One of the few things I like about Facebook is being able to join groups with advocacies. I am part of cooking, selling, blogging, and financial groups. The latter is where I gain insights about saving and investing. Huge thanks to mom blogs about saving money. I learned practicality. There are many ways to save and make your money grow. On this post I would like to share some of my practices in managing our finances which I also learned through reading. We don’t earn a lot and still far from being financially free but with the knowledge I acquired from books, articles, and forums I am at ease that we are on the right track.
1. Money envelope- others use jar but I started with envelopes. Labeling each envelope what they are for has helped us have the mindset that there’s a specific budget for everything- bills, allowance, grocery, savings, and miscellaneous expenses. This way we are more careful in spending and there’s less stress because we know that everything we need to pay for is covered. We stick to the budget we create.
2. The basic formula: INCOME-SAVINGS= EXPENSES- on my recent post Life Lessons, this formula was also mentioned. Based on an article I read somewhere, we have this habit of spending money first and whatever is left is considered savings. But most of the time our wallet becomes empty even before the next paycheck comes. We use the money intended for savings to survive.
There’s no hard and fast rule when it comes to how much your savings should be (others prefer to have an emergency fund which is 3-6 months worth of monthly expenses) Of course we don’t want to go hungry while saving, right? Do not feel pressured if your friend manages to save 30% of her income. You may start with whatever amount you’re comfortable with. In our case, we put 10-15% of our total salary in the bank. If you want to increase your savings, find another source of income- sell stuff or have a part time job. You should not compromise food and other necessities just to go over what you can afford to save.
3. Pay off your debt and AVOID it as much as you can- one of the easiest ways to manage your finances is to make yourself free from debt. Make a list of your all your debts and start paying them one by one. Be wise and disciplined if you have a credit card.
Stop borrowing money from your parents or friends just to buy a new gadget, dine in an expensive restaurant, or get yourself an OOTD. Chinkee Tan, a Wealth and Life Coach shared a funny but true post entitled “Porma Now, Pulubi Later”. Click this link to read about it.
4. Need vs. Want– months after I have started with my job, I thought I was rewarding myself whenever I buy new clothes every payday. “I deserve this after working hard!” I often go to the mall to hunt for sale items and buy it without a second thought. After giving birth to my youngest, most of the branded clothes I used to wear did not fit anymore. To free some space, I decided to give it away. Some were just worn once or twice. That’s money I spent on things I did not really need.
Now before saying “mine” to a new bag or shoes or anything for the house, I ask myself, “Do I/we really need this? Can we go on with our lives without this?” Weigh how much you want it vs. how much you need it.
5. Project DIY– yes, you read it right! Instead of eating outside, why don’t you cook your own meal? It’s healthier and cheaper. Your 500 pesos can feed 5 of your family members. Coffee lover? Brew your coffee at home. You need not to spend 150-200pesos for a cup of your favorite drink everyday. Instead of going out every freakin’ weekend, you may want to consider lying in your bed to read good books or have a movie marathon. You can even reward yourself hours of good sleep. How satisfying is that?
Hey, I am not saying that you become anti-social or sacrifice happiness for the sake of being practical . But being mindful about how you spend can make a lot of difference.
Budgeting and saving does not mean you are depriving yourself of the good things. It only means you are in control of your money and it’s not the other way around. Do this to avail the fine things in life. People nowadays are more conscious when it comes to where their money go and we should be, too. You can also pass on this habit to your kids. Start them young.
The journey to being financially free starts with your desire to change how you spend and save your money for a better future. Hope that this simple mom blog about saving money can help you a lot 🙂
Do you have other tips you’d like to share? Comment down!
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Money envelope photo by me
Other pics from Google
I like the money envelop 🙂
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Got it from Daiso for 88pesos 🙂
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I liked your money concept and the whole post is so informative.
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Thank you for your appreciation 🙂
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I like that money envelope, I used to do that before but never run constantly in my life. So I used to save memory on my mind. Hehe Saving is one big responsible for us housewives. More power to you and to your family! 🙂
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I just started doing it this year. Thanks,Lenny. More power to your family, too 🙂
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Really good saving tips 🙂 I’ve also chosen you for the Real Neat Blog Award 🙂
Click for details https://huntsclubhouse.wordpress.com/2016/10/18/real-neat-blogger-award/
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Thank you so much JL Hunt!
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Very nice post & tips.
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I love your writings and hence nominated you for 3 days 3 quotes challenge🙂. You have choice to accept or decline. You can check it out at
https://allymomin5.wordpress.com/2016/10/19/3-quotes-3-days-challenge/
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Thank you, allymomin5!
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We have a notebook where we list all the bills we owe and how much they’ll be and their due date. We cross them off as we pay them. This way we can easily compare how much we have left to spend against how much more we have coming in for the month. Also, the DIY is great. If we can make it or fix it ourself we do.
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We also tried to do that. thanks for the follow back 🙂
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Great tips for people who want to manage their money responsibly.
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Glad I could help 🙂
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entertaining your friends at homes is a great way of being social and saving money. You will most likely not spend the same amount of money entertaining a group of people than you would going out just on yourself.
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Thanks for that tip! You’re right. Have a slumber party with movie marathon and endless stories
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Sounds like a great plan 🙂
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I love the money envelope idea. I usually take all my lose change from shopping and put it in containers and store it away. The problem with that is you tend to forget where u put it or just forget it in total.
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Just have one place where you can store a wallet or coinbank for your lose change. I havent tried keeping my change when I buy stuff for myself but I’ll do it from now on 🙂
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I am using money envelope, too! It helps me track our expenses. However, 2016 has been a tough year for us so saving has not been prioritized. Hoping to save more this year. 🙂
happy new year, mommy meg!
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Happy New Year, Mommy G! I am positive that 2017 will be a better year for your family 😘😘😘😘
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I like the practical formula of income less savings is equals to expenses. You are right about having savings first than think of spending money right away. How I wish I could let go of my compulsive shopping behavior..I’ve got tons of things I bought na di ko nagamit..oh darn. This wil be a challenge for me this 2017. Thanks for sharing your insights.
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Welcome, Macy 🙂
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Always happy to see posts like this. Gone are the days when mothers — well, women in general — are just enough money to spend for groceries and payment for electric and water bills. I love that your formula is simple and practical. 🙂
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Thanks, Cris!
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, I’m using the money envelope last year .
Thank-you for the wonderful tips.😊
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Suoer thank you! I’ve been wondering where to get a mommy enevelop and even thought of making one. Puntahan ko na agad yun Daiso to get one. Happy New Year!
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Welcome 🙂
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Great financial tips! I love the money wallet, where did you get it from?
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Got it from Daiso 🙂
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Thanks for the heads-up! I’ll look for one when I shop there again.
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Welcome 🙂
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That money pouch is sooo cute! It makes sense to start saving with the economy plunging.
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Savings is one thing, where you put it after is another. I am a real good at saving money… but I do need a help on investing.
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Me as well ..
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I do the money envelop and isex but can’t perfect it yet! There are those I call “emergency gastos” na mapapadukot ka talaga. haha. But this year, I’m planning to continue to do those and hopefully, be able to save more.
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I have that “emergency gastos” din.yep, push for better financial plans 🙂
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I should try making my own money envelope. It might help make my finances more.organized. 🙂
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Earnings – savings = expenses is really helpful in saving. We need to save pa naman for the rainy days talaga.
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Uuuy! I have the same floral pouch (or what is it called ba?). Got mine for Daiso. In our case naman, I realize we have to spend since my husband and I have been too kuripot almost all our lives. It’s great you’re financially wise, but don’t be too hard on yourself. 🙂 My husband said that rewarding yourself is also a great motivation to work harder.
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Thanks for the reminder, mommy! I’ll keep this in mind 🙂
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*Got mine from Daiso
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From Daiso rin sakin 🙂
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I tried the money envelope and it didn’t work for us ewan ko ba. He He He. What I do now is wise budgeting for the savings first before the expenses and I make sure that the partner knows that we are saving as a family too.
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Nabasa ko lang yung money envelope and I tried kasi talagang walang kaayos ayos ang finances namin. Hehe.
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This idea is so ingenious it just might work! 😄 thank you for sharing I will be implementing this into my 2017.
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You’re welcome 🙂
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What works well for me is using a ledger to track down all the expenses, and make sure I save up thru investment in my sunlife account, every month. I also have a journal of bills to pay or monthly payables not to overlook any payment due.
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Yan ang kulang sakin, investment. I read about it pero til now di pa rin ako nakakapag start.
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Right now I am applying some of your savings tips sis, our goal this yr is to pay all our debt di naman masyadong kalakihan but it really feels good pag wala ka nang utang. Then I prioritize our needs no matter what, and everything nakalista kahit 1 peso. Atleast nakikita ko yung out lahat.
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Push, sis. We also had a time na nagkautang kami mag asawa. I’m sure matatapos nyo yan agad. God bless 🙂
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I know a lot of friends who are so ma-porma but they dont even have their own homes yet. Nothing against them, though since it’s their choice. Nonetheless, I agree with all your tips 🙂 Happy saving to us! 🙂
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The envelope system has really helped us get out of our financial rut and maintain our daily expenses at the same time. I remember allotting only 4K/month to food for two years. It was a lot of Kangkong and gisa dishes for us, hahaha.
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Great tips! The money envelope strategy works for me. This year though I really want to be able to save so I am trying the 52-week money saving challenge. I really hope it will work for me too.
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I also read about the 52-week money challenge.Push for it, Janice!
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I like your list, Mommy! I also do the envelope system pero mas cute yung envelope mo. Haha! Bet ko sya. Saan mo nabili? Yung envelope kasi na ginagamit ko is yung brown envelope lang na parang ampao ang size. Anyway, may we have a prosperous 2017 ahead and may we save more money for the future and have wise investments na din this year. God bless and happy new year! 🙂
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Nabili ko sa Daiso sa Lucky Chinatown Mall 🙂 Ang gamit ko naman dati white envelope na ginawa ko lang using bond paper. Sana nga mapush ko na rin ang investment. God bless you rin and your family, mommy!
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What perfect timing! Saving money is one of my goals this 2017. Thanks for sharing these very helpful tips!
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Love all your tips here. Though I always fail with the envelope method. In its place, since I am more comfortable with working with Excel sheets, I always create a spreadsheet for all my purchases and bills paid and come up with a graph at the end of the month. In that way, I get to see where I need to cut down. And given the challenge I faced in 2016, I learned to be more creative in the kitchen, too. And I plan to keep on cooking as much as I can to save more this year. 🙂
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I learned something new, INCOME – SAVINGS = EXPENSES because it usually goes like this INCOME – EXPENSES = SAVINGS how can you save when everything else went to your expenses? savings should always come first before expenses, thanks for this really a big help…makes me a wiser Mom this 2017
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Youre welcome, Claire 🙂
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I like your tips. I do the envelope system also. But I like your envelope because it’s colorful I think I will make mine colorful, too. 😉 I love your #5 tip the most. It’s something I advocate also in the articles and blog posts I write.
If you want more tips on investments, feel free to reach out to me. My husband and I are part of Bo Sanchez’ Truly Rich Club. 🙂
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Wow, thanks, Teresa. Sure I’ll send you a message 🙂
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I had the money envelope too and it saves me from too much unnecessary spending because everything is alloted already!
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I’ll buy that money envelope!!! Aside of it being cute, I think it’s gonna be a helpful tool to manage my financials more responsibly.
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I agree with all your tips, I also have an article about that envelope thing on my blog.
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I wanna read that, Mommy Levy 🙂
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That money envelope is a great idea! Please check out my blog for more money saving tips!
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Thanks, Kelly! I sure will!
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Thanks for the money saving tips, mommy! It’s true, we really need to weigh the things we buy if we really need it or just want it for the time being.
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I’m a TGIF reader/follower too. So much to learn! 🙂
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Thanks, Yna! I love the look of your blog. looking forward to read your posts 🙂
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Thank you Mommy Meg! 😀
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Thank you so much for sharing- I especially use DIY for saving money (and that is almost DIY everything now) Really need to think about the want-need though!
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I’m glad you liked it 🙂
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Love all your tips will be following these tips this year we’ll try! lovely advice x
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” keep calm and do it your self.” I like that:)
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Thanks! We live in a fast-paced world and we prefer everything that’s instant. DIY projects can help us slow down and relax our mind. Plus it saves us money 🙂
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I agree, thanks for sharing! 🙂
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Great points, and great wake up calls. I’m beginning my journey to fixing my finances and creating abundance and stability.
Thank you for this post.
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Yes, let’s create abundance and stability 🙂
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