The Envelope Method: Budget your allowance, Spend smart, Save more!
Are you a student that is away from your parents and home, who is having trouble in handling your weekly or monthly allowance?
Do you know how to budget your money so it could last a week? a month?
Do you always catch yourself buying things you don't actually need impulsively?
You wanna be financially literate?
Why not try the **Envelope Method?**
I only recently know that this method is called the "Envelope method". Actually, I have been practicing this method ever since I went to college, and boy I assure you! It works!
This is how I budget my 1000 peso weekly allowance:
**130.00** - Transportation fare (back and forth) since I'm staying in a boarding house and I go home on weekends
**500.00** - Budget for my daily meals (Sunday dinner up to Saturday breakfast)
**270.00** - Miscellaneous (might be for school projects or bathroom necessities, etc.
**100.00** - SAVE
It's only a simple breakdown honestly, but that's not what exactly the method is all about.
The term "envelope" makes sense when each of these designated percent of money are contained in different envelopes.
Well, it's not necessarilly should be ALL envelopes. It could be small purses, wallets, or pockets inside your bags!
For example:
The budget for my transportation fare is in my small pink pouch to keep it safe..
The budget intended for my meals is in my black leather wallet.
In that wallet, there is also an envelope containing all 100 peso bills I saved every week.
The rest of my money is in the pocket inside my school bag.
This is to make sure that you divided your money and put them to their assigned "envelopes" EXCLUSIVELY.
By exclusively, you will only get your money depending on what you NEED where each of these envelopes are labeled for.
Meaning, if you want to buy for your lunch, get it ONLY from your "Meal Budget" envelope (or purse, or wallet).
Or if you're coming home, get your transportation fee ONLY from your "Fare budget" envelope!
You get it now?
This is actually a smart way for you to track the remaining amount of your money and where you spend it.
It also subconsciously teaches you to be responsible for your budget, and be mindful on where you should spend it.
It will also make it more convenient during small emergencies! Like for example, the envelope (or wallet or pouch) intended for your transportation fare has gone missing! And the bus will soon stop in your station. But you noticed that you still have extra money from your "Miscellaneous" envelope, and it is just enough for your fare! You can get it from there!
Most importantly, this method allows you to SAVE MORE!
The "Savings" envelope should be like a sacred wallet. Which you STRICTLY shouldn't touch until it is enough to spend on what you intended to save it for. OR for sudden emergencies.
This method may sound ridiculous - having lots of envelopes or wallet.
BUT HELLO? THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT ENVELOPES AND WALLETS AND POUCHES AND HIDDEN POCKETS ARE FOR!
**TO CONTAIN MONEY!**
So try the envelope method now!
This is one small step for you to become financially literate!
Budget your money wisely! Spend smartly! SAVE more!
P.S.
We all have different breakdowns in terms of where our money are intended for. Honestly, the method is just adding the envelopes to make the flow of spending and saving your money more organized and traceable. Tehee🦋
By the way, I would really appreciate it if you subscribe and read my other articles. Let's all be friends! 😊❣️
Until next time!
Don't Just Marry In a Whim
*What is your ideal age to marry? What are the things you think that you should accomplish first before settling down?*
As a young woman at 21, with a mental age of 16, the idea of marriage really scares me! And in this article, I'll tell you why...
I noticed that as I am slowly getting older, that some of my batchmates really seems to be in a hurry to settle down. Some of them are already married, lived in, some had their first baby...
I'm not saying that there's any wrong with that, I am actually happy for them for having a strong heart of taking such big steps in their life!
I'm not envious either. Because tbh I'm actually still scared to enter that stage - to become a wife or a mother. Not just because I think 21 is too young to marry, but also I haven't had achieve anything yet!
Well, I have a boyfriend that I love so much. A great guy! I'd kill just to marry him. But as soon as possible? No.
I love him, but I think ***marriage does not just need love to actually work.***
Me, myself knows I'm not stable enough to have that kind of commitment. Personally, I think I still need to improve myself - emotionally, physically and mentally.
Because how can I even take care of my future husband and future kids if I don't even know how to treat my self well yet?
One other reason is I can't even support myself financially yet. I want to at least graduate first, pass my LET exam, and then get hired as a teacher. (I'm not that type of woman who relies solely to her man's financial support, Nuh uh!)
I want to at least save a pretty reasonable amount of money to start my own family first.
Honestly, *it is not just about whether your partner is the right one for you, but also if you are also the right person for him/her to spend the rest both of your lifetime.*
**Make sure that you're fully ready to take that step. Do not just marry on a whim!**
Don't just marry because you love him/her so much.
Don't just marry because you are "soul mates"
Don't just marry because you want to bind your partner to yourself as if you own him/her.
Don't romanticize marriage too much!
Ever heard any married couple claiming that marriage is a simple thing? No.
Plan it smart. Take your time. Love and build foundations.
Because I am not in a rush. How about you?
🦋Hey. I would really appreciate if you subscribe and read my articles! Don't hesitate to write your comments about this article! Please read my other articles as well! Let's all be friends 😊
Lovelots,
Shuu ❣️
How Often Do You Procrastinate?
How often do you plan your day ahead but none was actually done?
Is it just you're apparently lazy? Or there is something wrong with you that you don't really want to acknowledge?
Either of these two, we're on the same boat.
See, students like me are stuck as well. Especially that now we're still in the middle of pandemic and the mode of the classes are not really suited for everyone.
Personally, my motivation to pursue my studies has gone downhill. I'm in the middle of revising my thesis but here I am, scrolling through my social media or watching anime online. It's not that I don't want to finish my school tasks, but I just can't. Or should I say, my mind and my body would not just function.
SO WHAT ARE THE THINGS I USUALLY DO TO STOP MYSELF FROM PROCRASTINATING FURTHER?
For real, it's easier said than done, especially if 'lazing around'has been etched as your daily routine.
But the secret there is to JUST DO IT! Like be harsh on yourself sometimes (not really harsh but strict) and don't allow any excuses to come up your mind like, "Ah, the deadline's still next week, I'll do it tomorrow", "My classmates haven't also done theirs, so I won't also", and so on and so forth.
Not touching your phone the moment you wake up also helps as well. If you set an alarm in your phone, then put it 2 meters away from you! So when you wake up, you have to actually get up to silence your phone - and you decide then to get your tasks done.
Think of how would you feel if you actually did all of your school works before the deadline instead of counting many days before it arrives - it'd probably feels great right?
Taking a bath early in the morning resets your mind as well. Personally, I feel lesser stress if I'm fresh from bath.
Clean up your room too! Having a clean environment is condusive to learning and doing your tasks too!
The opposite of procrastination is hard work. We know that.
But hard work takes too much energy, right?
But ask yourself with this...
How bad is your desire to achieve your goals and dreams?
If you want it so badly, then act on it. No excuses. Do it now!
Who admits to himself that he's a hypocrite?
None.
Or at least they are trying their best to deny or hide that.
I'm not saying that I am not one either. I am also a hypocrite, but I would not really orally admit that to others.
I go to church every Sunday, but never really had a solid faith.
I said that I don't care what other people say or think about me, but torment myself at night when I received honest criticisms.
I hate people who gossip and judge others without really knowing everything, but I also look down and judge others in my mind like they do - and hides in a lame excuse that at least I only keep it to myself.
I admire people with fortunes because of their hardwork and sacrifices, but deep inside I admired and envied their fortune more than how they worked hard.
I said to myself that I am fine if I had only very few friends as long as they are real, but I was never real with anyone myself.
I have dreams, like having a stable job and have a peaceful living, but doing half-baked efforts in my education and self-development.
I sometimes said I want to die, but never really tried living properly at the first place.
I help others because I think it's a good thing, but the 'good thing' is that so people would think I'm a good person, rather than for the sake of just naturally being kind.
I am a hypocrite, but I won't tell people that.
How about you?
Tell me your story: What is your biggest regret in life so far? Why do you regret it? How do you deal with it?
Kwentuhan tayo dali!
Have you ever liked someone but decided to not confess until you just moved on on your own?
Well, I did. 😅
So here's the story...
Back in my freshman year in college, I am in a relationship - long distance, he was in Canada and I'm in the Philippines. So, like any common long distance relationship goes, ours didn't work out and we decided to call it off. (Though, I think we still have feelings with each other but the distance was just making it hard to work out so... yeah!)
The sad thing about it is that I haven't even told any of my friends (mostly our common friends and former classmates when he still lived here) that we're over right away (BTW we broke up in December so my Christmas was lonely then lol). I just kept my broken heart a secret, so it was very hard honestly but I endured it alone. (Apparently, I am SO secretive so I don't really usually open up to people 'bout my problems and dramas)
Fast forward to February, the day before Valentine's day to be exact, my college friends (the single troupe) decided to have a drinking party! I was so in because nothing heals a broken heart like alcohol does, right?
Like normal Filipino drinking party, we talked about our dramas in life, we sing while one of our friend play the guitar, you know, just chilling. Until I was handed my first glass of gin, my hidden pain just burst out. (I can't handle gin very well, so I was pretty drunk that night)
You know how it went: me, weeping like a mad woman, complaining about this and that, and saying things like "All boys are jerks" while downing a bottle of gin.
I remember kicking my friend who was playing the guitar because he sang my ex's and mine's "theme song" to tease me further. And there is this guy, at that time I didn't really consider him as a friend yet, but recently I have been noticing him frequently looking at my way, just - you know, seems like he was interested in me. (But I'm not really sure, maybe I'm just so full of myself at that time lol).
Like, in class, he usually come and talk to me, saying nice things about me - you know... just, you know! Not just for the sake of being nice but-you get the idea! But since I was still fresh from a break up that time so I didn't really even care.
So back to the drinking party...
He was sitting beside me, rather, I sat beside him before the drinking start because I know he likes music as I do (I sing sometimes, and he play guitar sometimes). So we were singing along, until I got drunk, and he was really sweet towards me. He tried to prevent me to drink any more since I was already really drank but our friends insisted so I could spilk the beans for them. So I did.
I don't remember the finest details after that, but I know that that guy stayed beside me and just listened to me all night and just comforted me silently. Our other friends were knocked out, except us and few of our other friends who didn't drink.
We talked all night and grew closer to each other, and I thought that time that he's really a good guy and I want him to be my best friend!
Morning came and we dealt our hang overs in Valentine's day. (We slept the whole day😂)
From then on, this guy got closer to me. Few months passed and we seemed like best friends. We usually meet outside the school, coming up silly excuses just to see each other. Like when he asked me if I could do a hole in his ear even though he won't wear an earing on it, just curious how it feels when you pierced an ear - he said.
At some point, I realized that I liked the guy. But I was really in doubt that time because maybe I am just under an illusion because he was giving me comfort while I was getting through from a break up.
But, nowadays, I know what I felt then was real.
I did liked the guy.
But I chose not to tell it.
Why?
Well, all I could think of is not I am not stable enough to have him. And I thought that maybe I would just hurt him and we wouldn't work out anyway.
So I ran away and dated another jerk of a guy. (Although, it wasn't serious)
Because of that, he kinda distanced himself, and I thought, at some point I hurt and disappointed him.
I was disappointed with myself as well.
But, I didn't really regret not telling him that I liked him. Because, in the first place... he was just being nice.
Indeed, I am just too full of myself that time.
P.S.
I moved on, btw and currently in a good relationship with a great guy! 😊❣️
The Rotten Fruit I Am
THE ROTTEN FRUIT I AM
by: Shuu
"I am that rotten fruit that fell from one of the branches of that big old tree.🌳
I am that rotten fruit that constantly looked up to that mighty crown; with shining leaves, and fresh and plump fruits🍊 dangling on that branches whenever the wind decided to pass by.🍃
I am that rotten fruit who always wished to go back up there again and be a part of that tree once more.
But no. There's no salvation.
I am here on the ground, along with the fallen leaves🍂 and other rotten fruits that also fell.
I knew some of them.
Some of them are my called friends.
But they were never with me when I fell as I was never with them.
When the clouds cry🌧 and their tears create muds-
the dirt that slowly swallows me make me want to come back up there once again, even more.
The regret is nauseating.
Just like a rotten fruit that was stepped on and the smell that reeks the air.
I am that rotten fruit. Lonely rotten fruit.
Too lonely that I'd feel happy when ants🐜 pester me and take all the sweet parts that are left in me to their home.
And when the clouds cry again🌧, I'm here, more rotten, with lesser flesh, lonelier than yesterday.
I just hope that the seeds I saved deep inside me will be nourished with this dirt and rainwater.
Because there is no more hope for me to be part of that tree once more.
But maybe, if God allows it - I'd offer these seeds to my grave and produce a sprout.🌱
Because I am that rotten fruit afterall.
There is nothing left to do, but just to stay on the ground."
Hello everyone! I am Shuu (or at least that's what my friends call me), and I am new here so I hope we all could get along!😊 I am 21 years old, and I am a graduating student, taking up Bachelor of Secondary Education, major in English (though I'm still bad 'bout the language, but swear I am constantly learning so please bear with my grammar 🤧).
Enough about me, let's talk about the prose I wrote that you have just read above. I wrote this piece not too long ago actually, and it actually came up while I was taking a bath! As funny as where and how the idea of the prose emerged, I was extremely depressed that time, like I was really drowning in self-hatred that I sometimes hyperventilate alone in my room.
In this piece, I was really trying to portray what I thought about myself using a "rotten fruit" as a symbol. Every line was equipped with the darkest emotions I often feel when I was overthinking and drowning my thoughts with regrets and anxieties.
When I was younger, like when I was 16 to 19, I don't really know how to handle these thoughts. I used to resort to minor and subtle self-harming (sometimes, it comes to extent of really being intentional but at the end I cower and just cancel it). Because I have no one, or rather, I chose not to rely to anyone and just keep everything to myself. So I was suffering by myself, and feel lonely by myself.
But now that I am a little bit older, I gradually realized the importance and bliss of having people (even just a few) that you could share your burdens to. Considering that, although I still hate my self, the thought of having these people somehow gave me hope to just live through it and believe that the day would come that I can finally love my self. That actually explains the few last lines at the bottom part of the prose.
I would really like to talk more about it, but I have things to do at this hour, so maybe next time?
So I would like to know your thoughts and your interpretation about my piece. You could also criticise it and tell me what points should I improve. (I'm still a student anyway, so it would be a great help in learning my secondary language) And I hope I can find friends here! 😊
'Til next time! ❣️
@Shuu