How to Save Tips - Thread 3

[JAZRINA]

Ako, lagi akong may target savings since i started working. Syempre nung una, maliit pa pay ko so 5% of my income would be my target savings because 50% of my salary goes to monthly house expense - share ko sa family. Then, napansin ko lang habang tumataas sweldo ko, hindi nagbabago ang budget k for my personal expense. Any increases would go to my share in the household expense and savings.

Tama rin ang mga sissies natin, learn to say No. At dyan ako magaling.. hehe. pero not always. There are times that you need to reward yourself for a hard work so give-in to some of your wants once in a while. Set a budget even for that. May mga fixed expenses na wala ka talagang magagawa so adjust on those variable expenses. Ako, madalas, nag-aadjust sa office allowance ko. Kapag marami akong natipid dun yun ang ginagamit kong either panggala or pambili ng ibang gusto ko.

Meron akong personal financial statement (income and expense plus balance sheet) para alam ko kung saan ako mag-cut ng gastos para ilagay sa savings ko.  Helpful yun for me.

Pero, sana mga sis, pagnagsave kayo, invest it. yan ang mali ko. Pinatulog ko sa Time deposit ang savings ko. Kaya di nakasabay sa inflation. Just realized it now. Part of saving is investing. 

[misteryosa]

ang hirap mag budget, join ako sa inyo mga sis.

[stylishmomy]

^^agree with you sis, di dapat magpadala sa "sad face" ng mga anak natin if may gustong ipabili. We implemented "toy day" and it's only when they have really good grades on their report cards, birthdays, christmas and special occasions where they really deserve the toy. Dapat alam ng kids ang value ng pera.

[karxn]

Must stick with my P100 daily budget. Must save for the rainy days.

[chinablue]

One tipid tip I learned as an OFW is to enroll my mother's account as third party account in my BDO account online. Using my account, I make fund transfers to my mother's account. Wala namang fee ang fund transfer.  Dati kasi I spend mga 18 riyals for remittance fee. Kung every month ako magpapadala eh di malaking halaga na di yun in one year. Less hassle, more tipid. 

[freelancer_babe]

Bayaran ang part or entire loan before the amortization becomes due.

Ito yung ginagawa ko sa SSS loan ngayon. Although yung start ng amortizations ay sa July pa, ngayon na ako nagbabayad in advance para di na ako singilin sa interest. If I will be able to do this advance payments continuously, I will be able to save 10%, kaya the entire loan will only cost me the service charge.

Paying in advance means that the interest is not charged anymore (however, some banks charge early settlement fee if loan is settled sooner).

This is similar to paying credit card dues in advance before finance charge is imposed.

[mxherr5]

Really? This can be done with SSS?
Did you tell SSS that you plan to pay in advance
or you just went ahead and did it?

[freelancer_babe]

Really? This can be done with SSS?
Did you tell SSS that you plan to pay in advance
or you just went ahead and did it?

Yes, pwedeng magbayad in advance. But I do this advance payment by going to the SSS branch mismo.

I don't know how this can be arranged sa mga employed na automatic deduction kasi sa salary ang amortizations.

Sorry if I wasn't clear or if my post above is misleading, the grace period of the loan is 2 months since the loan is approved (that is, check is written and issued). So dyan sa period na yan walang pang interest charges. If all the loan is paid

Once that the 2-month grace period is up, interest will be charged.

But take note basta natapos in advance yung loan, you pay less interest. The earlier the loan is finished, the less interest you pay. So if you are able to settle the loan in just 4 payments, then maliit lang ang interest na babayaran as compared to following the entire loan schedule.

This can also be done with PAGIBIG MPL but I haven't tried this myself. However PAGIBIG people confirmed na pwedeng magbayad nang advance to avoid interest charges. 2 months rin ang grace period nila before interest is charged. Like SSS, the faster you settle their MPL, the lesser interest (or even no interest) you pay.

Ang maganda sa PAGIBIG MPL, they have no service charge on loans unlike SSS.

[mxherr5]

Cool. Thanks for sharing! 
So it would be like getting a 6% p.a. loan then
since the service charge is 1% and you have 2 months
to pay so you don't pay any more interest.

[entwife]

Mga sis di ko alam saan ako pwede magtanong nito.. Kailangan ko ng US Dollar by November. Do you know if may trend ba na mas mababa ang dollar pag ganitong rainy days or mas mababa pag ber months.

Gusto ko kasi magpapalit ng dollar so if may advise kayo saan at kelan, para sulit. Maybe a tip on how to save with currency exchanges.

[freelancer_babe]

@mxherr - Ganun na nga! Pwede nang pang-equities no? Hehe.

@entwife - As far as I know money changers and black market areas still give the best rates but comes with a heavy risk. Mahirap magpapalit sa mga areas na yan, knowing na mainit ang mata ng tao. On top of that, if you are not careful baka dayain ka rin ng mismong money changer like, kulang ang pera na binigay sa iyo (though they counted it right in front of you na tama naman ang pagkakabilang).

Banks are the safest (especially if want the converted amount deposited in your bank account) but give low exchange rates. If you have a dollar and a peso account in BPI and both are enrolled in BPI's online banking,  pwede mo lang ipapalit online ang funds mo at the comfort of your home. I just don't know if this could also be done online with the other banks.

Generally dollars are cheaper on times na maraming remittances - historically by December.

[jmeangeL]

Mga sis di ko alam saan ako pwede magtanong nito.. Kailangan ko ng US Dollar by November. Do you know if may trend ba na mas mababa ang dollar pag ganitong rainy days or mas mababa pag ber months.

Gusto ko kasi magpapalit ng dollar so if may advise kayo saan at kelan, para sulit. Maybe a tip on how to save with currency exchanges.

buying dollar is more difficult than selling them off...

for BDO, you need to have a dollar account with them before they sell you dollar currency.  you also need a passport and plane ticket to show that you're buying the dollar because you're going to travel

for BPI, i think there's a letter of intent stating where you'll need the dollar and why

the best option is to ask around.  kung meron friends or kamag-anak abroad and are remitting money thru Western Union.  May option kasi ang Western Union to encash remittances in dollar currency.  sa kamag-anak or kaibigan ka bumili ng dollar.

i used to buy dollar from my mom.  ngayon, peso na rin ang remittances nya ehh 

at the moment, mahal ang dollar.  43pesos to a dollar ang palitan.

kapag malapit ang enrollment at pasko, mura ang dollar kasi maraming pera ang tao.  ngayon, mahal dahil rainy season.  scarce ang pera.

[entwife]

hindi naman ganun kalaki kailangan ko. mainly budget for 1 person travelling to cambodia. so that's less than 10k.

more or less mga 150-200usd lang. magtatanong na lang ako sa lola ko. mukhang mas okay nga na sa kakilala na lang ako magpapalit. thank you mga sis.

[aebrbiyc2009]

Save before you spend. That's what my bf told me about handling money.

Before, whenever I would get my allowance, I used to blow all of my money buying branded stuff but now that I'm working I learned to put some money aside first then use the rest for my expenses (which is not really big because I live with my parents). Anyway, having an alkansya works too. Since I hate having coins in my wallet, I just put them there and wait till it's full. I'm 20 and saving for a car. I have my credit card but I use it only in emergencies. I also like withdrawing a fixed amount on my debit than use the card itself.

I'm glad that somehow I've changed. I used to be an impulsive buyer. (My family is another thing though, I don't scrimp especially that I am not a showy daughter/sister.) Whenever I see any designer handbags that I like now, I first tell myself that I don't need it yet since I still have lots, or that I needed to accomplish another goal first before buying it. 20 years old is a young age. And I still have lots of opportunities to buy one in the future. 

[freelancer_babe]

the best option is to ask around.  kung meron friends or kamag-anak abroad and are remitting money thru Western Union.  May option kasi ang Western Union to encash remittances in dollar currency.  sa kamag-anak or kaibigan ka bumili ng dollar.

Hindi ba may loss dahil sa remittance charge? (unless sagot ng sender ang remittance fee  )

And how are you going to pay the friends and kamag-anaks back?

[lime_eds]

hindi naman ganun kalaki kailangan ko. mainly budget for 1 person travelling to cambodia. so that's less than 10k.

more or less mga 150-200usd lang. magtatanong na lang ako sa lola ko. mukhang mas okay nga na sa kakilala na lang ako magpapalit. thank you mga sis.

sis, sa bdo pwede bumili nang dollar, kelangan nga lang may account ka sa kanila at pakita mo passport at ticket para masabi na for travel purposes, ganyan ang ginawa ko nung nag vietnam-cambodia-thailand kami, puro usd dala namin at dun na nagpapalit nang local currency nila, since cambodia naman eh tumatanggap nang usd pambayad. hope it helps

kung hindi, try to call czarina main

[hikarichan]

salamat sa nagrecommend ng expense manager app sa thread, laking tulong dahil nakasanayan ko ng iplano ang mga gastusin ko. naging expense conscious na tuloy ako  , which is good naman kasi ang laki ng natitipid ko at nadadagdag sa savings ko.

[khayzee]

di ko pa rin mamaster ang pagbudget, lumalagpas talaga ko 

[freelancer_babe]

^ Reasons why?

[khayzee]

^ Reasons why?

  when i set a certain budget, for example, sa groceries.. i tend to buy things/food kasi natuwa lang ako or biglang nag crave ako for something.. or kahit sa mall, may ganyang attitude ako.. hmm i guess kulang ako sa discipline...