"Ma, naa nako'y 1 million!", I'd jokingly tell Ma that I already have over a million in assets during a random conversation at home. Little did she know that I wasn't joking.
When I dreamed of saving a million all by myself before I turn 30, without a doubt I knew that this day would come but I never thought it'd come sooner than planned. I hate to say this but I am turning 29 this August. This article was due last year but I had to gather all the confidence there is to write this, much so let the word get out in the world.
In the Philippines, personal finance is rarely talked about in the open. People don't usually talk about their salaries and how they manage their finances month in, month out. But I am that one person who wants to talk about personal finance so much that in random conversations with workmates and friends, I always find myself giving unsolicited financial advice. I just can't help it. 😂 I dream of a world where talking about personal finance doesn't intimidate people and doesn't inflict fear but rather sparks change and moves individuals to act. A step towards that dream is writing more about personal finance.
I've shared some tips in my Financial Fridays series in 2021 but I'm scraping it altogether. This time I don't want to be limited to posting on Fridays only; it's also my first time using the LeoFinance front end. I've been using PeakD for almost two years now.
There is no one fool-proof answer to the question "What does it take to be a millionaire?". Surely, there are various routes to get to this goal. But today, I'll share with you the first step I took to have what I have now. Guess what? It doesn't require any outside force; as they say "It's all in your head!". What most don't realize is that successful personal finance isn't about money per se but how we think about money. It's our mindset towards money that will ultimately determine our success rate in managing our finances. That's exactly what we should focus on and fix first.
Here are some of the limiting money mindsets or beliefs that are prevalent in Philippine society that I had to grittily overcome to get to where I am now. The good news? You can, too!
I am a breadwinner, there's nothing left to save!
Let's start with the most famous line you'll hear from a young professional in the Philippines: I am a breadwinner, there's nothing left to save!
One of my life goals was to retire my parents. My parents are very old. Ma will turn 70 this year and Pa just turned 79 years old last month. Non-Filipinos might not get it but in the Philippines, our close family ties make it almost impossible to abandon our parents. When I started working, I started giving a portion of my salary to my parents and eventually, I was able to fully retire them.
I would be lying if I say I don't envy people whose parents have saved up for their own retirement but knowing where my family came from, and recalling every single hardship my parent went through to raise me and my 3 other siblings, it was natural for me to support them now. It's not like I was coerced to support every single need in the family. I know my parents did the best they could to raise us, educate us, and gave us a better future. Both of my parents didn't graduate from high school; Ma made it to 3rd grade and Pa to 6th grade. Long before the term gig economy became a thing, they were already submerged in multiple gigs mostly selling stuff just to feed the four of us. To date, I give 1/3 of my monthly salary to fund all expenses in our house. And by all, I mean all: utilities, groceries, medicine, etc.
But despite my love and respect for what my parents did for us, I had to acknowledge that I have my own life and that I'll soon have a family life of my own. In the Philippine setting, it's inevitable to help our families but the key is to set healthy boundaries. I always point out that it's okay to give, but it's not okay to give everything. It's okay to provide but not to the point there's nothing left for you and for your future.
In my case, I set boundaries by defining the exact amount I give to them every month. I am on a strict conscious monthly spending plan and I had to sit down with Ma to discuss the budget in the house. I give her the entire budget for a month once and she's in charge of making sure we don't overspend beyond that budget.
Perhaps, if I allowed this mindset to get the better of me, I'll never be able to save up that much money. But I knew I could do better than stick to this excuse. We can't go on with life as if we're walking ATMs for our families and even extended families. I know that each family is unique, but if your situation permits, always set aside something for yourself. You deserve it!
You have to earn big to start saving
Another hilarious limiting belief that I've heard from countless people I've encountered includes "I'll save when I get a salary increase!" & "I'll save when I get promoted." Simply put, saving is only possible when you earn bigger.
My money mindset was different. Fresh from college, I believed that despite my mortifyingly low salary, if I want to save, I could. And I did. My salary now is more than threefold my initial salary when I joined the workforce, but the increment in my salary wasn't the sole factor that paved the way for this feat. There was discipline, to begin with. Right off the bat, I knew that if I couldn't manage my money when it was still small, I'd end up struggling to manage it when it blows up one day.
It doesn't matter if you save less than 20% of your salary as prescribed, what matters is you cultivate the discipline of saving for the rainy days. Don't wait for your salary to increase before you practice saving. Start now!
You need to live poorly to save
To some extent, yes I did live poorly to save but later on, I was able to shift my mindset. In fact, if you've been checking out my posts on the chain, I've been all over the Philippines, gifting myself the much-deserved luxury of traveling at least twice every year outside of Cebu and going around Cebu every now and then in between the long, scheduled backpacking. I indulge myself in good food with friends and loved ones, too. I invest in my hobbies such as buying reliable shoes for running, buying art materials for my painting hobby and buying equipment for my cooking and baking hobby.
Saving up and building up your empire doesn't always mean letting go of all the good stuff in life. Our idea of rich life may vary. But one thing's necessary, you have to define what your rich life is and what you have to sacrifice to get there. My rich life is to be able to travel for days without asking a dime from anyone else and without crashing my entire financial empire.
Once you know what your rich life is, it's just a matter of redirecting where your money needs to go and understanding the importance of sticking to these redirections once set. In my case, I had to sacrifice some unnecessary purchases such as having more than 2-3 handbags at a time, more than 2-3 pairs of office shoes at a time, etc. I was fine buying a single pair of heels that'd last the next 12-24 months. I was fine eating lunch and dinner in carinderias most of the time. I was fine buying 80% of my clothes in thrift stores because my goal was clear: I want to be a millionaire and live richly.
Unless you can afford all the great things in life while stacking up your savings, you have to understand that life's about balance; you gain some, and you lose some. It's a matter of identifying what you're willing to lose to gain what you want and need.
You will only be a millionaire if you go out of the country
A handful of my friends are either working or living abroad. In my hometown, there's an undying belief that the only way out of poverty is to work outside of the country. I do believe this is the fast way out of poverty but it's not the only way out of poverty.
Even with huge salaries abroad, when OFWs come home to the Philippines, some end up where they started. Others may have bought a few pieces of real estate and sent their kids to school, but some still end up struggling financially. It is proof that money isn't everything; you can earn thousands of dollars but if you couldn't fix your money mindset, you'll always find yourself back in square one.
There's nothing wrong with wanting to work abroad to earn more but make sure you know how to manage your finances when you get there.
If you're poor, you'll eventually just die poor
We are poor and I'm not ashamed of this fact. But my parents were determined to get us out of poverty; they were determined that we wouldn't experience the same hardship as they did in their lifetime. I got my strong willpower from my parents.
To date, we still live humbly in our ancestral house. It's not really an ancestral house but our wooden house is too old that one more supertyphoon, it will reduce to nothing. Life hasn't been fancy but it's definitely better than the days gone by.
I think that with the right mindset, discipline, and grit, anything is possible. You can equip yourself with the right tools to make your life better.
I couldn't stress enough how important money mindset is in my road to being a millionaire. You are only as strong as your weakest link. Identify where you need to improve and in time, light will shine on that path towards success, whatever success means for you.
I am excited to share more about this journey but I'm afraid, we'll have to stop here. Hope this helps in any way! See you next time!
Designs were by yours truly using Canva
Posted Using LeoFinance Alpha
Great post @patsitivity.
I wouldn't want to comment much, because i think those who have millions should probably know how it feels like.
I guess your friends are right and wrong. Right in the sense that traveling out gives a better opportunity, but don't forget that citizens still make alot in that same country people are run from.
As terrible as the economy in my country, people still build houses, buy cars and do lots of things with money. What we earn and how we earn solely depends on us.
Thanks for the post.
I couldn't agree more, I know people who are grinding around the clock, hustling on the side just to make ends meet here in the Philippines and they're superheroes but thriving in what might feel like impossible to achieve.
I admire your wisdom and determination to be able to achieve the success that you deserve despite your young age! We may have different struggles in life, but the bottom line is that we need to know how to manage our finances well.
Thanks for sharing!
Exactly, @missjoycee! I can attribute my discipline when it comes to managing my finance to my parents, they're so good at it that watching them back then convinced me that I can do it, too! They weren't millionaires but their discipline was topnotch.
hey @patsitivity, it's been a while!
I believe this staying with family and helping them is a cultural thing, and it's quite a common scenario throughout the Asia. I know, casue I am from a similar background.
Like you I took over the entire family expenditure and sent my parents to retirement, that was the plan all along. It's a mixture of heritage, culture, societal expectations and of course, there's love too.
Congrats on being a millionaire! It is still a long road ahead of me, however, Im positive I will get there.
Kudos to you for not starving yourself in the name of saving. I do believe in financial independence and towards that goal it is important to meet your little whims, little desires to have nice things, otherwise, what's really the point of saving up if you can't live?
I love the positivity here @notacinephile! That's the spirit. My initial goal wasn't really a million, I just wanted to be as disciplined as possible when managing my Finances and I guess along the way, the only way to stay on track was to have a goal in mind.
Once we cultivate discipline, everything else will follow for sure! I'm rooting for you! 💪❤
Thanks a lot! Appreciate it.
Now, if only I could be more disciplined! 😂😅
I love it when people are bold enough to speak about their finance and also advice people from their experiences.
I find the explanation of the importance of saving very useful and if the truth must be said, we don't have an excuse not to save.
Being the breadwinner, having lots of expenses, and not earning enough are just excuses and if we put our minds to it, we will save a the least expected condition we find ourselves.
Our mentality about wealth must be reshaped positively to understand the concept of your post. Thanks for sharing.
I know right! I'm a fan of people who talk about personal finance openly and without holding back. And I wanted to be the kind of person I love, too.
I believe there are areas we need to shed light on and one is personal finance. I know a lot of people struggling with their finances and without help and with fear in their minds, they stay struggling. I hope this vicious cycle ends soon by talking more and more about it. I hope my articles reaches those who might need them, maybe not now but maybe soon.
@tipu curate
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 54/64) Liquid rewards.
Thank you @tobetada!
Kanindot paminawon sa "I have 1 million!", The poor mindsets that you mentioned are all true and had rooted deeply in the minds of the Pinoy, especially in the provinces. This blog is an eye-opener and an encouragement that it's very possible to have our millions despite those mindsets.
Thanks for this Miss Patsi, and congratulations to your 1 million!🎉🥂
As in @callmesmile, maski ako dili makatuo nga naabot ra gyud tawn hehe Pero simple living ra gihapon ta kay naay mga gigahinan sa natigom. Thank you sa well wishes. Kaya ra gyud basta tiyaga and disiplina lang gyud.
Wow.. Congrats sis..pautang haha.
Pero kidding aside, wag ka magpautang sa mga taong nagtitake advantage lang knowing na may pera ka.. Hndi na maibabalik syo hard earned money mo. Haha.
I once wished to have a million in my savings too and cryptocurrency was my last hope given my situation as a bread winner.. Unfortunately, when the market went wayward, I lost all those hopes along with more than half a million supposed to be money only if I converted all into fiat before the market went down... It would be easier for me to complete my goal now if I only had a proper strategy before.. That was my biggest regret.
Keep your money rolling while enjoying your life. Make both balanced.. You are still young. So you still can achieve more.
Stay positive !LADY
Hey Jane, I’m sorry to hear about what happened. Stuff like that happen when you just get into crypto. The good thing is that you’ve learnt and will have a better strategy to take profits in the next bull market. Your millionaire days are not far. Just keep on the grind. Happy millions in advance:)
Hey @jane1289! Sis, nagbreak muna sa Hive! Daming ganap IRL, hope you're doing great in HK. 😁
I read about your article narrating your journey in crypto and actually na amaze ako how you were able to grow your money in crypto. I'm not as aggressive as you are when it comes to investment and crypto. Most of my savings are in high-yield accounts lang.
Yees, keep grinding lang tayo while enjoying life.
Nice design of artworks. Did you create it yourself, or rented 'ready-mades'?
Hi @qwerrie,thank you for asking. I forgot to mention that all artworks were created via Canva Pro. Let me add that in my post. My editing skills can only handle Canva. 😂
I figured out that Canva thing... the design level is very high! I have good photoshop skills (no boasting) but it is really hard, to achieve such purity, composition, balance, minimalizm. You have a good taste! ☘️ Congratulations, !LUV
Aweeee! Hearing this from you warms my heart, @qwerrie. I would love to learn Photoshop and other Adobe apps but I don't have time for it as my job in RL is demanding. Glad Canva's around and I can tweak it here and there without sweating it hehe
☘️☘️🙏
Well... I hope one day you will have free time enaf, and when everything else become boring, you will head to Photoshop 😎
@patsitivity, @qwerrie(1/1) sent you LUV. | tools | discord | community |
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You're doing a great job in managing your monetary income and all. I admire you for having that extraordinary mindset by setting up your personal goals and discipline when it comes to financial management.
Most of the misconceptions about saving are actually common among people here as well. The most popular one I’ve heard is that you need to be rich and satisfied to save - I’ve even shared in this belief before. But like you said, it takes discipline to save when you’re poor. I hope I can bring myself to find that discipline and start saving. Thanks for sharing this. Very helpful stuff:)
Congratulations,Pat! 💛💛💛 Must read kaayo imong post! So truelalo kaayo tanan! 👌🏽
All I can say is that you have the passion for work, to succeed and to thrive. I have been a breadwinner from like 24, with severe health issues and a need to thrive. I think it boils down to having the determination to save. I'm glad you're determined and it worked for you
This is very inspiring. As a breadwinner myself, I can relate to this post. Thanks for sharing these insights— will put them in mind. Anddd congratulations on your wins, big and small. Keep going!
This is such an eye opener and I love how you are disciplined enough in managing your finances. It's really hard to be born and start everything from scratch but determination, discipline and perseverance are really one of the most important ingredients of success. Kudos!
It was very nice to follow your thoughts and process!!
...especially in that matter:)
Did you read the book "The richest man in babylon"? I think you would like it, or you already read it anyways:)
Greetings to you!!
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I admire your wisdom and boldness in discussing on how you manage your finances in order to be this successful. Thankyou so much for sharing 🫶