(Photo from Agence France-Presse)
Worsening poverty plus rising food prices, and what have you got? More and more households are definitely going to the poor house if this keeps up. There are indicators everywhere that high prices aren’t likely to go back down anytime in the future. I remember what Rico Hizon said during a recent interview: We are importing inflation from the US and China. Everywhere in Asia, prices are going up.
Here are some tips from a MoneySense article on how to make sure you’re not badly affected:
Watch out for the warning signs:
- Uncontrolled spending and/or use of credit cards
- Having loans you are having difficulty to pay
- Not making and using a budget
- Living a lifestyle you can’t afford
- Lack of savings
To me, number five would go to number one. An inadequate buffer fund, absence of emergency stash – whatever you want to call it – should make ANYONE stop and take stock of your situation as if it’s the biggest red light on the street of personal finance.
I don’t expect those who are below the poverty line – that’s around 4.7 million families as of last count – to have any savings. That’s like trying to wring water from stone. Perhaps even the next tier won’t be able to sock away money, and that’s totally understandable.
But if you have a job, have money for make-up, movies, dinner in a restaurant, at least 10 pairs of shoes in the house, own an air-conditioning unit, have a closetful of nice clothes, I think you should at least have a one-month worth of savings in the bank for starters.
A recent survey showed that too many Filipinos who are actually in the middle-income group rack up credit card debt for non-essentials but have no savings. As the article says, simplify, simplify, simplify! Sometimes, simplifying – birthday and graduation celebrations for example – can be more fun and heartwarming. Think about it.
No matter how abundant you think your financial life is at the moment, poverty can still creep up on you. If the warning signs are present in your life right now, it’s time to take action and make some drastic changes. Take control of your money instead of letting it control you!
Poverty CAN creep up on you. I totally agree. Denial is a powerful thing.
April 21st, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Angelo, that’s something to think about. It’s that bad, huh? I heard that a Filipino has started this new variety of rice that will yield more than the usual. Don’t really know the details but I can dig that up for you.
April 20th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Would you believe that planting and cultivating eggplants, the famous common
“talong” will give much better investment
return than growing rice. To think that 10 pieces of eggplants cost 50 pesos from a provincial wet market,how much would it be in Metro Manila? We sold our rice harvest from a 2 hectare farm very recently, the return will not be enough to cover the rising cost of fertilizers and
pesticides. Just think or calculate if you like. TY Salve.
April 10th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Oh well good luck with that
Seriously though my waistline benefited from cutting back on rice.
April 10th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Ria, that’s exactly what I was thinking and planning to do by tomorrow. Eating more vegetables and cutting down on rice, that is. But I’m always moving the diet to tomorrow haha.
April 9th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Salve,
If there’s something positive about rice shortage, hopefully it would be reduced waistlines
We eat too much rice in this country.
Oh that and hopefully more people turn to vegetables (malunggay country haha!)