PYF, then Give Back to Him

This series of blogs will talk to you about the importance of paying yourself first - the most powerful money management system I have ever known. Introduced to me in a seminar by a success coach last year, then tested and proven by the best selling personal finance authors I have come across in my self-education, this simple-yet-effective wealth management is the best thing that I've ever known about money and this can help me and you keep track of on the road to financial prosperity and freedom. And I wouldn't preach about this if I don't walk the talk.

If you got here by accident, I advise you go back to the introductory post about paying yourself first here so you could go along with the ride smoothly.

To recap the concept of "pay yourself first", it is about prioritizing savings before expenses. It is about setting money for yourself before you actually start using it for daily expenses or paying debts. While paying yourself first is the wisest thing to do in achieving financial freedom, there comes a twist in this principle.

When I first learned about the first part of paying yourself first last year, I realized that I have not been doing it faithfully all my life. But as a regular attendee - and servant - of our weekly Catholic fellowship known as The Feast since January of this year, I have come to understand its value like no other. And I am here to make that known to you.

WARNING: Doing this faithfully will actually bless you a thousand - or even a million - times more!

What To Do With The Money First

I know I am so blessed right now financially when...

Well, there are a lot of factors.



And I don't think there is any reason why I should be mentioning my income streams because it's out of the topic.



But if there is just one thing that has allowed God's financial blessings to come to me so easily and frequently - particularly this past year when I have started earning to make a living and eventually a fortune - it would be the habit of setting a portion of my earnings/profits/salary/income (whatever you would call it), before I actually start spending them. And it is not just for buying a luxurious phone or a dream vacation. I have actually saved up for the good reasons, and it would be an opportunity to share to you how I have done it for over a year now, and how you, too, can follow the same system no regardless of the income you are earning on a monthly basis.

Mindset Over Training

Last Saturday was something I didn't expect to happen.

I kind of lacked sleep the whole day because of a party on top a mountain the night before, but I still had the guts to get up from my bed the next morning for work and for my postgraduate classes in the afternoon.

Making It Happen

I remember one of the most famous questions teachers - even parents and relatives - are fond of asking us in our childhood years.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Answers of kids would go like:

"When I grow up, I want to be an astronaut!"

"I want to be an engineer!"

"I want to be a scientist!"

"I want to be a superhero!"

P.S. One of the statements below was the one I used to answer when I was a kid. Can you guess which one?

As children during our time, we can't help but dream very big. Whether it's the profession that we choose to become, or the toys that we want to possess, the sky's the limit for us to make the most of what we have.


Fast forward to today, as a 22-year young "kid".

Nothin' Wrong with Wealth

Is money that evil?

I remember when I was a child. I used to read Richie Rich comic books. I even watched his animated TV series back in those days.

For those not familiar with him, Richie Rich is the son of unbelievably wealthy parents, who live in a mansion at Richville, and is considered the world's richest kid.

Richie Rich and his family almost has everything a wealthy family could possibly have - a big mansion, a number of pools, cars, high-end appliances, even butlers who serve him from morning till night. He even has a dalmatian which has dollar signs on it instead of spots!

The Poor Little Rich Boy doesn't look evil to me.

While many would comment about the exaggeration of a life that Richie Rich has, there may sometimes be envy among those who want to be like Richie Rich. Maybe his fortunes are just too great enough to think that having all those can be an indicator that not everyone is privileged to have such wealth.

Or maybe it's because... Richie Rich has been negatively stereotyped to be a bad example of having wealth.

In short, getting rich can be as evil as other people thought it would be.

The Best Time to Start

Usually, when I am out of books to read because I have not borrowed or purchased one lately, I tend to re-read another book. That book I want to re-read depends on what I am looking forward to re-learn as I venture into a field that may look unknown to me. But I am fully aware of the risks and potential that come with such field.

While waiting for my application to invest in the stock market, I decided to read one of Bo Sanchez' latest masterpiece in financial education (and also a must-read if you want to be truly rich):

The Turtle Always Wins: How to Make Millions in the Stock Market

It was a pretty good investment for my part because it has been in my possession since buying it last July. Now I have come to a point where I make the real financial investment - by investing in the stock market. With Brother Bo's vision to make others become multimillionaires and the guidance in going into such opportunity, I believe I would prosper in such field and in return, be able to help others prosper as well.

...but this post is not about the Stock Market

Breaking the Cycle

As I make this post right now, payday is just about a week from now for most employees, and for others, probably tomorrow, or every day if you are someone earning everyday from your business or your self-employed profession. As I talk to most people about how payday has blessed them from top to bottom, they often share the good times, with so much to spend for recreation and to relieve stress from the long work. Often, they speak of the times they have to pay others first, through debts incurred, whether necessary expenses or not, or even any outstanding bills that has to be settled first, like mortgages, monthly bills, and health maintenance.


Regardless of how much money they have earned, most of them end up with little or no more money left to cover their daily expenses and other matters. They usually end up waiting for the next payday to receive another set of income, and the system goes on until financially "free". While some of them would set aside for savings, which I am happy to hear also, questions will always be raised raised. Some of them are - how much are you saving from your income? Are your savings really "savings"? And for what reason/s are you saving?


Life has always been a cycle. Humans start out as babies, the become teens, and then they are old enough to decide for themselves what they want to do in life, procreate, and the cycle goes on and on. Of course, this takes time in order for such cycle to take full circle.

Clear the Stormy Cloud of your Mind

Honestly, I have a dilemma about this blog. 

I had so many thoughts running in my mind and I just could not find the one thing that could be the subject of this blog. I plan to make a blog at least every other day (subject to change), but all the good topics I want to talk about right now are coming into my mind like I am uploading them all at the same time and I cannot find the right ones to download into this post right now.

Won't your brain slow down with all the thoughts coming in? Mine did, and it took me hours to finally get back on track and do this. This was where I realized that you cannot register all thoughts from all corners of the planet at once. Whatever that thought is and where that is coming I cannot really describe. When you do entertain them at once, you become confused, you get a headache and you get lost with what you have to do.

I can relate to this moment when I saw a book at the mall. It made me feel ecstatic to buy. It was affordable based on the money I have on my wallet, and the title was catchy enough to make me want to read it. As soon as I was about to make my move to pick the book up, move to the cashier, make my payment, and leave, thoughts started to invade my mind in all shapes and sizes.

• Is this book really worth reading?
• What if I won't enjoy reading it?
• Is that why I came to the mall for? To buy that?
• The book only has a few pages. If I finish it in less than an hour, will it be worth buying it?
• Even worse: Will I still be able to go home after I buy this? (Seriously, this was in my mind that time.)

Like what I said above, episodes of headache, confusion, getting lost in the moment started to appear like I took a medication with severe side effects. That was where I sought advice from my friend. He would then refer the scenario as an intuition, or some kind of "gut feeling". When you have this feeling of wanting something, you are left with the choice to go for it, or just give it a pass. While he told me that this feeling comes down to my call, I knew I had to make a decision.

Life is (Still) a Matter of Choice

I will never forget my class adviser in Senior year of High School. 

She was one of those individuals who not only reached out to us whenever we have academic concerns inside the classroom, but also became a friend to us all on the outside. She would often take the time to jam with us, go on big laughs, and share stories that most of the time did not make sense, so long as there was a conversation taking place. We even shared an emotional experience that she and the class will never forget after Teachers' Day. (my high school classmates reading this blog might relate, unless you remembered.)

Above all those moments, it was on the first week of class that really caught my attention.

As far as my mind can recall, we were doing some sort of presentation on introducing ourselves in a creative way by group. There was all laughter and fun as it was not that difficult in getting to know each other since most of the class have been classmates since second or third year. Then it was our proud adviser's turn to talk. While she commended our impromptu presentations with so much creativity and fun, she started sharing some words of wisdom that we can use not just on our last year of high school, but also as soon as we exit the doors of formal education.

Why You Shouldn't Read a Blog... About Me

I warned you from the title itself. 

You should not have gone into this page. 

Now you did. 

And there's got to be a reason why you decided to check this article out. Not because I recommended this to you, but simply because the heavens and the universe have conspired to make this moment come true. It was just pure destiny that you came to read this post.

And it is no accident...

Before I tell you why you have to keep reading (and subscribing, and following) my blog posts starting now, I'll first back up the title I just presented to you.

So why shouldn't you read a blog about me?

For starters, I'll introduce myself first. I'm a 22-year young kid who has a knack for taking any opportunity he sees, so long as it fits his core gifts. What's a core gift? It's something I believe I have that will most likely change the world. (O RLY?) My skills, attributes, talents, you name it. So what's so special about me? Nothing really. I'm on my postgraduate studies, I have a full time job, another semi-full time job, a network marketing business and a freelance writer. Maybe it's because of too much pity that we are friends and you decided to peek into my blog, or you entered the wrong link and this blog suddenly came in your face. Maybe you are too busy with your work, making projects. Maybe you're just inches away from victory in the game you are playing at this time and this blog happened to pass you by. Or you just wanted to be unproductive in front of your computer, chatting with friends or busy updating the news feed of your social media sites. Or maybe you are looking for opportunities to earn, save and spend money like a real grown-up should do, and you came across this page.

So if this blog happens to disturb you in anyway imaginable, and if you feel that you really came into this blog accidentally, I respect whatever you are doing right now. I'm sorry if I caused too much trouble in your computer/laptop/tablet. If those are enough, valid reasons that you should not continue to read this blog, you have my permission to leave.

But if you decide to stick around...

Congratulations on reading this far! Getting here would not have been possible if you did not read anything I said above. I'll give you definite reasons why reading this blog, and the posts to come, will be one of the best things that ever happened to you. First things first, I'll start with a boring story. Not again? 

It started a few months after college graduation (June). It was a loooong, tiring wait for the Nursing board exam (December). After all the talk that where we I thought my life was starting to go spiral, out of nowhere, walking in the desert of postgraduate life alone. Until a whole day seminar I attended shook my world upside-down.

John Calub made his first appearance in Cebu. Known to be the guy who turned P30 of life savings into millions in a year or so, I got intrigued as to how he did it. A lot of interesting insights were shared and I could only summarize them in four words:

Everyone deserves financial freedom

Whether it was the ordinary 8-hour employee, the fast-moving salesman, or the round-the-clock entrepreneur, everybody has that opportunity to have what they want in life. All it takes was to take charge of one's thoughts, make a plan, and do something about it. From then on, I started on an epic journey - surfing through the net, walking through every bookstore, looking for another webinar or seminar - on the path of financial freedom. I read, listened, learned things that I never learned in school, desperately making a living of reading more books than I ever did in college.

Then it hit a road block... I still had that board exam to prepare. But I didn't worry that much because right after the last day of the exam was over, I went back to those self-help and personal finance books. My self-education continued persistently, getting to know best-selling authors and motivational speakers in the process. Hey, I even got myself a weekly dose of inspiration at The Feast, a Catholic prayer meeting of the Light of Jesus Family conducted every Monday night at SM City Cebu. (It was so effective, the prayers and petitions I gave helped me pass the exam!)

From all those experiences, I needed something to channel those lessons and ideas to people. And that was where I met the opportunity to be an adviser - not just any adviser, but someone who can make a difference in other people's financial lives. And along with the ability to help everyone - including YOU - achieve their goals comes the responsibility to not just make their money grow regardless of social status and work preference, but also to grow as a person of value. To become closer to God. As He would also want us to live the life overflown with an abundance of blessings from all corners of the planet, not just in terms of monetary value.

So why is my site called "Slowly but Surely"? Achieving financial freedom is a slow and steady process, so is the road to becoming a better person along the way. These and other lessons I will talk about in the blogs to come. With the right assessment of the goals you want in life, the right advice, the right plan, and the right course of action to take, you will surely be on your way to achieving them.

Don't worry. Reading every blog will all be worth it unless you don't take action after everything has been said and done. Should you need more help, I will be there to help address your needs. This is why reading this blog is not just about me; it is about you - yes, YOU - and how you plan to take control of your future.

Have a very fantastic life.