‘Snow White’ and ‘One Up On Wall Street’ built my house and sent my daughter to college

MANILA, Philippines - On Aug. 11, 1996, I arrived at National Books Store Makati to make a quick purchase — a Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs book for my daughter, who was three years old then, and a fan of one dwarf called Grumpy. It was her birthday the book was expected as a gift. National Book Store’s children section was in the second floor, a haven for parents who seek early wisdom for their offspring, carrying books riotous on color, from pocket-size to tabloid types, starring mute birds and talkative frogs. Choosing one really is a mental challenge even for alpha males.

The children’s books were in aisle one, according to the staff. Walking slowly, two males suddenly appeared from my left, jostling me. “Sorry,” said the bald guy with round eyeglasses similar to John Lennon’s, while the other guy just glanced, picked up the book he wanted to buy and proceeded to the cashier. What is happening here? It is not yet Christmas, I said to myself. As I straightened up my crumpled polo barong, I saw one book in the middle of the business section featuring a man with white hair, wide eyeglasses, dressed in a smart suit. The author was Peter Lynch, which I remembered one business newspaper describe as the “head of the Fidelity Magellan Fund.” Lynch’s One Up On Wall Street was a 1996 bestseller. Since it was already 12:40 p.m., I picked up the Lynch book without browsing and returned to the children’s section to complete my mission of bringing Grumpy home. After an exhausting day at the office, I gift-wrapped Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, put the Lynch book in my bag and rode back home.

While my daughter was singing Happy Birthday to herself, I watched the cable news. The anchor was discussing the movie of the year and the best book to buy; she mentioned Mel Gibson’s Braveheart as picture of the year, and the best book? One Up On Wall Street. I was jolted from my seat. “I bought that book today!” I rushed towards my bag and began to browse the book like a man possessed.

With the objective of knowing how to invest, I excused myself after the night prayer with my wife and daughter and asked not to be disturbed for several hours. Savoring every page, I wrote my opinion and highlighted the best parts.

Lynch’s ideas about investing made the truth seem plain and simple. He changed my life by challenging me to be more concerned about financial matters. One Up On Wall Street touched and shaped me with four points:

• Acquire a house first before investing. Peter Lunch made it very clear that I should invest in a house rather than in stocks, if I have to choose between the two. From then on, I began to save without let-up and paid the down payment or equity of my first house after two years. I did it by trimming my expenses, reviewing where my money went and what expenses I could cut. I began to forget Starbucks coffee and drank Nescafe instead. In those years of savings, I visualized my dream house. I would draw it and put in places where I could see it every day. Because of Lynch’s book, I set the date when to build it and it did happen — in 1999.

• Build a reserve or emergency fund. Lynch was not against putting savings in a time deposit or savings account but notes that bank interest for deposits is so low, my money would be eaten by inflation. Lynch encouraged readers to have cash reserved for emergencies. It is wise advice because if I have none, I will be forced to use my credit card or worse, withdraw my retirement savings to pay for hospital bills, funeral or home repairs. This advice personally touched my family and me when my son was hospitalized for eight days because of dengue. In his first two days of sickness, we thought it was just an ordinary case of fever because his platelets were above the normal 200 level; when the fever did not subside on the third day we decided to bring him to the hospital just to make sure. I thought I might lose my son, and lost count of how many medicines I bought. As a parent, the fear factor was there; we literally knocked on heaven’s door. On the seventh day his platelets began to jump to more than 100, the fever subsided and the blood pressure returned to normal. The emergency fund made sure that I could pay the hospital bills and it contributed less stress for my family.

• Protect yourself by getting insurance. One Up On Wall Street taught me that insurance is a must before investing, especially for a person like me who is married and has children. Years before I read Lynch’s book, I didn’t take life insurance seriously. It was my lowest priority, because of little or no exposure to personal finance, the complex requirements and pushy insurance salespeople who seemed interested only in commissions; but that changed after I read the book and was convinced that an insurance policy was a must. Now, I am insured not only with term insurance but with a death benefit that my family can collect.

• Invest in stock mutual funds or stocks. Peter Lynch says an ordinary investor like me, with limited knowledge but with careful choices, can make profits by investing in stock mutual funds or stocks. Lynch adds you don’t need to be a financial analyst to make economic predictions in a particular sector. He says you can even pick a profitable stock, which a tycoon or a stockbroker may not see from their ivory towers.

Since I did not have enough money to invest in individual stocks, I invested in stock mutual funds which allowed me to invest as little as P1,000 monthly. After 10 years of faithful investing, I accumulated enough money to send my daughter to a private college in Manila.

Fourteen years ago, I was just looking in National Book Store for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but the “accidental” discovery of One Up On Wall Street by Peter Lynch was the most pivotal event to touch my life.

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Arnel L. Cadeliña was formerly with Pilipino Telephone Corp. (now Smart Communications) and now teaches business at Sacred Heart College in Lucena City.