Ways to Save on Food Expenses in the Office

1.  Bring your own baon/ snack/ lunch.
As much as it is convenient to buy from the office cafeteria (and yes, not having to wake up early in the morning t cook lunch), it still comes off cheaper if you buy your own food to work.  Moreover, you know what ingredients go to your food.  If you're on a health kick, you can control the amount of salt/sugar and even do away with MSG!

2. Bring sachets of coffee/tea.
If you have a hot and cold water dispenser, good for you! Take advantage of this by bringing in your favorite coffee/chocolate/tea sachet.  Again, compare buying a PhP5-PhP10 per sachet of coffee/tea vs at least PhP25 from your office cafeteria.

3. Bring your own  water bottle.
Again, it is way cheaper to bring your water to work/school than to buy them.  Again, do not forget to take advantage of dispensers so you can refill your water containers.

What to do when you have amassed the "riches" you would like to have?
1.  Travel
It is disheartening to find foreigners, rather than Filipinos,  in our vacation hotspots.  We went to Boracay just a few months and realized this sad idea.  Most Filipinos we saw there are workers: waiters, tour guides, etc.
I myself have been very curious about El Nido, Amanpulo, Dos Palmas but find them extremely expensive to accommodate an average middle income Pinay.
So when I have enough money, I'll surely give these places a try! (or visit them on a regular basis!)

2. To buy my/our own house
I remember seeing this is a top answer in surveys.  One of the priorities of Pinoys is to have their own house and lots.  It maybe is a reason why some condos have been a hit it's because it gives Filipinos a sense of finally acquiring their dream.  Condominiums usually cost cheaper than buying houses in lots.
But since I am in the line of reaching my dream, I might as well state what I want in my/our own house.
2.a  It has to be near my/our place of work (I don't like the thought of being on the road most of the time! With the Metro Manila Traffic?!)
2.b  It has to have a swimming pool.
We finally inflated our "swimming" pool at home and I found it actually very...therapeutic.
It's refreshing to take a dip before going to sleep, especially when it's summer.  Aside from the natural way water cools down the body temperature, it also has a way of calming my emotions.  Maybe because I also stare at the stars and the moon while I'm at it...I don't know.
I also look forward to going there in the early morning.
2.c  Flood-proof
We know about this with our experience with Ondoy!

3. Shop for clothes without considering budget!
Wow! This I know would be my version of heaven!

4.  Help family/parents by augmenting their income
5.

The best way to Save on Fuel Expenses

 

The price of fuel has gone up like crazy!  With the way things are going, it inevitable for gas price to start eating up our transportation budget.

So my husband and I started computing our kilometer per liter consumption and compared this to our expense if we commute to work.  Our conclusion?  Commute!

We still use our car but not as often as we used to.  Instead of using it everyday, we thought of the days when it was “high” priority or “least” priority to use it.  For example, we think that Monday is definitely a “rush” day so that is when we use our car.  Wednesdays and Thursdays are allotted for commute.  Fridays could be “date nights” so that is when we use our car.

Sometimes, we park our car midway to our destination.   This is of course, assuming you can park it in a safe place (hopefully very minimal or no parking fee). 

The result:  From a 2-week mileage on a full tank, it increased to 1 full month!

The Rat Race

I did not realize that financial independence could be good or “holy” until I have come to read about working as a Rat Race. 

Most of us have been raised to think that the more we work hard, the more we earn.  The more we earn, the more material things we gain.  We increase our assets and this is how we become rich.

But Robert Kiyosaki (author of Rich Dad and Poor Dad) claimed that this is a wrong notion to become rich.When we earn, we have to buy things that could benefit us more financially.  If we buy things that only lead to more expenses, then they become liabilities, not assets.  Take for example a car.  When we purchase this, most of us think that it is an asset, an additional property.  But with the increasing price of gasoline and diesel, I cannot help but think that this is also a liability.  Add the fact that there are incidental expenses for maintenance and repair.  But in order for us to "gain" from this property, we could rent this out, for example, or instead use this to deliver goods for our business. 

I now have come to see financial independence as a way to break free from slaving from work.  How many family occasions have we missed because of an “important” business meeting?  How many family vacations you could have taken if you have saved enough and are not bound by the number of days of 

permitted leave of absence?

We owe it to ourselves and to our families to start planning and realizing long-term financial goals.  When retirement comes, I hope we are not “old” enough.  I hope we can still enjoy taking long treks in the mountains with our loved ones.  I hope we could still enjoy the finest cuisines that money can buy.  I hope we can still travel anywhere, and anytime with our loved ones.

The Equation to Financial Freedom

The Financial Equation to Financial Freedom is:

            Income – Savings = Expenditures

But most of us have gotten used to this equation:

             Income – Expenditures = Savings

The two equations are not the same.  The first one aims to save an X amount before spending anything while the latter tells you that whatever is left of your expenditures becomes expenses. 

The former commands you to have a goal.  “How much do you want to save this year?”, for example.  But you also have to work on realistic financial goals.  It may be realistic to save PhP15,000 when your income is PhP20,000.  But you also have to note of your living expenses:  food, transportation, bills, etc.  Knowing all these in mind, will PhP15,000 be realistic?

To aid in determining your budget, it may help to write down the expenses that you necessarily spend monthy.  The following is an example:

Bills:                       Electricity

                                Water

                                Phone (PLDT, Cellular phone bill)

Food:                    Grocery

                                Drinking Water

Transportation: Gasoline/ Fare

Miscellaneous/ Irregular Expenses

Then write down an average of your spending in order to come up with your TOTAL MONTHLY EXPENDITURES. 

Now, calculate your realistic savings by:  NET INCOME – TOTAL MONTHLY EXPENDITURES

Now, you have an idea of how much you are supposed to save monthly.   Then assess, will this be enough?  Do you need to earn/ save more?

If the answer to questions  imply that you may need to save more, you may need to adjust whatever is flexible in your budget.   This means, you cannot do anything about your cellular phone bill for example as there is a minimum payment required every month.  But maybe you can adjust your food budget by preparing your “baon” everyday.

If after the adjustments you have assessed that your savings are not enough, then maybe it is time to look for another source of income.