I was born to a family of 10 siblings in the peaceful barangay of Dulag, Binmaley, Pangasinan. Life was to the bare basics of living back there. I experienced walking about 2 kilometers to elementary school twice a day, playing hide and seek in the fields or on a full moon, eating sugarcane sticks, and playing in the rain.
source: http://openplac.es
Life was simple and worry free when you are still a child.
After graduating high school at Mary Help of Christians Minor Seminary in my town, I immediately went to Manila to take the entrance exam at PSBA Quezon City. All of a sudden the simple life I had changed to urban lifestyle where everyone seems to be in a hurry and everything needs to be paid.
I was fortunate that my parents was able to send me to college with the help of my older siblings. I graduated college with a degree in Accountancy and after a summer break working as an accounting clerk in my town, I immediately went to review school to pursue my CPA license. I failed on my first take. I soon realized that I cannot forever rely on my parents and siblings for my living. Thus to get me to review schooI, I decided to work and at the same time review after borrowing money to my sister.
photo by wonderjimmy
It was during my first official job when the need to be financially free came to me. I was in line at an ATM in Cubao, Quezon City to withdraw money and buy stuff that I want. An old lady was in front of me for the ATM. She puts in the ATM card, keyed in her PIN and waited. No cash came out and her ATM card went out. She put in her card again repeating it about 5 times and still there is no cash.
At times it seems that having just enough to support yourself is all that is. But that experience opened my eyes. I may not need the money for myself but how about my love ones. That old lady might need money to buy her medication and whatever is in her ATM might be her last and yet nothing came out.
Financial freedom does not actually mean having so much money that you can literally burn it but rather financial freedom is that state at which you are able to manage your finances to cover all your financial needs without you worrying where you will get that money.
I have written this blog(and its old version in Blogger) to share whatever ideas, knowledge, and experiences I acquired in my quest for financial freedom. Let’s learn and share our knowledge and let’s help our countrymen to be financially free.
Louis D. Delos Angeles, CPA