There's a lot of articles and blogs out there about how you can save money. I just cherry-picked ones that worked well for me. I felt like most recommendations are a bit too restrictive. A lot of advises revolve around NOT spending money on non-essential things-- for example, saying no to dining out, buying new clothing, gadgets, etc. Personally, I would feel resentful because I've been working hard but still depriving myself with the best things that life has to offer.
1. Set a Target Savings Amount and Automate it - if you have no idea how much you need to save, you can start with the 50% (Essentials)/30% (Discretionary Spending)/20% (Savings) Rule. If you are earning 20,000 PHP, that means 4,000PHP as target savings.
Open another savings account that will automatically debit from your main payroll account. For example, BPI Save-UP Automatic Savings + Insurance has no initial deposit and you can set this amount to automatically transfer the desired savings amount. This doesn't come with a debit card so you can really resist from withdrawing money from this fund. It also provides automatic insurance coverage!
2. Put your money in "envelopes" - if you're still getting started with saving up, chances are you're still building the habit, so just doing the math in your head does not automatically work. What you can do is withdraw the money from your bank account and put it in envelopes (just make sure to keep that safe!).
Going back to our example: If you earn 20,000, that means 10,000PHP goes to your essentials (bills, groceries, food, child care) and 6,000PHP for your other spending (dining out, shopping, Starbucks)
Alternatively, you can open different bank accounts for different pots/envelopes if you don't like carrying money around.
3. Only bring money that you allocated for that pot - for example, you have a regular weekly night out with friends. Given that your budget is 6,000PHP for discretionary spending, dividing that by 4 (since it's weekly), that's 1500PHP. I'd recommend just bringing that exact amount in your pocket and leave all your other ATMs/Cards at home. Chances are when you're drunk, you won't be able to keep track with all those shots you're taking :D
Again, there are many ways to skin a cat but these are my recommendations based on what worked for me. Thoughts?
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