Jemarkable Playbook to Financial Freedom
Albeit imperfect, this playbook attempts to list principles and resources that I found helpful in our shared journey towards financial freedom.
As we all become adults, there’s no more syllabus/curriculum that we need to follow, no more map on how to navigate this complex and scary jungle. I am grateful that some of my friends turn to me for advice when it comes to personal finance and I saw some patterns on the kinds of questions that everybody is asking. So here’s my attempt to unravel the personal finance space (yes, I’m also not there yet, I’m with you in this journey). Along the way, here are the most helpful resources that were the most impactful to my growth.
Disclaimer: This is not an outright promotion or invitation to invest/allocate money in the wallets/banks I mention, please do even more research on the risks of these actions before applying/implementing these things.
Generally, the principles to personal finance is to: 1) Earn More, 2) Save More, 3) Invest More, 4) Spend Less. In a nutshell, here are practical tips for each:
Earn More
Upskill and be valuable enough to land competitive careers
Negotiate for a higher salary
Build your own profitable business
Save More & Spend Less
Track your cash flow and set budgets
Maximize credit card benefits (discounts and cash backs)
Invest More
Store emergency funds in high-yield savings accounts
Invest what you can afford to lose
In this path to financial freedom, the most important resources that have been really helpful to me are:
Digital Banks PH (Facebook Page & FB Group Community)
CATEGORY: INVEST MORE (PHILIPPINE-SPECIFIC)
They provide monthly personal finance game play where they list banks with highest interest earnings (from 25% down to 3.5%) or simply where you can put money to sleep and still earn interest revenues.
JEMARKABLE PRO TIP: Find the post about Maya <> Lazada/Grab technique on how to increase your Maya Savings from baseline 3.5% to 10% or even 15%.
Kaskasan Buddies (FB Page & FB Community) & Jax Reyes (YouTube Influencer)
CATEGORY: SPEND LESS (PHILIPPINE-SPECIFIC)
Kaskasan buddies provides a comprehensive list of credit cards with NAFFL (No Annual Fee for Life), FREE airport lounge access, high cash backs, and sign up bonuses (gift checks, luggages, Japan flights). Jax Reyes’ YouTube also gives credit card reviews and guides towards being a responsible credit card user (and payer).
JEMARKABLE PRO TIP: Eat in 50% OFF restaurants, heavily discounted if you pay via selected credit cards; you’ll find a monthly Ultimate Credit Card Dining list in Kaskasan Buddies.
Ali Abdaal (YouTube Channel about Productivity and Financial Freedom)
CATEGORY: EARN MORE | OWN BUSINESS
His most recent contents are about feel good productivity and time/financial freedom. He’s sharing science-based techniques to improve productivity and also inspires viewers to live a life on your own terms, filled with fun, freedom, and flexibility.
Firm Learning (YouTube Channel about Careers)
CATEGORY: EARN MORE | SALARY
From editing your resume to speaking like a CEO, to having strong “optics” at work to be positioned for promotion, this channel helps fresh graduates and early careers professionals land their ideal careers.
JEMARKABLE PRO TIP: Find his video on his resume that helped him get into McKinsey, that’s the same resume template and style that I used to get into all my internships and full-time work.
Dr Grace Lee (YouTube Channel about Communication)
CATEGORY: EARN MORE | SALARY
Communication in terms of job interviews, reporting to CEOs, negotiating for promotions, all of these topnotch secrets are shared by Dr. Grace Lee especially for early career and middle career professionals.
JEMARKABLE PRO TIP: Even when it’s too early, position yourself to promotion by watching all her videos about having a commanding presence during meetings as well as salary negotiations.
This list is not the only way to financial freedom. Beyond this list, there can also be equally effective yet opposing views. These are what helped me personally in my journey towards personal finance and hopefully, you carve your own path towards the personal finance goals that fit your style.
If you also have some resources you’d like to share, feel free to comment or chat! Always helpful to learn from each other!