Just because it’s cheap…

…doesn’t mean you have to buy it.

Not as cryptic as Seth Godin’s post here, but it totally captures a basic personal finance attitude and reminds of an earlier blog post on wants versus needs.

Anybody want to play a game? Hopefully we’ll get some good personal finance one-liners from you. Complete the sentence… :-). You can choose one, two, or all.

Just because advice comes from an “expert”…
When you’re young, ambitious and earning only P20,000 a month…
Poverty in old age…
Happiness comes…
The real enemy is…
Sometimes, too much ….. is not enough.
We Filipinos…
Change is inevitable…
A successful diet is…
Without….life is….
When in doubt…
Early birds…

And finally!

One MoneySmarts post a day …

*ilag sa mga magaling mang-asar*

In the news:

NBN and Cyber-Ed projects, says Arroyo’s adviser Sergio Apostol, are not pushing through. There is no contract, he says. Another one for only in da Pilipins. I’m not sure how long that statement will hold true. The reality is that the Philippines operates a political economy. We cannot take our economy out of the politics in Mr. McGregor’s little garden where cats, mice, and man holding a rake all conspire against the inner productive nation of the Philippines trying its best to get free.

South Asia flood victims are desperate for food and clean water. I have been writing about preparing for disaster, and encouraging families to stock up on water, food and yes, including important financial documents, — in short everything needed in the event of floods, typhoons, power outages, tsunami, etc. No one can tell when disaster will strike. Not all of us are as lucky as this teenager who fell from a 6-foot story building and escaped with only bruises and scratches (shades of Heroes). The operational word in financial planning is planning. I’m a believer in 72-hour kits – bags that contain supplies for one person for 72-hours. Read all about that here.

It seems like a day to think about SSS contributions and making sure these are remitted properly to the pension fund. This businesswoman was ordered by a Quezon City judge to pay P2 million in SSS dues for failing to remit properly.

Minimum wage has just gone up in Metro Manila by P12 – hey don’t scoff at the amount. Every centavo counts (wink). Hmm. P12 multiplied by 20 multiplied by the number of minimum wage earners in the city equals the additional liquidity to be released into the system. I don’t think we need to worry about inflation there. For everyone’s information, the wage board pounds on the tables until their voices are hoarse just debating about the inflationary pressures of any wage hike. Our minimum wage earners deserve the increase.

Ron Nathan promises to stop writing jokes about his wife and writes in language that a beginner can understand why the market is depressed and why his money is in cash right now.

In the blog world:

Moolah Matters has paid off one of her credit cards (congratulations Jetskee!), and The Dollar Stretcher writes an interesting article on why we spend the way we do in Peeling Back the Layers of Your Financial Onion.

Get Rich Slowly says every penny counts and talks about the sweet spot between saving and the big goals. The Digerati Life blogs about what he thinks is the top 10 wealth building ways of ordinary people. A must read.

Something struck me about Reyna Elena’s post on withholding remittances from the Philippines. It’s a vote blog post, but its an invaluable insight into how OFWs feel about the exchange rate.

Personally, I still think we should all plan out our foreign exchange spending so that we don’t get hit by what Noet calls the “spot bulaga factor” of the peso, instead of calling for intervention in the markets by the government. My question then becomes, is this doable?

Share This