I always asked myself, “Where did my money go? Why is it so hard to save?” It feels like my money has feathers! It is always flying to who-knows-where. I always wanted to discipline myself when it comes to spending. I even followed the 50-30-20 rule of saving. However, I failed to reach the specific amount of money I wanted to save. I admit that among many things that I love to spend money on are clothes and shoes next to food. But during the pandemic, I can say that that changed.
I started to reflect on my financial status after five years. I want to be a blessing to others, and I want to build my charity. How can I help them if I am not financially stable? I slowly overcame my bad spending and started to focus on saving. Let me share some tips to reach the amount I planned to save within a year:
Keep track of the money. I installed a Wallet app on my phone where I can record my income, expenses and savings. In that way, I can easily see the percentage of those three things, and I can compare which is highest for the period that I want to check. This app will summarize your spending and ask you if you feel happy about your item purchases (and that always makes me realize that I should not have bought those because I can still live without them). It makes me happy whenever my savings percentage becomes higher than my expenses.
Knowing my wants and needs. I know that it is easier said than done, and sometimes my wants win over my needs (Sorry! I’m just a human being). Although it is not that bad when you treat yourself and your loved ones at times, you must put limits on it. I always bear in mind a certain percentage of my salary that goes to something like that.
Avoid credit cards. I always think that credit cards will make me poor because the word itself “credit,” meaning it is a loan that you must pay in the future (take note: with interest), which is the main reason I do not have one. And look! I am all okay (H‘wag makiuso, sis! Hahaha!)
Open a savings account. I researched the PAG-IBIG MP2 program, and I can say that having an MP2 savings account is better than having a bank savings account. MP2 is where regular PAG-IBIG Fund members can save for as low as P500 with a 5-year maturity plan. You can withdraw the dividends every year or after five years. (Here’s the link to that: MP2 (Modified Pag-IBIG II) Savings (pagibigfund.gov.ph)) I always make sure to put a certain amount every month from January 2020 (And guess what? I achieved my goal for the year 2020!).
Prepare your own meal. I set out to prepare my own meal to eat in the office. Aside from being sure that it is fresh and healthy, I also save more money than buying from fast food or restaurants. Preparing my meal is like a de-stressing moment for me as I am always excited about what food to put in every meal (breakfast, lunch, snacks). It truly gives me joy.
I know that I am still young and immature when it comes to saving and spending, but I think the steps above are great help for someone struggling to start saving. So, what can you say? Is saving money for everyone?
Can you share some tips, too? Let others know in the comment section below!
The author is an MBA student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, DLSU. She can be reached at [email protected].
The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.