Budget?
Calculate your salary and how much you can spend in a month. Income minus expenses.
When you have no leftovers, wait and make way for some of your salary to be left over. Either you will increase revenue or you will reduce expenses.
If you have leftovers, open a separate bank account for savings. If your expenses are even greater than your income, don't open a bank first because you don't have anything to deposit. Moreover, it says that once you have done something that will save your income.
You can't combine your spending money and save. That's a disaster. It is better if you only withdraw the money when you book a bank book and not an ATM so that you will not be tempted to withdraw immediately. Force yourself not to move that money as much as you can. If you spend less, you will move it immediately, don't expect to save more.
10% Rule
This is an ancient rule. That is to say, for the first time it was the most secret of the first people to get rich. The rule is simple. No matter how much you earn in the kinsenas and end you will immediately deduct 10%. If your income is 10,000 pesos (minus tax, philhealth etc) at the end, save a thousand immediately as well as in the future. The remaining 9,000 pesos you can spend from the rent, food, fare and don't forget to pay for the needs of your family and children.
Aging should be regular. Make sure you have something to eat every month.
If you have a lot of leftovers and you can save 30% and 50% that's better but just advice, don't save too much on yourself because that will cause stress because it's normal for a person to lose his appetite when he doesn't benefit from something he suffers. Budget to make yourself, your spouse and your family happy. Yes it is important to save but it is more important that your wife and children do not go hungry. Is there anything better than a happy and complete family?
Separate long term and short term savings
If your target is to save 100,000 pesos in 2 years for your trip to Singapore so that you can be popular with your Facebook friends (100,000 pesos / 24 months = 4,167 pesos per month) you will need to set aside atleast 4167 pesos per month.
But if at the same time as you are saving for your Singapore trip, you are also saving to buy a car 8 years from now worth 500,000 pesos, it is better if you separate the bank account that you are saving because when you combine that. you will find it difficult to trace your savings. Especially when you save four or five at the same time.
Spreadsheet for book keeping if you know Excel (Microsoft) or something like that make the most of what you know or if not just write in a notebook. Record all the money coming in and out so you can track if you are following your budget. It's also ok if you record the bill of electricity, water etc. to see if the size of the lift and make way immediately. Also record your salary so you can see if you are being paid correctly, especially if you are working overtime.
Save the bonus!
That is the problem with most of us. As early as September, we have a plan on how we will spend our 13th month pay and bonus. There are two treatments you can do there: Spending bonus
Buy a new cellphone as soon as you can become famous among the troops
Savings bonus Isn't that just a bonus? If it's just extra money. That means we can survive even without that bonus. E if your newfound live without that spending is better to pull you aside and use in emergency or supplements you long term goal. Emergency fund for me, before you start saving for your goal should be first have an emergency fund. And this is equivalent to three to five months of your salary. This is the only thing hidden in your bank and you will only move it when someone is hospitalized or you lose your job.
Why do we need an emergency fund and not just take it from savings? Simple, so you don't ruin your plan and goal. And one more thing, when you fulfill your long term goal and there is an emergency, your life will be a mess.
Example: There is no emergency fund.
You have already saved 500,000 pesos to buy a car. You put that first and you ignored the emergency fund. You have already bought a car and you are very happy. After 1 week of your purchase, your child's appendix exploded. He played gamble after lunch. You start at the hospital right away. You were charged a downpayment of 15,000 pesos before they operated on your child and an additional payment of 30,000 pesos. You would have pawned a holiday jewelry case by the way. You don't owe anything because everyone you know is out of town. You want to pawn your car with your Chinese neighbor but he doesn't want to because you are new to your subdivision and you might just run away from him and cheat. He is not willing to mortgage but when you sell he is willing. You have no choice but to sell. He charged 350,000 pesos but he will pay you in cash. You did not agree. But you remember that your child is going to die. You have agreed.
Example: There is an emergency fund
Similar to the story above but after you are taken to the hospital, you pay immediately. The car is still there and alive and your child is still safe.
Think about the purchases!
We can't control your spending because it's your money and you work hard. Just us, think 7 times before you buy. Does it matter? Can you wait? Should it be high quality? How much is it? It's ok to buy a cellphone but should an iphone? It's ok to buy a house but should it be subdivision?
Don’t be a social climber. Let them wear beautiful and branded clothes. If you have the same standard of living and when you look at that bank, it is definitely just coins. If you can't keep up, don't force it because it's not necessary. You can save more if you keep it simple.
It feels good when you see that you have accumulated something. You will want to work more. You’ll be happier because you won’t be too praning and irritable. Most OFWs earn a lot but are unable to save because of the remittance. Forget to set aside for yourself and your own family. You may be relying too much on them. There is nothing wrong with helping, but if you want to help first, it is your children and your parents. Hopefully they are not the ones sacrificing when you help others.
Hope to learn all the right aging. That is difficult at first but you must be looking at your goal and your plans for life should be even clearer in the Moonlight.