Morning Reflection: Am I Back In The Rat Race?

November 15, 2023! It's payday! A lot of us are rightfully joyful and grateful for today! Especially for us who are salaried employees. Then tomorrow we would start counting down again for the next payday!

Another comment that I hear often before the next payday arrives is...

"How I wish it was payday today, I no longer have money!"

But in between, I see them order iced coffee machines worth PHP 100 each. And they do that almost every day! That's 80 pesos added to their daily expenses like transportation, lunch, snacks, etc...

Some also shop online almost every week. This has become a cycle. A cycle that probably you can also observe around you.

This is what they call, a rat race, which reminded me of this video.

Am I back in the rat race?

This is the question that I have in my mind now. Am I back in the rat race? Am I spending all that I am earning each payday? Where does my money go every payday?

About 40% of my salary goes to my son's tuition fees and books. After this payday, I will be able to fully pay for the books, thus, I only need to pay for the tuition fee.

I also have my investment in VUL which I failed to pay for a few months already. Then my mobile phone plan. After this though, my plan will be reduced by about 40%. Lastly, I have dues for my credit card.

Have I been spending on things that I don't need?

So far most of my expenses are on necessary things. My investment in VUL. The tuition fees, food, etc...

However, I admit, that that I haven't been monitoring my "little" expenses. I think this is where my financial "leak" lies.

Have I spent on "leisure" food or fast food more than necessary?

No Savings

Here is my problem. Aside from my VUL investment, I am not regularly saving... On the other hand, I have been saving my earnings from ReadCash and Hive for quite a while.

I don't earn much on both platforms lately though. I barely earn $5 a week from them. Sigh!

So Am I Back in the Rat Race?

Maybe. I think I was halfway back. Since I returned to my "day job", my earnings have been fixed. I even stopped working on my book which is supposed to be part of my long-term plan to earn passive income.

If I get hooked on my day job because of the "regular" pay, I won't be able to retire soon.

In Closing

I'm not saying working in a 9-5 setting or a regular job is bad. My original "motive" I returning to this job is to get through the hard times brought about by the pandemic and other global events that are causing the current crisis.

I must keep in mind though, that this is just temporary. This is just get me through while I am working on my "passive income" sources.

If I forget that... I will surely be back in the Rat Race.

Thanks for reading.

• Post No. 2023-49
  Date Posted: November 16, 2023, Philippine Standard Time

• Lead Image: Unsplash
  All images are mine unless otherwise indicated.

• Originally posted in Hive (https://ecency.com/hive-109288/@jloberiza/i-morning-reflection-am-i)

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