WHEN one is single, one can pretty much live for the self. There’s more money to go around to buy that new cellphone and that new pair of shoes, and to go out with the barkada for gimik nights.

But when one starts a family, everything changes. Suddenly, there are responsibilities: mouths to feed, bills to pay, and future needs to prepare for. The days of frivolous spending are over. As financial journalist Salve Duplito, pioneer Money Smarts blogger, wife and mother of four said, “Motherhood made me realize that ‘irresponsible with money’ and ‘good mother’ don’t go well together. As parents, it’s up to us so the family won’t get buried in debt.” This “spending addict” has reformed and is on a crusade to help others learn to handle their finances well.

In her recent talk at the Family Finance 101 seminar organized by Money Sense magazine, Salve shared these basic tips to handling family finances responsibly:
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HOW do smart dads handle money? In time for Father’s Day, we asked some dads to share valuable tips to you fellow dads out there. Here are some wise advice:

1. Live within your means. “The general tip is really ‘living within your means.’ It is an attitude that should not be equated to being stingy; rather, it entails planning the family’s lifestyle to cover the basic necessities, leisure activities, and savings. It is also an attitude that makes the family define its own happiness instead of being dictated upon by the happiness of others.” — Noel M. Cortez, head of marketing and graduate school professor Dad to Popet (11), Peping (7), and Kimi (4)

2. Spend for experiences rather than stuff. “As dads, we have a tendency to lavish our kids with material things, partly out of guilt for not spending enough time with them and mostly because we just enjoy seeing the smiles on their faces. But their excitement is gone weeks or even days after getting something they want. So instead of buying more and more stuff, spend for experiences–trips to the zoo, the park, the beach–since memories of happy experiences last much longer than the fleeting enjoyment of toys and gadgets. Plus you get to spend quality time with them. More experiences, less stuff.”– Heinz Bulos, editor-in-chief of Money Sense magazine and dad of Kimi (2).

3. Cut down on your unnecessary spending. You’ll be amazed at how much you can save. And don’t get discouraged when times are bad. A downturn also creates opportunities to earn good money.– Benjie Oliva, commercial banking director for a leading multinational bank, and dad too

4. Teach kids about money early on. “Train up a child in his ways and when he grows old he will not depart from it. Teaching our kids financial literacy at a young age is very important. The best person to teach children about handling money is you. We cannot leave our child training to the TV, to teachers, to MTV, to their idols. It is the dad’s main responsibility.”– Chinkee Tan, lifestyle trainer (www.chinkeetan.com) and author of the personal finance book “Till Debt Do Us Part” Dad to Kayla (8), Jethro (6) and Destiny (4)

Happy Father’s Day to all dads!

PERSONAL finance experts encourage teaching one’s children how to handle money. It starts with letting them know how valuable it is, and what happens when they spend it or save it.

My parents never sat down with me to teach me about handling money. But from observing them through the years, I have learned valuable insights I practice up to now.

Here are the money lessons I learned from them:

1.  Money does not grow on trees. You have to work to have some. No work, no money. My parents got married a few years after the liberation. Times were hard. Since my dad’s earnings as a government clerk were not enough, he supplemented his income by becoming a security guard at night at the pier. And when this still wasn’t enough, he would borrow an uncle’s jeepney and drive it a couple of trips around Manila ferrying passengers. When he got back from driving the jeep, he earned enough to buy powdered milk for my kuya, who was then a baby. Hard work pays.

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Most of us tightwads would rather bear the discomfort of sitting uncomfortably for hours, clicking through websites on personal finance and reading blogs like MoneySmarts just to learn more about financial management than subscribe to magazines that we can curl up in bed with.

From time to time, though, I make an exemption. Being the first and only personal finance magazine in the country, it truly deserves the P120-per-copy invesmtent you’ll make. MoneySense is a fixture in our home and something that I give as a gift to some close friends. (The fact that I have a column there is definitely not the main reason for this! (smile)

This year, check out its new look and new sections just in time for its second anniversary.

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