Jay Adrian Tolentino, a 38-year-old Filipino financial coach in the UAE, aspires to retire by the age of 55 or younger. He aims to achieve this financial goal by consistently investing in low-cost globally diversified index funds.
However, he does not intend to stop working and wants to earn enough passive income to cover his family’s expenses.
Mr Tolentino lives in Discovery Gardens in Dubai with his wife and son. He also supports his parents in the Philippines.
He holds a bachelor's degree in nursing but moved into the financial services industry in 2018. He is a registered financial planner and has been living in the UAE for 10 years.
What was your first job and how much did you earn?
My first job was as a call centre agent in the Philippines, where I earned 6,000 pesos ($100) monthly. I stayed in the call centre industry for seven years and by the time I left the Philippines I was earning 30,000 pesos per month. When I moved to the UAE in 2015, my first role was as a call centre agent for Sharaf DG, earning Dh3,700 ($1,007) per month.
Tell us about your current role
I run Free Before Sixty Coaching, as a financial coach for expats who want to retire early. Most of my clients are Filipinos earning good money based across the world. They've already achieved some success but their finances are scattered assets here, investments there, no clear plan tying it all together. They're not sure if they can retire by 50 or 55. My role is to help them see the full picture, build a structured financial road map, and put systems in place so they stop guessing and start executing.
I used to work as an independent financial adviser in 2018 but I realised the products I was selling were ones I wouldn't invest in. The fees were high and impacted client returns. After reading Andrew Hallam's The Millionaire Expat in 2020, I decided to leave the industry. I looked for financial coaching jobs but the role didn't exist. So, I created the role myself. I launched the Pera & Purpose podcast in 2020, started coaching on the side and, this year, I made coaching my main source of income.
Do you manage to save?
Yes, my wife and I save regularly, and we have meaningful savings. We don't panic during emergencies. For instance, when my wife lost her job recently, it wasn't a big issue for us. We were able to continue our lifestyle while she looked for a new employer.
What asset classes do you invest in?
I invest in global equities and global bonds domiciled in Ireland, Vanguard LifeStrategy to be very specific, using Interactive Brokers. We also have a retirement lot in the Philippines.
Before, I had invested in assets like crypto, condos and individual stocks in the Philippines. But after learning a lot through personal failures and professional training in financial planning and investment planning, I realised how simple it is to just invest in index funds, never time the market, avoid news and stay invested for the long term.
I stopped investing in rental real estate to avoid concentration risk and because it is illiquid. What I learnt is that investing in global index funds is the easiest way for me to manage risks while still having easy access to cash whenever I need it. I also heavily invest in my coaching business and it has given me far better returns than any other asset class I've tried, including the exchange-traded funds.
When did you start investing?
I started investing in 2014 with the Philippines stock market. In 2019, I read Tony Robbins' Unshakeable and learnt about the importance of global diversification, but it was difficult to implement because the advice was very US-centric. Then I read Andrew Hallam's The Millionaire Expat and joined the SimplyFI community, which gave me a clear, practical framework for investing as an expat. That's when I decided to stop investing only in the Philippines and shift to globally diversified index funds.
Have you purchased any property?
Yes, we purchased a vacant lot for our retirement in the Philippines. It cost around Dh370,000 and we're still paying the mortgage for it.
Do you have any debt?
Yes, we have a mortgage for the lot and a car loan here in the UAE. I hate credit card debt, so I never applied for one. I have never met anyone who told me they became wealthy because of credit card points. Always paying in cash has allowed me to practise delayed gratification, patience and consider the trade-offs of my purchases.
Growing up, were you taught how to manage money?
Not really. We were only taught to save money, study hard, find a company that pays good money, work hard, buy a house, buy a car, have a family and support our parents when they grow old. In my 20s, I used to spend most of my income on Jordans and other sneakers. As I grew older, I learnt that making money is one skill and managing it right is another.
What are your major monthly expenses?
Our major monthly expenses are rent, food, childcare, mortgage and remittances.
How do you manage your income each month?
My wife and I combine our finances and we leave a little allowance for each of us for our remittances and other day-to-day expenses. For me, my allowance is around Dh2,000 for my day-to-day expenses, software subscriptions I need to run my business and for insurance.
I realised the importance of insurance when my father had his second open-heart surgery 10 years ago. He never had any savings and was not insured. My family and I were in debt for four years because of that. It was a wake-up call for me to be responsible with my finances and to never pass that burden to my future child.
We have an emergency fund for each of us, and a sinking fund to manage our short-term goals and expected expenses for the next 12 months.
Have you started saving for retirement?
Yes, we have a retirement fund invested in Vanguard LifeStrategy. Currently, our allocation is 80 per cent stocks and 20 per cent bonds because we plan to retire by the age of 55 or younger. For me, retiring doesn't mean I'll fully stop working. It means having enough passive income to cover our expenses so I can continue coaching without the pressure of needing the income.
Do you have an emergency fund?
Yes. Currently, it covers nine months but our goal is to finish building it next year to cover 12. We had to increase our emergency fund because we had our son last year. Childcare and rent are huge expenses in Dubai.
Do you worry about money?
Sometimes, especially when I'm not getting clients or when leads aren't converting. There are days when I just want a regular job for the steady income. The good thing is we have enough money saved for slow months.
But the best way I've learnt to not worry about money is by detaching my definition of success from material possessions. I learnt this from reading The Purpose Driven Life. Now I spend very little on things that don't align with my purpose and more on things that give me value.
Financial coach
My wife had a credit card for groceries only but we recently cancelled it, too. Our car expenses are minimal because I run my business from home. That keeps our finances simple and stress-free.
What are your money-saving habits to deal with rising costs?
What worked well for me is understanding the opportunity cost of whatever I'm buying. If I buy a certain piece of gear, it means I may not be buying something else, or we may delay our plan to travel as a family. I look for ways to immediately recoup the money. Or if it helps me save time, then I can use that extra time to make more money.
But I think about rising costs like a game. You can't win by defence alone. You also need offence. You can only cut back on your expenses down to the last dirham. Your income, on the other hand, isn't limited in the same way. You can always learn a new skill or find new ways to add value and each of those can increase what you earn.
What are your financial goals?
Next year, my plan is to be part of a coaching community that makes $30,000 a month and above. Right now, I'm working to consistently hit $10,000 a month.
In the next three years, I want to semi-retire my wife so she can have more time with our son, build a five to eight-member team and run this business while we're travelling the world with the family.
Of course, fully funding our child's college fund and our own retirement fund is a long-term goal. Part of my main goals is to also support NGOs involved in financial literacy and improving the overall education system of the Philippines.
What does financial freedom mean to you?
Having enough money to do the things I love with the people I love working with, spending four hours a day on my business, then the rest of my time fully present with my family, whenever and wherever we choose.
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