I will never forget this #wealthsummit2014!
during the break kanina, i was at the back waiting for my turn in a photo-op when all of a sudden there's this woman next to me who boldly initiated a conversation with me.
What bothered her is not knowing what to do given that she has 700k credit card loan and 300k liquid amount she just pulled out from VUL. Will she pay her consumer loan with the cash she has now or will she put that 300k in some investment? That's the question popped.
Of course i gave the obvious answer to settle first the debt given that its interest is mostly much larger than the potential gain she could have from whatever investment she might have in mind.
but it took me some time to process her 700k loan that i had to refer her to a mentor Sir Lyndon Malanog to give more specific actions steps.
You see it's quite hard for me to take it at that time! 700k could already be twice the annual income of a typical employee! how can someone just get buried in that huge debt?!
When Lyndon began to throw some questions, it became much clearer. when she was asked how much is her monthly expenses, i was again surprised to hear her answer: 100k!
She explained that she has three condo (one ready for occupancy, another one under construction, and the third one for turn-over) for which she has to pay 65k every month. Plus she's renting in pasig.
She's already married with two children (4 1/2 y/o and one 1 y/o), while both of them with his husband earning..
It then surfaced that she also began to have a problem in her relationship with her husband also for this same reason.. for pinning her husband down and pushing him to take the lead in solving the problem.
Until it came to a point when she was brought into tears upon becoming more emotional sharing with the two of us.
At that point, I sensed a person desperately looking for help.. she started apologizing for bursting out while I tried to keep my resolve in place.
That lady seemed a strong woman to me. Well educated. Well-versed. But starting to realize the deep financial trap she's in, she knew she had to do something. Worse is she doesn't know where to start..
And the biggest irony is that she's an accountant by profession! She managed the financial numbers of her employer, but not her own financial life...
Sir Lyndon began imparting encouraging words to her..not only how she can turn around their finances, but also to rekindle her relationship with her husband. Sir Lyndon added that maybe, this could also be God's way of making her realize that we need to put God first place above everything else if we really want to receive His abundant blessings..
At the end of the conversation, I noticed her improved aura with a clear hope inside and a smile on her face. lots of works to do on her part but she's excited to sit down for a next week's session and put everything back again in order.
At that point, I thanked the Lord for using me in making it happen.
But more than that, i thanked Him for opening my eyes to that need of people..
And I realized that God can indeed use even our most ordinary moments to help touch other peoples' lives if we just allow Him.. we have to be conscious in making this choice when the opportunity arises..
You may not know it yet, but you could be the very help a person next to you is desperately looking for.. So please don't contain it in yourself.
happy investing! :)
oMeng
