Financial Literacy Made Available to Filipinos by Gameplay Company Sense for Money - Part 1

Photo by: RSS

“Breaking news! Breaking news!” The game master hollered. 

The players stopped, turned their gaze towards the lovely, but confident voice, and listened intently, as if their lives depended on it. And in a way, it did, because the game highlights how a player thinks and reacts to situations. It re-creates what really happens to players' lives in gameplay without losing real money.

Ms. Tuesday L. Santiago, Sense for Money Gameplay Development Head, and game master during the launch of Praxis Café belted out information in the form of breaking news stories, which changes the external economic conditions in the make-believe world and in turn affect the players’ financial position, either positively or negatively.

The game is engaging, fun, and simulates real-world scenarios and decision points that people make every day. It simulates the financial life of people. It made me think about the importance of getting health insurance and the high interest rate loan sharks charge their customers (I've had the opportunity to get a loan from a 5:6 before so I can really relate to this one). It isn’t far off from my perspective of what my financial world is, and may become, if I haven't learned my lesson yet.

During the game, players start with some money, a job, and hope that they do well. The roll of the dice, the luck of the draw from the deck of cards, breaking news stories, board placement events, and player decisions combine to make for an interesting, stimulating, and sometimes, suspense-filled evening that somehow feels surreal.  

Photo by: RSS

Alas, only one player is left standing when the money count ended. And it wasn’t me (it was that guy with the restrained grin on the right being interviewed by Ms. Santiago). Sigh. Luckily, this is only a simulation, a game. I get to do it over again and aim for better results. I didn’t finish at the bottom, which is a small consolation, but the goal is to be better at it because this will translate into what happens outside the café, when a breaking news story really affects the value of my assets, and the roll of the dice maybe the last paycheck because of contractual work.

I learned much without the dire consequences of wrong financial decisions and others may, also, in a safe and encouraging environment. As a life-stage financial planner (my day-time job), I always think of ways to help educate clients on the importance of savings, income replacement, and sound investments. Praxis Café is a crash-course in what I try to explain to clients daily, without lecturing, and in a gamely atmosphere.

This game is highly recommended for young ones who aim for more awareness in how their personal finances can be improved and also for the more mature with lots of experience and higher expectations. For more information, please get in touch with these lovely ladies ---> see photo below.

The All-Women Sense For Money Philippines Team

www.senseformoney.com

Unit GFC-1A Classica 1 Condominium

112 H.V. dela Costa St. Salcedo Village,

Makati City

+6327205753

fb: @praxiscafePH

p.s. you can sign up for a fun, fantastic, and free game. Just click on the link ---> i want to change my financial life for the better!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 *March 8 is International Women's Day. Happy Women's Day to All!

**all photos by me. I retain all rights to these images. :)

EDITED: 2 August 2017

How to Enjoy a Good Cup of Coffee & Still Arrive Early for That Morning Huddle with your Team

Every coffee drinker has a preferred brewing method. Me, I love brewing coffee in my Moka; it’s the perfect way to start my day. It takes around 30 minutes to prepare and enjoy my morning fill, and more if there’s good company at hand for small talk and laughter. 

But like everyone else, I turn off the alarm and go back to sleep only to wake up in a frenzied panic because I’m already late for an important meeting. Of course, I can always schedule meet-ups at a good coffee house, but that isn’t always the case.

Coffee Invitation

I was invited to a product launch at the Parc Royale Building, in Ortigas, last November 29. Hesitant at first because “product” means that I must endure long, boring talks about something, which I’m not remotely interested in and with people who are maniacally passionate about it and trying to convince the audience to automatically share the same excitement as if it was as easy as copy-paste.

Lest I be rude and walk out of my hosts, I’m a prisoner for the duration of the presentation. But it’s coffee, so I braved the incorrigible Metro Manila traffic in the pursuit of caffeine. Luckily, there were no long, boring talks and zealous speakers asking us to cough up a couple thousand bucks and register as a member, so kudos to the organizers for this.

Drumroll….

Introducing the New elcafé. Bursting with Exciting 5 in 1 Taste.

In this world, full of coffee and network marketing, I’ve been invited to, and have tasted, coffee plus, plus, plus…. 3 in 1, 5 in 1, 7 in 1… These “products” tastes ranged from good to bad. Fortunately, elcafé fared well in my taste-test.

I’m not exaggerating when I say exciting 5 in 1 taste. I told MJ, the organizer, that it didn’t taste like gamot (medicine). I genuinely liked it. Sure, it had that weird, funky aftertaste, maybe because of the Ginko Biloba or Ginseng, but it was tolerable, for sure. I’ve had far worse.

Verdict.

All-in-all, I enjoyed the Elken elcafé 5 in 1 Coffee. It’s a welcome surprise from the direct selling world that sells pungent-tasting, healthy coffee that people would never trade for their grande at Starbucks. I highly recommend it as a healthy substitute for your home-brew when in a hurry, or something to bring to the office to avoid the stale coffee at the pantry.

Brewing Time

You only need 150 ml of hot water, stir in the coffee mix, and voila, a nice cup of coffee to wake you up on a cold morning. It takes less than five minutes to prepare; less if you already have hot water (preferably 85-90°C).

With that, I'd like to give a shout-out to MJ Catriz for the invite and to Elken for the welcoming atmosphere. 

In case you’re interested, you may go to their office at the Ground Floor of Parc Royale Building, Julia Vargas Avenue Corner Emerald Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. For more info, please visit their website http://ph.elkenglobal.com/.

True Riches

We are extremely lucky to be alive today. The advances in medicine, technology, and science have increased our life span, decreased mortality rate, reduced poverty, allowed wireless communications at lightning speeds, and information (on just about anything) is just a search away.

Above all this, the number of self-help books, podcasts and video casts, audio and video coaching programs, seminars, distance learning, and other worthwhile personal endeavors, have skyrocketed in the last ten years. I believe that the rising tide of spiritual awareness is the backbone of this revolution in self-development. It continues to grow day-by-day.

And because of the great opportunities available to us, at this time, I cannot help but wonder about its relationship to prosperity. Personally, if I am not a monk or a priest with a vow of poverty, then in all honesty, I would like for me and my family to live a prosperous and abundant life. Sadly, many people still haven't found the prosperity in their lives and live in despicable conditions. In the following quote, the ancient Chinese Sage Lao Tzu already explained how, 2,500 years ago:

Photo Credit: Chiara Abbate Flickr via Compfight cc

“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power. If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.”

- Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching 

In the various communities we partake in, both online and offline, we contribute ideas and opinions that shape the collective energy of the group. Helping our community become a positive influence makes it possible to take a step forward to what Stephen Covey calls “the age of wisdom”: the time when insight is the norm, productivity will skyrocket, and peace will occur. Lofty ideas, but something worth aspiring to attain in our lifetime.

On a more personal level, I believe that true riches can be equated with contentment and being grateful with what you have at any particular point in time. One doesn’t need to reach his or her financial goals to be prosperous, but we can simply be happy with what we have already; to strive to reach the peak of the mountain and be happy climbing it at the same time. 

I’ll be ending on this note, hoping to have shared a little light in a dark world. To quote Dr. Wayne Dyer, “there is no way to prosperity, prosperity is the way”. Keep smiling every one.

-------------------------------------------------
*Originally published as “The Way to Prosperity In The Age Of Wisdom – Dr. Wayne Dyer” in Bubblews.