jude and i had an extra time last night to map out our plans/projects in the pipeline, to do's and to have's, and the corresponding expenses for the rest of the year. i ended up with a heavy heart because of the latter as it will eat a chunk of our savings. unforeseen expenses also came along and adding it up with the gamut will really force us to withdraw part of our savings as our incomes and extra cash are not enough. this lead me to think: what if we didn't oblige ourselves before to save part of our earnings? it's gratifying to know that inspite of the increasing demands of our family (with the coming of iñigo) and increasing prices of the goods nowadays, jude and i managed to save.
life can be really hard these days and for a lot of people, us included, living is all about surviving. hence, we already taught ourselves to live within our means and forego things we cannot really afford or dispense at the moment. wittingly or unwittingly, we learned to be stringent in terms of spending.
- shopping means raiding the malls during mallwide sale/inventory sale only. this is the only time i splurge a little and buy the things and items my family and i would like to have. if the things we need or want can wait until there's an off-the-price promo, then we wait. the same practice goes for our travels. we schedule them as early as possible so we have more time to avail those discounted tickets being offered by some airline companies.
- we buy from divisoria or second-hand shops if possible. when i need new pots or towels for the house i schedule a visit to divisoria as i know i can have them at almost half the price compared to those at the mall. i also intend to buy the things i'll be needing for my store from mk kitchen equipment in reliance, mandaluyong. the stainless trays and bins there are way cheaper than the brand-new.
- we de-list activities that bring no value for us. i hate going to some places or on gimmicks, which are usually unplanned, where we went home as if nothing happened and it was actually better if we just stayed home. i would be more willing to spend 2k for a night of fun and bonding than having spent 500 but thrown in humdrum.
- we cut our subscription expenses at the minimum. we do not have cable for our tv and unlimited internet connection for our computer yet. there's no need as of now. all i think about these two is they will just add up to our monthly bills. we still enjoy life anyway without them.
- we don't buy or spend on credit. we are virtually debt-free since we only have less than 10k in our credit card bill and we can easily pay it off. what we do when we want something badly is we save up for it, and that should be over and above the savings we keep for the rainy days. of course, there's an itch sometimes to buy impulsively and you know very well that nagging voice that tells you "buy now or regret later". jude and i experienced this when we went malling in megamall last december and there's a yearend promo for a plasma tv/dvd/component set, all selling for only 60k! we were already planning to get it on an installment basis since our cash then was alloted to something else but thank goodness we dropped off the plan.
- we delineate the wants from the needs. the truth is there's a thousand and one ways for us to afford upgrading our computer and digital camera, getting a brand new car, or constructing a bigger and nicer house. but we opted to keep our life simple and our financial status in balance by being contented with what we have right now. fyi, jude's is using an old model of motorola for a celfone and even if he has the moolah to buy a newer one, he chose to put his money somewhere else.
we know some people who bask in luxuries and bought luxury cars, grand house, laptops, ipods, condo units, which are beyond their means actually, and now found themselves in deep shit. honestly, we were wowed by their extravagances and their capacity to afford it but still, we'd rather not be like them. these same people are working like dogs now just to keep up with the lifestyle they made.
jude said that if there's one thing we can do with our extra money is to invest in assets, assets as defined by the book of robert kiyosaki... and i must agree with him.
how about you... how do you cope? share it with us please as we may learn something from you.
Don't know if this helps, but with regards to money matters:
ReplyDelete1. Me and Peachy keep track of our expenses monthly and yearly. We have it all on excel. Not just the monthly expense but a Balance sheet as well, tracking our assets and liabilities. That way you have an idea of how good or bad your doing monthly and how much your asset or liability column is growing.
2. Same as you, we allocate a certain amount per month and purposely invest it in stocks, funds or foreign currencies. We do this before our expenses. Dati kasi we pay off all our expenses first before setting aside some savings. Its better to do it the other way around.
3. Try to keep your cash on hand to a minimum. As much as possible invest your cash in something that will earn higher than just leaving it in the bank. Mutual funds are good choices.
4. We set aside a certain amount/budget in an ATM account for our monthly expenses. As much as possible we stick to it. Kung wala nang laman ang ATM, pinagkakasya namin. That way you get to keep track of your spendings. Better to have 1 dedicated account for your cash expenses.
5. This you may not agree on, but we always use our credit card if we can. But this really depends on the discipline on the person. For us, the advantages are (a) we earn points or miles every time we spend; (b) we defer paying for something for the next month, that way, nakatipid ka na dun, sa cost of money pa lang; and (c) you get an itemized costing of your expenses monthly. The trcik here is to stay within your budget and to always pay in full very month.
6. I agree with you that you should also plan ahead on things you want to purchase or do. Lets say buying an electronic item or travelling. We usualy plan at least a year ahead when we want to travel. That way we get to earn miles from our credit card and get the best deals possible.
Those are some of our financial practices. Hope you were able to get some tips....good luck!
thanks for the tips darby! i like #4 the most and will tell this to jude. we are now investing in mutual funds tapos some in stocks. as if ang daming ilalagay! hahaha. but every BIG starts with small, isn't it? regards to peachy and to katriel. =)
ReplyDeletehi there! i really find this post very useful. problem ko din how to save. thanks for the tips!
ReplyDelete