the payday is not a call for celebration think twice before you spend money.
When I was still in the corporate setup and our long-awaited salary comes in, it is hard not to notice people standing one by one and going out for a quick celebratory snack.
I find it strange that so many people treat payday as a special day that seems to take troubles away. However, though it sometimes helps, it usually results in overspending. Soon they will once again impatiently wait for the next payday.
On top of the impulse buying behaviors of employees, malls and other similar establishments also found a way to rake in a lot more money through payday sales.
Paydays and sales.
Most people who worked in Metro Manila before the pandemic can testify that at least one sale happens during the payday period. It’s usually during the 15th or the end of the month, which targets the people to buy new shoes, clothes, or gadgets.
There is even a phenomenon called “Payday Friday,” when the payday intersects with a Friday, causing the already-dreaded Manila Friday traffic even worse due to all the people going out and celebrating like it’s a holiday.
However, this strategy is compelling not because of the marketing teams or the products on display but because of the planted belief among salaried workers that the payday is a call for celebration.
Many employees think that payday is a special day because we can finally reward ourselves and tap ourselves on the back that we did a good job, which can cause some people to spend more than they can make, resulting in debt.
This habit of payday celebrations is also an obvious sign of people trapped in the rat race. They would work, wait for their salary, spend like crazy, and wait anxiously for the next payday when they can finally repeat it all over again — an endless cycle of wages and expenses. https://ratracerunning.com/people-running-in-the-rat-race-may-not-be-aware-of-it/
Re-calibrating how we look at paydays.
Whether your salary arrives once a month, twice a month, 5th and 25th of the month, every other Friday, or whatever day of the month it is, a payday should be viewed as just an ordinary day when we are paid for our hard work.
There is no need for a celebration because we can always celebrate any day of the month, provided we have allocated a budget for it.
Paydays are boring. That is true for the people who have budgets because they know that every peso that enters their bank accounts is already allocated even before they arrive.
Yes, you deserve a reward, but…
This is not to discredit your hard work. Yes, you deserve a reward for the job you have accomplished for the past weeks. Just don’t make it too costly.
You don’t have to be one of those who act like royalties for a weekend then struggles to survive until the next payday. Let us stop glorifying “Petsa de Peligro” when in reality, you just spent more than necessary.
For younger people, it is much more essential to learn the concept of delayed gratification. It won’t be easy at the beginning, but it will soon be worth it. https://ratracerunning.com/delayed-gratification-enjoying-the-present-without-sacrificing-the-future/
How I look at paydays.
Before even landing my first job and receiving my first salary, I already have a budget in place. And because of that preparation, paydays are just regular days when I will calibrate and re-calibrate allocations to my expenses.
I sometimes get excited during paydays, not because of what I can buy but because I can open my ledger and budgeting app to allocate funds. I even have a calendar appointment every month to balance my income and expenses.
Like anyone who worked hard at school to graduate and find a job, I also desire to buy what I never had growing up. However, I realized that most of the products offered in the market are tangible things that would quickly deteriorate over time.
Fortunately, I learned to develop discipline in my finances through the years, which became crucial in my decisions.
Final Thought
The payday is one of the most awaited days of the month for salaried workers. It is special because it will replenish our depleted funds, send money to our family, and of course, spend some for ourselves.
But there is also a danger when we don’t have a budget. Our peers or our gratification-excited self could easily influence us to spend on things we don’t need, simply because of the pressure to conform.
This advice is not just for the young, but also for the old. There are so many things that we can do to celebrate every month without breaking the bank. We just need to live modestly and within our means.
Happy payday soon!
financial literacy should be taught at home, at school, and at work
Whether we like it or not, the subject of money will play a significant role in our lives sooner or later. That is why I find it incredibly impractical that our homes and schools only emphasize getting a college education to land a good job to determine future success.
Though this is not to devaluate the importance of our education, but it is essential to teach what to do with the money once you start earning it.
Because eventually, the children trained to find a good job will grow up, earn enough, but still be clueless about properly handling money if not equipped with the knowledge early on.
From our primary until collegiate years, many would think that money is an abstract concept that can only be attained through working in corporate or government jobs for eight or more hours, five days a week, until the day they retire.
However, that concept is no longer the case for our current generation, and proper money management is no longer exclusive to people with business degrees.
Freelancing, owning a business, trading, and social media can be a viable source of income if done right. However, earning money is not enough. It would be best if you also learned how to keep it and make it work hard for you.
Financial literacy starts at home.
Ideally, proper financial literacy is taught at home by our family. But what will happen if our parents are not financially literate themselves? That will only cause many issues in our outlook towards money.
In 1 Timothy 6:10, Paul said that the love of money is the root of all evil. However, many people assume that money is what causes evil which is inaccurate.
Remember that money is neutral and is only a tool. How we look at it and how we handle it will determine whether it is good or evil.
Going back in our homes, talking about money is almost taboo and often refrained from being spoken to the children and even calling money talks “adult talks.”
When time passes and the children earn their own money, they may also be as clueless as to their parents.
But this scenario of unawareness of financial literacy may have been more prevalent in Filipino homes. If we look at our Chinese neighbors, they will show that money talks should not be avoided. Instead, it should be adequately taught within the family.
Financial literacy should be taught at school.
We recently received good news about how DepEd plans to expand financial education to the K-12 curriculum. This is an excellent step towards battling the culture of money mismanagement among future adults. https://www.deped.gov.ph/2021/07/08/deped-expands-financial-education-in-k-to-12-to-improve-literacy-of-filipinos/
But the problem that I see is in the implementation. The “London Culture” or loan dito, loan doon, is very endemic among public school teachers, which caused me to write a separate article regarding that. https://ratracerunning.com/10-money-advice-for-young-teachers/
How can someone knee-deep in debt tell their students to avoid consumer loans when they are busy paying a brand new cellphone they bought using Home Credit.
Or how will they teach their students to save and invest for their future if they don’t have any savings and investments themselves?
Remember that integrity is critical in teaching. It is not enough to know. What is essential is to understand and apply the concepts learned.
In the past two years that I’ve been teaching, I noticed that the salary is not the problem with teachers, but the incorrect mindset, improper money management, and loan culture widespread within the institution.
Financial literacy should be taught at work.
Lastly, for employees, our place of work is where we will stay for the majority of our adult lives. It may be temporary while still building a foundation for our future, or it can be a lifetime endeavor.
So as salary arrives, it is crucial to know the importance of budgeting and living within your means. These are just two of the simplest financial literacy concepts which, unfortunately, are still rarely applied.
Where I work as a college instructor, we are required to attend the annual employee re-orientation. I found it very alarming that a whole afternoon is dedicated to loan management, issues, and concerns.
I was frustrated that not even an hour for basic budgeting or personal finance was allotted. Instead, the speakers will talk about maximizing your loan amounts, how long to pay for it, and more.
But in my previous work in an IT consultancy firm, there are many seminars within the company teaching about the importance of personal finance and investing.
Financial literacy should be learned even as a freelancer.
On the other hand, more and more people are taking the freelance route. Having no one to teach you makes it harder to learn about personal finance. So studying on your own will be crucial.
Remember that as a freelancer, you don’t have the benefits of an employee, so make sure that you are adequately insured and your emergency funds intact.
Final Thought:
Through my journey in personal finance, I learned that it is crucial to teach personal finance as early as possible to children.
This is not to teach them that money is all that’s important, but to instill that what we need is contentment and that most often than not, we can live a modest life while doing a job that serves our purpose.
Financial literacy does not equate that you’ll be rich, but wealth can be a by-product through time.
Never stop learning because life never stops teaching. God bless!
@JohnRelix