extra extra money they have or what they usually have left after a payroll cutoff.  If you let people do that, chances are you'd end up getting lose changes as investment funds.  There lies the disconnect usual
Post a Comment
Read more

To OFWs: Starting your home purchase is the greatest decision you'll ever make

I have read a worrisome article from an OFW forum which has been shared and has circulated among OFW group communities. It mentioned that purchasing real estate may not be a good idea for OFWs. Apart from the fact that he the writer is trying to convince his audience to buy "stocks" as a form of investment, I am really not sure where he is coming from. I have been a daughter of an OFW since age 2. One of the earliest conversations with my dad circled around his reasons for not choosing to work locally. And the very first of these reasons was for us to have a decent home and a good life. 3 years into his work as a cashier in Jeddah, he bought a piece of land and 2 years after we moved into our unfinished house. Slowly over the years my mom would try to make major improvements like an extension or a interior finishing or a semi permanent partition which would later on form part of a still unfinished house and lot.  During that time there was no concept of a house and lot
Post a Comment
Read more