The hardest thing for me to unlearn was “keeping up with the Jones’”. It’s really hard for me because I work in the finance industry - officemates drive BMWs, go out for lunch everyday, have nice clothes, wear Rolex, carry Hermes bags. They are usually dual high income households, unlike me. They can afford expensive tuition for their kids, club memberships, ski holidays, one officemate recently imported a real pony for her daughter.
So ayun, took me a long time to accept that I’ll never be as rich as them, and that I should care less about how I appear to them (unless going for an interview or an event or meeting customers then the branded items come out of the closet otherwise I’ll get judged based on appearance).
This year, I made the kids give up their expensive sport. Decided to cut back on the expensive holidays even before covid struck. Stopped eating out, did more cooking at home. Covid helped curb all of the ‘lifestyle inflation’ expenses, I hope I can stick with this.
I think mas old school ako when it comes to budgeting: pen and paper parin gamit ko. I print out though the tables then fill out the necessary items. Effective nga yung method na kahit may increase sa sahod, yung lifestyle pareho parin. We have been doing that for a while now and everytime may increase, we add that in sa investments and savings.
We also allot for what we call “blow money.” Tipong pwede mo gastusin para sa kahit anong trip mo. That way at least meron ka parin leeway, hindi yung tipong feeling mo masyado restrictive ang budget.
Kagaya ni Ate @Jane, we drive old cars until nag-gi-give up na. Last September lang kami nagpalit ng family car kasi talo na kami sa gastos sa repairs. Sakto naman na may naipon na pambili kaya di namin kinailangan mag-loan, and honestly iniiwasan talaga namin hanggat maaari na wag kumuha ng loan.
@UniquelyMe - fighting the lifestyle creep is hard, but once you get in the habit of saving more and see your accounts grow, you just pat yourself on the back and stay the course! Napansin ko na ganito nga yata ang culture sa Singapore because my friends in your field say the same thing.
@yoni - nagpalit din kami ng kotse because we wanted a minivan (never thought I would drive one, but with multiple kids it’s a no brainer haha) Americans in general love their cars. Usually mga pinoy din dito magaganda ang mga kotse at palit ng palit every few years - nothing wrong with that (kanya kanya ng luho) but when you’re complaining about living paycheck to paycheck, then maybe start looking into which of your expenses can be re-evaluated. For us it’s a depreciating asset - the moment you drive a new car off the lot it’s already lost ~15% of its value. Kaya mabuti na yung bumili ng slightly used na reliable and with stellar safety reports.
When we created our budget, top priority talaga namin retirement and health, that’s why we are very generous with quality/healthy food and travel fund. We’ve seen a lot of people postpone travel until they’re retired, or when kids are older, only to end up with health issues or die early (it’s true). Also travel doesn’t have to be expensive. Daming free museums at regional/national parks. We pack our own snacks and use public transport. Dito sa UK, available yung English Heritage/National Trust annual memberships and they’re relatively cheap. Makes for an easy day out with the kids.
Oh I feel you. You don’t have to keep up with them. Just try to look the part of someone who is made for success in your industry. Our initial judgment and interaction with strangers depend oftentimes of how they dress since it is an extension of their projection–whether boss ba siya o staff ng boss.
Whenever I feel that level of envy, I always remind myself na I’m part of the first generation in my family who had the benefit of a college education, especially a UP education.
It gives me perspective. Your officemates are probably 2nd or 3rd generation of families who have long stabilized their wealth.
I don’t have any children yet but during my moments of daydreaming, I would likely enroll them in an exclusive school–say Xavier, LSGH or Ateneo (for boys), ICA or PAREF Woodrose (for girls), because this is an investment. You are building your child’s social capital and network. Their future classmates are already on the road to success from the moment they were conceived.
I didn’t buy a car at all nung nasa Pinas pa ako. Aside from the amortization, may expenses din for parking, gas, maintenance, insurance and registration. I was renting an apartment then, and instead of getting a car and driving to work daily, I decided to get a condo unit near my workplace, and also near malls and supermarkets. So instead na napupunta sa landlord yung monthly rent ko sa apartment, my monthly amortization to the bank gets added to the property’s equity which I can convert to cash again kapag binenta ko na yung unit. To get to the office which is just 15-30 mins away, I just took Grabshare/Wunder which is also more convenient than driving (and parking) my own car. Marami ring cash back yung Wunder that time, almost free na yung pamasahe ko since maikli lang yung travel distance.
Not getting a car worked for my lifestyle then, but I’m sure my decision would have been different if I had a family, or if my work required me to go to different sites. So I would suggest evaluating your lifestyle carefully whenever you have to purchase a big-ticket item, and see if it’s the best option in addressing your needs (or wants).
Mahirap talaga. It was a long process for me, over many years.
I stopped renting a condo in central Sinagpore. I bought my own place, it’s smaller, government housing, still in central Singapore though. The mortgage payments are less than what I would pay for rent.
Stopped eating out almost every night. Yaya is a bad cook pero sige lang, pinagtiisan na lang namin bad cooking nya.
No more expensive camps and sports for the kids. I spent the equiv of 600k pesos on their sport and they won’t even compete seriously! I figured there must be another way into Harvard other than a sports scholarship. Well ok, I made them switch to a cheaper sport - tennis, baka makakuha pa rin ng sports scholarship for uni.
No more taxi rides, that’s my new thing this year. I take the bus to work now
No more plays and concerts. I’d spend so much money on musicals (that the kids don’t appreciate, sayang yung Lion King!), or would watch the Bolshoi, or Yoyo Ma. Will only watch if it’s really, really special, like U2 kasi baka di na sila bumalik sa Singapore ever.
Bawas holidays. My kids are so goddamn spoiled, nasanay sa overseas holiday 3-4 times a year. Completely my fault. Starting this year, siguro 1 holiday na lang, tsaka cheap lang.
^HDB? Yes to bus rides, very enjoyable for me, esp in yhe morning. I do OT frequently, so reimbursable ang Grab/ taxi ride pauwi, so nakakatipid din in that sense
Also, I buy many of my goods sa Pinas, since I fly to Pinas almost monthly. But I assess which products are cheaper in SG vs Pinas (surprisingly, meron palang mas mura sa SG esp if on promo) So those products, I buy in SG.
Hi @aero! Yup, bumili ako ng HDB when my last landlord tried to raise the rent on me. Parang naging lightbulb moment, why should I take this crap when I can afford to buy a decent HDB na? It helps na dual-income kami at madami ng naipon sa CPF. We live near-ish to Novena but I can’t stand the crowd sa train, so bus is best.
Having lived back in the Philippines since June, nahirapan ako to continue with my 60% for savings strategy. Nasa 30% na lang ako ngayon, and I have spent so much in the last 6 months compared to my whole 2020, although malaki talaga of recent expenses for my health. Isipin ko na lang investment na rin.
So those products, I buy in SG.