Credit Card, anyone?

Credit card. Necessity or status symbol?

Ever since I knew what a credit card is, I promised myself not to get one. Around 2009, when BPI offered me a pre-approved credit card, I declined it. They even tried to deliver the card at home, but I told the messenger that I did not apply for it.

Compare: Fees & Charges of Online Stockbrokers

(click to enlarge)

I saw a post (click here) in Pinoyexchange.com where a PEXer compared the charges of two online stockbrokers -- AB Capital and COL Financial.

So I thought, why not make a broader comparison of charges and fees of several online stockbrokers? The result: click the picture for its full size.

BDO cuts interest rates too (after MBT and BPI)

(image from www.slatepropertiesnow.com. No copyright infringement intended.)

I already blogged in a previous post about the rate cuts on deposits products of Metrobank and BPI this year.

And now, BDO has imposed the same rate decrease on savings products. See the new rates on their website.

0.25% annual interest rate.  Seriously?

After Metrobank, BPI to cut deposit rates too

(image from www.slatepropertiesnow.com. No copyright infringement intended.)

Because of the low interest rate environment, Metrobank welcomed the year with also lower interest rates for its depositors.

From 0.375% gross annual interest rate for regular savings accounts, this was lowered to the current 0.25% per annum starting January 1, 2013.

And now, BPI announced recently that it will also cut the rates of deposit accounts starting February 15.

Banks: BPI, BDO, or MBT?

I currently have accounts with the Big Three in the local banking industry -- namely: Bank of the Philippine Islands, BDO, and Metrobank. The order in which I mentioned them was the order in which I opened my accounts with them, and not based on their capital strength, branch network or any financial or industry fundamentals you can think of. What I will write here are just my observations and opinions. Let's call this "perception analysis."

(side note: Yes, that is a picture of a diskette. It will make logic as you read on.)

What is your trading style?

I did not have a trading plan or style when I started investing in the stock market in January 2012. At the end of February, I was up 10%. Yey! Stocks that I was holding then were MEG, BPI, JFC, and SMPH.

Then in March, I learned Technical Analysis. I increased my capital and tried doing TA in so-so stocks (and yes, even basura). I thought I could do TA by just drawing lines here and there. Then boom, the market began correcting... the 10% I gained in two months started to be eaten up by the correction and yes, a few "technically analyzed" trades (of so-so and penny stocks).

I think the deepest loss was at 7%. This was my tuition to the world of stock market.