How to budget?

[yn061515]

going  3 years married this year and I can say na hindi pa kami financially stable and intelligent mag-asawa. Most of the time, short kami. kasi sobrang magastos kami parehas tsaka we both support pa our parents. Now, I made an excel for the whole year 2017 and nalaman ko na negative kami until June 2017 pero after nito, maluwag luwag na, positive na ang makakabalik na sa church wedding preps. our monthly budget includes the ff:

Flat Rent
Utilities
Money to be sent to my parents
Money to be sent to husband's parents
Loans - Personal & Car
Food & Gas Expense

as you can see, wala pang savings. wala pading kaming own house or hindi pa din kami nakapag simula manlang maghulog miski lupa sa paso. We obviously still have a long way to go. Praying for better job opportunities this year and more blessings para mamagic ang mapula kong yearly budget plan. Kapit lang! Btw, we are based overseas with 1 almost 2yo daughter.

[lovemeagain30]

^^ sis get rid of any form of debt (in your case, loans) as soon as possible. as fast as you can ika nga! yan ang malaking pahirap sainyo. as long as you have utang, you can never start saving. laging kulang sa budget. IMO, its like a curse. when you cleared up those debts, promise yourself not to go back to it again. karamihan ng pinoys abroad para mabayaran ang loan, uutang sa iba (or sa ibang bangko) pambayad ng utang then utang ulit! it became a cycle to many people.

we also lived abroad. kaya aware kami sa kalakaran ng iba. living out of the budget. sila pa yung mga mukhang may pera kung kumilos, maybe because that's their only way to hide their true situation.

[izabelle]

Hindi ako expert sa pagsasave kasi magastos din ako haha pero ito yung nagwowork sa amin:

Meron akong excel file ng lahat ng expenses for the month (utility bills, house mortgage, insurances, food, etc)

Then every month we have  target savings, pagkakuha ng mga sweldo, nilalagyan muna namin ang savings namin, after non, lahat ng matira pwede na gastusin.

Wala kaming fixed budget per month, ang ginagawa lang namin we make sure na nagsasave kami monthly ng target namin, after that, kahit ubusin yung natira on hand, keber. Haha

Masama din kasi pwede sana mas malaki ma-save. So ngayon, nagbabawas ako ng kakabili ng hindi kailangan. In fairness natapos ang January, wala akong binili na bagong damit or sapatos. LOL

[mysterioza_me]

^Yan technique na ibukod na agad ang savings before magbudget ng expenses ang nagwork for me. Set aside ko na ang para sa expenses then ang matitira gagamitin ko for recreation or simple luxury. Pero madalas di ko na nagagastos yung para sa luxury or nakakasobra pa ko kaya naia-add ko pa siya sa savings ko. Nakakaadik mag-ipon LOL.

[fionaapple]

I think everyone heard about SALARY - SAVINGS = EXPENSES. This one works if you are really committed! take note, wala yan sa laki ng kinikita.

Our family is following MInimalist Living. We lived with the basics. We eliminated all forms of temptations that will ruin our goal for financial freedom like we removed all credit cards, fashion and travel magazines at home, deactivated socmeds and we removed even the cable subscription! we also seldom goes to malls. kasi lahat yan makes you think of 'wants' more than needs.  hindi ka pa sumasahod iniisip mo na kung anong bibilhin mo, san ka kakain.  mabuti pa sila or mabuti pa si ganito.. keeping up with the Joneses lifestyle! tapos ending palagi ay bibili ako or lalameryda kasi "gift" ko sa sarili ko and so on and so forth.. pero hindi ba ang pinaka magandang regalo sa sarili ay yung nakakaipon ka? kasi this will give you a 'peace of mind'. walang kasiguraduhan ang buhay kasama na duon ang pera at trabaho.

another technique that works for my famiily other than living a minimalist lifestyle is envelope system.  this works also kung committed ka talaga. live within your means talaga. alisin ang wants and focus on the needs.  wag maging maluho. wag makipag kumpentensya sa buhay ng iba.  walang masama sa konting splurges sa sarili but if these splurges affects your budgeting then its time to limit it or better stop it.  example nalang kung panay kain sa labas (as gift niyo sa sarili niyo for working hard) pero sa bahay di niyo lam kung anong tipid ulam ang gagawin, abay eh itiginil na yang bisyong yan.

thank you. buti na lang nabasa ko itong post mo. lalo ako nainspire mag save. cancelling our supposed friday night out for this week.   gawin ko na lang siguro 1-2x a week ang friday dates namin. spend more quality time at home na lang . hehe.

idol!

kami naman, nag babaon ng lunch sa work. tipid na healthy pa. controlled pa ang gastos. yun nga lang, parang nasasanay na kami lately na nagdi dinner sa labas kapag Friday night. pero siguro i li limit ko na lang to max of 2 Fridays a month.

nakaka inspire ka sis. in our household naman, ako ang taga hawak ng pera. binigay ng husband ko sa akin pati payroll atm nya para ako ang magba budget. ako kasi ang OC sa mga due dates, online banking etc.

[fionaapple]

what worked for us was ako na lang humawak lahat ng money namin. di talaga umubra na magkanya kanya kami kasi mahilig gumastos si mister at parang ayaw niyang may natitirang pera sa bangko. pros and cons ng ganitong setup:
pros:
- i have the power haha syempre lahat ng expenses ako magdedecide if go or no
- nakukunsensya din ako gumastos ng para sakin kasi nga pera NAMIN yun
- nagkaron na kami ng shared goals kasi shared na din ang assets parang mas may power na ang pera namin nung nagjoin forces

cons:
- di makabili ng gift si mister para sakin
- ako ang nagbabudget, tagawithdraw, tagapagbarya na minsan nakakapagod din

also, some lessons learned:
- may phase na kahit anong pilit, di talaga makapagsave. obvious kailangan namin ng extra income para makapagenjoy naman ng onti. kaya sumideline ako.
- kailangan big purchases pag agreehan ninyong dalawa. ilang araw muna kami nagdidiskusyon talaga. it helped our relationship grow.
- naiba spending habits nung nagkaanak kami. mas naging simple, praktikal without effort. hehe

pareho ang style natin sis. ako lahat humahawak ng pera. yun din ang gusto ng husband ko at may tiwala rin kasi siya sa akin sa paggastos. kasi OC ako sa due dates, at lagi ako updated sa online banking. ako rin nagma manage ng small investments namin.

yun nga lang, bihira na niya ako masurprise. although nung bagong panganak ako, inipon nya yung allowance nya tapos nilibre nya ako ng merienda. natouch ako nun. kasi kahit maliit lang hawak nyang pera, tinipid nya talaga para masorpresa nya ako. sabi pa niya "sorry ha kasi dito lang kita nailibre." pero naappreciate ko talga yun.

nagbasa ako ng thread na ito kasi gusto ko maimprove pa yung budgeting "skills" ko... mahilig kasi ako mag online shopping. guilty ako dun. lalo na yung mga gamit for our baby. talagang madalas ako mamili. although lately, nalalabanan ko na temptation. hindi na ganun kadalas ang deliveries sa bahay.

[ayi0119]

Yun sweldo ni hubby naka-auto deduct na yun amount para hulog sa coop nila.
Yun sweldo ko naman naka-auto deduct din yun hulog ko naman for mutual fund.
Aside from that, nakakapagsave pa din kami, pero hindi na ganun kastrict yun limit namin sa gastos since may na-set aside na agad for the savings pagpasok pa lang ng sweldo.

Sinusubukan ko na din yun minimalist living, kung di naman importante, di ko bibilhin. Pero yun mga travel and dates, di ko masyado ni-li-limit, kasi para sakin importante din yun bonding experience naming magasawa at with our kid.

May excel file din si hubby, upto the last peso na ginastos namin andun. OC much.

[pedroea_]

Hello sis!

I would suggest na first, make it a habit na magsave. Kahit maliit na amount, basta maging habit ang pagssave. Next is, build your emergency funds, that is 6months worth of your monthly expenses. When you have this na, allocate your savings into: personal savings, future, emergency, leisure etc. Marami pa kung anong tingin nyo na swak sa lifestyle nyo Some would even suggest 10% tithe

[o9kristin]

Every payday, set aside a specific amount and transfer the funds immediately to a separate bank account. Much better if you have passbook account as withdrawing takes a little effort than withdrawing in ATM.

Also, avoid using credit card. Mas kita ang flow ng funds if you use cash or debit card. Iba ang feeling when you pay Php 5,000 using credit card vs cash. Pag credit card, parang wala lang pero pag cash, parang nakakaiyak. LOL

[o9kristin]

Another thing that works for us is I post the breakdown of our monthly expenses (utilities, rent, car, food, etc) sa room / ref. Everytime na nakikita ko yung total amount, nawawalan na ko ng gana to buy things that I don't need.

[simang]

Following this thread.

Sisses, pano ang setup nyo sa budgeting if hindi kayo nagkocombine ng income with husband? Like, 50-50 ba share nyo sa expenses? Or may specific bill na alloted sa yo, then yung iba kay husband?

[kvandenhaak]

I have an excel file where I record every single cent I spend on a particular month. From the graph, I can see a birds eye view how much I spend on a certain category. From there I can see where I need to cut down. Pero kasi dalawa lang kami ng anak ko so it's easy to manage. It really boils down to willingness and cooperation of each member of the family. So, never akong nagkautang sa credit card. Everything is paid at the end of each month. I am still able to put money to savings, retirement fund and educational fund for my son, tithes and donations. But I don't travel much and I don't own expensive bags, at kung [textspeak!]-anong luxury! Yung necessities lang talaga!

[o9kristin]

^^Sis Simang, may kanya kanya kaming sagot sa expenses before. Si husband ang nagbabayad ng utilities and bumibili ng diaper at milk ni baby. Then ako naman ang in charge sa food and grocery. It worked din naman. Naiinis lang ako kay hubby kasi madalas nadedelay sya sa pagbayad ng bills sa sobrang busy sa work and minsan naman nakakalimutan. Lagi ko pa sya nireremind na bayaran so I decided na ako na lang hahawak ng money.

[ficklemind]

kami din ni hubby hinde 50-50 sa expenses.
nung bagong kasal kami lagi sabi ni hubby bibigay daw niya sakin atm niya at bahala na daw ako which never happen hahaha. OFW kasi ako before so aanuhin ko naman atm niya diba? kanya2x kami pera.

Now magkasama na kami dito sa Pinas, hinde pa din namin pinagcocombine income namin.
Bills & Utilities namin sa house - share kami but not 50-50
Car mortgage - hubby
Gas -  share kami but not 50-50
Food & Groceries - ako
(tipid pa yan kasi pag weekend lang naman ako nagluluto, dun si hubby sa Nanay niya nakikikain on weekdays) more on toiletries & household needs ang gastos.
Dates - take turns kami
Insurance - kanya2x kaming bayad
Baby expenses:
 - still preggy, yung mga lab test, ultrasound and anything na hinde covered ng healthcard si hubby ang nagbabayad.
- shopping for baby needs - 50-50 kami
- Hinde pa sure pano setup once lumabas na si baby but based sa mga muni muni ni hubby mukhang siya naman bahala,  sana nga!

Sana mas maging organized din kami like the other sisses here, wala pa kaming sistema sa ngayon like  envelope or excel sheet. Hinde talaga namin namomonitor expenses namin  hinde din consistent ang pagsave.

[yn061515]

sis lovemeagain30, yes, as in tinatapos lang namin mga loans and madami na kami adjustments sa ngayon. Like I have this budget plan for the whole year and we try our best to stick to it so that we'll be able to save while paying our loans too. This year, ang goal talaga namin is maging financially intelligent at stable. We both earn good salaries, we just have to learn how to manage them well. It's also a wonderful learning process for husband and I kasi we learn to plan and manage together. Getting more matured kumbaga. I'm 26 and he's 28 and hopefully before 30, loan/debt free na kami. Aja!

[simang]

Thanks for sharing sisses.

Another question, how many bank accounts ang meron kayo? Where do you keep your savings, sa bank ba? How about emergency funds?

[o9kristin]

Currently, we have 2 (aside from payroll accounts). Isang regular savings where we deposit our income regularly. Dito galing lahat ng pambayad ng bills and other expenses. Yung isa, dun ko tinatransfer yung "savings" (fixed amount every month). Papasok lang lahat ng funds dito. I don't withdraw money sa 2nd account unless may emergency.

[lonely_dad]

kami wala ewan ko lang kung meron siya
paano pa ko magkakaron ng savings eh ako lahat nagbabayad ng gastos
kulang na lang pati gabi gawin kong araw 

[shinies]

Depende yan ano ba yung usapan niyo pag dating sa pera. Meron kasing mga mag-asawa na si mister talaga kinukuhanan ng panggastos kahit na may trabaho si misis.

[Girltalker2]

kami wala ewan ko lang kung meron siya
paano pa ko magkakaron ng savings eh ako lahat nagbabayad ng gastos
kulang na lang pati gabi gawin kong araw 

I think kahit wala kayong usapan, pilitin mo sarili mo magtabi kahit para lang sayo. I believe bawat babae need ng savings. This is for our own security. Especially kung breadwinner ka pa. What if mawalan ka ng work. This happened to me na I'm the breadwinner for my 2 kids, then nagclose ang company namin. I was thankful kahit papano we were able to live normally naman kahit worried ako while looking for a job.

Secondly, sometimes ang nakakasira sa Budget eh Yung mga events na di planado. Like suddenly nasira Yung washing machine mo. Or you have to replace the tires of your car. So it would be good to set something aside for maintenance of the house/car/whatever.  Para they won't eat up on your monthly budget. Try to identify those yearly or semi annually or quarterly one off expenses and make sure you plan for them.