Frugal Living: What Habits Help You Save Money?

[shadow]

Bro I generally agree with this statement, but I have some reservations.

For example, I want a new dSLR. Di ko naman ikakahirap, so I buy one. Then, I realize I want nice lenses. Again, I can afford the lenses so I buy them.

Then, a month after, I realize I want to try biking. Again, di ko ikahihirap yung pagbili ng mountain bike, so I get it.

Then I want an iPhone, then a Macbook Pro, and so on. In other words, an endless cycle of giving into these "wants", with the reason that I can afford them anyway and buying them won't make me any poorer.

But at the end of, say, 1 year, the total cost of these toys would have been enough to cover the downpayment of a condo.

It's true that the act of buying any single one of these wants did not make me substantially poorer. But the mindset of buy-what-i-want-because-yolo meant that I pay the opportunity cost of being able to make bigger investments and purchases.

Yes, you only live once. But on average, that one life will last you 3/4 of a century. If you want to be comfortable for your entire lifespan, you can't just live for now, you have to prepare for the medium and long-term as well.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating that we should all live like paupers in the present so that some time in the future we can splurge all our savings and investments. Rather, I prefer to try and avoid the root of excessive spending - materialism.

Admittedly it's very difficult to try and be happy with little. I myself find myself having moments where I just want to buy this and that. But you can keep it in moderation - perhaps set a maximum budget for your toys instead of a carefree spending attitude.

Of course, if you're just forcing yourself to be thrifty, but deep inside you want to splurge, sooner or later you'll wallow in self pity and unleash a spending spree. Which is why I go back again to focusing on moderating your materialism instead - be happy with little, focus on more important aspects of life (relationships, experiences, a sense of purpose).




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I agree with you. I'm talking in general naman. Of course dapat meron ka rin contentment and moderation din.

But in a situation you're overtaking of buying something. That's the rule of thumb.

Mahirap din kasi ipon ng ipon. I mean we should all have savings but we need to enjoy life as well. We have to find the balance.

I'm not saying we should live pay check to pay check. Pero if you know how to earn money, should also know gown spend it.

I don't like to be those retirees na they are only enjoying life now when they're already old. Travel around the world eh wala ng kwenta Hinde na makalakad etc.

Saka I subcribed to while we are still young travel as far as you can, as often as you can afford. While you can still manage long haul flights. Imaging kapag matanda ka na tap mag around the world ka. Wala na.

Basta you should know your priorities. Hinde rin naman pwede ibibili mo muna ng gadgets tapos utilities mo Hinde pa bayad. Marami rin kasi ng ganyan. Inuuna yun bibilbin pero Hinde pa pala mga bills.


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[minicarph]

Eh ba't hindi ako mataba? [emoji12]


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Kumita ka ba ng 100k a month. I used to earn 450k a month when I was 25 years old, I grew fat those years

[minicarph]

Andami kasing distractions these days. Lots of new hobbies, gadgets, plus the media. One time i got hooked on MtG cards...man, when i think of the money i spent then, ngayon nakatambak na lang.

i don't always manage to fight off these impulses, but i do try to justify the purchase, e.g. is it a need or a want? Will i need it every day? Will this cost me more money later?

i also look at my "gadget graveyard" and ask myself, is this another impulse buy? ^_^

If i do give in, i try to get the best value for money brand/model. As with any purchase, you have to justify the cost.

I don't get swayed with collections, hobbies, or whatever trend is in as of the moment. I believe it's a coping mechanism coz people have low self-esteem coz they 're fat. They try to find happiness or purpose in these superficial things, and therefore, it gets more costly

As they grow older, they would realize it's not the answer coz they will still Long for interaction with people.

The best interaction is humarap ka katawan katawan with other people with little material or hobby to identify you and still come out involved in the interaction

Japan's akihabara district only proved to me that the Japanese ain't that great as they are portrayed to be. They're so lonely they have to invent anime and robots to cope up with their boring lives,

I think some Japanese might even want create Japanese ***y robots, because they can control it

[EQAddict]

We need a 'best-of' OB quotes.

Im loving it!

[jut703]

Kumita ka ba ng 100k a month. I used to earn 450k a month when I was 25 years old, I grew fat those years

Am I supposed to be impressed? [emoji23]

Regardless of how much you've made before or how much you make now, to me you're just an old bloke spending a significant amount of his time every day trolling on this board.

I'd like to think there's more to you than that, but since you refuse to ever meet any of us in person, or even provide any credible proof for any of your incredulous claims, I think it's more logical to conclude that you're just a charlatan.

It's okay though not-OB, we support you in all your delusions of grandeur. [emoji106]🏼


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[badkuk]

i'm not saying don't take up any hobbies, or don't spend on anything you want...just get your priorities straight. And make *and* save more money than you spend ;)

[jut703]

Its true that Your ideas and shadow's arent mutually exclusive. The key ingredient in the mix is 'priorities.' Have a decent compass and a good sense of priorities. Tick those off one by one. And along the way, if the bug bites you, just make sure you dont compromise those priorities. That should be a strict rule.

Everything is finite and all expenditures eventually add up. Its a basic tenet that everyone must embrace. In my case im at the stage where ive already saved for the future, for the kids, etc. Nothing too stupendous but not something to sneeze at either. But i cant always be in investment mode. If i were i'd be miserable. I am also realistic about my wants. And i Also realize that the window wherein i can enjoy these is shrinking (im 40 afterall). I balance both.

I agree with you. I'm talking in general naman. Of course dapat meron ka rin contentment and moderation din.

But in a situation you're overtaking of buying something. That's the rule of thumb.

Mahirap din kasi ipon ng ipon. I mean we should all have savings but we need to enjoy life as well. We have to find the balance.

I'm not saying we should live pay check to pay check. Pero if you know how to earn money, should also know gown spend it.

I don't like to be those retirees na they are only enjoying life now when they're already old. Travel around the world eh wala ng kwenta Hinde na makalakad etc.

Saka I subcribed to while we are still young travel as far as you can, as often as you can afford. While you can still manage long haul flights. Imaging kapag matanda ka na tap mag around the world ka. Wala na.

Basta you should know your priorities. Hinde rin naman pwede ibibili mo muna ng gadgets tapos utilities mo Hinde pa bayad. Marami rin kasi ng ganyan. Inuuna yun bibilbin pero Hinde pa pala mga bills.


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Wise words, my friends. I think the type of financial advice best suited to a person will depend on where he/she stands right now.

If he's a young guy, just starting out, with a penchant to splurge on material things, it's best to advise him to consider the future and learn to save and invest and moderate his spending.

If he's an old guy, established in life with all the basics covered, with a penchant to still save and save until his twilight years, it's best to advise him to live a little, enjoy what he's worked hard for, and maximize life while he still can.

Most people will fall into the middle of these two extremes, and the path to moderation will be different for each individual. The key is to acknowledge where you stand, and be clear about what your goals are.


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[EQAddict]

Wise words, my friends. I think the type of financial advice best suited to a person will depend on where he/she stands right now.

If he's a young guy, just starting out, with a penchant to splurge on material things, it's best to advise him to consider the future and learn to save and invest and moderate his spending.

If he's an old guy, established in life with all the basics covered, with a penchant to still save and save until his twilight years, it's best to advise him to live a little, enjoy what he's worked hard for, and maximize life while he still can.

Most people will fall into the middle of these two extremes, and the path to moderation will be different for each individual. The key is to acknowledge where you stand, and be clear about what your goals are.


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No truer words have been said.

[minicarph]

Am I supposed to be impressed? [emoji23]

Regardless of how much you've made before or how much you make now, to me you're just an old bloke spending a significant amount of his time every day trolling on this board.

I'd like to think there's more to you than that, but since you refuse to ever meet any of us in person, or even provide any credible proof for any of your incredulous claims, I think it's more logical to conclude that you're just a charlatan.

It's okay though not-OB, we support you in all your delusions of grandeur. [emoji106]🏼


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Money is just an invention by man to think that without it, you won't survive.

I be been a high roller and I've been a bum, And one thing I discovered we are all led to believe to equate our purpose with money .

Think of a man who has everything, and still not happy, and would wait for anything new to add to his evrything. Familiar, I think most oldies here already here achieved that already,

Now think of a man who has nothing and is vey unhappy, and sees a man who has everything and concludes that that that is the answer. So he spends his lifetime to be like the man who has everything, only to feel later in life what the man who has everything felt a long time ago.

Yun ang sinasabi, wtf! Are we all saving for?

They key is God. If you have nothing, pray to God, there will always be a way.

God did not put us all here to pay bills or to amass something that he already owns (he created everything ) . And hen later in life, you'll tell God. Hey God I was a very successful VP and I amassed all this house and cars and successful children. I'm better soul

Do you think God will care? To him you just did one thing straight

Now think of Jesus, he was the greatest man who ever lived, popular, gwapo, influential and he is the son of God, and yet he suffered so much and accepted it

Think about it

[_Cathy_]

Eat less?

Ang tipid ko nga. May Polo at tshirt pa ako ng more than a decade old. Bench brief na more than a decade old din hahahah (pang bahay lang).
Shoes na 10 yr old (wedding shoes ko). Isa pang more than 10 yrs old na shoes hahaha.

It's true. Sometimes my office BFF and I would spend P1k on food for one day (lunch, dinner and merienda). And we only go to casual dining restaurants.

I have tank tops that I've had since the 90s Yun nga lang puro butas na! hahaha! Pero wala akong shoes na over 10 yrs old.

always buy in cash. no credit card.
the mall is an exercise place, not a place of commerce.
stick to your buying list.
eat decently.

I always pay my credit card in full and I get points/rewards using my card. I also don't pay AF so using my card has no cost to me Just this month BPI credited me P1k. Pambawas din sa shoes na binili ko 2 weeks ago hehe.

Last week kasi medyo nagising ako ng umaga so I had no parking cost for the whole week. Wow sarap ng feeling ng walang nilalabas na pera for 3 days! And since I am at work early, nakakauwi din ako ng maaga so I don't have to spend on dinner anymore. Yun nga lang, last Thu wala kami magawa ng BFF ko so we went malling at napagastos na naman