Pinay Teenvestor’s Untold Story: A Work in Progress

I just thought of summarizing what this blog, Pinay Teenvestor, and my facebook page are all about through this post since my inbox has been bombarded with messages lately. This is quite long but I hope you will learn something from this.

Do you offer financial services?

Are you a financial guru or something?

Do you have the credibility for us to follow your advices?

Bakit Pinay Teenvestor?

First, I do not offer financial services. Though I’m a financial advisor in one of the insurance companies here in the Philippines, I chose not to pursue it for personal reasons.

Maybe someday, I will revisit that path (Who knows?). For now, I am choosing to focus on myself.

Second, I am not a financial guru. If financial guru means being a successful businesswoman or a licensed financial coach, then I am afraid I’m not one.

Third, I am not claiming to have the credibility for you to follow whatever I share on my facebook page or in my personal blog: pinayteenvestor.com, but I encourage you to filter out what you find helpful from what you think is not. Just read at your own risk.

Bakit Pinay Teenvestor?

Medyo mahaba-habang usapan to but to cut it short, gurang na po ako.

I’m not a teen anymore.

In fact, I am already 24 years old, 5 flat ang height, 27 ang waistline, 50 kg. Kung itsura naman ang pag-uusapan, parang Angel Locsin lang na nausog sa kanal.

Eh bakit nga Pinay Teenvestor kung hindi ka naman teen?

I will reveal it later after giving a not-so-little background of myself.

I am currently practicing my profession as a Civil Engineer dito sa ‘Pinas.

Aside from my fulltime job, may mga side hustles din ako like ghostwriting, maliit na loading business, at forex trading.

Lumaki akong isang raketera.

Elementary pa lang, nagtitinda na ako ng kung anu-ano. Medyo mahiyain akong magtinda pero no choice kasi pag walang benta, walang baon. Typical lang din yung tinitinda ko like reject na sumo or biscuits (yung mga deformed sa factory, binebenta ng mga factories yan ng mas mura.)

High school, may tinda pa rin ako, medyo nagstick ako sa pastillas at munchkin kasi madaling gawin. Masarap din sa feeling maghimas-himas nung mga tinda ko.

Sa awa ng Diyos, palagi namang sold out. Siguro masarap yung secret ingredient na balat lalo na pag nag-chechange skin yung kamay ko after maglaba gamit yung Ariel wahahahaha

Hindi ako masyadong expressive noon kaya isa sa mga ways ko to express myself is through Arts.

Hanggang sa naging sideline ko na rin yan, ang gumawa ng mga cartoons for room decorations. I made an article about that: How Did I Monetize My Skills in Arts

Isa sa mga rason yan kung bakit Civil Engineering yung kinuha kong kurso. Akala ko drawing2 lang eh pucha akala ko lang pala :’D

I was a scholar, pero hindi full-scholarship grant. Struggle din yung pangbaon, pang projects, pang ek-ek kaya ayun kayod pa rin.

Nagtitinda pa rin ng kung anu-ano. Medyo nag level up na rin yung skills ko sa Arts kaya tumanggap na rin ako ng portrait commissions. Again, ikinwento ko sa blog na ito: How Did I Monetize My Skills in Arts kung paano nag-udyok ang isang heartbreak para matutunan ko yung pagpoportrait.

Sa awa ng Diyos at ng mga taong tumulong sa akin, nakaraos din ako.

---

Read More: Are you prepared to invest?

---

My life after graduation

Syempre, once makagraduate ka, malaki yung expectations ng pamilya mo sa’yo na iahon sila sa hirap. Pinalaki tayong mga Pinoy na ganyan.

Nung una, akala ko giginhawa din, pero may mga panahon pa ring nabubuhay nalang from paycheck to paycheck. Uuuuuy! Alam ko ikaw din yieee!

Kaya ayun balik ulit sa mga raket-raket. At ginagawa ko yun pag walang masyadong gawain sa work, pati na rin pag uwi ko sa bahay.

Pero parang kulang pa rin? Hanggang sa nalaman ko yung mga invest invest na yan. Sabi ko why not? Kaya aral-aral din ako kung pano yung stocks na yan pero pakshet, san ba ako magsisimula?

So I chose the easy way.

Lagyan ko nalang ng dates para hindi tayo malito

April 2017

Hanggang sa may isang co-worker na nag suggest na mag invest dun sa ininvestan niya. Isa iyong HYIP or high yield investment scheme. Yung mga galawang 1k turns to 2k after 1 month. Opo, pioneer po ako diyan hehe

I am fully aware of the risks pero nagtry pa rin ako. Sabi ko, uy why not? Invest, wait and earn? Sarap sa ears!

Alam niyo, gamit na gamit ko yung engineering dito!

Nagcompute ako and based on my computation, magiging milyonarya ako at the end of the year (December 2017) pag paulit-ulit akong nag reinvest.

May lista na ako kung anong gagawin ko sa milyon. Sinabihan ko na rin yung mama ko na may anak na siyang milyonarya bago mag 2018!

Pero alam ko na alam niyo kung anong naging ending. Bokya! Sarap umiyak kay kuya Will!

This blog summarizes my experience: Spreading The Awareness : Beware Of Facebook’s Online Paluwagans

Just to give you an idea: Yung mga scammers, ginagamit nilang front end yung cryptocurrency trading for their HYIP investments.

It even went to a point na nagutang ako para may ipang “in”vest.

Limas yung savings ko.

Na spoil yung pagiging “Mother of a millionaire” ni mader.

I was so frustrated.

Pero syempre, hindi dyan nagtatapos ang kwento.

July 2017

May natanggap akong isang balita na isa sa mga “co-scaminees” ko ay nagbigti.

He’s an OFW na gusto nang umuwi and he betted all his savings sa mga investment schemes for his fare back to PH and for the therapy of his mom who is suffering from cancer. Only to get scammed.

That very moment, I asked myself: What if nangyari ‘to sa akin? O sa pamilya ko? O sa mga kaibigan ko?

It was a turning point for me.Kaya isinumpa ko sa sarili ko na I will do better this time. I learned from my mistakes, picked myself up, and discovered the things I wish I knew before.

And once natuto na ako, I will teach other people the things I wish I knew before.

August 2017

A friend introduced me to Steemit, a crypto blogging platform.

At first, na amaze ako na you can earn cryptocurrencies through blogging in that platform. My initial goal was just to earn. Kahit hindi ako writer, I tried.

Here’s my account(You can create an account there for FREE).

Pero as time went by, writing became my passion. And I combined such passion to spread financial awareness. At the same time, I engaged myself in anything that could help me earn/learn financial literacy THE RIGHT way.

I ventured cryptocurrency trading, crowdfunding, stock market investing, and forex trading (just recently. And I want to stick with this one hehe).

While learning those things, I also tried to increase my active income through side hustles like chat support, blogging in Steemit, ghostwriting, loading business.

Ginawa ko lahat yan while having a fulltime job.

Paano? Bakit? Sa anong paraan?

I used my FREE time learning those things and improving my skills lalo na pag walang ginagawa sa work.

I read books, read blogs, watched youtube videos, attended seminars, and joined online and offline groups din.

And I want to tell it straight to you. Hindi ganoon kadali.

I had to sacrifice MANY THINGS! A lot of it!

When I am tired and I think everything I am doing is pointless, I just cling to the idea that everything will be worth it SOOOOON! SOON. SOON. SOON.

---

Read More: Top 10 Best Investments for Beginners

---

June 2018

I decided to have my own blog: pinayteenvestor.com and created this page to reach a wider audience.

I could just use my extra time to further my trading skills but I chose to do this because I believe someone has to know my story. And it took me more than a year (July 2019) to finally disclose it publicly.

So bakit nga Pinay Teenvestor?

Sheila, the author of Pinay Teenvestor, is a civil engineer, a financial literacy advocate, a crypto enthusiast, and an explorer of LEGIT investments both traditional (stocks and crowdfundings) and digital (bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies). She chose the name “Teenvestor” since she strongly believes that establishing a good financial background through investing in early years will greatly contribute to the financial freedom everyone wants to attain in their golden years.

That pretty much summarizes my reason, but in the deeper sense, I want to:

1. Carry my “teen” self with me. I want to carry the lessons I learned including the silly choices I had during my younger years.
2. Spread financial awareness to “teens” or sa mga feeling teens – or generally sa mga young millennials. If you happen to read my blog, I write in the simplest way because I perceive my audience as beginners in exploring financial pursuits. Goal ko nga kahit 5 years old makakaintindi na nung mga sinusulat ko eh
3. Revisit my “teen” self through this blog. Unlike other personal finance blogs na medyo technical, I chose to write based on my experience. I want to see myself grow by revisiting my previous posts (which includes both success and failures).

Friends, family, strangers, hindi pa po ako financially successful. But every day is a new learning experience for me. Besides, I want you to see the rough process of pursuing financial freedom through my writeups.

The process is rough. It is ugly. I have to sacrifice a lot. Walang madali. But I am willing to pay the price. I may not be there yet, but at least I am doing something to pursue my aspirations.

Up until now, I still make some silly choices momentarily. But that’s the beauty of it. That’s the beauty of pursuing time and financial freedom.

You get what you deserve if you learn how to take risks, bend, correct yourself, and move forward.

Before I end this, I want to leave you with this quote by Mary Lou Cook:

Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.