Scared?

                I like horror movies, I love the thrill of getting scared especially when the story would play in your mind, as if there is someone beside you when you are alone. But what scares me the most, not the ghost or the unknown element around us, but the monthly bills inside the envelope, or a phone call from the credit card collection company.

                I have done some research and found out some of that many people have gone through debt traps just like me, hence, the moment that they’ve discovered that they need to do something. There are many solutions out there that can resolve the debt problem, here are some:

1. Plan – Before your pay day, plan where your money goes. List down all your bills and allocate your earnings to the things you need ex: Savings, food, transportation allowance, insurance, amortization etc. if you want to buy something like clothes, new phone, or electronic gadget, it is fine to write it down, but you cannot afford it, just leave it there, save until you have money to pay for it
2. Stop eating out – I am always fond of eating at fast food, these greasy food makes my carvings satisfied. Those food will make you sick and might give you high cholesterol, fatty liver or diabetes. We do not know how they were prepared. Instead, you bring your own food, it is much cheaper, and you know that what was done from your kitchen is healthier that what you can buy from fast food.
3. Resist your cravings – Sometimes we are too addicted to eating because it gives us comfort. Its fine, but we have to be mindful of the money we spend. We might be buying food which we don’t need like chips, expensive coffee or milk tea we also have to be mindful how often we buy those food/drinks. If you really can’t resist your cravings there are other alternatives, like instant coffee (would cost 10 pesos versus coffee from coffee shops that costs 150+ pesos). Instant milk tea would also save you 120 pesos.
4. Save – No matter how small or big, when you save consistently, it to will be quite an amount. Example if you save 10 per day it will be 3,650 in a year. If you buy coffee worth 150 per day multiplied by 5 days a week x 4 to make it a month x 12 in a year, would cost you 36,000 pesos. That’s a huge amount of money! When you save, think as if it is gone. If you hate going to banks, you can enroll to mobile apps such as GCash or Coins.ph or any banking apps that are able to move your money to your savings account. You can also open an investment – I recently opened a mutual fund for 1000 pesos, every month I put on 1000 pesos and right now, I gain 9 pesos out of it. It is very important as well to have an emergency fund, which you will only for “a matter of life and death situation”.  It is very difficult to start, but when it became a habit, you will be happy with the results.
5. Stop using your credit cards – Do not use it, and stop making excuses. Just let it stay at home or somewhere safe to ensure you are not going to use it. Take off your auto debit bill option, you can always pay your bill online. If you are really short for money, you can borrow from your closest family members, or your friends, just make sure you return it on time and don’t make it a habit. If you have multiple cards, you need to close them out, start with the card with the smallest debts. If you can pay more than the minimum amount, please do so. There are credit card companies that offer loan restructure, you may want that to be an option. This is to stop the interest from incurring monthly.
6. If you are planning to get a property, make sure you are ready, meaning you have cleared out your credit card debts. You can make your property (condominium unit or car) profitable, by opening it to AirBnB or carpool, you can help others avoid the miserable commute plus make money out of them.
7. Change your lifestyle – If you are still fond of going to fancy restaurants, having a vacation somewhere or going out for lunch or buying expensive stuff. But you are using loans or credit card to pay for them. You have to stop, if your usual Saturday night would not be complete having a drink at your favorite bar, well, bring them home. You need to live “simple”, what do I mean by that? Be contented to stay at home, watch TV, and learn new skills by watching YouTube. Challenge yourself to spend as small amount of money as possible.
8. Be consistent – If you promise yourself to change your lifestyle by living simple, stick to it. If you need to put a phone reminder just to remind you not to spend too much, do so! If you promise yourself to save, you have to do it. If you want to change the way you handle your money, you need to change your perspective. It would help if you have an accountability partner in saving money, they would help to remind you but there would be someone to guide you as well. Lastly, you need to commit yourself to change, otherwise, you will just comeback to your bad spending habits.
9. Track your expenses – One reason why I failed in handling my finances is that I don’t track my expenses, this causes me to overspend, then before I know it I don’t have money anymore which leads me to borrow money again. When you track your expenses, you will be able to see where to you spend most of your money, for example you spend too much money buying coffee, or you spend too much of your money buying unnecessary stuffs. I am not really good in tracking my expenses, but when I tried to do it, I became more cautious in buying things, I only buy what I need versus what I want.
10. Expand your income – Don’t just rely from the salary you get from your usual day job. If you are struggling with your finances, you need to expand your source of income, by opening a small business. Do you like cooking? Baking? Or any arts and crafts? You can sell them to your family, officemates, or friends. There are many videos and articles online on how you can start small businesses. Also, with the use of technology, you can easily reach your market.

Facing financial problems may not be easy to resolve, but you need to have the right attitude to face them. Chinkee Tan, a famous financial adviser and author said, “In every problem, there is a solution, if you don’t have a solution, then, you are part of the problem”.