How to build your FQ immune system
As we gradually go to a new normal that includes going out of the house, we have to make sure that our immune system is strong enough, both that of our health and wealth. (Share this on Twitter)
Do you know that someone who professes to be financially healthy (i.e. has high FQ) should also be physically healthy? It’s because having a high FQ means having a good relationship with money and achieving this entails the same measures in achieving physical health. Building our immune system in order to be physically fit is the same as building our FQ immune system to be financially fit. (Share this on Twitter)
Let’s go through some of the common ways to build our physical immune system and relate it to our FQ immune system.
1. The importance of Vitamin C. It’s funny how we sometimes refer to cash as Vitamin C. In both physical and financial health, Vitamin c is indeed very important. 
What is the level of your cash right now? Have you used up most of it because of the pandemic? If this is the case, find ways to increase your “Vitamin C” level by increasing your income stream: make an inventory of what you have then figure out what you can sell - both physical goods and your services. (Please click articles 1,2,3 to read more on this topic)
2. Exercise regularly. Work is our exercise in our FQ life. It is what strengthens us, pushes us to the limit and creates energy (i.e. the fuel called money). In order to sustain our exercise, it’s important that we find something that we enjoy doing. This relates to the second law of money “Get only into a business that you understand; and seek advice only from competent people.” It is when we are doing what we are called to do using our strengths that we reap meaningful and long-lasting rewards from our work. The second part of the law is what protects us from scams, and we can liken this to vetting our fitness instructor or trainer. We wouldn’t hire someone who’s unhealthy, right?
3. Eat well. What food makes us healthy, and in what quantity? This is similar to the learning that we feed to ourselves. Does our present job allow us to continue learning? What do we do in our spare time? Do we spend the hours clocking in additional skill enhancements? Or are we feeding ourselves with too much junk food in the form of mindless scrolling of whatever’s on our device?
4. Manage cheat days. In order not to feel deprived, we allow ourselves to indulge once in a while. I love desserts and they always give a happy ending to my meal, so I try to have them in moderation and I make sure that I eat my fruits and vegetables. The operative term here is “in moderation,” which may be likened to the FQ Mom guideline in buying luxury: Buy luxury only when you can afford to buy 10 pieces of it.
5. Sleep well. The neglected importance of having enough sleep has resulted in compromised immune system. It’s alarming how “puyat” has crept into the lives of our children too early in their lives. I liken this to the early exposure of our kids to information, sometimes not age-appropriate, on the internet. If we zero in on their FQ lives, this is their exposure to lots of material things that entice them to buy. And mind you, we are all susceptible to this. All the nice posts of our friends and celebrities we follow elicit heightened consumerism. Couple that with the ease of buying online and we are doomed to mess up our budgets. So, what do we do? Incorporate enough “sleep” in our FQ life by switching off from our social media, taking out the apps that make it hard for us to keep within our budget.
Oh, and one more thing regarding sleep applicable to your FQ life. After we have automated our saving and investing mechanism in the form of peso cost averaging in equity index funds, “just sleep” to avoid doing irrational things brought about by market fluctuations. Take it from the Father of Index Funds John Bogle, “Don’t peek, don’t peek, don’t peek!”
6. Don’t smoke, avoid infection by frequently washing your hands. Now more than ever, we have re-learned that important lesson in kindergarten: Wash your hands. When it comes to avoiding that bad vice of smoking, not smoking is not enough. We should also avoid being a passive smoker who inhales all the ill effects of the vice. And how do we do that? By not hanging out with those who smoke. If we translate it to our FQ life, that means not hanging out with those who influence us to go astray our intended spending habits. Implement social distancing from them.
And the washing of hands? Well, that is likened to getting rid of things that we might have taken or exposed ourselves to that can eventually infect our spending habits. Frequent washing of hands can be our periodic checking of our monthly expenses.
7. Watch your WHR (waist-to-height ratio). In previous articles, I’ve discussed how to simplify our fitness watch by focusing on your WHR. Our waistline should not go beyond 50% of our height. (Click 1 and 2 to read more on this.) In the same way, we also have to watch important financial ratios to boost our FQ immune system. What is your savings ratio (savings/income)? Are you saving at least 20% of your income? The higher, the sooner you can accumulate for your future. What is your liquidity ratio (cash and cash equivalent/one-month expenses)? Is it 3, 6, 12? This gives you an idea of your how long you can sustain yourself in case of zero income, also known as emergency fund. What is your debt-to-asset ratio (total debts/total assets)? How have you been funding your asset purchases? Please be prudent in acquiring loans, remember you still have to pay them. Just like your WHR, you should not go beyond 50% in your debt-to-asset ratio. Zero debt is also great for individuals. There is no sense in investing when you continue to pay sky-rocket high interest rates from easy to access debts that plague us right now.
8. Have a regular physical check-up. In the same way that we have our medical check-up, we should also have our financial check-up regularly. I advocate the use of Balance Sheet for everyone. At IFE Management Advisers Inc., we help individuals and company employees come up with their values-based High FQ Balance SheetTM that serves as their tool in attaining their life goals. This is coupled by regular check-up. If you’re doing this check-up on your own, pick a date that’s easy to remember – your wedding anniversary for married individuals, birthday or just follow the calendar year.
Indeed, caring for our immune system is the same, whether it’s for our physical or financial health.
I hope the above helps you boost your immune system – both physically and financially. Cheers to strong FQ and HQ!
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. Join us in the Money and Family Summit on July 11 to 12. It’s a wonderful learning experience for the entire family. We have wonderful speakers for the plenary and breakout sessions (see posters). Click https://finlitsummit.ph to register now.
2. I’m going to give an online workshop on July 22, 2020 for the existing and prospective clients of ATRAM Trust Company. You may contact ATRAM if interested.
3. Listen to our Mom and Son Podcast episode this week for further discussion of this subject matter!
4. Reading is another coping mechanism for the lockdown. If you haven’t yet, may I invite you to read any of the FQ Mom books?
5. If you haven’t yet, now is the time to start your FQ journey. If you’ve taken this six or so months ago and you want to check how you have improved, you may take it again by clicking the link: https://forms.gle/tSHBiGtwpWHaKVzU9
