Monday, March 18, 2019

5 Ways to Grow Your Money

10 years ago, I was broke and in debt. I couldn't afford to send my son to school and I had debts in my name amounting to more than 300k because I trusted the wrong person.

5 years ago, I made the choice to do freelance work. It was a leap of faith but it was a choice that I made for my health and for what I was hoping would be financial stability.

2 years ago, I started to learn ways to save money. Finally, I had enough saved that I could afford to contribute to our Hong Kong family vacation. I could also afford to send my son to school and pay off his tuition fee in one go.

However, it wasn't enough. I would always feel like money just passed by and that it appeared when needed. I needed something more stable. Something better.

Last year, I started monitoring all of my spending. I would list down in a notebook all of the things I spent my money on. It did not matter if it was just Php5. It went on my list.

At the end of the month, I would list down everything in an excel file and then calculate how much I spent. End of the year, I was shocked to see that I have spent so much on miscellaneous things, things that I don't even remember anymore.

I WAS APPALLED.

This year, I started my most ambitious project on how I can save money. I decided that I will do 5 steps. 

1. NO BUY YEAR. This means that I will only buy what is essential especially when it comes to skincare and make up which I already had tons of. When you do a no buy year, you set rules and boundaries that you need to follow. Shopping your stash is also a must!


2. INVISIBLE 50 Challenge. Every time I received Php50, it goes straight to Miss Piggy, the coinbank.

3. Paluwagan. I joined a weekly saving scheme in our home. We will give a fixed amount weeky and by the 3rd week of December, we will be given back our money.

4. Always balance my checkbook. This is crucial because a balanced checkbook is a testament to being able to handle and track your finances.

5. Investment and Insurance. I finally got my first ever insurance/investment plan and I even got to convince my 18 year old sister to invest as well.

It took me 38 years to finally have a grasp on how to grow and handle my finances but I am glad that I finally did. I think this is one of those cases where it's better late than never.

18 comments:

  1. These are solid tips I hadn't heard most of! I haven't used a checkbook in years but I'm sure it would help with budgeting!

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  2. We don't invest or use insurance yet, but these are great ideas!

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  3. So good! Having multiple streams of income is important.

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  4. I recently got an app that rounds up all of your purchases and invests that money :) Such a great way to save money!

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  5. It is really important to save but wow, a whole year of only essentials? That would take some serious will power. A lot happens in a year.

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  6. Great tips! We have a system that puts aside a set amount every month for saving AND one that takes 0.50 from every debit purchase. Little bits you don't notice that surely add up!

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  7. I like the idea of a no buy year, and shopping your stash. I prob have way too much of everything!

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  8. All the tips are very cool to me and very useful.

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  9. Saving money and building a solid foundation to follow your dreams of feel safe in case of anything unexpected is awesome!

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  10. Thanks for the tip. Im starting to reorganize my finances as well. Its very important to save nowadays. I also have a piggbank and anything thats left on my pants pocket after end of day i place it on my piggy bank

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  11. Great article. This is a topic I know I need to learn more about and you really helped me understand some good ways. Thank you.

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  12. I love these articles, always gives me little bit of sense what I need to do and be prepared for Thanks!

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  13. love this topic! every single one of them is such an important information. Thanks so much for sharing

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  14. I rememeber doing a paluwagan when I was in grade school lol. But great tips! I'm horrible with money because I'm an impulse buyer. I always find a way to talk myself into buying things, like I worked hard so I deserve it. But it gets out of control sometimes. I've been using MINT to get my finances in check

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  15. TwinspirationalpartiesMay 23, 2019 at 10:56 PM

    It was great that you even got the patience to list down even the things that are so low cost. 😊

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  16. I can do a month or two of no buy, but for the entire year..? 😊 That's nearly unachievable. 😊

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  17. This is honestly my first time learning about a NO BUY Year. While I've been interested in minimalism concepts like Konmari and capsule wardrobe, I haven't heard about this kind of year. And I like this idea. I think I might make one for next year-- makeup and clothes. These days, I try to go to thrift shops for clothes when I can and find those gems that are branded but really affordable. Next year too, I plan to invest on insurance. I just need to learn more because I need to know what I'm getting myself into.

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    1. I can hook you up with my insurance person. Trust me when I say he's super patient. I asked questions for a year and he never pressured me to sign up.

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