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How Much Do I Really Make?

Monday, February 15, 2016
Talking about Sweldo here in the Philippines is just a big no-no. Ask someone how much they make in a month and for you'll get "secret" as an answer. The success of My Year-End Extra Income Report is what made me want to go real with you on How Much I Really Make. 

Now I want to give a big disclaimer here. I didn't publish this post to offend anyone. If you are easily offended with this kind of post then please stop reading. This post is meant to inform and to explain important matters regarding sweldo in the Philippines.


A Little Background About Me

If you've been a SavingsPinay reader since the beginning you'll know what I do for a living.  My job description has evolved in such a short period of time. I applied for a Marketing Assistant position in an IT firm around Makati. My tasks then involved a lot of writing.  

Soon I found myself writing user manuals, service descriptions, user acceptance test scripts etc. I wasn't only doing the marketing side but became too involved in the "technical." And so I was dubbed with the Technical Writer title. 


Even though the course I finished was BS Journalism I adjusted quickly with my job. I realized how amazing the people behind all those software, and systems and applications. 

Towards the end of 2015, my company made a big change in its ownership/leadership (I don't want to go in too detailed with that part) and now my title is Technical Documentation Specialist. My job doesn't do too much technical writing but more so documentation on WiFi Site Surveys and Installations. A lot of drawing floor plan, focusing on access point location and heat map 101.

The Evolution of my Sweldo

I started working with basic salary. 13k to be exact, year 2014. I have no problem with basic salary since I was just 20 and starting to have a career. Then my regularization came and God is so amazing for He blessed me with one of biggest salary increase ever (as per our HR). And so by the middle of 2014 I am no more within the basic range but 17k. Yes, I made 4k increase. READ: 8 Tips to have a Major Major Salary Increase

Then I think my manager (Sir Joel, I mentioned him in THIS POST), who was actually the President of the company) saw a potential in me. He gave me another salary increase as a way of appreciation "daw" of my efforts. And so I got hired in February (basic 13k), became regular in August (17k) and got a salary increase/appreciation of non-taxable in December (17k basic + 2k non-taxable allowance.

Yes, in a span of one year working in Makati my salary did increase dramatically. And so is my expenses and my lifestyle. I have this entitled How to Save Within Your Salary and let me tell you in all honesty that I failed to follow it. More story later. 


Anyway currently I got another increase early 2015. So as of this writing my basic pay is 21k (all taxable). 

The Truth About Salary Increase

As mentioned earlier with the sudden increase in my salary comes the sudden change of my lifestyle. I invest a lot. I bought a life plan and condo (still paying though and this is a joint investment with my eldest sister). In 2015, I was spending way too much than what I supposed to be. I forgot about budgeting and overspend on makeup, dining out and miscellaneous luxuries. Fool me.

But it's not too late to change ways. You just have to be aware of what's happening and make a stand. I know it's easier said than done and it will make countless trial and error to perfect the art of managing your money. My best tip is to take it slow. 

The Rakitera in Me

Now in the above I am talking about my day job. I still got a lot of rakets to maximize my time. I thank God for blessing me with such marketable talents like writing and hosting because I do earn an amazing amount with the. I can 't disclose my extra income because they are not the same every month. But what I can enumerate is how much I make with each random racket I do.
  • Event Hosting is 2,500-3,500 per event (2-3 hours of hosting) This also depends on location.   I earn a lot more if it's outside Metro Manila. Before I used to get more than 10 events a month but since I have a day job that's keeping me busy I didn't get active that much. Today I have 2-3 events a month. 
  • Freelance Content Writing depends who is the client I am working with. Sometime it's per number of words, other times it is per hour. Currently, I am earning a decent $5 per hour in one client and 150pesos per 500-word blog post in a local client. The highest earning I got was $100 for  5 articles. 
  • I never earned that huge in blogging. I only earn whenever I receive sponsored post opportunities where I ask for $10-$20 per post. I I have earnings from Google Adsense, Nuffnang and Infolinks which I collect for the meantime until I can cash out. READ: Is Google Adsense a Scam
  • YouTube is another thing I do because I love it so much. I earn as a Stylehaul Partner. Everytime I hit the $25 mark it goes straight to my Paypal account. 
On My Expenses and More

Now it may seem like I am a lot of money but then again my expenses grew along with my income. 


The recurring expenses I have are as follows
  1. Money I give to my parents
  2. Money I pay for our bills at home 
  3. Money for the condo investment
  4. Money for transportation allowance
  5. Money for food allowance
  6. Money for Church Missions
  7. Money for my Emergency Fund
  8. Money for my Fun Fund (Travel, makeup, shopping etc.)
  9. Money for my Financial Goal Fund (FAMI Investment etc.)
I followed a new budget technique in 2016 and I think its working much better than last year. I was living frugal in terms of my transpo and food allowance. I don't go over board unlike before. 

The Fun Fund is also in use and I feel so much happiness that I have extra money saved for for my Mt. Manabu Hike and Pampanga Travel the past two weekends. I realized how important a fun fund/ travel fund is. 

I didn't do any shopping since 2016 began which is something I am proud of. I used to buy a lot especially makeup and books and now I learned to wait before I get enough money to buy leisurely.

I also am blessed to have both parents who are still active and don't ask monetary thing to me. I am thankful that they allow me to do whatever I like on the money I earn, never expecting anything in return.

But I do feel a lot of pressure giving back to them. READ: My 20-something panic. I wanted to repay them for their greatness. 

And so How Much Do I Really Make?

I, in all modesty aside, feel like I make a lot as to what I was supposed to be making. I am thankful that with my two years working in Makati my income grew unexpectedly. I know that with the experience  have and the expertise I developed in what I do as a technical writer, better opportunities awaits.

This February 26 I will be celebrating my second year anniversary at work and I feel like reminiscing how the past two years helped me grow to who I am today. READ: My First Year Anniversary Working in Makati.

I still have a lot of ideas in terms of growing my income. I plan to be active again in event hosting this year and change the way I spend my money. This year I wanted to be more intentional with my spending. Instead of buying things that give me temporary happiness I wanted to invest in those I really really really wanted and will serve its purpose.
For me it's important to know how much you really make. Huwag yung tipong dumadaan lang yung sweldo mo saiyo. I suggest you study your paycheck and take note of how much you earn in a cut off. Tracking your income can make a great impact on your outlook in life.

I don't know how this post will do. I hope  my revelation doesn't upset anyone. Thank you for reading my blog.

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