The First Day of the Rest of My Life

Its been an entire year since my first post. So typically me. But amazingly, its the same month. What is it with June?

It has been only a few days since I made that whirlwind decision to finally get my own place. That's right, in the midst of global economic turmoil, I just bought my self a piece of property in Ortigas - a modest, 31.7 square meter condominium unit just beside my office building. I paid the reservation fee today, and I felt nothing - no pinch, no hesitancy, no aftershock. It was as if it was something I had to do. This was surprising considering I've been window-shopping for condos for a year, with no serious plans of buying. I wonder if its just because I only had 4 hours of sleep last night.

I finalized this decision upon seeing an old quote from this condo's developer last Saturday. P and I just checked out Newport City (http://www.newportcity.com.ph/) in Villamor (which was VERY NICE by the way - P was RAVING about it, he practically wanted to buy there and then). I wanted to compare the prices with some old quotes I got from other visits. One of the quotes said "Turnover June, 2011". I went -- "S**t, this is just 2 years from now!". I realized that I could have a unit rented out WHILE I was still paying for it, making it pay for itself. After a little number crunching, I realized I could actually have my own place -- and move out before I turn 30.

What also helped was my mom's genuine support. Around mid-May, I took her to see the model unit. Upon seeing it, her first words were "Ang cute! Sakto sa 'yo 'to!". She REALLY wanted me to get the condo. Which was wierd, considering we came from very traumatizing real estate experiences. But I guess she saw how practical my choice was. She talked about how she and my dad can help me out with the payments, etc. She was sold, while I was still in window-shopping mode. When the broker called a few days after, I immediately turned it down and said my cashflow wouldn't cut it.

A couple of weeks later, my lolo sent an unusual text message to several of us (titos, titas) and said that he just bought a unit for one of this daughters (one of my titas) in the new Megaworld development in Villamor (Newport). He was encouraging EVERYONE - me and my brother included - to check it out and buy from there too. I visited him a few days after this, and turns out he couldn't stop talking about his new purchase and how nice it would be if the whole family moved to Villamor. This was VERY UNUSUAL for my lolo to say, since he already owns several condo units and other properties, and has always been so antsy to liquidate them. He said this himself. But this time, he says, this Villamor development is a good investment. My lolo is a BILLIONAIRE, and is swimming in cash. If he suddenly says real estate is good -- you better listen.

Oh, and I have to mention that the family who occupied the extension behind our house FINALLY moved out. This meant that the maids could move there and I could finally have my own room -- after twenty-seven years! This now gives me the opportunity -- and the SPACE -- to buy homestuff (bed, mattress, etc) for a future residence .

So by last Saturday, everything around me (including comments to my Facebook status) seemed to be leading to the move I made today. My mom's go-signal, my lolo's sudden taste for real estate, P's raving over Newport, and the timely move of our neighbors backdoor all seemed to tell me that I should get the condo unit I've been mulling about for quite some time. Incidentally, I also had some significant cash in my account I was reserving for an upcoming bank investment, which my dad advised me not to get into, and I complied. Now that I had extra cash just sitting there made me feel that the decision to buy was a no brainer: I could pay the reservation fee, and still have enough to make a cash placement big enough to generate an extra P1,000 passive income. After talking to the broker last Monday, I was given a lower price than what was in the quote! My total passive income would practically be equal to the monthly amortization required!

The only thing left to think about were the annual lumpsum payments, which when divided by 12, would actually be bigger than the monthly amortization. I could still afford to set aside this amount every month, but I would have to live on less than 40% of what I make. This would still be a respectable amount for a single woman with no kids and living with her parents, but this would take major, MAJOR adjustment in lifestyle. I'm still paying for half my MBA tuition fee, and recently my credit card bills have been surprising me. Time to take major control. This may now mean daily packed lunches from home, back to riding buses and jeeps instead of taking cabs, facials every other month instead of every month, no more expensive salon treatments, practically zero vacations, and carefully chosen nights out. Hell, maybe weekends of DVD marathons and store-bought beer.

But then I realized thats just how I've been living these past few months already, and all of these adjustments are nothing I haven't done before. This should be a piece of cake.

I've always wondered how people arrived at decisions to purchase property. Now that I've purchased myself, I can't help but think about how great it is to know how all my other investments are working together for this new one. Thank you Robert Kiyosaki and Lolo for teaching me the value of saving, about the magic of compound interest and passive income . Thanks Ma and Pa, for making us go through that financial crisis that taught us how enjoy the simple life. Without that, I wouldn't learn how to ride the jeep or how to make extra income on the side. Thanks P for being so much fun on DVD nights and ten-peso evenings at Marikina Sports Center. Thank you God -- I know you are with me on this one. This is all the wealth I need.