How to Stop living from Sweldo to Sweldo

Picture from HERE

Sweldo is a Filipino term for paycheck. Filipinos commonly receives their monthly payment every 15^th and 30^th of the month. An average employee is being paid 10-13,000 a month which constitutes a minimum wage earner. I am part of that scheme but thanks to my hosting and events, I was able to finance for my needs pretty well.

Living Sweldo to Sweldo or Paycheck to Paycheck means you are living in an unbalance financial life and all you depend on is your salary- 110%.

I had this officemate who came to a term that a lot may relate to “Araw ng Kasaganahan” every 16^th and after that day will be “Araw ng Kagipitan” Have you ever had that moment in your life wherein Kakasuweldo mo pa lang, Simot na, Nagkautang ka pa?” (Your paycheck just arrived and you are already out of money and worst of all, in debt?!”

I had experienced this life before back when I have zero knowledge about financial literacy. I will have my salary for the first half of the month and will live like one day millionaire. I will spend mostly of makeups and movie hangouts. Then I will strive to survive for the rest of the week. It is a hard and tough life and to be honest I don’t want to go back to that system.

I knew all I need is a changed money principle and to have enough knowledge on becoming a better financial steward. I thank God that before 2013 ends I decided to create my Financial Goals (Read this article to help you jumpstart your Goal Setting) and was able to widen my financial literacy.

Know Your Money Mistake. Of course there will be a reason why you live paycheck to paycheck every month of your life. Now you have to list down what Money Mistakes have become part of your life. Is it the every night clubbing? How about the Starbuck coffee that you can’t start your day without? And that credit cards of yours that is either past the due date or surpasses the credit limit. Once you have a complete list on your money mistakes you can now start evaluating your finances.

Treat the Wound while it’s still Fresh and Bleeding. Just as how a fresh would will be easily healed once treated quick and efficient, the missing link for your ultimate financial goal treatment is to STOP where the problem is coming from. Cut that credit card of yours to stop yourself from using or do the freezer thing wherein you let your credit card literally froze to death. What I’m saying is stop getting into more debts now that you know how much you owe. Don’t let yourself become more miserable.

Slowly build the 3 Envelopes of your New Life. I have Three Funds that I’d like to share to you. This idea came in my mind through the course of my walk towards better financial habits.

1. I own an Emergency Fund where I save 500pesos every cut-off automatically. Click here to know what and how.
2. I own a Financial Goal Fund where I reserve all the money I get from events. This fund is reserved for my passive income generating necessities. Example, when I bought a new laptop because I wanted to blog more. (If you are in a huge debt then I suggest describing this second envelop as your Debt Payment Fund where you can save a portion of your salary to pay your debts slowly)
3. I own a Retirement Fund (My FAMI account) that I reserve for long term financial needs. I use the Peso-Cost Averaging method for this one and I am very happy with the result. (Click here for my FAMI update).

The reason for doing these 3 Envelopes of your New Life is to give you a better perspective on how you should spend your 15^th and 30^th payment. This way you know how to allocate what you are receiving

Look how Blessed you are. At some point we forget how blessed we are especially on the area of finances. Once I share to you my Money Principles you will relate to this one more. But for a quick hint I suggest you take a moment to see and to ponder how blessed you are. Do this activities or even one of these activities once a month and share to me your results!

•       Write on a piece of paper what your thankful for today
•      List down the expensive items you own. From bags to jewelries or if you own a car and house and lot---List it down. Make sure to paste it on an area where you can see it every time.
•       Do your inspiration board. This way you will easily visualize how you’re doing in your life.

I can’t express how much the tips above had made my financial life better. I look forward hearing the results from you. There will be a lot more posts concentrating to this subject so please do keep track SavinsgPinay via RSS and Twitter.

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