All About Kwarta

It's almost the end of the year. And here I am, immersed in my own little corner of the world. Having a little peace of mind. Enjoying the feeling of contentment and security. So what exactly changed? Big things actually. Not sure If I've mentioned this before but the year starts with a newly minted residence visa 🎉. Yup I am now officially a resident of New Zealand. I can now vote, participate in jury duty, open credit cards, open a Kiwisaver account (NZ's equivalent of 401K in the US), and a lot of investment opportunities . But what's more important is that I don't have to queue anymore in Philippine offices just to prove that I have the necessary document to fly in and out. I  won't be reimbursed a terminal fee anymore though. I mean, I'll take the freedom to fly anytime over 500 pesos, which in the general scheme of things not really that significant sum. Speaking of funds, I opened an account in an online platform called InvestNow . They

I'm done with SSS. I already have 144 months of contributions - that's 12 years exactly!. A wee bit more than the required 10 years of contributions to "benefit" from a retirement pension - whatever a monthly of ₱6,233.33 can buy in the future. Yes, I calculated. Mainly because of sheer curiosity how those years of auto deductions translate to money in my future. Yes, it's a measly sum. If I factor in inflation, that's basically around 1-2 thousand in today's money by the time I retire. But as they say, it is intended as a security, not an investment. And everybody knows that it's not a reliable source of income in our last days on earth. And also, a huge chunk of my contribution comes from my employers so in essence a part of it is free money anyway. The new hike in contributions  increases the monthly salary credit which in theory should also increase everyone's pension. As someone who left the Philippine workforce 2 years ago and has t