Personal Finance Pinoy Style

It is bad enough that you get your Meralco Bill and see an unpleasant or a preposterous graph which shows your electric consumption increase 400% - 500% of your previous consumption. Equally frustrating is the long queue of line that you need to go through just to pay an unacceptable electric billing. A colleague, Mr. Jericho Buenaventura even started as early as 6:00 AM and was only able to pay at about 12:00 PM. Every time we pass by, I can see the long queue from Dr. Sixto Avenue to Dr. Pilapil Street reaching Afable. People with their personal protective equipment toe the line under the sun while trying to maintain social distancing. Thank God for GCash, I was able to avoid the inconvenient circumstances of paying my expensive electric bill. Using GCash I was able to pay my Total Current Amount by using my Meralco Reference No. in the GCash Pay Bills Module. In a matter minutes, I have paid my electric bill on a Sunday without even taking a step

Inflation is defined as a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money. In the local setting, it is equated more on an increase in prices because it is more discernable however it also denotes a decrease in purchasing power. Inflation reduces the purchasing power of money. For example, a Php 2 worth of goods (1 kilo of rice) bought in 1980 can be bought in 2005  in the amount of Php 20.00. Thus in personal finance, it is advisable to put just adequate funds on your savings account for bank deposits most of the time does not ride with the inflation rate. For example, your savings may earn an interest of 1% per annum but with an inflation of 4% per annum, you are losing 3% of the purchasing power of your money. What financial instrument are inflation resistant or are least does not erode in value in time. Investment in certain mutual funds usually yields a return greater than the inflation rate, investment in stocks, commodities such as gold and real estate grows

(image from ABS-CBN) One of the harsh realizations of COVID-19 on Pinoys Personal Finance is the absence of a contingency fund. While I may submit that most of us live on a hand to mouth existence or obtain our source of livelihood on a day-to-day basis, even those who were employed does not have the contingency fund to answer for the abrupt disruption of their sources of livelihood. Some were able to cover their cost of living for a month, most were are already relying on government financial assistance just to survive. This shows that most of us do not have a contingency fund for unforeseen events "mahirap maging mahirap"(it is hard to be poor). A contingency fund ideally amounts to at least a three-month cost of living expenses, to answer for needs in times where no income is earned due to loss of work or disruption of work. This should be liquid assets in cash or savings in your deposit account. How to set-up your contingency fund (PAL): 1. Pay yourself first 2. Automate

(image of credit card from Citibank/Think-man from Google) Most of the personal-finance literature endorses the non-patronage of credit cards, this is due to the propensity of cardholders to over-charge or spend beyond their means. Credit cards have the effect of confusing your financial capacity due to the illusion of mental accounting, this illusion creates a perception of wealth when there is none. This holds true to persons who are not discipline or financially literate and credit cards holds power, and as Uncle Ben says "with great powers, comes great responsibility." Credit cards are actually a convenient tool if used in a proper manner. This is a readily available credit line, wherein you can purchase an item and pay for it after a month from purchase thru taking advantage of the one-month float. The one-month float is charging a purchase after the billing date and paying it in full on the due date which is usually a month from the date of purchase. In effect using a o

If you are spending Php 500.00 on your Globe prepaid load you might be missing an opportunity to gain a Php 25.00 rebate/savings from said transaction. You can buy a prepaid load for yourself or for others and get a 5% rebate on said transaction thru GCash app. This is one of the advantage of GCash, you need not go to your "suking tindahan" (mom and pop store), to buy a prepaid load. You can just do it in the palm of your hands, thru your GCash Mobile App. In the GCash App menu, select Buy Load, then input the cellphone number you wish to buy load for; There you will able to select the desired amount of load or promo load you wish to purchase. Thus if you load GoExtra90, Php 90.00 will be charged against your GCash balance but you will get a rebate of Php 4.50. Please be aware that the maximum rebate is Php 50.00 or equivalent to a Php 1,000. 00 load.  Using GCash you can lessen your exposure from COVID-19 by staying at home and you get a 5% rebate on

Who wants to be a Millionaire? You can do it in 5 Years thru the Modified Pag-Ibig 2 (MP2) Savings, I looked into MP2 because of Mr. Donato Galila, MP2 it seems is the choice of investment vehicle of our public school teachers. An opportunity most often overlooked is the Modified Pag-Ibig 2 (MP2) Savings that gives every Pag-Ibig member a chance to earn dividends from the operation Pag-Ibig Funds Annual Net Income. The current dividend yield (earning) is 7% per annum, you can apply for an MP2 if you are an active Pag-IBIG Fund Members; and/or Former Pag-IBIG Fund Members with other sources of monthly income and/or Pensioners, regardless of age, with at least 24 monthly savings prior to retirement. For as low as Php 500 pesos per month, you can make an investment for five (5) years and received a dividend payout in two ways; 1. Upon full withdrawal of your MP2 Savings after its 5-year maturity period with your MP2 Dividends compounded annually; or 2. Through annual pay-out with your MP2

You can open a savings account on GCash with CIMB and get as much as 4% interest per annum. I have started a savings account with GCash thru Save Money, and I was able to make saving a regular habit without really trying. Most people fail to realize that they are the last to get paid when they get their wages. They are unaware that the government gets paid first before they get their wages. First Taxes, SSS, Philheath and Pag-Ibig are deducted; second payment for loans is withheld; only then they are given their take-home pay. And the only way to save is if you "pay yourself first" by including your savings as part of your deductible salary and automate and forget about it. After you have fully verified your GCash you can now use GSave or Save Money. Upon setting up your savings account you can automate your savings by scheduling auto-deposit. In auto-deposit you can dictate the frequency and amount of regular deposit; every week, every 2 weeks or every month.