Looking back 2-3 years ago, one questing that lingers on my mind, where does all my savings go? I had a major operation, that is the answer…. 
I’ve realized that i need to go back again to the saying “live within your means” in order to achieve goals that i have already set few years ago.. im planning to change my lifestyle, the way i spend and do some saving… Below are some points that i need to avoidin order not to make the same mistakes again…… and i think everyone should do to…
Avoiding Money management mistakes… (http://www.personalmoneymgmt.com/)
1. No spending plan. – This is correct, the usual “where does my money go?” question… di ko nga alam eh, all i know is i spend for bills(which is reasonable naman), food (Matakaw kasi ako eh), transportation(this is the basics), clothes(medyo maarte kasi ako eh, i’d go for designer clothes kasi, mukhang jologs naman…). I need to differentiate dapat the “needs” and “wants”. A few months ago i bought a new pair of leather shoes, eh kasi naman sumasakit na ang aking sakong ng mahabang lakad…di ko alam kung rayuma na to or pagod lang talaga anyways, it was a nice pair of shoes, bought it around 1k seems nice but after a few months sira na sya… nakakainis no, id spent that amount of money for 2 months.. so sad.. sana bumuli na lang ako ng medyo mahal pero nagamit ko naman ng mas mahabang panahon… Medyo impulsive din kasi ako and i did not made a plan on buying that stuff….
2. No Cash Reserve. For a single or married man(and also for women na rin…), onse should have nga the so called reserve cash… for emergencies, according to most financial experts, it should be 50% of the annual income… This means one should know how to save and spend… (kung 50% so dapat may cash reserve ako na…… :p, mahirap ata yun…)
3. To much use of credit – I have already learned my lessons….!!!!!
4. Non constructive use of “windfalls” – examples are tax refund, bonus, raise or maybe inherittance. Anything that came out of nowhere, easy money… one way is to send it directly to your savings account and keep it for later use or for large purchases…
5. No provisions for large expenses. – these are for all year round expenses, just divide them by 12. (Sofar wala pa naman ako pinagkakagastusan ng ganito but for a family man, tuition fees or house taxes should be considered.)
6. Underestimating cost of ownership. – basically for car owners… one should also consider maintenance…. still not applicable for me…
7. Spending Leaks – this goes for me… impulse buying… ! This is a big problem for me, lahat ng makita at gusto…ayun.. gastos…! I should learn to control this one…. avoid groceries, avoid killing time at department stores, and try to use allowance.
8. Careless Shopping habits – Another problem with me…. wants is greater than needs… sometimes di ko naman kailangan, basta makita.. ayun gasta ng gasta… kaya later on, ala na pera….
9. Not saving small amounts – this is something i need to do.. my friends resty, rollie and gerald has a group at their office… they save 300 pesos weekly and after every 3 months, they would be having avacation to different places, so far for the whole year they have visited 3 resorts without the biglaang labas ng pera… and their target by december is singapore…. there are 4 weeks in a month, they save P1,200 pesos a week; they are 10 in the group, for a month they gather P12,000 and for 3 months P36,000… a coolw way isn’t it…. they have not felt that 300 pesos per week but if you imagine you will set up for a grand vacation… you will immediately pull out P5,000 for just 2 or 3 nights… their secret.. Discipline….!
10. Can’t wait attitude – Another problem for me… just follow these step… “save now, buy later”…
Definitely, these ideas are good points but if a person is not determined to do these things.. still it won’t work… one must have discipline.. and i say Discipline… sana i can establish that kind of discipline para in the future, me myself and my family to be..(sana…) would be happy… (technically speaking… coz its not just money that makes you happy…).. ciao!
