Tonight I finally was able to ride my bike for some exercise and fresh air. On my way to UP, I saw how Maginhawa is trying to keep itself afloat.
I did my usual routine: I bike, tie my bike at the guard house then walk for an hour or so around University Ave.
I take short breaks to do stretching exercises and then resume walking.
I was out for almost two hours and enjoyed the soft, cool night breeze and the smell of grass. I also heard cicadas, the sound that reminded me much of provincial life. One day I will go back to the province and escape Manila.
Or I will be somewhere else. I don’t know.
This thought prompted me to check my investments. Well my UITF, ETF and VUL funds are tanking because they are all in equities. The PSEi last week touched the psychological barrier of 6,000 and 5,900 may not be far behind. My money market UITF is doing fine but it’s not even an investment at this point since I’m just letting my emergency funds sleep in that facility so it won’t be eaten away by inflation.
I’m debating whether I should top it up because unemployment emergency funds should be 6 months’ worth of my monthly salary.
I am more inclined to top up my VUL fund because this has been my habit whenever I get a windfall every year (i.e. bonus) but I’m thinking of opening a mutual fund with another fund management group. The reason why I got another VUL is that I want to have two life insurance policies since my kids don’t have anyone else but me to rely on financially. Their dad hasn’t given any tuition money since they started going to school at 3 yrs old. So anyway, one VUL plan is heavy in the life insurance part and not so much on the investment funds. The other VUL is heavy on the investment but not much on the (term) life insurance side but both have accidental and health riders. VULs would also protect my children from being taxed when receiving money upon my death.
So the alternative to topping up the VUL fund is I can have a mutual fund invested in a balanced fund since my investment horizon has already narrowed significantly as compared when I first bought my two VULs (I was 28).
But but but… I want to bottom-fish! If the market is tanking, I should be picking up bargains, right? I do cost averaging on my UITF and and ETF every month so a tanking market is immaterial at this point. But topping up my VUL or investing in a mutual fund now means something–buying really low.
Something to think about before I buy a new laptop.