First and foremost, I would like to clarify that this post is not to brag, but to inspire and somehow motivate other people, especially those students like me who are still in High school and college, to also apply for scholarships and to save money.
Just this morning, I received my 4th Academic Scholarship stipend from the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte through the Provincial Education Office, amounting to 20,000 pesos. If you remember my previous article about My Ultimate Savings Challenge Every Year, I mentioned that I was expecting to receive this amount of cash this December. And so here it is, I already received it.
I am an Academic Scholar since 1st year, 2nd semester. I did not apply during my 1st semester in 1st-year college because I thought it was hard to balance being a student and being a scholar. I was wrong, and I regret not passing my application letter and all the other documents needed to apply for the scholarship, even though I already have them all that time.
However, I am now in my 3rd year so there's no point in regretting it. After all, I'm already an Academic Scholar.
For the past 4 semesters of being a scholar, I have already received a total of 62,500 pesos. If you know how much savings I have at the moment, then it is very easy to conclude that almost one-third of my savings come from my scholarship stipend.
I already received 7 envelopes and I am keeping them as a reminder for myself. During my 1st and 2nd semester of being a scholar, the stipend back then was only 11,250 pesos or about 2,250 pesos per month in 5 months. Luckily, the governor approved the stipend increase of about 1,750 pesos and made it to 4,000 pesos per month, or 20,000 per semester.
So here's the breakdown:
1st year- 2nd semester = 11,250.00
2nd year- 1st semester = 11,250.00
2nd year- 2nd semester = 20,000.00
3rd year- 1st semester = 20,000.00
Total= P 62,500.00
You might ask, how was I able to save it despite having the expenses of being a college student?
Well, right after receiving the money, I immediately deposit it in my bank account. I'm not the type of person who gets to spend money just because I received a huge amount of cash.
However, of course, I still reward and treat myself for doing good in my studies like treating myself in my then-favorite fast-food restaurant, Mg. Inasal, with my favorite PM1, and also pigging out with an unlimited samgyupsal. 🤤
Just a little side story, I was a huge fan of extra rice, and every time I eat there, I'm always trying to beat my record of how much extra rice can I eat at Mg. Inasal. My highest so far was about 5 extra cups, plus the original rice served with the chicken. That makes it 6 cups of rice. Haha! Sadly, I don't eat rice anymore, and it's almost 7 months already since I last ate a meal with rice. 😂
Anyway, one of the reasons why I was also able to not touch this huge amount of savings from my scholarship is that I budget the allowance I received from my parents well. So I didn't need extra cash to spend on my weekly expenses.
I always follow my basic savings formula:
Allowance - Savings = Expenses
This formula works well, no matter how small or how big your allowance is. Always remove your savings first before making an expense. And also, make sure to keep track of your expenses, and don't hesitate to cut out unnecessary expenses.
Bottom line:
The point of this article is if you are a student, whether still in High School or college, go and apply to that scholarship available in your province or city. Then once you are already a scholar, don't spend that money on unimportant things, instead just save it so that you have something to use in case of emergency, and especially to have a safety net for your education.
For me, I only have almost 3 semesters left until I graduate from college (which makes it a total of 60,000 pesos stipend if I continue being an Academic scholar), and I plan to use the money I am saving from my Scholarship in applying for jobs in the future, or to start my own business, or in trying to start a new life somewhere away from our place, whichever will work for me when the time comes.
That's all for now, and I hope we all get to succeed in our future endeavors. 🤞
You are such an inspiration, not just for students but to all of us.. Nung hs ako, i also saved money.. Hindi ako magastos na tao and during those days, malaki na sakin ang 15 pesos na snacks.. Lol.. Well, aside sa money, meron akong baon and juice at naka school bus din ako so yung baon ko na pera, iniipon ko lang.. Pero dahil hindi ako humihingi ng baon pag me pera pa ako nun, ang ending wala rin akong naipon.. Pero at least, nakakatipid yung parents ko sakin.. Nag start lang ako mag ipon ng malaking amount nung me work ako.. Almost 70k din yun pero dahil mahal ang maintenance ng artificial leg ko so naubos din.. Ayoko rin humingi sa mama ko dahil nga me work na ako and for me, tapos na obligation niya sakin.. Pero after nun, nag save ulit ako.. Hindi pa ganun kalaki na ipon ko pero kahit papano, nasa 50k or more na ata ako.. At balak ko mag ipon ng ipon para sa future.. Hehe.. Ang problem lang sakin is dahil maliit na lang sahod ko so d ako consistent.. Bale pag nakaluwag luwag lang tsaka ako mag set aside ng para sa ipon.. So balak ko next year, dahil d pa pde ngayon kasi magpapasko, every pay day, dapat me 1k ako for my savings.. Yan din kasi nabasa ko before kay Bo Sanchez.. So sana magawa ko tong challenge ng tama.. And thanks ulit sa inspirasyon. 😊