How did you handle your monthly income? Plus or Negative after all expenses?
By hcpoirot
@hcpoirot (1562)
Indonesia
June 2, 2008 7:59am CST
Mine is on plus side.
I have been blessed so far for my monthly income in my life. These past few years I got a steady income from my job. Never very much but its enough for me and a little saving. I probably will worried from time to time when something unexpected happened and I had to dip into my saving.
Like when rent due or a natural disaster happen.
I always devise a chart or notes for my mothly income. How many percent I need to spend for my primary needs like food, shampoo, clothes, etc. How many percent for leisure, how many for saving and emergency fund.
And I break my saving into 4 category.
1. Usual saving so I can withdraw anytime I like.
2 Desposito, I can only withdraw once a month with a higher interest.
3. Long term saving like 5 or 10 years. Usually its was for a very small amount 10-20 dollar each month. I can only withdraw that saving after 5 or 10 years and got a small pot of gold. 
4.I invest a little for stocks. I try safe ones. I know its not had high return, but still higher than bank interest and low risk. Mostly i bought government stocks for safety.
Lately I been driving to had earning money online. I decided to put all the money here for my emergency fund after I bought some nice things for me. (So far theearning not very much but showing potential now)
How about you? How you handle your income?
4.I invest a little for stocks. I try safe ones. I know its not had high return, but still higher than bank interest and low risk. Mostly i bought government stocks for safety.
Lately I been driving to had earning money online. I decided to put all the money here for my emergency fund after I bought some nice things for me. (So far theearning not very much but showing potential now)
How about you? How you handle your income?7 responses
@femmefatale_moi (79)
• Isle Of Man
10 Jun 08
i had this formula that i followed when i was just getting started on saving and investing... it's 70-10-10-10... (10% tithes, 10% saving, 10% investment and we live on the remaining 70%.) My hubby takes care of our holiday fund, our emergency fund (w/c they say should be equal to 6 months of your salary, but you can accumulate it in 5 yrs.) and he has got his own savings too, the remaining goes to our to live on fund as well.
we had a few salary increases since i started so i adjusted my formula to 65-15-10-10, 15 being for investments... i keep my savigns in gold and silver because i believe it's a hedge for inflation. my investments are diversified... i have got investments here in the UK and i have some in the Philippines too... i'm thinking of investing in euros next.
@plumwish07 (4057)
• Indonesia
9 Jun 08
it seems that you have really good income based on the planning about manage your earning dear friend, and i am happy for that cause not many people who able to get good income as like you did
your planning about our income is quit good cause you able to make it into four different using since in my own experience, i only divide it into two kind of income managing. expenditure and saving. although its hard to make any savings due to economic situation at this moment but i'll try my best to afford it
your planning about our income is quit good cause you able to make it into four different using since in my own experience, i only divide it into two kind of income managing. expenditure and saving. although its hard to make any savings due to economic situation at this moment but i'll try my best to afford it1 person likes this
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
8 Jun 08
mine will be plus as well fortunately... God had been very merciful to me and my hubby and pour His blessings unto us as both of us have a full time job with a steady income to pay for all our living expenses, loans, bills and mortgages... but both of us have to work... if one of us becomes jobless (which i always pray to God and hopefully it will never happen), then we won't have enough money to pay for all our expenses... good on you for being able to divide your money like that... mine i just put some in savings (which i can withdraw anytime i want) and deposito with a higher interest rates for emergency use... that's it... take care and have a nice day...
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
2 Jun 08
I put all my online earnings in my savings account and eventually put them into my investments in mutual funds.
I'm very careful how I spend my money and anything I have left over goes into the savings account. I'm not a clothes-lover or anything so I don't have a lot of needs.
@julyteen (13252)
• Davao, Philippines
21 Jun 08
life here in our country is very difficult. we earn very little income from our work. just enough for our basic needs that we hardly get something to save in the bank.no matter how we try to spend little, still we run out of budget evry end of the month that we even need to borrow from lending institutions. i know it is very humiliating to us, because our country is rich in natural resources, but this the reality, and it really bits.
@femmefatale_moi (79)
• Isle Of Man
22 Jun 08
having been born and raised in the Philippines myself, i could understand what you are saying...but i think the main reason is we have not been taught financial education in school or at home either, i definitely wasn't... i have to learn it on my own and i have to waste a few years of my life to realize what i was doing wrong... try to log on to www.pinoymoneytalk.com and you can learn a lot from there... it did help me a lot in my financial education... try to check out their forum because atleast there you could find people who are in the same situation as you are but are finding new ways to save, invest or earn some extra cash and changing their lives in the process...
