hi, salve. my husband and i save all our P200 bills and our P10 coins - part for savings, part for extra expenses.

our P10 savings helped pay for realty taxes last yr; part of P200 savings helped pay for plane tickets of my husband who had to take 2 unplanned out-of-the-country trips last year. at least, hindi na nagbawas sa budgeted money, hindi na rin nag-withdraw sa bangko

and as the experts like you advise, we practice saving in small ways :we don’t buy bottled water anymore, instead we make baon water; we don’t go to the cafes except when we have visitors; we don’t buy papers, instead we watch tv or check up the net for news; and i reduced magazine subscriptions. money saved is set aside also

hey femaad, long time no hear! how have you been? that’s a great strategy but I was wondering why P200 bills and P10 coins in particular :). When it comes to frugality, you rock!

Salve,

Your remind me of my wife’s penny pinching habit every time we go to grocery or shopping. She’ll painstakingly rummage for the exact cent/s on the bill until other customers in a queue end up rolling their eyes. She’s not a tightwad. Just a smart, educated consumer.

Here are my suggestions to stash away some dough for the rainy days.

1. Join a well manage Credit Union. Set up a payroll deduction for desired amount every pay period. Usually Credit Union has low loan and credit card financing interest. Scout for a Credit Union with long established good governance.

2. Encourage co-employee to set up a “PALUWAGAN.” Each will contribute a certain amount into a pool every pay period. Determine who will be the payee on a round-robin basis.

FEMAAD,

You can save more by using Brita brand water purifier. Buy one if available in Manila. We’re using it.

why P200 and P10 particularly? wala lang, type lang namin itsura, so nakakapanghinayang i-spend

you have been a lot of help in our financial life - marami kaming natututunan really!

some flip-flops in saving/budgeting along the way, but, generally, we’re on track. and we pray we’ll be able to sustain that, thanks to your advices and encouragements.

Saving is really good especially in these times. Unfortunately, if everyone saves a lot more and merely put it under their mattresses, then the country could be in danger due to the so-called paradox of thrift.

http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Paradox_of_ thrift

Thus if you are to save, atleast put it on the bank, a reputable one that is. And if you have more appetite for risk, then invest it wisely (emphasis on “wisely”). Or, if you are some substantial cash at hand and have this entrepreneur thinking lingering at the back of your head, then why not start a new business and generate jobs and at the smae help the economy.

Now, on the topic of saving or generating extra cash, one thing I do every now and then is look over things that I no longer use or have recently upgraded but still works well (i.e. good old digital cameras, 5 year-old PC that still works but was recently outdated because of a recent purchase, etc.) and try to sell them at a very reasonable (as in 5-10% of original purchased value). Or if you really want to feel good, donate it to an institution (i.e. public school, charity, NGO, etc.) that might have some use for it.

My mindset is that get rid of it while it may still be a good value to others rather than “manghinayang” because it was purchased at a high cost before so might as well sell at a high as possible or simply keep it until it gets totally useless to anyone. I mean, think Win-Win… you’ll be able to get rid of it and and likewise get some cash out of it (kahit na maliit) and at the same time make someone feel he had a really good bargain because he really needs that stuff.

My 2 euro-cents worth

and go to basics:
A. list your NEEDS (meralco, water, food, tuition, fuel, transpo, mortgage or rent, and a few other things you cannot live without).
B. list your WANTS (movie, dvd, snacks, beer, nightouts, beaut kits, spa, plus many other things you enjoy but will not die without).
C. on the right of each item put the COST.
D. add the two columns, and add both totals (needs and wants) and compare to your total INCOME (all your earnings or net take home pay plus others).
E. if they balance (or equal), then you’re surviving , but risking a dive if an emergency needs spending for (illness, accidents , price increases, and the like).
F. if you want to save money, shave off from the “WANTS” list and set aside the amounts immediately, from the very beginning and put in a bank (avoid rural banks or small institutions and go to traditionals like bpi, metrobank, rcbc, chinabank, etc…). cancel your credit cards ! interest is cost. credit is like drugs - it’s addicting !
G. have a “coin bank” or a plastic bowl at your bedside table. when you get home, empty your pockets of any change (they’re leftovers from the day’s expenses) and place in this bowl.
H. learn to love your home and make it your refuge, quarters, watering hole, tv station, internet cafe’. you’ve spent so much for your abode, so use it, enjoy it. why go somewhere else ?
H. learn to cook, and teach yourself STYLE at home. avoid advertisements - because these only increase your WANTS by whetting your appetite for MORE ! learn this : there will never be enough !
I. find happiness at home - kids, spouse, your own appliances, cooking, eating, singing, reading, gardenning, laughing, making love, teaching, meditating, hairdrying, tending your own nails, and a hundred other things you can do at home.

in the end, you need not “trick” yourself. you’ll find you’re on solid ground, fighting the global crisis locally, and without much effort and stress.

enjoy life.

Some more money-saving tips:
Don’t order juice or softdrinks when eating out. Request for water.
Join office cooperatives. They automatically deduct a specified portion and save it in your account!

When I started building up my savings the first thing I did was to recognize that I was an impulsive buyer. Prior to this point I haven’t saved much because every time I find myself loaded with extra cash, I spend, spend, spend. So the trick that worked for me was to find a way to protect the money from myself. I had to place the money in an instrument that would penalize me if I were to withdraw the money. The easiest way was through short-term time deposits. I didn’t mind the low rates on these deposits. What was important to me then was the psychology of penalty. I stashed away half of my salary in a 30-day TD. Suddenly finding myself on a short leash, I was forced to cut down on the frapuccinos, the taxi rides, the weekend movie and dine-out, the bestsellers etc. When the term of the TD expired in time for my next salary, I stashed away another half on top of the first half and the interest and I rolled them over another 30-day term. I repeated the process over time. When my savings piled up to a big enough size, I began moving them to higher-yielding TDs, preferred shares, and even corporate bonds.

Mutual funds can also help because they typically require 1-2 year holding periods. The psychology of penalty is the same. It’s just that they are riskier and the placement is not guaranteed.

I have conquered my impulsiveness. I have built up my cash hoard. Now I’m just waiting for the bear market to end.

I never knew there are lots of ways for us to cut our expenses and to save, Thanks for the tip!

hi, leo. yes, we have a 4-filter water purifier located under our sink . that was one of our priority purchases for the kitchen. that way, wala nang bili-bili ng tubig, nakakabaon pa for work

saving like that is like acting as a fool person like one of our officemate.