Advocating towards Financial Literacy | 7th Cebu Steemit Bloggers Meetup

Good day Steemians! Allow me to pour out my thoughts for yesterday's meetup. More importantly, this blog post will serve as my thought bank for the insights I gained yesterday. I surely learned a lot from the Financial Literacy Talks

_{This was the location of the meetup which I believe was sponsored by @sndbox}

Today marks the 7th Cebu Steemit Bloggers Meetup and I surely did not regret attending. In a glance it is very much evident that the community is growing. The cafe was filled with a lot of people that some had to move outside. It feels great to be in a community which has grown so much in such a short span of time.

_{THE TEACHERS. These were some very unfamiliar faces but are now acquaintances. I hope to see these faces on the next meetup}

On the day of the meetup, I really wanted to give out nametags for everyone so we could get to know each other more. As with the Sinulog event of @steemph.cebu, I made sure to familiarize the usernames of the people and to remember their faces. I wanted to get to know the people in the community and the stories they could tell.

_{@honeyletsgo and @orhem}

I don't know why but it has become a habit for me to write people's name and take photos of them HAHA. I may simply be sentimental for trying to meet everyone but it gives me satisfaction if all of the members of Steemit were to really engage not only in the platform but it real life. I guess I just really want the @steemph.cebu to grow as a community and it is without doubt that we are getting there. Woot woot

_{MGA BANGGIITAN curie-makers. Patabang nya ko ha puhon mayng lawas}

Financial Literacy and Financial Freedom

In all honesty, I believe that this was the highlight of the meetup and it was just sad how not everyone had the chance to hear this lecture. But not to worry, to those who were not around during the talk, allow me to fill you in on the details. I decided to write about it so I can look back later on with what I gained from this experience.

I was supposed to be in an academic obligation for today but I am glad that I was here. For the most part, I was outside to hear the short talk about Financial Freedom conducted my mga forever idol, @smaeunabs and her fellow lodis @jcvertucio and @namranna haha. They are these really amazing group of friends who are there to support each other in search for means to liberate themselves from the chains of poverty and mediocrity. I would very much want to surround myself with people who are goal-oriented and in search of greener pastures.

_{FINANCIAL FREEDOM. Miss Sheila Mae's discussion about her advocacy}

Do not commit to the mistakes of the past. This was an essential theme in the discussion. I would personally say that I am a product of the mistakes that my parents made in terms of lack of financial planning. I am not antagonizing them but I believe it does speak for all of our parents' generation. The speakers mentioned that they came from low to middle income families which made them pursue their advocacy. Most of them, including myself, have been through a lot in terms of finding means to earn income and lessen expenses while they were still studying.

_{THE AUDIENCE. Everyone was eager to hear out @smaeunab's talk as they shared their insights as well.}

Do not invest more than you are afraid to lose. Ate Sheila shared an experience wherein all her investments vanished into thin air since she was not well informed as an investor. She also lost a friend because of a lack of understanding of how money runs. She urges us to increase our risk appetites but be willing to loose your investments. Taking risks may either elevate or degrade your status and you need to be aware of that.

_{@smaeunabs shared about her transformation as a financial freedom advocate and urges us to think the same}

Weigh in your assets and liabilities. It's really comforting to note that I am not the most frugal in the place haha. I have tried making notes for others as a form of business, run errand for my classmates in exchange for a short fee, am Cebu City Sugbu scholar, I make and sell peanut butter sandwiches, make sure to collect the 1 peso change forevery transaction, collect 25 cents in a coin purse, keep my money in places I can't reach to avoid spending them, and make sure to spend less than 5p pesos for a meal. I would say that I am a very tingy person. However in the end, I make sure to reward myself every now and then. Being frugal is not wrong as long as you find ways to manage what you have.

_{@jcvertucio shared about the foundations of the Finacial Pyramid and where to start}

Build your financial foundation. Mr. JC Vertucio declared the importance of sticking through thefinancial pyramid by managing your emergency fund first and working your way up. This has got to be one of the failures that everyone fails to realize. When we earn, most of us immediately spend. This is a big no-no if you are trying to manage your resources well. He urges the essence of looking forward and seeing the future as inevitable which gives you more reason to start now. Both he and @smaeunabs are Licensed Financial Planners, by the way. How cool is that?

_{@namranna talked more on different Investment Vehicles. Hope to ride on real soon}

Passive income starts from Actively planning your future. Everyone would love to be financially free soon. But @namranna explains how its is vital to delay gratification and save your earnings, build your insurance and invest your money. After the talk, I asked here where I should start from here and she encouraged me to save as much as I can so I wouldn't have to worry about my life and finances in the long run. Investing now means investing in you future.

In all honesty, Grabe akong hype atong adlawa haha. Kuwang nalang akong tigumon tanan nakong kwarta nya magpatudlo nagyud ko asa I-invest haha. But, if there is another thing I learned it is to do things the right way. There is a process in this and she wants others not to commit the same mistakes that she did. @smaeunabs had her share of failures in financial literacy but she chose to use that as an anchor and she is now on her way to build a better life for herself someday. I do hope to join in their future lectures and maybe even contribute myself. I hope they don't mind if I stick around and maximize my learnings from them.

I want to do the same for myself and for my family. I have been reading her blogs but I never really grasped the idea up until now. Consider me a Financial Literacy and Financial Freedom Advocate from now on. I would very much like it if I were already stable at the age of 30. I am firm in my belief that these people will make a lot of people secure

_-------

This is Aaron. Just keep steeming!