Financial literary will make you rich. You might have heard this a million times already, but this isn’t accurate. The main goal of financial literacy is not for you to become rich, but for you to able to budget your money according to your needs.
I understand that many people wanted to believe that financial literacy is only for the rich, but knowing where your money is going (and documenting it!) is enough for you to start becoming financially literate.
In our today’s blog, you’ll hear me talk about growing your money (if you have any).
Where’s My Money Going?
Tracking your expenses is the basic financial literacy lesson you need to know. Without knowing where your money is going, you’ll never be able to improve your finances.
No matter how much you’re earning now, you should be able to know where your spending every peso of that money. There are so many financial tracking apps out there that you can choose from. If you like to do it manually, the Google Sheet or Microsoft Excel is your best friend. As for me, I’m using an app called MoneyLover for about 4 years now.
Once it becomes a habit, tracking your daily expenses is no longer a chore. If you’re like who loves challenges, you can make it a challenge to make sure you’re listing down your expenses. If all else fails, there’s always an “Adjust Balance” that can solve your problem; just make sure that amount isn’t huge enough.
Always remember that the best tip to increase your savings is to decrease your expenses.
How Can I Make More Money?
Sure, financial literacy is about making do of what you have. However, if you’re barely surviving each month with your salary, you definitely need to increase your source of income or you’ll continue to have problems with money.
I started earning about P18,000 in a month (and I know a lot of people who are earning less) but if I’m still earning that amount now, I will definitely have a problem with my finances. Over time, my monthly expenses have gradually increased and my responsibilities at home are becoming more apparent.
To be able to earn more, you need to know your strengths and figure out if there’s anything there that can be monetized. I figured out that digital marketing is one of the in-demand skills that I can help me increase my monthly income.
In today’s age, a “side hustle” is something that we can explore. Thanks to the internet, there are so many opportunities that we can take. Several students are already earning while teaching in online classes. Some employees are into online selling to increase their income.
A laptop, the internet, and the willingness to learn are what you need.
Where Can I Save My Money?
Consider savings as a monthly expense. Before anything else, deduct your savings from your monthly income.
Then your first goal is to build an emergency fund. This is 3-6 work of your monthly expenses (not income!) that you can use in case you’ll lose your job or a pandemic will happen (again).
Putting your money in the bank is definitely challenging. The interest rate is disappointing. My emergency funds are in digital banks like GCash Save (by CIMB), ING, and Komo by Eastwest. They have about a 3% interest rate compared to banks that are less than 1%.
Once you have your emergency fund, consider having health insurance then you can then explore different investing opportunities.
Always remember: financial literacy is making sure you’re getting the most of how much money you’re earning and making the most of it!
We can talk more about that next week! 🙂
11 Responses
i have a lot of friends inviting me about financial literacy – im glad though the account i work for already shed light about such matter
Tracking my money going in and out is the most difficult thing to do. However, this is the best practice we should keep on doing. With that, we can learn how to evaluate ourselves to identify what to and not to buy.
I am the most chill here hahahahaa…I don’t track my finances, to be honest, but I know my expenses and transactions. Choosing lifestyle as a number one priority is a risk. It’s just my personal risk to take every day. You know as a content creator, I want to explore things that fit my lifestyle, and money is involved. Typically I work so hard on my freelance gig as my finances for my lifestyle needs and my regular job pay is for the home groceries, loan, and internet bills. I used to track my money before and it was so stressful… so I decided to go with the flow and I know how to get back my money if have big cuts on my finances. Somehow this kind of financial management is so drastic and messy, but it makes me more responsible. I really appreciate your article, Rome! This is a good start for those who can’t manage their financial problems. Maybe I should consult you when I hit 30 hahahahaa that’s the right age for me to settle down a bit and be more responsible about finances for my future plans.
I agree with you, Rome. Financial literacy should be for everyone not only for the businessmen and for the rich. I started tracking my expenses, too last 2016. I barely earn much before but I developed the habit of saving as much as I want with some side hustles. When the pandemic happened, I had enough to spend for my daily expenses. I hope everyone will be aware about how important it is to track our finances.
Thanks for these financial tips. True, it’s not just about making money. One has to finally be able to save, secure his/her earning with insurance, and then invest for the future. Excited to learn more about finances stuff from Rome. Hehe
I also put my emergency fund in CIMB! I am now looking for other ways on how I can save money. Just curious, if you have an MP2 account? I would love to know more! Thank you for this very helpful article Rome.
Financial literacy is also about changing our limiting beliefs about money. The moment we change how we look at money, our relationship with it changes, as well. When our relationship with it changes, how we spend, save, invest, and grow our money changes in a quantum way. I agree with all these, Rome, and the title in itself — I couldn’t agree more.
ayoko maging sirang plaka hahahha but yes, this is indeed very important! Unsa paman akong masay,,,uhm guys subscribe to my youtube or visit http://www.vernongo.com!
I do agree with this. Personally, I want to have some freedom in terms of my time. I don’t want money to chain me and prevent me from doing things that I love the most.
It’s increasingly becoming vital to have a financial plan and many alternate ways of earning money. Here’s hoping that our side hustles will turn into a branching revenue stream in the future!