Help! i need your advice!
@Solitudefreelancer (135)
Philippines
June 16, 2009 3:57am CST
Today was the first day of school at my university here in the Philippines (University of Santo Tomas), my mother gave me 200 pesos for two days (means that my allowance is 100 pesos per day which is the good news). But the bad news is that she told me in advance that she'll not always give me with that certain amount due to financial difficulties (this means that there are chances that she'll give me either 70 pesos or worse 50 pesos per day which depends on her budget). I used my allowance for my transportation, photocopying, and printing expenses for the last three years of my college life. And this year that i was planning to open a savings account at BDO (Banco de Oro here in the Philippines) which the required amount to open the account is 5,000 pesos for a passbook and i had other concerns as well because that my country just entered the rainy season which not only that i have to be careful at the H1N1 virus but also dengue as well (which i have to save some of my money for anti-mosquito lotion from time to time)
Can anyone give some advice to solve my problems?
1 response
@earth2jacq (1502)
• Philippines
11 Nov 09
Hi. Well I am an employee and I give myself an allowance of php100 a day. That is to cover my transportation expenses. I pack my own lunch so I need not buy my lunch. That way I could still save Php 30 for my 100 a day allowance. You know I put my saved allowance in a jar. I have opened a debit card at BPI called express cash (not a savings account so there is no maintaining balance but there is no interest either). When I saved around php 500 from my allowance I would deposit it to my express cash account. I use this to buy my grocerie and other supplies I need. That way I don't have to use my credit card for my basic necessity purchases.
Since in your case I think your mother wouldn't give you less than 50 pesos, I think you should start writing down your regular expenses. Instead of buying lunch or snack, pack your own food. It may seem uncool to bring food at school but hey look at me many of my officemates bring pack lunch and eat it at the pantry. Lastly learn to save the coins. You will be surprised how much they yield. Instead of pressuring yourself to open a savings account get and Express cash for now. After all the bank's savings interest rate doesn't really make a difference (last i checked they are offering .085% per annum and that is still gross of 20% final tax on the interest). It takes discipline and determination to do this. Happy saving.
